Esmeralda and our maiden voyage.

I've never owned a car less than twenty five years old. Old cars are simpler (not too many buttons), and I like the fact that if something goes wrong then there's a good chance a local mechanic would be able to fix it with a couple of spanners and a piece of string. Old cars have character, they feel and sound like proper machines. They chug and gurgle and splutter. They vibrate. Modern cars just do not smell the same. Not that I would turn my nose up at a new Aston Martin you understand.

To this end, and bearing in mind that here in Poland my choices are restricted, I opted for a 1982 Volkswagen Beetle in metallic grey with lots of chrome, tinted windows, original old style dashboard and white leather-style interior. A beauty whom I have named Esmeralda.

Our first outing was at first nerve-racking as I had to contend with the usual abuse from lunatic drivers and sparse road signage... miss one half-hidden grubby sign and you face a serious collision. I waited until evening when there is little traffic and headed off with Molly and Daisy to the cottage I have bought in the country over an hour away.

It is one of the most pleasant journeys I've had. Esmeralda has an old Blaupunkt radio and a pleasing gear shift. I took it easy on the unlit and heavily pot-holed roads and before long we found ourselves in the middle of a dense forest and an even denser fog. Small animals scurried across our path, I couldn't make out what they were but their eyes shone like tiny diamonds. Frequent checks of the map ensured I had not strayed from my route. Unable to see anything and crawling along at a snails pace, I hardly got out of second gear and couldn't help thinking that at any moment some high-speed lunatic was going to ram us from behind. I haven't seen fog like that in England since I was a child when my father used to drive us down to Sussex, he also had old wrecks which were forever breaking down. Memories of being snuggled in the back of a Morris Minor on a lonely stretch of the London Road in the darkness waiting for the AA to arrive now seem particularly poignant. Esmeralda is very reminscent of my childhood. She brings back the adventure of travel, where every mile is felt and the fact that any moment an unknown knocking or grumbling could bring me to a halt. Such modern driving aides as air-conditioning, power steering & parking sensors spoil the fun. Eventually the fog cleared and we gathered pace, Esmeralda's air-cooled engine purring and putting loudly.

We arrived in good order and the dogs ran around excitedly, wildly exploring. Too dark to venture far, I'd brought a blanket and we settled down in the barn in a bed of thick hay among ancient farm machinery. The cottage itself is in too bad a state to stay in. In the morning we awoke to shafts of sunlight filtering through the wooden planks of the barn wall. Heavenly. We went for a long walk in the vast forest, trampling through a soft damp carpet of leaves and accompanied by the hammering of woodpeckers and birdsong echoing through the trees. Every now and then M&D would shoot off into the depths of the wood having caught the whiff of a boar or deer.

Later in the day we headed back to the city, refreshed and rejuvenated, knowing that this is a haven to which we will often return.

Word of the week: Odpoczywac meaning rest.