Obernai and Strasbourg

After recommendations from Meg and Paul ( our UK pals from Oberstdorf) we have stopped at Obernai. This is a beautiful old town with cobbled streets and historic half timbered houses. The town is on the Alsace wine route with views over the Vosages. It is festival time here so street entertainment, markets etc are everywhere.

Saturday we took the train to Strasbourg - the capital of Europe. It seemed every street had a market and we opted to take the river cruise to see the sights from an airconditioned boat rather than fight the crowds. We were very impressed with the old town and with the new European Parliament and Council of Europe buildings. We had a splendid local lunch sitting at a table in the square with the tannery building (the most photographed building in the city).
While the train trip home was extremely hot we have to say the trains were new, clean and ran on time, which makes planning these days out so easy.

Mulhouse

We've celebrated 100 days since leaving the UK in Mulhouse - Eastern France. We've been here 2 days and spent them at the French auto and train museums. Both were impressive especially the cars. Two French brothers started the car collection and it has every type of Bugatti as well as many others. I was taken with the Rolls and could imagine my grandfather, who was a chaffeur, driving them back in the early 1900's.









A bonus at the camp site has been wireless internet in the van. Kate is in Canada this week and we have been able to Skype each other daily. She has had a great time whale watching off Vancouver and riding on cable cars etc in Whistler. Yesterday she rode on the flying foxes across the valleys - the last leg upside down! Next week she will celebrate 9 years post transplant.

A Walk in the Black Forest

We stayed at Staufen which is situated on the edge of the Black Forest about 50 klm north of the Swiss border. The heatwave in central Europe has followed us here and the days have been very hot. Our first day was spent in the local pool and a quick walk into town to see the old buildings and cobbled streets.

Day 2 we walked up the valley to the next village. While waiting for a train back we had a quick lunch in the local restuarant. I thought I had ordered a green salad but it turned out to be a shredded spam salad - thank goodness Stephen's schnitzel was enough for two. Then we missed the train back and had to walk!

Yesterday, our last day, we went on a guided walk through the forest. We ended up at a mountain chalet for a BBQ lunch with plenty of beer followed by some good old german music.

Switzerland photos

Switzerland

We stayed 5 nights in Oberstdorf and drove to Switzerland on Tuesday 18th July. We were headed for Interlaken but needed an overnight stop on the way. We try not to drive more than 4 or 5 hours on a moving day - its too hot in the afternoons and we are in no hurry.
We found a campsite at Walenstadt, just over the Swiss border from Liechtenstein. The site was on the edge of a lake and walking distance from town but that is really all that can be said for this stop. Definitely just somewhere to break the journey so we only stayed one night.

At Interlaken we opted to stay at one of the town sites and are so pleased we did. The camping fee includes all local buses so we are able to get about quite well. The big attractions here are the Eiger and Jungfrau which are still covered in snow and are easily seen from our camp site. There are numerous trains and cable cars that run between the towns. We have opted not to use the cable cars and have only purchased day tickets on the trains.

Our first day saw us taking the train to Grindewald and walking to Bort - just a 6k hike which we thought would be easy. It was certainly signposted as an easy wegg (walk). Well we nearly did not make it, the walk was so steep and the day so hot it nearly defeated us. The view however just kept getting better and spurred us on, the photo shows just a few of the glaciers that surrounded us. The reward at the top was an excellent lunch and then we were going to hire scooters to come down but having seen how steep it was we walked down. We were so pleased when the evening thunderstorms rolled in and finally cooled us down.

Our second day was more leisurely. This time a train to Lauterbrunnen and a walk up the valley to see the numerous waterfalls. We then took a tour of the Trummelbach falls where it is possible to see the only accessible underground glacial waterfalls in Europe. They were spectacular, the noise deafening and Jane's fear of heights seriously challenged.

On Saturday we browsed the shops in Interlaken and then walked by the lake. We thought Switzerland was expensive, the trains and buses ran to the minute but the people were not as friendly as we found elsewhere. We left on Sunday 23rd July and headed for the Black Forest in Germany.

Oberstdorf

Some 25 years ago we came as a family to Oberstdorf in Southern Germany. We left the UK with Kate quite sick but after 2 weeks in the clear mountain air she was hiking all day with no problems. We are pleased to say the air is still as clear, the walking trails are still here and well marked and the town has grown such that we do not recognise it.
We plan about 4 days here now we have found a walking map with the trails well marked so that we know what we are trying to attempt when we set out each day. Yesterday, day one, we chose a 20k hike up a gentle valley. Even after all the walking we have done over the last few months 20k seems to be our comfortable limit for one day. We find we are exhausted at the end but can recover enough to set off again the next day. Further than this and we need more recovery time.
All this exercise means that we seem to eat constantly. This is great now but will need some serious will power after the trip to get back to normal. Yesterday we had to walk back through town to the camp site and passed a great fruit shop. I wanted to buy it all but settled for a punnet of the biggest raspberries that tasted as if they had just been picked. Today I hope they have blackcurrants. This will be my reward if we manage today's hike, not so far but more of a climb.

Imst

Imst was chosen as a stopping point on our way from Salzburg to Oberstdorf (southern Germany). We planned just an overnight as the second leg of this journey looks quite difficult through the mountain passes.

We found however that this little town has some lovely walks and extended our stay. The walk we chose was called Rosengartenschlucht and turned out to be absolutely spectacular but quite a challenge. We climbed up the gorge, crossing back and forth over the raging torrent using small bridges. The hike up took about 2 hours arriving eventually at the ski fields where we indulged in apple struddle and apricot cake at the local restaurant. The walk down thankfully took an easier route through the forests. We arrived back at the camp site shattered but think this walk will be remembered a one of the best this trip.

Campsites

We have read comments from other campers on which campsite to choose. We have decided that there a few features that make a site good or not so good for us.
1. The size of the pitch and whether it is marked or not. A marked site does not guarantee our neighbours are not too close but it does help.
2. The bathrooms. We are self sufficient in the van but have chosen not to use our shower as the bathroom is small (read very tiny). In the eleven weeks we have been travelling I can think of only 2 occasions when we decided a good wash in the van was preferable to the showers provided.
3. A level pitch. We purchased wedges for 2 wheels so we can try and level out the van but while this sometimes solves the problem a distinct lean becomes quite tiring after a few days. A bit like being on the same tack on the boat for a few days.
4. Access to town. Sites that are within walking distance of town or have frequent public transport are a must for those of us with campervans. Caravaners can get in their cars and drive miles but once our home is parked we like to leave it there until our next move.
5.. Price. We set a budget at $50 per night before we started and have managed to average only $30 to date but we have just hit high season so expect that to increase. The most expensive site to date was at Lake Garda where the cost per night was $80 before discounts and our lowest $12 at the first site we visited in France.
6. The clincher, the trees we can park under to provide shade. My favourite sites have fruit trees and we have had our fair share of great pitches. Apples in the Loire, olives groves in Florence, Assisi and Sorrento, orange groves in Pompeii, red currant bushes in Vienna and now plums in Imst. What more can we ask for? I feel truly inspired to go home and tackle my garden.
Having said all of the above if we pull into a site, there is space and our first instincts are that it seems OK we stay at least one night.

Salzburg

We spent 2 nights at Salzburg giving us one full day to visit the city. The campsite was only 4k from town but required a bus and
trolleybus ride which of course always adds to the experience.

We thought the old city centre was very attractive and spent time taking photos of Mozart's birthplace and other attractions before climbing the ramparts to visit the fortress that dominates the skyline.
The evening was pleasantly spent with Lisa and Jarred who arrived from Hallstatt a day behind us. They are now moving north east while we head almost directly west. We will miss them.

Hallstatt 2

At the campsite we met a couple from NZ, John and Bronwyn, who were watching the commentary of NZ thrashing Aus in the rugby on the internet. Later in the day an Aus couple from Perth arrived who we had met before in Sorrento. While we had spent time in Italy and Slovenia Lisa and Jarred had been to Croatia and just happened to stop at Hallstatt at the same time as us. How's that for a coincidence? We all had a few drinks, as you do.....


Two more photos from the salt mines (see below)

Hallstatt

Someone along our travels told us Hallstatt was the prettiest place they visited and we would have to agree. A tiny village in Austria perched on the edge of a lake with mountains all around. The village itself is small, with many wooden buildings and all beautifully decorated and covered in colourful window boxes. Real postcard stuff.

On our first day here we went up the mountain by furnicular railway to the oldest salt mine in the world. The tour lastest about an hour, was very interesting and broke every safety rule ever written in Australia! We had to wear special suits that they provide, and we started by walking 350 meters down a tunnel into the mountain. Inside, we got to slide down the miners' slides between levels, and at the end they brought us out on the miners' train. Most enjoyable.
There is also a trip to an ice cave but since that requires at least 2 trips in a cable car we are giving it a miss. Stephen is keen to do most things but cable cars are definitely not his favourite. After the salt mine we walked down the mountain while everyone else travelled down in style! Took us 40 minutes with knees like jelly at the end.

The Danube Cycle Path

A few of our readers asked us to check out the Danube Cycle Path. Well, we can confirm its here!
The path runs along the side of the Danube for 230 miles from Passau (Germany) to Vienna. We stayed a few nights near Melk, and it seems by chance this is the pretty bit of the Danube. We hired bikes and spent a few hours on the path, cycling about 15 klms and back again.
The cycling was easy on flat paths, the seats were hard on our softer parts!

Melk on the Danube

What a difference a day makes!
Sunday was our last day in Vienna. In the morning we walked down to the Danube and along the towpath then we took the long route back to the campsite through the Vienna woods. What was supposed to be a short stroll turned out to be another spectacular marathon.
In the afternoon we went back to the city for one last look and spent time at the Belvedere palace. Unfortunately it is being renovated so the gardens etc were not in the best of condition.
Monday we woke to our more familiar blue skies but exhausted, 3 days of city walking and a couple of late nights had taken their toll. We decided to make just a short way along the Danube and camped in a small village on the banks of the river opposite the town of Melk. From the van window we have an uninterrupted view of the Danube (actually it is about 20 feet away) and the monastry at Melk. We have spent most of the day with our feet up and noses in books. We did venture as far as the tourist information booth and are now armed with info on hire bikes, river cruises and the local transport options.
Tomorrow we will get back to the serious business of not wasting a minute but for today it was so nice to take it easy.

Vienna

We reluctantly left Slovenia after 2 final days in the high 30's. Fortunately at night their version of a southerly buster arrived about 10.30 pm,lasted 10 minutes but dropped the temperature enough that we could sleep.
We crossed the border into Austria and within half an hour the skies opened. So much so that we had to pull off the motorway while the storm passed.
Arriving in Vienna mid afternoon we have camped 4k from the city, an easy train ride to the Ring. The weather unfortunately has been grey, no other word to describe it. While we have enjoyed being cool the photos will not do justice to the architecture in the city.
On our first day we focused on the Ring and a tour of the opera house. We had no idea the stage area was so big. In the evening there was a free concert at the summer palace so we joined many others for what should have been a great evening. Unfortunately after half an hour the weather beat us all.
On our second day we visited the markets, the inner ring and also managed to be at the Hoher Market clock for the 12 noon display.
Our biggest excitement has been news that Kate is coming to Europe for work and we will be able to meet up with her in the UK and enjoy a very quick visit with Stephen's Mum and my family.
Our biggest disappointment is that England as well as Australia are now out of the World Cup. We have enjoyed many evenings in bars watching matches with some great characters.