Rob has always dreamed of taking his own rear engined Skoda to the Czech Republic and we have always said that one day we would make the ultimate Skoda pilgrimage together in the white Rapid.
This idea did always feel as though it would be something that we would do in the distant future. However, whilst Rob was away at sea around September 2009 we contacted each other through e-mails. The idea of a Skoda trip was discussed but nothing other than further ideas came of it. It was over the Christmas holiday period just gone, when Rob was home for a few weeks from sea and I was home from Aberystwyth. We sat down and thought about what we might like to do this coming summer. Various camping trip ideas to Scotland were mentioned and then we realised that we would have enough time to drive to Czech if we wanted. It was originally a scary idea as the car wasn't running great and would be a lot of money to save. However, one hair-brained moment we went forward and got the ferry tickets booked. That was that. We were going. Just lots of planning, saving and work to be done on the Rapid before we would set sail in July.
At the time of booking tickets it did feel a long time away but here we are 2 weeks before departure...PANIC!
First of all I'll give you a run down on where roughly we plan to go. We are both fairly laid back creatures and the aim of the trip is to go for a meander across Europe taking our time and enjoying the places we visit. We would like to visit some cities such as Prague but both of us prefer the countryside and areas such as the Tatra Mountains will be of most interest to us. Our tent is coming with us and we will spend most nights sleeping in that. Last but far from least, we are going to the Skoda factory to return our beloved chunk of metal to its place of birth in Mlada Boleslav.
On the 26th of July we depart from our home town of Hartlepool and head for the ferry terminal at Hull. Rob, myself and the Skoda sail from Hull to Zeebrugge in Belgium. The plan is to drive south through Belgium and into Luxembourg before crossing the Lux border into Germany. Trying hard not to follow too many autobahns (imagine they won't be overly pleasant in a Skoda Rapid) we hope to cross Germany in 2-3 days maximum. We would like to visit areas of Germany however it is expensive and probably out of our student-sized price range.
Next we will enter the Czech Republic with a toot of the horn as the Skoda returns to its homeland! Mlada Boleslav is the main destination here. It is the place of the Skoda factory and we would love to have a tour! After exploring Czech our next main destination is southern Poland where Rob's parents have an old wooden Polish house in the charming rural village of Zawoja (see link for the Zawoja house).
Making our way to Poland we shall leave Czech and drive through Austria, Hungary and finally Slovakia before entering southern Poland. After spending some time in Poland we shall turn around and make a return journey through Germany, the Netherlands (hopefully), the ferry terminal in Zeebrugge, Hull and then home to Hartlepool. We will arrive back in Hartlepool on the 3rd of September hopefully with all arms and legs still attached and all engine parts remaining!
Basic Itinerary:
Date | Location |
Monday 26th July | Depart on ferry: Hull to Zeebreuge |
Tuesday 27th July | Travel from ferry to Belgium. Camp in Belgium |
Wednesday 28th July | Explore the history rich Ardence |
Thursday 29th July | Travel East through Germany |
Friday 30th July | Explore Germany while heading East |
Saturday 31st July | Enter the Czech Repbulic. Spend the night at Plzien – the beer capital of the World |
Sunday 01st August | Plzien |
Monday 02nd August | Prague, CZ |
Tuesday 03rd August | Prague, CZ |
Wednesday 04th August | Mlada Boselav, CZ. Home of Skoda |
Thursday 05th August | Mlada Boselav, CZ |
Friday 06th August | South-West Czech |
Saturday 07th August | South-West Czech |
Monday 08th August | South-West Czech |
Tuesday 09th August | Austria |
Wednesday 10th August | Austria |
Thursday 11th August | Austria |
Friday 12th August | Hungary |
Saturday 13th August | Hungary |
Sunday 14th August – Friday 20th August | Slovakia |
Saturday 21st August – Sunday 29th August | Poland |
Monday 30th August – Thursday 2nd September | Travel West to catch ferry from Zeebreuge on the evening of 2nd. |
Funding
Rob and I calculated the basic cost of the trip to be around £2250. This covers every expense of the trip including work to be done prior to trip on the Rapid; eating and tenting costs; fuel and a contingency fund that we would like for security in case everything goes wrong and we need to get back to the UK. Initially you may think that this is a very good price for a 5 week holiday in 9 different countries, which it is. However, I have no income as a full time student and Rob has a low sponsorship income from the company he works for as a cadet. We worked it out and we realised that we could just about manage that amount with a combination of saving my student loans and Rob saving some of his money. However with a mean estate agency (not to be named) in Aberystwyth gently leaching money from my account, living costs of a student etc; it was going to be a struggle.
Whilst Rob was away at sea he spotted an advert in the 'Practical Classics' magazine that he was reading. The advert was for the Non--Standard Awards competition run be the insurance company Performance Direct. Basically, the competition was offering up to £10,000 sponsorship for a weird and wonderful road trip. Over e-mails we structured our 400 word application (one paragraph about us and one about our trip), added a few strange pictures (just to prove to them that we were defiantly weird) and sent it off. We didn't expect to hear back from them however one day an e-mail from Performance Direct appeared in Rob's inbox as we were both in the same room/country together (a rare occurrence). The e-mail congratulated us on being selected for the next round. Well we didn't expect that. The next round was asking for a basic itinerary and costing list of the trip. So we sent that off; again thinking nothing would come of it but again being shocked at qualifying for the final and an interview in London. Together we created a little mood board of our trip and Rob went off to London (I was busy with uni and exams) to be interviewed. He did stop off at a Skoda suppliers on the way which almost made him late - typical!
One rainy morning in Aberystwyth I was just sitting down with friends in a lecture theatre about to have an exciting lecture on the wonders of ruminant digestion when I received a phone call from Rob:
Rob: 'Where are you?!'
Me: 'Lecture'
Rob 'Oh I can't tell you, you will not be able to concentrate'
Me: 'What is it?'
Rob: 'I had a phone call from Performance Direct'
At which point I think the phone conversation ended with me jumping up and down and shouting lots of 'happy phrases' whilst still in my lecture seat. Oopps.. sit back down and learn about ruminants.
We had asked the non-standards awards for £1,250 to help us with costs and mainly, to stop me going bankrupt by again, the leaching affect of that wonderful Aberystwyth estate agency (still not to be named!). We were also to be supplied with a video camera to keep a diary. The nice people at the non-standards awards also suggested places to visit and contacts they have.
All in all, the non standards awary run by Performance Direct have been a great aid to our planning, money problems and no doubt they will be helpful during the trip. At the same time the company has recognised that this is our road trip dream, they have respected that and at no point have Rob and I felt that they are interfering too much. Thank you Performance Direct!
All in all, the non standards awary run by Performance Direct have been a great aid to our planning, money problems and no doubt they will be helpful during the trip. At the same time the company has recognised that this is our road trip dream, they have respected that and at no point have Rob and I felt that they are interfering too much. Thank you Performance Direct!
