We left Brussels in the evening for Kiev. Unfortunately, because we were behind schedule, we decided to take the northern route through Germany and Poland, rather than our original route via Belgrade.
There was one small issue, however....We had yet to receive the permanent logbook for the car. Without this, we weren't sure they would let us into the Ukraine. The logbook had arrived just late enough to Alex's in London that no one would be able to overnight it in time.
A beautiful rainbow we spotted while driving on the autobahn in Germany.
Deforestation in eastern Poland.
We bombed 1600km in 14 hours, stopping only for fuel. Once we arrived, it took us about three hours to cross the border. First there was the hour or so wait to leave Poland and the EU, and another two hours in no-man's land waiting to cross into the Ukraine. We had our passports checked and stamped, and all was ok there, but getting the car through without the correct paperwork was, shall we say, fun.
Tino doing what teenagers do best...sleeping.
No photography allowed?....oops.
The queue for lorries to cross into the Ukraine. We were told it's an 8 hour wait for them.
There was a lot of back and forth, but Alex stood his ground as he spoke with a customs official about the paperwork. After 20 minutes and being asked if our number plates were fake, we got what we needed. Finally, fed up with not taking no for an answer, they let us through.
We made it!
Once we knew we would make it to Kiev, we had to find a way to get the new logbook ASAP as we didn't think the Belarussian authorities would let us through. So, in down-to-the-wire fashion, one of Alex's friends drove to Luton airport, and asked every person if they were flying to Kiev. Eventually he found a man willing to take the document. That night just after midnight, we picked him up at the airport, grateful that it had arrived.
An excellent roast chicken and salad we ate for lunch in a tiny town right after crossing the border.