German Sausage!

Biking round Lake Bodensee

Set off in the morning on a Bike ride to Lindau -13 km around the lake. Lindau turned out to be a lovely little port town on an 'island' - road leading to it with painted houses and small streets.

Came back from our bike ride to find lots of vans had left the site and we were able to get a spot right by the bar (and Wifi!) with lots of space so decided to stay another day.

Dave loses his Naturist beach virginity!!

M: I'm afraid I don't have a photo of the actual event but this is the beach! Pebbly so a bit painful on your bits!!

We set off down to the so called beach( by the side of the lake) -as we came thru the trees we noticed everyone was naked! Dave said "In for a penny in for a pound" as by this time it was too late to sunbathe in cozzies so off we stripped - we had the whitest bums on the beach - trying to get in the water on pebbles as the whole beach is looking at you was a challenge!! Dave just kept standing up doing his naturist stance - thrust forward with hands on hips! No point doing a pic now to show you as not the same with clothes on :)

How to have a conversation about your holiday and what you do at home with your bits hanging out and not laughing?!!!

Naked Man: What do you do?

D: I was an electrician..................hmmmmmm...(all he can think of is German sausage!)

That's enough of that......On to Freiburg (with clothes back on) - reached Titisee - another lake - Dave didn't like the sound of the lake and got scared so we didn't stop - even though he loves seeing tits he didn't fancy getting his bits out again!

Swiss Pit Stop

Decided to pop into Switzerland as it was on the way and someone had told us Schaffhausen was a nice city to visit - we got there a bit late in the day though and just saw the Rhine river and some of the city and not over impressed so headed on to Freiburg.  Well expensive in Swiss too and got our change in Swiss Francs that we can't spend anywhere else! We did find some wine in a shop that Dave was really impressed with though.

ACDC wine - only thing we found any good in Switzerland!! But way too expensive to buy any!!

Freiburg - We're here!

Turned up late at a site and the Gestapo at the gate said "I zee eef I wil fits zee in - we hav found a small place in zee kindergarten"

D: "Fuck Mogs - how am I gonna get in here?!"  Or get out?!"

Gestapo had to move all the kids out while Dave drove in - We are in a Kids playground now - squeezed in but we decided we quite like it as we have our own decking area. After a while the kids stopped hanging around - tidy!

Come to Ours - say Ulli and Rita

Our friends have invited us to stay!

so off we went at top speed to their house in Merzhausen on the outskirts of Freiburg......Freiburg tales and more German sausage to follow!!!

I am German!

Route from Nice to Maisfhofen, Austria

Just realised we haven't put on a map since being in Nice months ago so here are the maps of our route to Austria. You need to click on them to enlarge them and see the route better.
 

 

Nice - Calvi, Corsica

Calvi - Bonifacio

Bonifacio - Olbia, Sardinia

Sardinia - Rome

 

Rome - Siena

Siena - Lake Garda

Lake Garda - Venice

 

Venice - Postojna, Slovenia

Postojna - Lake Bled

Lake Bled - Malta, Austria

Malta - Obervellach

Obervellach - Maishofen (via the Grossglockner Alpine Pass)

Maishofen, Stopover by Another Lake and More Mountains

Arrived at a site on the way to crossing through the Alps and set up stuff – Dave started chatting to the guys next door ‘Hello are you on holiday?

Answer – ‘I am German’

D: OK

End!!

Very chilled stopover site – very very hot – although we know UK has a heatwave now!
Also treated ourselves to a lovely meal in the campsite restaurant – very Austrian – schnitzels and stuff – we thought they were sausages – apparently not! Meat choppy things

We normally live on noodles or cheese and ham so this was a treat!!

And fab ice cream for D !!

The roads through Austria at this time of year are full of wooden houses with balconies covered in coloured flowers – really pretty – with the mountains and hills in the background. M tried to take pictures as we were driving but it was quite hard so this is the best we got!

There were houses with so many more flowers than this but didn't get a pic! But gives you an idea...

All the villages are really clean with grass cut so close it looks like Wimbledon – even on the slopes!

Site was a bit expensive so time to move on again to the land of the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Castle…..

Road out of the Alps - the mountains by the road are HUGE!

Shitty Shitty Bang Bang!!

Stayed on yet another site by a lake

 

This was supposed to be one of Dave’s highlights on our tour – to see the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Castle from the film in Germany – we stayed at a site on the lake just opposite and planned a really good day out cycling round the lake to see the Castle and splash out on a ticket to look inside.

Neuschwanstein Castle (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Castle)

 

Hohenschwangau Castle next to the one above! (nothing to do with Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!)

 

 

 

Cycled 6 miles round the lake and got there about 11 am – sooo busy and commercialised - queued for an hour just to get a ticket to go in the Castle – got to the paying bit to be told we couldn’t go in till 6pm that evening for the next available tour!! Shit – we’d queued for ages and this was the one thing we wanted to see so we thought sod it we’ll wait.

There was no mention anywhere of the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang film – are we at the right castle? Or maybe it’s just an English thing?!!  Dave had the song on his phone and kept playing it but no-one was impressed or understood! ~We sung along tho – “O you pretty chitty bang bang pretty chitty bang bang we love you!!!!” Our UK followers will know this song – others may not! We have since found out it WAS the right castle and was the inspiration for the Walt Disney Castle in America.

It was 30 degrees and well sunny when we left on our bikes in shorts and t shirts but 4 hours later the thunderstorm arrived!! And lightening and cats and dogs and door step (stair rods?!) rainy things and the heavens opened up. But that’s ok we thought we’ll leave bikes at office and catch the shuttle bus up to the top. Got on bus and when we got to the top nobody would get out coz the rain was so hard and we couldn’t get out past people – but the next bus load were waiting and decided to get in – all Japanese or Americans pushing in – the bus driver panicked and shut the doors with twice as many people in it and he went back down the hill with us still on the bus! So we missed our slot for the tour of the Castle! Bugger – D really wanted to see the Castle and was seeing if it would go back up again – M had had enough and headed out the bus for the nearest bar avoiding the floods down the road!

 

 

Got our tour tickets but didn't get in!!

 

We think it’s time to move on – if it rains we move….

And to top it all D’s lost all his channels on the satellite so not even German porn and we’re in Germany now!

The Only Green Van on the Estate!

Off from the Castle and heading for another lake on the road to Freiburg where our friends Ulli and Rita live.

Lake Bodensee

 

 

 

We have found ourselves in the equivalent of Bude in the height of the summer with everyone arriving to get a piece of the ‘sea’ in Germany – we are at the largest lake in the country which is their ‘beach’. We found a little spot on this site – it’s not a campsite but a motorhome site and took us half an hour to work out how to get our ticket into the place! We have luckily found a really nice guy who has told us how things work here - Mr Oracle! - and have found free Wifi in the bar – ideal!

 

 

Compact and Beejuueeee!!

We can only stay in this part of the site till 8pm tomorrow then everyone will be fighting for spots the other side of the barrier! We are not sure why they are shutting half the site but we are English and will be out throwing our towels (or camping chairs) at 5 am to try and get a pitch!! Either that or we’ll wild camp just round the lake !

It looks a lovely spot though and we want to spend a day or 2 here and explore on the bikes.

Brakes on Fire!!

Grossglockner High Alpine Road

We did a detour off the motorways and decided to go along the most stunning Alpine road in Europe by the Grossglockner mountain – Austria’s highest mountain – 3798m up in the air – we are up in the snow and clouds but still really hot!

Up in the sky!

A lovely Dutch couple we met at our last site had said it was the highlight of their trip so we were really looking forward to it. Luckily it was a fab day with bright skies when we said bye to Henk and Gaby.  Off to the snow!!

The road is in the Hohe Tauern National Park and well worth seeing if anyone is in that area. Gaby had told us they have Marmots there – animals in the mountains – I think her German accent made Mogs think they were woolly mammoths from the Ice Age!! We saw a few at the highest point but they were like little racoony things and quite small but cute!

We walked to the Glacier – it was weird - some parts were like being on the moon! And it was so hot even that high up!!

Then it was time to go even further up (AaaHHHH says Mogs) – there was even a lake high up in the mountains

  

Vannie in the Snow

Time for a Snowball Fight in July :)

On top of the Alps!!

Then time to head back down the mountains - how cool is this road?!! We even saw people cycling from the bottom right up to the highest point - impressed!

Dave wants his bike for this road!!

Down the windiest steepest road ever and Vannie started smoking!! There were signs everywhere to check your brakes! SHIT we better stop! As we pulled in the van wouldn’t stop – Mogs panicking! Stopped just on the gravel and we got out to find smoke coming out of both front wheels – SCARY!! Not sure a rescue van would get out here! Better have a wine and beer stop to let the brakes cool down! M is now in major panic mode having already been scared of the road and worried the brakes may now fail!!!

Stop by a waterfall for the brakes to cool!

Off again!

30 mins later and we’re off and stopping every now and then to check brakes – made it to the bottom – PHEW!

Awesome road though, breath-taking scenery and worth the worry (for Mogs) and scary driving!

We are on a site with the quickest Wifi ever so have been able to upload 3 videos.

Video of the road down that burnt the brakes!

On top of the Alps!

Mogs trying to video the scary road!

Down from the mountains and a couple of rums to steady our nerves and we're off again through Austria!!

Austria - We're in the Alps!

Turned the corner and we've arrived at the Alps - real big fuck off Mountains!! ....

Stopped at a campsite and in the evening all the kids came out with these lanterns and a hurdy gurdy guy in leiderhosen and braces with an accordion thing started playing Austrian music and leading them round the site... so we followed..... and followed..... out the site....and followed

3 miles later we came back to the site not knowing what it was all about - and still don't - but it was funny!  All the girls looked like little Heidi's with blonde pigtails!

We're finding it's way more expensive in Austria than Slovenia so trying to stick to the budget - ha!

Waterfall in Malta Valley

Just up the road we found a really cool waterfall - you had to pay 4 euros to go up close so took our pics from Vannie! Everything has a price in Austria! But it did look good and Dave (with his pervy binoculars out!) spotted a guy climbing up the cliff face by the side of the waterfall - scary!

Obervellach - The Hills are Alive...

with the sound of ACDC!

Mog's navigations (with the help of a friendly Austrian man) got us to the next stop - this turned out to be the loveliest place to stay and one night turned into 5!

It was like staying with your gran - the couple that own it are called Gaby and Henk and couldn't be more friendly and helpful - Dave got free ice cream and Mogs got a bottle of wine as a gift. They have places for just 4 campervans and the shower room is better than ours at home! Free wifi, free washing machine, free wine, free ice creams, fresh pineapple and a little swimming pool and all surrounded by lovely scenery and a cow family in the field next door. The bull has the biggest bollox we've ever seen :)

Big Bollox

There was a mummy cow and baby too!

Lovely views each morning and evening - those empty chairs again - where have they gone?!

 

 

Gaby and Henk

 

 

 

We went for a few hikes round the area - tried to find a waterfall one day but with Mogs map reading ended up halfway up a mountain and nowhere near any water even!!  Stunning views everywhere though

 

Here's the link to Gaby and Henk's website - if anyone is in this area of Austria with a camper it's a fab place to stay

http://www.struik-tvs.eu/main.php?language=2

White Water Rafting - We are not Afraid!

or maybe just a little bit...

 

Where we started

 

We are the power rangers off to brave the wild river!!!

And just before you start they shout 'Let's rock 'n roll!'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hs80TD6YtKw&feature=player_embedded

It was awesome and we can't wait to do it again but we did have somebody in the raft who had done EVERYTHING - he was the only one who put his hand up at the start when they asked if anyone had rafted - he had rafted in every country imaginable - Australia, Canada, Norway, Iceland, Barbados, Hawaii, and the North Pole....lol. He was going rock climbing that afternoon after we finished rafting. When running he does a minimum 10 miles - he was our action hero KEN and his wife Barbie was also rafting. The earlier waterfall photo we think that was Ken climbing up the cliff and when he got to the top he parachuted off then got on his bike and cycled 20 miles back to the campsite ready for a relaxing 60 lengths of the pool.

We weren't like Ken but we did only fall in a couple of times on the rafting - it was hard work and we sat with a few beers after rather than climb a mountain.

Neighbours

We met a lovely Dutch couple Tim and Marian - I think deep down Tim wanted to be Ken and Barbie - action man - but he didn't quite live up to the mark as he is a bit of a pussi (he'll read this and like that!). He tried to be Ken rafting down the river Moll and also he was not scared...here they are outside their Van - we had some good times drinking with them. For those who are not sure, Dave says the pussi is on the left. haha...maybe we won't be invited to Amsterdam now for a holiday lol :) Dave says in future we may not give out our blog address and then we can write about people whatever we want!!!

We have decided we must leave tomorrow or we will be here forever so we are off to the Grossglockner High Alpine Road - the most scenic road in Austria, although we have just been given a plate full of fresh pineapple to go with our wine so you never know...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grossglockner_High_Alpine_Road