From Rat Race to Road Trip: Overlanding With Four Dogs!
In my last post, I asked, “What’s in a name?” when we discussed the City of Light. Little did we realise that we were about to discover the mother of all naming disputes – and get caught up in the news.
Once upon a time, in a land not-so-far away, there was a little country stuck in an almighty conflict over its cognomen.
When it declared its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, it found itself in a pickle, because it chose to name itself Macedonia.
Updated with new information 15th May 2025
Since the Brexit transition period ended on 1st of January 2021, taking your pets abroad from Great Britain (not Northern Ireland!) involves much more expense and red tape.
From 1st January 2021, Britain, except Northern Ireland, has ‘Part 2’ listed status. Overnight, the British Pet Passport (except those issued in Northern Ireland) became invalid. Since then, British pets (dogs, cats, and ferrets) entering the EU require a 10-page, bilingual Animal Health Certificate (AHC) issued within 10 days of entry into the EU, and valid for four months from the date of issue. For more information on AHCs, see my blog Animal Health Certificates – What You Need To Know
Mark and I travel full time with four dogs. Before Brexit, we foresaw potential problems with pet travel, and put Le Quatre Fabuleux on French passports. This means that, so long as we keep their rabies vaccines up to date, they can travel freely within the EU. Unlike us.
Getting an EU pet passport is a bonus if you travel frequently – it is much easier and less costly than getting an AHC for every trip, or for long-term travel for periods longer than four months. However, getting one post-Brexit is a little more complicated. If you want to know how, read on!
Note: Following the UK/EU Summit in May 2025, UK-issued pet passports may be back on the table, although the timescale has not been confirmed. In the meantime, UK pets still need either an Animal Health Certificate or EU passport to travel. For more information, see my post Reintroduction of UK Pet Passports: A Gateway to Freedom for British Pets
Continue reading “Can I Get My Dog an EU Pet Passport?”
What’s in a name?
These days, Paris bags first dibs on the handle ‘The City of Light’.
Accepted wisdom suggests this emerged from the French capital’s prominent role in the age of enlightenment. However, Paree’s lofty claim to La Ville Lumière title actually comes from something much more mundane.
It is based on the city’s innovative attempts to combat crime.
In the mid-17th century, following a period of unrest, King Louis XIV pledged to restore law and order. As part of The Sun King’s purge, Paris’ chief of police placed lanterns on the streets and urged residents to light their windows with candles and oil lamps. Lighting deterred criminals from lurking in dark alleys.
Then, a few centuries later, in 1829, Paris lauded itself as one of Europe’s first cities to roll out gas street lighting.
Yet, Paris doesn’t have a monopoly on claims to this City of Light business.
Continue reading “Ohrid, North Macedonia: The City of Light”
Slovak Paradise National Park (Národný park Slovenský raj) is one of Slovakia’s nine national parks.
Situated in the east of the country, the Park covers an area of 197.63 sq km (76.3 sq miles). Despite its small size, Slovenský raj contains eleven national nature reserves and eight nature reserves.
The park is also a great doggy destination. It has around 300 km (186 miles) of clearly marked hiking trails and 90% of the park is forested, so the walks are shady. The steep-sided gorges also temper high summer temperatures.
Around 30% of households in Slovakia own dogs. We saw no stray dogs or fierce shepherd dogs, and found Slovakia to be a very dog friendly country. Nevertheless, we struggled to find information on visiting Slovenský raj with dogs. We visited in our own truck camper and stayed on the campsite at Podlesok. Hotel, chalets, pensions and other accommodation options are available. The national park lists pet friendly accommodation optios, or you could check dog friendliness with individual providers.
World Wide Walkies