It’s that time of year again where we all say the same thing, “where did the last year go?”, but really where did it go? It seems as though every year is getting shorter and mixing into one another or maybe having turned thirty this year we are just getting old! With a new year beginning and all the exciting adventures yet to come, here’s us looking back on 2024 and reflecting on all we did.
Beginning the year in Italy
We started the 2024 new year in Italy and spent several weeks exploring parts of the country we had missed on our previous trips to Italy that kept us further north. Spending time in Sicily in January was a great way to start the year and we were fortunate to have good weather, blue skies, and a golden sun with warmth to it. Exploring Sicily in our little van gave us a unique view of the island compared to the millions of holiday makers that settle into many of the beautiful resorts provided by the island. We were able to travel freely from vista to vista and take it all in on our own time. Even stepping away from the coast and the many tourist attractions it has to offer we made our way up the mountains and witnessed scenes of local life and panoramic views.
Heading out of Sicily we ventured further north, taking a scenic drive through the famous Amalfi coast and made our way up to Naples. Here we spent the night exploring this animated and lively city where we of course stopped for a pizza. The city was buzzing with life that infected us with its energy making it difficult to say goodbye. This would be our last big stop stop in Italy as we made our way through the rolling green tuscan hills and further north. If you want to hear more about our time in Italy stay tuned, another blog is on its way detailing our adventures in this cultural, romantic and remarkable country.
Minus 13 C in Slovenia
Heading out of Italy to the north-east we entered Slovenia, a country we were really looking forward to exploring. With its various lakes, caves, castles and hikes galore it’s an explorers dream. Being in our van however it wasn’t as easy as we had first hoped. Traveling with such a small budget we always opt for wild camping or free camping some might call it, meaning we don’t stay in campsites or designated paid areas for camper vans. In most countries this is not an issue, even if it’s technically against the law, often a blind eye is turned as long as you’re causing no trouble and we have never had any issues with this. Slovenia however was different as it was much stricter, with stories of large fines and knocks on the door in the middle of the night we decided it wasn’t worth the risk. With campsites costing €30-€40 a night it certainly wasn’t feasible for us to stick around.
We did at least get the chance to visit Piran, a vibrant seaside city with stunning venetian architecture. We also spent the night in the capital city Ljublijana, where the snow was a foot deep and temperatures plummeted to -13 degrees Celsius. Wrapping up warm we walked into the city, along the Ljublijanica river lined with, bistros, bars and cafes. Night had fallen and the glistening glow of the restaurant lights danced on the surface of the river and warmed the fluffy white snow. Searching for some traditional food to warm our bodies and our souls we found a popular restaurant to rest our weary legs. Waking up the next day our boots were frozen solid and there was ice on the inside if the van. It’s time to leave. With no waiting around, we started the engine and set out for fairer weather.
Visegrad Castle Hungary
Driving for several ours to get as far from the snow as we could we passed through into Hungary and settled by a large frozen lake. Yes it was till cold, we were in Hungary in January but at least it wasn’t -13 and snowing! We did’t stay long in Hungary this time, just using it to transit down into Serbia. We did however get the chance to visit a couple of cathedrals, a floating village and Visegrad castle, a 13th century citadel with centuries of history. Let us know if you want to hear more about our time in Hungary back in 2023, visiting the capital Budapest, finding quaint little towns, eating traditional food and embarking on wonderful hikes.
Catching up with friends in Serbia
It was also not our first time in Serbia, it is a country we have grown to love very much and we have made friends there that we will cherish and will always want to go back and visit. Though we had already travelled a great deal of Serbia it wasn’t difficult to find many more places of wonder to amuse ourselves. The picturesque countryside offering varying landscapes gave us barbecues on mountain tops, peaceful stays in wooded national parks and wide open expanses of green as far as the eye can see. Visiting Novi Sad for the first time we stayed the night in the fortress walls and watched the sun set over the city, illuminating it with a golden hew before the inky sky took hold.
Now its mid February and we are heading further south to Belgrade to see our friend who fortunately for us is also a mechanic specialising in Ford. If you are ever in the area and need work done on your vehicle we would highly recommend Boris; honest, reliable, great value for money and all in all a great guy, get in touch for more details. Solero had a little work done and as always Boris very much looked after us and made sure the van was in great shape. Only staying two days, we had -what has now become a tradition- a farewell bbq with friends and left the next day and spent a few days travelling North once again.
Romanian Alps, bears and seeing friends
Crossing the border from Serbia into Romania over the Danube river we passed the sculpture of Decebalus, the face of the last Dacian king carved into the rock face overlooking Serbia from the Romanian side of the Danube.
Being our second time in Romania, we avoided the capitol Bucharest on this occasion and headed deeper into the wilderness of the Transylvanian Alps. Finding our selves on the Transalpina located in Parang Mountains, this long, steep and winding road takes you through dramatic scenes in the mountains. The higher we went the snowier it got and sadly our journey was cut short due to road closures. This did however bring us back down the mountains to find Transfăgărășan, a highway in the Carpathian Mountains and on our way down we saw a few bears crossing the road! Two of them even stopped to say hello and were very interested in our fiery orange van as it paused and watched them. It was our first time seeing bears out in their natural habitat and it left us feeling quite awe struck.
With that wonderful experience we ventured on to our friends home in Romania, that’s always a must stop for the night to say hello. A feast was prepared for us and though there was a language barrier we ate, drank and danced together before journeying on.
Hiking in Slovakia
Slovakia was all about the hikes for us, it was our first time in this beautiful country and we were stunned by its beauty from valleys to waterfalls and mountains to forests, they had it all.
We hiked almost daily both long and short, loving the facilities that were provided on these hikes and the splendour that awaited us as we entered the forests. With long crooked wooden bridges winding their way alongside the jagged rock face and accompanying streams and rivers as they flow endlessly. We scaled steep metal stairways and ladders pinned into the cliff side as the waterfalls cascaded beside us creating a veil of water you could almost reach out and grab. Being scared of heights I found these the most difficult but even though my knees were weak, my hands were gripping tightly to what ever I could, holding my breath I slowly made way one step at a time and stood proud at the top. Relieved but proud. Impressive scenes unfolded before our eyes as we trekked deeper using tree roots as staircases to ascend higher into the mountains and gaze at the valley below us. That sweet feeling of reaching the summit and enjoying the profound views before starting the decent back into the wilderness.
Krakov Easter markets and Ojcow National Park
Continuing our journey into Poland we could only skim across the southern west side, though we very much wanted dive deeper into the heart of the country and beyond, we sadly just didn’t have the time. Our first stop being Krakov, we enjoyed a walking tour and mulling around the old town where we were just in time for their Easter market.
Only ever staying one night in any city we moved on swiftly to hike in the Ojcow National Park. What was going to be a gentle 3 hours hike in the foot of the valley turned into a 5 our trek in rain and hail stones, and scaling mountain sides. We were, cold, wet and tired but will always look back with fond memories and laugh.
Looking for something a little less taxing we visited Ksiaz castle, a glorious 13th century castle with a turbulent history and a mysterious past. Under the once Nazi occupied castle we explored parts of the 3000 square meters of tunnels built by prisoners between 1943-1944. There are many theories of why the tunnels were built, from The Golden Train to a prison to where they tested nuclear weapons, but to this day nobody knows for sure. On our way out of Poland we of course stopped at the famous Stalag Luft 3, where an important slice of war history ‘The Great Escape’ occurred. Hidden in the woods, a strange sense of sadness, patriotism and respect fell upon us as we walked the 111 yards those 76 men crawled to escape.
Czechia = Beer
Beer, beer, beer. Leaving Poland for Czechia and heading straight for Prague, Will took advantage of being in the country that drinks the most beer in the world (per capita). Wanting to take part in local traditions he took it upon himself to try as many beers as he could. Spending our evening hopping from bar to bar he was open and accepting of a culture that welcomed him so warmly with a beer in hand. The Vltava river running through the city offers many delights one of which is a brewery on a boat. Stepping on board and enjoying more beers, it was the boat swaying not him, honest.
Departing from city life once again we went in search of the calm embrace of nature and weren’t disappointed in Jetrioviche, otherwise known as Czech Switzerland. A hike here was a must, finding ourselves in narrow passageways ascending the cliff face enveloped in its walls with aid of a rickety and steep staircase before opening up to the mountain top. With that as our final good-bye for Czechia, we crossed borders into Germany.
Dresden, Berlin, Bremen and family in Trier
We love Germany, with it being such a large country it has so much to offer. On this journey we passed through Dresden, a cultural wonder, resting on the Elbe river with its baroque architecture it’s home to the first German chocolate factory. Berlin, not just any capital city, but a world famous hub of rich culture. Luneburg, with it’s towering and colourful medieval and gothic-style buildings a vibrant city presiding on the Llmenau river.
We met friends in Bremen seeing the ‘Town Musicians of Bremen’ statue and the famous market place and viewed we Cologne Cathedral all before meeting family in the Trier-Saarburg district. Berlin was a huge highlight for us both, Will having been when he was just a teenager on a school trip and myself having never been we were both very excited to explore it together. We did a three and half hour walking tour which gave us a real in-depth insight into the history of this magnificent city. Pausing at what is left of the Berlin Wall we took a moment to reflect on the sad history that befell this city. Berlin is somewhere we would both very much like to visit again and take time to get to know the city better.
Back to the UK to work ready for our next adventure
Now that we have made our way back to the UK and visited a total of 11 countries in just four and a half months its time to get back to work and earn money for our next Wonderfully Wild Adventure. Jumping straight back into work, we are both very lucky to have jobs to go back to when living in the UK. We spent the next eight months working and saving money, getting ourselves and our van prepared to travel to South America for our Trans-American journey.
Using the time we had to reconnect with friends and family strewn across the country, most our weekends were fully booked months in advance with plans of catching up with pals and family. Which was made a little easier when in September Will and I turned thirty just 1 week apart, so we organised a great party with friends and family coming from near and far to celebrate with us. There is more to come on our preparations for South America but don’t be shy to ask any questions.
South America here we come!
So its coming to the end of another year and a new one is soon to begin. At the end of October we took the plunge and shipped Solero to Montevideo, then in mid December we flew 24 hours and collected our little home on wheels from the dock.
Over the next couple weeks we travelled up the Uruguayan coast stopping at Punta Del Este, a city resting on the Atlantic coast being dubbed ‘the Monaco of the South’ it is a popular holiday destination for North and South Americans alike. Continuing up the coast to the picturesque fishing town Punta Del Diablo, the streets lined with vendors selling hand made crafts and food stalls with aromas spilling out on to the sand track roads. We stopped here for a local delicacy Buñuelos de Alga, otherwise known as deep fried battered seaweed. Sitting on a bench in the shade overlooking the sea front and the beach goers we enjoyed this salty snack and washed it down with a refreshing Guarana.
Most days from there on in have been spent by a body of water, whether it be the sea, a lake or a river, our days were spent swimming, cooking and working. Now we find ourselves further inland in the beautifully green countryside, with ravines hiding lakes and waterfalls. For now we are slowly making our way on the dirt tracks through the rolling hills taking one day at a time.
Concluding year 2024
That’s all any of us can do really, take one day at a time, life is full of adventures and achievements big and small. Sometimes its about finding the unordinary in the ordinary and taking the little wins. Other times it’s about diving into something new even if you are unsure of the outcome and taking it one step at a time. You never know what could happen, you might find a Wonderfully Wild Adventure of your own. One thing this last year really has shown us is to cherish the ones you love, whether it be in person or for us on the road, sending messages and keeping in touch on the phone. Life is short. For now though, Happy New Year, we both wish you happiness, health and adventures for this year and all the rest to come.
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