After a few days of waiting out a cold front in Thessalonaki, Greece, we crept towards the border of Greece and Turkey to a town called Alexandroúpoli.

Round one of Greece is over for now. We are crossing the border into Turkey today but we will be back later this month. Turkey wasn't a destination I had in mind when we started planning our time in Europe. But the more I learned about the country, the mo

Slowly creeping towards Turkey. #malimishineurope #malimishingreece #malimishmamaandkids #djimavicair

There’s a free beachfront spot that allows for wild camping / boondocking which is exactly what we like to do.

Goodbye Greece Hello Turkey blog

Kids immediately went into ‘collecting treasures, digging holes and covering themselves with sand’ mode.

Goodbye Greece Hello Turkey blog

Yes, Ava is very busy. And she also stole this sweatshirt from me. 🙂

Goodbye Greece Hello Turkey blog

Trying to time their jumping shot.

Goodbye Greece Hello Turkey blog

Trying to keep sand out of their beds is impossible with this one.

Goodbye Greece Hello Turkey blog

Wait for meeeeeeeeeeeee!

Goodbye Greece Hello Turkey blog

Cheese!

Goodbye Greece Hello Turkey blog

Hey, wait for me too!

Goodbye Greece Hello Turkey blog

Goodbye Greece Hello Turkey blog

Goodbye Greece Hello Turkey blog

There are always stray pups around which makes us sad and happy all at the same time.

Goodbye Greece Hello Turkey blog

Goodbye Greece Hello Turkey blog

The next morning we headed to the Turkish border. It was the longest border crossing so far on our Europen adventure. We came prepared with e-visas (printed out) which cost us $20 each. Agents at the border almost didn’t accept our car registration because our vehicle document displays the month before the day unlike most other countries. Took over an hour to settle. Once sorted, we bought liability insurance at the border for 3 months at 110 euros. There wasn’t a choice for a shorter duration. Our plan is to be here for two weeks. 

Our first stop in Turkey was Istanbul. In hindsight that might have not been the best decision. Not only were we in a foreign country with no cell service, we were also driving into a crazy busy metropolis in the dark with height restricted tunnels and underpasses. Dan and I both exhaled once we were safely parked at our spot for the night. We decided right then and there that we will be staying for a few nights and not driving an inch. It was a super exhausting border crossing / driving day.

Goodbye Greece Hello Turkey blog

Once all settled in a the campground (which was a gated outdoor soccer field parking lot), we walked to the nearest cell phone store to pick up a couple SIM cards and a few snacks as well.

Goodbye Greece Hello Turkey blog

When we returned to our van, we noticed some new furry friends.

Goodbye Greece Hello Turkey blog

Some who were insistent on climbing all over our home.

Goodbye Greece Hello Turkey blog

Here’s a video Dan put together covering our drive from Greece into Turkey. Enjoy!

Thanks for following along,
Marlene


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