Author: vicki

SLOVENIA AND ONTO CROATIA

Sunday 15 November

Up and organised and we buy some fresh veges from the camp owner who is such a lovely lady.  She makes us a coffee before we go and has a chat.  We feel they are very hospitable people here so we enjoy what they have to offer.  We decide that since it is Sunday we can drive on the yellow non highway roads so we have no tolls to pay.  We head out on the road and the fog has lifted a lot but not completely from when we arrived so we can see a little of the surrounds here.  We stop at a little supermarket on the way out to buy a couple of things and then continue on our way.  The roads are reasonably quiet which is good.  It takes us several hours before we reach Trieste which is right on the border of Italy and Slovenia.  It is an amazing place and as we drive along the esplanade approaching Trieste there are a number of campers parked along the water.  For a short moment we contemplate staying here tonight instead of continuing on but we really need to keep moving and get into Slovenia today.  As you drive out of Trieste you can look down the high cliffs at the many marinas that are featured around the coastline here.  It looks like an expensive part of the country and there is a very large port as well.  We head into a small town near the border of Slovenia called Koper which looks really nice.  The camp stop is right near the motorway so very easy to find as it is already getting dark (It starts to get dark now about 4pm especially when it is overcast).  The campstop is only 4 euro for the night and it has everything including toilets and showers, what a bonus.  Plus it is fully secure with a card to swipe for access in and out.  There are other campers here who are from Slovenia who help us to get our power connected as it is a little tricky.  I feel a little uncomfortable with a couple of them as I feel there is some judgement happening as they stare without emotion at us setting up.

We love the look of this place so decide we will stay for an extra night so we can explore the town tomorrow.  We ride our bikes into town as it’s flat and easy to get there with bike lanes.  The town is cute and ancient.  We stop our bikes and we spy a hairdresser.  Scot wants to have his hair cut again so he heads in and checks it out.  10euro for a cut, so cheap so he has his cut and we head to a café for coffee.  I would love to have my hair cut as it is getting too long but I can’t communicate adequately to any of these people so can’t tell them what I want so it is easier to just tie my hair up most days and forget about it.  Coffee is at a little café that is making chocolate as well and we find it is only 3euro for 2 cups and 2 rounds of chocolate, very cheap.  We head off around the little town again and come out at the shore where there is a marina.  There is also a big port here, the main one for Slovenia.  I need stamps and cards etc so we look for the post office which is apparently hard to find.  On the way we have pizza again and another coffee eventually finding the post office.

Afterwards we head back to find our bikes and go back to the van for some things we have forgotten and then head back into town.  We found a lovely café/restaurant on the waterfront so we find that again and sit and have a wine and beer – well several.  They also serve snacks with your drink so we have some pastry cheesy baked things.  It was dark when we left so we attach our lights and head back to the camper stop.

In the morning we need to do some laundry as it’s been over 2 weeks and there hasn’t been anywhere to do it, so I find a Laundromat in a small town down on the coast near the Croatian border.  It is difficult to find but eventually we find it and prepare for the 2 hour wait for the laundry to wash and dry.  We have our obligatory morning coffee and then sit and read whilst waiting for it to finish.  By midday we are all done and back on the road to Croatia.  We need to drive on the non highway roads as we haven’t bought a vignette for Slovenia and the fine is quite high.

As we leave Slovenia the police are on the border in the Slovenian side and they want our passports.  This is a first, we haven’t had anyone wanting to look at them on a border since we left England.  We confuse the hell out of the copper who has seen the GB number plate of the van and I then hand him NZ passports.  He looks at me and asks where we live.  Australia I say and he looks even more confused…lol.  Underneath I am a little concerned that he will not like the 3 things that don’t seem to add up so I fill him in on what we are doing.  I don’t think his English is all that good, but a lady copper sitting beside him seems to be nodding and smiling that all is ok.  After several minutes and a few cars lined up behind us he stamps the passports telling us it isn’t a good time to go to Greece and waves us along.  Then we are stopped at the Croatian border and have to show the passports again.  They are ok, stamp them and off we go.  Someone reminds us that as it isn’t usual to find police on the borders (actually the EU doesn’t allow this type of border control) it is likely due to the Paris bombings even though we aren’t near there.  We decide that this isn’t a country to try and drive off the highways, but first we have to buy a sim card for the tablet.  We get off the yellow road and head into the first little town on the seafront where I know there is a mobile phone shop.  We walk around town and look for the shop but then find that the shops here open from 9 until 1 and then reopen at 4 and close at 6 or 7.  It is about 1.15 so we have just missed the two shops we have come across, but thankfully we find another one that doesn’t close.  The lady that serves us says they have to work 12 hour days and seems quite unhappy about it.  I guess I would be too.  I buy the sim without all the security of other countries and we head out of the town and head back to a highway.

We want to get as far down Croatia as we can on the highway, even though it isn’t cheap driving on the highway.  The alternative isn’t pretty though, the ‘yellow’ roads as we call them as they show on the map as yellow are the next best thing to the highways but these ones go right over the mountains and we don’t know how good these roads will be in Croatia so we can’t risk it.  It is also getting late In the day and since it is starting to get dark at 4pm these days it is much better to be on the highways driving in the dark.  We have a small camperstop pegged out at Ogulin so as we approach the town we exit the highway and head towards where the camperstop is.  It is often funny when we find small places like this the roads are often very tiny and can only take one car at a time.  This is no exception and we head through these roads that are very narrow and appear to be in the middle of absolutely nowhere.

We contemplate stopping for the night at a little restaurant that we pass but then realise they also have rooms so will be a conflict them letting us stop in their carpark for the night even if we eat at their restaurant.  We eventually find the camperstop and there are a lot of people already staying there whom we are told are speleologists.  In fact the camp is called Spelio camp and they cater for up to 10 countries that come exploring caves in these areas.  They are very friendly and start chatting to us.  One guy we chat to had been to every other country except NZ where he plans to go in a couple of years time.  They are lovely people but we let them get on with their night and we check in and set up the van.  We have our washing to fix up and bed to make so before the bed is made we check to make sure that our hws leak is still ok and the van is dry under the bed, which thankfully it is all fine.  I make up the bed and it is a reasonably early night.

The Speleologists are up early and getting organised and we also get ourselves organised.  We want to get down to Zadar today.  The wind has been howling all night and was so strong that the van had one of it’s struts knocked away which we have never had before.  It is still blowing a gale and as I take a look at the weather forecast I see that someone was correct in telling us that the weather was about to change in a few days.  The good weather we have been having is coming to an end and the forecast for this current location is 4 days of snow with temperatures of 4 down to -4.  Oh shit we don’t need snow to travel in so we need to get away from this area real fast.   We head off out of the town on the little narrow alleyways we went in on and Scot spies several sellers, some selling large bags of cabbages (god who would buy 15 cabbages at a time?) and other veges but one is selling honey so we circle back and Scot jumps out to have a look.  He comes back after 5 minutes happy with his purchase but he has been severely ripped off.  The guy saw him coming and charged him 70kuna for a jar of honey (that’s aud15) which is a huge amount for someone to be selling on a little stall In this country. (however we see later where it costs this in the supermarket and it is delicious).  Anyway I guess it is probably the only sale he will make that day so if it buys him some groceries that is ok.

The landscape around this part of the country is barren, scrubby, rocky, nothingness.  Nothing grows and I guess you can really do nothing with the land either.  We head south and start discussing that maybe we need snow chains for the car as if the forecast is for snow in a couple of days we have summer tires and we could be in trouble.  So Scot checks the legal requirements of Croatia which we should have checked before now and finds that legally we need snow chains in our van if we are pulled over by the police who do random checks.  Along the sides of the highway they have many signs with tires with chains on as well as many signs showing snowflakes and reduced speeds in case there is snow.  As I am driving I am travelling very slow as the wind is severe and the wind socks are being blown sideways.  We travel over many viaducts and the wind blows the van around quite a bit.  I dislike driving in these types of conditions but I can only hope the wind eases at some stage.  Having said that strangely we head through a major tunnel through a mountain about 5.5km long and when we get to the other side it seems that the wind isn’t as strong and at the sun even starts to come out.  We decide that regardless of it all we need to find snow chains so stop at a couple of service stations on the highway to see what they have.  We eventually buy some – very much cheaper than other countries so at least we will have something for a worst case scenario.

As we near Zadar, we discuss what we are going to do after Croatia.  It has been a major problem as to whether we still go to Greece and how we get there since we can’t travel through Albania and Bosnia.  We make a decision to go back up the coast road a little since it is supposed to be the better scenery and there are multiple camping places there that we are likely to be able to stay at.  After half an hour driving up the coast which is just lovely we come across a little camp that we have seen on our map.  It is right on the sea front, no one is there and we know it will be incredibly cheap.  So we check it out.  110kuna, aud23 for the night and the lady has 13 cats.  I am in straight away.  We both still miss our little boy Freddy (I am the worst) so I take any opportunity to have pats and cuddles.  We set the van up and sit the chairs by the waterside and it is so pleasant and peaceful.  The cats eventually make their way over to check us out and before we know it, we have 13 cats hanging around in the hope of an offer of any food or titbit we have.  I get around this by feeding them my yoghurt and they all get to lick my fingers like cats around a cow teat. They all love this and are in cat heaven. There is nothing  else actually but maybe a lick of salt and a small piece of chip we are having with a wine but they hang around in hope.  Some are cuddlier than others and there is the littlest most adorable kitten that I just can’t resist.  As the night falls on us we don’t want to give up our little bit of waterside peace so we get out the blankets and stay where we are in the dark.  The cats are quite happy and I end up with two on my lap and two on the bottom of the blanket with the others quite close by.  I am in my element and would love to sneak just one of them in the van away with us, but the hassle would be more than it is worth.  Even Scot gets one on his knee for a cuddle.  Eventually it is tea time and I reluctantly move inside. Several of them stay outside our door all night and are still there in the morning.

Since this is a rare treat for me, I get up early with my tea and breakfast and blanket and sit back in my waterfront seat with the cats around me.  The morning is still and peaceful.  I even get Scot to come out and enjoy the morning much earlier than he likes to get out of bed.  After a couple of hours just sitting, being, enjoying the solitude and peace we need to get moving, so the cats that are now cuddled up on both laps are moved and we get organised to leave.

Last night we discussed our next moves.  Originally we were going to drive down to Dubrovnik in Croatia via the highway and then go back up by the coast road and take a ferry from Trieste down to Greece since we can’t drive through from Croatia (Our insurance won’t cover us if we do).  This was a good option as a lot of the ferries that sail in this area have stopped for the year due to lack of business.  In the summer you can take a ferry from Dubrovnik to Bari in Italy and then down to Greece which would have been ideal.  However our original idea of a ferry from Trieste has changed overnight.  Now we are going to take a ferry from Split to Ancona in Italy and then from Ancona down to Patras in Greece.  Although the cost of the ferries is high we take into consideration the cost of tolls, fuel, camps and the days travelling it will be if we have to drive all the way around from Croatia back to Italy and it will be almost as much and time will be getting away on us.  So ferries it has to be.  So now we have 1 week to get down to Dubrovnik and then back to Split so that we can get the ferry to Ancona and then down to Patras in Greece.  Great idea.  The only other issue we have is how to get across Bosnia Herzegovina down to Dubrovnik.  We aren’t allowed to drive the 10km stretch so we either don’t go or we take a ferry across to one of the islands so we can drive down there.  We don’t know yet.

It is so lovely on this part of the coast on the Adriatic sea that we decide to drive across to the next peninsula from where the cat camp is to a town called Pag and there is a huge camp there that is still open, but is very cheap at the moment and we can see that part of the country.  It doesn’t take us long to drive down that peninsula, but it is rocky, desolate and in most places totally deserted.  There are the occasional settlements, but it is funny.  There are hundreds of people who seem to be building their own little homes, but a lot of them look like they are never finished.  It seems as if people build until they can live in their small dwelling and that is where it stays.  The bricks look unfinished, there is no rendering, paint or even gutters or anything.  Even the windows look like they are just sitting in holes and haven’t been put in properly.  There seems to be a lot of people just sitting around, doing stuff around their properties, sitting drinking in cafes, bars etc.  We find out from the camp lady that when places close for the winter these people have nowhere to work and nowhere to go and life becomes very difficult for them.  Only the lucky ones keep working on through the quiet months.  We stop in Pag on the way and have a look around the town.  It is mostly closed down and a lot of the buildings are shuttered for the winter. It would be a bustling place in summer for sure.  We head out and over a large hill to a camp on the sea front which is huge but essentially deserted.  We do wonder why they have stayed open at all.  There are probably 1000 campsites plus cabins etc here but there is one other camper and us and perhaps a couple of people staying in cabins.  Not really worth being open for.

We park up and take a walk along the pebble beach which looks divine to swim in but for the temperature of the day which hasn’t really got over 14deg.  We suss out the camp and what is here and eventually Scot decides he is going to have a swim in the Adriatic sea come what may, so in he gets.  It isn’t really that cold, we have swum in colder but I decide it isn’t for me so I take the photos and watch the sunset that is developing.  I hate having to do paperwork but I have received an extra bill from the Swiss hospital which I am not going to pay and need to send to the insurance company.  So thankfully I have a printer and I can print out the claim forms etc and then scan the filled pages back in ready to email back off.  Yes it is strange having a printer in the van, but I don’t know what I would have done several times if I hadn’t had it.

We then decide to go to the restaurant we have been told is open (god knows why) so we can have a pre dinner drink, but find that it is in darkness.  After checking with reception they say it closed because no one came.  Hell I wonder why they even bothered to say they would open with 4 lots of people staying but we were a bit cranky that they didn’t bother to stay open when they said they would.  Never mind, money saved and dinner in the van.

The morning is pleasant and the bad weather that is supposed to arrive hasn’t come yet thank goodness.  We get organised and leave the camp heading for Split.  It is a long drive off this little peninsula that we are on so an hour and a half we are driving through Zadar and on our way on the coast road down to Split.  It is a great road and we get to see some of the lovely little settlements around the coastline that makes Croatia such a desirable place for the summer.  The houses are virtually the same in a lot of places, that cream colour with orange roof tiles – the real Mediterranean style look.  Lots of marinas & wineries we see around each bend in the road.  We find a little place to stop off the main road beside the sea in a small village and have our lunch.  The sun starts to shine and it would be a lovely location to stay in the summer, but we have to keep driving.  Eventually late in the day and just as it is getting dark we reach Split.  In the distance we can see the huge cream highrises all looking a mirror image of the other and so many of them it makes for an amazing site.  Shame it is getting dark so we have no photos and we can’t see how Split really looks.  There is a lot of road works going on as they need to widen the main road going by the outskirts of the city limits.  Scot is navigating and he finds it difficult to work out how to get to the camp place we are staying tonight.  He figures one way so we wind our way through these dreadful, narrow, badly surfaced back streets that supposedly lead to the camp.  I get the feeling that we are going to hit a dead end at any time as the roads do not seem like ones we should be travelling on, but we keep on going.  We do reach the camp and at a later stage realise there was a really easy way to get to the camp but on the map sometimes it seems like you can’t turn off the main road you are on so have to look for an alternative.  It does get us seeing some interesting roads I must say.  It will be an easy exit out in the morning thankfully and won’t be back via the strange roads we came in on.

This camp is on the river and security let us in and we find a spot.  We will check in and out at the same time in the morning when we leave.  We head out for a walk along the river front as there are a few bars close by and it would be nice to have a drink before dinner.  After checking out several of the bars we realise that everyone is smoking inside in all of them and we can’t handle that so it looks like all is lost, but we spy a little pizzeria close to the camp and give that a try.  It is fine and because it is so cheap we end up buying a pizza for dinner as well as having a drink.  The pizza is lovely and the guy serving is such a nice fella we end up leaving him a good tip for such great service.  They earn nothing here so he is so grateful but for us it was only about 7aud so would only be a glass of wine at home, but for him will pay for a few groceries.  We head home for an update to the blog since we have free wifi.

Oh and Croatia is our 23rd country.  We have just turned over 55,000 miles in the van which we have now done 22,000kms in our nearly 8 months travel.  With really only 3 months left and 3 countries left to visit we are very much on the tail end of our holiday.

VENICE, ITALY

Wednesday 11/11 Remembrance Day, lest we forget

The cows obviously did sleep and they didn’t wake us at dawn as Scot had predicted.  We leave our secure park and head out on the highway to Venice.  It is nearly 500kms to Venice so we decide it isn’t worth taking the next road down from a highway as they are dreadful here in Italy and if the tolls cost us a bit at least we will get there quickly and forgo another night stopping on the way.  The fog is setting in today, but we rather think it is smog and not fog and you can smell it and really it smells incredibly bad.  We have no idea why Italy would have so much smog and why you could smell it so much.  As we travel to the south of Milan the smog worsens.  The countryside looks very poor here.  It doesn’t look like they get a lot of rain and the countryside looks very lacking in life. A lot of the buildings are quite derelict and run down.  I had never thought of Italy as a poor country but from the small part we have travelled past in two days it appears as if it might well be.  It would explain the amount of crime we have heard about here.  I always imagined we would see the big houses with large columns in front like we have in Brisbane where there are fairly wealthy Italian families but this is not what we see here so far.

As we travel east towards Venice the smog/fog thickens.  There are a massive amount of trucks on the road and we have forgotten that we have seen trucks like this in many other European countries, but not since we left Hungary.  I can’t comment too much on the scenery as it was quite non-existent on a lot of the drive and as we reached Venice the smog turned into pure fog and it was thick.  The road we were to take was closed without any indication of where you had to drive to go around.  Why do they do that?  Lucky our maps show us another way but we have to drive 30km out of our way.  We are staying on a long peninsula which is slightly to the south east of Venice where we can stay. In a secure complex and get a ferry across the water into Venice.  The fog is so thick we can’t see the lovely coastline that is supposed to exist just off the road we have travelled in on with its 15km stretch of beach. After what feels like a hundred roundabouts and a few tired & loud words between each other (it has been a long drive and the fog doesn’t help) we finally arrive at the campground and as usual leave any short lived emotion behind and start to settle in for the night. It is a working farm with greenhouses full of seedlings and one with geese and the last crops still in the ground ready for the winter rest. An old lady welcomes us and is very friendly and makes us welcome even though her English is limited and our Italian non- existent we get by with a smile and gestures. She apologises for the fog but says it makes for a very romantic setting wink, wink ha ha, what a hard case women who I would say has seen a lot in life as she is 80 as we find out later. The camp has a small shop selling their produce and very new and clean facilities. After a welcome hot shower I cook tea and we cuddle in to bed.

12 November Thursday

We wake around 8am as Vicki’s internal alarm clock is still working whereas mine is hidden under my pillow and if Vicki doesn’t wake then I sleep. Unfortunatly I am hard wired to sleep and if I don’t have to get up I usually don’t much to Vicki’s chagrin. It is totally misty outside and visibility is very limited as it is here in November.  We get ready and go and say hello to the old ladies daughter who runs the show and very nice she is and speaks very good English. She offers to take us to the ferry which is a lovely gesture as it is dangerous to walk on the roads where you can’t see 50m in front.

We buy a 48hour ticket each as it is best value and give a bit of flexibility and we have found if you are not sure what you are going to do or go (which is most of the time in a new city) then this allows travel on bus, boat or train where applicable. Plus it is cheaper anyway then each day tickets and as we bought at 9.30am then we can at least use it on the third day morning. The ferry is not large and we leave in fog that is quite freaky but sure the pilot knows where to go. It will be a shame going in to Venice from the sea as we won’t see it clearly which we have been told is spectacular. Oh well we have learned to take the good with the bad and hey we are in Venice!! As it is a Thursday it is not too busy, we are not struggling with crowds and it all feels quite laid back and the buildings actually look cool surrounded by the flowing mist and gives the whole scene a gentle, smooth feel. We decide to head straight to San Marco square which is the tourist hotspot and we revel in the space as during the season apparently you can’t move. Vicki and I take turns going into the Basilica as you are not allowed back packs in so take turns. The floor is the best part amzing tiles and marble mosaics with intricate designs and patterns. Most churches the best is when you look up so this is a pleasant surprise. We leave the square tuck the map away as it is pointless as there are too many alleys and walkways and is best to just wander and get lost as if you keep a general direction in your head you will always find the grand canal. Again Vicki’s sense of direction is amazing as I am hopelessly confused (but happily) and we meander our way without seeing the same thing twice! Obviously there are a lot of canals hence bridges and the all differ as some are quite big and others are very small. On most of them are the Gondoliers touting business and the dark Africans selling ‘Prada’ bags for a song as they are obvious copies but considering we are seeing the real thing in the windows for up to 3000Euros maybe 30e is pretty good going and who looks that close at a label anyway. I am seriously considering buying a nice leather jacket but so far after 21 countries I haven’t found one so I am pleased to see one a couple I like and though not ‘label’ ones at 600 – 1000e at under 200E very good value these are lamb leather not cow so very soft and supple but I feel a bit thin for my rough handling so will keep looking maybe Greece or Spain will have something. At least this frees up some $$ for other souvenirs.

We cross the main tourist bridge between the islands and there are lots of tourist stalls but the prices here are really good compared to other cities we have been to for essentially the same crap with a different city name on them. We are surprised as we have been told that Venice is really exy but we are finding the good stuff such as leather shoes and quality clothes are an excellent buy and we will consider returning to boost our wardrobes at a later stage. We will return tomorrow to get a few T shirts for the little ones back home as so far they are the cheapest for the same thing (8E instead of 15E so pays to look around.

We sit in a square nearby and have our sandwiches but I am already planning a pizza lunch tomorrow as they are only 6E for the two of us. We amuse ourselves with the pigeons which really are the dumbest birds behind chooks as they scramble for any titbit. One poor one has a twig wrapped around his foot entangled with nylon or something and we try and trap the stick to get the hindrance off but they are too quick. The poor thing obviously hates it but we can’t help. There are many with stumps and deformed feet and claws so either they have been attacked by rats, string amputation, stepped on by humans or just mimicking the beggars who try every deformity & disabled trick in the book to make you feel sorry for them.  I end up feeding the pigeons and not the beggars. We walk on and on and other than the same souvy shops there really are some quality goods and if not for a van that will start bulging at the seams soon we reluctantly window shop. We did however spot a post card which feature cats dressed up in clothes and one is the spitting image of our dear Freddie so had to get it. Over here is the famous Murano glass which is beautiful and very original and inventive and even though a trip to the island is considered a must we will have to leave it for another day as the mist is starting to roll in more and more and it is getting dark by 4pm. You have to be careful buying as there are the typical Chinese copies.  All the shops advertise Only Italy Made, No Chinese  but difficult to tell other than the price and authenticity stickers. Venice is also famous for their paper mache hand made and painted masks and the variety has to be seen to be believed. It stems from the opera (think Phantom Of The Opera and also Heath Ledger) but again there are Chinese plastic rip offs but luckily they are easy to spot (the PRC sticker helps!) We want a mask but we will wait till we see one we like. We have drink at a bar and we have wine as it is Italy. Unfortunatly the toilet is broken so timing a drink with a toilet stop has backfired. My bladder has been fantastic the last month I have definitely turned a corner. So Vicki pays a 1.50E to go but my need is not as great so hold on. However an hour later I am hurting so we find a small bar on the way back to the ferry.  Ohh what heaven and with our beer and wine there is free peanuts in the shell and a large dish of crisps. A cosy bar with nice Pinot Gris and a dark stouty beer.  We catch the ferry home in the dark and call our camp lady who picks us up and takes us home. Another hot shower to ease the shoulder and back muscles from carrying a pack, dinner and a drink then let’s all do it again tomorrow.

Friday 13th Friday

We sleep in a bit but still get to the ferry at 10am, an amazing effort considering our usual mucking around but we don’t want to upset our free ride.  The fog is still heavy and visibility zero but the 45 minute ride is fun as there are still things to see. We head in the opposite direction first up and see some of the local markets with their fish stalls and strange veges. By heading away from main square we avoid the tourists and instead mingle with the locals some who are already into the wine and Campari, wine & soda which seems to be a local favourite here. We opt for a coffee instead given the early morning but boy a beer would be nice….. In the café if you stand at the bar and drink it is cheaper than sitting down. So every one stands at the bar so no one can get in. But most of the time it is a quick espresso for 1E then off. Given that cafes will charge 1E to use the toilet you might as well get a free drink. I feel ripped off paying to pee but can understand in these places so at least I want to subsidise a drink so what goes in is a little bit cheaper due to what has to come out. Where all this by product goes in a watery place like Venice has me beat but the waterways are not polluted as far as we can tell and there are lots of fish(mind you I can’t get close enough to see if they have 3 eyes) and little smell. We follow a different route today but still intend to follow up yesterday’s tracks and buy a few things.  Today being Friday there are more tourists and a few more Asian tour groups. I swear world tourism is funded by the Chinese and good on them for broadening their horizons. Funnily enough they don’t seem to be as pushy and invasive here maybe for the need to be patient in the very narrow alleys and hundreds of turns. They also seem to be happier and more awestruck so maybe it is not just another stop off to them.

We stop at a small local pizza place where some local guys were having a slice and a beer. For 2.50E you get a large slice which is traditional thin crispy crust. Yum. We found our way back to the souvy vendors and found the best prices and got some shirts. We wanted to cross the canal and the camp    lady said we cross at the Tregassari for 2E but as has happened to us a bit it had closed the day before. So backtrack again and over the bridge and through now familiar streets as we start to feel like locals. It is about now that I am grateful that my Ecco walking shoes I bought in Norway have now been well & truly been broken in and support my feet really well especially my problem arches that by now would be really hurting in runners. Plus they are warm. I have worn my warm jacket today and in total have 8 layers on plus a scarf and long johns so quite warm. The mist seems to dampen the atmosphere and can get to you. But then I have no fat layer as I have leaned up a bit on holiday.

After another hour or so of window shopping and especially admiring the many art galleries where I am getting heaps of ideas (I got my coloured pencils down yesterday and bought a sketch pad today so will start when we settle down in Greece) it is back to the ferry. We stopped at a small shop selling tobacco, alcohol and associated gifts and produce and chatted to the owner. He had been to Aussie with Round Table (Apex in Oz) He wants to go to NZ next so as usual we expound its virtues. He also explained the ways of the tides in Venice. Every year or so when the tides run high the whole city can be under water. Everywhere you go there are stacks of galvanised benches with non- slip timber as these are what the tourists have to walk on to get around when it floods. Not great for the shop owners but just a way of life as the tourist season never ends here.

I buy a bottle of the local beer for later in the van and as we walk towards the ferry our way is stopped by a huge wave of people in coming towards us. We are talking literally thousands of young men and ladies chanting and singing. When we spotted the laurel wreaths and black robes we realized it was graduation day for all the universities and they were hitting the town with their families and friends celebrating the end of their studies and hopefully subsequent successes. We stopped off at our now local bar for a drink and free nibblies and Vicki chatted to a young lady and congratulated her. Having graduated herself Vicki understood the feeling of hard work and reward so lovely to connect in a small way. The mist seems to be lifting a bit and even today the sun was trying really hard to break through and we glimpsed a blue sky for a little while. So the ferry ride on the way home offered more of a layout of Venice and gives hope that tomorrow will be clearer and give us our elusive glimpse of the city from the ferry in the morning. By now we had pretty much decided to stay an extra day and give Venice another day for who knows if we will be back again, all good intentions aside. We skype our friendly camp lady who collects us and delivers us back to our awaiting home on four wheels.

Saturday 14th November

We wake to the news from our camp lady as she takes us to the ferry that it is a sad day as there has been a devastating and cowardly attack on Paris by bastard low lifes. We are stunned and upset as we loved Paris and have got to know the French people better through meeting them through our travels and our week in Aux Les Bains where we found them so friendly and giving. Her daughter lives in Paris so she is very subdued, grateful her daughter is ok but sad all the same and there is talk that Rome & London are next. Black Friday the 13th has lived up to its name.  However we are even more determined to not let these scum win so will never stop travelling and will openly visit where we like when we like. It could easily have been any number of cities we have visited and will not be held ransom by their terror and intimidation anywhere in the world. We are determined not to let this sour our day so put on a brave face and carry on.

The day is a lot clearer so we finally get a look at where we are headed and achieve a better perspective of this unique area. Even on the island we are camping on, in the high season one of the larger campgrounds can have 15,000 campers staying. Mindboggling and shows how popular it is, especially the 15km beachfront but not sure if I could enjoy that many people and relax. Let alone the numbers visiting the city in summer. I still think Autumn is the best time of the year to travel as you get the best of everything and what you obviously miss out on you gain in other areas. Today as we alight from the ferry it is noticeable that the tourist level has jumped (remember we are not tourists we are adventure travellers!) Today we purposely head over to the opposite side of the island where the tourists don’t get to see and we mingle with the locals. We stop for the obligatory coffee and stand at the bar so it is cheaper.  It is difficult to remember which cafe it was even though it was only yesterday and we have to work our way back but then we remember once we go through all the places we have been. The old story where you remember something ten years ago but yesterday….. Anyway we saw where a couple will come in have one expresso both use the toilet then bugger off.  After our pick me up we walk through unassuming alleys and buildings which we have to remind ourselves people are living out their normal lives, hopes and dreams whilst people like us invade, ogle and intrude in the name of tourism. I suppose that the money the tourists bring in create the whole dynamic but not sure if I could do it. But then again in a way it is probably no different than living in Maleny or on the Gold Coast. We end up at more than a few dead ends which cumulates in the inevitable canal so back track to another left or right and funnily enough see something worthwhile. For example we were on a wide path which seemed to be a popular dog walking track due to their residue when a man and his beagle came towards us. As they do the dog had a sniff and a wind up then proceeded to have a crap which funny enough he did ON the brick wall not on the footpath! It just stuck there hanging free until the owner rightly placed it into a bag. We don’t think we will see that again for as long as we live and so wish we had photographed it. Then we were on the side facing the huge cemetery island and there were water ambulances. Remember in Venice there are no vehicles of any description not even pushys and everything is delivered by boat then handcarts take everything around. Taxis are all boats and these are beautifully wooden built and quite elegant. As we walked along there was a boat unloading a casket. It was off a hearse boat with all the features of a land driven hearse with rotating trolley for ease of despatch. Thoroughly relevant but at the same time totally weird for us.

We cut through past the hospital past a school with the kids all coming out, finished for the day. Hard to imagine in this city normal activities like a school but it is easy to forget that this is like any normal living place and not just a tourist attraction. We find the best smelling pizza place with an Italian serving not an Asian, Indian or Eastern European as they are more authentic and somehow their pizzas look nicer. We ordered a pizza for 6E and very nice with a Heineken chaser. The telly was on and as in Oz when there is an attack such as Paris it is 24/7 news so we watched the footage loop as we ate. The chap working there seemed to tell us it was the work of Turkey terrorists but we could have misunderstood his limited English.

More meandering around gazing at shop windows and wishing we were millionaires with a mansion to fill but really we feel privileged to be in what some people rate the most visited city in the world with 12 million a year coming. Funny enough we find areas we haven’t seen even though we are in the same vicinity as the last two days. We find a square where we choose a quaint but busy café and have a red and a white wine and pass a quiet hour petting the inevitable dog belonging to an elderly couple next to us. This one is young and boisterous and nearly knocks over our wine. The lady working here must be 80 odd but like the camp ladies mum they don’t stop and she is busy washing, clearing and keeping an eye on who I think are her sons working the place, it has probably been in the family for generations. A brave pigeon sneaks in the room and for its daring darts under the tables but out of the range of the young dog and the old ladies feet it gets a few crumbs as a reward. They are everywhere but at least they don’t have to vacuum up with them around. We finish our wines and it is starting to darken as the mist starts creeping back in again. Funny enough we find ourselves back for a last drink at our now local bar and the lady behind the counter knows what we want without asking! We sit and have our drinks Vicki tries the popular locals, Campari drink, but a bit strong and bitter for her but finishes it easily enough. We sit and look out the window at the narrow pathway with locals, tourists and workers bustling past and I can’t help but think of Paris and how fate could have you in the wrong place at the wrong time where one moment you can be laughing and having a drink with the person you love and the next moment a madman starts shooting. And other than the last bit this is us here in Venice and at once I experience a range of emotions, from anger to gratefulness but a little bit of happiness is missing today.

As we approach the jetty a large cruise ship floats past on the way out, maybe this is where this morning’s tourists were on hence their happy demeanour cos they weren’t on a tour bus. We catch the ferry which tonight being Saturday and a bit busier is going direct to our island so 15 minutes quicker. The night is really clear out on the water and we follow the cruise ship out. We stare out the open window smell the salty night air mingled with smells of Venice and we are happy we stayed the extra day. The lights are fully out now on both islands each side of us so we are serenaded with the throb of the boat as we follow a corridor of electric stars home. Again we are collected and saved a 2km walk after a tiring 3 days which is inevitable when exploring a city and look forward to a new country in Slovenia tomorrow but no doubt we will see more of Italy a little later on.

AIX LES BAINS AND INTO ITALY

In the morning we decide to check out where the water is coming from, so pull up all the bed and find there is water leaking through the inside of the van and is lying in the inside gutter.  Very shitty, not another problem.  It looked like the water pump was a problem to us as there was some water leaking out of there and every few minutes it would pump for no reason plus the filter housing was broken. We figure there must be a camper repair shop somewhere near and ask the reception lady if she knows one and ask if she could phone since it will be difficult to explain technical stuff in French.  I am not that good, I can only speak simple French talk.  She phones a place but they don’t want to know us, they are too busy.   Another  French camper had spoken to me earlier in the morning and we had had a great conversation.  He thought we were from England and since his 18 year old daughter was there for 3 months thought he would chat to us even though he knew no English.  So I went back to ask him if he know of another place nearby.  He was a mechanic and had changed his own water pump so he goes with us to a nearby boat place as boats also have the same pumps but they don’t have the right one.  He then drives with us to a nearby camper store where they have what we need plus a hardware store that has the fittings required.  It is late when we get back and although Scot wanted to go back to the Skiff pub and have his moules et frittes (mussles and fries) but it is too late so we decide we are staying another day so he can have them.

Friday 6th November

With the help of the wonderful French man we get our water pump replaced.  We are very grateful and can’t thank him enough.  I want to take them out to lunch but they decline saying it isn’t necessary but It is a small payment for a huge help he had been.  We have a lovely walk along the lake front which is so nice on a day like this one.  We are 3 weeks from winter here and there is no snow yet on the surrounding hills when there should be and the day temps are at least 20 if not more (we were sweating…..well I was).  Later in the day we buy the French man a few beers and take them over for him and then head out to the pub for a well-deserved dinner out.  Beautiful food, but so much of it.  I am feeling quite ill still in the morning, perhaps the profiteroles were too rich, but do you think I would have missed them out???  Mais Non!

We pull up the bed again to see if the underneath is dry, but unfortunately not.  The pump was not the only problem we have had with water leaking.  We now believe the other leak is coming from the hot water system which we rarely use.  It has gas and electricity connected so is not something we can do anything about ourselves.  The French man and his wife are leaving today and the campsite is closing anyway.  Who closes a campsite a week early when there are still 20 people wanting to stay there a night and at 20euro I would have thought it would be worth it, but they obviously don’t.  We head off to the camper store we bought the pump at, but they won’t help us with the leaking hws.  We go to the next one and thankfully they agree to do a bypass on the hws as they can’t fix it as it is English and they have no parts.  We have to wait until Monday afternoon though.  Oh well I can think of worse places to stay than here and since the campsite is closed it will be freedom camping on the lakeside with the other thrown out campers.  We head back to the parking area and sit in our chairs in the sun and watch people playing petanque, families walking with dogs, people cycling, very busy indeed.  We sit and enjoy until about 4pm when the sun goes behind the snowless mountains and you feel the real air temperature which has quite a chill.  We are parked with a number of other campers and feel quite safe here.

Sunday 8 November

We need groceries before we leave France so we decide to bike and find the Carrefour which is a supermarket we love here in France and also in Belgium.  We get a bit lost and then we come across the typical Sunday market.  I don’t really like markets and this one is no exception.  Nothing worth buying, just lots of stuff that isn’t necessary to own.  There is a little bit of food but it is expensive so we pass on that and there is also a second hand area of the market.  The market continues for a huge stretch and encompasses all the surrounding streets as well. We end up having a coffee in a lovely wee shop before we head out away from the markets with our baguette for lunch.  We missed the supermarket, it closed just as we got there at midday so we will go back tomorrow.  Back at the van and we head along the lake front for a lovely walk feeding the ducks and water hens.  It is really crowded being a beautiful Sunday when it should be cold but people here are strangely still wearing their winter jackets, boots etc and here are Scot and I in our t-shirts and shorts.  We do get some strange looks, but who is the weird one, we are dressed for the sun.

Monday 9 November

Our appointment isn’t until 3pm so we decide to bike again to the supermarket and get a few things.  We only have our two backpacks and it becomes very obvious that we need to bring the van to buy the rest of the things.  We love being back in France, with the crisp baguettes, lovely cheeses, wines, and the food is cheaper than we have had for a couple of weeks.  We can even find lamb chops for Scot which is a bonus after months of not finding them.  Our staple baguette lunch and we head out for our appointment and another van expense.  Thankfully it doesn’t take long to do the pipe bypass on the hws and we are back on our way, firstly back to the Carrefour supermarket and then on to our free camping park by the lake.  Our last night here before heading into Italy.   A man started speaking to me in the supermarket about sugar in French obviously and he spoke no English.  It was funny but as I started talking to him we had a really great conversation and I revelled in how much my French had come along in such a short time when I had to speak it.  The man really enjoyed the conversation as well I think because we were from the other side of the world and don’t have the opportunity to speak French.  He was so nice and at the end of the conversation he said how much he had enjoyed the conversation and that I spoke quite well and wished us a great vacation.  So nice.  I have never found any French people short and rude like so many people say, but I have always put that down to the fact that I try very hard to speak a little to them.

I am not keen really to go as we have heard many stories from people who have been broken into and robbed in their vans around Italy.  It seems to be one of the worst countries for it, Spain is only marginally better.  We have been heard from people who have had small valuable items, jewellery, cash etc stolen through to people who had windows smashed and all their clothes etc stolen.  What to do.  We decide we will continue on, but we will limit the time in Italy and we will not leave the van alone in towns but we will have to stop in camp grounds and pay the price for security.

Tuesday 10 November

We stop on our way out of Aix les Bains at an Intermarche super where we find they have salmon for only aud15 a kilo and it’s from Norway.  Shame I can’t freeze any but we buy a bit and some steak for Scot and head out of France.  There is a huge tunnel between France and Italy and the cost is ridiculous.  57euro to go through the tunnel, 18 euro before it and then in Italy several further tolls just to cross the border.  The alternative road was over the mountains which we were definitely not doing.  We got stopped at the Italian border and asked for our passports and vehicle papers – the first time we have been asked for both.  The police thought I was a bit over excited so told me to calm down.  I have no idea what they were talking about as I was just my normal self, maybe a little apprehensive if anything coming into Italy.  Anyway they were fine, after taking a look Into our van – not sure what they expected to see (they couldn’t see Scots beer stash) – we were off.  We headed around Turin which you could see from the immense smog in the distance as we approached it. Probably the smoggiest dirtiest skies we have seen in all of Europe.  I decided to get a sim in a small town out of Asti.  I hate some of these sim costs.  The sim itself was 10euro, but they then made me pay another 10euro for the plan fee, but they tell you initially it is only 10euro.  Not able to communicate with them in Italian meant I had to pay the extra fee not mentioned initially and leave.  Oh well they are only just another country that has ripped us off on internet data charges.  We need the sim here to be able to book ferries across to Greece later on. We then head just out of Asti to a small secure camping place with power and water that is only 8euro for the night and has a fenced compound.  Hopefully to be safe for the night before we head out to Venice.

The first thing about this secure campsite that assaulted us was the smell of cows in a barn next door to the parkup.  Then as we were settling down to a pre-dinner drink the mooing started.  It was like it was right outside the door and I then realised that it indeed was only about 10ft from the back of the camper.  I can only hope that cows actually sleep during the night and we can’t hear them.

KANDERSTEG, NEUCHATEL, MONTREUX, SWITZERLAND

We wake up to a totally misty, foggy day and surrounded by white, white and more white so we can’t see a thing. All the car parks near us are full as everybody starts their Monday but I wonder what business there is at this time of the year and who is around to frequent them but work goes on as usual.

We get another 2 baguettes and empty and fill the van and head for Kandersteg, back tracking the drive from Saturday but this is not a problem as the drive is worth it. However we decide to gamble on the highway a bit to bypass Bern & Thun to save time then hook on to the road between the mountains. It is scary as you are heading to what seems impassable mountains from a distance and then they seem to open up and let us through with the best grandeur you can imagine. Vicki only remembered she had the hotel business card that our friends Ruth & Mick gave us when they were here so we knew we had to come though we knew it was the wrong time of the year to go dog sled riding as they did but we are going to trek partway up the mountain tomorrow to a lake. As we arrived it seems we drove up to the camp on what must not be a road because a lady tut tuts us as we slowly make our way up a narrow pathway – probably only for walking and pushbikes, but once you are there you can’t turn around and have to continue until you get back on the road.  We had a look around the town which like all the others is picture postcard lovely, had a drink in a hotel and as it was getting dark walked back to our camp as the last of the sun backlit the high snowy mountains in front of us. The contrast up high of the blue sky with the white mountain’s when it is dark where we are is magical and even though we are tempted, no photograph will capture it so it has to be embedded on our memory instead. Yummy green curry for tea and enough for tomorrow nite so I don’t have to cook means we can have a full adventure day tomorrow.

The day starts as a clear beautiful day and we head up a steep path towards the lake in the mountains.  There are two paths and we take what we think is the easiest and less steep of the two but we are wrong and we end up walking up the very steep zigzag path (which we realise is the ski path down the mountain) which they say should only take one hour 15 mins but ends up taking us at least 2 hours.  It is a harrowing climb but when we reach the lake it is so worth it.  The lake is still and a beautiful green colour and reflects the snow covered mountains around it.  It is a sight that you really just want to sit and look at in peace for ages, you never tire of it. We sit and eat our lunch but for some strange reason my blood pressure has gone sky high and I have a dreadful migraine.  Can’t figure it out as I don’t have a problem with blood pressure.  I take double medication to kill the pain and we sit in the beautiful surroundings and absorb the sereneness.  We have a look around the lake a bit but it is a huge lake so don’t go too far.  Other people arrive but not very many as it is very much the off season, plus the chair lift closed yesterday and a lot of people won’t do the climb up, only the climb down.  We take the road back down rather than the steep path we came up (although the road is steep enough and Ruth it was steep enough going down in fine weather, I can’t imagine trying to walk down in the snow and ice).

It is dark by the time we get down and Scot organises dinner.  An earlyish night as we are both tired and I still have a dreadful headache so more medication before going to sleep.  I wake through the night with pain in my side which by morning has me doubled over and in tears.  Scot helps me have a shower before we head off to the nearest hospital.  I know something is very wrong as the pain is too severe to be just a bit of gastro or similar.  It reminds me of when I had appendicitis only the pain doesn’t actually ease off.

An entire day spent in the hospital with blood tests, ultrasound and xray plus pain killers and drip etc.  It is disconcerting to say the least to be in a hospital where only a few speak a little English and everyone around you is talking about you but you have no idea what is being said.  They couldn’t get any veins in either hand or arm so after several attempts they use the most dangerous vein to use in my wrist as it is the only possible one.  This un-nerves  me a lot.  They have no idea what is wrong but the doctor who has done his own ultrasound tells me I have a slightly enlarged bile duct and they suspect I have passed a gall stone.  There are no others and once one has passed there is no other evidence, so it is only a guess.  I am not as bad by the end of the day but by no means out of pain and feeling ok.  They want me to stay in overnight but when Scot sees the costs we say no I will come back in, in the morning.  This is a small regional hospital and the fees for the bed are Aud4,500 per night in a general ward, aud13,500 for a semi private room per night and aud21,000 for a private room for one night.  Well it is one of the most expensive countries in Europe so it figures.  The insurance company has said they can only approve the claim once I have completed treatment so there is no guarantee they will pay – bastards!

Scot decides Frutigen where we are staying is a great place for a run, after all he has been patiently sitting with me all day, so off he goes for a run around town.  I like his runs as they always encompass a beer on the return leg, but this time he also thought of me feeling unwell and brings me home a delicious brownie which we share the next day.  After a sleepless night for me we go back to the hospital and I have another blood test.  There is still nothing showing up, I am fit and healthy so my blood says, so after consultation with the doctor we leave with medications (very expensive) and decide to head towards Neuchatel where there is a free camper stop.  We initially figure one night and then perhaps we will head to Italy where we can get free treatment charged back to Aussie if I need anything further.

The camperstop is great, free electricity, free water and a toilet dump station plus many other campers for simple safety.  We can have a wash in the van so no big deal.  We pull up for the night and decide the next day we will head into Neuchatel and have a look.  I don’t feel well enough to travel any further so we decide we will stay here free until I have recovered enough to move on.  Also the rugby final is coming up in two days and if we move somewhere else we may not see it.  The next day we find an Irish bar in town who are playing the game so we have fully decided to stay. Missing the final is not on our agenda.  Unfortunately we missed the bronze game as it is on too late for us to see.

On the Saturday afternoon we head to a pool that is right beside the free camperstop as we both would love a swim, plus a shower and hair washed would be nice after 4 days.  The pool isn’t full and they also have a diving board so Scot is in his element.  We have a nice relaxing swim, dive for Scot and a shower, head back to the van to change and back into Neuchatel to watch the final.  The Irish pub is packed and we share the bar with several other Kiwis and one token Aussie who seeming remains fairly quiet throughout the game except for maybe one of the point scores.  We are stoked of course with the win, but it was nerve wracking a few times when we thought Aussie would take over.

On Sunday morning I pick up the tablet to check where we will head off to and find for some strange reason it won’t charge.  I think the charging mechanism has been pushed inside and there is nothing I can do about it.  SHIT!!  I can’t believe it, this Samsung tablet is only 4 months old and the last one wouldn’t charge for some reason and had to stay in Aussie to be fixed.  We decide we need to buy a new one (or repair other if easy) in the morning as there is no way we can do this travelling without the maps and camperstops it provides us.  They are both invaluable and absolutely necessary. Damn another night we didn’t mean to be here, but at least it is free, so Monday morning and we head into the next town where there is a shop.  They open at 1.30pm – who does that on a Monday. Yes here in Switzerland they open late, must be because they have huge Sunday sessions.  We do purchase a new tablet, thankfully for such an expensive country the price is about what I would pay in NZ or Aussie for the same tablet.

Scot wants to see Montreux before we head out of Switzerland,  ‘Smoke on the Water’ and all that. (For those who don’t know Deep Purple wrote that song in Montreux after the studio they were supposed to record at went up in flames and sent smoke across lake Geneva).  So we leave Marin where we bought the tablet and head to Montreux.  The old tablet still says 94% and I haven’t had time to set up the new one, so fingers crossed the old one will get us to the lake and beyond.  As we reach Lausanne unfortunately the tablet dies.  I am left with only instinct on where we need to go so head around the lake front towards Montreux.  It has been a tough day so when we spot a camping sign we decide to check it out.  The camp is a marina right on the lake front but it closed early October.  I need to set up the other tablet so we sit there and as we do a lovely gentleman walks down and asks us what we are looking for.  It ends up he lets us stay there for a good price, with free washing machine and dryer (we have 3 huge loads since no washing done for 2-3 weeks).  So good, so we decide we will stay for two nights so I can set up the new tablet plus Scot wants me to make some mulled wine as we bought some ingredients in Neuchatel.  Our outlook from the van is over the Swiss Alps and we are 10ft from the lake edge looking down towards Montreux at one end and Geneva at the other end, a magic location.

I cook up a storm and end up giving the owner one bottle of mulled wine as he gave us the sugar we needed plus we had free washing which would normally have cost up about aud50.  I hope he enjoyed it, Jamie Oliver’s mulled wine recipe is devine.  Tuesday morning and we decide to walk into Vevey as this is the next town.  Montreux is 10km away and my bike gears aren’t working so is too far to bike from the camp.  It is only 3 kms and as I am improving health wise each day (although still far from 100%) it is a pleasant quiet walk.  We stop at McDonalds and sit having a coffee for over an hour while I use their wifi to download and update the new tablet.  They are definitely our best friend here for wifi and coffee.  We then walk around the town, up to the church (a quick prayer at each church doesn’t hurt just in case one day it works), then a walk back along the lake front to the van.

We head out next morning and stop in Montreux which is a lovely town and I could see myself coming back here to spend a week looking around.  We need to use up all our Swiss francs as we leave here in about half an hours drive.  We find a nice looking café and I think I have enough francs to cover the coffee, apple tart and baguette, but at the end I am 15c short.  Buggar, so we end up having to have another coffee and we pay for that with euro (some people here do take it) and use the change for the shortfall of francs.  Not using the euro is frustrating when you need to use up all your foreign currency when you leave a country not using euro.  Anyway out of Switzerland we head and we have decided we need a stop in France at one of our favourite locations we stayed 6 years ago.  Aix les Bains, a lovely little town on another lake front in France.  We stop at a campsite as it is only 5 euro more than the camperstop here and we get a shower and toilet plus security.  We have been getting worried about some water that seems to be leaking out of the one side of our van and we don’t know where it is from.  We have had dry beautiful weather for the past 3-4 weeks so it can’t be rain water and there is too much to be overnight dew.  We go to the Skiff Pub here where we stayed last time and have a drink.  The people speak slightly more English than last time but I still try out my French here.

BAVARIA, LIECHTENSTEIN, SWITZERLAND

In the morning where we are staying is a camper repair place too and they give us the address of a fellow who repairs fridges who is 30mins away and we need our gas part fixed.  We head off into the countryside  to look for this fellow.  We are out in the middle of nowhere and we come across a little German village – so small it only has one shop, a bakery.  We find the guys house and he is away for half an hour so we head back to the bakery for a coffee and a biscuit.  The guy comes back and has fixed our fridge in half an hour with a new gas burner and jet.  It was just old and corroded like most other things have been in the van – lack of maintenance.  It works amazingly now and we can see it wouldn’t have been as efficient as it should have been in the past.  We are all set and back on the road.  This area of Germany is part of Bavaria and has beautiful green rolling hills with cows everywhere.  We can’t figure out how people can live so close to the cow barns as the stench you get when you just drive past is so dreadful and really strong and a lot of houses are built over the barns.

We head back part of the way we have come and are back on our path to Switzerland, but we decide before we head over the border we have one last night in Austria so we can work out where we can stop for the night on Saturday night so we can watch the All Blacks play South Africa.  We are also tired as it has been a long day and I want to get a sim when we cross the border as Switzerland has an average camping ground price of somewhere like 40-50 euro a night (almost aud100) so we do not want to stop at any campsites if we can help it and will do our best to do cheap or free camperstops.  This campsite is right on the border so we get to see the Swiss alps which look amazing like the many mountains in Austria.

In the morning we pack up and head down across the border firstly into Liechtenstein.  This country is the 6th smallest country in the world and is only 6kms wide by 25kms long.  We drive down the only main road through the country and there are some cute villages.  We decide we want to at least stop in Vaduz for a coffee so we can say we have been there.  They use the swiss franc for currency so we need to get some before we buy a coffee.  We find a carpark that the van will fit into and walk up into the small village centre that Vaduz has which is really no more than a couple of dozen shops and cafes.  The prices here are dreadful – being about aud8-9 for a coffee and not even a great one at that, but we decide that is what we must pay to have something here in this country so be it.  We head away and over into Switzerland.  Switzerland is our 20th country and we have been in 3 in the one day today.

There is a gorgeous little village we travel through just over the border which is ancient with really narrow streets.  It would be such a cool place to stay but we need to keep going.  The next town Bad Ragaz we go into is amazing and obviously a very popular tourist destination and they have art works all around the town.  We want to stop here, but we know that we must get over to Fribourg by tomorrow so there is no stopping unfortunately.  We stop at Mels where I know there is a phone place we can get a data sim for the tablet.  They have the same bizarre security over their sims as Slovakia and I have to provide passport and sign etc to get one.  They are very expensive but I know we will save a lot by being able to find the camper stops here.  We get a very small amount of data 600mb for aud40 – quite insane really – but as I said it will save us a fortune.  We get back on the road and head towards Lucerne.

I find a campground that is closed and they are often great for stopping outside as they are usually in safe locations. We stop here at Zug and it is closed for the winter. We bypass the camping area where there are a few campers and park in the car park backed up against the bush near another van camper (a Possl which we like as they are unobtrusive) and cosy in for the night. The trains run past every 10 minutes or so but are very quiet and not a worry. What a great transport system they have where they can practically run 24 hours. We are up early in the morning as we are mindful that we are not in the camping area but even the council guy who comes to clean the public toilet doesn’t even give us a look. A few older guys turn up early for their Saturday fishing on the large lake, no more than 50 metres away.  We were on our way quite early as there were no chores to do and we want to get to a place called Fribourg which has an Irish bar with a car park to watch the All Blacks v Springboks semi-final. I have found it on the net and it is difficult to accurately gauge if it all will be ok. As we have a good amount of time to get there we travel the ‘yellow’ roads not the highway which are quicker but you don’t get to see the sights. We are through Interlaken as well as other towns on the lakes and it is a beautiful drive. We had stopped at a service station to get a vignette which is required mainly for the highways but find out we can only get a year one for 40chf($60.00aud) which is a huge cost but reflects Switzerland compared to other countries were we have got these for 10 days for $10.00aud. As these are mainly for highways we decide to risk the small amount of highway driving we will do ($180aud fine if caught) and will stick to the lesser roads. This turns out a great idea as we get to see the real country and not traffic.

The drive around the lakes was great and more than once on this adventure I yearn to be on a motorbike even a bloody Vespa would be ok! We drive into Fribourg which is a lot bigger than I imagined with an old battlement and castle surrounding the old town and river which looks inviting to explore but we are really here only for the rugby so with the magic of technology we find our way to Paddy’s Irish Bar and find a park in the coach car park behind a French gentleman’s camper who is going to the cinema. In our usual hand signals and both our limited language find out what to do with tickets and a note on the dashboard explaining to any powers that be that we are not camping overnight but just watching the footy. The pub doesn’t open till 4 and we are a bit early so kick back and find a place to stay after the game as the car park seems a bit dodgy in the middle of the city and lots of youth cruising around.  We are made welcome by the pub owner and settle in to watch a nail biting win to the AB’s with 3 Swiss people with All Black jerseys on a few others with a couple of SA supporters. I am driving so one Guinness lasts me the game (that’s a first right there) but it is not cheap anyway so not hard to abstain. After the game we thank the pub owner as this makes it easier for future kiwis when you are thankful for their hospitality and thank the locals for their kiwi support.

It is dark when we travel the 30 minutes to Romont which looks really quaint as we drive in with lights highlighting the castle, turrets and battlements towering over the town on a high hill. We have found on Camperstop.com that there is 2 parks for campers only with power, water and toilet drop for free (just pay $3.00aud tourist tax).  However we have to climb the hill to get to it as it is right at the top 1st & 2nd gear right below the castle walls with views over the countryside. Unfortunatly both parks are taken so, after not finding the other 3 non electric parks down the road we park near the others and rely on our battery which fortunately is new. We can’t quite get the van level and spend the night a bit downhill so the blood goes to your head which isn’t the best.

We get a sleep in in the morning as there is no need to rush as we are going to stay the day as Vicki is not that well and we don’t feel like driving and it is free camping. One of the vans move so we quickly jump in and take there spot hook up the electrics and scout the town getting some fresh French baguettes from the bakery and walk the length of the town finding somewhere to watch the wallabies V Argentina semi final. After a few enquiries we end up at the Terminus Hotel near the train station, Vicki has a cappuccino and I have a beer as we try and we play language games to see if we can watch the footy. The owner who doesn’t speak English gets a lady on the phone who speaks our language and who we find out later works there. We think it will be on Euro sport so tell them we will be back at 5pm. We wander back to the van ( there is a steep hill going up that reminds us of the steepest hill in the world which is Baldwin St in Dunedin and have a baguette for lunch I have a couple of beers in the sun then we wander the castle walls for an hour and back to the pub. However there is confusion as there is tennis on live so find another channel where they are discussing the rugby then find out that Europe and GB have just changed all their clocks so we are an hour early( better than an hour late!). So we watch the valiant Argies lose to the aussies and look forward to next week’s first ever Pacific final.

 

INNSBRUCK, SCHWANGAU

Tuesday 20 October

We have a look at where this camper place is and realise it is near Wels where we were 3 days ago (about 2 hours drive away) and it isn’t 30 minutes up the road where they used to be.  Oh well, Scot phones and we decide we really need to have the battery replaced so hit the road heading back where we have already been.  It really turns out to be the best decision as Carolina speaks perfect English at the camper place and can translate for us so there isn’t any misunderstanding about what we need and a lovely man comes and takes our battery out – which when we see it, has a hole in the corner, shaved off by it jumping around in the back as it’s not properly secured. We can’t figure out how it could even still be holding a charge.  In hindsight we were silly not to have had it checked in England but you live and learn what is necessary and we are fast becoming experts at what is required in a van when buying one.  So the battery is replaced with a new one and even though it seems expensive for a battery (which it isn’t really), the leisure batteries are much hardier and work differently from an ordinary car battery so it really doesn’t matter the price because without it we cannot live in the van.  So the battery is in and is properly secured now and we also have a new floor light which replaces one that nearly set the van alight and burnt a hole in Scot’s shirt.  Plus it’s an LED one so it will never get hot and burn anyone or anything.  Two problems solved and we are very grateful to them for being able to help us at a moment’s notice.

We head out, it is mid afternoon so we will not likely get to Innsbruck today but we will head towards there.  We have to go through Salzburg and into Germany to get to Innsbruck as the land in Austria between  Salzburg and Innsbruck is so mountainous that we cannot drive these roads in the van.  So we head around Salzburg and onto the border but as we cross into Germany the traffic stops and we can see it is lined up for miles in front of us.  We cannot get off anywhere and the right lane is chokka with trucks and we are in the left lane with the cars.  We creep along a bit at a time and eventually we reach where the traffic is held up – by police searching cars and trucks for refugees.  We aren’t a target so we get let through and are on our way on the highway.  About 10 minutes later we see this van driving on our left hand side and Scot says ‘It’s the Trakka’ and I look and our Kiwi camper friends are driving alongside us holding up a little kiwi.  How bizzare, in the whole of Europe and here we are on the same highway heading the same way.  This is the second time we have run into them since we met in Riga.  Rob pulls over down the road and we discuss where we are each going so we end up following them down the road to a free camperstop outside a guest house.  There was no way we would have gotten anywhere near Innsbruck and it is getting late.  It is lovely to have someone we have gotten to know to have a chat to for the evening.  We go inside the guest house and have a drink at the bar and a catchup.

Rob and Sue tell us they are going to the Neuschwanstein castle which is on the border of Germany and Austria and is similar to the Disney castle.  So we change our plans and decide we will go there as well but we both take different paths.  We head away and decide we will travel via Innsbruck and then over the border into Germany.  It is a beautiful day as we leave the guest house and head back towards Austria and down to Innsbruck.  Innsbruck is a city that is surrounded by mountains and they are amazing and a lot are covered by snow.  We head off the main path and stop in Innsbruck for a quick look at the surrounding scenery.  It’s funny that you seem to see more amazing scenery every time we travel to another place.  It is all amazing in Austria.  We head out of Innsbruck and begin to travel on the road going north from here and into Germany.  I realise that we are about to head over a fairly large mountain and the roads are quite steep but we know the van can take it.  The scenery in this part is simply to die for with snow on the mountains and deep green lakes and of course the autumn colours which are spectacular to say the least.  No photo will do this justice and as we stop at the summit where there is a restaurant and many other tourists you can see the look of sheer wonder on everyone’s faces at the surroundings.

We sat and ate our sandwiches in the sun taking in our spectacular scenery.  The pass we are going over is the Fernpasse.  I worry about coming down the other side and our brakes overheating but we seem to manage it without a problem.  We reach the castle about mid afternoon and see Rob and Sues van and park up beside it.  We leave them a message in case we don’t see them here and then  look for the place that sells the tickets as they don’t sell them up the road at the castle.  Actually there are two castles, the major one right up on top of the hill which is a hell climb and one at the bottom that King Ludwig II built for his parents.  We only want to see the large one at the top but find they are all sold out of tour tickets for the day as it is a major tourist destination and there are hundreds of people milling around down the bottom.  We can still look around the outside and part of the inside so we climb the hill to have a look.  My body is not responding to the climb today and I feel unwell as we reach the top so have to stop for a rest at which time I spot Rob and Sue coming down.  We say our hellos and goodbyes as they are now on their way to Bern and then off to France and Spain so I doubt our paths will cross again for a while.  We look around the castle and Scot offers to take a photo for another couple as you do as you never seem to have any of both of you when on holiday.  So they reciprocate and we get talking.  The lady is German from Munich and the guy is half Greek so we learn a bit about Greece from him and the lady imparts some interesting information about the castle and King Ludwig II and his life that we hadn’t heard before.

The castle is amazing and we wonder at how someone can wish to live in such a massive place such as this.  It took about 15 years to build as much as has been finished before he died.  They say he was crazy but I am not so sure they were right. Maybe he just had different ideas from others.

We head down and leave the castle area and find a camper stop place which we are finding more of and love them.  They cost from nothing to only a few euro to stop for the night and some have electricity plus toilets and showers and some have none of the above.  The cheaper the better and now that we have a new battery we don’t have to worry so much about electricity except when it is really cold.  We pull in and the gym across the road is the reception place, shame we don’t feel like a workout as it may be free.  There are a couple beside us and the lady is German and the man is Dutch.  Agnes is a lovely lady who loves a chat and she keeps us out chatting for an hour or so but it is getting cold and we haven’t set up so we say our good byes and set the van up.

 

SALTZBURG, SALZKAMMERGUT, BAD AUSSEE, BAD ISCHL

Saturday 17 October

An early rise since we have only one day in Saltzburg we need to make the day count.  We head out of the camp and walk to the bus stop and the bus is already sitting at the stop.  On we hop and off to town.  Saltzburg is a lovely small city or you could call it a town as it is quaint and not large at all.  The old town like all of them has lovely buildings, cute narrow roadways and there is a large castle up on the hill top overlooking the town.  Since it is early we have beaten the large majority of tourists and it is relatively quiet so we decide to head up to the castle and have a look.  The climb up the stairs and the steep walkways is tough on the quads but we hope the view is worth it at the top.  It is huge and costs a bit but we decide it should be worth a visit as you can see most of the castle.  They had a couple of great displays of things like torture implements which were horrible.  There were a couple of iron masks that go over your head and they have a metal funnel going into the mouth and nose that they obviously pour fluid into them to torture the victim.  They had a metal  chastity belt, a torture chair see the photo.  They had an exhibition of photos of this guy who was a ballet dancer and the photos of him were in all kinds of costumes – mostly just little shorts but there were a few naked ones – omg – just a little crude especially since it was visible to kids.  We should have taken photos of the photos because they were rather hilarious.  Others looking at them were laughing.  The state room of the castle was interesting and had it’s own dunny.  By the time we left the castle it was being over-run by bloody tourists so we left.  The town was also the same.  We saw some mulled wine so we had a drink and sat on a seat on the square.  Every city we have been to in the last week or so has had horses and carts and here is no different.  It’s expensive  44 euro –aud88 for 20 minutes.  One cart had a guy biking behind with his shovel and barrow picking up the poo from the horses.  What a job.  Next we found an Irish bar where we found they are playing the rugby quarter finals tonight so we need now to check out the bus back to the camp and make sure we know where it leaves from and the times as the games don’t finish until after 10.30pm.  It is only 10mins away so all good there.  One of the main shopping streets is absolutely crowded with people, so much so, you can hardly move.  Shops are starting to put Christmas decos up and they are so pretty.  They seem to go to a lot of trouble over here for Christmas.

We visited the large church in the square and it’s funny because we seem to find more spectacular ones than we have seen before but really I think that each is just different and has something that makes it look amazing.  This one has the most amazing architecture inside with lots of mouldings of cupids and all sorts of things.  Like always our photos never do any of our scenery justice, but this church is quite a ‘wow’ experience.  We spend the rest of the afternoon wandering and end up at the Irish bar at 5 for the first rugby game.  Also watching is another couple, a Kiwi and an Aussie and later another lady from Dunedin came in with her daughter – what a co-incidence.  We stayed until the Allblacks had walloped France – thank Christ for that and caught the bus back.  We missed our stop, buggar, but luckily it was the second last one so we had to walk back a short distance.  But then we sort of got lost and couldn’t remember which way to go.  Thank god for the tablet and we saw where we needed to walk and made it home.

Sunday

It is supposed to be a nice day today like yesterday so I am glad we have chosen it to go down through the mountains and visit an area an Austrian couple we met told us to go.  We head east and straight into the mountains.  The scenery it distinctly “the sound of music” hills with cows wearing cow bells and the chalets you would expect to see.  You can almost hear the music as we drive by the paddocks.  The scenery in Austria just has to be the best we have seen in Europe, but really it is likely to also be because of the autumn colours which are spectacular and I could tell you over and over how beautiful the trees look.  This is something we miss so much in Aus.  We come across a lake and small village called Fuschl which is so lovely.  The lake is a beautiful green/blue colour & so clear it is difficult to gauge the depth.  We stop for a coffee in a hotel where there is a guy suffering the biggest hangover after a hard day before in the pub.  He tells us the first drink of the morning must be the same drink you finished with the night before, so we tell him it’s called ‘hair of the dog’ on our side of the world.

We walk over to the lake and feed the ducks and feisty swan that nearly takes both our fingers off trying to get something to eat out of us.  We head off and next stop is Bad Ischl.  This is another lovely small town with a river running through it.  We sample some of the local fare of cheese filled frankfurter sort of thing.   After a walk around we head off to the next stop of Halstatt.  Getting there is like driving to Queenstown.  A road on the side of the lake with a steep incline on the inside.  Arriving at Halstatt is interesting as you can’t go in on the town road, you have to go through a long tunnel to the other side of the village where we stop and look back at the town.  We realise the whole town is cut off and only locals are allowed to drive into it, but when you see the roads you realise why.  Our camper would have caused havoc on the almost only road through the town.  We drive back through the tunnel and find a car park above the town so stop and walk down the stairs into it.  Apparently this place is very famous in China amongst many other Asian countries so when we reach the village there are wall to wall Asian tourists.  There is a costume hire place in town who hire the traditional costume to them and they can walk around town taking photos in the clothes.  We are told it is very quiet at this time of the year so I would hate to see it when it is busy.  It is a beautiful place but I couldn’t cope living here with so many tourists, it’s just crazy.

We leave and head for Bad Aussee, the next town on the agenda.  We miss the turn off and the weather has started to close in on us so we decide we will look tomorrow and head to the camp for the night in Bad Mitterndorf.  We find the camp in the rain and have a chat with the lady owner who is Dutch but her grandmother was German who in the 1930’s wanted to go to Canada but it was too difficult so they emigrated to Holland. Now they live here and love the lifestyle but do rue the lack of holidays as it is practically a year round business. We had a nice chat but it was getting very cold so we parked the van, set it up as usual then took a stroll into town while the weather was ok as it was going to be crap the next day. It is again a very tidy, well looked after town and being Sunday early evening very quiet so we found a small warm restaurant and had a drink each then went back to the van. I can imagine this place hectic in the season. We slept in a bit as it was easy with the soothing sound of rain on the roof and not in a huge hurry.

We decided not to stay another day there was not a lot to see so, as we were paying, we quizzed the owners about any ideas for finding someone to help with the van. Somehow a hospital got mentioned so we asked about whether it was worth getting my 6 month blood test done for my prostate PSA check (or lack of!). The owner mentioned her doctor in town so as she was going in she would take us there. She interpreted what I needed with the doctor so in I went and had blood taken. They get it analysed and will email my doc. Straight in fantastic and something I was worrying about getting done so very happy. We drive into the small town of Bad Aussee and have quick look around and a tasty coffee and cake then back on the road to stop off at the local equivalent of RACQ to see if they can do a test on the battery to see if it is ok. It isn’t so now we know we have to get one. They check our tyres then charge us $100aus. I was a bit pissed off but as we haven’t renewed our RACQ we can’t claim it back. They were happy to send the bill to RACQ but we knew they won’t cover us so we feel we are doing the right thing paying but I would rather have put the money towards a new battery. Not very hospitable to poor tourists but we have to take the good with the bad. Seems weird that it was cheaper to go to a doctor and get blood taken, analysed in a lab and results sent to Oz than for a young kid to put a tester on our battery… go figure.

We finally contact a camper place to go see tomorrow and get a new battery. The lady I spoke to speaks good English so we will get prices as we are sure as hell not going to pay good $$$ to take battery out and connect a new one. We find our camp right on the lake and again we are the only one here but quite close to where we have to go tomorrow. We take the chance to give the van a quick wash as it is filthy which is great and to put a wash on. However after going back to get it out of the dryer we find that it has stopped after 5 minutes and everything is still wet and we don’t have the 8x50cents to put it through again. Grrrrrr I am sick of shit dryers. So I go back and luckily there is an iron so I spend ½ an hour at least drying the sheet and two pillow cases with the iron! Then back to the van and hang the rest up but the heater is on so we manage to dry the other sheet which goes to show how efficient the heater is. Hopefully tomorrow we might find out why it turns itself on when the switch is off and there is no power coming into the van. Tomorrow we are hopefully off to Innsbruck if all goes well with the van.

MELK, LINZ, WELS VIA THE DANUBE

Wednesday 14 October

We awake to rain and cold so decide to postpone the drive across Vienna to find the van place as things are working again and really very difficult wasting lots of time for maybe no gain. So we take off from our camp which has been a great stop very clean and friendly and make our way west towards Melk along the Danube. We have found another van shop that specialises in campers so feel this will be the best bet. It is about ½ an hour from Melk so we plan on staying at a camp which is part of a hotel but will consider anything on the way we see. Even though it is drizzly and cold (my feet are freezing, goes to show you shouldn’t do the morning chores in jandals in 4c) the road is good and the rain adds a misty & ethereal outlook which, as we enter the valley’s alongside the Danube, is stunning and when you are able to look across the river to the villages on the other side it is truly a world wonder. The Danube is an unusual green colour and is wide and flowing. Maybe it is the lack of silt or mud as it is rocky amongst the huge hills (not quite mountains, well they would be in oz) but unlike all the rivers we have seen so far, almost glacial in hue. It all looks beautifully clean & fresh.  We stopped around 2ish to make sammies on the river just past a town. We then carried on always marvelling at the what we would consider the most beautiful countryside we have seen, even surpassing Norway, though I would go a long way to beat NZ! It being autumn probably has something to do with it as the colours are spectacular. What makes a difference is there are castle ruins on the sides of the hills, sometimes in the most precarious places and even huge monastery’s, all nestled below by quaint villages with their inevitable church spires poking out of the mist & low clouds. On another day we would visit but it is too wet to take the van up steep, questionable roads so leave it for another time hopefully. However at Melk we stop to look at the Baroque Abbey one of the best of its kind in the world. We arrive amongst bus loads of tourists, mainly yanks, but surprisingly it doesn’t feel crowded. The inside of the church is breathtaking and it is fully covered in artwork and huge amounts of gold leaf. Words can’t describe it and as previously we have said the church we have just seen in Klosterneuburg was one of the best we have seen this surpasses it. We don’t want to pay to see the museum or gardens as we don’t have time but guess it would be well worth it.

We pull into a van stop camp which Vicki had researched and looks good. These cost 10 -12 euro which is cheap and have power and toilets and a park for around 10 campers. You drive in through a boom that opens automatically then call a number, they come down take your $$ then give you a token to get out in the morning and a code for the toilets. However we want to be closer to Melk so reluctantly leave saying goodbye to another couple who have arrived. We pass lots of wineries and grapevines all over the place on steep sides of the hills and on the sides of the roads. This is the Wauchen region and is widely acclaimed. We try and see what is open but being near winter not a lot can be seen. We stop at one seller but after going inside I can’t find anyone so go back to the van but not after trying some of the beautiful grapes off the vine. I don’t consider it stealing as I didn’t take the whole bunch. We finally got to our camp only to find it was shut for the week, we think for family reasons on the notice, even the hotel was closed. Bummer, so we decide to backtrack to the last place even though we hate going backwards but think it is worth it as it is only ½ and hour and a lovely drive.

We drive in and a third couple have arrived, Germans. We call the people and they come down with the token and code. We decide to walk the short way to a cellar that looked open, eating some exquisite grapes on the way growing on the side of the road. It is a cute little restaurant with a lot of atmosphere (unfortunatly as is the Austrian way it is full of ciggy smoke) but warm. We order a wine and a cheese/meat/bread platter and the german couple come in and sit with us. We have a very pleasant couple of hours chatting and sampling the local schnapps and Sturm which is the wine before it is finally filtered and bottled. It is like a cider but grape with a tang and is very nice and has become the latest popular drink to have here. I prefer this to wine so have a couple. We are the last to leave and wander back with our new friends wowed at the mist over the village and the castle ruins up in the hills lit up across the river.

It is another cold morning, Vicki is hungover as she does not drink this much usually (only 2 small wines and 2 small sturms) but a coffee and pills do the trick followed by breakfast. We say good bye to our German friends who give us their email address in Heidelberg if we have a chance to get there. Meeting people is by far one of the best parts of travelling and we are richer for the experience as we are learning so much. We decide to track back a little more and follow the Danube on the other side, the part we were looking across at yesterday. It is equally as stunning but funny enough it is different. As we  were coming into one of the many villages we get pulled over by a cop who says we(Vicki) was doing 65 in a 50 zone which we didn’t think was true but what can you do so we paid the 35 euro and went on our way. What a bummer as we have driven 11000 miles with nothing then this. We also know our speedo says we are going faster than we actually are, so it means Vicki would have been doing about 75 on our speedo which she had hardly managed to get near 70 due to the windyish wet roads. Oh well shit happens. But really as I find out the next day when I drive the signs are very confusing and difficult to know when speed limits start and finish here especially when a 60 zone might last 10 metres then 50 back to 80 then open road sign-or lack of one- and then another village with no sign. Paranoid city. We finally get to the campervan place and bugger me if it is closed! Oh yeah they will be at the big Camper Show that we are going to tomorrow. I know you will say why didn’t you ring first but in our experience in the past when we ask if they speak English they say no or say they can’t fit us (too hard basket) in so better to just bowl on up. Normally we wouldn’t have a phone sim but we have so maybe we should have. Is it a coincidence hindsight and holiday start with the same letter?

Nothing to do but laugh and make our way to our nights camp which is at a tennis club where they charge 10 euro on a honesty system and we can hook up power and have access to very clean and new toilet and shower facilities which is very good value. We hope we can find more of these as we need electricity for the heater. We have a snacky dinner of cheese, ham, bread, olives. We have tv reception and watch a bit. They have the Linz tennis open on which we drove through today. At least with sport & nature programmes language is not so much of a hassle. Back to the future trilogy is also on but not much good really as the overdubbing ruins it and no subtitles.

Today Friday, our goal is to go to the van show where maybe we will be able to talk to someone and get a few things (door hinge, leisure batteries) I drive so Vicki can navigate our way into the city. We finally find the parking area for us vans for the day. Surprisingly it is free and only 6Euro if you want to stay overnight. Good value we think and they have toilets and showers too and some vans seem to have electricity. On the way in there is a small store where they are promoting xmas in Melk so we stop to say hello to the young lass, but mainly because we spot the urns of mulled wine. This is a lovely mix of wine with orange & cherry juice with Amaretto & cinnamon. Yum and warms us up nicely along with bikkies. Some refugee looking guys come up wanting to know if they sell ciggies or where the nearest supermarket is but the security guy gives them the short shift. The show is not as big as we thought considering the cars and vans in the park but still has a great display of campers, vans and the new fitted out vans that we like. The good thing about these is you can wild camp and it is not so conspicuous as a camper but has all the modcons. They have the usual trade show accessories(but a makeup stall??)but not we are after. We have a coffee and the local “fish & chips” which is a pork meatloaf in a bun with sauce, mustard or tomato. Quite tasty and even Vicki had half.

We walk around some more and collect a lot of brochures on Croatia, Italy and Austria as we need to find out which camp grounds are open as we travel. Croatia doesn’t seem as cheap as we thought but we will still go. It gives us food for thought and the information helps Vicki research on the net. We drive to our next camp just out of Salzburg which overlooks the city and we will have one day in the old town. It is 30E a nite which is typical for camps close to a tourist city but the facilities are excellent. Lucky we have a data sim for the tablet as Wifi costs 6E bloody ripoff bad enough paying 5.5E to wash some clothes and dry them. Went shopping in the local supermarket but small and expensive eg $40aus for 2 small steak fillets, $45 a kg for chicken. So as a first bought some fish fingers as real fish is non existent. Oh for those Norway days when we had salmon coming out of our ears. But it is swings & roundabouts and we have to go with the flow. Hopefully if the planets align we might get to see the quarter finals of the world cup tomorrow in the city if we can find a sports bar.

 

AHHH VIENNA, AUSTRIA (ULTRAVOX right?)

9 October

It is quite late when we leave – about midday but we know we aren’t going too far today. We head out of Budapest the way we came in and head to Sopron which is on the border with Austria. It in an area sort like a boundary bubble where in the past the Hungarians there did not want to be part of Austria so staunchly held on as they are proud of their heritage. We stop at a small town as we see a Euronics store as we are having trouble with our tv cord which is coming apart and also being an old tv may not be getting the channels we want. We have seen online tv’s here for as little as 140aud so score one very similar to ours and also a universal plug accessory. It has the facility to receive heaps more countries. At the least when we sell the van we will have tv wherever we are and a lot cheaper here. However it was now too late to see Sopron that day so we stayed at Hegyka about 10 minutes out from Sopron and we figured we can see it in the morning. We are in the countryside here and a bit isolated and the camp is in the town. We stop at the local Coop for groceries but it is small and not much, in fact beer seems to be their biggest commodity so I buy 3 cans with the little local money we have left. We drive into the camp and my god it is packed to the hilt. How can this be when for the last month we are virtually the only campers at the places we have stayed. We try and find a place to camp and slowly realise it is full of mainly Germans and Austrians who are walking around in bathrobes. We find out it is a thermal spa and a therapeutic destination for older types. We found a place and had a wander around.  All very clean and laid out. The main hot pool would have had about 60 people all lined up around the outside in the water. Boy talk about all shapes and sizes. It made me laugh as I thought of it as Ibeza for the oldies but without the drunkenness & sex!! Most don’t look very healthy big guts and sagging arms but they don’t care they are feeding their arthritic bones with the minerals and the pool has hum like insects as they are all chatting. We give at amiss for the night and decide to do our last washing then go to one of the restaurants for tea. We were a bit late and they were closing but we got a chicken & chips meal which was average at best but the chicken was ok but overpriced. We ended having the leftover chicken which we couldn’t eat in our sammies for the next 2 days, wasting nothing. We had a chat with a german man who was very nice who was there for a month. He suggested we use the pool in the morning when it is not so busy. As we were passing the pool after tea we saw that it was empty and was being scrubbed and cleaned before being refilled. Not sur if they do this every day or we just happened to see the weekly/monthly? Clean. I would like to think it was often as it is used to the max. There was also and outside bigger pool and numerous spas for personal and exercise use. Overall  a good facility and can see why it is popular with the older set.

10 October

We are in the hotpool by 8.30am and already it has around 30 people in it. We are by far the youngest and, like the thermal pools in Budapest I feel embarrassed with my vitality and relative youthfulness, funny considering my just had birthday. After a ½ hour soak we decide it is enough so leave the pool (can’t help pulling my tiny pot stomach in to annoy the oldies) and go to have a shower. However the men’s is getting cleaned- why you would clean at 9.30 in the morning is beyond me- but I am not allowed in. I point to where the sign says cleaning is at 10 not 9.22 but she just shrugs a bugger off message so I have to go back past the pool to find a shower( again shaming the germans with my trim physique haha) to a non soap shower, Never mind I have had worse.

We leave thermal oldie Ibeza paradise and call into a huge Tesco to refill our larder as we feel it will be cheaper than Austria which proves correct. It is an opportunity to stock up on beer and wine as well. As we leave we spot a OBI which we figure is a hardware store. So we decide to finally try and find some plywood or similar to make our bed more comfortable. We need the added solidness as it sags on my side and is becoming uncomfortable and I feel it is adding to my neck pain. We explain in sign language what we want and I draw a diagram. Off we go to look for a couple of items a sit will take 20 minutes to cut. When we get back instead of 700x2000mm pieces he has cut two little pieces 700×200. Oh oh I have forgotten the extra 0 so my fault. So after more sign language and showing him the dimensions on my tape measure finally understands and we get our pieces which just slide in the van alongsides the bikes.(When we place them and remake the bed oh what a difference and I have the best sleep). Only 5 months too late. We drive through Sopron but decide not to stop as it seems a lot of hassle for little gain and push on to a camp just out of Vienna. We pass the outskirts of the city and see the highrises and modern parts of the city. The camp is right near the town centre of a place called Klosterneuburg which has the third richest catholic church in Europe behind the Vatican and someplace else according to the barman at a pub we find after we have settled in and walked into town that hopefully might play the Aussie v Wales game but bad luck only the England v Uruguay game later so who cares. We have a couple of drinks and have a great chat with the barman. As the bar didn’t open till 6 and it was 5.15 we went into a huge Lions yearly fundraising jumble sale to pass the time and bought a thermos for coffee while we are travelling which I have wanted and some cheap cds, Dark Side Of The Moon and a 4CD 60’s set and a love songs one for Vicki for 6euro which was great as we only have one cd-Simon & Garfunkel- and while a great cd it has been a getting a tad boring when there is no stations. Back to the pub we are learning quite a bit. The barman is from Albania but has been here for 15 years and this is the first time he has spoken English since then. He tells us that Albania is very natural and hasn’t changed much and is a beautiful country. We won’t be seeing these Balkan countries this trip as our insurance won’t allow it but maybe when we are in Greece we may do a bus trip there.

Seems here in Austria there is a reluctance to change so they still smoke indoors in pubs, cafes & restaurants. Not great as he was smoking as well but we were the only ones there. I had poked my head into a pub across the road earlier and nearly got instant lung cancer! Apparently only smokers frequent pubs here as it is not nice for non smokers.  If the establishment is under 50m3 then they don’t have to have separate areas. If over they have a smoking & non smoking areas but unfortunatly they are both in the same room so WTF! We find this a bit backward but smoking and drinking is part of their culture. Wouldn’t think that is great for tourism. We finally get back to the van in the rain, we forgot our raincoats, and I start a late tea so it is a late feed and a late nite but we have decided that we will stay here and relax tomorrow maybe go for  a quick pm visit to Vienna.

SUNDAY 11 Oct

It is a luxury to sleep in with no pressure to move on. The rain is falling which is the perfect motivation to linger dozing. We have a cuppa and brekky and rug up as it is cold outside and go into town to look around the church area. Halfway down the road I regret not wearing my beanie but am grateful for my longjohns. The wind is biting but we climb the stairs to the huge outdoor court and look in the church. It is very ornate and painted beautifully and easy to see why it is highly regarded. We feel we will see a lot of these in Austria along with the castles. We take an elevator down to the shop and café as it is coffee time. However as we walk in we are hit by the cigarette smoke as everyone is smoking and eating. As the area is small there is no non smoking area but it would be as useless as Christ without a cross and this is no divey place but a modern café, but even the chef practically has a fag in his mouth while he is working. We shake our head as we sit down but the prices are extreme and the atmosphere horrible so we walk out. We find a café that looks ok so stick our head in and there is no stale stink of cigs so go in for a coffee and cake. On the windows you can see the non smoking sticker which is red or green for smoking, or both. I suppose if the rest of Austria, and we feel Germany, is the same, then we will be looking for the green stickers. So sad that the majority of people, the non smokers, have to put up with it. I would think all the pubs will be for smokers so we won’t be going to them.

We go back past the jumble sale, but it is all over and there is a big argument transpiring and not looking good so we move away.  There is a large truck parked outside and it appears they are packing up all the unsold items in this truck that is marked Hungary and we believe it is all going to help the refugees.  In fact there are a few of them helping to load all the items onto the truck.

We wonder around a bit, decide not to go to Vienna, then head back to the van to get warm and relax. We already have tea made from last nite so relaxing it will be.  We did have a weird encounter as we walked back to the campsite, a fellow seemed to be following us from the town and kept following us as we entered the camp.  We stopped at the little shop and he kind of walked past, stopped, looked around and then walked out of the campsite again.  I don’t know what he was doing but I didn’t get a good feeling about him when I saw him in the town.  It just pays to keep your eyes and ears open when walking around to see what is what.  We have done some window shopping as there are no shops allowed to open on Sunday due to the Catholic church, and we feel that Austria is way more expensive than we experienced in Norway.  At least in Norway when we bought a coffee it was about the same price as Australia.  Today my cappuccino cost $7.20 and it was very little and far too expensive for my liking.  So if there are any refugees staying in this country I have no idea how they can afford to live let alone even exist.

Monday 12 October

VIENNA

We don’t wake up early enough as usual but it is snug in bed and bloody cold outside. However we have a hot drink and after a shower do the short distance to catch the bus and then the train. The bus part is easy as there is only a couple and though we were told to take the 239 we take the 238 which is going to the station. The bus is full as commuters are off to work. We buy our tickets for the train and try to find the right line. The display is confusing but figure it is line 2 but when we go up the stairs it is outside and we are meant to take the underground. So, thanking god I listen to Vicki in this situation, she says that it doesn’t feel right even though a train is approaching. The part that convinces here is that there is one kid on the platform which doesn’t click when it is supposed to be going to the city centre. So we ask the ticket guy and he steers us to U4 which is what we were told to look for. We are soon in the main part of Vienna so we step into about 6deg and a cold breeze making it feel like zero. We are rugged up and sort of warm but after walking for a few minutes we spy a McCafe so decide on a coffee and get our bearings with the tablet.  Again I am amazed at the fact I have been in more maccas in the last 6 months than in a hundred past lifetimes but really the coffee is very good and half the price and twice the quantity as other cafes, especially in Austria where it is quite expensive. For example a big mac which would cost about $3.45aus costs around $3.95euro ($8aus). In Belgium it would have cost the equivalent of $1.50aus, and remember they are exactly the same. We won’t be dining out much here as in comparison a lunch here would cost us 4 nites camping costs. It is sort of a ratio thing of where our priorities have to be.

Anyway we walk around and the buildings are the biggest and best we have seen on average obviously a lot of money around in the past and everything on a grand scale. It doesn’t have the quaintness of some of the other cities we have seen in the so called old town parts. Instead of lots of smaller bunched up buildings there are less but more grandiose architecture. The churches are huge and the museums, libraries and government buildings are massive and surrounded by wide open parks and courtyards with very ornate and elaborate monuments and statues. The craftwork of these are very impressive as they are intricate and detailed.  Lots of lions, naked ladies & cherubs, with soldiers on horses or in fighting pose with serpents and dragons. We have our van made lunch (filled rolls) just as the sun finally comes out and the day warms by a couple of degrees but still bitter in the wind. We are on the steps of a museum with neat views and love the fact that we eat at a different vista every day. Not a bad lunchroom at all! We find ourselves in the popular market square area and it is streets of Prada, Tiffiny’s, Boss, channel etc and, like many others, an exquisite chocolate shop where we only want to take photos. Very expensive and up market but great window shopping. There are no beggars here that we can see they are probably pushed along. At the end of the square is the most magnificent church we have seen. Intricately twin spired with a beautiful coloured tiled roof. Part of it is under renovation but they have a habit here of making the scaffold safety mesh covering look the same as that part of the church so photos don’t look as bad. Very clever. We look inside and that is as impressive as the outside. Lots of painted areas and huge columns. I know you can get sick of ABC’s (another bloody church) but they still blow us away with the workmanship and dedication that they have for god. Not sure if the slave labour or the many that perished building them shared the same view but who are we to judge. We leave the church and straightaway we are hassled by people trying to sell tickets to the Mozart opera at  6.15 but even though we are offered 2 for 1 tickets which is great value we are just too cold and tired, my shoulder is killing me and we just want to go home to a warm van and hot soup. We will consider it tomorrow.

We arrive back at the van cook tea and relax but then start having problems with the power cutting out and having to reset the switch on the camp power supply. At the same time it dims the lights when we put the power back on. Our small overhead lights are also dim and this is where we had the fuse popping off in the van which is doing it again. So we take that fuse out as we still have our main lights. Vicki has for the first time put back on the water heating so maybe that is the problem. So we turned that off. Nothing more happens but now have to look at finding an auto electrician to check it out. The last thing we need with the weather starting to get seriously cold is to have problems with the electricity supply.

We are supposed to wake up early and get into town but it is overcast and very cold.  We have had the heater on all night which we haven’t done since England.  We get to the showers anyway and get a move on into the city.  It is 11am by the time we get there and haven’t worked out what area we have left to see today so again sit for a coffee and work it out.  We head to the new streets and check out the other buildings, statues etc that we haven’t yet seen.  They are as grandiose as all the others we have seen but still beautiful and worthwhile seeing.  Nothing here is done on a small scale.  We find we are walking some of the same streets as yesterday which is fine as they are great to see. We initially thought the temp was better than yesterday but the wind chill is horribly bitter and although we have more clothes on than yesterday still find it very cold.  It’s strange because when we were in Dunedin in June it was -3 but it didn’t feel as cold as it does here.  Maybe we didn’t have the biting wind when we were in Dunedin.   If we are going to be in colder temps than this I think we need to buy much warmer clothes.  As we walk we see there are indeed beggars in this city and more than we have seen for a long time.  Maybe yesterday was their day off, but they are seriously everywhere and they make us laugh as they all try to invent something different to get the attention and sympathy of anyone who will give them half a thought.  We do indeed feel sorry for a lot of them as they are not like the gypsy beggars who always look like they need to go on a diet rather than be in need of a good meal, but if you give to one where do you stop.

It is hard today to know where to stop and eat your lunch as it is so cold outside but we end up sitting on a seat in the middle of a mall.  We get approached by a beggar whilst eating, but we think why would you approach someone who appears poorby enough that they are eating their own home made lunch rather than someone who has just come out of a restaurant and obviously has money.  Anyway, the pigeons prosper from a few crumbs from our sandwiches and they had mangled feet too.  We are still feeling cold so we head to have another coffee to warm up again.  As we go to leave there we go down to the toilets and there is an older American woman carrying on about some nasty man pushing in front of her and she lost her coin – how hilarious.  She was still going on about it after she had left the toilet and was going up the stairs outside.

We wander for a bit more and after another hour we head into a shop for a bit of inside window shopping and warmth.  It is interesting to have a look at the clothes on this side of the world and see the prices in each country.  This dept store has beautiful cashmere jumpers for males and females and they are tempting, but in any country cashmere is not cheap so we pass by.  We check out the warm jackets and one brand Paul and Shark had a jacket that looked nice, but not quite the 1200euro price tag that it had.  I think we had better steer away from that side of the store and stick with the cheaper brands.  We had thought it would be nice to go to the Vienna orchestra show that we passed on last night so we head down towards the church where the fellas were hassling people but after getting there we are again too cold and tired to be bothered which is a shame but we also believe the show isn’t on until 8pm tonight and that is just way too late.  We have sussed out an auto electrician in Vienna that we need to visit early tomorrow morning so it is better that we head home for an early night and fill the water etc for leaving tomorrow.  The train and bus are easy and we get back in no time at all.

We check out the lights after putting the fuse back in and as we thought would happen – it all works fine, Murphy’s law.  Who knows what is going on, but as Scot checks out a t-shirt he has on the floor he realises that it is warm and the floor light that for some reason was on, has burnt a hole in his shirt and lucky it hadn’t gone on fire.  Crap.  When Scot looks at the light it has overheated (it hasn’t been on long since the fuse was out) and is melting the plastic around it.  What else.  We decide we still need to get up early and head to the auto electrician and get him to check the electrics as even though we had them checked in England it deserves another check and peace of mind plus the leisure batteries are not holding a charge well so they need looking at and perhaps replacement.  Not really the kind of thing you want to do in a country that is expensive but you can’t play with electricity.

Our plan after we get things checked out if we can, is to head from Klosterneuberg around to the west following the Danube river which is supposed to be a very beautiful part of Austria filled with castles etc, so hopefully we will still be on track to drive some of that tomorrow.

Scot managed to find some Kiwi lamb chops in the supermarket at Tesco so his dinner tonight was a reminder of homeland being his first lamb for many months.