Author Archives: driveeuropenews

Daily Brief 10 July 2013

Latest update 18:30 UK time.

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Travel: ‘Critical incident’ at Dover, P&O delays (update) for passengers and freight. See below.

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It's our new Best Job in the World. Nip over to Maranello to pick up a priceless Ferrari. Or the top secret BMW FIZ Projekthaus in Munich. Or Bugatti in Molsheim. This week's Goodwood Festival of Speed means international classic car

It’s our new Best Job in the World. Nip over to Maranello to pick up a priceless Ferrari. Or to the top secret BMW FIZ Projekthaus in Munich. Or to Bugatti in Molsheim. Provide backup for a two week classic car rally through the Alps, or ferry an absolute classic Aston Martin DB5 between summer events. Delivering fine motor cars around Europe certainly has its attractions. Photo via @ButtyVanFinder, the free app for finding the best food on the road, see www.buttyvan.com.

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TRAVEL/WEATHER:

Meteoalarm weather alerts – Amber alert for high temperatures south west Spain, and storms in central east Spain. Amber alert for high temperatures in Montenegro, and for storms in west and south central Austria.

Weather in brief – a dry, breezy band across central Europe but thunderstorms possible all across the north and south.

Crossing the Channel: Some disruption at P&O Dover due to Critical Incident, see below, or here. No other operators currently reporting any delays.

From @Port_of_Dover today: ‘Here in Dover sea conditions in the Channel are moderate with a North Noreasterly breeze, force 5 to 6 and the visibility is good.’

Latest @CF_travel_news forecast: ‘The current forecast indicates slight conditions during the week ahead.’

See our Traffic/Travel/Weather page for the latest.

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NEWSBLOG:

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‘Critical lncident’ Dover:

Statement from @Port_of_Dover: ‘The Port of Dover can confirm that a critical incident is underway concerning 14 asylum seekers found in a tanker on board P&O’s Spirit of France.  Emergency services are at the scene and are dealing with the situation in close co-operation with Port staff.  Seven of the asylum seekers are receiving medical attention but none are currently considered to be in a life-threatening condition. The Port is open.’

update 1: ‘The incident is concerning 15 asylum seekers found in a tanker on board P&O’s Spirit of France. 12 casualties are non-critical and 3 casualties receiving further treatment. Two drivers of the vehicle concerned have been taken into custody. The examination of the tanker is on-going but the powder initially found in the vehicle has been confirmed as non-hazardous.’

update 2 14:30: Emergency services have now stood down and none of the asylum seekers needed to be hospitalised. P&O freight say the service should soon return to normal. Some passenger services still subject to a 60 mins delay.

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NOTES:

Turkey – after some days without protests, police were out in force over the weekend in Istanbul. See latest FCO travel advice.

Bulgaria – continuing anti-govt demonstrations, day twenty seven today. The British Embassy says, ‘There is a small risk of violence. Avoid large gatherings in public spaces and follow local media and the advice of the local authorities.’ For the latest FCO travel advice click here. For Bulgarian news in English see www.Novinite.com or @novinite_com on Twitter.

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Daily Brief 9 July 2013

Latest update 19:00 UK time.

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News: All going to plan on the Channel – Quieter Italian motorways – driving in the Flemish Ardennes – Ireland cross-border bridge suspended.

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To celebrate the 120th anniversary of Moscow's GUM department store on Red Square's, Porsche has brought out a limited edition 911 GUM: painted pascha red, mahogany interior, beige seats, based on the 4S. Russia only. That's it.

To celebrate the 120th anniversary of Moscow’s GUM department store on Red Square, Porsche has brought out a limited edition of its 911, the GUM: painted pascha red, mahogany interior, beige seats, based on the 4S. Russia only. That’s it.

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TRAVEL/WEATHER:

Meteoalarm weather alerts – amber warning high temperatures north east Portugal, south west and central Spain. Storms in north Serbia, a small part of central south Austria, also now southern Germany.

Weather in brief – hot and sunny again, but heavy rain in the Alps and showers in the very north.

Crossing the Channel: No operators currently reporting any delays.

From @Port_of_Dover today: ‘Here in Dover sea conditions in the Channel are slight, with a NNE breeze, force 5, and the visibility is good.’

Latest @CF_travel_news forecast: ‘The current forecast indicates slight conditions during the week ahead.’

See our Traffic/Travel/Weather page for the latest.

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NEWSBLOG:

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Traffic levels on Italian motorways fell by 7.2% in 2012 compared to 2011, the largest fall since the recession began according to AISCAT, the road operator association. By contrast motorway traffic in the UK grew by 1% in 2012 according to the DfT.

Traffic levels on Italian motorways fell by 7.2% in 2012 compared to 2011, the largest fall since the recession began according to AISCAT, the road operator association. That’s a significant reduction. Just 5% less traffic on a congested road is widely reckoned by the traffic planning industry to be enough to solve the problem. By contrast motorway traffic in the UK grew by 1% in 2012 according to the DfT.

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UK – Home Secretary Theresa May has set out which of the 130-odd Justice & Home Affairs measures the UK will opt back into as per the Lisbon Treaty. Read her speech here. The explanatory document published alongside is impenetrable: 110 pages long, written in fine legalese. We’ll look out for some expert analysis. In the meantime, according to The Guardian the UK will not be a part of the Prum Treaty, one of the agreements which includes sharing car registration data. MPs will debate the whole issue next week, and again after the opt-in negotiations with other EU member states.

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Italy – phase one of the programme to limit private vehicles on the road around the Colosseum and Imperial Forums in Rome starts on 30 July, mayor Ignazio Marino tells Ansa news agency. The speed limit for buses and taxis will also be reduced. The Colosseum is to undergo a €25 restoration, starting at the same time, controversially funded by Diego Della Valle, owner of designer driving shoe manufacturer Tod’s.

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Belgium - Rene Michiels started as an apprentice but worked his way up to become the official franchised Aston Martin dealer for Belgium by 1990, with premises in Antwerp and Tisselt. He died in 2010 but each year since has seen a ‘Memorial Rene Michiels Rally’. This year 100 cars took part – fitting for Aston’s centenary – driving from the market square at Oudenaarde to Castle Steenhout through the Flemish Ardennes to the west of Brussels.

Belgium – Rene Michiels started as an apprentice but by 1990 had worked his way up to become the official franchised Aston Martin dealer for Belgium, with premises in Antwerp and Tisselt. He died in 2010 but each year since has seen a ‘Memorial Rene Michiels Rally’. This year 100 cars took part – fitting for Aston’s centenary – driving from the market square at Oudenaarde to Kasrteel Steenhout through the Flemish Ardennes west of Brussels.

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Republic of Ireland – a blunt pencil perhaps? Or maybe a zero got lost in the count. Either way it’s hard to account for the yawning discrepancy between the estimated and actual costs of the planned 195m cable stayed bridge across the River Newry, and the Northern Ireland/Eire border. Having allotted €17.4m to the project, mainly from the EU, councillors were shocked to see the tenders range from €26-40m, plus VAT. Upwards of €1m has already been spent on the project. In a final twist it seems unlikely alternative financing can be arranged before the time-limited EU offer is withdrawn.

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Belarus – a new factory to build road building machinery will be commissioned in Venezuela by Belarus manufacturers. The two countries apparently have a long standing bilateral relationship. The new venture joins a brick block factory and assembly facilities for tractors and vehicles says the Belarusian Telegraph Agency.

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NOTES:

St Malo – The Tour de France arrives in St Malo today. Please allow extra time when travelling to the port.

Turkey – after some days without protests, police were out in force over the weekend in Istanbul. See latest FCO travel advice. British Embassy staff found six tear gas cannisters in the grounds on Sunday morning and six more this evening.

Bulgaria – continuing anti-govt demonstrations, day twenty five today. The British Embassy says, ‘There is a small risk of violence. Avoid large gatherings in public spaces and follow local media and the advice of the local authorities.’ For the latest FCO travel advice click here. For Bulgarian news in English see www.Novinite.com or @novinite_com on Twitter.

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Daily Brief 8 July 2013

Latest update 19:40 UK time.

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Super hot Spain & Portugal – Channel crossings running to plan – accident A12 into Den Haag, queue subsiding by 19:40

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Traffic roundup – Belgium: E40 eastbound into Brussels (particularly from Gent) was busy from first thing as ever though delays persisted until lunchtime. Westbound cleared fairly early on. France: The A6 northbound into Paris was slow moving all day, queues backing up first to the Melon junction, then Fontainebleau. Germany: Persistent queues at the junction between A6 and A7 west of Nuremburg, caused by roadworks on the A6 at this point westbound.

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News: Windy500 raises £17k – the Silvretta route – fuel Spain/Portugal – Tesla Goodwood debut – Dover Docks at 60 – Slovenia truck tolls cancelled

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Random pic: lost in the Pyrenees. Really lost.

Random pic: lost in the Pyrenees. Really lost.

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TRAVEL/WEATHER:

Meteoalarm weather alerts – Amber alert for high temperatures Portugal and western Spain (down from red alert over the weekend) and Montenegro. Now amber alert storms west Austria.

Weather in brief – ‘A very warm to hot and mainly dry day to come across Europe. There are some showers forecast across The Alps and across Italy. Temperatures will climb into the low 40s across Portugal and Spain.’

Crossing the Channel: No operators currently reporting any delays.

From @Port_of_Dover today: ‘Here in Dover sea conditions in the Channel are calm with North Easterly breeze, force 5, and the visibility is moderate.’

Latest @CF_travel_news forecast: ‘The current forecast indicates slight conditions during the week ahead.’

See our Traffic/Travel/Weather page for the latest.

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NEWSBLOG:

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Windy500 – the 23 country, 23 day, 5,500 mile pan-European adventure drive has raised an impressive £17,000 for charity according to the latest blog post by organiser Steve Blackmore. The original target was £10,000. The teams arrived back yesterday. Most of the proceeds go to children’s hospice Julia’s House in Dorset.

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Silvretta Classic Rally – 180 all-time classics, including a 1957 BMW 507 and a 1929 4.5 litre ‘Blower Bentley’, took part in this year’s event starting at Partenen in the Montafon Valley, west Austria. If it's good enough for them.

Silvretta Classic Rally – 180 all-time classics, including a 1957 BMW 507 and a 1929 4.5 litre ‘Blower Bentley’, took part in this year’s event starting at Partenen in the Montafon Valley, west Austria. If it’s good enough for them.

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Spain and Portugal – fuel prices are falling in Spain but rising in Portugal, widening the traditional gap on petrol. Diesel prices are roughly comparable. Average prices for unleaded are €1.43/l and €1.56/l respectively compared to €1.34/l and €1.36/l for diesel. However, Spanish unleaded is marginally up on the start of the year while diesel has fallen by about the same. In Portugal the reverse is true. These figures from local media are broadly in line with the most recent AA Fuel Price Report.

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Dover – from an initial forecast 10,000 vehicles a year to an actual 100,000 – now up to 4.5 million – the Port of Dover has come a long way in its sixty years. The car terminal officially opened on 8 July 1953. While the latest figures out today show an increase of 11.3% in freight vehicles over the first half of 2013, the number of cars was down 3.1% in the second quarter, and 1.8% so far this year.

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The first Tesla Model S Performance Plus is finally heading to the UK.

The Tesla Model S is finally heading to the UK.

Electric cars – the Tesla Model S Performance Plus – which accelerates from 0-60mph in 4.2s – appears in the UK for the first time at this weekend’s Goodwood Festival of Speed. Soon after, journalists get the first chance to drive this potentially revolutionary car on UK soil (though no prices have been released yet). Meanwhile, ABB announced today a new contract to install a fastcharge network in the Netherlands which will put all 16.7m citizens within 50km of a point capable of fully charging their car in under 30 minutes. Starting this September, finished by 2015. Lastly, Luton-based Chargemaster said today it will list on the AIM stockmarket to raise £6m to expand its already 2,800 point strong network. After a period of relative quiet, and with the new BMW i3 due for imminent launch – and Audi technical boss Wolfgang Durheimer reportedly sacked last month for ignoring EVs – sees the subject suddenly speeding back to the top of the agenda.

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Road safety – there were two reports of head-on crashes caused by cars driving on the wrong side of the road over the weekend, so called ‘wrong way’ crashes, but thankfully neither involved UK drivers. Unfortunately there were fatalities in both incidents. The first involved a young man from Luxembourg, apparently DUI, the second an elderly couple from Vienne in western France.

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Slovenia – a truly terrible week for Kapsch TrafficCom. First the road toll provider admitted its failure to understanding Belarus’ legal system led to a month’s delay starting the BelToll system. Now it has emerged the Slovenian govt last week cancelled its tender for a similar (truck) toll network, its second attempt in three years. Kapsch was the only bidder.

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Italy – The newly elected left leaning Mayor of Rome is ruffling transport feathers right and centre. The cycling-mad former transplant surgeon Ignatzio Marino last week proposed a controversial pedestrianisation of Via dei Fori Imperiali, the road running past the Colosseum. Now traffic police chief Carlo Buttarelli has resigned after a row with Mayorino, apparently about street vendors. We eagerly await his next move.

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NOTES:

Turkey – after some days without protests, police were out in force over the weekend in Istanbul. See latest FCO travel advice. British Embassy staff found six tear gas cannisters in the grounds on Sunday morning and six more this evening.

Bulgaria – continuing anti-govt demonstrations, day twenty five today. The British Embassy says, ‘There is a small risk of violence. Avoid large gatherings in public spaces and follow local media and the advice of the local authorities.’ For the latest FCO travel advice click here. For Bulgarian news in English see www.Novinite.com or @novinite_com on Twitter.

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Sunday Digest 7 July

A roundup of all the week’s most important stories – from Italy, Croatia & Belgium.

Plus new roads news, road toll roundup + Welcome Home.

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Rome: the city council will debate on Monday a proposal from the new mayor to pedestrianise this part of Via dei Fori Imperiali than runs past the Coliseum. If accepted, the road will be off-limits to cars from August.

Rome: the city council debates this week whether to ban cars from the Via dei Fori Imperiali from August.

Italy – BreBeMi, a new motorway between Milan and Brescia will be ready by April 2014. Dubbed A35, the new road cuts the journey from 97km to 60km. The existing A4 between the two cities, via Bergamo, is notoriously congested. The new road will have no major junctions along its length and will considerably boost transit times across northern Italy, from Trieste and Venice in the east to Turin in the west, to everybody’s benefit. It will also improve access to the Lombardy countryside.

Meanwhile, the new Pope has warned priests (and nuns) not to drive ‘expensive cars’. The Pope of course is carried around in a custom-built Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen. The hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox church recently issued a similar warning to its clergy, after one priest was jailed for three years after killing two Moscow road workers in his $120,000 Mercedes SUV, and another was accused of road rage.

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Belgium: authorities have relaxed restrictions on driving Old Timers, cars ver 25 years old. Previously only allowed during daylight hours

Belgium: restrictions have been relaxed on Old Timers, cars over 25 years old registered with O pre-fixed number plates, above. Previously only allowed on the roads during daylight hours and to and from designated events. Now free to roam wherever and whenever. Prepare for an explosion of vintage car events in Belgium.

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Croatia – long border queues, inbound and outbound, immediately after Croatia joined the EU on Monday (1 July) – when a stricter regime came into play – subsided as the week wore on but returned over the weekend. Multi-kilometer queues were reported at many crossing points yesterday; at the time of writing worst affected is the major Bajakovo crossing with Serbia with a 4km outbound freight queue. The Croatian Motoring Association (HAK) publishes a daily brief of all road and border conditions here. As the summer wears on, all eyes will be on the Klek border over the Bosnian Neum corridor which many tourists use to visit Dubrovnik. So far all seems well.

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Road tolls roundup

Hungary's new electronic road toll system for freight HU-GO is go.

Hungary’s new electronic road toll system for freight HU-GO is go.

Road tolls roundup – an embarrassing week for Austrian Kapsch TrafficCom who were forced to admit that ‘an array of diverse legal administrative procedures, some of which we had no idea of when launching the project’ caused the month’s delay for Belarus’ new national road tolls system. It now starts on 1 August for all foreign vehicles. See www.beltoll.by for more. Defying all predictions, Hungary’s new electronic charging system for trucks was up on running on 1 July with only a couple of glitches early on the first morning. No word yet on whether the system will be extended to cars in six months (voluntarily) as initially proposed. See www.hu-go.hu for more. Finally, a month after its opening, tolls are now being levied on the New Europe Bridge (previously Danube 2) between Bulgaria and Romania. Charges range from €6 for a car to €37 for a four axle truck, each way.

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New roads roundup

Romania: the famous Transfagarasan DN7c road, from Sibiu to Curtea de Arges (near Pitesti) is officially open says the Romanian roads authority - but the Windy500 camped on the top last week so it must have been unofficially open for a while. Either way, it closes this year on 31 October.

Romania: the famous Transfagarasan DN7c road, from Sibiu to Curtea de Arges (near Pitesti) is officially open says the Romanian roads authority. It closes this year on 31 October, as well as from 21:00-07:00 each day.

New roads roundup – the big, big news is that Bulgaria’s Trakia Highway, from Sofia to the Black Sea Coast, will absolutely definitely open on 15 July*. Beware though a lack of petrol stations. Good news also for Moldova which has secured World Bank and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development financing to upgrade its major roadways, a big deal for Europe’s poorest country. Montenegro too has EBRD money for road upgrades but much more significant is the yet-to-be-ratified deal with Chinese constructors to build the challenging central link in its Bar-Boljave motorway. This road will eventually extend from Belgrade to the Adriatic. Meanwhile another Austrian company has come a cropper in its dealings with Eastern Europe. Having finally entered insolvency proceedings after months of speculation, Alpina leaves an important stretch of road between Serbia‘s second city Nis and the Bulgarian border incomplete. Serb authorities will shortly re-tender the contract.

* a new report this afternoon says that date will be confirmed on 8 or 9 July.

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Welcome Home…

The Rolls-Royce Alpine Rally culminated in a reception at the Kursalon in central Vienna. Picture courtesy of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Ltd.

The Rolls-Royce Alpine Rally culminated in a reception at the Kursalon in central Vienna. Picture courtesy of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Ltd.

There are mixed feelings at the end of any trip. The difference ‘on tour’ is that having got yourself there and back almost entirely by your own efforts you can look forward to the future with extra confidence. So it’s welcome back to the Rolls-Royce Alpine Rally (not quite non-stop luxury) and the Windy500 teams (definitely not non-stop luxury). The former did 1,800 miles through the Alps in sixteen days in hundred year old cars; the latter did over 5,500 miles in 23 days through 23 countries in vehicles only marginally younger in some cases. Hearty cheers all round!

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And finally: amusing? For the second time in as many weeks we’ve heard of Belarus traffic police firing on suspected drunk drivers. The first time was a couple of warning shots. This last Wednesday evening however police fired 22 times at a car being driven (at 140kph it has to be said) through the streets of the capital Minsk. Nineteen of the shots were on target. Blood tests later found a BC level of 120mg though it’s not yet clear if they were obtained post mortem.

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Daily Brief 7 July 2013

Latest update 18:00 UK time.

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Red heat warnings Spain/Portugal – possible protests Istanbul – Eurotunnel 30min delays both ways

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Northern Italy: SR251 Maniago-Longarone.

Northern Italy: SR251 Maniago-Longarone.

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TRAVEL/WEATHER:

Meteoalarm weather alerts – Portugal and western Spain. Red warning for high temperatures in Ourense, north west Spain. Amber alerts for surrounding regions. Now also amber alert for storms south central Austria.

Weather in brief – Hot across Europe today and mainly dry apart from heavy showers and thunderstorms in the Alps.

Crossing the Channel: Eurotunnel: UK + French terminals: ‘Due to unforeseen capacity restrictions there is a waiting time of approximately 30 minutes on the terminal.’

Eurotunnel has been bugged by delays all day. No other operators currently reporting any delays.

From @Port_of_Dover today: ‘Here in Dover sea conditions in the Channel are calm with a gentle NE gentle breeze, force 2, and the visibility is moderate to good.’

Latest @CF_travel_news forecast: ‘The current forecast indicates slight sea conditions over the weekend.’

See our Traffic/Travel/Weather page for the latest.

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NOTES:

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Turkey – after some days without protests, police were out in force last night again in Istanbul. See latest FCO travel advice. British Embassy staff found six tear gas cannisters in the grounds again this morning.

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Sofia, Bulgaria: the essentially peaceable nature of the anti-cabinet (not anti-govt) enduring protests. Photo via @Vesey, Vesey Crighton from cleves.bg luxury apartment rental.

Sofia, Bulgaria: the essentially peaceable nature of the anti-govt protests. Photo via @Vesey, Vesey Crighton from cleves.bg luxury apartment rental.

Bulgaria – continuing anti-govt demonstrations, day twenty four today. The British Embassy says, ‘There is a small risk of violence. Avoid large gatherings in public spaces and follow local media and the advice of the local authorities.’ For the latest FCO travel advice click here. For Bulgarian news in English see www.Novinite.com or @novinite_com on Twitter.

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Daily Brief 6 July 2013

Latest update 18:00 UK time.

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Record temperatures Portugal – demonstrations in central Istanbul (click for more) – No delays on Channel services

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News: Saturday service today, see @DriveEurope on Twitter for the latest. Sunday digest of all the week’s best stories tomorrow.

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Oil wrestling in Edirne.

Oil wrestling in Edirne. We can always rely on @LeighTurnerFCO to go somewhere interesting but he’s surpassed himself this time: en route to an oil wrestling tournament in Edirne, the city on the E80 240km from Istanbul, near the border with Greece. Apart from being the Turkish national sport, apparently oil wrestling – with olive oil – is the world’s oldest sport having been played continuously since 1362 according to Wikipedia. Competitors try to gain purchase on their opponents’ ‘kisbet’, water buffalo hide shorts. There’s been a major tournament on all week in Edirne, celebrating 652 years, due to finish tomorrow.

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TRAVEL/WEATHER:

Meteoalarm weather alerts – Code Red for high temperatures SW Portugal – Lisboa and Setubal regions – plus amber warnings for the surrounding area and across Spain border. Amber for storms south central Poland and Slovakia, and for high temps and winds Montenegro.

Weather in brief – ‘Another hot Summer’s day across most of Europe’. But the odd (heavy) shower from Central to South East.

Crossing the Channel: No operators currently reporting any delays.

From @Port_of_Dover today: ‘Here in Dover sea conditions in the Channel are calm with North Easterly light airs, force 1, and the visibility is very good.’

Latest @CF_travel_news forecast: ‘The current forecast indicates slight sea conditions over the weekend.’

See our Traffic/Travel/Weather page for the latest.

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NEWSLOG/PHOTOS:

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NOTES:

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Sofia, Bulgaria: the essentially peaceable nature of the anti-cabinet (not anti-govt) enduring protests. Photo via @Vesey, Vesey Crighton from cleves.bg luxury apartment rental.

Sofia, Bulgaria: the essentially peaceable nature of the anti-govt protests. Photo via @Vesey, Vesey Crighton from cleves.bg luxury apartment rental.

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Brittany Ferries passengers from Santander: ‘To avoid possible congestion. Passenger vehicles arriving from Santander are advised to turn right immediately after exiting the port, then follow signs for Exeter A38 (Light vehicles).’

Bulgaria – continuing anti-govt demonstrations, day twenty three today. The British Embassy says, ‘There is a small risk of violence. Avoid large gatherings in public spaces and follow local media and the advice of the local authorities.’ For the latest FCO travel advice click here. For Bulgarian news in English see www.Novinite.com or @novinite_com on Twitter.

Turkey – despite some no-go areas on the Syrian border, general Foreign Office travel advice has been downgraded after the riots of recent weeks. Click for more.

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Daily Brief 5 July 2013

Latest update 18:20 UK time

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News: 30 mins delay on UK Eurotunnel terminal – Very heavy weekend traffic France – Spot checks for overloaded campers/caravans Germany – Colosseum car ban – DFDS Harwich-Esbjerg restarts today – Belarus police fire 22 shots at DUI – Frank Dennen killed in Russia RTA – Danube2 + E79 blockades

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Colosseum car ban

Rome: the city council will debate on Monday a proposal from the new mayor to pedestrianise this part of Via dei Fori Imperiali than runs past the Coliseum. If accepted, the road will be off-limits to cars from August.

Rome: the city council debates on Monday a proposal from the new mayor to pedestrianise the part of Via dei Fori Imperiali than runs past the Colosseum. If accepted, the road will be off-limits to cars from August. Better to ban vans in our view.

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TRAVEL/WEATHER:

Meteoalarm weather alerts – Amber warnings for high temperatures down the west side of the Iberian Peninsula, Portugal and Spain. Also, storms in north central Austria.

Weather in brief – for much of Europe it will be a hot and dry summer’s day (apart from NE France, Belgium, Holland, much of Germany and Austria!)

Crossing the Channel: No operators currently reporting any delays.

From @Port_of_Dover today: not yet.

Latest @CF_travel_news forecast: ‘The current forecast indicates slight sea conditions over the weekend.’

See our Traffic/Travel/Weather page for the latest.

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NEWSLOG/PHOTOS:

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Danube bridge revamp 2014. Danube2 and E79 Blockade threat.

Bulgaria/Romania - now the Danube 2 bridge is up and running, a thorough revamp is being planned for the alternative Giurgiu-Ruse bridge.

Bulgaria/Romania – now the Danube 2 bridge is up and running a thorough revamp is planned for the alternative, 60 year old Giurgiu-Ruse bridge (above) next year. It is likely to be closed meaning traffic will have to rely on ferries, or re-route 144 miles east to Cernavoda or 220 miles west to Danube 2 (now the New Europe Bridge). Meanwhile, farmers disgruntled with cut price produce entering Bulgaria via the newly opened Danube 2 are threatening a blockade unless the govt acts. Farmers in the south have a similar idea about the E79 to Greece. A deadline of July 11 has been mentioned.

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France – heavy traffic is forecast for this weekend, the official start of the Summer Holiday season. The national traffic service Bison Fute uses a green, orange, red and black colour coded system, from best to worst road conditions. As drivers depart this afternoon/evening and tomorrow BF has issued code orange nationwide. The Ile de France Paris has a red warning both days. According to ex-pat newspaper The Connexion, 13,000 police will be on duty, many assigned to speed checks. See our Driving in France 2013 page for more.

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Germany – many drivers are unaware there are weight limits for caravans and trailers says this five minute, English language film from Deutsche Welle. A film crew tags along on police spot checks that specifically target holidaymakers. A third were overweight. Anything up to 20% over the permissible weight sees a ‘small fine’. Anything over that sees vehicles prevented from driving any further. In many cases excess weight is caused by carrying too much water which can be drained at the roadside. Otherwise items can be transferred from the trailer/caravan to the car/van.

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Vital link for Montenegro

Montenegro - the Bar-Boljare motorway route marked in red.

Montenegro – the Bar-Boljare motorway route marked in red. The tendered road is the straightish mid-section.

Montenegro – two Chinese companies have won the first bidding round to build the vital but tricky mid-section of the Bar-Boljare motorway according to a govt announcement. Roughly tracing the Albanian border a few kilometers west, the current road between capital Podgorice and Matesevo is a renowned bottleneck in the national network and dangerous in winter, cutting through the mountains. The new road will cut the distance by one third and the journey time by 80%. The deal still has to be ratified by parliament. The 40km stretch comes in at a barely believable (but realistic) €809m, financed by a Chinese bank. Eventually the new highway will be extended south, to Bar on the coast, and north to Belgrade, the so-called Corridor 11 (X1). Work is currently advancing on the Serbian side, also by Chinese contractors.

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DFDS Harwich-Esbjerg – sailings resume today from Esbjerg at 18:45 and tomorrow from Harwich at 17:45. The DFDS service is the only regular car/passenger sailing between UK-Scandinavia. Limited space is sometimes available on DFDS Tor Line boats between Immingham/Tilbury-Gothenburg.

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This time next week the Travel Trade Crusade will be under way! Thirty one teams of travel professionals embark on athree day adventure in five European countries, starting in Calais, taking in the Nurburgring and finishing in Amsterdam

It’s amazing how far you can go. This time next week the Travel Trade Crusade gets under way.. Thirty one teams of travel professionals embark on a three day adventure (so less time away from the office!) through five European countries. Starting in Calais, taking in the Nurburgring and finishing in Amsterdam on Sunday evening. All for charity, and covered by Travel Weekly. See www.traveltradecrusade.com for more.

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Russia – truck racer Frank Dennen of the VeKa Racing team has been killed in an road accident. The Dakkar Rally competitor was on the way to Moscow to compete in the Silk Way Rally. The team has withdrawn from the event according to a message on its Facebook page. Russian road safety organisation www.RSRussia.org says 27,991 people were killed on the country’s roads in 2012.

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Belarus – traffic police fired 22 times at a drunk driver in Minsk on Wednesday night, nineteen of them into the car. The current condition of the driver is not known though a statement later said the man has 120mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood. The BAC level in Belarus is 50mg (source: International Centre for Alcohol Policies. theaa.com says it is zero). This is the second time in as many weeks we’ve heard of Belarus traffic police firing at a DUI.

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NOTES:

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Sofia, Bulgaria: the essentially peaceable nature of the anti-cabinet (not anti-govt) enduring protests. Photo via @Vesey, Vesey Crighton from cleves.bg luxury apartment rental.

Sofia, Bulgaria: the essentially peaceable nature of the anti-govt protests. Photo via @Vesey, Vesey Crighton from cleves.bg luxury apartment rental.

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Brittany Ferries passengers from Santander: ‘To avoid possible congestion. Passenger vehicles arriving from Santander are advised to turn right immediately after exiting the port, then follow signs for Exeter A38 (Light vehicles).’

Bulgaria – continuing anti-govt demonstrations, day twenty two today. The British Embassy says, ‘There is a small risk of violence. Avoid large gatherings in public spaces and follow local media and the advice of the local authorities.’ For the latest FCO travel advice click here. For Bulgarian news in English see www.Novinite.com or @novinite_com on Twitter.

Turkey – despite some no-go areas on the Syrian border, general Foreign Office travel advice has been downgraded after the riots of recent weeks. Click for more.

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Daily Brief 4 July 2013

Latest update 18:09

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News: Rolls-Royce Alpine Rally concludes – Dutch smoggy pavements – Luxembourg car and cash scams – Congestion charge holiday Gothenburg – Spain deadliest hotspot camera’d – increase checks Belarus/Latvia border – Greece roads restart confirmed – Kazakhstan new roads

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DFDS Dover-Calais – ‘DFDS Seaways regret to advise our Dover Calais services are operating with delays up to 45 minutes due to operational reasons.’ Dover-Dunkirk services not affected.

Condor Ferries – Rapide operating at reduced power today (4 July) St Malo-Jersey-St Malo with some rescheduled departure and arrival times, see here.

Brittany Ferries – ‘Cherbourg to Portsmouth 20:45hrs – We’re sorry to advise this sailing will be delayed. One of the ship’s four engines has developed a fault which has reduced her speed. The ship is now expected to leave Cherbourg at 22:15hrs and arrive in Portsmouth at 00:45hrs. Latest check-in is 20:45hrs.  We do have alternative sailings out of Cherbourg and Caen that will arrive in the UK earlier, please call 0044 870 333 1101 for advice.’

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The Futa Pass. Not a mountain pass in the traditional sense but a spectacular road nonetheless. SP65 runs parallel to the A1 between Bologna and Florence, and is a brilliant alternative to the motorway slog (and toll free too). Used as a stage on the famous Mille Miglia Rally, and where Lamborghini and Ducati test out their latest machines.

The Futa Pass, central Italy. Not a mountain pass in the traditional sense but a spectacular, twisty road nonetheless. SP65 runs parallel to the A1 between Bologna and Florence, a brilliant alternative to the motorway slog (and toll free too). Used as a stage on the famous Mille Miglia Rally, it’s also where Lamborghini and Ducati test out their latest machines.

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TRAVEL/WEATHER:

Meteoalarm weather alerts – Amber alert high temperatures south west Spain, north and south west Portugal and Montenegro. Also, storms south central Austria.

Weather in brief – Sunny and warm through southern Europe, some rain in Scandinavia.

Crossing the Channel: DFDS sailings Harwich-Esbjerg resume on 5 July (see notes below). No other operators reporting any current delays.

From @Port_of_Dover today: ‘Here in Dover sea conditions in the Channel are moderate with West Sou Westerly, force 6 and the visibility is moderate.’

Latest @CF_travel_news forecast: ‘The current forecast indicates slight to moderate sea conditions during the week.’

See our Traffic/Travel/Weather page for the latest.

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NEWSLOG/PHOTOS:

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Rolls-Royce Alpine Rally 2013 concluded. Click for the full story.

Magnificent. It's absolutely not the done thing but it's vaguely emotional to report that the Rolls-Royce Alpine Rally re-run has concluded after 1,800 miles and sixteen days. The final two days were spent tackling the 240 mile drive from Lake Bled in Slovenia to Vienna, via Semmering and the Hotel Panhans. The rally culminated in a reception at Kursalon in central Vienna.

Magnificent. It’s absolutely not the done thing but it’s vaguely emotional to report that the Rolls-Royce Alpine Rally re-run has concluded after 1,800 miles and sixteen days. The final two days were spent tackling the 240 mile drive from Lake Bled in Slovenia to Vienna, via the Hotel Panhans at Semmering, century old cars cruising at a barely believable 60mph. The rally culminated in a reception at Kursalon in central Vienna. Picture courtesy of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Ltd.

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Luxembourg – drivers are being asked to look out for small holes appearing under their car door handles. Thieves are using this method to gain access to the car without triggering the alarm. In most cases nothing is stolen but police say any items with address details are being used to rob victims’ homes. Also, it might be coincidence but there are two reports today of large amounts of cash being discovered in Italian-registered cars. In one case, just over the border with Germany, a man was found with  €100,000 in 100 and 200 Euro notes. In another, just over the border in France, a motorist had €550,000 in 100 Euro notes inside the spare wheel. Finally, roadwork season continues… a section of the A4 southwest of the city to the French border will be closed this weekend. Click for details.

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Gorgeous Gothenburg from the Stena Line ferry October 2011. We'll have to go back cos we're getting bored of using this photo.

Gorgeous Gothenburg from the Stena Line ferry October 2011. We’ll have to go back cos we’re getting bored of using this photo.

Sweden – the Congestion Zone in Gothenburg has been suspended, as planned, for the month of July. Meanwhile, the longer term future of the Zone remains in the balance after the city council voted last month to hold a referendum following a large scale petition. No date or question has yet been set. The zone has so far raised 314m SEK (£31m) towards the Vastsvenska paketet (West Swedish Package) a transport rehab programme that includes a new road tunnel under the Gota alv River (among many other things). The project will be under threat if the Congestion Zone is rescinded. The total costs of the Vastsvenska paketet are estimated at 34bn SEK. Traffic continues to fall compared to levels before the zone was introduced though the rate is falling, from a 20% cut in January to just 12% in May. Also, the national government has put back the date when foreign vehicles will be charged in both Stockholm and Gothenburg’s congestion zones to mid-2014 at the earliest.

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The Netherlands – spraying titanium oxide onto a pavement in Hengelo has reduced nitrogen oxide pollution by nearly twenty percent on average and up to 45% on occasions. Researchers from Eindhoven University of Technology conducted the experiment over the last year. Similarly, after an EU warning over air pollution, authorities in Bucharest announced on Monday that the city’s streets would be sprayed with water and detergent each night from now on in a bid to reduce dust levels.

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Spain – police will install new speed cameras at an accident hotspot on the A7 ‘Autovia del Mediterraneo’ in southern Spain. The Olive Press describes the sharp corner on the dual carriageway around La Cala de Mijas as one of the coast’s deadliest hotspots. Fifteen crashes were once recorded in a single week.

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Belarus/Latvia border delays – outbreaks of African swine fever have lead to a ban on meat and dairy products from Belarus according to an official news agency report. Pathogens can also be transmitted via luggage so expect enhanced border checks.

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Greece: an already complete section of the Aegean motorway between Thessalonica and Lamia.

Greece: an already complete section of the Aegean motorway between Thessalonica and Lamia.

Greece – according to media reports, the European Commission has finally fully okayed funding for work to restart on the country’s motorway network. Provisional go-ahead was given in April and work re-started immediately. See our previous report ‘Roads restart gets Greek economy back on track’ for more.

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Kazakhstan – work has started on a 178km four lane highway between capital Astana and Temirtau (Karaganda industrial region) says Trend News Agency. Built to ‘European standards’ the road should be in service by 2016. Part of a large road building project in the country, visited this week by UK prime minister David Cameron. Work on 2,000km of roads, building and reconstruction, starts this year. One section, Astana to Chelyabinsk (Russia) will form part of the Western Europe-Western China highway. Click for a map.

Meanwhile, an enterprising young man has been questioned by police after causing a minor Youtube sensation by driving his self-built motor-bath (complete with sink trailer) on the streets of southern Kazak city Almaty. The 22 year said he wasn’t breaking any laws since he was driving in the right hand lane only. Good to know.

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NOTES:

Brittany Ferries passengers from Santander: To avoid possible congestion. Passenger vehicles arriving from Santander are advised to turn right immediately after exiting the port, then follow signs for Exeter A38 (Light vehicles).

Bulgaria – continuing anti-govt demonstrations, day twenty one today. The British Embassy says, ‘There is a small risk of violence. Avoid large gatherings in public spaces and follow local media and the advice of the local authorities.’ For the latest FCO travel advice click here. For Bulgarian news in English see www.Novinite.com or @novinite_com on Twitter.

DFDS Harwich-Esbjerg – sailings resume on Friday 5 July from Esbjerg at 18:45 and the day after from Harwich at 17:45. The DFDS service is the only regular car/passenger sailing between UK-Scandinavia. Limited space is sometimes available on DFDS Tor Line boats between Immingham/Tilbury-Gothenburg.

Turkey – despite some no-go areas on the Syrian border, general Foreign Office travel advice has been downgraded after the riots of recent weeks. Click for more.

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Need for speed? See the fastest German Autobahns.

A sarcastic local tells you all you need to know about driving fast on German motorways.

eBook review: The Traveller’s Guide to the German Autobahn, Clemens Gleich. 11 pages. 77p

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A3 Cologne-Frankfurt. No speed limit. It's un-German not to.

A3 Cologne-Frankfurt. No speed limit. Time to put your foot down? It would be un-German not to.

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For a famously humourless race, Germans can actually be quite funny about cars.

See ‘Mantawitz’ – Manta Jokes – which spawned two films in the early 90s: Manta Der Film and Manta, Manta.

In the first a young lad dreams about owning a Golf GTi. Instead his dad buys him an embarrassingly souped-up Opel Manta in which he has to squire a girlfriend.

In the second film, the now-older hero has fully embraced the tuner lifestyle and German lust for (horse)power: split rims, flared arches, harlequin revcounter, cowboy boots and drag races down the high street. They are funny even without subtitles.

Now Clemens Gleich has opened a new front in German automotive humour with his eBook ‘The Traveller’s Guide to the German Autobahn’.

‘The only thing we love more than making The Rules is explaining The Rules to the ignorant,’ he says before going on to detail the ins and outs of driving fast on German motorways – including some technical hints, the best times to go and the obscure laws. He’s particularly strong on ‘Kraftfahrstrasse’ (you’ll have to buy the book to find out what they are).

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Click the map above to the best roads for top speeds as recommended by Herr Gleich, the places where ‘you can hold the pedal to the metal until it rusts into position.’

Despite what you may have heard, well over 60% of the German motorway network is derestricted and there’s no prospect of that changing. ‘A general speed limit seems un-German to us, has a socialist stench, maybe even something French about it,’ says the author.

‘The Traveller’s Guide to the German Autobahn’ is downloadable to your phone, eReader or computer. At 77p it’s damn near free. Recommended.

Click to see it on Amazon.

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Read thelocal.de’s Top Ten Autobahn Dos and Don’ts.

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Daily Brief 3 July 2013

Latest update 19:40

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P&O Dover-Calais – ‘All services are operating to schedule and on time apart from the Pride of Burgundy’s following sailings which are currently running with a delay of up to 45 minutes. Calais – Dover 13h25. Dover – Calais 14h45.’

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News: Croatia border queues – Transfagarasan officially open – Russian traffic police 77 today – Finnish road safety panic – Trakia definitely open 15 July – WAVE underway Vienna-Zurich – New registered mileage checks – Serbia setback Corridor 10

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Romania: the famous Transfagarasan DN7c road, from Sibiu to Curtea de Arges (near Pitesti) is officially open says the Romanian roads authority - but the Windy500 camped on the top last week so it must have been unofficially open for a while. Either way, it closes this year on 31 October.

Romania: the famous Transfagarasan DN7c road, from Sibiu to Curtea de Arges (near Pitesti) is officially open says the Romanian roads authority – but the Windy500 camped on the top last week so it must have been unofficially open for a while. Either way, it closes this year on 31 October. Pic: INCHIS it was definitely closed when we went in mid-May. It is also closed each night from 21:00-07:00.

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TRAVEL/WEATHER:

Meteoalarm weather alerts – Amber alert for high temperatures northern Montenegro and for storms in central and east Austria.

Weather in brief – lots of sunshine in southern Europe, but some cloud and outbreaks of rain to the north.

Crossing the Channel – DFDS sailings Harwich-Esbjerg resume on 5 July (see notes below). Condor Ferries’ Rapide operating at reduced power on Thursday 4 July with some rescheduled departure and arrival times, see here.

No other operators reporting any current delays.

From @Port_of_Dover today: ‘Here in Dover sea conditions in the Channel are slight to moderate with West Sou Westerly breeze, force 4-5 and the visibility is good.’

Latest @CF_travel_news forecast: ‘The current forecast indicates slight to moderate sea conditions during the week.’

See our Traffic/Travel/Weather page for the latest.

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NEWSLOG/PHOTOS:

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Croatia – widespread reports of log jam, particularly at the Bajakovo border crossing with Serbia, since the new EU regime kicked in on Monday. But checking the webcams this afternoon via the Croatian Automobile Club (HAK) website it now seems quiet. HAK publish a newsletter each day with webcam links and expected holdups here. It’s also not clear yet what effect the new borders are having on drivers going to and from Dubrovnik over the Bosnian land corridor.

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A Finnish road sign, via Liikennevirasto, the Finnish Transport Agency.

A Finnish road sign, via Liikennevirasto, the Finnish Transport Agency.

Finland – no central barriers often, narrow roads (making improvements prohibitively expensive), lack of action on drunk driving and a general apathy about road safety means the land of Kimi Raikkonen lags behind its Nordic neighbours when it comes to accident stats. So says the head of traffic safety organisation ‘Liikenneturva’ to Aamulehti morning paper (via @ylenews) today. It’s true that Finland lags behind Denmark and Sweden in this respect but, according to European Union Road Federation figures, all Scandinavian countries are ahead of the EU average. For road fatalities per million inhabitants, Sweden tops the list on 28 while Finland is in eighth place on 51. The EU-27 average is 62. The UK is 31 (all 2010 figures, the latest available).

Also announced that two LNG fuelled ferries will be built for Scandlines by STX in Rauma. Those new to the ferry industry won’t realise that sentence contains four interesting pieces of news. LNG is vastly cleaner than the near bitumen burned by conventionally fuelled ferries so it will easily meet stringent new emissions targets the rest of the industry say will kill it from 2016. Scandlines has just been put on the block by its UK part-owner 3i. The STX shipyard has been in difficulty for some time, so the new ships guarantee 1,000 jobs for at least twelve months. From 2015, the new ships will serve the Gedser-Rostock route between Denmark and Germany that will be challenged by the upcoming Fehmarn Belt tunnel in 2020.

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WAVE

One shouldn't sneer, but the 1800km covered in ten days by the 2013 WAVE tour

One shouldn’t sneer, but the 1800km covered in ten days by the 2013 WAVE tour is gentle even by electric vehicle standards (WAVE stands for World Advanced Vehicle Expedition). On the other hand the route looks quite interesting, from Vienna to Zurich via Lake Bled in Slovenia and the Grossglockner Pass. Forty teams are taking part to raise awareness of EVs, driving anything wheeled and electric powered. The tour also includes a competition, judged on top speed, acceleration, etc. It’s organised by Louis Palmer, the first man to circumnavigate the world in a solar powered vehicle in 2007/08. We’ll catch up with them when they finish on 7 July to see who won. As of this morning the teams were in La Punt, Switzerland. Keep up with them by the link above.

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Bulgaria – as we reported last week, the Trakiya Highway – from Sofia to the Black Sea – will definitely open on 15 July, the first ever fast road link between the capital and coast. Just in time for the holidays. One issue though will be the lack of new petrol stations says the chairman of the Road Infrastructure Agency, despite permits being available (though at 360km from end to end maybe not a huge issue). But it is strange considering Gazprom is making a big push in the Balkans, announcing its first station in Bucharest on Monday.

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EU – one aspect of the new regime for MOT testing we missed is that vehicle mileage will now have to be recorded at inspections. European Parliament MPs voted through new roadworthiness proposals yesterday.

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Russia – Happy Birthday to the State Road Police of the Russian Federation, it’s their 77th anniversary today. Established obviously on 3 July 1936. The crowds outside the headquarters in Moscow last night however were not celebrating. Three hundred bikers descended on the building after a motorcyclists intervened in a row following a traffic incident and was beaten with baseball bats. The near riot was sparked after it was announced the three assailants would not be charged though the crowd was persuaded to disperse after three hours.

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Serbia – a fresh setback on Corridor 10 (X) but one so long expected that hopefully work will not be halted for long. Corridor 10 will eventually link western Europe with Greece (via non-EU Macedonia), running north south through Serbia. It also includes an off shoot from just south of Nis to the Bulgarian border. This is this leg currently under the spotlight. Progress has been stumbling for sometime, not least over financial trouble at its Austrian contractor Alpina. The World Bank and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development had threatened to pull backing over missed deadlines some time ago. Now Alpina has entered insolvency proceedings the plug has been pulled entirely. The Serb authorities have given notice to cancel the contract and put it back out for tender. Despite advanced works, between 40-80% complete, the road will not open until the end of 2014 at the earliest.

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NOTES:

Bulgaria – continuing anti-govt demonstrations, day twenty today. The British Embassy says, ‘There is a small risk of violence. Avoid large gatherings in public spaces and follow local media and the advice of the local authorities.’ For the latest FCO travel advice click here. For Bulgarian news in English see www.Novinite.com or @novinite_com on Twitter.

DFDS Harwich-Esbjerg – sailings resume on Friday 5 July from Esbjerg at 18:45 and the day after from Harwich at 17:45. The DFDS service is the only regular car/passenger sailing between UK-Scandinavia. Limited space is sometimes available on DFDS Tor Line boats between Immingham/Tilbury-Gothenburg.

Turkey – despite some no-go areas on the Syrian border, general Foreign Office travel advice has been downgraded after the riots of recent weeks. Click for more.

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