Reply to: 2012 'Top to Toe' Expedition

[EternalOptimist]

We finally arrived near Naples. Journey and adventure are over, till the next time. We did 430 ish miles today from Padua to the back side of Vesuvius. thats about 5333 miles in 9 legs, with 7 rest days.

Padua was an interesting place. After the horrendous expense of the Scanda countries, it was almost unbelieveable to get beer for £3 a pint with free food thrown in. Salami rolls and pizza, as much as you wanted , plus nuts and crisps.
On our rest day, yesterday (wed,18th) we walked into town, past the old city walls and moat. It was 28c and very humid. We took the tour bus then walked back to the hotel, 2-3 miles.

Stopped at a little bar next to the hotel and had the most magical few hours, soaking up the sun, listening to the cicadas , mellowing and chatting.
Then I got talking to the owner. She had no English and I have no Italian. She seemed to be offereing me red wine at e1.40 litre.
So I sent Mrs EO in to check it out. She came out with a litre and a big free sample


And so to the last day, today. we have ten days now to rest before we wend our way back to Manchester. This may be the last one we do, as we are knocking on now. who knows
ciao




preta della valle , Padua



Somewhere to rest at last. Back of Vesuvius





and there she is. The volcano, Vesuvius

[Paddy]

Nearly there now. only another 400 miles or so to Naples.
We just arrived in Padua,Italy, 590 miles from Dessau in Germany.
Down through Austria and some breathtaking views, through the Brenner pass and Into Italy.

Mrs EO fell instantly in love with Ausria. We may abandon our leisure time in Naples and head for Innsbruk instead.
she can drive

I had to laugh on the motorway in Italy, I got blocked when a caravan pulled out in front on an upward climb. So What do you do? sit back relax and wait.
What did the Italian behind me do ?
Waved his arms around, flashed his lights, beeped his horn and tried to stay one millimetre from my bumper.

eejit

Living on burgers and hot dogs from service stations is wearing thin now. I need some more substantial food , like ten pints of fozzies and a kebab. Mrs EO wants me to take her into town tonight for a pasta. She will have to give me an hour though,me heads spinning.

In my teens I did a similar trip. We used a mini Gaz stove in the car. The “navigator” had to hold the burner with both feet and heat up some canned food while the car was on the move. Sometimes the driver would eat while driving and steering with his knees. We even did the washing up while on the move.

A more update method would be to buy a 300 watt inverter and run a 60watt slow cooker. Fill it up in the morning and by the afternoon you will have stew or whatever.

Bacon wrapped in foil can be wired to the exhaust manifold, it takes about 40-60 minutes.

[MarillionFan]

I had to laugh on the motorway in Italy, I got blocked when a caravan pulled out in front on an upward climb. So What do you do? sit back relax and wait.
What did the Italian behind me do ?
Waved his arms around, flashed his lights, beeped his horn and tried to stay one millimetre from my bumper.

In Italy you're supposed to drive like a loon. Sit on the bumper and then overtake.

Last time(and only time I drove in Italy) I was struggling to come out from a side road to join the left lane(which means crossing the right lane). Eventually I pulled out at speed, blinded by lorries turning I pulled into the empty road at speed. The guy in the back of the car screamed. 'Whoa whoa, what the!' as I joined the road and sped off. A good ten seconds later I heard a muted beep.

"What's wrong" I asked the passenger in the back who was still ranting.
'You saw that MF didn't you, tell me you saw that'
'Nope. No idea what you're talking about?'
'Fooks sake, you pulled right out in front of a car. I could see the whites of the guys eyes, they were wider than mine.'
'No didn't see him'
'I'm not surprised. He took evasive action, you sent him hurtling down a hill into a field'.

[EternalOptimist]

Nearly there now. only another 400 miles or so to Naples.
We just arrived in Padua,Italy, 590 miles from Dessau in Germany.
Down through Austria and some breathtaking views, through the Brenner pass and Into Italy.

Mrs EO fell instantly in love with Ausria. We may abandon our leisure time in Naples and head for Innsbruk instead.
she can drive

I had to laugh on the motorway in Italy, I got blocked when a caravan pulled out in front on an upward climb. So What do you do? sit back relax and wait.
What did the Italian behind me do ?
Waved his arms around, flashed his lights, beeped his horn and tried to stay one millimetre from my bumper.

eejit

Living on burgers and hot dogs from service stations is wearing thin now. I need some more substantial food , like ten pints of fozzies and a kebab. Mrs EO wants me to take her into town tonight for a pasta. She will have to give me an hour though,me heads spinning.

[MarillionFan]

He ran like the wind

[MarillionFan]

Another amber alert here for tonight so off for a couple of hours kip then a vigil.

On it.

[Cliphead]

Another amber alert here for tonight so off for a couple of hours kip then a vigil.

[EternalOptimist]

I noticed the other day that I have two small boot-shaped tasting glasses from that brewery, sitting on a shelf, not used in god-knows-how-many years.

Can't wait to hear more about the epic voyage.

Day 10 - We left Tromso on Friday 13th July at 7:00.
We came down through Finland, crossed the artic circle and headed for Umea, Sweden. 599 miles.
Finland was by far the most impressive country we have seen so far. Pristine country, lots of wild life, very friendly people with sing song voices, cheap too.
Umea has four hours dark at this time of year, is in the Auroral belt, and there are many CME's lately. A perfect chance to see the aurora.
We stayed up till midnight but it was 10/10 cloud. maybe tomorrow night.

Day 11 -rested in Umea. Walked across the river into the centrum and whiled away the hours in the Bishops arms getting lashed. The beer is expensive, but cheaper than Norway. 7£ a pint. The bar staff were fantastic.
Slept for 5 hours then got up for the viewing, Cliphead reported a CME, brilliant. 10/10 cloud again. not brilliant

Day 12 - Travelled south through very heavy rain to JonCoping , Sweden, 579 miles. Then the skies cleared. Stopped in the quality hotel, very nice. The CME was reported red, the skies were clear, it was dark.

I watched from midnight till 2am - nothing. just a beautiful sunset, and a wonderful back-glow. This was probably the best chance Mrs EO will ever have to see a planned viewing. It will have to happen by chance now, or never

Day 13 - Left the hotel at 09 :00. travelled down to Malmo then across the Oresund bridges to Denmark. Spent all the Norge, Sveige and DK cash on beer and wine and burgers, then headed into Germany.
It was a tough old day, and we headed for Dessau. 690 miles.
Occupied by the Soviets in the cold war, it is a major sh!t hole. Grim , concrete, no street lights, no road signs, everywhere closed, dirty. Half the traffic lights were dead. It's hard to believe we are in square-head land.
Got an Etap hotel for 30 odd quid. Maybe Dessau's not to bad after all.





Tunnels under Tromso
Tromso has lots of rough hewn tunnels and they use them for parking. It's an amazing sight, they go on for miles.





One for Shaunboy - turf roos in Norway. Very common on houses in the Trondheim area.





Black tulips in Tromso, by the Cathedral




looks like rain dear




Arctic circle in Finland



He ran like the wind

[Gonzo]

I found Gonzo's brewery and the local pilsner is very palatable. The locals love the British, which is nice.

I noticed the other day that I have two small boot-shaped tasting glasses from that brewery, sitting on a shelf, not used in god-knows-how-many years.

Can't wait to hear more about the epic voyage.

[wobbegong]

Parrots?

[EternalOptimist]

Day 5 -travelled to Tromso 395 miles
day 6 - rested most of the day in Tromso
Day 7- drove out exploring to the East
Day 8 - Drove up through the islands to the North
Day 9 - today. we will walk across the Bridge and take the cable car to the top of the mountain opposite


Prices up here are very high. food is x3 UK prices, £58 last night for a take away curry for 2. It costs a hundred quid to go out for a few beers and a kebab. I found Gonzo's brewery and the local pilsner is very palatable. The locals love the British, which is nice.


We did the laundry the day before yesterday. Sounds simple doesnt't it? we did the laundry.

Not up here it isnt. First off, reception said there was no laundrette, but we could get it done in their laundry service. 'great' says I. Is it free ?

er.. no, £13 per kilo. for 10 kg
So I says to Mrs EO 'Is it really worth paying £150 just to get my socks and undies smelling nice ??'
'It's worth £250' she says.

So I googled the hotels in Tromso that had laundry services, found two then tried to bunk in. I got stopped at reception in the first, and got booted out.
In the second I followed loads of corridors then found myself in a chinese laundry with sheets and pillow cases everywhere. so I beat a hasty.
Next plan was to drive to a campsite to bunk in there, but the laundry room doors had security codes. So I went to the camp office and they let me have an hour for £5.
We accidentally stayed a little while over, it took us nearly three hours to get it all washed and dried.


We have a big window in the room. It opens sideways, which is no good if it rains while we are out.
The other morning Mrs EO shouted through to me 'hey the wind opens at the top as well. we can leave it open all day'
Then there was a scream 'HELP HELP'
So I rushed in. The window was completely out of it's frame, and Mrs EO was struggling to hold it up, and trying to stop it falling into the street.
It opens both ways, but the latches on side and bottom should never be undone at the same time. She made me promise never to tell anyone, so I want you to read this, then eat the internet.







This fellow reminds me of someone






Wind skiers in the Ullsfjorden, near the ferry crossing. The wind whistles down between the high peaks, and is funnelled here, making it a perfect spot for these guys






mountains




and fjords

[EternalOptimist]

Does your Bus pass cover the whole of Europe?

This marks the arctic circle, just north of Mo i Rana




my arctic snow - optimist

Note the intricate detail, head, body , arms, belly button


I am off to find that brewery and that consulate.

[DodgyAgent]

Does your Bus pass cover the whole of Europe?

[TimberWolf]

Don't go encouraging him to go chasing the aurora - remember what happened last time someone on here did that?

Once you crossed the border into France you entered the Schengen agreement area and there will be no more border immigration controls until you leave it.


There is a brewery in Tromsø (it is important to distinguish the 'o' from the 'ø' for pronunciation purposes) that when I visited was also home to the British Consulate which I for some reason found quite amusing. Is it still there?

It's the most northerly brewery in the world according to the wiki, and presumably by definition is the edge of civilisation. No auroras visible in summer months also according to the wiki.

[Gonzo]

I hope you get to see the aurora. Didn't see it in Norway probly cos I got deported not long after getting there.

Don't go encouraging him to go chasing the aurora - remember what happened last time someone on here did that?

and talking about immigration (another thread)

in 5 days we have been in
England,France,Belgium,NL,Germany,Denmark,Sweden,N orway

we were asked for our passports once....in the uk, by froggies immigration

Once you crossed the border into France you entered the Schengen agreement area and there will be no more border immigration controls until you leave it.


There is a brewery in Tromsø (it is important to distinguish the 'o' from the 'ø' for pronunciation purposes) that when I visited was also home to the British Consulate which I for some reason found quite amusing. Is it still there?