Europe to Asia: a family overland adventure

It has all started one sunny afternoon on a Greek island of Kythira in August 2001 – kids were swimming in the sea and me and Marjeta were taking it easy in a shadow of a café, drinking frappe and talking about our lives. Our conversation was heading towards heavy moods; we were pondering whether this was all we were able to squeeze out of our lives. Working our asses off during the year and than taking a few weeks off to go to Greece. We do both love Greece, there’s no doubt about it, but was that all?

So we started to think about what we would have loved to do in case everything was possible. What were our wildest dreams that could be realized with our newly formed family? Marjeta said: “How about going to Asia with a van, for a long journey?” And I, who have always felt an intimate connection with the hippie culture and that I was born too late to enjoy it really, uttered the only possible answer: “YES!”

We haven’t had anywhere near enough money for a project like this, but the ball started rolling, one thing led to another, our spirits were high and in less than two years after we started the engine and drove off. In the meantime we have moved twice, bought a second hand van, had it converted into a camper for five people, having in mind the specific needs of our journey, got together money and documents and maps and plans and everything… And started. On July 10, 2003.

Our path went firstly through the territory of ex-Yugoslavia, where a lot of post-war traumas were everywhere around, but also nostalgic memories for us, grown-ups, memories of a beautiful land of Yugoslavia we grew in, with its miraculous mixture of cultures, warmth, spirit and optimism.

After a relaxing time in Bulgaria and visit of the Black sea (which kids complained about a bit – definitely darker and less salty than the Adriatic –

…we came to Turkey. In Istanbul kids finally realized we were going to visit truly different countries and that this was not going to be just another holiday, but rather a genuine adventure.

We spent two thirds of nights from Turkey on in the wilderness, be it forest (as long as there still were any) or deserts. We loved deserts most. Of course. But we did not mind the vulcano craters at all, especially those with lakes…

…and than the real thing came: Iran. We read a lot about this country, but did not really know what to expect. And what we got was immense hospitality, beauty of people, grandness of culture and vastness of monumental nature.

When children thought they have already seen everything, a new cosmos opened in front of them; Pakistan. Our first visit was a brief one, we thought Pakistan was just too wild and best to be driven through as quickly as possible – but totally unexpectedly we fell in love with it. At the first glance.

Quetta – with its out-of-this-space unpredictability – opened up kid’s mouths wide and it took them weeks to close them back.

And finally arriving into India, Lucia’s dream-land. By now kids have given up trying to figure out what to expect next – and this was the best state of mind when entering India. Since I was not too keen on driving around in the country where drives utterly rely on re-incarnation, we did not spend too much time there, but it was enough for Indian magic to get under our skin.

Returning from India our next visit to Pakistan started off with our van being damaged in street riots. But after that, the love affair with Pakistan continued and deepened.

On our way back, the weather in Iran was already much cooler and it was more fun to go for a long walks and explore. We felt like an experts already.

And a quick jump across already frozen Balkan back home to Ljubljana. So our Magical Mistery Tour came to an end. But I believe it will live in our hearts forever.

Many journeys have happened afterwards, but none was so inspiring and exquisite as this one. And we are proud of having gathered courage for it. It was the time of our lives.