Sweden, Germany,Holland, Belgium, France, England, France, Belgium,Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey!
These photos can’t capture all of the change I’ve seen through the van window. The landscape has gone from manicured green fields, spindly planted trees and the Rhine river of Bavarian Germany to Europe’s last wild forests and Carpathian mountains of Transylvania, from the rolling sunflower fields and Black Sea coast of Bulgaria to the dry rocky mountains of central Turkey.
The clothes, attitudes and food change with each border crossing – Germany’s sausages and dark bread; Bryndzové halušky, the dense potato dumplings with sheep’s milk cheese in Slovakia; the goulash and grilled cheese in Budapest; the cabbage salad and peasant soup in Romania; the mezzes and thick bread in Turkey.
I’ve seen German dirndls, Romanian head scarfs pulled tight and knotted on women, small brimmed Romanian felt hats on men, men’s Turkish caps pleated trousers and the Turkish women fully covered in hijab and jilbab . Languages, streets signs (Bulgaria uses the Cyrillic alphabet), driving mannerisms, smiles and scowls, currency, prices, toilets, weather…. everything changes.
And there is still so much more to come!
P.S. I have just discovered that Facebook has changed it so you must have an account to view these photos. You don’t need to be my friend as I’ve made them public, but you have to sign in. Sorry about that. I will post them here soon for those of you not on facebook. Click here for the photos!