Launch Day + 2 – 1pm – On the road to Passau, Germany

Finding our way to the Czech Republic was fairly easy and uneventful but finding a castle in rural Czech with only a small photocopy of an even smaller map proved a little trickier. But after only a handful of U turns and some head scratching we found our way to our first and only check point between London and Mongolia. There are some vicious rumours circulating that we asked a local for directions but being that we are English men this is obviously a lie.

Klenova Castle is semi ruined castle and is open to the public but last night it was sacked in record time to the sounds of 'Rule Britannia' by two very well dressed young men in a mini and phone box flying an enormous Union Jack!

On arrival we started setting up camp and the hammocks had just been tied up to the car when Tom, founder of the Adventurists, asked if we'd like to have our car displayed inside the castle! This honour was obviously far too good to pass up for the sake of a night's sleep so the hammocks came down and we drove the mini through the main gates and into the castle. Apparently a phone box on a mini is a fair bit smaller than a knight on a horse so there was no issue in fitting through the gate. Inside the castle, Roxanne was proudly displayed for all to see. (For all those who have not been formally introduced the mini has been named Roxanne. And yes she does have to put on the red box and drive the streets for money!)

All the ralliers were camping in the bottom field below the castle and seeing all the camps very much resembled a medieval army preparing to launch an attack on the castle. And that's exactly what happened! In some of the best and worst knights and wench oufits the ralliers descended on the castle for a hog roast and cup of mead. Much dancing and merriment was then enjoyed within the castle walls until the early hours but as usual we were less like nobility and more like jesters! But despite what anyone says, sequins do look like chain mail and Ben looked a most manly knight.

Also laid out for us at the castle was a travelling 'sauna' and 'shower'. The sauna was basically a small trailer with a load of wood panelling and a big heater. Apparently putting all the water on it gets it fairly hot quite quickly as we discovered with near face burning results. The shower was actually a bucket and a hose with freezing cold water. So after being nearly burnt alive in the sauna the shower was most refreshing and after almost 24 hours of near non stop driving it was well needed. Wearing leather shoes and socks for 36 hours has resulted in one pair of socks being thrown away and the shoes banished from inside the car. So suits and flip flops will be the order of dress today!

This morning we decided to have a taste test between our Extreme Energy drinks and the local alternatives. The two contending drinks were Kamikaze and Semtex. Both were horrible but we are now suitably wired for the drive through Austria. Also on the beverage front there has been a slight Pimms emergency! After the excitement of arriving in CZ we appear to drunk 2 bottles of it! We are now running seriously low and only hope that by some miracle we can find ourselves an Eastern European supplier!

Mileage clock has just hit 121,000 miles so that's 1000 miles down already. At this rate we'll be there in 10days. Yeah right.

Moral: High.
Current thought: I'm never drinking again.