The colours of the German autumn somehow seem more striking in 2025. We explored using a combination of feet, bus, train and small car—while Toru took a rest following our recent journey into easte…

Although not the focus of our expedition east (as a direct German neighbour, it’s easy to return to the Czech Republic) we did dip in and out of the country several times as dictated by our r…

The High Tatras form part of the border between Poland and Slovakia, and we were keen to see them from the Slovak side, despite the weather turning more autumnal. Aside from delivering fresh alpine…

Our first trip to Poland was aimed at visiting the Wieliczka Salt Mine, a UNESCO World Heritage Site near Kraków. En route we would call at Wrocław, explore some natural attractions and witness the infamous Auschwitz-Birkenau before reaching the High Tatras and crossing into Slovakia. Coordinates Bukowina Kłodzka, Kudowa-Zdrój, Poland Wrocław, Poland Oświęcim, Poland Ojców, Skała, Poland Wieliczka, Poland Kraków, Poland…

Exploring eastern Germany has been long overdue for us. We'd crossed east from the Bavarian Rhön into Thüringen a couple of times, and visited Berlin for a weekend, but for some reason a "wall" remained long after the Cold War had ended and Germany reunified. Time to put that right! On our way to Poland our route took us via the states of Thüringen, Sachsen-Anhalt, Brandenburg and to the "far east" of Sachsen.

We've made a few more local excursions over recent months, mostly to the south and west of Frankfurt, beginning and ending with settlements that were established by the Romans. We learned how a famous Roman emperor—Marcus Aurelius—is influencing politics and ideas about good governance, even today. Coordinates Dachau Römerkastell Saalburg Trier Speyer Darmstadt Dahn Worms Hinterweidenthal Annweiler am Trifels Frankfurt am Main…

We set out on a two-month long road trip through most of the Balkan states, making our way along the Adriatic and across Greece to the Aegean Sea. This log chronicles our return transit through Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), and through Slovenia (we didn't stop in Croatia). Coordinates Velika Planina Višegrad Sarajevo Konjic Jablanica Ravna Jajce Martin Brod Otočec Celje…

We set out on a two-month long road trip through most of the Balkan states, hoping to make our way along the Adriatic and across Greece to the Aegean Sea. This log chronicles our return transit through Serbia. Coordinates Vranje Niš Mokra Gora Mitrovac Bajina Bašta Ram Gamzigrad Jabukovac Kladovo Lepenski Vir Golubac Zatonje Valjevo Eastern Serbia After a night in the vicinity of Vranje and another near Niš either side of a short…

We set out on a two-month long road trip through most of the Balkan states, hoping to make our way along the Adriatic and across Greece to the Aegean Sea. This log chronicles our return transit through Kosovo. Coordinates Prizren Vranje (Serbia) Niš (Serbia) Peć/ Peja Ulpiana Things to know about entering/ leaving Kosovo by van Kosovo is not recognized as an independent country by Serbia (and a few others); Serbia still considers it a Serbian province, which means extra planning is needed for travel between these two erstwhile belligerents.

We set out on a two-month long road trip through most of the Balkan states, hoping to make our way along the Adriatic and across Greece to the Aegean Sea. This log chronicles our return transit through Northern Macedonia. Coordinates Bitola Oteševo Ohrid Mavrovo Lake Matka Kratovo Kokino The southern lakes An easy border crossing from Niki brought us into North Macedonia.

We set out on a two-month long road trip through most of the Balkan states, hoping to make our way along the Adriatic and across Greece to the Aegean Sea. We made it! This log chronicles our time in northern Greece. Coordinates Kleidonia Papigko Vradeto Meteora Chorefto Vergina Pella Vikos-Aoös Geopark We hiked from Kleidonia to Papigko, upstream along Voidomatis River in the UNESCO-endorsed…

We set out on a two-month long road trip through most of the Balkan states, hoping to make our way along the Adriatic and across Greece to the Aegean Sea. This log chronicles our transit of Albania. Coordinates Shkodër Theth Krujë Berat Durrës Çorovodë Gjirokastër Butrint Sarandë Qeparo Dhermi From isolation to integration Albania was considered a closed country for much of the 20th century, especially under the communist regime of Enver Hoxha, who ruled from 1944 until his death in 1985.

We set out on a two-month long road trip through most of the Balkan states, hoping to make our way along the Adriatic and across Greece to the Aegean Sea. This log chronicles our transit of Montenegro. Coordinates Nikšić Zabljak Djurdjevica Tara Bridge Kotor Perast Njeguši Budva Bar Here be mountains We beheld incredible mountain scenery in the no man’s land between Bosnia and Herzegovina near Trebinje and Montenegro's Ilino Brdo Border Crossing (first photo).

We set out on a two-month long road trip through most of the Balkan states, hoping to make our way along the Adriatic and across Greece to the Aegean Sea. This log chronicles our outbound transit of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Coordinates Pocitelj Blagaj Mostar Kravica Waterfall Stolac Zavala Trebinje The Kravica Waterfall is a 25m drop on the Trebižat River. Also a tufa formation like those we had…

We set out on a two-month long road trip through most of the Balkan states, hoping to make our way along the Adriatic and across Greece to the Aegean Sea. This log chronicles our outbound transit of Croatia. Coordinates Pula Labin Plomin Crikvenica Gornji Babin Potok Plitvička Jezera Jasenice Starigrad Paklenica Zadar Skradin Šibenik Krvavica The Roman colony of Pola (now Pula) at the southern tip of the Istrian Peninsula was a strategic naval and commercial hub.

We set out on a two-month long road trip through most of the Balkan states, hoping to make our way along the Adriatic and across Greece to the Aegean Sea. This log chronicles our outbound transit of Slovenia. Coordinates Blejsko jezero Krnica Srednja Vas v Bohinju Ukanc Ig Jamnik Cerknica Škocjan Marezige Piran The Balkan states Geographically the Balkan Peninsula fully includes Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Montenegro and North Macedonia.

Continuing our exploration of Provence (see first log here), in this mission log we document our travels in northern Vaucluse, a visit to Avignon, pink flamingo spotting in the Camargue, the Alpilles/ Arles, eastern Occitanie and our journey home. We found nature and history (Roman and medieval) in good measure, and conclude with a synopsis of road trip essentials.

Spring in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur sounded appealing. We decided to head south, avoiding the toll roads and icy passes of Switzerland to transit through the Alsace and Jura, skirting the French Alps into Provence. This is the first of two mission logs documenting what we experienced. Coordinates Strasbourg Arc-et-Senans Morestel Saint-Martin-de-la-Cluze Clelles Sisteron Digne-les-Bains La Robine-sur-Galabre Castellane Cucuron Esclangon Riez La Ciotat…

The winter in Frankfurt has been cold but thankfully, not especially wet. We continued to familiarise ourselves with our urban environment via local walks and museums, while our van Toru has sat mostly idle. Coordinates Bad Homburg vor der Höhe Bergen-Enkheim Bad Vilbel Heddernheim Rödelheim Höchst Completing the GrünGürtel Another leg of Frankfurter GrünGürtel took us from Bergen to Bad Vilbel.

Does the fabled "spontaneity" of access to a camper van mean you can simply drive off and hope for the best? Here we recap what you might wish to know about driving, owning, preparing and loading a German camper van in the context of using it to explore Europe. We've been refining our checklists as we plan more away missions for 2025.

A four hour flight from Frankfurt, Cyprus was close enough—and in winter, hopefully warm enough—to do some walking. We booked on a group tour that promised a mix of nature, ancient city, walled city and "ghost" town. Larnaca Kyrenia Kantara Castle Famagusta Akdeniz Nicosia Bellapais Division The Mediterranean island of Cyprus came into view as we descended into Larnaca (first photo).

Frankfurt is very much an inland city and we were feeling somewhat deprived of the beach time we had enjoyed during our 18 month tour of New Zealand. What's more, the shrieks of crows and coos of pigeons weren't capturing the variety of birdlife we had come to appreciate in NZ. The North Sea coast would offer us both beach and birds: we needed a mid-winter adventure!

We’ve had the joy of having good friends visiting us from Australia these last few weeks. Timed to coincide with the Christmas markets, their visit was also incentive for us to get out and se…

In a previous log, A wander through Frankfurt’s past, we introduced Frankfurt’s Altstadt and Innenstadt architecture. Having explained the city’s three-ring layout it seemed only natura…

In early 2020, just before the Covid pandemic broke on the world, we visited Morocco on a small group tour. Beginning and ending in Marrakech, we made a loop between several Islamic imperial cities…