Greetings! My name is Jack Noah Rees and I’m a teacher and travel writer from a small corner of the Welsh countryside and this is my blog – yes, they do still exist. The grand purpose of Hit The Road Jack is to narrate my travels to places far-flung as I attempt to road trip and backpack around every sovereign state on earth. If that sounds mildly of interest to you, click here to find out why I’m undertaking this unlikely quest…
With van living being the primary focus in recent times, it’s been three and a half years since I last boarded an aluminium deathtrap in earnest and in that time my discomfort of flying hasn’t eased. In fact, I have now been joined by a person who finds it even more discomforting than I, which presented an interesting challenge when sat next to each other for over five hours as we fist clenched and teeth gritted our way over Europe.
With Vishnu under several metres of snow somewhere on the outskirts of Prague, we decided to save our great escape for another day and make the most of our time in the glacial Czech capital. After bidding au revoir to the campsite's ostentation of bemused peacocks we caught a convenient tram to the city’s most iconic structure: Karlův most.
The final destination of our Central European voyage would be newly named Czechia. With the recent change frowned upon by almost everyone outside of government, in a similar manner to North Macedonia, we would continue to use its former ‘Republic’ branding when having drinks and conversing with civil servants, politicians, or the local fuzz.
Crystal-clear skies and festive fragrances greeted our first morning in the Slovak capital: Bratislava. Having parked up in neighbouring Austria and caught an unsurprisingly efficient train into the centre we decided to get our blood pumping early doors by marching up a rocky hill towards her primary attraction.
