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__NOTOC__

== Plan Theta ==

=== Phil's Original Template ===

http://tinyurl.com/plantheta

# Vienna!

# Vienna -> ~Zakobane (5:00) through some rather excellent scenery

# Spend some time in the Tatras

# Zakobane -> Kosice (2:55)

# Kosice -> Mukachevo (or somewhere similar) (2:30)

# A trip into Romania. Perhaps to Arad or something

# Mukachevo -> Budapest (3:54)

# Budapest -> Vukovar (4:17)

# Vukovar -> Zagreb (3:00)

# Zagreb -> Split (3:58)

# Trip to Sarajevo

# Back to Split, via Mostar (awesome bridge)

# Split to Trieste (5:16)

# To Vienna, via Ljubljana and Graz (plenty of time to see both, as they are only a couple of hours apart)

=== Amendment, Theta prime ===

* 1. Sat. Arrive Vienna. Stay in hotel and watch The Third Man instead of going out.

* 2. Sun. Take ages getting up, because we suck. This eats into our Bratislava time, and we eventually get there for lunch. Immediately leave for Zakopane. This takes the rest of the day (5:00+) because I am uncommonly travel-sick. The night-life in Zakopane is low-key.

* 3. Mon. Drive into the mountains for a picnic (1:00). The refuelling-the-car team argue with the picnic-buying team for forgetting the scotch eggs. It rains. Just before the sun sets, we remember to drive to Presov. (2:30)

* 4. Tue. Morning in Presov. It is Norwich. We quickly leave to see the glorious primordial beech forest of Stužica in the Poloniny National Park. (3:00) We all find it very amusing to run around the Poland/Ukraine/Slovakia triple point until a park ranger comes along and shouts at us. It takes us three hours (3:00) to get to Mukachevo but it's ok because finding accommodation takes epsilon time, and we packed food.

* 5. Wed. We celebrate arriving in the Ukraine by taking a quick tour of Mukachevo and then drive straight back into the EU. We get to Miskolc/Eger in the early afternoon (3:00). Mickey goes to the cave bath. I try to climb another mountain.

* 6. Thur. We spend the morning round Eger? There is a minaret which tastes almost like the Aya Sofia. Then we drive to Budapest, or Szekesfehervar, seat of kings (2:00 or 2:30). If in Budapest, I stay in the hotel and watch the third episode of [[Archived:MacGyver|MacGyver]].

* 7. Fri. We vote on whether to drive slowly down to Zagreb, sampling the delights of the Hungarian riviera, or drive quickly down and sample the delights of an east european capital city. Everybody loses the vote. (4:00)

* 8. Sat. To Split (4:00). The Adriatic shimmers on our right hand side, and everyone soon covers their eyes to avoid the glare. We hurry into town to investigate public transport options for...

* 9. Sun. We attempt to get into Bosnia without dying of frustration.

* 10. Mon. We attempt to get out of Bosnia without dying of anything. We play Scrabble on the way. Someone is annoyed that Sprska is not in sowpods.

Option 1:

* 11. Tue. Split to Trieste. (5-6:00) The Adriatic shimmers on our left hand side, and this time the driver soon covers his eyes...

* 12. Wed. Morning in Trieste, afternoon in Ljubljana (1:30). We go to ze castle, to check on the building progress. We go to the education history video, and learn about the Ljubljana tobacco factory.

Option 2:

* 11. Tue. *Early* start for Plitvice Lakes (3:30). Aim to arrive mid-morning for a days walking.

* 12. Wed. Buzz to Ljubljana in time for the afternoon showing of the tobacco factory video. (3:30)

Then

* 13. Thu. Day in Bled/Bohinj (1:00). We hire a canoe or two, and japes ensue. Back to Ljubljana or stay in Bled and...

* 14. Fri. Lazily round the Alps to Vienna, potentially via the Worthersee, Graz, Kindberg, etc. Stopping locations welcome. (4-5:00)

* 15. Sat. Gaze wistfully east'ards, as we board the Bucket Air flight home.

Other possible amendment: Lose the Bled or Plitvice day and spend it somewhere East, so as to push the Bosnia trek off the Sunday.

== To Travel By Car: A Plan ==

1.#0 friday: [ben's house] to calais [[getting to ben's] + 2 hrs drive + 1.5 hrs tunnel]

# saturday: calais to munich (a fast day, but this is just getting out) [9 hrs]

--- this is where the trip proper begins ---

1.#2 sunday: munich to ljubljana, via lake bled [4 hrs + 1 hr]

# monday: ljubljana to trieste, via the skocjan caves [2 hrs + 1hr]

1.#2 sunday: munich to ljubljana, via lake bled [4 hrs + 1 hr]; ljubljana in afternoon/evening

# monday: ljubljana to trieste, via the skocjan caves [2 hrs + 1hr]; trieste in afternoon/evening

# tuesday: trieste to split, via the plitvice lakes (a mainly driving day) [3 hrs + 3 hrs]

# wednesday: morning ~~in split,~~ split to sarajevo, via mostar (just a pass-through) [1.5 hrs + 1.5 hrs]

# wednesday: split in morning; split to sarajevo, via mostar (just a pass-through) [1.5 hrs + 1.5 hrs]

# thursday: sarajevo to kraljevo (and the zica monastery) [5 hrs]

# friday: kraljevo to belogradchik, via nis [5 hrs]

# friday: kraljevo to belogradchik, maybe via nis [2.5 + 2.5 hrs]

# saturday: belogradchik to sofia [3 hrs]

# saturday: belogradchik and the castle in morning; belogradchik to sofia [3 hrs]

# sunday: spend the day in sofia

# monday: sofia to belgrade (a driving day) [7 hrs]

# tuesday: belgrade to budapest [5 hrs]

# tuesday: if we care to do it, belgrade in morning; belgrade to budapest [5 hrs]

# wednesday: budapest to vienna [3 hrs]

# wednesday: budapest in morning; budapest to vienna [3 hrs]

# thursday: vienna to prague [4 hrs]

# thursday: if we care to do it, vienna in morning; vienna to prague [4 hrs]

# friday: spend the day in prague

~~-- this is where we start the return --~~

~~1.#15 saturday: prague to reims (a hard day's drive) [8 hrs]~~

~~# sunday: reims to [ben's house] [5 hrs drive + 1.5 hrs tunnel + [getting home]]~~

days of size >5 hrs drive in trip proper: only day 4, trieste to split and day 10, sofia to belgrade

--- this is where we start the return ---

1.#15 saturday: prague to {reims, maastricht} (a hard day's drive) [8 hrs]

# sunday: {reims, maastricht} to [ben's house] [5 hrs drive + 1.5 hrs tunnel + [getting home]]

--- a short pause before the end of time ---

* days of size >5 hrs drive in trip proper: only day 4, trieste to split and day 10, sofia to belgrade

* a proposed alternate also: add a third long day's drive, doing kraljevo to sofia in one run without stopping [7 hrs, direct], and adding an extra day to rest and see the sights in budapest

* alternatively instead of split -> sarajevo -> kraljevo -> belogradchik -> sofia, i understand that split -> pogdorica -> skopje -> sofia is also pretty awesome

* note please that i have allowed time in all cases for diversion, meandering, getting lost, seeing additional sights and so forth; if you believe the times in "a plan" below then one can reduce by 20% to 30% all the times which i have given

* total distance: a bit short of 3,700 miles

== A Plan ==

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Line 157:

# Drive to Istanbul and Asia! (3:48)

# Spend day in Istanbul and fly home

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 __NOTOC__
+== Plan Theta ==
+=== Phil's Original Template ===
+http://tinyurl.com/plantheta
+# Vienna!
+# Vienna -> ~Zakobane (5:00) through some rather excellent scenery
+# Spend some time in the Tatras
+# Zakobane -> Kosice (2:55)
+# Kosice -> Mukachevo (or somewhere similar) (2:30)
+# A trip into Romania.  Perhaps to Arad or something
+# Mukachevo -> Budapest (3:54)
+# Budapest -> Vukovar (4:17)
+# Vukovar -> Zagreb (3:00)
+# Zagreb -> Split (3:58)
+# Trip to Sarajevo
+# Back to Split, via Mostar (awesome bridge)
+# Split to Trieste (5:16)
+# To Vienna, via Ljubljana and Graz (plenty of time to see both, as they are only a couple of hours apart)
+=== Amendment, Theta prime ===
+* 1. Sat. Arrive Vienna. Stay in hotel and watch The Third Man instead of going out.
+* 2. Sun. Take ages getting up, because we suck. This eats into our Bratislava time, and we eventually get there for lunch. Immediately leave for Zakopane. This takes the rest of the day (5:00+) because I am uncommonly travel-sick. The night-life in Zakopane is low-key.
+* 3. Mon. Drive into the mountains for a picnic (1:00). The refuelling-the-car team argue with the picnic-buying team for forgetting the scotch eggs. It rains. Just before the sun sets, we remember to drive to Presov. (2:30)
+* 4. Tue. Morning in Presov. It is Norwich. We quickly leave to see the glorious primordial beech forest of Stužica in the Poloniny National Park. (3:00) We all find it very amusing to run around the Poland/Ukraine/Slovakia triple point until a park ranger comes along and shouts at us. It takes us three hours (3:00) to get to Mukachevo but it's ok because finding accommodation takes epsilon time, and we packed food.
+* 5. Wed. We celebrate arriving in the Ukraine by taking a quick tour of Mukachevo and then drive straight back into the EU. We get to Miskolc/Eger in the early afternoon (3:00). Mickey goes to the cave bath. I try to climb another mountain.
+* 6. Thur. We spend the morning round Eger? There is a minaret which tastes almost like the Aya Sofia. Then we drive to Budapest, or Szekesfehervar, seat of kings (2:00 or 2:30). If in Budapest, I stay in the hotel and watch the third episode of [[Archived:MacGyver|MacGyver]].
+* 7. Fri. We vote on whether to drive slowly down to Zagreb, sampling the delights of the Hungarian riviera, or drive quickly down and sample the delights of an east european capital city. Everybody loses the vote. (4:00)
+* 8. Sat. To Split (4:00). The Adriatic shimmers on our right hand side, and everyone soon covers their eyes to avoid the glare. We hurry into town to investigate public transport options for...
+* 9. Sun. We attempt to get into Bosnia without dying of frustration.
+* 10. Mon. We attempt to get out of Bosnia without dying of anything. We play Scrabble on the way. Someone is annoyed that Sprska is not in sowpods.
+Option 1:
+* 11. Tue. Split to Trieste. (5-6:00) The Adriatic shimmers on our left hand side, and this time the driver soon covers his eyes...
+* 12. Wed. Morning in Trieste, afternoon in Ljubljana (1:30). We go to ze castle, to check on the building progress. We go to the education history video, and learn about the Ljubljana tobacco factory.
+Option 2:
+* 11. Tue. *Early* start for Plitvice Lakes (3:30). Aim to arrive mid-morning for a days walking.
+* 12. Wed. Buzz to Ljubljana in time for the afternoon showing of the tobacco factory video. (3:30)
+Then
+* 13. Thu. Day in Bled/Bohinj (1:00). We hire a canoe or two, and japes ensue. Back to Ljubljana or stay in Bled and...
+* 14. Fri. Lazily round the Alps to Vienna, potentially via the Worthersee, Graz, Kindberg, etc. Stopping locations welcome. (4-5:00)
+* 15. Sat. Gaze wistfully east'ards, as we board the Bucket Air flight home.
+Other possible amendment: Lose the Bled or Plitvice day and spend it somewhere East, so as to push the Bosnia trek off the Sunday.
 == To Travel By Car: A Plan ==
 .#0 friday: [ben's house] to calais [[getting to ben's] + 2 hrs drive + 1.5 hrs tunnel]
 # saturday: calais to munich (a fast day, but this is just getting out) [9 hrs]
 --- this is where the trip proper begins ---
-.#2 sunday: munich to ljubljana, via lake bled [4 hrs + 1 hr]
-# monday: ljubljana to trieste, via the skocjan caves [2 hrs + 1hr]
+.#2 sunday: munich to ljubljana, via lake bled [4 hrs + 1 hr]; ljubljana in afternoon/evening
+# monday: ljubljana to trieste, via the skocjan caves [2 hrs + 1hr]; trieste in afternoon/evening
 # tuesday: trieste to split, via the plitvice lakes (a mainly driving day) [3 hrs + 3 hrs]
-# wednesday: morning in split, split to sarajevo, via mostar (just a pass-through) [1.5 hrs + 1.5 hrs]
+# wednesday: split in morning; split to sarajevo, via mostar (just a pass-through) [1.5 hrs + 1.5 hrs]
 # thursday: sarajevo to kraljevo (and the zica monastery) [5 hrs]
-# friday: kraljevo to belogradchik, via nis [5 hrs]
+# friday: kraljevo to belogradchik, maybe via nis [2.5 + 2.5 hrs]
-# saturday: belogradchik to sofia [3 hrs]
+# saturday: belogradchik and the castle in morning; belogradchik to sofia [3 hrs]
 # sunday: spend the day in sofia
 # monday: sofia to belgrade (a driving day) [7 hrs]
-# tuesday: belgrade to budapest [5 hrs]
+# tuesday: if we care to do it, belgrade in morning; belgrade to budapest [5 hrs]
-# wednesday: budapest to vienna [3 hrs]
+# wednesday: budapest in morning; budapest to vienna [3 hrs]
-# thursday: vienna to prague [4 hrs]
+# thursday: if we care to do it, vienna in morning; vienna to prague [4 hrs]
 # friday: spend the day in prague
--- this is where we start the return --
-.#15 saturday: prague to reims (a hard day's drive) [8 hrs]
-# sunday: reims to [ben's house] [5 hrs drive + 1.5 hrs tunnel + [getting home]]
-days of size >5 hrs drive in trip proper: only day 4, trieste to split and day 10, sofia to belgrade
+--- this is where we start the return ---
+.#15 saturday: prague to {reims, maastricht} (a hard day's drive) [8 hrs]
+# sunday: {reims, maastricht} to [ben's house] [5 hrs drive + 1.5 hrs tunnel + [getting home]]
+--- a short pause before the end of time ---
+* days of size >5 hrs drive in trip proper: only day 4, trieste to split and day 10, sofia to belgrade
+* a proposed alternate also: add a third long day's drive, doing kraljevo to sofia in one run without stopping [7 hrs, direct], and adding an extra day to rest and see the sights in budapest
+* alternatively instead of split -> sarajevo -> kraljevo -> belogradchik -> sofia, i understand that split -> pogdorica -> skopje -> sofia is also pretty awesome
+* note please that i have allowed time in all cases for diversion, meandering, getting lost, seeing additional sights and so forth; if you believe the times in "a plan" below then one can reduce by 20% to 30% all the times which i have given
+* total distance: a bit short of 3,700 miles
 == A Plan ==
@@ Line 98: / Line 157: @@
 # Drive to Istanbul and Asia! (3:48)
 # Spend day in Istanbul and fly home