France 2011

Europe 2017

 

May 1^st 2017 Melbourne, Australia

 

Just like a pregnant woman starts 'nesting' near the birth of her baby (very poignant), each year I start to do major repairs to our house as our departure date gets closer. So it is that the simple facia replacement somehow transmogrifies into an external wall replacement.

 

May 21 2017, Melbourne, Australia

 

Job complete. What will I do for three weeks? Answer: our rental property, which flooded some years back forcing us to return to Australia, has become vacant (now why would that be?) and the ceiling needs painting to attract a new tenant. As the ceiling is 350 square meters, and there are some walls to paint, that should just about requite my nesting instinct, albeit with a touch more nervous energy expended with the approach of our departure date than I really need.

 

June 10^th 2017, Melbourne, Australia

 

The job is complete Saturday 9th. What will I do tomorrow prior to our departure Monday? I know! I will pack.

 

Monday June 12^th 2017 Melbourne, Australia

 

Judy, my sister, has very kindly offered to drive us to the airport. So 8am arrives and we are ready to start our adventure. We had forgotten that today is a public holiday so the roads are traffic free. That is until the airport where it is chockers for some 100 s of metres.

 

Judy has to go to a rose pruning class so drops us at the departure terminal with big hugs and kisses. We are most appreciative and the nice early time should mean queues are not too long. Wrong! The queue is as long as the car queue to enter the airport.

 

We were unable to do a net check in as we are using two different carriers, although we are actually Air France passengers rather than common Jetstar passengers. That is important to us as we inch our way in the queue. Perhaps we should wear something French next time just in case we are mistaken for Jetstar pasengers.

 

At the checkin point, we are asked whether there is anything flammable in our luggage. No we reply so the bags are weighed and we are about to leave when I have a horrible thought that the one litre of degreaser I have packed (as you do) might be flammable so I declare that there is degreaser which is non flammable. It seems to me that the degreaser which people often carry, in the form of Jonny Walker, is quite flammable but the check in guy says he would like to see it. So I dig deeply into my bag, remove the degreaser from the resealable bag, the double wrapped cling film and the bread bag to get the container. I find it somewhat embarrassing to open my bag at the checkin desk, as I have done before, exposing underwear, sex toys and all manner of other personal paraphernalia, but on this occasion, the guy at the next counter is trying to lose 1 kg from his bag so it is not so bad. Who knows which bag the sex toy came from.

 

The guy checks with counter espionage or whoever decides these things and, not surprisingly, they think it cannot travel. They'll regret it if they have a catastrophically dirty engine during the flight! Shame the guy next door was not carrying a litre of degreaser as it would have covered his 1 kg overweight. Still, thems the breaks.

 

We proceed to passport control where Ro spends an inordinate time proceeding through the automated system. Seems last year's Russian visa does not cut the mustard; they want to see her passport details. That is the problem with lack of reading glasses; the visa photo is the same as the passport photo but the Cyrilic text is the problem. Finally the system lets her through but the boarder control guy quizzes her for some minutes.

 

Everything else precedes nicely and a mere 25 hours later we are in Paris.

 

Tuesday 13 June 2017 Paris, France

 

Despite little sleep on the flights, we have enough energy for the 7 hour trip to our van. Only 3 hours of the 7 is actual travel time and the rest is waiting. But it passes soon enough and by 1.45 we are at the Beaurainville station. We should have been there by 1.39 but the train broke down 30 minutes from Beaurainville. It had been explained to us that the train driver had fixed the problem so we were only 20 minutes late. As we travelled, I had hoped that the driver's train fixing skills had not included bypassing the emergency brake system or something similar.

 

At Beaurainville, we usually have a 20 minute walk trailing our bags behind us but, to our surprise and delight, Steve is there to meet us. Steve and Jacki house our van during the winter.

 

Every two years we have to get a Control Technique certificate to prove the van is roadworthy. We have booked the van in for 4pm so we have plenty of time thanks to Steve. That is until the two flat batteries thwart our attempts to start the engine.

 

After an abortive attempt to top up the battery with a charger, I bite the bullet and with Steve's assistance with transport and translation, I procure a new battery for 85 euro. The starter battery is the same one we had when we bought the van 6 years ago so it has given us good service.

 

With the battery fitted, the engine bursts into life and we have 5 minutes to get to Dekra where we are booked in, which should be heaps of time. Unfortunately my memory of how to get there is faulty and 20 minutes later we eventually arrive at Dekra to find our appointment time was time critical and we have lost our booking. But they can fit us in again next week! With with little more than violent sobbing on our part, they agree to book us again for 12.30 tomorrow. We won't miss that one!

 

Beaurainville has quite a fast flowing river on which canoeing is popular. There is a spot where we can stay the night, hopefully without incurring anyone's displeasure.

Fortunately there is gas from last year so by 7 we have had a meal of vegetables purchased from the local Aldi and by 8 we have showered and are ready for our first good sleep in 48 hours. Sleep comes easily.

 

Wednesday 14 June 2017 Beaurainville, France

 

We wake fairly early having had 10 or 12 hours sleep. There is a lovely walk along the river and we watch some school children negotiating the rapids with varying degrees of success.

 

Leaving by 11 we make sure we are at Dekra early for our Control Technique. Near Dekra is a road leading up to a hill overlooking some of the town. This will do for morning tea. There are several unmade roads leading from an intersection. We pull off the tracks just in case a car should come by. A good move it turns out because five or six cars go by. Busy as Bourke St!

 

We deliver the van to Dekra by 12.15 and are told it will be complete by 1. Just time to walk to Carfours supermarket for a few provisions. However we have forgotten the French practice of closing for lunch, so we walk back without anything. By 1.15 we are on the road with our certificate.

 

Each year we have stayed at a campsite in Houplines, 1 ½ hours away near the Belgian border. It is only about 60 km away but the number of towns where we must slow to 50kph makes the trip slow. We arrive about 4pm after stopping for provisions at Lidl and lunch in their car park.

 

At the campsite, I borrow a ladder to help with replacement of the rear window which was broken last year by the parking attendants in Milan. I had sourced a secondhand one in England on the net as they are no longer made. It was delivered to Steve and Jackie in France in August last year.

 

Fitting it should be simple but rusted screws may make the job more difficult. After some work with the angle grinder it is fitted without too much effort.

 

Next job is the water pump which is not switching off when taps are closed. This proves to be more of a challenge and I disassemble and reassemble it numerous times before ultimately succeeding in getting it operational again.

 

Final job is to wash the van, some of which Ro has attended to while I was wasting time with the pump. In a year, the amount of dust accumulated is astounding. The amount of dirt which Houplines gains from Beaurainville in this washing effort is akin to the silting of the Nile delta, but I would imagine somewhat less furtile.

 

It does not get dark until 10pm here and I am still washing when it becomes too dark to see. Time to go to bed.

 

Thursday15 June 2017 Houplines, France

 

We are heading for Borken in Germany where we have stayed on three of four occasions in previous years. It is a 3 ½ hour trip and we want to arrive by 4. Leaving by 11 should achieve that without problem.

 

A bit more washing and a bit of waste emptying and water filling and we are away 10 minutes later than planned.

 

We have programmed Thomasina for the fastest route to Borken which will take us through Belgium, Netherlands and into Germany. Within minutes we are in Belgium.

 

As we travel we see a Shell service station and, having passed it, wonder if we should have stopped there to get LPG for our cooking, hot water and refrigerator. But there will be others. We should not have the problems this year as I have sourced from England the adaptor which has caused us problems in the past and had it sent to Jackie and Steve.

 

As we travel through Belgium, land of roads, roads and more roads, we marvel at how similar some scenes are. It is almost as though we have gone in a circle! Shades of our fiasco with Garmin in year one where the maps were not compatible with the GPS. On that occasion we passed the same point 3 times over six hours. But Thomasina would not do that to us.

 

After we have felt deja vu about five or six passing objects we decide that, yes, she would. We eventually buy LPG at the same Shell servo we had passed about 20 minutes ago. Naturally, because we have the new adaptor, we only require an adaptor we already had. There is no doubt that had we not got the new adaptor, that would have been the one we required. Well, since we are stopped, we might as well have morning tea.

 

As we leave we have more deja vu. We are tolerant of minor indiscretions but if we pass the Shell station again, Thomasina is in BIG TROUBLE. Need we remind her of what happened to Garmin? Here we go off the same exit again. We know it well. Turn right here and.......... Oh... not here but in 200 metres. Perhaps it was our mistake last circuit. Motorway exits can be a bit confusing here. Sorry Thomasina. Ro has occasionally commented on the number of times Thomasina is mentioned. Seems a bit like a threesome (dratt....and I thought I was being discreet). However it is almost certain that without TomTom, we would not do the travelling we do. With the sophistication and complexity of motorway interchanges today, using a road map would be overwhelmingly stressful.

 

We had emailed the camp at Borken we would arrive by 4. Although we had time to spare, we are now 20 or 30 minutes behind schedule. Still, we will make it by 4.

 

But of course we are not allowing for traffic around Antwerp. Last time we got stuck in traffic we blamed it on its being Friday afternoon but it seems Wednesday afternoon is no better. 40 or 50 minutes later we have exited the bumper to bumper traffic and are on our way again.

 

We reach Borken by 5 rather than 4 but no one seems bothered and we are warmly welcomed, a number of people here remembering us from previous visits. The last 20 minutes of driving has been a struggle with tiredness creeping on so our arrival is very much appreciated by me in particular.

 

After a quick dip in the pool (21 degrees this year rather than 19 on one previous visit), Ro cooks a lovely dinner of vegetables and salmon and we are in bed by 10.

 

Friday 16 June 2017 Borken, Germany

 

Finally a bit of R&R. Unfortunately the weather is cool (19 degrees) but it is dry and the sun occasionally shows its face.

 

There is WiFi available at the club house enabling us to catch up on emails and Whatsapp communications. We go for some walks and do a lot of reading and generally veging out. It is a bit too cool for swimming as the pool is only 20 degrees.

 

The day passes very lazily and we do so little that we can't get into any trouble.

 

Saturday 17 June 2017 Borken, Germany

 

Much the same today. More reading, wifi ing and lazing.

 

But we do venture into Borken which requires carefully negotiating a path around the man lifting machine which is doing some work on overhead cables at the exit to the camp site. Once in Borken, which is quite a large town, we visit our much loved Lidl then our equally loved Obi for some hardware and finally a take-it-or-leave-it service station for fuel. Perhaps take-it-or-leave-it is a bit harsh. We also pump up the bike tyres.

 

On returning, the man lifter is in the way so we have lunch while we wait for it to move. We always find the German people very helpful and so it is with the workmen, who let us know as soon as it is possible to return to our Stellplatz or camping place.

 

Saturday between 2 and 6 the sauna is operating so I take the opportunity to warm up as the day is rather cool. The sauna makes up for the cool. After 20 or 30 minutes I have a cold shower which makes me as warm as toast and allows for a swim in the now 20 degree pool.

 

The rest of the day is spent doing the odd repair and lazing about. Tomorrow we leave for Osnabruck, 1 ½ hours away to visit Felix, Kathrin and Ari. As luck would have it, tomorrow will be 28 and we will be travelling. But we might get some sun in the morning before we leave about 11.

 

Sunday 18 June 2017 Borken, Germany

 

We wake up to a cloudless sky. What a beautiful day to empty the toilet and waste water and fill the fresh water. Fortunately there is time to read in the sun for a while and for Ro to brave the icy water, after which she spends most of the morning trying to get warm. But she finds the swim invigorating and the shivering good exercise.

 

We are packed to leave by 10.30 with everything full or empty as required. The drive is a pleasant one on some back roads and some motorways. As always the motorway driving is a pleasure as well as a challenge. A number of the motorways are open speed limits so when I pass a vehicle in the outermost lane, as sometimes happens, I watch behind as someone approaches with a closing speed in excess of my passing speed. I minimize time out in the fast lane to avoid extracting Porsches from the exhaust pipe. A slight exaggeration I must admit. They don't fit in the exhaust pipe.

 

We leave Borken early to allow for the unexpected, but we don't anticipate that nothing unexpected will happen and, despite stopping along the way for lunch, we arrive at Osnabruck 30 minutes early. There is a park which turns out to be a sparsely populated cemetery. It is very picturesque when compared with your common or non-garden one so we spend a pleasant 30 minutes before travelling another 800 metre to Felix and Kathrin's home.

 

We spend an enjoyable couple of hours with them. Ari remembers us from previous visits but is far less shy than he was last year. We get an assurance that they will visit us in Australia in January or February, but they are a little vague on the year. As usual we have interesting conversation before we take our leave around 5pm.

 

We are heading toward Dresden and intend staying along the way at a camp about 1 ½ hours away. Exiting Osnabruck proves to be more difficult that expected. The entrance to the motorway is blocked so we continue hoping Thomasina (her again) will recalculate another route. But on this occasion she stubbornly wants us to do a U turn for some kilometers until our way is barred by roadworks (maybe she knew) at which point we have to do a U turn. As we approach the blocked entrance, it is clear she will lead us on there again so we advise her there is a road block in 500 metres. Now we are led on a merry chase across countryside then back to the road we were on, just in time to be instructed once more to use the blocked freeway entrance! We keep driving and eventually she finds another entrance to the motorway.

 

We arrive at our campsite about 6.30pm. It is out in the countryside and is lush green and very nice.

 

Tomorrow is expected to be 30 degrees so we will be in no hurry to leave.

 

Monday 19 June 2017 FlakenHolz, Germany

 

As promised the sky is cloudless and the sun warm. We have breakfast and go for a walk around the campsite. In typical German fashion, everything is neat and tidy. All the caravans are well kept and the infrastructure around them is immaculate. One has a pond which may also be a mosquito breeding ground; but very aesthetically pleasing.

 

The swimming pool is an above ground one but is large enough to allow laps....as long as they are circular. It is 23 degrees and refreshing given the warm day. As I swim in a circle, we joke that it is like a shark circling. A few minutes later a lady comments that her nephew (we think) is in Australia for 3 months and she shows us a picture which has 6 road signs depicting crocs, spiders, snakes, stingers etc for the next 4000 km. That is how many Europeans view Australia; as a land full of dangerous creatures. How brave we Australians all are.

 

Our plan is to leave by 2pm but that time comes and goes because the day is too lovely to abandon to travelling. Eventually we leave by 4pm with a view to driving 2 hours to a campsite near Goslar which we believe is worth seeing.

 

The non motorway way is 30 minutes longer so we opt for that as the scenery should be worth it. We need to shop on the way and we can select a Lidl which is en route. We have three items on our list to buy but we take a trolley just in case. Needless to say, we use the trolley and exit 20 minutes later with the trolley loaded with rather more than 3 items.

 

Our arrival time of 6pm gets eroded due to some road blocks, our shopping and the odd wrong turn. By the time we arrive at our campsite it is 7.15 and we cannot raise anyone to let us in. There is another campsite 10 km away so we head for that with the same result. However a track along the way looked like a good overnight spot and, having satisfied ourselves that a tractor will not arrive at 5am, we stop there for the night. It is still very warm but as night descends it cools down. The advantage of this overnight stop is that we will get going early tomorrow.

 

 

Tuesday 20 June 2017 Near Goslar, Germany

 

We are on the road by 9. See; I said we would get going early.

 

We set Tom Tom to the AltStadt and follow instructions until she says turn right and the sign says Goslar is to the left. Despite our proclaiming we could not travel without her help, we do not have sufficient faith to go in the opposite direction that the sign proclaims.

 

Following the sign we do end up at an Alt Stadt. We know it is genuine because we spend 5 minutes behind a garbage collection truck because the street is too narrow to allow vehicles to pass. However there does not appear to be anywhere to park and we are concerned that we do not have the required pollution sticker. Although, heaven knows we provide our fair share of carbon particulates.

 

We are fast coming to the conclusion that we like small tourist free places and Goslar does not fit this description. Next on our list is a town which does so we will skip Goslar and head straight for Quedlinburg which has an Alt Stadt with 1400 old houses.

 

When we reach Quedlinburg, we park in an area near which is a sign “Wohnmobile frei”. We expect not to have to pay. Unfortunately the sign means no Wohnmobiles beyond the sign.

 

Having parked but not knowing where the Alt Stadt is, we set off along the road by foot and are attracted by a cobblestoned road leading off to the left. There are some 16^th or 17^th century buildings so we photograph (we being Ro) a few then are attracted to a steep cobblestone path which leads to a church and assorted buildings high on a rocky outcrop. There are lovely gardens and magnificent views across rooftops to numerous spires. We are actually in the fort of the Altstadt and looking down on the houses. After walking around for while we descend the steep path and explore the village. The buildings are very evocative with very few concessions to modernity, despite the fact that everything is well maintained. I am struck by the wavyness of some of the main support beams. Looking along the building, windows are at different levels and angles yet the facade is not cracked. I wonder if the cracking has been fixed or if the original building followed the natural shape of the timber beams.

 

After an hour or two we are ready to continue toward Dresden. We select the fastest route and soon are travelling along motorways. Along the path, we are directed to enter another motorway however the entry is blocked. When we miss the turn we are then directed around a long loop back to the blocked entry. A car and caravan in front is obviously using a GPS because they follow the same route. However we both realise we are on a losing path at similar times, the difference being, he manages to change lanes to go up the motorway the wrong way and do a U turn a few km up whereas I have vehicles behind and cannot change. So we are doomed to complete the loop, miss the turn and be sent on the same go nowhere loop. It is a bit like giving an Irishman a piece of pater with PTO on both sides. Now before I am accused of political incorrectness, let me say I would never give an Irish woman such a card and expect her to be enthralled. So there.

 

As we complete our second loop and prepare to go the wrong way down the motorway, we spot the other car who is now on the correct side of the motorway but 10 minutes ahead of us.

 

Our trials on motorways are not over yet. These motorways have open speed limits in Germany and we sometimes wonder what happens when someone makes a mistake when overtaking as approach speeds can be close to 100kph. Today we have the answer: an almighty traffic jamdue to an accident. Although we don't see the cause, the effect is kilometers of motionless traffic followed by kilometers of bumper to bumper traffic exiting the motorway and kilometers of bumper to bumper traffic which has exited the motorway. Worse than the jam in Belgium. Maybe peak hour in Melbourne is not so bad after all.

 

Finally we arrive at our camp site near Dresden around 5.30pm. On the gate, it says the gate is locked at 1800 hours so it is fortunate we were not stuck in traffic for longer. There is quite a language problem. No one speaks any English and my German is not quite up to the mark. The lady passes me a phone but the guy on the other end only speaks German and over the phone my skills are even lower. The problem is that this gate is for campers with tents whereas the wohnmobile entrance is on the other side of the lake. Although in hindsight I understood the directions, at the time I was not confident. The answer is to follow a little red car down the narrow picturesque road to Tur 2 (door 2).

 

We are placed next to a German couple who are very friendly but have very little english. We manage to converse at some minimalist level.

 

The checkin guy is very friendly and effusively explains to us how we can ride to a tram stop about 7km away. Perhaps tomorrow we will venture out on our bikes.

 

Tonight we will enjoy the campsite which follows the banks of half the moderately large lake and is well treed and green and leafy. It is our sort of place.

 

Around 11 we go to bed. The noise of the birdlife is almost deafening. But suddenly it stops. Must be lights out. Five minutes later it has returned. Something must have spooked them into silence. Shame we don't know what.

 

Wednesday 21 June 2017 Volkersdorf, Germany

 

After breakfast we set out on our bikes after a bit of wifi which is available about 200 metres from our campsite.

 

Ro suffers from heat and the bike ride may prove to be other than pleasant for her. Added to this is we don't know where we are going. The guy last night who effusively directed us to the tram was other than clear. He also directed a Dutch guy who speaks fluent German to a Lidl and he did not understand so we were somewhat behind the eight ball. As it happens I am able to direct him with TomTom to the Lidl.

 

I had decided that taking a train to Dresden would do us and TomTom said there was a Bahnhof in Barnsdorf, a village nearby. Arriving by bike at Barnsdorf, we ask a local lady who speaks very good English and she informs us that they have a little train but it does not go to Dresden. But the ride to Dresden, she says, takes her 20 minutes by bike. Maybe we will try that. However, by the time we retrace our path and start off toward Dresden, the heat is getting to Ro so we decide to return to our campsite, cool down and venture out in the van instead.

 

We will try to follow the checkin guy's sketchy directions. As we drive, Thomasina seem to know where we need to go. Ain't this technology something. When she says we have reached our destination, there is the tram! It turns out that the Lidl we had helped the Dutch guy find is opposite the tram terminus. Sometimes good luck trumps incompetence.

 

By now it is too late to get the tram so we decide to use this as reconnaissance and we will go to Dresden tomorrow.

 

Back at the camp we have a late lunch and check tomorrow's forecast. It will be 32 degrees! So we might stay here by the lake and do Dresden Friday when it will be 25 (but thundery). One of the great advantages of the van is we can do what we want when we want without upsetting anyone.

 

The rest of the afternoon allows us to read, get some sun, fix a blind and generally relax. This is a very enjoyable way to live life.

 

Thursday 22 June 2017 Volkersdorf, Germany

 

The morning is sunny and warm. We walk 350 meters to a beach on the lake complete with sand, a floating jetty and a small water slide. The slide is not up to our usual standard, water slide experts that we have become. Nearby, there is a large grassed area with a hedge where we can enjoy the sun between swims.

 

The water in the lake is passable (perhaps mostly by the many ducks, geese and swans) but not wonderful. As Ro comments: Eildon it ain't.

 

By 1pm we are ready to walk back for lunch. After lunch, while I do the odd chore, Ro does some washing, which some may also classify as a chore. We hang sheets and clothing on a makeshift clothes line then go to check any emails.

 

There are thunderstorms predicted for tomorrow and there does seem to be change in the air. As we are leaving early tomorrow, we need to find someone to pay for our three nights. We enquire at the kiosk to whom we should pay some money. Well I think that is what I asked. One way or another a guy turns up and we locate the invoice which had been filled out a day or two ago. We owe 54 euro or 18 euro per night. As they don't have card facilities we need to pay with cash. Although I have not checked for a few days, I believe we have plenty of cash. However I am wrong. We actially have 55 euro in notes plus a few coins!

 

I have received an email regarding leasing of our property in Melbourne and an answer is required quickly. Just as I am sending the reply, there is a fierce windstorm which blows all sorts of leaves and debris from the many trees. It also causes the electricity to fail and wifi to go down. The one time I really need it and it fails.

 

The wind storm passes and calm returns, albeit considerably cooler than before. Hopefullhy power will be restored before we go to bed.

 

Friday 23 June 2017 Volkersdorf, Germany

 

It rains quite heavily all night but we remain dry except for two or three drops on Ro from the overhead vent. The van occasionally rocks due to loud claps of thunder and we can hear branches of various sizes breaking. We hope one does not fall on us.

 

The alarm goes off at 5am, although I was awake anyway. My plan had been to try to send my email if power had been restored during the night. However about 4am I had checked lights in the toilet block and there was no power then. Furthermore, there was not water in the basin then so I assumed the camp was run from a pump also denied power. That was going to create a problem because we had intended filling our water before we left. All that goes to say that the alarm was not required. Plan B was to wake at 6am, fill and dump then seek out a tourist office hoping their free wifi was on during the night. So the alarm is reset for 6 and we try to go back to sleep. This we achieve about 10 to 6.

 

Plan B is sleepily put into action. The dumping can still take place and does but, while the dump station water is out, it transpires that the drinking water is still working so we can fill our 100 litre tank which will last us for 3 days wild camping if necessary.

 

By 6.20 we are off to Moritzburg where there is a tourist information office. We travel to Moritzburg along a very narrow road and think that the town will be tiny with the information office long since closed. In the town, which does not seem so tiny, we are lead to a church rather than a tourist office so we think “that's it” and prepare to implement Plan C:find a McDonald's. But a helpful workman directs us up the road to where a magnificent castle on a large lake overlooks the information office. Moritzburg is far from tiny, no doubt historically due to the huge castle. It is only 7.30 so needless to say the castle is closed and the information office is closed and there is no wifi anyway. So although we would have liked to hang around to visit the castle, we instead head for McDonald's 14 km away.

 

On arrival, we can get wifi and quickly send the email while sipping a 1 euro coffee.

Unfortunately it is now 4pm in Australia so the information is a bit late. Ho Hum.

 

We leave McDonalds after some breakfast, albeit not McDonald's, and get some cash and diesel then return to the Lidl opposite the tram terminus.

 

Trams come every 10 minutes and one is waiting and ready to leave. On board the ticket vending machine only takes coins and we have insufficient. A local suggests we can buy our day tickets when we get off in the city. Whether or not a ticket inspector would have the same laissez faire attitude is a moot point as, thankfully, we don't encounter one.

 

But vending machines and we don't see eye to eye. The city vending machine takes notes but does not like our 50 euro note. A young German girl who speaks English with an American accent wants to buy a ticket but she too must work out the machine. It dispenses her a ticket because it likes her 10 euro note and eventually Ro spots a notice which says it will only accept 50 euro notes for purchases in excess of 35 euro. Our tickets are only 8.50 euro. A local music shop changes our 50 and the machine now accepts the smaller notes. Change is delivered as coins so when we buy a ticket with a 20 euro note, it sounds like we have won at the pokies. The raucous “I win I win I win” music is absent, but the thrill of the noise inspires us to buy another ticket. 25 tickets later, we are directed to the nearest Gambling Anonymous chapter.

 

First on our list is the Frauenkirche to which our friendly local Music store assistant directs us after our win on the vending machine. It is 500 metres away so we can use our all day tickets to go by tram.

 

And what wonderful trams they are! They are clean, modern, frequent and speedie. They, where possible, have their own grassed laneways and often their lanes are wider than those of the cars. The whole system encourages public rather than private transport which is how it should be.

 

Alighting the tram we spot the dome and head toward it. Dresden is well known for the destruction it suffered during bombing near the end of the second world war. It was arguably more damaged than was St Petersburg. The rebuilding is remarkable. Later we will see the alter in the church which was rebuilt with 2000 pieces. The church itself was reconstructed after it collapsed following the bombing.

 

Although the church is open, other sights attract us and we walk toward the Elbe river along a raised prominade which abutts the State Gallery.

 

We return to the church via a courtyard of the ResidenzSchloss where royalty lived and past a wall with a huge frieze 150 metre long depicting soldiers on horseback. It seems ironic that the military scenes which the frieze depicts was, 200 years later, the reason for its destruction.

 

On returning to the church, there is now a priest at the door and it seems that the church is now closed as a service is starting. It will not open again until Sunday. However we are welcome to attend the service. We opt for that, hoping that the new roof is sufficiently strong to resist us near athiests attending a religious service.

 

Perhaps the roof stays in tact because it is all in German and we don't understand it. We gaze on the stupendous alter and marvel at its reconstruction. We hear three pieces on the organ that Bach christened. Although we are not organ fans, one cannot help but be impressed by the sound generated in that space.

 

It is lunch time when we leave and we inspect the menus of various pavement cafes if that is not too belittling a term. Ultimately we opt for a German sausage eaten overlooking the Elbe from the prominade.

 

Locating the Tourist Information Office, we inspect a map which directs us to the Zwinger, a decadent palace built for frivolity by Augustus the Strong to rival Louis XIV's Versailles. One becomes a bit palaced out but this courtyard still impresses. Augustus would be pleased.

 

We have read that the carillon of Meissen bells choruses every 15 minutes. We have missed 1.30 so we wait for 1.45. That is somewhat underwhelming so we think the chime on the hour must be better. It is, but still nothing to write home about (despite my writing home about it). Walking outside the palace, we find a path which leads to the rooftop prominade and follow that. We are just in time to hear the end of the 2.15 chorus which is the one to write home about!

 

As we have a day pass on the tram it seems prudent to ride out into the suburbs some way. We end up taking trams north south east and west to give us a feel of the city, which is a very pleasant one.

 

The final ride returns us to our van. By now we are tired after an early start and it makes sence to return to last night's camp site. When we arrive, although the gate is locked, we can stay outside overlooking the lake. That will do us.

 

 

 

Saturday 24 June 2017 Volkersdorf, Germany

 

When we wildcamp we usually get going earlier. Rather than stay by the gate, periodically being interrupted by cars stopping to open then close the gate, we move to the end of the lake for breakfast, still overlooking the lake. Here we are still interrupted by infrequent passing cars but they do not stop.

 

By 8.30 we are ready to hit the road. We are heading for Saxon Switzerland which is about 1 hour away. It is a rocky region, its name inspired by two Swiss artists who were reminded of home due to the steepness and the houses which are reminiscent of those we have seen in Switzerland.

 

Along the way we want to call in to an Aldi as they had some very nice orange tea which Lidl does not have. By 9.15 we have travelled toward the outskirts of Dresden and have passed an Aldi along the way into which we go. Ten minutes later we exit having bought the tea and a few other things. But as we exit, there is a pamphlet advertising an Aldi phone sim plan for 8 euro including EU roaming. It includes 2 GB of data which we can use over 4 weeks. That sounds just the ticket. Load the SIM into my phone and we have EU wide internet. Sounds great. Back to the shop where I check with an assistant that I can use it in any EU country and I do not need a Geran address. Yes to both, assuming her English is up to the task.

 

The pack actually costs 12 euro including the SIM and a 10 euro starter. Back in the car, I realise my phone is locked to Optus in Australia and I can't easily get an unlock code over here. I had an unlocked handset in Australia which I intended bringing but forgot. Back to Aldi who say they have a USB stick for 39 euro but suggest I could get a handset for 10 euro and give me an address..... back in Dresden. Well it won't take long. Meanwhile I have tried another USB modem I have here from 2011 but it won't load because it is missing files which are available on the net, which I can't access without the dongle. So often technology ties itself in circles for the traveller. So before going to Dresden we will call into Maccas for their wifi to load the files so we have our own access.

 

Thomasina leads us to a Maccas which is in the middle of a throng of people attanding some festival. Ok try the one we went to a few days ago. We arrive there and the files are found but won't load. So, on to the handset suppliers. They have a handset for 60 euro or a dongle for 34 euro. I opt for the dongle. So far, in two hours I have saved myself 5 euro, excluding the fuel cost and the ice cream at Maccas.

 

Back to the car and try the dongle. It doesn't work. The SIM needs to be activated...using either the net or a phone. Stymied again. Back to the shop. Although he did not supply the SIM, the shop attendant is willing to activate it for me. What is my address here in Germany? I understood I did not need a German address. Yes I do. Can we use this address? No, not allowed to. Maybe Felix's address.....but I have a mental blank on what that is. Back to the van to get the address. By the time I reach it, I have remembered Felix's address. Back to the shop. What plan do I want? Because it is a dongle, it better be a data only plan. 750 MB for 7 euro. Not the 2 GB I had hoped for but by now a plan which returned the old programmer's message “Hello World” would do me. Now it should work. No says the guy. It takes up to 6 hours for the network to connect it.

 

In previous years, getting gas in some countries was an absolute nightmare. This year, because we have the correct adaptor, which we have not needed yet, getting gas is simple. But now we have spent a similar amount of time trying to get internet access.

 

It is with a great deal of relief that we finally leave Dresden for Rathen in the Saxon Switzerland area. It has taken 4 hours to try to get internet access with no certain result as yet.

 

Along the way we stop for lunch in a lovely German forrest before reaching Ruthen. The area around Ruthen is rather underwhelming but very popular with tourists and rock climbers one of whom we see clinging to a vertical wall. We walk up a path to one of the massive sandstone boulders before returning to the van. Continuing on we descend a steep hill before entering the town. It soon becomes apparent that we are too big to comfortably continue so we retrace our path up the steep road. It is not as bad as the Italian Alps but it is a long haul in first gear none the less.

 

Tomorrow we want to head for Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic so we will head toward there this afternoon. There is a camp site near Teplice which is one hour away.

 

As we near the border, the German villages still look neat but not so much money is available for infrastructure. As we cross the border, the difference is marked. The roads are in poor condition and there are numerous deep seemingly abandoned holes at the side of the road. Shops overflow with goods with huge numbers of assorted wares displayed outside. We know we are in another country.

 

When we arrive at where the camp should be, a two wheel track leads off the road and we decide to try elsewhere. It is around 6pm.

 

There is another one by a lake so we travel there and find the camp without too much trouble. It looks a bit run down but will do for tonight. Perhaps because it is the weekend, there are scores of people, many swimming in the lake as it is very warm.

 

As darkness descends squeals from the many children continue until well after 10pm. It is obviously a popular family holiday spot.

 

Sunday 25 June 2017 Teplice Czech Republic

 

The morning is sunny and we brave the lake for a dip before breakfast. Actually the water is not too cold and the water quality is very good probably as the lake gets deep quite quickly.

 

Today we want to head for Karlovy Vary about 90 km away. The trip is through lush green countryside and villages of varying tidyness. Some are lovely, others somewhat run down.

 

We stop at a few spots where there should be network coverage but, despite seeing networks, the message is “No Service”.

 

At Karlovy Vary, we find a spot to park but it is marked Reserved and we suspect not for us. A pay park is next door but we have no local currency so cannot buy a ticket.

 

Driving further we have no more success so we abandon our attempt and instead head for a nearby Maccas for some wifi and buy some Mac Muck in order to get some local currency change. Then we go out to the van for have a proper lunch in the car park.

 

As we return to the park, we spot a sign indicating a motorhome camping area. Entering the small yard, we see 5 motorhomes parked. The site is actually a resident's back yard from which he earns some pocket money. There is a sign offering wifi for 3 days for 2 euro. Although far from auspicious, this will do for the night. There is a man who speaks no English and a teenage boy who does. We explain to the boy that we will return by 6. He says we should be here before 7.30 because that is when his Grandfather locks up.

 

Returning to the pay car park, I am trying to determine what I need to pay when an ageing Security person offers to help.....in German. After some linguistic to ing and fro ing we reach the unfortunate fact that I have insufficient coins to purchase the 2 hour ticket I want. Instead I buy a 1 hour ticket. However the Security man asks how long I wanted to stay. 2 hours I say. He instead relieves me of the remainder of my change and says I can stay 2 hours. I place our ticket expiring at 4.45 behind the windscreen secure in the knowledge that our Security man has been bribed to not book us before 5.45. Assuming, that is, that the Security man has some positive relationship with the man responsible for writing parking tickets.

 

First impressions of Karlovy Vary are not great. The buildings are attractive but may not have been worth the long drive to get here.

 

We walk toward some greenery and come across a walled waterway. There are aluminium towers built in the canal advertising the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, of which we were not previously aware.

 

Walking along the canal we come to a covered walkway probably from the 1800s in which water is issuing forth from a brass serpent or something similar. This is a spa town so this must be spa water. We try some along with numerous others who mill around and fill containers ranging from bottle caps (us) to 600 mm drink bottles (Japanese tourists). The fizzy sulpherous taste is quite pleasant but the strong ferrous aftertaste is not.The bottle cap full is more than enough for me.

 

The covered walkway is the best thing we have seen so far. However, as we round the next corner, the area becomes a pedestrian presinct flanked either side by restored Baroque and Art Nouveau buildings all in beautiful condition. The paving is beautifully laid and the canal walls are topped with elegant railings.

 

Rapidly, a mediocre streetscape has transformed into probably the best we have ever seen!

 

We walk for two or more kilometers enjoying the wonderful architecture. There are dozens of hotels all attempting to outdo one another in beauty, ornamentation or vastness. This town must have been a real tourist drawcard in its hayday and possibly during the communist era. Today it is not overrun with tourists which is nice for us but makes one wonder where the hotels get their custom.

 

We use most of our 2 hours walking around and enjoying the area, arriving back at our van by 5.35, hoping not to see a ticket. Bribery and corruption seem to have won the day as there is none.

 

The motorhome camp is only 5 minutes away and the Grandfather is there but no boy. Communication has to be in Czech or German. Although it is a toss up which will be more effective, I opt for German. The result is similar to what I would have expected had I opted for Czech. Finally we determine what to do with gray and black waste water then I mention the wifi. There seems to be a problem here although what it is I can't determine. An English couple say they have been using wifi without problem but the Gradfather explains something about how much wifi costs him. He seems to think that sending emails to Australia or America costs him a lot whereas sending them to EU countries does not. He suggests maybe we should move to another camping area where they have wifi.

 

The upshot is that we travel another 5 km to a park which is far superior, has wifi, good toilet facilities and is much quieter. We are happy and settle in for the evening.

 

 

Monday 26 June 2017 Karlovy Vary Czech Republic

 

Despite the night being very quite, sleep is lacking due to an expectation of receipt of time sensitive emails from Australia. Because we are 8 hours behind, Australia's business day starts at 1 am here and finishes about 9am. The expected emails do arrive and need answering.

 

We are ready to leave by 9 but we need to dump and fill. In the process we are spoken to by a French man in French who has seen our number plate. However his English is excellent and we have quite a discussion, including getting the GPS coordinates of a Prague camp site which we will head toward.

 

With a few stops along the way, a turn back due to an impassible road and our expressed wish not to use motorways, we are travelling until around 3 when we stop for a break only a few kilometers from the chosen campsite. This campsite ia about 25 km from Prague city centre and we recall we had information about one which is just across the river from the city. We decide to alter course after a little walk.

 

When Thomasina informs us we have arrived at out destination, it is after driving some 500 metres along a narrow path on the river bank next to a very challenging kayak course. It does not look like we should be here but there is the odd other car travelling toward us so we assume it is OK. However two enquiries of locals gets us no closer to the rather inconspicuous camp site. Having gone another few hundred meters along the bank, we backtrack and ask at another kiosk. As I walk there, I see some tents and a motorhome so it seems a good omen. The guy in the kiosk says to go and enquire upstairs in another building and ,bingo, we are in.

 

It is all very relaxed but the sanitary facilities are good and we have wifi. We find that the younger people mostly seem to speak English generally at a good level which makes things easier.

 

After a 'narce coop a tea' we read and relax before I go for a recci on my bike. Riding along the river for ¾ km or so, I can cross a bridge where there is a subway, bus stop and tram stop or alternatively we can ride further toward the Centrum, although we don't know how far that is.

 

I report back to Ro who has cooked a meal of vegetables and German sausage, She suggests we go riding after dinner.

 

It stays light here until well after 10 pm so we leave here at 8 in bright sunshine, although the wind is rather cooler than earlier, which is good.

 

Riding back over the river we follow the sign to Centrum. Along the way we see a very imposing building unfortunately in other than good repair. It is an exhibition building with a tower in which is a massive clock. An exposed spiral staircase leads up to the tower. Traversing it would be a good experience but it does not look like there is public access. We continue, asking locals along the way for directions.

 

The Vltava River on which we are camped sweeps in a U through Prague and we start to cross the river again when we notice that it is getting darker. We had better return while it is light as we don't have our lights fitted.

 

We are back by 10.15, having checked the ticketing system on our return trip. For 4 euro we can get a day ticket for tram, bus and train. Negotiating the transport system will be tomorrow's adventure.

 

Tuesday 27 June 2017 Prague Czech Republic

 

We are on our bikes by 9.15 to ride over the bridge to the tube station. The day is sunny now but rain is predicted.

 

It takes about 10 or 12 minutes to get to the station where we can buy a day ticket. The problem is, again, the ticket machine accepts coins and we have none.

 

We ask at a shop or two but English is in short supply. The answer, we think, is to get some Korunas from the cash machine and get a shop to change them into coins. We get a 500 Koruna note from the machine, worth about 33 Australian dollars. Our two day tickets will be about 12 AUD and will cover train tram and bus.

 

There is what looks to be a newsagent, with a queue of 10 or so people, so we will try there. When it is out turn we are fortunate that the lady speaks English although she is unfamiliar with the concept of smiling. We explain that we need some coins and could she change the note. She asks if it is for train tickets and, if so, she sells the tickets. And she has card facilities. Never the less we use our 500 Koruna note and receive a 200 Koruna note and come coins. May be handy later.

 

We lock up our bikes at the station and walk 50 metre to the tram station. The first tram is a Number 17 so we board, validate our tickets and wait to see where we end up.

 

The tram follows the same route we did last night but rather than crossing the bridge we did, continues one bridge further and crosses the river there.

 

Prague trams are plentiful, ubiquitous and fast. Their routes twist and curve through narrow streets which the trams negotiate at breakneck speeds. Having crossed the river, we continue until I spy what seems likely to be Karluv most or Charles Bridge which, we are informed by travel guides,is the start point of any Prague exploration.

 

By now we have missed the stop so we exit next stop which is not much further on and walk back. The tourist guide said to get to the bridge before 10 or it will be very crowded. We don't and it is. The bridge was built in the 14^th century and has escaped damage in conflicts over the ages. It has 30 statues of saints added from 1683 to 1928. Some of the saints need a wash.

 

On the far side of the bridge we are in the alt stadt. However, in places like Prague, there is old and older and even older still.

 

We spend a very enjoyable few hours walking around the city with breaks here and there on trams taking us no where in particular but giving us a good feel for the city.

 

During our wanderings we have a lovely coffee and apple strudel ( I should remember to avoid espressos. I always forget they are so tiny but strong) and later a delicious Czech meal of pork, cabbage and dumplings. We are lucky with the weather as the predicted rain only materialises a slight drizzle here and there.

 

After a bit more riding on the trams, we are ready to return. We get to our bikes a bit after 6 and ride back. The kayaks are working the waves and provide us with entertainment watching. The river is dammed at a number of points to aid navigation of large craft and during this kayaking course the river drops probably 2 metres across the two levels of the dam. The water passes around various obstacles which makes hydraulic jumps of up to 1 metre. It looks like great fun.

 

 

Wednesday 28 June 2017 Prague Czech Republic

 

Our day ticket runs out about 9.45 so we manage to stumble out of bed early, have some fruit then cycle to the tram by 7.40. We will ride the trams beyound the inner city to get a better feel for Prague, which we certainly like.

 

We are familiar with the Number 17 tram. It is reliable and trustworthy and close at hand. One arrives at 7.44, its scheduled time and within 10 minutes is at Charles Bridge. Given that it is early, we will see what a tourist free tourist attraction is like.

 

It is only us, three Japanese brides in wedding dresses and Nikis (and photographers) and a handful of maybe locals/maybe tourists. A far cry from yesterday.

 

Ro is having a break from the camera, but, instead, uses the phone. She is addicted to shutters, albeit electronic ones.

 

Returning to the tram, we continue on the Number 17. Once clear of the inner city, the tram performs more like a train. The small radius roller coaster like curves are replaced by long cambered curves along which the tram speeds. This is the way public transport should work. As we speed by cars, intersections miraculously opening before us and overpasses where that is not possible, it is obvious that the way to move around Prague is by public transport not private car.

 

At some arbitrary station we leave the tram to return on the inbound line. The next tram is a Number 21 and only has one car. Other trams we have taken have at least 2 cars and up to 5 as long caterpillar like vehicles. Sitting at the rear of a caterpiller which is fully walk through, unlike the older cars, one can watch as the caterpliier twists and bucks alomg its path.

 

Having boarded the Number 21, it seems likely that it will branch off the track we have come along so we think it judicious to alight at the next stop and wait for a Number 17. The next tram is a number 17 with two cars, which we prefer to the caterpillar. Within 15 minutes or so we are at the exhibition building. However, instead of snaking to the right it veers to the left. Our trusty number 17 seems to have gone off the rails, so to speak. Fortunately it is a terminus so we can walk 50 metres and get a well behaved number 17 which takes us to our bikes on which we ride back to the campsite. After a late breakfast, we are on the road by 10.45.

 

We have been vascillating over whether to continue east or to head south toward Austria. Ultimately we decided that since we are so far east we should continue on to Poland and, in a late change of plan, down to Budapest in Hungary.

 

Today's destination is Olomouc, 200 odd km east of Prague. We want to take back roads so it is scheduled to tale 4 hours. We have found that rarely is that accurate as we stop, shop and rest along the way. So it is with this trip.

 

We pass through villages of various sizes, including one which feels like a small village but which goes on for kilometer after kilometer.

 

I am getting tired and it is now around 4 oclock so we look at our campsite book and see there is one close to our current route.

 

By 5 we are close to it but it turns out to be in the middle of a roadworks controlled by lights. After negotiating rough and ever smaller streets, we eventually come to a dead end and have to retrace. A local offers help but in Czech and we are not confident we understand.

 

We program TomTom using clues from the camp site map and end up afetr 15 minutes at a run down building by a lake which may once have been magnificent. There is a boy who speaks a tiny bit of English but he calls on another man who speaks English fluently. His accent sounds familiar and I ask if he is Australian. Well Kiwi actually but has spent more time in Australia. We have quite a chat and I get the impression that a familiar accent is music to his ears.

 

The upshot is that the camp is not accessible by motorhome so we will need to wild camp. Along the way we have seen some wooded areas which seem suitable so we return to one, find a reasonably level spot and stop for the night.

 

Thursday 29 June 2017 Kretin (that's right) Czech Republic

 

We have a quite night before breakfasting and taking to the road. The day starts badly when I exit our parking spot and turn onto the wrong side of the road! I find in Europe and for some time afterward in Australia that exiting parking areas it is a major challenge to work out what side of the road to drive. Unfortunately, this road has a blind curve and for a few meters we are on the wrong side!! But it is our lucky day, and a lucky day for all the other drivers who could have been using the road at that time. We may only have been on the wrong side for some seconds, but the possible consequences means it is some kilometers before I am relaxed again. However, it is important to visit that horrible thought frequently to ensure it does not happen ever again.

 

As is our preference, we have chosen back roads so we see the countryside and rural villages. Here, more than elsewhere, this comes at a price regarding comfort. Many of the roads are patches on patches and driving on them is like a choppy day on the bay in our boat. Yesterday as we searched for our camp site, we drove on a new local road and considered what the old road must have been like for them to replace it!

 

We arrive at Olomouc and are surprised how big it is. We did not have a population for it in our notes but were expecting something reasonably small. On the up side, there is a big Lidl and plenty of McDonalds' for some internet connection.

 

The tram system looks to be as extensive as Prague's and we debate whether we want to go sightseeing in a large city after spending our time in Prague. Ultimately we decide to go on to Krakow in Poland. That is sure to be a little Village!!

 

We have observed before that once a week we like to settle in to a campsite and veg out for a day. We have located a motorhome camp in Krakow and intend to do that before sight seeing.

 

Although it is only 250 km from Olomouc to Krakow, going on back roads makes it a long trip. Eventually, with 150 km to go we opt for the motorway which is tolled.

 

Crossing into Poland we see a service station and stop to enquire about Vignettes or whatever. I ask a lady if she speaks English. Her response does not sound like English but after a few words she says “Speak to me” in Polenglish. I am not complaining about her English as we are the visitors but the communication between us is decidedly lacking. I suspect that they sold Vignettes for various neighbouring countries and she told me I did not need one for Poland. So how do I pay? “Pay at the gate” was her response and all I needed to know.

 

The driving on the motorway is much easier and eventually we get to the toll booth where we pay 10 Zlotys or about 3.50 Australian. Later we pay another 10 before we exit at Krakow.

 

We have the camp site entered as GPS coordinates and usually this is pretty accorate. Not so this time. On a web site we were given coordinates in both decimal degrees and degrees minutes and seconds. We used the latter at our cost. When we find nothing resembling a camp site, assuming we cannot camp on the bridge to which we have been directed, we enter the decimal coordinates and the location is 7.5 km away in the direction we had just come and through very heavy traffic.

 

Eventually we arrive at what looks like a very presentable camp site. We check in with a welcoming, English speaking Pole, are directed to a shady spot and are very happy to relax.

 

Friday 30 June 2017 Krakow Poland

 

It is a beautiful day. We will probably spend the day relaxing under the plentiful shade, but first a bit of washing and a repair or two.

 

After 45 minutes, we check the washing machine and think maybe it was a good decision to stay two nights. At this rate, by tomorrow the load should be finished, assuming that there is anything more than threads to retrieve from the machine. New front load technology seems to have reverted to the old two large rocks technique.

 

After 1 ½ hours we go to see how our washing is progressing. A Dutch couple is watching their machine also and there is some discussion as to what is actually happening and how we will know when it is finished. They actually started their load before us but ours finally finishes before them.

 

Having hung out our threads to dry, we realise we should have washed some other things. Returning to the laundry, the Dutch couple have finished their load by using our machine to spin dry. Their original machine is the only one vacant so we use that for our next load. One and one half hours later we return to sodden clothes and realise we will have to spin elsewhere. That takes another 20 minutes. With this for entertainment, who needs TV?

 

After lunch we go for a walk to find where the bus station is located for our adventures tomorrow. There is a lovely park surrounded by not so lovely appartment blocks and abandoned buildings.

 

With reading, washing and making a holder for the frypan, the day passes quickly. Our R&R day is over. Back to work tomorrow.

 

Saturday 1 July 2017 Krakow Poland

 

Our plan is to leave early by bus to Krakow old town, but first we want to wash the front curtains in the van. That, as we know, involves 1 ½ hours or so.

 

The load starts before 7.15 and we have breakfast and fill and dump tanks while the machine dismembers the curtains. By 8.30 the load is finished and we are ready to go.

 

We can leave the van here for the day so a makeshift clothes line is strung from the van to a tent peg before we walk the 200 metres to the bus stop.

 

Last night we checked the existence of the ticket machine and that we could use our Travel Card. We get both our day tickets for 30 Zlotys, about 10 AUD, and wait for the bus, checking with a local that we are heading in the right direction. We find all young people speak English at a reasonable level. This young girl, when asked if she speakes English, replies “Of course”.

 

We validate our tickets on the bus and look for clues as to where we should get off. These come in the form of long video screens which have the next 10 or 12 stops shown and a graphic of a ball which sits between indentations during travel and which drops into the indentation at the stop. Were it not for our unfamiliarity with the Polish language, these would be great. Given that unfamiliarity, we spend quite some time comparing the stop names with whatever we have on our notes. After some time on the system, our recognition of the names improves and we feel more comfortable.

 

At the required stop, we alight and start to orientate ourselves, or to be more precise, orientate the map with the visible landmarks shown.

 

It is quite a wide intersection where we get off and there is a pedestrian crossing in one direction but not in the other. Of concern is the fact that there are lights for the pedestrian but neither walk nor don't walk is lit. Knowing whether a vehicle will stop or not is difficult. Added to this is a cartoon we see later on a tram which warns about how trams do not stop easily. We see a cartoon figure look the wrong way and step in front of a tram. The tram slams on its brakes, the passengers get thrown about and the final scene is a pair of feet sticking out from under the tram. It gets the message across. Whether or not it is as effective as our rhinoceros on a skateboard sign on trams in Melbourne is a moot point.

 

There is a bridge crossing the rather wide Wisla river and the solution is to walk under it where we get a good view of a very large Royal castle. There are huge crowds and it looks like a lot of walking required, so we head for the city square which has been highly recommended to us.

 

The acclaim is well placed. It is very large with a large town hall tower and below that a Cloth Hall which has a central arcade with souvenier stalls either side. The stalls are typical tourist junk, albeit with some quality jewellery, but the timberwork is impressive and the arcade well restored.

 

We begin with a Starbuck's coffee, drunk outside overlooking the square. Instead of falling for the espresso trick, I choose a long black which turns out to be a double sized espresso; two tablespoons of coffee instead of one. Fortunately I can have 3 litres of hot water added and it becomes acceptable strength. Admittedly a plastic bucket of coffee is not a good look but I can cope. Ro has a decaf latte and we share a cinnamon bun.

 

Around the square there are beautifully presented white carriages driven by girls in nicely tailored trouser suits. The horses have ornate tack with braided sashes draped over their backs. They also have retreds on their normal metal shoes. We wonder if they are for the comfort of the horses or the quietness of the walk. And do they get to take them off after work as they lounge back and rest their tired feet? There must be 10 or 15 carriages waiting in a queue like taxis.

 

As we walk, one of the pavement waiters talks to us. He is studying tourism and is very friendly and outgoing. We suggest he visit Australia and he says it is on his to-do list. He gives us good information about the salt mine we are thinking of visiting.

 

As we move away from the square, we come across a tram line and, as elsewhere, we use this to get a feel for the city. Travelling up one line and back we return to the square about lunch time. We want to avoid the square as Ro comments the prices are usually squared also.

 

As we pass one restaurant, we look at the menu and a guy says to us that the restaurant is very good with traditional food, traditional dress and traditional decor. I assume he is a spruiker and ask if his recommendation is totally unbiassed, somewhat tounge in cheek. He replies that he works in the square but it is here that has lunch. It sounds genuine and he shows us inside then leaves as a waiter, whom he may know, escorts us inside.

 

We sit outside but rain is spitting so we move inside. The decor does indeed look traditional and the waitresses are traditionally dressed, apart perhaps from the sneakers, which the girl readily admits are not traditional.

 

We have a traditional Lemko meal of “buckwheat groats with meat and mushroom wrapped in sauerkraut cabbage leaves” which is delicious followed by potato pancakes with apple and honey. Lemko meals reflect the poor state of the soil in these regions in the ingrediants used, but they manage to make them very tasty.

 

After lunch we ride a bit further on the trams before deciding to take a Number 304 bus to the Wieliezka salt mine, 15 km from the centrum.

 

By the time we arrive it is 5pm and we are prepared for the mine to be closed. However, to our surprise, it is open for some hours yet. The last 2 hour guided tour starts at 7pm.

 

We look around the site and ask if there are any brochures indicating what we will see for our 30 AUD tickets. There are brochures available. We can get them once we buy our tickets.

 

Having been tripping around for 5 or 6 hours, we are not sure we want another 2 more now. But we do see some photos on a construction wall which suggest it would be well worth our while. Perhaps we will go back to our camp site now, stay another night and do the salt mine tomorrow. We can use our 24 hour ticket to get there and buy some singles to get back. Leaving the van at the camp site tomorrow is quite a bit easier than finding parking and we like the camp. Also, we have been blooded on the transport system so that holds no mystery now.

 

Sunday 2 July 2017 Krakow Poland

 

We are at the bus stop by 8.10 waiting for the 164 bus. One is due at 8.15 so not long to wait. However by 8.25 we assume we must wait until 8.45 for the next bus. At 8.25 a 169 approaches but we have not been given that number as one we can use. As it comes to a stop, I look at the timetable on the shelter and see that the 169 stops at Jubilat, the stop we want. The doors are just closing as we press the open door button in the hope we will get on. Happily the doors reopen and we climb aboard.

 

The route the bus takes is different from the 164 and when it turns in the opposite direction we are a little concerned. But the graphics shows our stop and it duely arrives. We alight to find our next bus to the salt mine immediately behind.

 

We arrive at the Wieliczka Salt Mine 5 minutes before the next English guided tour begins. Hurriedly buying our tickets we find the queue and wait for probably 15 minutes. It seems starting times are not precise.

 

Inside the building we receive audio receivers connected to the guide's microphone/transmitter. She speaks English with quite a Polish accent and at a sticcato rate. We will descend 64 meters to the first level down 350 steps consisting of 50 flights of 7 steps each. We can look down the 200 mm gap between one flight's handrail and the next and all we see is what looks like long narrow picture frames dropping to infinity. By the time we reach the bottom we are quite dizzy. It surprises us that there is no indication at the ticket box that visitors should be fit enough to descend the 350 steps. Still, we did not have to clamber over exhausted unfit visitors on the descent so presumably the system works.

 

Yesterday we wondered what there was to see in a salt mine and was it worth the 30 AUD ticket. We need not have had any doubts. The mine is fascinating. Mining first commenced there 700 years ago. Rock salt forms in huge blocks as close to the surface as 6 meters. This mins has 9 levels going to 320 meters depth. The salt is hard and looks quite gray but holding a torch to it, one can see it is translucent.

 

The salt can be sculpted into quite detailed forms and there are many sculptures to be seen. Where salt has been removed, the chambers created can be huge. Some are 30 meters high and others up to 50 metres long by 18 meters wide. The 50 x 18 chamber has ornate biblical carvings and huge salt chandeliers. There is a mezzanine floor with salt steps leading down to the carved floor. The whole chamber is inclosed in one salt block. Throughout the mine, the amount of timber used to shore up certain areas is staggering. Additionally, there are a few underground brine lakes as water is constantly trickling into the mine.

 

As well as the sculptures and extraordinary chambers, there is working equipment going back to the middle ages. The air in the salt mine is very pure and timber is protected by salt. Metal, of course, corrodes rapidly but since 2000 the air is humidity controlled to prevent erosion of scutptures and corrosion of metal. Salt is highly hygroscopic but without water, it is non corrosive. Timber support posts which have been there hundreds of years have absorbed salt and are hard as concrete.

 

There are huge windlasses which were powered by teams of horses which lived in the mine for up to five years at a time. Although this sounds cruel, their condition was better than those on the surface, The windlasses are fitted with 80mm diameter ropes and would lift 2 ½ tons of salt up the mine in a load. However, the system raised one side as it lowered the other so materials to be lowered balanced the 2 ½ tonnes so the differencce was only a few hundred kilograms. Another interesting machine was an early lift pump consisting of chain with timber slugs every 400mm. The slugs are a close fit in a pipe so each formed a chamber with the following in which 4 or 5 litres would be lifted.

 

The tour lasts three hours!! And all is fascinating. At the end of the guided tour, we can go through a museum 130 meters below the surface. This involves walking a further 1 kilometer, a mere fraction of the 300 kilometers of tunnels and galleries in the mine. Over 1,000,000 tourists visit the mine annually. It has been UNESCO herritage listed since 1978 and has been a tourist attraction since 1996. Today the only salt removed is extracted from brine pumped from the mine; about 15000 tonnes per year. There are other operating salt mines in Poland and elsewhere in Europe and about 80% is used for mitigating ice on roads. Salt used for consumption is steadily decreasing due to negative health implications.

 

Our final experience is being whisked up a shaft at 4 metres per second in a miner's elevator which has 4 dog boxes stacked one on the other taking around 6 people each.

 

The experience has been unexpectedly wonderful and remarkable value.

 

To return to the van we have to take the 304 back to Jubilat then a 164 to Clepardia. The problem is our day tickets have run out and we have no Polish coins. I had confirmed that the machines on board took credit cards but the 304 which we run for and just get does not take cards. Yesterday our day tickets were checked by an inspector. We will buy a ticket at Jubilat and hope one does not get on the 304.

 

At Jubilat, our 164 bus arrives immediately and we have no time to get tickets. On board the machine takes cards but I cannot operate it. A friendly girl helps but she can't get it to work either. She asks the bus driver and tries further but still it won't read my card. We will have to explain to any inspector our predicament. Perhaps because it is Sunday, no inspector boards so we alight at Clepardia without having purchased tickets. Not what we wanted to do.

 

We leave the camp by around 2 with a 2 ½ hour trip ahead to Zdiar in Slovakia. As we near the Slovakian boarder, the architecture changes noticeably and as we climb the Tatra mountains, the scenery becomes reminiscent of Switzerland and obviously an area prone to heavy snow.

 

By 6, following a few stops, we arrive at Zdiar, just inside Slovakia, a ski villiage, although ski lifts are some kilometers before the extensive village. It would be wonderful here in the snow season.

 

We stop for the night in a parking area and go for some walks, hearing Slovakian music and looking at the magnificent scenery and evocative chalets. To our surprise we hear a group of Australian students who are probably here for the summer hiking. We want to say “hello” but the opportunity does not present itself.

 

We will have a quite but probably cool night here and we age glad we came. It has been a very special day.

 

Monday 3 July 2017 Zdiar Slovakia

 

The night is indeed chilly. Packing thermals proves to have been a good idea. Overnight there is some rain but the morning dawns mostly clear and sunny.

 

After breakfast we go for a walk along one of the numerous tracks which follows a lovely mountain stream. At the start is a three storey ruin of what probably was once a splendid hotel. It is boarded up but would look wonderful if renovated.

 

There is abundant flora, enabling Ro to salve her passion for photographing flowers of various kinds and hues. Along the way we meet two girls who it turns out come from South Australia. We ask them if they know where the track goes and hope they are not following us expecting that we know. They say they do know where it goes but after half a kilometer it transpires that we are on the wrong track. This area is well known for its walking tracks during summer and its skiing during winter. Returning to the van around 11, we set off for Budapest, some 5 hours away.

 

The roads we drive on are non motorways and are in as poor or poorer repair than those in the Czech Republic. As we drive through small villages, we note the poor state of repair of the houses. Outside the ski resort, there does not appear to be a lot of wealth but the scenery is spectacular, especially as we leave the mountains.

 

By 3pm we cross the boarder into Hungry. There is an immediate improvement in roads and there is an air of, if not exactly wealth, certainly a lack of poverty.

 

By 6.30 we arrive at out Budapest camp. It is very crowded, has an elevated freight line next to it and is on the flight path of the airport. Tonight may be less peaceful than last night. And we are packed in like sardines. We have an address for another camp on the other side of Budapest. Maybe tomorrow we will try that.

 

Tuesday 4 July 2017 Budapest Hungary

 

The trains and planes continue all night, albeit intermittently. When morning dawns, we are committed to trying the other site. Looking on the net, it looks OK and offers an included breakfast. A comment says the staff are very friendly, which admittedly they were last night here. There seem to be a sufficient number of English speakers in Hungary for language not to be a problem. We have often thought we are fortunate to speak English as it is reasonably universal.

 

The new camp is 15 kilometers away in a leafy part of Buda. Budapest is actually two cities separated by the Danube, locally called the Duna. Pest is where we were last night and quite flat. Buda is across the river and quite hilly.

 

Thomasina predicts it will take 35 minutes but 45 minutes after leaving we are still crawling across the city outskirts. Finally we cross the Danube and things speed up a bit until the next jam across an intersection, not helped by cars queuing across the intersection when they have nowhere to go. Thoughtless drivers exist here too, although on the whole the drivers are accommodating when a wrong lane is chosen.

 

This side of the river is much nicer than what we have seen on the other side. We can but hope that there is space for us given we have no booking. We reach the new campsite about 11 but not before a wrong turn sees us crawling up a second gear slope for 2 kilometers until we can turn.

 

Returning, we find the camp, which, from the look of the entrance, is fairly minimalist. There is plenty of greenery and it should be quiet.

 

We are greeted by a Hungarian woman who speaks English well and lives up to the comment for friendliness. She shows us to a site and says that heavy bookings start in a week or so but there is no problem now. It proves to be far less commercial than last night's camp and we will be happy here for a few days.

 

As we look through the literature, it becomes apparent that we will need a few days here, including a visit to Budapest's famous thermal spas.

 

After a relaxing afternoon, around 4 we go for a walk to check out the bus station. We like to meter our our excitement in manageable amounts. It is during this walk that we discover the camping ground we had planned to stay in. The comments on the net did not refer to where we are but where we were supposed to be. But they were accurate for where we are none the less.

 

Opposite the bus station is a chairlift which can take us to the highest point in Budapest. It is a steep ascent about two or three kilometers long. We purchase tickets and board the chairlift. It is rather different from chairlifts we are used to as the path crosses private gardens and passes only meters from private terraces.

At the top, we read that the chairlift closes at 7pm and it is now 6.15. The very highest point has a stone tower with spiral steps to the top. It is another 300 meters up a steep stairway but we will have time if we keep moving.

 

The view from the tower is wonderful and emphasises the difference between hilly Buda and flat Pest. Another difference is that Buda is a sea of trees whereas Pest from here looks largely devoid of greenery.

 

We get to the bottom of the lift by 7 and walk back toward our camp. The other camp has an eating area so we go in there and have Hungarian stew and dumplings followed by pancakes which should have been for one but ends up being for two.

 

We walk back to our van about 9. The other camp has better facilities but ours has nicer pitches. Now we have the best of both.

 

Tomorrow we will get a 72 hr transport pass and start our exploration of Budapest.

 

Wednesday 5 July 2017 Budapest Hungary

 

Our night is as quiet as last night was noisy. After a leisurely breakfast and a bit of internet business we leave the camp, speaking to a New Zealand couple who are driving a French registered car. We say that we presume they are the French New Zealanders and we are the French Australians and chat for five minutes before continuing. We finally get on a bus around 10.45. We have 23 stops to the city but that takes less than half an hour.

 

Alighting on the Buda side of Margit Hid (where we think hid means bridge), we descend stairs rather than cross the busy traffic in lanes either side of the tram tracks as the bus utilizes the tram tracks and tram platform.

 

We have to ascend stairs on the other side of the traffic lanes to walk over the bridge to where a pedestrial bridge takes us onto Margit Island, a three kilometer by 300 metre island in the Danube which is predominantly a pedestrian precinct.

 

Two hundred metres onto the island is a fountain which dances to music. We are fortunate to arrive at it as a Hungarian dance by Brahms is starting. Walking further we are delighted with the gardens and impressed by a swimming pool and water slide park (mmmmmm.... water slide park) which is huge, as are the five water slides (mmmmmm..water slides). As it is quite hot, the pool is crowded. Walking further we come across some ruins and some non ruins which have a strong Turkish influence. The Turkish influence is evident throughout both cities as the Turks ruled here for 150 years before being evicted then for a further period some time later. Precision in historical events never was a strong point of mine.

 

There is a Spa Hotel where we stop for, presumably, some healthy coffee and ice cream. We know it is a health spa because people walk around in white bath robes trying to look healthy. Some are outside smoking in their white robes. Chances are they will fail the course.

 

We have almost reached the end of the island mainly because we were looking for a Japanese Garden with signs which lured us rather further than we had wanted to walk. When we arrived at our current camp site, the owner had given us (sold actually) two bus tickets which allowed us to get to the Centrum to buy either a Budapest card or a Transport card. We walked on the island while we decided which to get. Problem is, we are now at the end of the 3 Km island without a ticket or any cash to buy one. Looks like a 3 km walk back.

 

As we start back we come across the Japanese garden we were looking for. And it is worth the walk to get here and probably the walk to get back. It is beautifully maintained as are the extensive gardens on the whole island. There are ponds with fish and turtles and lilys and reeds and waterfalls. Very enjoyable.

 

The day is getting hotter as we walk past the crowded pool and water slides(mmmmmm........waterslides) toward Margit Bridge, which is very wide. Back at the Buda side we buy two 72 hour transport tickets for about 22 AUD each.

 

Boarding a tram we cross to the Pest side. There is a public transport boat jetty 200 metres away from the tram stop and that is where we head, intending to spend an hour or two riding the boats as we find this is a pleasant way to see the river bank architecture and the layout of the city.

 

At the jetty, we discuss the timetables with a Brisbane couple and come to the conclusion that it does not really matter where the next boat goes because we don't care what we see.

 

The next two hours are spent on the boat. We like the boat because the views are long views and we get a chance to look at sights before they flash past as happens on bus, tram or train. The Danube current is strong and all jetties are approached from down stream. As we leave it is a guessing game as to whether we will turn and proceed further downstream or exit the jetty and proceed upstream. Finally the ferry does not turn after leaving the jetty and we retrace our jetties until we reach the Parliament building where we alight.

 

The Parliament buildings are superb. Built in 1904, they were made especially large to celebrate Hungary's 1000 year history. And they are very large. In fact the third largest Pariament in the world. The fact that they were modelled on the London houses of parliament is evident.

 

It is too late for any tours or to look through the museum so we continue through the basement section to a tram stop where we board a tram to who knows where. Not quite true because we know it goes along the Danube in a southerly direction on the Pest bank. As it happens we only travel a few stops before alighting to walk along a prominade.

 

We have not eaten much all day as we left late and had a late morning coffee. There is a pavement cafe and we stop to peruse the menu. Quick as a wink we are ushered inside and it seems we are eating here. But we have no complaints. We have a view across the Danube looking up to the castle on the Buda side. No complaints at all.

 

After a beautiful dinner we board the tram back to Margit Bridge, take another tram across it and wait for the 291 bus. Were it not for a helpful resident we would have been waiting a long time. While the inbound bus uses the tram lines, the outbound bus does not. We are directed to the stop one hundred meters down the road where a bus arrives quite quickly.

 

It has been a day of walking. The final 450 metres from the bus stop to the van is just about enough for us. We should sleep well tonight.

 

Thursday 6 July 2017 Budapest Hungary

 

We don't. Maybe we are still on Melbourne time because we are awake between 2 and 4, replying to Wattsapps and emails. Because it is a hot night, we have left both side windows open. Unfortunately this allows the noises from the young and noisy to infiltrate our serenity around 2.30. How thoughtless they are. Later, we are discussing that thoughtlessness and commenting to one another about our communications with Australia when our neighbour passes by our window at around 4 am and asks us to be quiet as his family are trying to sleep. Oops! Open windows are a two way thing.

 

Due to lack of sleep during the night, we sleep in this morning and are not to our bus until 11. Funny... same time as yesterday when we slept better. It must be a Budapest thing.

 

The literature says you cannot visit Budapest without visiting a thermal spa. There are 15 in the city area alone and the thermal waters are certified; whatever that may mean. There is a park which looks worth visiting and that has one of the best known spas there.

 

We take our 291 bus from home to the terminus and we can get a metro from there to the spa. After standing in front of the rail map, rotating our map several times and a bit of head scratching we can see what we have to do and descend the long steep elevator to the metro platform. We did not pay enough attention to the direction we want which is indicated by an arrow toward the terminus. This is largely because all the station names are naturally in Hungarian and we have trouble pronouncing them let alone remembering them. Having missed one train, another arrives in minutes and we are away. We count the number of stations, recognising the odd letter along the way to determine we are on the right track, so to speak.

 

We have to change lines to reach our spa and this goes relatively smoothly. We find that sorting out a public transport system inevitably involves some confusion if not panic and then, rapidly, a sense of how the system works and how to read the maps develops and we are happy.

 

The spa is remarkably crowded. Our 25 AUD entrance fee each provides us with access for the day plus an electronically controlled locker each. We have a waterproof wrist band to open and lock the locker.

 

Changein rooms are small cubicles with a door either end. The cubicle is about 1.8 metres by 900 wide. Once inside, to sit down, the edge of the seat is flapped down and this locks both doors. After changing, we exit into the locker room where we can leave our valuables in the two lockers included in our entrance fee.

 

But first we want a drink and something to eat. Walking through a foot bath, we enter the first bathing room. There are two pools which we assume are quite hot then two more at different temperatures. There are Roman columns surrounding the pools and it all looks rather exotic. There is quite a loud babble of voices which echo on the stone walls and tiling.

 

Exiting this room, we go outside to where there are 3 large bathing pools, indistinguishable from swimming pools, again at varying temperatures and with various features. The surrounding buildings are ornate and reflect their 1800s heritage.

 

Rather than coffee, we opt for lunch, which is rather ordinary and memorable for the wrong reasons. Half an hour later we go to take the waters. First is the spa room where we try the two baths but ignore the very hot baths.

 

Today's temperature is in the high 20s so hot thermal baths have limited appeal. Before long we retreat to outside where the baths are cooler but the sun is hotter. Quite a fine balancing act. The first pool has strong jets of water which can give one a neck massage. I would imagine that waterboarding had its origins in these neck massaging streams of water. Angle is critical and benefit arguable.

 

Next we go to another bath which has a central circular pool with strong jets which swirl the water in a circular flow. The outside high speed flow is fun but bumping into those who think it is fun to resist the jets is not.

 

Overall, so far our spa experience is not unlike a day at the local swimming pool which I remember from my teenage years. I suspect the 'must do' label may have been hype.

 

In trying the hot baths inside we get a slight surprise. One is cold. But the other is around 40 and after 10 minutes we get into the 20 degree pool. The result is a remarkable warmth after the first initial shock.

 

Somewhat underwhelmed, we leave around 4 and return by metro to Margit Hid, our well known point of reference.

 

Taking a tram along the Buda bank, we look for somewhere to refresh ourselves. There is a lovely little chocolate cafe where we have two iced coffees, beautifully presented by a very helpful girl. We pay the princely sum of 5 AUD because the cafe is off the tourist trail.

 

We have been looking for a cogged tramway and though we see references to it, no one seems to know where it is. Our friendly girl discusses it with her manager and gives us directions which we expect will be to the funicular railway servicing the Buda castle. Not what we want, but we follow the instructions in case they are correct, which they aren't.

 

Still, we do find a number 16 mini bus which will take us up to the castle presinct.

 

What a find! It is around 7 and there are many people about but it is cooler now and, no doubt, less crowded than earlier in the day. An area called Fishermen's Bastian provides wonderful sights across to Pest and is a wonderful sight itself. Matthias built in the 13^th century is a beautiful church in beautiful condition often touted as one of the most beautiful in the world. Mind you, those that said that may also have said the spas were unmissable.

 

There is a bar which has a limited menu but with tables overlooking the wonderful view toward Pest. There is a noisy bunch so we wait until they leave before sitting down. The meal is OK but the view is exceptional.

 

After walking further round the area, we walk down some 100s of steps to the river bank and take a tram back to our trusty 291 bus and from there back to the van.

 

Budapest is rapidly becoming our favourite city, But I may have said that before,

 

 

Friday 7 July 2017 Budapest Hungary

 

Our 291 bus takes us back to the Pest side of Margit Hid where we take a boat south . We want to explore the Budapest Natural History Museum gardens and the walks which lead to it.

 

Before ascending the hill, ther is an information centre where I can ask about the cogged tram. The lady is very helpful but she obviously does not know about it either. The Cogged Tram may be Budapest's best kept secret, even from the locals. She is not able to help and explains that her internet is down. She gives us some clues but we leave not fully informed. We have walked some 20 or 30 metres when she runs out after us waving a met map and shows us where it is. She has obviously not been trained in the French school of tourism. We thank her and note that the tram is only a short distance from where we are camped! It was the forerunner to the chairlift we went on a day or two ago.

 

There are steps, and ramps and escalators and even a lift to negotiate to get up to the Museum gardens. The buildings were once royal residences and have undergone many changes since first being built in the 13^th century. These include repairs to damage during the Budapest siege in WWII. Once at the top, there are more wonderful views but the heat is rather oppressive. There is a spot we have iced coffee and cheesecake under an umbrella and cooling fan while we take in the view across the river.

 

We opt to descend via some more 100s of steps to the river where we cross Chain Bridge, the first bridge to join Buda and Pest in the 1840s. On the Pest side is St Stephens, the biggest catholic church in Budapest with a capacity of over 8000. It was built in 1851 and is incredibly ornate and lavishly decorated. Superlatives become rather boring after a while however anything short of superlatives do not do these buildings justice.

 

There is a market which we want to see. However the maps, being in Hungarian, are not clear about what or where. We are directed to a building one kilometrre away but it is not the one. It is worth seeing but hot, especially on the mezzanine floor where the toilets are located. Ro is in need of one but 100 Forents (1 AUD) is required. We ask a local storeholder if she can change Euro as we need to use the toilet. She rummages in her purse and produced one 100 Forent coin for Ro and 2 50 Forent coins for me. I offer her a 1 Euro coin (300 Forents) but she waves it away. I leave it for her anyway. We find the Hungarian people friendly and outgoing. Budapest is a lovely city with lovely people.

 

There is another building which may be what we are looking for, which we can reach by taking a south bound tram along the Pest riverbank. The building consists of two 1800s buildings separated by 20 or 30 metres above which a space frame roof covers the void and extends into a modern building beyond the originals. The building and roof system was opened in 2013 and looks like a good idea which has not found favour with the public. There are a lot of vacant shop spaces and few people are shopping in the occupied ones. It is not the market we were looking for.

 

Ready to give up on that idea, we exit the building. Walking toward a bridge we want to cross, we see before us what is obviously the market we want to see. It was built in 1896 and restored 1994 and is claimed as Europe's most beautiful market. We don't have too much trouble believing that.

 

The stalls are plentiful and very well stocked. The floors are all tiled in 1800s tiles. The canopy is lacey iron work of that period with a towering ceiling and a mezzanine level.

 

After circumnavigating the lower floor we take an escalator to the mezzanine. There is a restaurant which is period and very evocative. The food is very good value and tasty. It is now around 4.30 so this will be dinner.

 

After a half hour or so, we circumnavigate the mezzanine which is full of souveneir stalls and others selling local woven fabric and costumes. Walking along the narrow aisles between the goods involves negotiation with other browsers. We are very glad we finally found this building.

 

Time for a rest on a boat. Walking to the nearby jetty, we catch a boat not knowing whether we will head up stream or down stream. Down stream it is, but only for a stop or two to the terminus where we expect to start back upstream.

 

We have to wait at the jetty while another Met boat drops passengers then departs. As we dock, an announcement says we must leave the boat as it is going out of service. Why this boat did not dock first is a mystery as we watch the previous boat make its way upstream.

 

Fortunately there is a tram stop adjacent to the jetty. It turns out to be a train platform and a train arrives almost immediately. We board but discover the next stop is its terminus. However by now we have overtaken the boat and, as there is a jetty near the platform we can board the boat we just missed. Maybe these Budapestians solve problems in a lateral way.

 

The boat plys its way in a leisurely fashion upstream past Margit Hid and past Margit Island to its terminus 3 or 4 kilometers past the island. Unfortunately we did not learnf our lesson as this boat is also going out of service.

 

Some other tourists are also caught out but can tell us in English that they have been told there is a met station 5 or 10 minutes walk away. The walk is not entirely welcome as we are getting foot sore but, short of sleeping on the boat, that is what we must do.

 

The met line passes through the station where we left our 291 bus yesterday so it is not long before we are heading back to our camp. The final 3 or 4 or 500 metres (difference of opinion) is enough walking for us and we arrive about 8 then have a quiet evening reading and writing.

 

Our 72 hour ticket runs out about 3 tomorrow then we will probably move on, having had an unexpectedly pleasant surprise with Budapest.

 

Saturday 8 July 2017 Budapest Hungary

 

Today will be quite hot so we want to get going early; which means 10.15 for us it seems. Our challenge is to find the Cog Railway or Tramway or whatever the hell it is called. But it does have cogs.

 

Last night we discovered that our number 291 bus passes quite close to the terminus of the cog rail. Today, after alighting where a tram will take us to the terminus, we discover that due to the FINA championships in Budapest this year, the tram service on this line has been suspended. Fortunately there are clues in English, without which we may have waited until the end of July when the service resumes.

 

There is a bus stop so we take the next bus, the 129, which does not go where we expect. Looking at the Met plan, we can find no 129 and 129 is a pallandrome (if numerical pallendromes exist) of 291. This is Burmuda Trianle stuff. But through good luck or other supernatural means, it ends up at a point where we can reach the cog rail, which, fortunately, is running, FINA notwithstanding.

 

The twin car is waiting at the platform and gradually it fills with passengers. It does not have air conditioning and the windows have pictograms which suggest the powers that be don't want them opened. Never the less, other passengers have opened theirs but ours refuse to open. Meanwhile Ro is wilting. Shades of Berlin where we were locked in a train which was out of service in a siding. At least this hot box is moving.

 

The gradient is steep and we stop at perhaps 7 stations. As most of the line is single with dual rail passing points, we have to stop on two or three occasions until the downward tram is opposite us.

 

The terminus is somewhere near the chairlift but it is too hot to go walking. Instead we take the next tram back down. The upward trip was relatively smooth but not so the downward. The tram car rattles and grinds until it reaches the bottom.

 

We have succeeded in finding and riding the elusive cog rail. After the bumping and grinding, perhaps we now know why not many people know where it is.

 

From the terminus we take a bus to a metro station where we cross the river some dozens of metres below it. Ro is keen to visit the cafe attached to a chocolate museum and as we exit the metro station, there it is.

 

We have iced coffee with loads of cream and a fruit flan for a very reasonable 11 AUD. The surroundings are pleasant but more importantly, air conditioned. However, the iced coffee we have had in previous days with ice cream is far superior to these with cream.

 

The “Green Bridge”, our description not theirs, is close by and the boat jetty is opposite that. Despite the blazing sun, we walk over the bridge and wait five minutes for a northbound boat. Unfortunately, when we show our ticket, the attendant says it is not valid on boats. We think this is wrong but later,checking the conditions, discover that boats are covered weekdays but not weekends!! Budapest tourism is well organised but there are a few bits of information missing. We still don't know if we rode the cog rail illegally.

 

We have come to understand the river side tram lines quite well, We know any tram will take us to Margit Hid where out 291 bus stops. Except that the tram we take goes back across the green bridge. Another unintended adventure. Along the way Ro spies a Metro entrance and we get off the tram close by.

 

The Met takes us to our 291 terminus and we get back to the camp with about 1 ½ hours to spare on our travel cards. We will head for Austria this afternoon.

 

After dumping and filling we say our goodbyes to Marta, the camp owner, and her son Gabor who have been very friendly and helpful. If we ever get back here in our motorhome, we will definitely stay here.

 

We have set our sights on a campsite 3 ½ hours away somewhat more southerly than we are now but still in Hungary. With about one hour to go it is getting a bit late so we find a roadside stop instead.

 

We will see what tomorrow brings.

 

Sunday 9 July 2017 46.98829N by 17.71576E Hungary (for all the use that is)

 

We have a quiet but warm night then debate whether we will continue on to the Hungarian camp or head for Salzburg.

 

Tossing a figurative coin, which unfortunately got lost under the driver's seat, we continue on toward yesterday's destination. It is about 1 hour away and we would like to have a one or two day holiday from sightseeing.

 

Although Thomasina could not find the number we had for the street, when we arrive, a sign points us in the right direction and soon we are ensconced under a shady tree. The proprieter is a Hungarian lady one year older than me, she volunteers, and very friendly.

 

The day will be 32 and it is already quite warm. The swimming pool is very inviting at a pleasant 26 degrees. This will provide a nice base for R&R after our time in Budapest and before Salzburg.

 

 

Monday 10 July 2017, Nemesbuk, Hungary.

 

The day is going to be hot. 34 is predicted. Where we are parked there is a cabin and we are really “on their turf”. I explain to them that I feel we should move as we are taking up their shade. They are a German couple and say that it is Ok. Nevertheless, we move to another plot a short distance away where the shade may be better in the afternoon.

 

In explaining our move, so we don't appear antisocial, I strike up a conversation with Kamelia, who is Bulgarian and is on her way to see her identical twin sister with her parntner Uwe.

 

During the day we chat quite a lot and find we have common interests. After dinner we are invited to drinks with two other couples, a German couple and a Dutch couple. Unfortunately we feel at a disadvantage as they all speak German and we don't. They are all inclusive but we feel uncomfortable requiring them to speak in English when they naturally would prefer to converse in German. As it happens, the Dutch man, who would seem to be the least comfortable with English, is the one with whom we speak most. However, that may partially be the seat placement around the table. I feel that with more exposure to German my skills would rapidly improve as I can get the gist of many of the conversations.

 

Overnight it is very warm. Our fridge has been struggling. I can see a cleanout of the jet is in order. Maybe tomorrow, once our R&R break has finished.

 

Tuesday 11 July 2017 , Nemesbuk, Hungary.

 

It is not so hot today so good for travelling. We get on the road by 9.45 with a 3 or 4 hour drive ahead of us. Distances in Europe seem to take much longer to cover than in Australia. Admittedly here we use back roads to see the countryside whereas in Australia we use freeways. When we use freeways here, distances are covered much faster.

 

The extra time is well worth while. The counrtyside in Hungary is lovely and the roads are not too bad. Despite this, once in Austria, the difference in maintenance levels on both private and public buildings is very apparent.

 

The camp site we are staying at near Gratz is one at which we stayed in 2011. The gate is opened by Jurgen who loaned us his car when we stayed in 2011. He remembers us, or more likely, our motorhome.

 

We remember where things are and park in a similar place to last time. The afternoon is warm and sunny whch gives us a chance to get some sun and read. Later it cools down quite a bit and overnight there is a constant drizzle of rain. No problem as long as we don't get bogged tomorrow.

 

Wednesday 12 July 2017 Graz, Austria

 

Despite the overnight rain, we don't have any problems leaving the camp site and we are on the road by 10.

 

It is a four hour drive to Hallstatt which is about one hour from Salzburg. Hallstatt is a small town which clings to a rocky face on the edge of a large lake, the name of which we have not been able to determine.

 

The drive is spectacular, through towering wooded mountains and up and over some. A lot of second gear work both ascending and descending. There are beautiful villages dotted around with three storey A frame houses on which masses of colourful flowers bloom in balcony baskets. There is greenery galore with exposed rock on the peaks.

 

As we pass through a small town, an emergency vehicle passes. Perhaps 10 km further on, having ascended steep narrow roads to which we have become accustomed, we pass the emergency vehicle. A car has driven off the road and plunged perhaps 10 or 15 meters down the mountain before being arrested by trees. We hope the driver is OK.

 

Finally at the top, we ascend a 24% grade in second gear, using brakes from time to time to prevent the high reving engine throwing a con rod. If we have to return on this road, we may have problems, particularly if we have to stop and restart.

 

We reach a campsite 3 km from Hallstatt at 6.30. Entering the reception area, we wait for 5 minutes before a man we assume is a guest identifies himself as the reception person. After more waiting, he shows us a site which leaves something to be desired but will do.

 

Back at reception, he tells us the price is 42 euros. This does not seem to equate with the price list in German which suggests the price should be 32 euros. But we don't question it and leave a passport as security. However, we don't especially like the camp and don't like the owner/manager so decide we will move on. Returning to reception to retrieve my passport, the guy complains that if you book a hotel room you can't then say you don't want it. I point out that we have only been there 10 minutes and have not even entered our allocated site. He says it was the last place and he has turned away another motorhome. I say I saw him escort another motorhome after us to a site, He says it was after that. Reluctantly he returns my passport and we leave, thankful that we are not staying. We think we were being ripped off and we don't like that.

 

It is now about 7.30. Continuing toward Hallstatt, we see a number of motorhomes set up for the night in a parking area. The sign says 'Camping Verboten', so , although we think motorhome parking may not be camping, we move on.

 

Driving in to Hallstatt we find another camp but reception is closed. So instead we park in a bus zone while Ro takes a few photos. We will move on.

 

There is a 200 or 300 metre tunnel which bores through the rock on which Hallstatt is perched. As we pass through, there is a parking area within the tunnel which overlooks the town. With some toing and froing through the forward and return tunnels we manage to park, with me somewhat apprehensive about getting stuck in the tunnel.

 

Steps wind down to the village where we walk around for 20 minutes before rain forces us to return to the van. That is enough to give us a feel of the place. We quickly get the impression that the place is set up for tourists.....by the hoard. Perhaps now was the best time to see it.

 

Continuing through the tunnel we drive for 4 or 5 kilometers and find a spot for overnighting. There are no 'Camping Verboten' signs so hopefully we will be OK.

 

The night is reasonably quiet except for relatively infrequent cars. Rain starts around 10pm and continues throughout the night.

 

Thursday 13 July 2017 near Hallstatt, Austria

 

The traffic gets quite heavy from 6.30 onward. By 8.30, we have counted 8 or 10 busses. Our analysis last night that the town would be crawling with tourists during the day is most probably correct.

 

By 930 we are on the road to Salzburg, about 1 ½ hours away. Fortunately, the road out is not steep like the road in so we have no problems. There is more stunning scenery but without the long slow hauls up steep roads.

 

We have left the lake on which Hallstatt sits but this area has many others. As we pass another large lake, on a whim, Ro suggests we take a road closer to the lake so we can have coffee overlooking it.

 

The road terminates in a car park with a lane leading to a jetty. Looking across the lake we can see a beautiful town, identified as St Wolfgang on the Woflgangsee. There is a boat which will take us across to St Wolfgang in about 40 minutes.

 

We have coffee and toast while waiting then board the boat. On board Ro gets a pamphlet which mentions the Schafburg Bahn, a cog rail which takes passengers 1200 meters up the Schaftburg. We can buy tickets for both on the boat.

 

We are booked on to the 11.10 train which has one engine and two carriages. After a wait of 30 minutes, we board the packet train.

 

It was built in 1893 and at 26 degrees is the steepest cog railway in Austria. And we just descended a slope of 24 degrees in the van!! Although they have steam locos, ours is a diesel electric and the trip is surprisingly quiet. As we get to the steepest gradients, comparison with the odd building and the many treeds shows us how steep it is. I hope they have multiple redundant safety systems. Rolling backward uncontrolled would not be fun. Even if it was, the fun would be short lived.

 

We started at around 550 metres above sea level (that is briny sea, not Wolfgangsee) and rise to 1783 meters over about 5 kilometers during the 30 minute trip. At the top, the view is to die for (even with good safety systems). We know how wonderful it is because of photos on the summit. Unfortunately we can only see 50 meters due to the cloud we have been in since 1400 metres. It is reminiscent of skiing in the mist.

 

There is not much to do given the heavy mist so we return on the 12.45 train, which is steam. Not such a good choice for the downward trip as it rattles and bumps for the whole trip to the bottom. This time we are on the correct side of the train to fully appreciate the magnificent view when we exit the cloud at 1400 meters.

 

At the bottom, we take the boat to St Wolfgang. It is a delightful village, bigger than Hallstatt and not crowded. There are numerous multistory buildings with wide V shaped rooves and timber balconies at each level covered in colourful flowers. It is truly beautiful. We think we made the right decision; to the extent it was a decision and not pure serendipity.

 

We have lunch in an evocative Austrian restaurant then walk around the streets for an hour or two. Much to our dismay, by 4pm the cloud has burnt off the mountain and we have good views up to where we were some hours before. But splendid views abound here so one missed view results in another experienced one so we don't complain (some of the time).

 

Our boat back to the van leaves at 4.50 leaving us time to walk along the lakeside bank past houses and boatsheds. It would be a nice place to live, though perhaps not in winter.

 

We can stay the night here in the car park. There is another mobile home with the same idea. And we have a beautiful view of the mountain top. Not that I am complaining.

 

We spend the evening until dark not complaining as we gaze through perfect blue skies at the mountain top. After dark Ro takes some photos of the fairyland lights of St Wolfgang over the lake. And one of the twinkling light on top of the mountain.

 

Friday 14 July 2017 opposite St Wolfgang, Austria

 

By morning the clouds have reformed and the mountain top is obscured. Probably by mid afternoon the sky will be clear again. Yesterday we toyed with the idea of taking the cog railway again if the sky were to be blue this morning. But it isn't so we will go on to Salzburg with heavy hearts.

 

Driving further we reach St Gilgen at the end of the lake. There is a cable car here and the gondalas are disappearing up the mountain and into the cloud. That would also be a spectacular ride but not while the cloud is present.

 

Our path takes us between towering rocky mountains which have what look like manicured green pastures between thick forests. As the peaks start to flatten out at their bases, houses are dotted about. It is a visual feast.

 

There are two other cable cars, one of which we stop at to each lunch. From our vantage point, the gondalas look like they would hold two or maybe four people. Later we walk over to the launch platform and the gondalas are considerably bigger. In winter, they take perhaps 8 skiers to the summit where they can ski down long ski runs over many kilometers. A bit different from the ski fields in Australia.

 

By 2 pm we reach Salzburg. Driving through the city is not much fun. Finding somewhere to park is even less. After a brief look around from the van, including masquerading as a bus in a busses only terminal, we decide the crowds and gereral hubbub, together with the constant rain, is not worth the effort. The pleasure we got from St Wolfgang is still fresh in our memories and we are happy to keep that.

 

Next stop is Berchtesgaden in Germany. This part of Germany pokes into Austria so we will go in and out of Germany to get there.

 

Although the drive is more beautiful villages and scenery, Berchtesgaden is infected with tourists and busses galore. Once again, we decide it is not worth the trouble and move on to Innsbruck, which has been recommended to us by Scot and various tourist books. We will stay overnight then get public transport into the medieval alt stadt.

 

At our intended camp site, we cannot raise anyone so we will wildcamp outside where it is suitable quiet.

 

Saturday 15 July 2017 Innsbruck, Austria

 

It rains steadily all night and by morning there are still isolated showers. It seems Innsbruck will go the same way as Salzburg.

 

We visit McDonalds for wifi and, after some emails etc, check Innsbruck weather. Showers predicted so Innsbruck gets a miss.

 

Instead we instruct Thomasina to plot a track to Interlaken in Switzerland. We want to avoid motorways and when asked if we want to avoid tollways respond “You bet your sweet ass we do” although the available answers were actually Yes or No. After analysing 1.1 million roads, she asks if we want to avoid ferries. We answer “Avoid ferries, space craft and horse and cart tracks”. A simple Yes is all that is required. So, within 20 minutes, we are underway.

 

We travel through more of the wonderful scenery we have become used to for 30 kilometers until we reach the Swiss border. It is here that we are reacquainted with spectacular scenery. Austria is merely wonderful; Switzerland is awe inspiring.

 

It comes at a cost. We crawl up steep monutains in second then first gear. But the views we are rewarded with are magnificent. Not that I can fully appreciate them because the roads wind and twist through hairpin bends and next to sheer drops of 100s of meters. Furthermore, there are hundreds of motorbikes, sometimes passing at inappropriate places, and cars vying for the often narrow road. But this is definitely the way to see Switzerland.

 

We have 400 kilometers to travel between Innsbruck and Interlaken with a predicted time of 7 hours. Our intention is to stop half way at a camp. We understand wild camping is frowned upon in Switzerland and our waste water is getting full and house water getting empty.

 

Along the way we stop for lunch beside a fast flowing aqua coloured river. Using a bucket and lanyard, I refill our fresh water. At a pinch we can wild camp later if we have to.

 

By 6 pm we come across a camp site which will do us for tonight. Chatting with a Swiss guy outside, we are told that they are fully booked but where he is parked is an overflow area on which we should be able to stay overnight. Reception closes at 7 and it is 6.15 now. It takes over 30 minutes for three campers to be booked in. Their system needs improvement. We can stay in the overflow area for 28 AUD, which Ro has negotiated down from around 45 AUD as we don't need anything other than a place to park.

 

After dinner we walk to a bridge which leads to the village about 200 metres away. Tomorrow we will explore it before driving on to Interlaken.

 

We will have a roaring stream to lull us to sleep. And the occasional passenger train.

 

Sunday 16 July 2017 Davros Glaris ,Swiss Alps

 

The trains stop but the stream doesn't. And the night is cold. Full thermals and a cold nose to boot. Nevertheless, we sleep well and awake to a sunny, if chilly, morning.

 

We dump and fill then park 150 metres down the road near the bridge leading to the village. Walking over the bridge, there is nothing much to see. When we walk up a rather unpromising road, the vista opens up. To our right are Swiss chalets in green meadows and to our left is a track along which a seat has been built which overlooks a stream and the gently curving rail line and road. From our vantage point perhaps 50 metres above the scene we survey, we watch as a train winds its way along the track and cars negotiate the curves on the road. The stream continues on its unstoppable path until further along it is temporarily halted by a dam. There are numerous small hydro stations which harness the massive potential energy which these alps provide.

 

Returning to the van, we continue toward Interlaken five hours away, although only 200 km.

 

The reason for the 40kph average is the numerous villages but,more significantly, the long steep climb over the alps. It is more second gear travel for kilometer after kilometer with hairpin bends galore. Normally on steep climbs, I pull over to let motorists pass. However, if the road is too steep and I stop, I am doomed to first gear as changing to second gear drops the revs too much and we drop out of the torque band, never to return. So it is that cars and motorbikes have to wait for straight sections to pass our constant 43 kph. Motor bikes are somewhat less patient and zoom by generally in a safe fashion but sometimes not. And there are probably thousands of bikes. I would love to try these roads but there is nothing in Australia which comes close. As we ascend, one biker makes a loop around his head after passing. It may be a signal to his friends to pass, which they do, or it may be a comment on our sanity bringing a motorhome up here. But we do see a few other crazies with motorhomes.

 

After perhaps 45 minutes of second gear crawl we eventually reach the point at 2400 metres above sea level where the road starts to descend. At the peak there are hundresd of bikes in the car park. We stop for coffee and enjoy watching the bikers negotiating the hairpin curves, with various levels of competence. One, who appears competent by the lean on his bike, comes off a bit further on after one such hairpin bend. He is OK but his bike is not. Some hours later we leave and drive by asking if he needs help as it is cold now and getting colder. He says someone is coming to pick him up and there are three or four other bikers with him so we leave. It was our intention to stay here tonight but there is quite a lot of ice in the area and it will be very cold overnight.

 

Instead we continue down and, after dropping perhaps 1000 meters, find a roadside stop which will do us.

 

After dinner we walk to a hydro station which is near by. The dammed water is crystal clear, leading us to wonder why the rushing streams are aqua in colour. Presumably there are minerals which drop out of suspension when there is no turbulance.

 

Monday 17 July 2017 30 km from Interlaken ,Switzerland.

 

The night is a pleasant temperature; which would not have been the case up with the ice. The morning is clear and sunny and we walk after breakfast to look at an unusual tent a few hundred meters back. It looks like it may be a scout jambouree.

 

Rather than drive into Interlaken, our plan is to park at Brienz, which is much smaller, and go by boat to Interlaken. Brienz is only 30 minutes from our overnight stop and we arrive before 11. Parking is still not easy because we don't have any Swiss Franks and the meters don't take cards. Fortunately a nearby hotel changes some euro for us and we can park.

 

Brienz is proud of its lake side prominade with good reason. We enjoy our 10 minute walk to the boat jetty. There is a boat leaving at 11.45 which we may take. However the last boat is around 16.30 so it may be better to go there by boat and back by train.

 

As we go to investigate train times, we see a cog rail opposite. Today is cloudless and the cog rain will take us up 1800 meters for what are predictably billed as sights of a lifetime. Given that we woz robbed at St Wolfgangsee, we will try this.

 

There is time to return to the van to get some jumpers which may be required up there. On our return, we can board and get seats we want in a compartment with a couple with one young boy and one baby.

 

The steam loco starts its ascent at a leisurely pace but before long we are climbing at the announced 25%. We climb through tunnels and up what seem impossibly steep grades. The lake below gets smaller as we climb. Reaching a passing point we pause for a few minutes before continuing on the heels of a train in front. If the first ½ hour gave us stunning views, the next ½ hour ensures we do not become blasé. We climb through pastures with the odd house and tracks which look impassable to vehicles, despite obvious two wheel grooves. Why someone would live in this isolation at this height is puzzling. There are large heards of beef and milk cows and goats which graze on slopes which look to be over 45 degrees. The cows, as we have observed before, have cow bells of different tones and there is a symphony of dull bells which we hear the whole afternoon.

 

Eventually the train pulls into the station at 2245 metres above sea level or 1700 metres above our starting point. Although it is bright sunshine, the air is cool so we are glad we brought jumpers.

 

As it is 2pm we get some rolls from the cafe and eat them overlooping the lake over 1.5 kilometers below us. Occasionally we see trains chugging up the steep incline. The track inscribes a broad S shape 200 metres below us. One side of the S is probably 80 meters higher than the other side as the track continues on its steep incline. We know there is another train as the chuf-chuf of the steam trains announce their arrival. When no train is coming, the only sound is the symphony of the dull cow bells rising from the pastures below.

 

After lunch we climb a peak which is perhaps 80 metres above the station. Here we get a panorama view of over 600 peaks we are told. We don't bother checking the number.

 

The next train leaves at 4.28 and it is now 4. The climb up and down from the peak is somewhat precarious. A slip could mean rolling down a steep slope to who knows where. The lake is a bit too far below to break one's fall.

 

We arrive in time to get the 4.28 but will wait for the last train at 5.40. There is another peak and a cable car station to visit.

 

The cable car provides an alternate access to this peak. It is on the other side of the mountain and covers the 1 hour train trip in 8 minutes. It is not your 4 person gondola but a large room sized car hanging from the cable by a 10 metre tower to cope with the angle of the cable, perhaps 65 degrees to the horizontal.

 

Continuing past the cable car station we climb another 40 or 50 metres to the highest point on the mountain.

 

We are back to the train station to see the last train enter. Five minutes later we are on our descent journey. Looking backward, the steepness is even more apparent. As we pass, goats are above us on impossible angles. Funny there is no warning to watch for falling goats.

 

The loco controls the speed of descent by compressing air in its cylinders. As the cylinders get very hot, they are cooled by water which is given off as steam. Then , when the loco is on the flat at a station, it sounds like the compressed air is used to move it to the next descent.

 

Although the clouds were starting to envelop the mountain top when we left, the sky is clear as we descend and the views are truly memorable. By the time we reach the bottom, we have had an experience which we will remember all our lives.

 

There is a slight sensation of things being not level as we walk back to the van along the prominade. We have some coffee and refreshments then go for a walk. The tourist information says that a street here is perhaps the prettiest in all Europe. Following the guide we walk up a quaint street to a cross street and along that until we come to a cobbled street leading back down to the prominade. Perhaps the writer's directions were of lower quality than his/her rhetoric, but we don't discover this gem. What we see is quaint but not exceptional. However, tourism is not about truth; it is about attracting tourists. On that score it has succeeded.

 

Our parking area prohibits any form of camping and excludes motorhomes after 10pm so we will move on and wild camp elsewhere.

 

Leaving Brienz, we start climbing yet another mountain. Part way up there is a large clearing which will do us. We have dinner as the traffic subsides and have a quiet night until about 5.30am when trucks start climbing the hill again.

 

Tuesday 18 July 2017 Near Brienz,Switzerland.

 

After breakfast we start on our 4 hour trip to Mulhouse where we will stay a few days for R&R. We stayed there six or seven years ago but cannot quite remember the details.

 

As we drive, the towering mountains give way to plains with low mountains surrounding. The number of lakes seems to increase but that may be because we are now not compartmentalised by the mountains.

 

We stop for morning tea at a roadside parking bay and, after coffee, investigate where the occupants of other cars have walked. There is a forest walk which leads down to the inevitable lake. We walk perhaps two kilometers before continuing on our way.

 

Our destination is in France but our path takes us first into Germany and along some motorways. It is nice to be travelling at a decent speed and performing pas de deux again with the other traffic. Ten kilometers before our camp we return to France. It seems a bit like coming home.

 

By 2pm we are at our camp site. It is getting hot and the pool is inviting. It will be nice to rest for a day or two.

 

Wesnesday 19 July 2017 Mulhouse, France.

 

The night is very hot and is followed by a hot day. We spend our time reading on our not-very-comfortable sun lounges and swimming in the good sized pool. The water is 27 or 28 degrees. In Europe, most places require one to shower before entering the pool and it is not uncommon for the shower to be colder than the pool. Fortunately the shower here has a large bore black plastic pipe leading to it which keeps the shower water pleasantly warm and sometimes bordering on too hot.

 

The day passes lazily, with the odd repair, limited by the heat in the van. It is nice to have a break from being a tourist.

 

Thursday 20 July 2017 Mulhouse, France.

 

Overnight it rains a little. Today we intend to move on to Offenburg, about 1 ½ hours away, to see Ardie and Anna.

 

There is the usual dumping and filling before we leave then a drive on the Autobahn to Offenburg. We arrive after lunch about 2.30 at Ardie's workshop.

 

We will stay one night in his yard then probably leave tomorrow. We need to change the oil and there is some rust on the door which I would like to fix. They will be tomorrow's jobs.

 

We greet Ardie and arrange to go to dinner tonight. His daughter, Natalie, has an 11 week old boy, Jonathon, and we will go to dinner with them and her husband, Marcus, together with Ardie and Anna in Durban, Natalie and Marcus' home villiage .

 

We are always aware that we can interrupt Ardie's work and we don't want to do that so we arrange to go back at 6pm when he closes. In the meantime we will go to Aldi to try to get our wayward sim card to communicate.

 

Ardie repairs cars and sells secondhand cars and has one which clients use when theirs are being repaired. He suggests we take that rather than the van. We gratefully accept. It is a small car and it feels odd being so close to the ground.

 

The Aldi store is only a few kilometers away so we arrive within a few minutes. The assistant who speaks English, as do most young Germans, discusses the problem with his manager. Unfortunately they can't do much. Aldi in Dresden is a different group from Alid here. Originally two brothers set up Aldi and, although they appear the same, they are different groups. In any case the package has been used so they doubt the other Aldi would take it back. On returning to the van, I fiddle a bit more and, hey presto, it now works. Whether the promise that it would work outside Germany, where I tried to use it, was hollow or not remains to be seen.

 

At 6pm, Ardie tells us he will go home and shower and will be back in 40 minutes. True to his word, as he always is, we leave the yard on his return and are in Durban, 7 km away, by 7.

 

Natalie, Marcus and now Johathon live on the second floor of a typical German building. We meet them and have a drink before walking to the restaurant 50 meters away. Although Jonathon has been a slightly difficult baby in that he cries a lot, we don't hear a peep from him all evening. Maybe the sound of a different language interests him. During dinner, we all talk easily, notwithstanding the language barrier. Natalie and Marcus both speak English reasonably fluently. Ardie and Anna are not as fluent but we manage to get our meaning across most times. I always feel guilty that I don't make enough effort with German, although they comment that they understand my German. What is not to understand about “Schon Tag” or “Danke”? I promise that I will improve my German by next year, ignoring the adage “Don't promise what you can't keep”............

 

On returning to Natalie and Marcus's home, Natilie needs to help Jonathon get to sleep and we don't want to make noise which may prevent that so we drive back with Ardie.

 

We are used to sleeping in Ardie's yard by now. We have probably spent 10 or 15 nights here over the six years since we met him when our timing belt broke in 2011.

 

Friday 21 July 2017 Offenburg Germany.

 

First thing is an oil change. Ardie wants to put the van up on the hoist which requires some close manoeuvering into the workshop. Just before raising the car, Ardie wonders where Rosemary is and the answer is 'still in bed'. The oil change waits while Ro hurriedly gets some clothes on and exits the van.

 

My task is to clean back some small areas of rust preparitory to filling and painting. Fortuitiously, Ardie has little on today so can devote some time to doing the work. His hourly cost is reasonable and the work is excellent. He commented that one of his customers suggested a plaque saying “The last remaining trustworthy German mechanic works here”. We can relate to the problem of getting an honest mechanic. We think we have been very fortunate to find him. He is not only honest but a superb mechanic.

 

By mid afternoon the grinding front brake has been checked (probably a stone), two small holes in the muffler have been welded, five or six rust spots have been fixed, including one significant one needing a metal patch and a plate has been fitted to the rear covering another area of corrosion. Ro has been concerned that we have been looking a bit Gypsie like but now the van is indistinguishable from new.......almost.

 

We leave by 4.30 and drive for a few hours, heading toward Charroux, 10 hours away by non motorway. Along the way, we find a picnic area which should do for tonight. Hopefully there will not be many trucks.

 

Saturday 22 July 2017 Offenburg Germany

 

Our hopes are dashed time and time again. Not only are there numerous trucks but the motorway (the non motorway does include some motorways) is busy all night.

Despite that we get a reasonable sleep.

 

We have 8 hours remaining to reach Charroux but we will break the journey into two. There is a camp around halfway which we will call in to. If it is warm we will stay there as they have a pool. If not we might wildcamp.

 

 

Our path takes us through quaint French villages and beautiful green countryside. After a few stops, we arrive at the camp by 4.30 pm. It is run by a Dutch couple and we see nothing but Belgium and Netherlands cars. It is common for the Dutch to escape the cooler Dutch weather for the warmer climate of these regions. To help things along, the weather forcast in the office is optimistic by two or three degrees over the official weather forecast.

 

Although the day is rather overcast, the pool is 28 degrees and the showers at the pool gate are very warm.

 

The night is pleasantly cool and the camp is very quiet overnight.

 

Sunday 23 July 2017 Luzy on Bourgogne France

 

It is a four hour trip to Charroux which we begin around lunch time. Along the way we look for LPG which must be getting low by now. If we run out, we affect showers, cooking and refrigeration. Along one motorway we visit a few fuel outlets but no gas is available. However, after checking two or three fuel outlets without success, we see LPG advertised the opposite way so exit at the next available off ramp. Having exited, finding the service station is not easy. Furthermore, we have no guarantee that if it is unattended that our card will be accepted.

 

We are in luck. Our card is accepted and we have the correct adaptor. Often after filling, the adaptor is hard to unscrew so I don't tighten it very much. This proves to be a mistake as the sealing O ring starts leaking when the tank is less than half full. Given that we will need to fill the tank before Scot and Maya take the van, this is no great problem.

 

With stops and breaks, we arrive at Charroux around 7.45pm. There is a camping area where we will spend te night as we think it too late to arrive unannounced at Mavis and Terry.

 

After setting up, we go for a walk which ends up at Mavis and Terry's. They are not home and we assume they have taken the dogs for a walk. As we leave, we meet Mavis and Terry returning from their walk. The dogs remember us and greet us effusively as do Mavis and Terry, albeit with noticably less licking than the dogs. We explain we have camped in the town campsite but they insist we stay there overnight.

 

After walking back to the van, Ro makes a quick dinner of vegetables and eggs before we drive to Mavis and Terry's where we join them for coffee before turning in.

 

Monday 24 July 2017 Charroux France

 

First thing after breakfast is a walk up past the cemetary with the three dogs. Cemetaries and we go back a long way in France, perhaps because they are so prevailent here. Every villiage seems to have one, usually with a grand wall and full of headstones and graves in varying states of repair. For the first few years of our travel here, we always seemed to end up at one for morning tea. Now we circumnavigate this one periodically when walking the dogs.

 

On our return we have coffee with Mavis then John, whom we have met each year and whose company is always entertaining, turns up.

 

Mavis says she has a ham to cook for lunch so while we mooch about, she cooks that and it is delicious. We have many fond memories of lunches and dinners on the typically French terrace overlooking the meadow behind.

 

After lunch we go to Civray to pay our insurance premium. I had sent them an email asking, apologetically in English, the current premium and some bank details. That was a week ago and we have received no reply. Maybe they did not receive it. On arriving, we discover the email was replied to this morning. The problem was we gave them the vehicle registration but, in typical French fashion, there was no way to associate the registration number with the insurance policy which covered it. The policy number was required but that number was not clear on the policy. The French have some unusual ways of doing things.

 

Paying the policy is not so easy. Although they now take credit and debit cards, our Travel Money card is declined. Going opposite to a hole in the wall, the machine will only give me 300 Euro which, together with the cash we have, leaves us 11 Euro short. Mavis makes up the difference for us.

 

Next some shopping. Mavis has groceries to buy and there are a few items we want so all goes in the one trolley as we will pay for the lot. Perhaps not unexpectedly the card is declined again despite the fact that I know it has funds and that it has not been declined by Lidl this year anywhere else. Bit embarrassing really.

 

On returning home, we go down to the Tourist Office for some wifi as my SIM has expired today after finally working for a few days. The message shown is that our High Speed Internet has expired. High speed should be many megabits per second. The maximum we achieved was 20 kilobits per second!! Not even as fast as low speed!

 

At the Tourist Information Office, with some difficulty we log on and find that our card is low due to security deposits taken out against petrol purchases and the card is temporarily empty. Reloading via NetBank, we go to the bank opposite to get some cash. Once again, the quirky French opening hours are our downfall. Mavis has already warned us that the bank only opens on certain weekday mornings and this is afternoon, whether it be a designated day or not. However the ATM is also not working. Whether it is because it is having lunch or is napping, we don't know.

 

There is another cash point nearby naturally inside a building which appears closed. Trying the door, we find an operating machine inside and get our cash. Back to Mavis and we can repay the amunts we have borrowed.

 

We were unsure if we would go on today but it is starting to get late so we spend some time with Mavis and Terry and turn in for the night around 10pm.

 

Tuesday 25 July 2017 Charroux France

 

It rains overnight but by the morning is clear. After another walk with the dogs, Ro goes blackberry collecting and I do some vacuuming in between helping Terry fix a non functioning electric window on his car. Later Mavis has made a lovely lunch of roasted vegetables which we enjoy before departing around 4pm. There is a dump point at Charroux so we visit there and then set off toward the Loire Valley.

 

Our destination is Amboise, about 3 hours away. Along the way we get fuel via a deviation which may not have warranted the saving over the standard prices. We generally find that buying fuel at Intermarche Supermarkets means a saving of 10 eurocents per litre. The only problem arises when they are card only because our card still wants a signature at some places, despite the fact that the cashiers never check them and often don't bother with them anyway. Fortunately all is OK with this one.

 

Rather than stay in a biggish town such as Amboise we think we will stop before. Having seen appropriate stopping points, now we want one, we can't find one. Same old same old. Passing through a rather ordinary village, there is a car park near some recycling bins which will do. Although we are 20 metres from the bins, they seem to be popular because numerous cars stop to deposit things. The recycling is admirable, but other than peaceful.

 

By dark, the attraction of the recycling bins has diminished and we have a quite night's sleep.

 

Wednesday 26 July 2017 Chapelle Blanch st Martin, France

 

After breakfast we continue our trip toward Amboise. Along the way we call into our second home, Lidl, to buy provisons and to have lunch. For travellers who have morning tea in cemetary carparks, Lidl carparks are quite a step up. Further on our path we deviate when we see a sign for Chateau Chenonceau which the literature says is the best Chateau in the valley.

 

After turning in to the Chateau entrance, we have an OhOh moment when the car park comes into sight. It is chockers. Full of buses, cars and motorhomes and we get a glimpse of hoards either walking toward or away from a leafy avenue. Bloody tourists. Why do they have to spoil it for us?

 

We park our Escargot de Wheels with the bloody tourists, afraid we will be tarred with the same brush. The entrance is 100 metres along a pathway and on reaching it our fears are confirmed. There are Bloody Tourists everywhere and on top of that, it has started to rain. Do we want to traipse around gardens in the wet with Bloody Tourists? We think not. Instead we walk along the moat for a little way, marvelling at the vast number of ducks. Oviously the Duck Tourist Guide also waxes lyrical about this Chateau.

 

Instead we set our path toward another Chateau which the literature describes as the most wonderful Chateau in the area. We choose this one over another which the literature says is the most splendid in the area.

 

Arriving 20 minutes later at Chateau de Villandry, the rain has not eased and it is around 4.30pm. We enquire at the ticket office what tomorrow's weather promises and are told it should be similar to today but that Friday will be better. We will stay nearby tonight and see what tomorrow brings.

 

We have parked outside the chateau and contemplate staying there overnight. However the rocking every time a car passes dissuades us and we move on a few kilometers to a bigger clearing at the roadside. This will be quieter.

 

Thursday 27 July 2017 Villandry, France

 

When we wildcamp, there is always a slight feeling that we mght be exposed to risk. We are always careful as to where we stay to minimize that risk. After showering and getting into bed, I am reading and Ro has just turned off the light when we hear a short whistle. Ro sits bolt upright and asks what it was. I feign ignorance and we settle down for the night when we cannot hear any other noises.

 

The morning dawns overcast with drizzle. We intend to get back to the chateau around 9 to get a convenient park so by 8.45 we are ready to leave. Ro suggests I check the tyres and, much to my amazement, the front driver tyre is completely flat! But why? It occurs to us that some local may not have liked us staying here and may have emptied the air.

 

I checked the spare earlier in the trip so there should be no problem. Removing the spare from below the van is not much fun but at least is possible whereas prior to renewing the flooring some years ago, it was not. But the tyre feels a bit soft which is a bit perplexing.

 

After some problems jacking up the van, the spare is fitted but on lowering, the spare is as flat as the one just removed. Moving the valve, the fault is apparent. Last year we replaced two perished valves and checked the rest, which appeared OK. Unfortunately, whether or not moving the valves to check them caused the failure, both valves have failed. The whistle last night was the first valve failing and the spare may have failed when the tyre was inflated earlier in this trip.

 

So we are in the middle of nowhere with two flat tyres and the nearest repairer 8 km away. What to do?

 

First thought is maybe we can ride there. But a wheel is too heavy. Next thought is to use the trolley we wombled a few years ago and use for transporting the waste water transfer tank. The wheel fits on but the handle is not long enough to trail behind the bike. And the rain is increasing.

 

As we contemplate a solution, two taxis drive by. Maybe we can hail the next one. Unfortunately over the next 15 minutes there is no next one.

 

Plan B: out with a black marker and we write a note “Please can you call us a taxi”. We hold that up to passing cars hoping that only English speakers will read the sign and stop. No one does until a guy in a small van stops but he does not speak English. With Ro's bit of French and some gesticulations in the direction of our flat tyres, the guy understands and calls a taxi, which will arrive in 20 minutes.

 

Around 30 minutes later Natalie, a lovely French lady with good English, arrives having had some slight difficulty finding us as we gave the road but no intersection. After loading the tyre into her boot on a plastic shower curtain we have, we set off. As we have no actual address, she follows Thomasina's instructions and we arrive at a garage which can help.

 

She explains to the man at the garage, who speaks no English, that the valve has failed and within 5 minutes he has replaced it. We explain that a second valve has also failed but as it is nearly closing time for lunch, we will return with it at 2pm. They say we can pay then which we think is very trusting of them.

 

Returning to the van, we pay Natalie 20 euro and bid her a Bon Jour. She has been delightful and we have been fortunate in her speaking very acceptable English, which she says she does rarely.

 

As it is only 11.45, there is plenty of time to change the wheel and get back to the garage by 2. We arrive as they are opening after lunch and within a five minutes we are on our way. They have charged us the princely sum of 3 euro for the valves! I fit the spare back under the van and we are back in business.

 

Opposite is a Mr Bricolage where we can buy some hardware items which we need then it is back to Chateau Villandy.

 

The day has improved considerably and there are no tourist buses in sight. How fortunate we have been to have used the first part of the day fixing wheels!

 

We buy two Chateau and Jardin tickets by 4pm. We have until 6.30 pm to look over the Chateau then until 7.30 to look over the garden. However, if we are later than 7.30 in the garden, we can let ourselves out by a gate near a church. How very civilised.

 

The Chateau was built in the mid 1500s but by 1899 was abandoned. It appealed to a Spanish man of little means who fell in love and married an American of sunstantially greater means. They purchased it and spent the rest of their lives returning it to some of its former glory, notably the garden which is now considered one of the finest in France.

 

The Chateau is impressive but we have become blasé about such opulent buildings. We feel that we have seen enough grand buildings of past times. However the garden is in a different category. It is stunning. Rather they are stunning. There are 6 or 7 different gardens, ranging from water features, to kitchen gardens, to mazes, to herb gardens and forest areas as well. We do not leave the garden until after 8 pm.

 

Back at the van, Ro prepares dinner. There is a sign prohibiting campervans staying overnight although it looks like another van is intending flouting that prohibition. We discuss returning to our stopping point of last night then decide to continue further to a campsite about 30 km away.

 

Along the way, as it is too late to check in to a campsite, we find a leafy stopping point by the river. We will continue on to the campsite tomorrow and might stay a few days.

 

Friday 28 July 2017 20 km West of Villandry, France

 

Maybe because it is so quiet, we manage to sleep in well past our usual late start. It is 11 before we begin the final 8 km to our camp site. We have a GPS coordinate but it is a bit short on digits so may not be accurate.

 

It isn't accurate and when we run out of track in a field, we abandon our search. Instead we will start back East toward Dijon where we will meet Scot and Maya Monday week.

 

As we retrace our path, Ro looks to her right and there at the end of the road is a splendid Chateau. We alter direction despite complaints from you know who and enjoy walking around the village of Rigny Usse after Ro photographs the Chateau to within an inch of its life.

 

Continuing after an enjoyable walk, we find a motorhome dump (waste actually....not the motorhome) and avail ourselves of the services before continuing on a road which takes us past our flat tyre camp spot.

 

Our next campsite is 2 hours away but by the time we call into Maccas for wifi (and coffee), it is 5.30 before we are near to it.

 

As we pass through a village, we see a lake which may have parking around it. A quick walking recce confirms a lovely spot overlooking the water. That will do us and because it is early, we have time to walk and enjoy the peacefulness around the lake.

 

Our only concern is that we have wild camped for three nights so far and our water is getting low for showers. On the other side of the lake, about 200 metres along the bank, is a recreational area with a wash basin where we can get a bucket of water. That will ensure we don't run out tonight. But we will need water before we wild camp again.

 

Saturday 29 July 2017 Rouvres les Bois , France

 

Our camp is only 13 km away, assuming the GPS coordinates are correct. In 20 minutes they are confirmed as correct as we drive into the camp site.

 

It is very farm like, with a large paddock and various treed areas and a nice swimming pool, albeit on the small side and circular.

 

We have a few repairs to do including some filling with Builders Bog on one wall. And the water pump has stopped cutting out when the water is turned off. That is a bit odd because it seems to work for a few weeks then stops working and it is not clear why.

 

But a bit of reading in the sun is first on the agenda. Later the repairs are carried out between more reading and relaxing. Later in the afternoon, it is quite warm so we visit the pool. It is not as warm as our last pool, 28, but is still pleasant.

 

The evening is pleasantly warm with a mild breeze. We have a lovely salmon dinner then settle in for a quiet night. The sound of happy campers drifts through our windows. Mostly Dutch we think.

 

Sunday 30 July 2017 Vatan , France

 

The day is warm and we spend most of the day reading, relaxing and swimming.

 

Around midday we go walking outside the campsite and discover a Carrefour only about 300 metres away from the camp. Ro had unerstood that it was around 9 km away so we are quite surprised. As we approach, we realise we have not brought any money but need some supplies. We contemplate returning to the camp to get some money, then, as an afterthought, we think it would be wise to see if they are closed for lunch. Not only have we forgotten our money but we have also forgotten it is Sunday and, in France, most shops are closed Sundays.

 

Returning, we do more of this morning's activities. We will visit Carrefour tomorrow.

 

Monday 31 July 2017 Vatan , France

 

After breakfast we walk again to Carrefour and buy a few provisions. We have been vascillating as to what to do in the next week and at this point have considered going to Giverny, Monet's town, which we enjoyed so much a few years ago. If we do that, we will visit Lidl for more provisions meaning our Carrefour shopping is minimal.

 

On returning, I do battle with the water pump again. The infernal device turns on and off as it should for a time then fails to turn off. By altering this and that, I can get it to turn off as it should but then it refuses to turn on. It is very frustrating. After two hours and numerous tests and dissembly/reassembly cycles, I admit defeat......but only for today.

 

It is cooler today than yesterday so a good day to go cycling. Carrefour is just at the outskirts of Vatan so we cycle from there into the town. It is a typical French village, somewhat delapidated with narrow winding streets. There is a lovely Hotel De Ville or town hall and a square where there is a market 7am to 1pm on Wednesdays.

 

After returning to camp, we log on to the wifi hotspot and, among other things, check

the weather for the next few days. It looks like it will warm up so we may stay a bit longer. Maybe we will go to the market Wednesday.

 

Tuesday 1 August 2017 Vatan , France

 

It rains steadily during the night. The morning is overcast and it seems unlikely that the predicted 27 will eventuate. However it stops raining and there does seem to be a break in the clouds.

 

We have been a bit concerned about the house battery which is showing low voltage on the monitor. Added to this, our new battery has sometimes sounded a bit low on starting, which seems a bit odd. To remedy this we will drive to Lidl, 22 km away, for provisions. It is not entirely surprising when we go to start that the motor will not turn over. Fortunately our neighbour has his car next to his tent and our request for a jump start is granted. It takes only a second or so to start and we are soon on our way. Later, under further investigation a loose clamp is discovered which is probably the cause of the poor starts from a new battery.

 

We drive along France's equivalent of the Gun Barrel Highway for 20 kilometers and observe four American flags. We assume this to be the French thanking the Americans for liberation during WW2. Presumably there were some fierce battles in this area, perhaps involving aircraft.

 

Our Lidl shopping is good as usual. However the French casual way is demonstrated when a line of eight or nine customers is at the only open register while the cashier sorts labels on a counter nearby! Then, as we exit with our trolley, a car enters the carpark, drives across our path then stops immediately in front of us to let out his passenger. We have to divert behind him. We have often observed that the French way seems to be Number 1 First.

 

Returning to the camp we have lunch of fresh bread, cheese, tomato, avocado and ham. Very nice!

 

After lunch, I attack the pump again and finally get it working properly. How long it stays that way remains to be seen.

 

More reading and a swim and the day is approaching closure. What a life.

 

Wednesday 2 August 2017 Vatan , France

 

Today is expected to be hot and the sky is perfectly clear. After breakfast we ride to the town market, me hopeful of getting some sandpaper.

 

It is a typical town market with lots of food and clothing but no hardware. There are trucks with clothing which extend by various means to make quite large stalls. They presumably travel from market to market on a daily basis. The clothing is quite expensive.

 

By lunch we cycle back to our camp and spend the remainder of the day swimming and reading.

 

Our plan to revisit Giverney has evaporated but we are still contemplating returning to Amboise to see an exhibition of Da Vinci's machines. We will see what tomorrow is like. If coolish, we will probably leave. We are really marking time until next Monday when we meet Scot and Maya at 6.45 in Dijon.

 

Thursday 3 August 2017 Vatan , France

 

It seems a bit cooler this morning so a good day to travel, albeit only 1 ½ hours to Amboise.

 

After the usual getting started chores and an internet session we are away. We recognise quite a few sights along the way as this is the route we took coming here. Revisiting Amboise retraces about 80 kilometers but we have time to spare and we are ready to move on.

 

Along the way we fill with diesel and stop for morning tea, having had a gendarmes car following us for 5 kilometers..... or so it seemed. Road signs slow us to 50 on some S bends and they seem to be mandatory rather than our advisory signs. Generally vehicles seem to slow to around 60 or so but I don't know whether this is illegal. The sign would suggest so and thus it is with concern that I see the police car when I am over the limit. He remains close on my tail which may mean he is watching or that he is impatient for me to go at a reasonable speed rather than the signed speed. When we turn off, he continues so all is good.

 

We reach Amboise around 12 and see a Lidl. We can buy fresh bread there and a few other things. We really like their freshly baked Ciabattas for lunch and there is also some English cheese and an Australian Chardonnay which we like. When in France, we like to sample the local cuisine.

 

Parking where we did nearly a week ago we have lunch by the river then cycle to the residence where Leonardo's spent the last three years of his life under the patronage of Francois I. Francios provided him shelter and an income plus money for his experiments and in return only asked for his presence daily to discuss matters of interest. He was quite taken by Leonardo which says something for Francois in regognising Leonardo's genius.

 

The chateau is about 2 kilometer ride away but it is flat down to the turnoff. Once off the main street, the road narrows but is full of people mainly at eating establishments. The narrow road and starts to climb but not excessively. There is a steady stream of people winding its way up to Chateua du Clos Luce. After perhaps 800 metres we get to the top of the hill and the entrance gate is 30 metres down the other side.

 

By now it is quite warm and the sun is shining from a cloudless sky. Not good weather for Ro who laps up any passing breeze. Unfortunately we are back onto the tourist route so we queue to buy tickets.

 

A narrow spiral staircase leads to a covered walkway then into Leonardo's bedroom. It is large but sparcely furnished. There are paintings by his students and assorted artifacts of his time, which was 1516 to 1519.

 

We move slowly through the chateau with the throng. After 5 or 6 rooms, we descend to a basement where models of some of his many machines are showcased. There is a room of war machines such as catapults, cannon and the like then another of civil machines such as bridges, boats and pumping systems then another of various gear systems and another of scientific instruments. One is struck by his breadth of knowledge and ingenuity. There is also a mock up of his work studio where he painted, designed and built models.

 

There is an extensive garden where 20 of his machines are reproduced in large models. Apart from various lifting machines, flying machines (which mostly didn't) and war machines there was a lake where one could try out one of his paddle wheel boats. They looked quite authentic apart from the modern clothes and possibly the orange bouyancy vests which joy riders have to wear. Maybe the bouyancy vests are appropriate as Leonardo invented the first life ring, which design is still used today. There are also 2 metre diameter transparent disks of his paintings and drawings which hang from the trees and create ghost like apparitions under the low sun.

 

It is 6.45 when we leave the gardens. It is an easy cycle back to the van where we have some refreshments before setting off toward Dijon, 5 hours away. We have agreed we will drive until 8.30 as dinner any later would upset sleeping.

 

As 8.30 approaches, we start looking for an overnight place to stop. Fortunately, as we pass through a small village and over a river, there is an aire, a parking place intended for motor homes. There are three or four others there but there is plenty of room. Setting up only takes a few minutes then Ro cooks dinner and we are in bed by 11. The squeeling of delighted children stops by 11.15 and we can go to sleep.

 

Friday 4 August 2017 Somewhere 1 ½ hours east of Amboise , France

 

We have a four hour trip to our next camp site below Dijon. We expect to stay there until Monday when we will drive to Dijon to pick up Scot and Maya.

 

It is the usual drive with the odd French slight-of-hand slipped in. Around one roundabout, of which there are hundreds, our exit has a sign “Barre 10 km” and half a barricade. There is no “Deviation” or detour sign so we loop the roundabout then decide we will chance it and squeeze past the barricade. We find no barrier to our progress until we get to the next roundabout where another “Barre” sign and ¼ of a barricade blocks our exit. We ignore it and continue to the next roundabout where another lone “Barre” sign sits forlornly on our exit. After 20 km we have seen nothing but then see another “Barre” sign with a “Deviation” direction. We will follow the Deviation signs although from experience we know they may peter out. On this occasion they don't and although our trip is 20 or so kilometers longer, we eventually get back on track.

 

Along the way we see some GPL or LPG so fill our gas tank. A full tank will see out Scot and Maya's travels of three weeks. This time I tighten the adaptor and we do indeed get a full tank.

 

Stops along the way erode our arrival time so that by 3 we are 10 km from our camp. But these 10 km are filled with interesting sights. France has an extensive canal system but, unlike England's narrow canals, these are small rivers. As we travel downhill, we pass perhaps 15 locks which have large holding ponds associated with each. We see large river craft moored at various points, much larger than the English canal longboats.

 

Three kilometers from our camp site we pass over the canal and through the delightful town of St Berain-sur- Dheune. We should go back to explore that further.

 

Our campsite is as per its GPS coordinates and is lovely. We arrive around 4.30 pm but there is some disagreement between club members as to where we can park so it is 5 before we are set up. It is still hot so we have a swim before a late dinner.

 

Saturday 5 August 2017 St-Berain-sur-Dheune, France

 

Not so warm today but pleasant none the less. We plan reading plus a few van improvements including Ro blackening the bumper and me removing some old carpet from the boxes behind the cab seats. They require cleaning with a wire brush on the grinder then painting. We have got power on this site, which we usually don't use. However, our fridge is not as cold as it should be and 240 volts helps cool it. Furthermore, although we can run the grinder from the car inverter, the grinder lacks power and the inverter cuts out after 5 or 10 minutes so the 240 volts is a good opportunity to get the job done. There is also a small fold out table I want to make to increase bench space in the galley. That job has been waiting on a saw of some description and we purchased a hacksaw yesterday.

 

So between reading and our jobs, the day passes. We have tomorrow to fill then Monday we go to Dijon.

 

Sunday 6 August 2017 St-Berain-sur-Dheune, France

 

Another lazy day reading relaxing and swimming. Toward dusk we go for a walk outside the camp site but the track quickly degrades into an impassable one so we return.

 

I do manage to make a folding table which will help with logistics when using the kitchen. Any extra space when living in such a confined space is valued. And Ro blackent the bumper which improves the look of the van. It now looks better than new.

 

Monday 7 August 2017 St-Berain-sur-Dheune, France

 

We need to leave after lunch for the drive to Dijon. But this morning I want to see if I can adjust the fridge gas burner. It is burning rather richly so I need to clean out the air induction parts. Unfortunately, in the process, I poke the drill in too far and destroy the nozzle. Not what I wanted to do. No chance of getting a new burner so either we use 12 volt when travelling and 240 volt each night or I try to make a gas jet. Once again it is a bit of “today we will make a Ferrari out of this old aluminium can” but the Ferrari is a gas jet. The hole in the jet is perhaps 0.2 of a millimeter and I was rather remiss in not packing my .2 mm drills. Eventually a sewing needle does the job and the fridge is working again, albeit running rather richly. At least it works.

 

We leave by 3 and drive along the usual lovely backroads. We intend to call by a campsite 13 km from Dijon to see whether we want to return after picking up Scot and Maya. Unfortunately we come up against the old Rour Barre so we abaondon that idea and instread head for a camp in Dijon.

 

Arriving about 5, we queue up and decide to check in now as later it may be full. The plot is quite large and we have some refreshments until 6.30 when we drive the 1.5 km to the station. We are not prepared for how big the rail area is. And there is no obvious entrance.

 

So our problem is how to locate Scot and Maya. The perimeter of the rail yard is 3 or 4 kilometers. On one side is an inauspicious exit in a long wall and on the other side, 1.5 km away, is a car park entrance. Niether seems the logical point for passengers on foot to exit.

 

On the car park side is a one minute pickup area so I park there and stay with the van while Ro goes looking for them. After 20 minutes, she finally emerges with them, having found them near to the platform into which their TGV had arrived ten minutes late. Within 10 minutes we are back at the camp site and ready to set up.

 

Scot and Maya don't want pizza, the only offering at the camp from a mobile wood fired pizza van so walk further afield. We have bits and pieces in the van. It is a very warm night so cooking is not appealing. After our snacks, I feel I would like a pizza so we walk 150 metres to the van where Scot and Maya are waiting for theirs, having found nowhere else within walking distance.

 

We eat eminently forgettable pizza on the grass next to the van and chat until dark. Now to organise sleeping arrangements for four in a van 2 metres by 4.5.

 

The solution is to make a narrow double bed using the dinette table and we will sleep where we always do. Logistics are important, so while Scot and Maya go to the shower block we set up the beds. We then shower while they ensconse themselves in their bed. It all works out OK and we all sleep satisfactorily.

 

 

Tuesday 8 August 2017 Dijon, France

 

Today we will explore the Burgundy wine trail. Our route takes us through the most delightful villages we have come across in France, perhaps with the exception of Piriac-sur-mer which we visited some years ago.

 

Scot and Maya are keen to try the wines on offer in the region so we visit 3 or 4 Caves, tasting rooms often attached to large cellars. One we visit offers an unguided tour through the wine production area then into the 80 metre long cellar where there are hundreds of oak barrels full of maturing wines. Afterward we taste two red and two white wines explained by a rather pomoous Frenchman with quite a good grasp of English. We pay 5 euro to taste the wines but none appeals sufficiently to buy.

 

When I say “we” with respect to tasting, that is not strictly correct. Scot is driving so he does not taste wines other than the odd sip. He has three days with me as a tutor to get used to driving the van along these narrow roads. He gets a rapid lesson in wall hugging when a large truck approaches in a very nappro laneway. Fortunately the truck drivers know their dimensions well so all we had to do was almost scrape our mirror on the wall and the truck inched by.

 

During the afternoon we wind our way toward Beaune via beautiful villages and the odd tasting cave, eventually ending up at Camping Municipal which is quite acceptable and will do for tonight.

 

We set up then go for a walk into Beaune which is a walled city and very evocative. After exploring for 40 minutes, we come across a supermarket where we can buy some meat to barbeque back at the camp.

 

By the time we arrive back, we are ready to have dinner. Scot builds a fire while I attack the dam waterpump which is being obstreperous again. He cooks some staek and hamburgers on what I hear later is a hand sized fire. Never-the-less he cooks it well and we have salad, potatoes and a zuccini salad and the meat on a picnic table near the barbeque.

 

Later it is time to prepare for our night's sleep. So while we use our well oiled routine to make the beds, Scot and Maya go to the shower block to remove theirs.

 

Another restful night is had by some. Ro and I know that because we were awake observing them sleeping. Maybe we are anticipating our return to Oz but for whatever reason, neigher of us gets a full night's sleep.

 

Wednesday 9 August 2017 Beaune, France

 

I refuse to be beaten by a crummy pump so while Scot and Maya go riding back to Beaune, I fiddle a bit more. We need to vacate by 12 when S&M will be back from their ride. By 11.30, the pump has won.....this round. We are just waiting for them when the next occupant of the site arrives. We say we will be gone in five minutes. He is actually early as checkin is 2pm and checkout 12.

 

S&M turn up at 11.55 and we pack away the bikes to move on. But first, I want to give Scot a lesson in waste dumping. Naturally he is champing at the bit to try it himself. We move close to the dump point and I instruct Scot. The most important part is the lid which can sometimes hold some ill smelling liquid. Unfortunately it does and a bit splashes on Scot. This is most definitely a baptism of fire! But a good lesson in handling with care. We are on our way a short time later, Scot having used copious water to wash off.

 

We go via a Carrfour to buy some cheese and a 5mm drill bit; not for the same purpose then continue on the wine trail.

 

We stop at 4 or 5 villages, some with wine caves. This is certainly a most picturesque area of France and the number of vines under viticulture is astounding. We have never seen such vast areas of vines. Furthermore, many areas have stone walls surrounding bigger or smaller areas of vines which, we understand, affects the way the vines develop.

 

Our final village is Santenay where, while Scot and Maya sample some wines, we walk through the square where there is a large fountain then down some of the town streets, which are wider than in some other villages. As we walk, various farm equipment passes, which we think is rather nice.

 

By 5 we are ready to head for our camp site in Cluny, about 65 km away. From there it is 22 km to the Macon train station where we leave S & M for home.

 

The camp site is open and grassy and there is a barbeque nearby where Scot cooks some sausages which we eat with salads and potatoes and some French wine.

 

It starts to get dark about 9.30. Our last night together before S & M have some space.

 

Thursday 10 August 2017 Cluny , France

 

After our final bedding packup and breakfast, S & M go walking into the town while we start packing, which does not take long. It would have taken considerably shorter time had we only brought that which we wore. But it is all the other bits and pieces we have bought which take up the room. There is a 10 meter high pressure hose which was too cheap to pass up. Likewise some sanding pads and a wall scraper plus some plaster tools. What can you do? The prices are better here. But it is a long way to come for some plaster tools.

 

We are supposed to exit the camp site by 12 noon and we are 15 minutes late. The only problem is that boom gate code no longer works. Big brother is watching. Ro goes to reception and says that we can't open the boom gate. “It is after 12 noon” the reception guy says. “So how do we get out” asks Ro. “I open the gate” says the guy, content that we are aware that we did not leave by the appointed time.

 

Scot and Maya meet us outside where we all climb aboard and head for Macon via a mountain road which takes us through more villages. Scot is now driving and getting used to the narrow roads and village laneways.

 

We reach Macon around 1.30 and find a river to park by for our last lunch of baguettes, cheese, tomato, jambon (ham) and avocado. By 2.15 we are ready to leave for the station, 5 or 10 minutes away.

 

We are old hands at French trains now so go to the nearest screen to find out from which platform our train leaves. Unfortunately our 3.57 train is not listed. Are we at the correct station? We hope so because the other is 3 km away. Asking at Information we are casually informed the train leaves tomorrow. Bit of a problem that. It seems that there is track maintenance so the train has been cancelled. But we need to get to CDG for an 11.30 flight. Oh. There is a train to Dijon in 15 minutes and a TGV to CDG from there. We need to get some tickets for those trains.

 

At the ticket counter, one girl speaks a little English. We explain that the train has been cancelled and that information said we could go to Dijon and get a TGV there. That is correct. But the TGV terminates at Gare du Lyon. We would have to make our way to CDG from there. Will she give us tickets for that trip. No. But it is not our fault that the train has been cancelled. But the new tickets are more expensive so we are getting a good deal. But it costs us more because you have cancelled your train! Oh. It is cancelled! So you can have tickets one hour later on the TER and TGV which go to CDG. Mutter mutter. They will be fine thank you.

 

One hour later we are on the TER to Lyon where we then get the TGV to CDG. It looks like we will get our flight afterall.

 

The TGV will arrive at the next platform so it is down some stairs and up some others and within 10 minutes we are on our way to CDG. On reaching the airport it is plain sailing other than through the automated checkin machine where we need help.

 

 

 

Apart from a 45 minute queue to clear customs because only 3 of the 10 gates are staffed (and it is not even lunch time) , the flight to Hong Kong is uneventful if somewhat tiring.

 

 

 

Friday 11 August 2017 Hong Kong Airport, Hong Kong

 

 

 

We are glad to exit into the Hong Kong terminal. We have seat allocation for our next leg so all that remains is a 3 kilometer hike in the terminal to gate lounge 68 where we expect to board in 40 minutes or so. .

 

 

 

Hong Kong International is built into the bay on a huge sqaure of reclaimed land. Our gate lounge is the last one before the runways and bay beyond. As we look out over the runways, numerous ships are anchored another kilometer beyond the runway which runs transverse to our viewing point. It is a most unusual sight.

 

 

 

Our flight is due to depart at 7.10pm from the amended gate 70, but just as we are about to board at 6.30, there is a technical problem announced which will delay the flight by 35 minutes. About 70 percent have boarded so our not boarding means we wait outside the aircraft, which suits us. In Paris there was a delay on the tarmac and it became quite stuffy in the aircraft. It is hotter here so would have been worse. Sometimes you can be lucky.

 

 

 

Eventually they decide to move us to another plane at gate 69 and we reboard at 9 pm. Once finally underway, the flight is reasonably comfortable, given that we are very tired.

 

 

 

Saturday 12 August 2017 Tullamarine , Australia

 

 

 

The welcome sight of Tullamarine appears around 9am. It is good to be on home soil and hearing accents which we don't have to strain to understand. One such accent is my sister who has kindly offered to pick us up. Now we know we really are home.