Barkingside to Istanbul by Joshua Forman
"We were in need of a big summer holiday. I’d just finished my PGCE, and my brother Jake had just graduated from university. There were a few ideas knocking around but when we came across an offer to buy a 1996 Renault Clio for £50, our minds were made up.
Backpacking with a car is something I will never forget. We had absolutely no restrictions on where we went, or when. We met loads of fun, interesting people in hostels along the route and got ideas of places to see enroute from them. I can’t recommend it enough, we even managed to sell the car!
We set off from Barkingside nice and early on the 1st of august, after a quick oil check pointing towards Istanbul (via Dover). We made it past Gants hill roundabout, round the m25 and as soon as we hit the m20, the whining noise from the engine started.
Dover to Calais, and then straight on to Brugge. A beautiful city, and in the words of Ralph Fiennes in ‘In Brugge’, ‘its like a fairy tale, all the pretty churches and bridges’. An ice cream and a wander later we were back on the road to Amsterdam. This journey was the scene of our first argument. We got lost, and I started to get a bit stressed out, and snapped at Jake, his replay…’I can’t work out where we are, the map is just a list of cheese!’
Moving southwards, we passed through Germany, stopping for a few days in Cologne and then Munich. Germany is a wonderful country, and the culture, scenery and beer are definitely worth checking out. We also looked into some of Germany’s history. Plus, the autobahn in a car that can’t do more than 85 miles per hour and sitting in the fast lane is simply priceless!
It was whilst we were in Germany, that something rather interesting was happening back home in London. ‘London Das Burning’ was the headline…any ideas? 
Munich, Lichetenstein, [technically] Austria and Switerland. The alpine leg of the journey was without a shadow of a doubt the most beautiful, but also hair raising. We took Charlemagne (the intrepid, all conquering Clio) upto 2446 metres, over alpine mountain passes, in between Glaciers and above the cloud level. The lakes, the mountains and forests were simply stunning.
Switzerland to Italy. Italian drivers are crazy! The country itself is gorgeous, the old towns, the food, the wine, the lakes, but it didn’t half stress us out! We stopped in Milan for a few nights, and then Lake Garda (which was a nice old acquaintance from an earlier family holiday). Italy was our last western Europe country on our trip, and we had definitely been getting used to more aggressive driving.
Slovenia has earnt a place in my heart. Lake Bled is a backpackers haven, with a castle over looking the lake (which is open from 8pm-10pm for free) and Ljubjana is a calm, sophisticated capital city, with a unique way of enjoying life.
Croatia, the new place to be in the summer lived up to all expectations, lovely islands and finding the UNESCO protected Plitvice lakes was an eyeopener. Next on the map was Bosnia. The only city we stayed at in Bosnia was Mostar, famous for a bridge blown up in the Balkans war. The city centre is quaint and has been rebuilt in the exact manner it was before the war, including the bridge. However, the aspect of Bosnia that will always stay with me was driving through the country. We made our way from Mostar, and headed east towards Montenegro. We passed into the Srpska region, which scared me ridged at first because it was introduced by a very large display of Serbian national flags. This is because the Republika Srpska is trying to break away from Bosnia, due to ethnic lines, and the atmosphere changed sharply. This was made most evident when we took a wrong turn leaving Knin (the main city in the area) and ended up driving past abandoned villages with bullet ridden buildings and very new looking muslim cemeteries. It was very painful.
Montenegro can only be described as Magaluf for Russians, and not worth talking about apart from it was the route to Albania, the most adventurous aspect of the trip.
Entering Albania was like stepping back in time. Half built buildings, livestock wandering across the road, and lack of road etiquette make for quite a psychological impact! Ordinary people have only been allowed to drive for 10 years in Albania, as the former dictator, Hoxja, didn’t allow it. Therefore, there is no etiquette, no road quality, no signs…no nothing! The main motorway is still being built, but you are allowed to drive on it (well, for 2 miles until it becomes gravel for a 30, 40 yards).
However, the people were incredibly welcoming and friendly, and didn’t see us only as rich tourists which is the general view from most countries. These things made Albania a fantastic country to see. We stayed mainly in Tirana, the capital, but stopped a lot enroute through.
From there, everywhere else seemed tame! We drove across northern Greece, and then into Turkey, and the final stretch of our adventure! We made it to Istanbul, the furthest reach of Europe and the biggest city in the continent. Another city well worth visiting and the perfect place to finish the trip, sitting in the roof top restaurant of our hostel, with a view of the bosphourus on one side, and the hagia Sophia and blue mosque on the other."