How we got here is a long story and testament to the goodwill of many people across Europe......
Planning is my forte. I plan to the very last detail and for any number of scenarios within that plan. So on a whim, without the UK home being sold we decide to get a last minute ferry ticket and head for our home in Bulgaria. May as well be there doing something than sat in the UK waiting for the wheels of the house sale to turn. And if the house sale falls through again we will just have to come back. Worry about that if it happens. So no real plan. Just go. This is an adventure after all. Why oh why did I not plan???
How not to move rule 1. Don't put 4.5t of goods on a 3.5t capacity van.
A few last minute emotional goodbyes and we are off. We arrive at Dover for the Dunkirk ferry 4 hours early and they let us straight on. As we drive onto the ferry Nina Simone sings Its a new life and I'm feeling good on the radio. A good omen surely.
Two hours later we are off the ferry and heading for Belgium. I have decided to drive and only stop when tired or the dogs need a walk. We grab a couple of hours sleep in a service station and are soon across Germany (amazing toilets in the service stations, they lift, rotate and are sanitised when you flush) and into Austria in the first day. Van is going well but we travel no faster than 60kmh as the van is under a lot of strain.
Day two and we cross into Hungary. Still no-one has asked to see a passport or any kind of border checks. This is so easy. Famous last words. A couple of miles into Hungary we get pulled over by the Police who want to see my driving licence and ask where we are going. No dramas and we are off again. Sun is shining and life is good. BANG. Van shudders and starts to snake. I control it and bring it to a stop on the hard shoulder. A rear tyre is shredded. No problem, we have breakdown cover. A quick call to our insurance company will soon sort this. Wrong. Despite me asking specifically when I took out the breakdown cover if it covered all the countries we were passing through, they now decide we are not covered!! I call the local Police as we are on the motorway and are a hazard. They are not interested and just tell us to get off the motorway. But they do put us in touch with the local recovery company who will be with us soon. An hour later a recovery truck arrives. But not the one we were expecting. This guy recovers all vehicles on this stretch of motorway but knows nothing of our breakdown, so is concerned who is coming to help us. A few heated phone calls later he seems to know who is coming to help us and drives away leaving us all alone again. Another hour passes and another recovery truck arrives. As the van is so heavy he is unable to get us onto the back of his truck so I have to reverse the van off the hard shoulder and onto the slip road, thankfully a short distance. We wait again for another recovery vehicle. This time a guy in car arrives to assess the van. They cannot get it onto a truck so will repair the tyre at the side of the road. A third vehicle arrives with a crane and lifts the van so that the tyre can be changed. Soon be on our way. Wrong. When the tyre blew out the weight of the van snapped the leaf spring suspension. We are going nowhere. So the van is craned onto another lorry and off to the garage we go. They are unable to get the spares today so we have to wait a day or two whilst the van is repaired. However as we have our two dogs with us we cannot stay in a hotel. The garage owner very kindly lets us sleep in the van, inside his garage all night!! Could you imagine your local garage letting you do that in the UK??
Home sweet home for the night
The garage owner and his son work late that night to get the spring off and locate us a replacement. Early next day they travel 60km to get us the parts and by midday we are on our way again. How kind to drop everything to get us going again. Romania here we come.................
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