A quiet night in Altintas. No rain and no street noise. The only disturbance is the muezzin calling the faithful to morning prayer at 5.00am. I wake up briefly then go back to sleep until 6. The distances between calls are now noticeably longer and I have to leave in the

It is about 8 am when I get back on the road. During the night there was heavy rain and a fierce storm, so much so that the rain hammering on the roof kept me awake. Before me is Istanbul, a grey and monotonous sight due to the continuous rain and

Today I take my leave of Sofia and point the Editourmobil in the direction of Turkey. Victor, the Iveco manager, had put his premises at my disposal for a further night, which was handy as it is situated directly on the motorway for Istanbul. There is yet another change in the

I have a lot to write about but my priority is to get the broken windscreen repaired. After a rapid breakfast, I bring all the visit reports and notes from yesterday up to date, and then, thanks to efficient backup from our Heidelberg office, I make contact with the local Iveco

Two appointments today which I assumed were close to Sofia. To my dismay, I discover that they are 150 km to the northeast. It’s raining cats and dogs, and the numerous potholes on the highway are full of water. I eventually arrive at Saedinenie where I meet up with Gotmar, who

We are now heading for Sofia. The road stretches before me and it’s not long before the highway gives way to a kind of country road where progress is slow. At least this gives me plenty of time to think about my experiences so far. The landscape is changing. The gentle

The alarm goes off. It seems horrendously early to me. Outside it is still dark, or at least it looks like it, and then I notice that, for the first time on the trip, the sky is completely overcast. Later, as I am making the coffee, I suddenly realise that I

All good things must come to an end and in this case, that means the weather. When I get up, it’s pouring with rain and overnight the temperature has dropped by about 15 degrees. It’s perishing cold, at least until the Editourmobil heating system starts to crank into action. Big plans

The next morning starts early and noisily, because a friendly forklift driver is moving the logs first to the left then to the right and in between cutting the grass. I’m off to my next interview, to Pivovarna Union. Mr Varsek, the technical director, greeted me kindly, and to my surprise,

My day begins in Podmolnik. Here I found a beautiful spot to park the Editourmobil and spent a peaceful night. After breakfast I managed to arrange, at short notice, an interview with Dana dd in Mirna. Mr Mitja Majzelj greeted me warmly and took time to tell me about the company’s

I am woken up early by the cows of our hospitable farmer. After two cups of coffee and an Austrian-style breakfast, it’s time to head off towards Slovenia. I decide to give the motorway a miss and instead take the tourist route over the Katschberg Pass. The Millstädter lake provides a