We're off on the Road to . .

Well, hello there.  Long time since we last met here, isn't it.

Well, we are off again.
we have decided to take a quick trip back to Europe - leaving Saturday 29 July and arriving home on 9 September 2017.
We all know that I love to travel in a very organic, unplanned sort of way, responding to local stimuli as we meet them BUT with only six weeks, this time we are needing to plan, plan, plan to make the most of our time.

Itinerary to date is as follows: 

• 29 July - Hervey Bay to Sydney Meet Donna for dinner 
• 30 July - Sydney to Bangkok 8hrs layover - transit tour with a private guide arranged
• 31 July - Bangkok to Munich Pick up hire car and drive to Steffi and Felix in Schwaebisch Gmeund!!!! A week with the family and our little 'grandies' - WHAT A JOY (Yiayia and Papou are bringing pressies!!)
• 6 August - drive back to Munich, return the hire car and then fly to Cluj-Napoca in Romania where we pick up another hire car.  And this is where it gets very interesting - we have a mere 14 days to cram as much of this fascinating country, its people, its food and wines, its scenery - as we can.
  
  Check out www.romaniatourism.com/sample-itineraries.html to get some idea of how big a challenge cramming this gorgeous country in to two weeks will be!
  High on the list of priorities are:
  Bram Castle (Dracula's Castle - though there was no such person and the story has nothing to do with this castle) and the more stunning Corvan Castle
  
  Postavarl Peak cable car
  Sibiu and Sighisoara
  Catching up with Lorena (Romania's top wine maker) and Diana - who we met in France in 2009
  The Painted Monasteries - Bucovina, Voronet, Moldovita and Humor
  Brasov
  Transylvania
  The Art ZNouveau architecture of Oradea
  The traditional villages of the Maramures
  The Carpathian Mountains
  The amazing road into and along the valley -> world's best road trip according to Top Gear. The Transfagarasan mountain road is one of the most spectacular roads in the world. 90 km long, it runs through the Fagaras mountains - part of the Transylvanian Alps.
  

  

  Transfagarasan Road

• 19 August - fly Cluj back to Munich, pick up another hire car and return to Schwaebisch Gmeund
• 25 August - drive to Nettatal for Anne and Steve's wedding weekend
• 27 August - over to Hamburg to visit Inga and Markus, Finn and the very new Lena
• 29 August - drive back to Schwaebisch Gmeund and the family Lippold
• 6 September - return flight to Australia via Bangkok (2hr stopover this time)

We'll see you here during the trip!