What follows are extracts from a diary we kept during our travels in mainland Europe by motorhome, bicycle and sometimes motorbike in the years since we early-retired in 1995.

1 September   BRASOV to BACAU/ROMAN, Romania   OMV Service Station   124 miles

From Transylvania into Rural Moldova

A late start, waiting for the downpour to stop, but by noon we were round the Brasov Ring Road and heading north-east on E74 towards Bacau and Suceava. Near Ozun, after 24 miles, we stopped for lunch and diesel (credit cards accepted, they even had a new Chip & PIN machine).

We passed many people, pitiably young or old, selling produce at the roadsides by the fields where pickers worked – spuds, cabbages, onions. A few stalls sold hollow tube-shaped pastries, baked round wooden rolling pins over hot coals, then dipped in coconut or cocoa powder. We'd tried these in Hungary, as well as at Bran – tasty and filling. The villages had Hungarian subtitles to their names and signs, confirming their ethnic origin.

After Tirgu Secuiesc the road climbed to the Oitur Pass at 2,850 ft, the border between Transylvania and Moldova. On the way up and down, ragged children tried to sell pots of blackberries. We felt sad for them – no tourist would stop and no local would pay for something they could pick themselves. The wonderful bucolic scenery was a delight, though. Vines grew round every house and verandah. There were apple and pear trees, geese, ducks, hens, horse and bullock carts – long ones to carry tree trunk logs and shorter ones piled high with haystacks. We even saw carts drawn by a pair of the dainty alpine milk-cows.

After the busy town of Onesti we climbed a lower pass at 1,594 ft, 12 miles before Bacau, a pleasanter city with less of the horrendous blocks of flats. There was no campsite or TIR-Park to be found, so we continued on E85 towards Roman, stopping for the night behind a filling station. The friendly manager would not accept any money, so we bought more diesel from him.

2 September   ROMAN to DRAGOMIR MONASTERY, Nr SUCEAVA, Romania   €6.00   100 miles

To Suceava in Southern Bucovina - the Region of Painted Churches and Monasteries

After 20 miles we drove through Roman, another pleasant city where the flats looked refurbished. In the villages along our route, women were making and selling handleless brooms at the roadside. Later, among the orchards, apples and pears were sold. The quaint wooden wells, still in use, had ornately carved roofs, sometimes covering seats round the well.

Suceava was busier, the driving aggressive, and we lunched in the car park at Metro cash & carry, where we bought fresh bread. In the city traffic, missing a sign for Siret, we took the Dorohoi road which crossed the river on a more easterly bridge, losing the E85. After regaining it, we stopped at a petrol station to ask directions to Camping Strand (supposedly on the River Suceava between the 2 railway stations and described by our Lonely Planet guide as 'filthy'). Luckily, we didn't find it! A lovely customer at the filling station insisted on leading us, in his car, for 5 miles north up the road, beyond his own home, to the Dragomir Monastery.

Here by the car park is a tiny campsite, with cabins in the woods and a café/bar. The kind woman pointed out an (unearthed) socket fixed on a tree, accepted a few Euros and we had a safe place for the night.

We walked over the road to visit the Monastery, built in 1609 and recently restored to house Orthodox nuns. Its grounds had substantial defensive walls, added in 1620 when Northern Moldavia was threatened by Turkish invaders. All was tranquil in the church and rose gardens until we heard an amazingly rhythmical beating to announce evening service, performed by a nun rapping a board with a wooden hammer as she circled the church. We've seen this before, in Greece's Meteora Monasteries, and heard various explanations. It may represent Noah summoning the animals to the wooden Ark (?), or hammering the nails into Christ's cross, or (our preferred version) the ringing of bells was once forbidden by the Turks. Dragomir was less tourist-visited than some of the other monasteries we saw, being devoid of a 'painted church', though it was worldly enough to charge a small admission fee (the equivalent of about €1 each), plus €2 extra for a 'camera permit' for photography (and more still for video cameras!) We bought a guidebook to the circuit of Bucovina's painted churches, to plan our route.

The evening TV showed the 'French Lieutenant's Woman' with Romanian subtitles, a rare treat!

3 September   DRAGOMIR to SUCEVITA MONASTERY, Romania   Popas Turistic Bucovinean   €10.00   58 miles

Painted Churches at Patrauti, Arbore and Sucevita Monastery

We returned to the main E85 road and continued towards Siret, soon turning off to the right for a couple of miles to see the little painted church at Patrauti. This was founded by Stephen the Great in 1487 as a nunnery for the care of wounded soldiers. It was locked and deserted, still awaiting restoration, with no high walls or entry fee.

Further along E85 we turned off, left, towards Solca, stopping after about 10 miles to visit the beautiful church at Arbore, built in 1503. A group of young art students were busy restoring the interior frescos, damaged while the church was roofless in the 17-18th centuries. Outside, there was a half-open roofed projection on the west wall, apparently unique in Moldavia, but no tower. The colourful pictures, which once covered every surface of these painted churches, inside and out, portray bible stories, with graphic images of heaven and hell, complete with torture at the hands of fiery devils (some wearing turbans!) Intended to educate (and subdue) the illiterate peasantry of the 16th century, they remain an extraordinary World Heritage Monument. Again, there was a small entry fee, but the friendly old man let us off paying the 'photo tax' as he did not have enough change.

From Solca, we drove north to road 17a, then left for 6 miles to Sucevita. The minor roads, not numbered on our map, were all sealed and mostly very good. The only other traffic was horse-drawn carts, laden with hay, spuds, wood, sawdust or pumpkins. The local people walked the lanes, carrying scythes and wooden rakes, while mini-haystacks dotted every pasture.

At Sucevita the walled convent is the largest and finest of Bucovina's monasteries, built 1582-1601. We lunched in the car park before paying to visit the little museum and the church, covered in vivid red and green frescos. The outside north wall depicts the Virtuous Ladder (30 steps from hell to paradise), while the south wall shows the Tree of Jesse, the Virgin Mary appearing as a Byzantine Princess with a red veil. The west wall is blank – the story goes that the artist fell to his death off his scaffolding, leaving it unfinished.

It's a beautiful place, up at 2,070 ft in forested hills by a stream. Just 2 miles south of the monastery, along the road towards Vatra Moldovitei, there is a restaurant with a small campsite, villas and cabins: Popas Turistic. Here we paid to park overnight (with a hook-up) and bought a reasonable meal of chicken and roast pork with vegetables.

4 September   SUCEVITA to MOLDOVITA MONASTERY, Romania   Camping Vila Lulu   €6.00   23 miles (+19 miles cycling)

Cycling and Driving the same Pass

The sunny autumn morning was ideal for a cycle ride from Popas Turistic to the top of the pass (7 miles each way). Through dense firs, tranquil forested slopes, past wooden houses with elaborate carvings and decoration, roofed fences and wells, sharing the way with horse-carts, it seemed untouched by the 20th (let alone 21st) century, apart from the odd logging truck. The newly tarred road wound very gently through the woods and meadows up to the 3,650 ft/1,100 m pass. A sculpture of a giant concrete hand stood at the top, where a few people were having a picnic, but sadly there was no café.

We freewheeled all the way back to Popas, intending to spend another night there. After lunch, with Barry working on photos and M preparing dinner, Management kindly told us that a convoy of 20 Dutch caravans was due in, so we'd have to move down by the restaurant entrance. We quickly moved further than that – about 20 miles further,! We drove over the pass, climbing 1,800 ft, through the village of Ciumumina and on to Vatra Moldovitei, home to another famous monastery.

The restaurant/campsite on the way into the quaint farming village was busy, with a busload of tourists staying in its wooden cabins and plenty of tents. There was a tennis court, football area, simple pool, barbecues, music in the bar (Saturday evening), and just about room for us to park inside the gate, with hook-up. It rained overnight.

5 September   MOLDOVITA to MESTECANIS PASS, Romania   Hotel/Camping   €4.00   83 miles

Over 2 Passes, visiting the Monasteries of Moldovita, Voronets and Humor

Just a mile from Vila Lulu to the Moldovita Monastery – turn right in the village and try to avoid the children selling boxes of 10 painted eggs (they're plastic imitations, costing more than at the Monastery gift shop!)

Entry was free this morning, as a well-attended Sunday service was in progress in the painted church, with a choir of Nuns and a row of kneeling peasants waiting to be blessed by the Priest in his gold and white robes. Barry recorded the beautiful singing along with the images. The outside south wall of the church shows the defence of Constantinople against the Turks in 626 AD, with a Last Judgment in the porch. Inside, opposite the lovely carved iconostasis, is a portrait of Prince Petru Rares (Moldovita's founder in 1532), offering his church to Christ. The fortifications, with towers and substantial gates, were even more impressive than the nicely restored monastery, and the museum had the Prince's wooden throne.

Back in the village, we continued for 8 miles to the top of the next pass at 3,348 ft, still on good new tarmac. After another 6 miles we reached the main highway E576, down at 2,160 ft, with a terrible surface! It had un-level railway crossings, bridges that looked none too safe, ruts and potholes. We turned left, through the town of Cimpulung Moldovenesc, then followed the Moldova River for 20 miles, through much less charming villages and scenery, to the logging town of Gura Humorului. Just before the centre, a right turn took us 2 miles south across farmland to Voronet, the Blue Monastery.

The small car park there was lined with stall-holders, forcing us to park in the road some way out to visit the least inspiring and most commercialised of the painted churches. No free Sunday entry here, where queues waited to view the frescos: the western wall's Last Judgment, the northern wall's Genesis and the southern wall's Tree of Jesse. (Eastern wall paintings have not generally survived the centuries of wind and rain.) Inside, facing the inconostasis, was again a picture of the church being offered to Christ, this time by Stefan the Great. The vibrant pigment which predominates is known as Voronets Blue.

Back in Gura Humorului, we turned left and drove 3 miles north to Humor, the Red Monastery (1530), restored to an active convent. We managed to park in the street for lunch, then visited our last painted church. This one had no defensive walls but there was a tower to climb. The porch had another Last Judgment, while the south exterior wall showed the siege of Constantinople in 1453 and the parable of the prodigal son, the dominant colour being deep red. It had the most impressive internal frescos, with some nice scenes of martyrdom!

A little overwhelmed by 3 monasteries in one day, we returned to Cimpulung Moldovenesc and drove another 10 miles from there, climbing to the top of Mestecanis Pass at 3,596 ft. We were delighted to find a simple campsite (a field with cabins) behind the restaurant, whose manager arranged an electric hook-up to one of the huts. We had a night with a magnificent mountain panorama, parked at 3,636 ft.

6 September   MESTECANIS PASS to GILAU, Nr CLUJ, Romania   Camping Eldorado   €12.80   157 miles

A Funeral in Dracula Country on the way to Cluj

As we took photos of our splendid setting on the Mestecanis Pass, 3 men returned from the woods carrying bags of mushrooms and a horse-drawn cart loaded with wooden window frames pulled up at the restaurant. The cheery driver lifted down a little lad wrapped in a blanket (his grandson?) and both went in for a warm drink – all very touching.

We dropped for 5 miles to Iacobeni, at 2,819 ft, where we were held up in the small town by a long funeral procession. An old man, laid out in an open coffin, rode on a horse-cart, preceded on foot by the priest and the men carrying a wooden cross with his name carved on it. Wreaths of fir and flowers and 2 small Christmas trees decked the cart, behind which the townsfolk walked, each bearing a special loaf. Some carried a big basket of apples, oranges and bread rolls.

Once they all turned off towards the churchyard, we passed the milk delivery woman, driving a horse-cart laden with churns. On past timber yards, stopping for a train loaded with logs, we reached Vatru Dornei at 2,655 ft, where we bought diesel and saw signs for a new 'Camping Autoturist' as we left the town.

Through the Birgau Mountains, we climbed to 3,947 ft at the Tihuta Pass, pausing just below the summit at Hotel Castel Dracula (3,615 ft) to make lunch. (Bram Stoker set his book here, at 'Castle Borgo', though there is no evidence that he – or its inspiration, Vlad Tepes - ever visited the area.) The Hotel looks suitably remote and is undergoing renovation. There is plenty of free parking, souvenir stalls, a ski lift and a new guesthouse or two.

We continued down on E576 (in terrible condition) all the way, to and through Bistrita, Beclean and Dej, reaching Cluj-Napoca at its busiest in the tea-time rush. From there 10 miles towards Oradea and the Hungarian border on E60, a better road, stopping at Gilau and the large, expensive, impersonal Dutch-run campsite of Eldorado (sic!)

7 September   At Camping Eldorado

A Day Off at the Campsite of 1,000 Notices (a wonder it didn't say 'No Camping')

In lovely sunshine, reaching 80 degrees F after a cool clear night, we enjoyed a rest day. Time to catch up with laundry and writing, and to ring and book a campsite in Budapest (Zugligeti Niche) in order to visit Ian & Judit next weekend.

Barry had some work to do on the motorhome. The metal plate covering the wooden floor under the steps had rusted through and was hanging loose (successfully screwed back on). Also the wheel replaced by the Vulkanisare a few days ago was not seated properly and had to be jacked up, removed and refitted. Margaret watched nervously and took photos!

On TV we had a choice of one channel with good reception and one poor. The only thing in English was an old episode of 'Chicago Hope'.

8 September   GILAU, Nr CLUJ, Romania to PUSPOKLADANY, Hungary   Camping Arnyas   2,600 Fts (c €10.60)   147 miles

Through the Hills and Across the Border to Hungary

Before leaving, we drove back 9 miles towards Cluj to the Metro Cash & Carry, stocking up with food and warm pizza slices for lunch. Then we returned along E60, past Camping Eldorado, through the hills. People sold fungi at the wet roadside, as well as the usual souvenir stalls with baskets, pots, embroidery and weaving. It rained heavily all afternoon, with thunder rumbling in the surrounding mountains – the western edge of the Carpathians.

The Piatra Craiului Pass had hotels and plenty of space to park and brew up, before dropping out of the mountains into drier weather. Through the centre of crowded Oradea, we saw none of its famous Hapsburg architecture (though we did spot a new McDonalds).

The border was 90 miles from Camping Eldorado and it was busy when we arrived at 5.15 pm. We spent our remaining Lei on diesel at the border village (112.5 litres for just over £60), then exited Romania after a half-hour wait, with nothing to pay on either side. The Customs men came in and looked under the bed as we entered Hungary at Artand. Immediately, we appreciated the smooth roads and level crossings, though we missed the horse and carts.

The next town we came to, 40 miles along E60, had a campsite right on our route and we checked in for 2 nights. It was fairly busy with German-speakers, as it had an outdoor thermal bath and whirlpool!

9 September   At PUSPOKLADANY, Hungary   Camping Arnyas

A Rest Day

Putting our clocks back an hour was a good start to a restful morning, enjoying the warm brown water of the thermal pool.

In the afternoon we walked into the unpronounceable town to find an ATM (350 Forints to the Pound Sterling, as last year), a phone card and a shop (the 'Penny Market', a cheaper version of Lidl). There was no internet place but the kind man in campsite reception let us use his office machine for a few minutes. Time enough to read our incoming email and check our bank statements.

10 September   PUSPOKLADANY to BUDAPEST,   Camping Zugligeti Niche   4,270 Fts (c €17.40)   117 miles

Through Budapest in Slow Motion

Road 4 (E60) took us all the way to Pest (the flatter side of Buda-pest on the eastern bank of the Danube). It was surprisingly narrow for a road linking the capital with Debrecen and the Romanian border (for Oradea) but it did bypass the larger towns en route. We skirted Szolnok on a ring road to the south, across the Tisza, then past Cegled, with lunch in Monor (parked by an empty watermelon or dinnye stall).

Approaching Ferihegy (Budapest Airport), we missed a left-hand turn for the Ring Road and had to continue on an increasingly bumpy narrow road, eventually running out of signs and options. We regained the E60 with relief, thanks to our GPS, then spent 2 hours crossing the city in absurd traffic jams at every set of traffic lights. After long delays, squeezed between the tramlines and a bus lane (with sympathetic waves from the Brits on a Shearings Tour), we finally reached Margit-Hid (Margaret's Bridge) to cross the Danube to the hills of Buda. We tried to keep cool with choc-ices out of our freezer. We even made a pot of tea while waiting!

At last we reached Moskva Ter (Moscow Square) and found our way once more to Zugligeti Niche, a couple of miles to the north-west. There was heavy traffic all the way and an ominous sound from under our bonnet, which we took to be overheating.

Once installed in the space reserved for us at the busy little campsite (among a French convoy), we walked back down the hill to the shopping centre and ate at McDonald's. We rang our good friend Ian, who hails from Yorkshire but lives with Hungarian Judit in the Buda hills. We first met on a campsite in Edirne, when they were touring Turkey with Land Rover and tent – a meeting which led to our first visit to Zugligeti Niche, the nearest campsite to their home.

11/12 September   At BUDAPEST, Hungary   Camping Zugligeti Niche

Visiting Szentendre, Visegrad and At Home with Ian and Judit

A wonderful time as guests of Ian and Judit, who collected us in their Land Rover Discovery for a great day out. In Szentendre (St Andrew), a pretty town on the Danube 12 miles north of Budapest, we walked round the old centre, visited the amazing Marzipan Museum and snacked on delicious langos (large freshly fried doughnuts with sweet or savoury fillings). Continuing north, through wooded national park, we rejoined the Danube at Visegrad where, after flowing east from Esztergom, the river is turned south by the hills. We walked up to the ruins of the 13th century citadel (destroyed by Turks and then Habsburgs), perched high above the town. Declining to pay for the Torture Museum, we still had a splendid view for panoramic photos of the Danube Bend.

Following the river back to Budapest, we enjoyed a long evening of talking and eating – a feast of Ian's carrot soup, Judit's turkey casserole and a chocolate trifle. Ian showed us videos from his days as a Malaria Specialist - in Burma, Thailand and up the Amazon in Brazil - and gave us some medical advice for our forthcoming trip to India and Asia. All was quiet when we returned to Zugligeti Niche after midnight – barrier down and lights out at 10 pm!

The following day Ian and Judit made a return visit, enabling us to reciprocate their kindness with a meal and entertainment – a slideshow of our wedding in Greece, along with recent pictures of Romania and Australia. We said our farewells and promised to keep in touch.

13 September   BUDAPEST to EGER, Hungary   Autos Caravan Camping   2,760 Fts (c €11.25)   94 miles

Fun with Fanbelts

We kept in touch with Ian very soon! On starting the engine, Barry found the fan belt had shredded and twisted all round the fan (that noise hadn't been overheating after all). We rang Ian to ask if he knew where to get a mechanic and he promptly came round himself. (As part of Budapest's Catastrophe Relief Team, he is just the man to know in emergency.)

Ian and Barry struggled to fit one of the spare fan belts we carry, eventually realising that it was too short and managing to get the second one on. After 2 hours' work (with copious coffee and digestive biscuits) we managed to leave, extremely grateful to Ian.

We found our way into the city and across the Arpad Bridge (despite a detour due to the absence of signs), then followed the M3, stopping at a large shopping complex (McDonalds, Praktiker, Metro, etc) to buy the required motorway toll-vignette at the Shell service station. It cost 1,270 Forints for the minimum 4 days – only later did we discover that we should have paid more for the 'Over 3.5 tons' category, so it's lucky that no-one stopped us to check! In fact, we only followed M3 as far as Fuzesabony, where we turned off for Eger, 10 miles north along roads 3 and 25.

The enormous campsite is north of the city on the left of road 25, just before a big new Tesco store on the right. We settled in among the trees, as far away from a Belgian convoy as possible, and rang to thank our hero, Ian.

14 September   At EGER, Hungary   Autos Caravan Camping

Internetting in Eger

A beautiful sunny autumn day, on which we caught up with writing and laundry. After lunch we walked about 5 miles, into and around Eger and back. There is a bus into the town, 160 Fts each way, but we enjoyed strolling in past blocks of flats above small shops and garages.

Eger is a lovely baroque town, famous for its Bull's Blood red wine, Egri Bikaver. We have explored it previously (Cathedral and churches, Camera Obscura, Castle, etc) and do not recommend climbing the spiral staircase to the top of the Turkish minaret to those with no head for heights!

In the centre we found ice creams and toilets in McDonalds (as ever), then Tour-Inform, who knew of no internet places – strange, as we went on to find 3 ourselves! Egres Est Café had one computer (already occupied), then the Broadway Café (next to the Baroque RC Cathedral, second only to Esztergom's in size) had a 'problem' with its terminals. Finally, we came across an internet room in an anonymous building near the minaret, where we had a very slow hour for 125 Fts (about 35 pence). We managed to copy our incoming emails onto a floppy disk before walking back.

Hungarian TV being utterly incomprehensible, we spent the evening reading (the true Victorian murder mystery 'Who Killed Charles Bravo' is our current favourite, very intriguing).

15 September   EGER to TOKAJ, Hungary   Pelsoczy Camping   2,565 Fts (c €10.50)   92 miles

To Tokaj to camp by the Tisza

After visiting Eger's new Tesco near the campsite (roast chicken, cakes, bread, veg, biscuits – wonderful!), we drove back through the town to road 3 and headed north-east to Miskolc, where we lunched in Praktiker's car park and bought some DIY bits.

After passing Szerencs, we turned off round the southern edge of the Zemplen hills (clad in vineyards) to Tokaj, home of Hungary's most famous wines. There is a quiet wooded campsite just over the Tisza bridge, on the left along the bank of the broad river. There were a couple of other motorhomes (French and German), but no convoys.

After a welcome pot of tea (it's still very warm), we walked back into Tokaj, where the Tisza meets the River Bodrog. A ruined castle stands on little island by the confluence. The baroque RC Cathedral is beautiful inside, but the shops and Tour-inform were closed.

16/17 September   At TOKAJ, Hungary   Pelsoczy Camping

Time for Forward Planning

Tokaj was just a short walk away and we took the opportunity to make phone calls and catch up with internet banking and answering emails, working from a small internet centre at the back of a wine shop (for about 80 pence an hour). We even bought some samples of 'the wine of kings and the king of wines' - Louis XIV – and a bottle of Palinka (plum brandy). Most Tokaj is sweet dessert wine, but Furmint and Haslevelu are drier.

We are planning a year round-the-world, starting with India in November, and made some progress with organising an MOT on our arrival in Hull, dental appointments, motorhome storage (at Milton Farm in Dorset) and Hertz car hire in Delhi. We got information on international driving licences, vaccinations, trains in Australia … what did we do before the internet?

18 September   TOKAJ to SAROSPATAK, Hungary   Tengerszem Camping   3,550 Fts (c €14.50)   27 miles

A short drive towards the Slovak Border

A few miles along road 37 to Sarospatak, a town with a lovely setting on the Bodrog in the Zemplen Hills, 7 miles from the Slovakian border. We made lunch in the coach park by the castle, then decided to stay another night in Hungary.

There are 2 campsites – a busy new one next to the thermal baths and a bigger, quieter one across the road, where we were the only guests! We walked back into town (about a mile along the banks of the Bodrog – beware mosquitoes!), spent our last few forints on bread (and paid the campsite in Euros).

19 September   SAROSPATAK, Hungary to TATRY LOMNICE, Slovakia   EuroCamp   424 SK (c €8.50)   194 miles

Into Slovakia's Tatra Mountains

Away early to drive 7 miles to our old favourite border crossing at Satoraljaujhely. Today we were through the single checkpoint in 2 minutes flat, with no queue for the passport check. Compare our first visit, crossing on bicycles in the summer of 1989 (riding England to Istanbul), when we and our bags were searched for hours. In fact, we were sent back into Slovakia because we still had some of their currency. This was on a Sunday morning (no shops open) so, after treating everyone in the bar to a drink and buying cigarettes to carry as backhanders, we had to bury the remaining cash in a field before presenting ourselves back at the border, for further interrogation! Passing this way again, years later, we found the money had gone and hoped it was found by a needy peasant.

Leaving the Zemplen Hills behind, we crossed flat country northwards to Trebisov. There was no traffic (again, it's Sunday), the smooth quiet roads were broader than in Hungary, and we parked easily opposite a bank to get cash (about 70 SK to the Pound Sterling, 50 to the Euro). Joining the E50 for 10 miles east to Michalovce, we entered a much bigger city than we remembered from the old days and we couldn't find the state-owned Cedok Hotel of happy memories. We did find a modern Shell station, supplying diesel at about 48 pence per litre and a good road map, opposite a huge Tesco, which was open. Both took credit cards.

North from Michalovce on road 18 to Strazske, east to Vranov, then north-west to Hanusovce following the Toplou River, through lovely wooded hills and quiet hamlets. The churches were crowded with villagers in their Sunday Best. Turning north up E371 (road 73) to Svidnick, we lunched in a layby before going west through the old town of Bardejov, its medieval walls intact round the centre. Over a pass at 2,150 ft just before a length along the Polish border, past a new crossing point and a couple of military cemeteries from fighting against the Russians in 1944. South-west through Kezmarock before turning off for 5 miles to the enormous open-all-year FICC Eurocamp.

This camp has all the atmosphere of a Soviet airport but was busy with a Dutch rally, Germans, Swedes and a British Land Rover. Up at 2,500 ft, it's a good base for the High Tatras or Vysoke Tatry (the northern end of the Carpathians), which form the border between Poland and Eastern Slovakia. This area of alpine valleys and peaks (including Mt Gerlach, the highest in the Carpathians at 2,654 m or 8,758 ft) is popular for summer walking and winter ski-ing, completewith cable car and funicular railway.

20/22 September   At TATRY LOMNICE, Slovakia   EuroCamp

Cycling 35 miles (and climbing 2,400 ft) to Strbske Pleson Lake, as Autumn Arrives

On the first day in the Tatras we rode our bicycles to Stary Smokovec (a light lunch in the café there), continuing to the ski resort/spa of Strbske Pleso and round its glacial lake, at 4,500 ft. The morning began warm and sunny, with a gradual climb all the way up to the cooler heights, where we donned trousers and jackets and had a hot-chocolate before the return descent. (For non-cyclists, this excursion can also be made on an electric train, which we saw now and again, threading its way up through the woods. There is a station 5 minutes' walk from the campsite.)

Next day, high winds brought down a dead tree outside the grim shower block and the weather turned cold and wet with a hint of winter, keeping us indoors. The campsite rapidly emptied! We did more preparation for our approaching round-the-world year – updating and printing address and data lists to take with us, working on the itinerary, etc. We wrote postcards of the Tatras, photographed some spectacular storm cloud formations and talked with a couple from Barnsley, travelling in a Hymer. We learnt that the motorway 'vignette' for Slovakia costs about £13 for the 4-7 tons category, so we'll aim to avoid motorways! We were able to warn our informants about Hungary, in turn.

23 September   TATRY LOMNICE, Slovakia to ROZNOV P RADHOSTEM, Czech Republic   Camping Roznov   322 CZK (c €10.40)   150 miles

West across Slovakia into the Czech Republic

The rain eased and an international caravan rally was arriving at Eurocamp as we left. Following road 18 (to avoid motorways), we retraced our cycle ride via Stary Smokovec and past Strbske Pleso, climbing yet higher to over 4,000 ft. The verges and fir trees were still white with fresh snow, melting on the steaming asphalt.

We had coffee in a large car park at the ski village of Podbanske, then continued on the 18, under the E50 motorway, to Liptovsky Hradok, then back under the motorway and through the larger town of Liptovsky Mikulas. We unintentionally looped to the north, round the top of Lake Liptovska, but the narrow road was quiet enough. Rejoining road 18 by the end of the motorway (where they appeared to merge), the traffic was heavier. In Ruzomberok Margaret spotted a Lidl shop but its car park was too small and full. Road and railway followed the Van River, winding our way through forested slopes and bypassing the town of Martin. From here it was 15 miles to Zilina, passing the lovely castle ruins which guard a loop in the river at Strecna.

In the centre of Zilina we parked, ate and shopped at a large Tesco, then continued on E50 (there was no other way!) to Bytca where we left the river to climb up to the frontier post at Makov. We spent our remaining Slovakian money on diesel before crossing into the Czech Republic for 14 miles to Roznov pod Radhostem.

There are 2 campsites as you approach the town, this one on the right and Sport Camping past it on the left. Camping Roznov has a new area and toilet/shower block especially for motorhomes, as well as plenty of cabins and a large pool. We paid by credit card.

24 September   At ROZNOV, Czech Republic   Camping Roznov

Rainy Roznov

Margaret did battle with both campsite washing machines, which swallowed up time, money and detergent before being declared Kaputt by the management. She got the money back, at least, and did the laundry by hand.

After lunch we walked into Roznov between rain showers, a pleasant 20-minute stroll over the river, through the woods and past an open-air museum (closed). We changed money (31 CZK to the Euro, 45 to the Pound), posted cards to the UK (20 pence stamp each) and bought 4 large pork chops for 45 pence each. After 2 hours in a modern internet centre (66 pence per hour), we finished with a good chicken dinner in a cosy pub/restaurant on the central square (₤5.60 for both, including drinks, with beer cheaper than Cola). We could live well here!

25 September   ROZNOV to KNEZNICE, Nr JICIN, Czech Republic   Camping Cesky Raj   320 CZK (c €10.30)   179 miles

Across the Czech Republic to Gate-crash a Wedding Reception

Before leaving Camping Roznov we bought a Czech motorway 'vignette' at the petrol station opposite (with credit card). The 3.5-12 ton category cost 450 CZK (₤10) for the minimum 10-day period.

We followed the E442 all day, through sunshine and showers, wooded hills, small farming villages and a few towns, mostly rolling along at about 1,000 ft. The E442 became a 'semi-motorway' before Lipnik, continued on a brand new ring road round the city of Olomouc (past McDonalds for lunch), then another 20 miles of motorway to Mohelnice. It would have been difficult to avoid motorways on this route (no-one checked the vignette, but there is a risk of a large fine).

Turning west, we climbed to 1,831 ft, through a lovely wooded area of lakes. The 60 or more miles from Mohelnice to Hradec (= King) Kralove were very slow, with one diversion for roadworks.

In search of a campsite, we found one listed in the Dutch ACSI Guide at Milovice had closed. The next, at Jicin (Caravan Club book), had turned into a motel. Third time lucky, as the Dutch-listed Pension/Minicamp at Cesky Raj (4 miles after Jicin) was open. It was busy with a Saturday evening wedding feast which we interrupted, to be given the run of a little grassy paddock behind the restaurant, still at 1,100 ft.

25 September   KNEZNICE, Czech Republic to KONIGSTEIN, Germany   Camping Konigstein   €18.50 (+ Showers €0.50)   87 miles

Through Bohemia and along the Elbe, over the Czech Border into the former DDR

Continuing on E442 (road 35), our drive began through the woods and below the castles of the Cesky Raj National Park. We bypassed Turnov on a new motorway, then followed a good road to the city of Liberec, with a well-signed route round.

Here we turned left onto the narrower road 13, still subtitled E442 as far as Decin (with road works suggesting a future improvement). From Novy Bor to Decin (pronounced Dechen), we crossed another thickly forested national park. It was Sunday, with plenty of people out picking berries or fungi, their cars parked along the woodland paths. There were a couple of Bohemian Crystal factories tucked away among picturesque villages.

At Decin we met the River Elbe, wide and fast-flowing even here, so far from its mouth (in the North Sea beyond Hamburg). Holding our breath under a 3.3 m high railway bridge, we turned north out of Decin on road 62, following the Elbe to the Czech frontier less than 10 miles away. We spent our remaining Czech Crowns on diesel in the border village of Hrensko and entered the former East Germany at Schona, with just a wave of our passports.

Another 20 miles west along the extremely busy, organised and tidy River Elbe (which we crossed in Bad Schandau), we came to Konigstein, with a long campsite on the river bank. As we settled in – and heavy rain fell – the Receptionist explained that the whole campsite had been rebuilt after severe floods in 2002 closed the site for a year! High water marks on houses in the town confirmed the story.

27/29 September   At KONIGSTEIN, Germany   Camping Konigstein

A 28-mile Bicycle Ride along the Elbe and a Train Excursion to Dresden

Like all good German rivers, the misty Elbe was busy with both pleasure steamers and working barges. In the absence of a bridge, a small passenger ferry crossed from below the nearby railway station on demand, between 5.30 am and 10.30 pm. The line carried many freight trains, stacked with new VW cars, made in the Czech Republic and on their way into Germany, where car-workers are unemployed!

We had an afternoon ride along a stretch of the Elberadweg: a cycle path following the opposite (north) bank of the river for 163 miles/260 km, from the Czech border at Schona, via Dresden and Wittenberg to Dessau. We began by crossing the Elbe on the little ferry (taking 2 minutes and costing a total of €2.6 with the bikes). A very minor road led eastwards on this side to Rathmannsdorf, where we recrossed the river on a new bridge, then continued on the now quieter south bank through Krippen, past Bad Schandau across the water, and through Schona to the Czech border. The main road and frontier post are on the opposite bank, before the Czech village of Hrensko.

On our side, we simply came to a sign saying that we were entering the Czech Republic on a path only open to walkers, cyclists and non-motorised wheelchairs! The lovely village of Dolni Zleb, 2 miles along, looked half-abandoned but had a pair of hotel/ restaurants open. An excellent meal by the fire in the Piccolo Hotel cost a total of €12 and set us up for a return ride in the rain.

Trains ran hourly from Konigstein via Pirna to Dresden's main station, costing just €12 for a one-day Familienkarte, which covered us both for a return journey. The track was still under repair from flood damage but the smooth 3-decker trains ran to time, despite stopping at many commuter stations along the Elbe. We took the 10.08 train, arriving at 11 am, for a day in Dresden (again, in the rain).

All was being rebuilt on a magnificent scale, as we walked round the Altstadt (old centre). The worthy Baroque buildings were being restored, after the bombing of February 1945 and their subsequent neglect through the Communist era. The Kreuzkirche church was still closed for renovation. The more famous Lutheran Cathedral, the Frauenkirche, has been rebuilt from the ground up, starting in 1992 from a pile of rubble.

We were able to walk round the exterior, reading the explanatory notices and marvelling at the photographs, old and new. The interior was still unfinished (rededication planned for 2005), though tours were offered at set times. The nearby Zwinger Palace (now an art gallery) and Semper Opera House were grandly imposing. In addition to sightseeing, we lunched in the Karstadt Department Store and found an internet centre for an email session before catching the busy 5 pm train back to Konigstein.

30 September   KONIGSTEIN to MAGDEBURG-HOHENWARSLEBEN, Germany   Rasthof Magdeburg   €4.60   181 miles

Across East Germany to a Lorry Park near Magdeburg, Shopping at Lidl en route

Drove to Pirna and shopped at a super-Lidl. It had all the Christmas goodies on sale, plus a much wider range of food than the smaller stores outside Germany, with fresh breads and meats, flowers and plants. Most prices were lower than in Greece's Lidl stores (which we know well) and a trolley-full of assorted groceries cost about €30.

Following the signs round Dresden, we joined motorways A4 then A14 to Leipzig and Magdeburg. These famous cities of the former East Germany were all bypassed by the busy Autobahn system. We had lunch in the first Rastplatz after Dresden. On meeting the A2 (Berlin-Hannover motorway), we turned west and soon stopped at a big new service station, Rasthof Magdeburg by the Irxleben exit (listed in our Bordatlas of German 'Aires'). Catering for truck drivers, it even had an indoor swimming pool!

A separate area offered overnight parking for 10 motorhomes, with electric hook-up for a small fee – an excellent arrangement. We had just 2 neighbours.