- Location
- Ashburn, VA
Way late in posting this! My two year assignment in Moldova ended in September and my next assignment is Bern, Switzerland. Rather than shipping my truck, I decided to take a week and drive.
My trip started 7 Sep, 2024, but not without some last minute drama. A week before leaving the driver side rear axle bearing started making noise and had some play. We spent a few days calling all the parts places we could and finally found a bearing in Ukraine. Through a network of busses and couriers we got the part in hand about 11pm Friday night. At 7am the next morning one of the Embassy mechanics was helping to replace it but couldn't get the old bearing off the axle. We brought it to a nearby shop that had a press but they weren't confident they could get the bearing ring retainer off without damage. Since we didn't have another, we opted to put it back together.
I started later than planned but day one I made it to Ludus, Romania driving through Bicaz Gorge on the way.
Day two (8 Sep) I drove to Pecs, Hungary passing through a small part of Serbia on the way. Nothing too exciting on the day, there was a nice church outside my hotel in Romania. I bumped in to some U.S. Army at a rest stop which gave me a chance to show off the going away gift my Defense Attaché Ops Chief gave me. They were a bit surprised.
My trip started 7 Sep, 2024, but not without some last minute drama. A week before leaving the driver side rear axle bearing started making noise and had some play. We spent a few days calling all the parts places we could and finally found a bearing in Ukraine. Through a network of busses and couriers we got the part in hand about 11pm Friday night. At 7am the next morning one of the Embassy mechanics was helping to replace it but couldn't get the old bearing off the axle. We brought it to a nearby shop that had a press but they weren't confident they could get the bearing ring retainer off without damage. Since we didn't have another, we opted to put it back together.
I started later than planned but day one I made it to Ludus, Romania driving through Bicaz Gorge on the way.
Day two (8 Sep) I drove to Pecs, Hungary passing through a small part of Serbia on the way. Nothing too exciting on the day, there was a nice church outside my hotel in Romania. I bumped in to some U.S. Army at a rest stop which gave me a chance to show off the going away gift my Defense Attaché Ops Chief gave me. They were a bit surprised.
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