EmmJays Travel Journal

September 1968

This is my second trip to the continent of Europe in 1968. I had been here in May and June of this year and here I am back in September. Travelling once more with a different group of friends we drove from Belgium to Cologne and reached our campsite quite late. As it was cold, the campsite owner allowed us all to sleep in the camp's loft.

Cologne, Germany

Cologne, like other large cities in Germany is extremely beautiful. Standing majestically over the city is Cologne Cathedral which took 637 years to complete and is supposed to have the 2 highest spires in the world. The main shopping area was brilliantly designed. No cars allowed anywhere near the shops and the paths are as wide as a main street. This city can boast that it has very friendly people. The one big draw back is that everything was so expensive. A great place for window shopping and meeting people.

We also spent a day in Frankfurt and another in Munich. The drive took us on the autobahn, so not much to see other than cars and trucks. This was very interesting to the guys. Not to me! On reaching these 2 cities we just walked around and soaked up the atmosphere. It wasn't October-fest yet, but the beer flowed freely anyway.

Munich, Germany to Salzburg, Austria took us through some breath-taking scenery. At times it was obscured by ground fog, especially in the morning. We reached the Austrian border around 9pm in pouring rain.

Salzburg, Austria

Found the campsite, got a good nights sleep and then piled into our van the next morning.

Salzburg can be described as quaint. Many of the streets were really not wide enough for a car, but drivers did manage to negotiate them. We parked and decided to go on foot for a while. Over cobblestones we walked. One led us to Mozart's birthplace. There was a small statue in the square in his honour and memory. We did see some people in national costume, but we were not sure what that was all about. The girls wore coloured flared skirts covered by neatly starched aprons tied at the waist. The men wore short green or grey trousers with floral braces and long sleeved shirts. They had long socks and a hat with a feather.

The people were not too chatty.

Vienna, Austria

Vienna is very much like Salzburg though the streets are wider and the shops larger. We reached Vienna in brilliant sunshine and by the late afternoon it was pouring with rain. Despite the weather we trooped into town to have a look around. We used the Opera House as a base and went on foot from there. We spent an entire 2 days just walking around. Salzburg is known as the home of Mozart and Vienna is the home of Strauss. There was a small statue in a lovely small park in the heart of the city in his memory.

St. Stephan's Cathedral was somewhat hidden but it had the most beautiful stained glass windows. The most outstanding place was Schonbrunn Palace. Expansive grounds and situated on a hill overlooking Vienna. No matter where you stood you got a fantastic view of the city. Flowers of all colours arranged in patterns and lush green grass accented the grounds. Another hill rising not far from the palace had a lookout at its summit. It was surrounded by marble columns and had a marble floor and a religious mosaic on the ceiling. From the hill the grounds were covered in rich vegetation, beautiful trees, shrubs and flowers. Pagodas and a greenhouses were amongst the trees. I spent a good 5 hours walking through this paradise.

One evening we decided to drive through the woods around Vienna. Winding roads a cobbled streets lead us to the Grinzig Wine Keller. We found many of these in the woods and we checked them all out. The grapes are local and the wines were fruity. It was very expensive. When it was time to leave we found a fish and chip shop hidden in the woods. This had to be a mirage! The mirage tasted very good.

The mountains here didn't seem as rugged as those we saw in Switzerland. They seemed more gentle and as it was autumn they were primarily covered in grass. Just a few days here in Vienna and it was time to get ready to leave for Hungary. As our next border crossing was going to be to a communist country we wanted to give ourselves ample time as we were sure it would take a long time at the checkpoint.

Austria to Hungary

As the mountains turned into hills we recognised the collective farm system of cultivation becoming more prominent in the distance. Colourful clothes or modern farm equipment could no longer be seen. We reached the border and the guards were not at all welcoming. After making us dump a bull's skull from the grill of the van back onto Austrian soil we were allowed to cross into Hungary.

In contrast to Russia from an earlier trip this year, the locals did not stare at us as much. We did get a chance to stop along the way and look into some shops which had both local and imported goods. All the imports were extremely expensive, but cheaper than those in Russia. The people were friendly and eager to help us. Those who spoke English indicated that they had little respect for the government. The appearance of 'things' were depressing and gloomy but the people were fun loving. They created a completely different atmosphere than the surroundings.

Budapest, Hungary

The shopping in Budapest is fun. They have western currency shops as do all the east block countries. They prefer that visitors spend big here and small in the local stores. Locals are not allowed to shop in the western currency stores. These western currency shops sell good quality goods at reasonable prices, some even lower that in the west. If you avoid the touristy stuff there are some Hungarian crafts that are quite beautiful and well made.

The city is enormous and posses quite a bit of colour. We travelled along the waters of the Blue Danube and onto the houses of parliament where previously a revolution changed this country to its current state. The parliament building is impressive and has a garden around it.

Budapest is at its best at night. Night shopping is fun and the streets come to life. There is a beautiful fountain in the city which is lit by colourful spotlights. Public transit is free and the buses have 'pups' which make them particularly long. We joined the locals on the buses and enjoyed it tremendously.

Hungary to Romania

We left our campsite the next day and headed for Romania. Once again the terrain turned to mountains. Lush grasslands everywhere. We passed a lot of gypsies camped in the hills. We stopped quite often and they would come over and beg for money. Actually it was beyond begging, they moaned and tugged at your clothes. As we were all on a tight budget, we had only enough to cover expenses and buy a few small items along the way. We offered them some of the local money but they did not want it (neither did we). We gave them some UK shillings and they were delighted. Then we had to get out of there before all their relatives showed up.

Most of the peasants in the fields looked very poor. They used donkeys to transport themselves and their farm produce. On the roads we saw donkeys, horses, bikes and very old cars. The older people looked older than their age and some of the children we saw looked as though they had polio. Their leg braces were antiques. It was heartbreaking.

Romania is extremely scenic. There was never a dull moment. We crossed the Transylvania Alps in brilliant sunshine. It was a lovely warm day and the scenery was superb as we headed for our campsite. Our destination was Cluj, the supposed birthplace of Dracula and his mob. Everyone was telling Count Dracula (Bella Lugosi type) stories along the way.

We drove into Cluj late at night and we were still frightening the hell out of each other. We camped in the Alps amongst the trees and just as we finished pitching the tents there was a thunderstorm. Suddenly there was a tremendous clap of thunder and a bright blue/white flash of lightening followed by pouring rain. Through the trees and sheets of rain someone noticed a person in a cape and the guys suggested that the girls go and find out who it was. The stranger approached us ... it wasn't Dracula, it was a camp official checking on us. It was hard to sleep that night. Some even moved out of their tents and slept in the van.

Just walking around the camp we encountered gypsies once again and later came across a small village. We hadn't intended to check out any cities in Romania, this was to be purely a countryside trip. The rain stopped in the morning and we packed up and headed out again.

Romania to Bulgaria

The scenery once more was out of this world. Rugged and wild. When we stopped for lunch some locals came over to talk to us. They were very friendly and curious. They knew a lot more about the west than the Russians did. In comparison, they understood the propaganda and were able to separate it from reality. We too learned that we had some propaganda to overcome ourselves. The skies were beginning to cloud over again and we got rained on again. It obscured the scenery and everything become grey and muddy. We set up camp.

The next day we stopped to buy bread in a small village. Locals surrounded us and asked if they could buy our clothes. Gypsies came over again begging for money but this time we had to leave as it was getting a little too out of hand.

Bucharest, Romania

On reaching Bucharest we camped 5 miles outside the town at Baneasa. We were right by the international airport and there was a lot of Russian planes on the tarmac. The campground itself was quite nice. Directly opposite there was a restaurant which we did not waste much time in investigating. Peacocks strutted around the campground at night and the following morning we saw two of them on top of the restaurant. During the night some locals broke into the campsite, but fortunately nothing was taken.

We had a good look around Bucharest. It was a lovely sunny day. We came back to the camp in the late afternoon and got the washing done. The following day we got in the van and took to the roads around Bucharest. The roads themselves were in very poor condition, so much so that on several occasions we were convinced that we had a flat tire. They were also badly posted.

Bulgaria to Turkey

After hours and hours of driving around we realized that we were lost. We got a good look at Bulgaria but we really wanted to be on the road to Turkey. Finally we found the right road and we were on our way. We stopped on the side of the road to eat and ended up in a mad apple picking spree.

After eating peanut butter sandwiches and munching on apples we were on our way again. Not too far from the Turk border we came across a beautiful Spanish type village called Tonono. It included a castle which overlooked the houses in the village below. We were told that it was originally the capital city of either Turkey or Bulgaria until it was invaded and overtaken. For centuries borders have been redefined in this part of the world. Depends who wins the last round.

The roads got worse and worse, crumbling and littered with huge holes. Some roads had no signs at all. At times it was just a matter of making a choice, be it right or wrong . This lead to a lot of u-turns and back tracking. Consequently we reached the border at 11:50pm, way off our schedule.

Edirne, Turkey

The campground was in Edirne, not far from the border and it was super. There were free hot showers and loo paper in the toilets (anyone who has camped will appreciate the loo paper comment). Bats flew around the camp at night which I thought was great as I had never seen bats before. They were hunting for insects, providing us humans a beneficial service.

It was hot. In the morning we got into the van and drove on a very smooth well serviced road. Flowers everywhere and lots of colour in the buses, cars, houses, buildings and the clothing worn by the locals. I had the preconceived idea that Turkey would be medieval. So much for my naivety. It was modern and one big surprise, a lot of the cars were Australian made. We spent 5 days there and it was too short. I could have spent a month there. We swam in the Marmara Sea one day, spending the whole day at the beach. It was glorious.

Istanbul, Turkey

Outside Istanbul between our campsite and the city there were sheep, oxen, dogs, goats, cattle and donkeys everywhere. This is primarily a Muslim country and their dress is modest. Walking along the side of the road we came across a woman dressed completely in black. She wore a burka and only one eye was visible. In the fields, the women worked all day and the men sat around in the shade all day talking to each other.

Istanbul is too fantastic for words. Once again our campsite was fantastic and the loos were western, not the hole in the ground, stinky ones that we had become used to in the communist countries. Four out of our five days in Turkey were in Istanbul. We headed to the bazaar. Lots of small stalls and some larger shops with a lot of leather goods, and some leather clothes tailored to fit. I was measured for a ¾ length leather coat and was told it would be ready the next day. It cost 12 pound sterling and it was a soft supple leather and fully lined. I was astounded.

The old bazaar consisted mostly of brass and silverware. You were expected to bargain, which is not something I knew how to do. Kids usually latched themselves to you and for a few coins they would take you where you wanted to go and would help you with the bargaining process. I am sure this had all been prearranged with the shop owners but as the prices were so reasonable I was not bothered by it at all. The kids were cute and very well mannered. The shop owners gave us hot sweet tea as their wares were presented to us. We told the kids that we were camping and that a full sized Persian rug was out of the question ... they laughed and said they understood. They really did understand and they took us to stores where we could browse and buy small items.

There were beggars, both young and old. A lot of physical deformities and health issues were obvious. We were not swarmed like we were in Romania. I guess Islam has its rules on this and it appeared that the beggars were getting some coin from the merchants. It seemed that all the men smoked, especially those strong Turkish cigarettes. I did not see any women smoking. Maybe they were allowed to, but not in public.

In the Latin quarter there were discos. One evening we went to one. We saw a lot of night clubs and they had belly dancers and strippers. Turkey is a secular nation so even though Islam frowns upon this type of entertainment, the state protects the rights of the non Muslim.

Food was pretty cheap and very good. We ate locally and there was both meat and vegetables offered everywhere. The fruit was all local and it too was cheap and delicious, not like the cold, half ripen, tasteless fruit that we get in our supermarkets. Of course I had some Turkish Delight.

One night while we were in the campground we were told that we had to be aware that there had been earthquakes in the area and that we needed to be aware of what we should do if one were to hit. We were informed of all the emergency procedures. Fortunately nothing happened.

I had a blister on my foot from my sandals, so I walked around barefoot and managed to get it infected. Two days later it was very sore.

On the last day of our stay in Istanbul we took a ferry from the harbour to the Princess Islands. Others took a day trip via the Black Sea Straights to Gallipoli. In WWII many Australian and New Zealand troops lost their lives in battle with the Germans at Gallipoli. The Princess Islands are officially Asia, not Europe. It took one and a half hours to get there and the beach was our destination. There was no sand, just cobblestone type rocks and the water was crystal clear. We spent the entire day there. On the way back we asked which ferry would take us back to Istanbul and ended up being directed to a ferry that took us to another island in the Mediterranean Sea. According to the Turkish official we were in the wrong and had to purchase 'punishment' tickets. Having now safely reached Istanbul we braved a local bus to the bazaar and found a mini-bus that went to our campground. The local men do not use deodorant and in the heat of the day you can only image the situation we found ourselves in. It was suffocating.

We spent an extra day in Istanbul as some of our friends were waiting for tickets to go to Israel by ferry. A war between Israel and Egypt had began and was getting serious, so the tickets had been delayed. We made the best of the extra day by visiting some mosques. The Blue Mosque was beautiful. Women and men are separated for prayer. We had to wash our face, hands and feet before entering. Our shoes were removed and we had to wear blue capes before we were allowed inside. We watched the Muslims in prayer and we walked around inside this gorgeous structure. It was amazing and we were very thankful to the believers for allowing us into this very holy site.

Turkey to Greece

We left Istanbul at 2pm that afternoon and reached the border with Greece in torrential rain and freezing cold wind. We drove to Thermopoli where we camped that night. This was a huge stroke of luck for me as at the campground which was at the foot of a mountain and had hot springs and a sulphur pit. I stuck my foot with the big old blister on it, now an open sore, into the hot spring then I headed for the sulphur pit. Now this place would clear any body's sinuses. My toe healed in one day.

The Thermopoli Pass was a crucial point during the war between the Persians and the Greeks many ions ago. The story is that only 7 Greeks held the pass over thousands of Persians until a traitor gave them away and they were all killed. We made an early start the next day as we were headed for the seaside resort of Kavalla. On the way we stopped at the base of Mount Olympus for lunch. Kavalla had small white house clustered around a yellow sand beach. There were hotels, touristy shops, and cafes. Very resort like. We stopped to change money and have a quick look around and then we were on the road headed for Athens. It was a hilly and picturesque drive.

Athens, Greece

Reaching Athens came as quite a surprise ... we were in it before we realized it. In the distance we could see the Acropolis. That evening we enjoyed the wine festival. For a small fee we got to sample a lot of wine and we had a fantastic time. We ended up dancing to popular music in the parking lot.

The first thing we wanted to do the next day was visit the acropolis. Hot sun and a clear day greeted us and we were not disappointed. A fabulous view of Athens from the hilltop. Even though the Turks tried to blow it up a few times it still had a lot of character. We walked all over the Parthenon, then down an enormous corridor of columns to the Royal Theatre. I sat down and just tried to image all the bums that had been there before mine. So much history.

After visiting the Royal Palace of the exiled King Constantine we had a lunch of chicken and melon in the Royal gardens opposite the palace. Greece was in the throws of an election. There was a lot of people dissatisfied with the current government, seen by most as a dictatorship, and this did not go down well in a country that prided itself on being the birthplace of democracy.

At night the Acropolis was lit up and the view from the hill was breathtaking. It was a superb night, clear and warm with a slight breeze that ruffled our clothes. We made plans that night to see some of the Greek Islands. I wanted to see Mikanos but we all decided that we should go to Agina and Poros.

We left at 8am the next morning for the islands and I shall never regret having agreed to see these islands. They were so beautiful and we did not leave them until 1am the next morning. We went swimming on Agina for most of the day. The water was warm and crystal clear. We explored Agina after that then moved on over to Poros. Poros was quite a distance from Agina by ferry. We passed many islands on the way. We had a lovely meal when we got there and then we were off exploring. We did some serious shopping and when it was time to leave to go back to Athens it was hard to convince ourselves that we had to leave.

Back in Athens we spent the following day at the market. I have never seen fish markets like these. Enormous! We looked for an American Express office to change money but they were closed so we spent another day in Athens...there was no complaining about this decision. We found a small restaurant in one of the small back streets and enjoyed ourselves there. So much fun.

Greece to Yugoslavia

In the van once more we said our goodbyes to Athens and headed for Zagreb, Yugoslavia. Just outside Thesalonika we were involved in a traffic accident. A truck in front of us dropped his spare wheel onto the highway right in front of us and we hit it. This caused us to lose control and we hit a small car which rolled over on its side. Two people got out unhurt and the truck was nowhere to be seen. In Greece it is standard form to remove the drivers from the scene of an accident and take them to the police station. As none of us were hurt they just left there by the side of the road...our vehicle disabled and it was night time. We camped on the side of the road. In the morning we found out that we were camped on a construction site. Also, there were sheep all around the van.

The Greek authorities finally figured out what had actually happened and returned John, our driver to us. There was a wheel alignment shop in Thesalonika that could fix our broken axle and steering rod, which was bent like a boomerang. The shop took the van in and we ended up in the town. It took a full day to fix the van so we wondered around the shops and moved our camp to the beach for the night.

Crossing in Yugoslavia presented absolutely no problem at all, even though we were now back behind the iron curtain. The scenery changed from gentle rolling grass covered hills to rugged brown grey mountains. There were steep cliffs and swiftly flowing streams and rivers. We stopped for lunch in the mountains.

Belgrade, Yugoslavia

The city looked very western compared to many of the other east block countries. There was a lot more product choice and there was even a splattering of advertising. As we had lost so much time on the way to Belgrade we had to cut our visit short and drive onto Zagreb. It was a long drive through mainly agricultural lands. The fan belt broke in the van and we did not have a replacement and we did not know where we could buy one. We limped along with a very overheated radiator. Zagreb came and went as we were now headed for the west so we could get the van repaired.

Yugoslavia to Italy

We crossed into Italy at 10pm. It was cold and raining. We camped on a hill overlooking Trieste.

Trieste, Italy

We spent the whole day in Trieste while our van was being repaired. A surprise for me is that a good many of the Italians in northern Italy have blond hair and blue eyes. The weather soon cleared and we left Trieste in the late afternoon headed for Venice. We took a very direct route... the autostrada all the way. We had to make up time. September was coming to a close and we had another month of travel ahead of us.