FRIENDS OF RAMSGATE TUNNELS SOCIAL EVENING - 16th September

Hi again Wrinklies Blogger

 

It appears that the RSVP links on the recent invitation to the Friends of Ramsgate Tunnels Social Evening don’t work with all email programmes. If you have responded either with the link or in any other way don’t worry, you have been included.

 

If you can’t make the link work just reply to either this or the original email with the number you expect to attend. Replying will not commit you to anything and not replying will not exclude you, but we would appreciate a response as an estimate of numbers will help greatly with preparations.

 

Regards,

 

The Ramsgate Tunnels Heritage Group

 

To unsubscribe from this list please reply to this email with UNSUBSCRIBE as the subject

 

Invitation to Wrinklies Blogger # from the Ramsgate Tunnels Heritage Group

FRIENDS OF RAMSGATE TUNNELS NEWSLETTER

Hello Wrinklies Blogger

 

It’s been around 6 weeks since the Ramsgate Tunnels Heritage Group won Lottery funding for the project and you’re probably wondering what’s happening. To keep you informed of progress the link below will take you to the first in a series of Newsletters that will keep you up to date with progress. It’s still early days but there will be more to report in future issues as the project moves forward. In this issue you will find preliminary details of a social evening for the Friends of Ramsgate Tunnels which we hope you will be able to attend.

 

The Newsletter is available for viewing in your browser at www.ramsgatetunnels.org/newsletter_1.html or as a printable PDF file at www.ramsgatetunnels.org/newsletter/newsletter_1.pdf

 

Regards,

 

The Ramsgate Tunnels Heritage Group

 

To unsubscribe from this list please reply to this email with UNSUBSCRIBE as the subject

 

The Wedding

Just a snippet of Nicu & Florina's wedding. Check the background of the last frame . . .

Back at the House

It’s nearly two years since we last visited our house and there must have been a very cold winter during that time. After priming the water system from the well I discovered five burst pipes. Residual water from the draining down process had taken it’s toll but luckily tools were on hand to make fittings and get cold water on tap. A quick trip into town for more fittings sorted the hot water. The sun is very hot which limits the time you can spend working in it but the next couple of days were spent clearing the garden of excessive growth and all is now as it was two years ago.

Time now for a break while we reflect and work out what to do next.

Romania – 25/05/2009

Not being sure if the roads have improved in Romania we decided on an early start to see how we get on. Our destination is still 530 kilometres away. As part of the EU there are no longer any border formalities apart from a quick passport check.

Thankfully the main roads have improved, and most importantly the slow, smelly trucks appear to have disappeared and you no longer have to sit behind them on long and winding uphill roads with continuous white lines preventing overtaking. Now, modern trucks are often chasing us up hills but roads are wider with overtaking lanes. The other thing that has changed is that the police no longer find it financially viable to lay in wait for you to cross a white line in frustration to overtake. They now wait with their radar equipment to take advantage of the new roads. Yes, we were caught at 68 kph in a 50 area, and I was presented with a well rehearsed routine offering me the chance to pay on the spot in cash with no paperwork, or pay at a higher rate at the local Primarie (town Mayor’s office) with the possibility of penalty points on my licence. In an effort to keep the paperwork to a minimum and save the trees we struck a deal for an on the spot fine.

Despite improved roads and lack of slow trucks, progress is still slow because of the number and size of towns which have grown up along the main roads. It’s not unusual to find a number of towns in succession which can reduce your speed to 50 kph (32 mph) for 10 kilometres or more. Town signs mark the beginning and end of speed limits but they don’t start and finish with the built up area. When we were caught we were well outside the built up area but still within the town signs. Just to add to the frustration, more signs in town often reduce speeds down to 30 or even 20 kph for no apparent reason.

In spite of the slow speeds we made reasonable progress and arrived at our destination by early evening. We set up camp in our garden under the grape vine.

Across Hungary

We’ve spent the day crossing Hungary. There are no direct main routes so we’ve cut across the middle at a slow but enjoyable pace. We’re limited to 70 kph (50 mph) with the trailer and that has helped keep the cost down. Speed restrictions are taken seriously in Hungary. We’re now camped at Camping Motel Maiko on the outskirts of Maiko, the last Hungarian town before the Romanian border. Another nice site but €14 this time.

Heading East – 23/5/09

Having seen what we came to see in the area we’ve headed east towards Romania via Slovenia. The quickest route would take us through Bosnia and Serbia but that entails leaving the EU. From experience there are the irritating potential hazards of queuing at borders and import export problems for the Smart car on the trailer. Not being in the mood for this we’ve travelled across Slovenia and camped just in Hungary at Nyirfas Camping at Nagykanizsa. We have the place to ourselves and everything is clean and working, all for €9 including electricity. A bit different to Sorrento at €35.

Lipica and the Lipizzaner Horses – 22/5/09

After a morning foray into Slovenia to find a supermarket, the afternoon was reserved for the Lipizzaner horses back in Slovenia. For €17 you get a guided tour of the Lipica stud farm and museum, plus a show at 3 pm where the horses are put through their paces. The history of breeding Lipizzaners at Lipica can be traced back as far as 1580 when an Austrian Archduke set up the farm in order to add Spanish and Arab blood to the strain first used by Romans for chariot racing. Currently there are about 300 horses at the farm and around 6,000 worldwide. This means Lipizzaners are an endangered species when it comes to the logistics of breeding pure thoroughbreds. Pay attention, we will be asking questions on our return!

Time to Move On

Today we’ve moved round the coast to a campsite on the hill top overlooking Trieste, just a few miles from the Slovenian border. The interest here is mainly a small community called Lipica, famous for breeding and training of the white Lipizzana horses associated with the Vienna Spanish Riding School. Lipica is less than 10 miles away just over the Slovenian border

Venice

The beauty of Venice is it’s location and unusual transport network. It’s possible to drive to the city and park or take a train but for us the ferry was the obvious choice. From just outside the campsite to Venice takes 25 minutes and you get some good views on the way.

The city is a maze of narrow passageways and bridges across the canals, punctuated by occasional squares and churches. The city centres around the Rialto district, best known for the Rialto Bridge. We decided to get lost and use the sun to keep a rough idea of where we were going. Photographing Venice is difficult because you look up at most things. Wherever there is a good photo opportunity there are always tourist tack stalls and thousands of tourists in the way. It’s not possible to get a photo of Venice’s most famous building, the Basilica di San Marco, without getting at least two tack stalls in the shot. Having got that off my chest, Venice is a fascinating city and easy to get around, especially if you understand the comprehensive water bus network.

We ended up in St Mark’s Square as do most tourists, something that is not lost on the Venetians. Hot and tired when they arrive here most will want some refreshments which are readily available. A cup of coffee will set you back around £5 and a small beer will cost just under £10, assuming you exchange your money wisely. The internet tells me we can get €1.10 to the pound, local exchange rates give €0.80 which will put the beer up to around £12.00. Don’t think you can do Italy on the cheap!

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North to Venice

Having had a taste of Florence and not being particularly impressed with the campsite’s lack of internet connection we have moved north to Venice. A few years ago we stumbled on a campsite at Fusina which is on a peninsular across the lagoon from Venice. It wasn’t quite so easy to get to this time. We were within a few miles of the site and the road suddenly split, none of which was shown on our out of date GPS maps. In the heat of the moment I made a wrong decision and took the motorway to Treiste in Slovenia. It was another 20 kilometres before we could get off the damned motorway and head back to the campsite.

We’re now settled just a stone’s throw from the water’s edge looking out across the lagoon to Venice. Huge ships pass just a few metres away as they enter and leave the nearby docks. There is a ferry that runs every hour from just outside the campsite across to Venice.