FF2: Filling in the Suburbs

[krigl]

Heading south from Ptolemaida and then east to Thessaloniki today. Not a lot to say for much of it, just shots of Greek countryside, motorways and bridges...


Another of those coal-fired power stations.




Plenty of pylons too, understandably.






Starting to get used to the look of PM's Greece - plenty of detail, I like it.










Getting close to the drop-off point now.


There's the farm. Vaguely remember it from the Balkan tour.


BayWa-tch? Mudwatch, maybe.


It's not far to Thessaloniki, but we might as well haul something.






Okay, here's Thessaloniki.


It could be said to be the 'capital' of this ProMods region, I guess. It has everything you need as a trucker but unfortunately not a lot of character.


Perhaps that's just how the city is, or it could be just the lack of suitable assets for Greece when it was made. French and Italian architecture don't really fit Greece as well as they do, say, Croatia or Spain. Or so it seems to me.


Time for another change of skin.




Makeover complete, we snooze in the Mercedes dealer's car park.


Interior view. Not a ton of space. Longer trips are probably better with a larger cab. Comfy mattress though, good enough in a pinch.


Picked up a load of bottled water. It's time to mix things up a bit - we're off to Bulgaria next time. A ferry can be seen in the background at Thessaloniki's port. We'll be heading over there soon when it's time to go to Cyprus.


Our first stop will be Serres to the northeast of Thessaloniki.


We'll get there and then continue over the border into Bulgaria next time.
Cheers! Krigl

[krigl]

Off to Kulata on the Bulgarian border today, via Serres.


Just leaving Thessaloniki behind, with a cargo of bottled water.


Might crack open some water myself, feel hot just looking outside. The aircon in the cab is going full whack.






Brown landscape...


...and muddy water too. Looks great!




Approaching the small town of Serres.




Great, water delivered to thirsty logistics personnel. That car transporter trailer looks nice... shame if something happ... perhaps the person scheduled to pull it is off sick? Worth a try. But first, let's check out Serres.


The other two petrol stations in Serres are labelled 'dwarf' and 'orc', which is pretty cool.


Okay, I lied, but this is probably a vineyard.




The nice red trailer did turn out to be available for haulage by a total stranger, so I signed some documents and off we jolly well went to Bulgaria.






Approaching the border now.


On the Greek side.






Now for the Bulgarian part.




And we're through.


Kulata is our first Bulgarian village, but there's not much, if anything, there.




However, the next place on the route is the town of Blagoevgrad, and that's a completely different story - a pretty new, largish ProMods place. In fact the road all the way through it and up to Pernik is all ProMods, in a part of Bulgaria (the southwestern corner) untouched by SCS's DLC. That will have to wait till next time, though...
Cheers! Krigl

[krigl]

Time for a second set today, so here goes - driving through southwest Bulgaria to Blagoevgrad.


This part of the Bulgaria part of the SCS Road to the Black Sea DLC is mysteriously empty. It probably won't stay empty of SCS content when the Greece DLC comes out, as the area is crying out for at least a road and scenery town between Sofia and Thessaloniki.


For now, ProMods have heard that cry, and they've filled it with some stunning scenery crafted from nice 'hi-fi' assets.


It probably won't survive the release of the forthcoming DLC, and I doubt I'll manage to get to Bulgaria before the DLC comes out, so I'm visiting it now.




What can I say? No regrets.




Ah... better edit my previous post. No 'j' between the 'o' and 'e'. Tsk. A beginner's mistake.




Here we are. Let's take a look at what's here.




Still no 'j'. Damn. I blame Cyril and Methodius.


Not sure why, but at least they're not able to complain.


The town is apparently named after Bulgarian Workers' Social Democratic Party founder Dimitar Blagoev.






This is absolutely where the cars need to go, so dropping them off next to that yacht.


Off to the service centre via the local Lukoil.




Sleeping while the paint dries.


Early morning. Off to find something for the short hop north to SCS's Pernik.












Next time - we complete our journey to Pernik, and then return to Thessaloniki for a drive eastwards along the coast towards Kavala.
Cheers!! Krigl

[krigl]

Finishing off our little trip to Bulgaria today, and then it's back to Thessaloniki to continue our journey eastwards towards Turkey.


Leaving Blagoevgrad loaded with lovely logs.


A last bit of ProMods Bulgaria content - the road north to Pernik.




Just drove through here to check out the facilities.






Approaching SCS's Pernik now.




Here we are. If we're lucky enough to survive till the end of the year, I'll hopefully be back for the planned final tour of this whole thread - the Black Sea DLC. A lot of ground to cover before that, though. We'll see.


Pernik means 'gingerbread' in Czech. It's also slang for crystal meth. Not sure if it's the same in Bulgarian. Checking Google translate... ... apparently gingerbread is 'medenki' in Bulgarian. Well, it's not a definitive answer, but alright. I guess.


We're supposed to be leaving these logs behind the petrol station building for someone else to pick up. Entering the area, we found a concrete mixer truck repeatedly reversing and then ramming some luckless Jeep (maybe, not sure) as if it were trying to break through the gates of a medieval fortress.


We scuttled past behind the aggressor when it was once again mashing the car before it.


Decided to get some fuel for the next stage of the trip.


Keep going at it son, that castle shall fall by the weekend, maybe. Drove to the local teleportation facility, and ZAPPP!


Aaand we're back in Thessaloniki with a new skin and everything, picking up some Used Car Batteries to take eastwards to Kavala.






Interesting-looking apartment building. Looks like it might have been 'borrowed' from Barcelona, perhaps.


Leaving Thessaloniki for a second time.




It's not far now to Turkey, but still a few sets to go, as some excellent scenery lies ahead.


A glimpse of the Aegean, or perhaps even the Thracian Sea. The closer you go on the map, the more little seas you find.




A very strange tunnel.


Or is it a Large Hadron Collider? Hopefully not, carrying sensitive batteries. Who knows what might happen if they were bombarded with exotic particles.


Yep, some very nice PM scenery coming up... next time.
Thanks for looking in! Krigl

[krigl]

Today our journey eastwards through northern Greece takes us to Kavala, a fine coastal town.


Picturesque church.






Kavala's 'port' jobsite - the destination for our Used Batteries.




Striking a sassy pose.




Off to the historic, touristy part of Kavala.




It's well worth a visit.








Went to check out the marina.


Rewarded with a picture-perfect view as the sailboats bobbed and clinked. Well, time to head back for the nearest garage, time for another repaint.


Catastrophic patience failure detected.






My Gallic heart swells for a moment as I gaze upon the Renault Thigh parked next to my newly painted truck.


Back to the port for a container filled with pet food. It's for Bilbao, but I think I'm just going to take it to Kesan in Turkey instead. Bilbao is such an awfully long way.


I think I've really nailed the Grecian vibe this time with this paint job.




Arriving at what is perhaps the nicest location of the whole tour - Komotini.




We'll check Komotini out in the next set, along with the final Greek town of Alexandroupoli.
Cheers!! Krigl

[krigl]

Today we have our penultimate set in ProMods Greece, visiting the towns of Komotini and Alexandroupoli.


Approaching Komotini.


I just realised today that the end of the Greece tour is also the end of the whole ProMods Balkan tour. I toured Romania and a tiny new sliver of Bulgaria back in the middle of 2019 when the Road to the Black Sea was under production, and the western Balkans - a PM masterpiece - in the autumn of 2022. Wow. Another huge area of scenery almost complete.


Komotini is my favourite place from Greece. It has that genius loci in spades...


...so I'll just shut up and roll out the shots.




















What a line-up...




Komotini is a showcase for what PM devs can do with time and some decent assets.




Still, it's time to move on towards Turkey now.












The last town on the eastward route before Turkey is Alexandroupoli.


Just exploring.


We complete the Greece tour next time by heading over the border into European Turkey and then boarding the boat to Cyprus back in Thessaloniki.
Cheers! Krigl

[krigl]

Finishing off the ProMods Greece tour today, and then taking the ferry over to Limassol on the island of Cyprus.


Just dragging my container full of pet food through a farm courtyard in Alexandroupoli.




Time for the last short leg of the tour - to the border with Turkey.


Uh-oh, what's going on here?




Oh my... Just what are you doing??


Well, here we go. Leaving Greece behind us.


Turkey lies ahead.


Hope you can process me quickly, you won't believe how long it's taken me to get here from Recife.




Nice. The stretch to the drop-off point at Kesan is already an SCS road, I believe, so the ProMods Greece content ends around here.




From the DLC map my guess is that this roundabout is SCS territory now. And with that, my tour of the ProMods Balkan region ends. With the whole of Scandinavia + Finland also done, and the Going East region, and the original Vanilla map pre-rework, much of the ProMods world has now passed beneath my wheels.


So what's left? Quite a lot, actually. Providing the situation allows, I hope to cover the ProMods Middle East, Great Steppe, Iceland and Canada areas in the next thread. And this thread is only 3/4 done, so a few bits and pieces should show up here and there, in particular Malta, Moldova and Western Ukraine.


And even this little tour isn't quite over yet, with Cyprus still to come.


Ah, here's our destination.




Pet food. For your... cows? Yep.


Back in Thessaloniki now, and we're off to get a cistern full of Juice Concentrate from Bonduelle.


Destination Limassol, Cyprus.


The port. Okay, so a tiny bit more PM Greece content, then.


But now a definitive farewell to Greece. Hopefully one day we'll be back to see what SCS has done with it.


31 hours later, and we've crossed most of the eastern Mediterranean and arrived in Limassol. After many weeks in the extreme north of Europe, and visiting the most northerly point in the whole of ETS2, we now find ourselves at the most southerly point visitable with the SCS map and the standard ProMods addon (the Middle East is an optional extra). Right here, while we're still on the ferry, in Limassol. Neither Gibraltar, nor Malta, nor Crete, is more southern than this place. So, another record shattered.


It is, of course, dark, but I'll be posting four daylight sets from this quite large island, with its four towns/cities modelled, as there's plenty to see.


But for now, let's get this Juice Concentrate delivered.




There you go! I've lined it up nicely so it's easy to pump the juice out.

We explore Limassol and head westward to Paphos next time.
Krigl

[krigl]

Time for a second set today, and we're travelling westwards along the coast of southern Cyprus between Limassol and Paphos.


Morning in Limassol.


Not sure what we're hauling, but just for the sake of an argument, let's say it was Giant Sea Catfish Roe, 27 tons.


Cyprus is looking great so far - a bit Italian, but that's to be expected.










It's a small country, and it doesn't take too long to drive anywhere, but it's packed with detail.


Some nice views of the deep blue Mediterranean too.


Almost green here.


Here's Paphos already.


Truck cabs facing backwards when being hauled always freak me out a little.




I like how the Cypriot flag literally has the country on it. It should be mandatory for all countries, would make those tricky flag recognition quizzes a whole lot easier.


Warm sands, crashing waves, gentle breeze, mewling gulls...


It would be nice to stay somewhere classy for once, but we need to make tracks for Larnaca today.


Would be nice to eat here too.


Went for a rambunctious circuit of the bus station.




Here we are. I wonder if they could see their way to whipping up a little smorgasbord for the visiting driver?


The Danes delivered, and we left Paphos with the taste of cold smoked salmon and dill upon our tongues.


Back towards Limassol.






Hey there, Limassol.


Lhasa, I mean, Larnaca awaits... next time.
Cheers! Krigl

[krigl]

Checking out Larnaca and Nicosia on Cyprus this time.


Passing a rest stop with a great backdrop on the way to Larnaca.


We've got floor tiles to deliver.


A casino greets us, but Larnaca is more famous for its seafront promenade (Finikoudes), airport and the thousands of tombs in the area. Larnaca apparently might mean something to do with sarcophagi. Interesting. And there's also the fact that Stoic philosopher Zeno of Citium was born there. Well, in the settlement that now lies in ruins where Larnaca stands today.




Time to take a look at the city. It's the third biggest in RL after Nicosia and Limassol.


This might represent the saline lake, which is visited by flamingos in the winter.


The airport peeks out from behind some trees. I don't think you can deliver there, but planes regularly fly over.




A farm lies at one end of town.


Great view of ferries en route. Perhaps they are active if you have the PM Middle East addon? There are signs for places in Lebanon and Israel in the ferry port, but for Europe the Limassol - Thessaloniki line is your only option.






A very picturesque farm.


Back to the city.








Larnaca's port.


The planes roar silently overhead before making a sharp turn to land at the airport.


Sorry, feel like driving in the middle.


Picked up some parcels from DHL by the port. Off to the capital now - Nicosia.


It's just round the corner.






Even on Cyprus, most of the roads are motorways... though very nice motorways.


And there's Nicosia. We'll check it out and head back to Limassol next time.
Cheers! Krigl

[krigl]

This time - the penultimate set from ProMods Cyprus, with a tour of Nicosia and a trip back to Limassol.


Arriving with parcels.




Nicosia was apparently the 10th richest city in the world by purchasing power in 2011. In the world. Quite surprising.


Unfortunately, I have a feeling the driver of that blue truck is going to be experiencing curtailed purchasing power in the near future.


Aaaargh. I hate that narrow doorway. But the parcels must get through.


Nicosia is a divided city. Its international airport is the HQ of the UN in the buffer zone between the two communities that live there, so flying there is impossible for tourists and citizens, who have to use one of two other airports, one in each part of the island. The crisis is still ongoing - here is, I suppose, a checkpoint allowing those with the necessary documents to pass from one side to the other. ProMods Cyprus only covers the majority Greek part of the island.




What else can we find, then?


Ah, an Iveco dealer. Will have to get kitted out with a Hi-Way for Henri's next tour, but not today.


The Magnum still looks radical even today. Amazing that it's 34 years since it launched back in 1990, though this is the facelifted version, of course.


Time for the baby DAF to get a final facelift as well, with a tall roof spoiler that makes it look almost grown-up.


Peas and sweetcorn, so crisp, so tasty.


The local SCS Budget hotel.


Leaving Nicosia behind for the first of two trips from the capital to Limassol. This time - the motorway route. We've already seen most of it.






Larnaca's down that road.


The Potala truckstop again.


And we're back in Limassol. Found out today that Cyprus was conquered by Richard Lionheart because the local ruler scared his wife. Then he sold it. Eventually, the British returned. They still have an air base there now - RAF Akrotiri.




Let's get these scrummy tinned veg dropped off.




From a distance they could be Eurofighter Typhoons. Perhaps representing 'gate guardians' at Akrotiri? Though they wouldn't use Typhoons for that, I think there's an EE Lightning doing that job.

Next time we finish the tour with a trip through Cyprus countryside.
Cheers! Krigl