Catherine Anderson

August 19, 2019August 19, 2019

15-18 August: Another flying visit to the doctor

Author: Mrs A

Location: Zürich, Switzerland, London, Brighton and Arundel, UK

Thursday: After farewelling Mark, I made my way across Zürich by public transport to the airport, a bus to a nearby train station then two trains which deposited me in good time at Kloten Airport for my flight to the UK. Everything was clean and and efficient, but once at the airport, rather expensive! I Feeling peckish I looked at the menu at one of the bars, only to find a pulled pork sandwich for the Swiss Franc equivalent of AU$42 (about £20!)…I passed and found a slightly more affordable snack at Pret a Manger.

I just miss the fast train to Brighton by a second…

I finally made it to my sister’s house in Brighton around midnight and collapsed into bed.

Friday morning I was on a train again by 9.45am, heading up to London. My first port of call was Piccadilly Circus.

The famous fountain in the middle of Piccadilly Circus, signposted (and commonly referred to) as ‘Eros’ is actually the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain, surmounted by a winged statue of Anteros (the brother and playmate of Eros, according to Greek mythology)

There I met up with three lovely ladies with iSGS I’ve met via the Facebook support group I run. We had a great chat over a light lunch at Bistro Zedel.

After lunch I made my way to Charing Cross Hospital on the other side of London near Hammersmith, where I had a series of awake steroid injections into my airway. It’s an excellent team there, all very caring, and it makes what could be a horrible experience quite bearable! That said, I travelled back to Brighton, exhausted after the procedure for a quiet night with Helen and brother-in-law Stuart.

Saturday: Just by chance, my cousin Elizabeth had been in touch with me and my siblings in the previous month to suggest a family reunion in the nearby West Sussex town of Arundel. I hadn’t seen her, her brother Giles nor their parents, Jill and Roger for more than 20 years! We couldn’t pass up the opportunity, and so I squeezed into the back of Helen and Stu’s car along with my niece and nephew, and off we went.

Cousin Giles chats with brother in law John and uncle Roger

We met up at the Arundel Wetland Centre, 65 acres of managed wetlands which are home to numerous birds, both native and from around the world, frogs, water voles as well as rare plants and flowers. We were a large group, with our extended family including children bringing us up to 19 visitors ranging from 3 years of age to late 70s. The venue did well to cater for us all, with plenty of information and a Lego trail for the children as well as more details and bird watching hides for the older ones.

Elliot has had enough of looking for birds, he’s off to find some Lego bricks instead!

A little impromptu blackberry picking on the way around

Beautiful wild herbs, flowers and fruits around the wetlands

We brought along picnics and enjoyed an informative guided electric boat ride around the waterways, learning about the work they do there, the flora and fauna present.

Much laughter as the reeds attack William and Edward on the boat trip

Elliot enjoying the trip sat beside Helen

Off on a boating adventure – Catherine with Isabel, Elliot and Helen

Isabel having a good chuckle next to her auntie Catherine

Beautiful waterlilies on our trip around

We all had a great reunion, managed to chat at least a little to everyone before finishing the afternoon with ice creams and heading off home. A fabulous day out, and such a treat for me – if I had not have been back for my hospital visit I would not have even been there.

The three witches…I mean sisters – Elle, Catherine and Helen….

Sunday rolled around so quickly, and Helen and I ran around Brighton doing a few tasks and shopping. We managed to grab a quick lunch on the beach before heading back home, so I could pack and enjoy a final cup of tea before we headed to the airport.

A pair of wind blown sisters on the beach

The flight was a little late leaving, which meant travelling back to camp through Zurich was going to be challenging. Thankfully Switzerland has Uber in force, and for a reasonable price a lovely young Kenyan man drove me back to camp by 10.30pm…lovely to be reunited back with Mr A again and to be back on our travels.

August 14, 2019

12-14 August: A little taster of south-western Germany and into Switzerland

Author: Mrs A

Location: Wangan im Allgäu, and Lottstetten, Germany, The Rhine Falls, Switzerland

Monday morning brought stormy skies and cool temperatures – struggling to reach 14°C by lunchtime. We farewelled Ottobeuren and drove west through Germany, heading to a town called Wangan. We parked up on a stellplatz (the German version of a parking area dedicated for motor homes, with electricity and services provided for self-contained vehicles) beside the river leading into town.

By early afternoon the rain had stopped so we ventured out for an explore. Wangan is an old medieval town with several well preserved buildings and some remains of the wall and towers which marked the entry points.

The River Argen is very full after the heavy rain, In the background, St Martin’s church which rings out the hour…

Clearly English speaking guests are a rarity in these parts, as the information centre, packed with leaflets, maps and posters was able to hand me only one single booklet in English, detailing a historical walk through the town. I asked about cycling but the response was vague and a German language map book with rides was handed to me, and two routes pointed out as suitable as day rides.

Mark and I had a wander around town, finding a few of the old buildings before heading back to camp before the next storm arrived.

The streets of the old town are all cobbled

Part of a lovely sculpture – St Anthony’s Fountain – named after the patron saint of domestic animals, sitting on the site where the weekly pig market was held for hundreds of years

The town hall – or Rathaus (I find this quite comical that it directly translates as the rat house!) dates back to the 1500s and incorporates the first fortifications

History is everywhere if we could only read the signs!

Coats of arms outside old pubs date back to times when few could read and pictures communicated who the publican was

Claimed to be ‘one of the most scenically attractive streets in South Germany’ murals cover the front of many buildings, dating back to the 1700s

The Women’s Gate – dating back to before 1472

A music shop selling dodgy Australian road signs and didgeridoos…surprising!

Tuesday was overcast but dry, so I used Google to try and plot out a circuit route using the map I’d been given. Our route ended up being 60km, so by the time we got back to camp we were starving. Other than the medieval town of Isny, the ride was unremarkable, following mostly quiet roads through farmland and bike paths parallel to busy lorry routes. I think the grey skies helped to dull our enthusiasm for the gently rolling hills and fields of crops.

Isny im Allgäu, another pretty medieval town with a lot of history

Wednesday: We were woken at 7am by the chiming of the local church bells, and packed up and on our way within a couple of hours, having enjoyed fresh bread delivered to the stellplatz by a local baker for breakfast. Before long we were passing through into Switzerland, completely unplanned, having failed to purchase a vignette for the motorways! We exited the motorway as fast as possible and quickly bought one at a local garage, hoping we wouldn’t be penalised for those few kilometres we had driven without paying.

This is the downside of being able to easily pass from country to country – each border crossing comes with its own rules, with Switzerland joining Austria and Slovenia in their requirement for all vehicles to travel with a prepaid vignette attached to their windscreen. Of course Switzerland was the most expensive, at 40 Swiss Francs, around AU$61 (£34). At that price we will have to ensure we make use of it!

Our destination for the day was actually in Germany again, about 40 minutes drive north of Zurich, just across the Rhine River.

Lottstetten is a quiet little village with a handily located stellplatz an easy cycle away from the magnificent waterfalls on the Rhine.

We found a cycleway and followed signs to Neuhaisen am Rhinefall, the location of the falls, actually back in Switzerland, just across the border. We weaved our way through paths along fields and railways passing through quiet villages….

Peaceful country lanes, the village of Lottstetten in the background

A little ginger kitten calls us over to give him strokes on our cycle past

The falls were created after the last ice age, and have huge volumes of water thundering over them. Today we were advised there are 479,000 litres per second moving past…we wouldn’t fancy white water rafting over them right now!

479 thousand litres per second roar over this drop on the Rhine River

Look carefully and you will see tiny tourists on the rock in the middle of the falls, and to the left…and of course the boat beneath the falls.

Laufen Castle behind us on the Zurich side of the river, dates back to the year 878

It turns out we were not the only people there to see the spectacle!

For the first time since Krka National Park in Croatia we saw rows of coaches, full car parks and crowds of people lining up for toilets, ice creams and boat trips. It was not really our scene, so we stopped for a few minutes to admire the magnificent falls (and really, the photos do not do them justice), the castle overlooking them and wondered at the sheer power of the river before heading back.

And so to our final night in Germany this evening, as tomorrow we will head into Switzerland again, making it officially our tenth country this year.

August 9, 2019August 9, 2019

8 August: Venturing into Germany

Author: Mrs A

Location: Pfronten, Bavaria, Germany

What we love about travelling in Europe is the the ability to amend our plans on the fly, make decisions at short notice and even change countries – all a great challenge in Australia, where at busy times of the year campgrounds must be booked well in advance (restricting any spontaneity) and as for changing countries…well, that takes both funds and planning, and it would be very hard to take a vehicle.

It was a message from our friend Stefanie pointing out we were only a couple of hours away from her in Bavaria that prompted us into pointing Truffy’s nose north upon leaving Innsbruck and head into Germany. It was a spectacular drive, through mountains and following rivers, through alpine tunnels and past countless castles and fortifications.

Yet another fine view out of our windscreen as we wind through the Zugspitze – part of the Northern Limestone Alps

The language, food and scenery sounded and looked very similar to Austria, but in just over an hour’s driving we arrived in the town of Pfronten.

I would love to say it was some secret knowledge that brought us to this village en route to see Stefanie, but it wasn’t, just a site written up on an app with good reviews – and we really hit the jackpot in terms of location. It turned out that a tavern had added motorhome parking to its car park – thereby increasing customer numbers and earning a side income. It was so much cheaper than we had experienced of late too, a total of €14 (AU$23/£13) for the night including drinking water and electricity.

I sat down with Google maps and plotted out what I hoped might be a good circuit cycle ride, taking in a few sights on the way. The region is literally riddled with cycle and hiking paths, and we had spotted a few castles and lakes on our drive through.

The paths started right at our campground, car-free tracks heading across the countryside, amazing views in all directions.

Five minutes ride from camp and we cannot see another human

Our first point of interest was the castle of Eisenberg, built in 1313. It has been owned by Germans and Austrians, attacked by peasants, built up, renovated and raised to the ground again in its 706 years lifespan.

A commanding position…ensuring peasants all around can be reminded who is in charge

In the 1980s there was significant restoration of the buildings and interesting finds have been stored in a museum in the nearby village of Zell (open at weekends only).

Setting off on another typical pathway towards another amazing view…not too busy either!

We set off next towards Hopfensee, a large lake surrounded by villages and walking tracks, skirting the edge of the lake through the village of Füssen towards another lake, Weissensee. All tracks were off road, cutting through woodland, old farm tracks along fields, or purpose built alongside the busier roads, but felt really safe at all times. There were plenty of other cyclists around, big smiles on their faces, enjoying the sunshine, perfect temperature and stunning scenery after several days of rain and cooler temperatures.

Weissensee Lake – popular for swimming, paddle boarding and fishing

Looking over to the lakeside village of Oberried

Do these birds appreciate their view? Looking down Weissensee lake from Oberkirch

Our 40km circuit ride finished back at our local tavern for a refreshing beverage. Other than potatoes and vegetables there was nothing on the menu that was dairy-free, so we settled for a beer and glass of Riesling before heading back to Truffy for showers and to cook dinner. An awesome day.

August 6, 2019August 6, 2019

5 August: Castles, rivers, mountains and views – quintessential Austria

Author: Mrs A

Location: Zillertal Valley, Tirol, Austria

After the quiet of the past few days it surprised us how busy the traffic was this morning in the Zillertal Valley, the sounds of lorries, motorbikes and cars echoing loudly from the early hours. After a cup of tea, we set up the bikes and headed off for the day.

We picked up things for a picnic from a nearby supermarket and followed the valley until we reached the Inn River. This is the river which gives Innsbruck its name (brücke means bridge in German). It may not look so in the photos, but the river is known as ‘the green river’ due to the particles of limestone which reflect the light from the sun.

Fields of sweet corn line the pathway, overlooked by mountains

Alongside the river is the Inn River Cycleway which runs 520km from the river’s source in Swizerland, through the Tirol region of Austria and finishing up in Germany. We were doing a short section of the river ride to make up a 65km return trip from camp.

The first castle of our morning, Schloss Matzen, looking like a fairytale palace

Our destination for the day was Austria’s smallest town, the medieval settlement of Rattenberg. The town has just 400 permanent residents but that is substantially bolstered by visitors – long distance cyclists, people on day rides like us and day trippers. It’s famous for its well preserved medieval buildings as well as the craft of glass blowing – there are several shops there.

The ride was just lovely – the river route is set up for ebikers and manual cyclists alike, with several break areas offering charging facilities, picnic tables, water, and inner-tube vending machines. The route is very gently undulating – we barely moved off the ‘eco’ setting on our bikes all day.

It’s an interesting route too, with little chapels, castles and villages dotting the landscape as we rode, giving the opportunity for a change of scenery or a break at any stage.

Rattenberg sits in the shadow of Rat Mountain and receives no sunlight for much of the winter

Mr A riding along an apple tree lined pathway

Crossing the fast moving waters of the Inn River

We rode through the cobbled streets of Rattenberg, evidence of its medieval history evident on every corner.

Unknown story told in art on a street corner

We saw a steep lane way leading up to the castle and powered on up for a look.

The castle these days is used as an outdoor theatre

The views from the castle ruins are fabulous. This building dates back to the 10th century and only one tower remains today.

Looking out over the town towards the river and mountains

The one remaining building, the Bienerturm Tower – named after Chancellor Biener who was beheaded there

We enjoyed a drink in a cafe in the town square, before heading back to camp. Well worth a look around if you’re in the area, especially if you’re on two wheels!

August 3, 2019

1 – 2 August: Tinkering around Tyrol

Author: Mrs A

Location: Kitzbühel area, Tirol, Austria

Thursday: Our journey out of Salzburg took us past lovely views of the castle, gleaming in the sunshine after yesterday’s torrential rain. Before long we were heading out of Austria and into Germany for about 20 kilometres, before returning to Austria, upping our 2019 country count to nine (if tiptoeing across a little corner counts!).

View from our windscreen as we cross the country

Our destination was a little campground close to the village of Hochfilzen. The drive across was gorgeous, as rocky peaks revealed themselves, the land around us seemingly lifting up above our heads with incredible scenery. In the winter, this region is full of skiers with several resorts servicing the slopes, but as was evident as we drove in, summer is all about cycling. Our first impression as we drove the final few kilometres of our journey was that there are way more bicycles here than cars – fantastic!

We’re on a great campsite, surrounded by the mountains, hiking and biking paths starting right on our doorstep (and apparently in winter, the cross country skiing starts right here too). There are only about 20 sites on this family run campground, and it’s very friendly.

We had just finished lunch with my friend Maayke arrived. She’s another friend I have made through the support group I run for people with rare breathing disease idiopathic subglottic stenosis (iSGS). We had a brief catch up before all jumping on our ebikes for a tour of the area

Most of the routes we took are shared paths…

Having lived in relatively flat Australia the past 20 years we’re blown away by the majesty of these mountains

Hard to stop smiling – Maayke tour guide extraordinaire and I at the start of our ride

And what a tour she gave us! Originally from the Netherlands, she has lived here in Austria for fifteen years and knows the cycling and hiking trails like the back of her hand. She and her husband are extremely active, as always making the curse of developing iSGS all the more painful. Thankfully Maayke found an excellent surgeon in Vienna who has hopefully removed the stenosis, and so far she’s doing really well and is back to a high level of fitness.

It was hard not to constantly stop our ride to take photographs, the scenery so stunning. After about 15km we reached the village of Waidring and Erika Schmid‘s cafe. It is famous among locals for its delicious and huge slices of cake and giant cups of tea. Everything in the cafe is home made, and upon hearing I was dairy free and hence unable to sample the cake, Erika whipped me up a fresh raspberry sorbet – delicious!

Takes some muscles to lift these cups of tea!

And as for that slice of cake!! (Maayke helped Mr A out a little)

After that feast, and given it was still such a beautiful evening, we decided to continue our cycle making it a just over 50km circuit.

Temperatures dropping a little as the day progresses

The sun setting over the Lofer Range – 2,510 metres (8,238 ft) of rugged alpine mountains

The fields look unreal with the long afternoon shadows

We toasted the end of our ride with a glass of Italian Rosata before retiring for the day.

Friday: It was a slightly disturbed night as a thunder storm roared over us in the early hours, echoing around the mountains and the rain sounding loud on Truffy’s roof just half a metre above our heads.

Maayke arrived just after 9am to take us on our next cycle tour, the scenery very different post-storm.

Mark and Maayke cycle off towards the mountains

An ever changing scene with the clouds hanging low

Friday morning is market day in the village of St Johann in Tirol, so we jumped on the bikes again to ride the 22km over there. We had purchased fresh bread from the baker delivering to our campground, so bought some additional ingredients at the market – an heirloom tomato, some freshly made dips, smoked fish, and added a cucumber from Maayke’s garden and we had ourselves a picnic. We enjoyed that in a nearby park, before continuing our exploration.

Mr A and I have honed our picnicking skills over the years – can prepare food on any surface!

Before long, the sky was darkening and our mountain views were rapidly disappearing. We decided it might not be wise to be cycling when the storm hit, and so rode to the nearby train station. As tourists, on arrival we were presented with personalised tickets allowing us (and our bikes) free travel on all buses and trains in the area – fabulous.

The train stopped a couple of kilometres from our campground, so it was a short ride back to camp for a cup of tea and showers.

Maayke was back again at 6pm, this time in her car, to take us to dinner. She took us to a local favourite, Gasthof Adolari in St Ulrich am Pillersee, beside a fifteenth century church and overlooking Lake Pillersee.

The 1404 St Adolari church is on a pilgrimage route

Frescoes coat the walls and portraits of archbishops overlook the alter

We tried some delicious local dishes we probably wouldn’t have tried by ourselves, including a dessert – Kaiserschmarren, which was like a baked broken up pancake with apple sauce – made dairy-free especially so I could try it.

Delicious food and wine…as you can tell by our empty glasses!

Dessert unlike any we have tried before – Kaiserschmarren

A fabulous evening….we’re really enjoying getting to see Austria from a local perspective.

July 30, 2019

28 – 29 July: Haunted castles and rainy days

Author: Mrs A

Location: Moosham Castle, Unternberg and Altenmarkt im Pongau, Austria

As we departed from Murau the cloud dropped, hiding all the views we had enjoyed over the past couple of days. Along with the cloud, the rain soon started, and instead of temperatures in the mid 20s, the day struggled to top out at 18°C. This is the coolest weather we have had since the east coast of Italy, back in May.

We drove east about 40 minutes, pulling up at a castle I had read about – Castle Moosham (Schloss Moosham).

Built in the 1100s, Castle Moosham sits high up on a hill

The castle had exchanged hands many times over its 900 year lifespan, and was purchased by Count Hans Nepomuk Wilczek in 1886. He was a great collector of antiques, and made it his life’s work to restore the building and to furnish it as a museum. He was an important figure in Austrian history, a researcher funding expeditions to the North Pole among other achievements. He built another castle near Vienna, Kreuzenstein Castle, in order to house his art collection in the 1800s.

His grandson Alexander was the tour guide for my visit (which I enjoyed while Mark chilled out with a cuppa soup and a good book!). His father (Count Hans Heinrich Wilczek) spent much of his childhood growing up in this castle, and now owns this and the castle near Vienna. Our guide lives in another castle nearby…hah we have our camper, who needs a castle?

I was not allowed to take photos inside, which was full of antiques, artwork and collectables from as far back as the 15th century. Alexander was particularly proud of portraits of famous Austrians such as Mozart, as well as extensive collections of suits of armour, weapons, prints and ancient texts in a library.

A fifty metre deep well is the centrepiece to the castle courtyard

This castle has featured in a number of documentaries, boasting to be one of the most haunted castles in all of Europe. It certainly has a gruesome history to go with it.

The history dates back to Roman settlement, where a fort was built at this location. There are a few relics left from Roman times – bits of pillar here and there, stones reused in walls, a tombstone encompassed into a wall.

During a period of 228 years ( between 1534 and 1762) , this castle was the location of 66 executions, of which 44 were attributed to persons accused of sorcery and witchcraft. The dungeons were cold and dark, and full of torture implements – collected from the world over as well as Austrian.

You can almost imagine having to await trial in these cages, terrified for your fate

Tour over, I rejoined Mr A and we continued to our next destination, Altenmarkt im Pongau. About 70km south of Salzburg, it was a random selection on the map, with somewhere to camp which had space! There are many places we have been recommended, but with overflowing campgrounds, bad reviews, and a minimum of three or four nights’ booking, we chose to avoid them this time. The issue with travelling in peak season, I guess.

The rain closed in, and we bunkered down for the afternoon, enjoying the cooler temperatures and an excuse to not do anything for once!

Monday morning dawned drizzling and grey, so we set about trying to find some storage for Truffy between November and March when we’ll be heading to Australia. It seems every single place in the south-east of England (we’re talking Brighton to Milton Keynes here, so quite a big chunk of country!) is fully booked out! One place said they had one space for us, but we would have to start paying the monthly fee immediately to secure it.

Feeling dejected, we put on our rain coats and decided to walk into town for some fresh air.

The cloud hanging low over the hills…it’s hard to believe this is a ski resort!

We got into town at midday, just as most of the shops were closing for a two plus hour break! The town was busy with people walking around, trying door handles, clearly with money burning a hole in their pockets, but unable to spend it.

The Roman Catholic Church, Maria Gebert can be seen for miles, particularly the golden cross on top of the spire

Cloisters opposite the church offer a peaceful respite from the rain

We enjoyed a hot chocolate in a local cafe, before having an amble around some of the shops which opened earlier than others. The early bird catches the worm as they say, and those shops which decided not to close, or opened sooner than others got our valuable euros.

The town predominantly lives for the winter season, servicing the Ski Amade ski area. Many of the shops sell hiking and skiing gear – Mr A’s favourite stores – he left with two tee-shirts and a pair of shorts. A successful visit!

July 26, 2019July 28, 2019

24 – 25 July – Continuing our cycle exploration of southern Austria

Author: Mrs A

Location: Pirkdorf, Austria

We headed east from Ferlach and drove just 45 minutes to the small settlement of Pirkdorf. We then spent two days and 55km exploring the R1D, a signposted cycle trail through some of the quieter lanes and roads through sleepy hamlets and villages.

Setting off down a quiet lane – heading for the hills!

One of the reasons we enjoy cycling so much is the ability to see and experience things at a slower pace to the car. Yes, we are on electric bikes, which essentially give us the option to smooth out the hills, but we also get some exercise too – after all our legs keep on moving and we choose how much the motors help us.

The cycle route took us past houses and gardens, through picturesque agricultural lands – the wind whispering through fields of corn, the sunshine gleaming off the smiling faces of sunflowers, the lush green of fields of carrots, potatoes, pumpkins, all ripening in the summer weather.

A typical village scene with the church taking centre stage

Always we are accompanied by breathtaking views of the alpine peaks

Sunflowers and corn add a splash of yellow to the countryside’s palette

It was midweek in the middle of what is the European school summer holidays, but there were few people around. The occasional person gardening, but otherwise all seemed deserted. There was not even a pub open for us to have refreshments.

Mr A cycles though another picturesque village

Every village has at least one little chapel-shrine (small buildings by the side of the road), often in the centre of the village, but also often on long country lanes, far from houses, probably for the workers to tick off a prayer or two while they’re labouring.

The other thing we noticed was the Austrians’ love of colour. Very rarely would we see a bright red or blue house in the UK or Australia, or two toned colourful shades, but it is frequent here. And they are all newly painted – every village looks affluent and smart, with not a scrap of graffiti or rubbish to be seen.

Schloss Elberstein (Castle Elberstein) built by a local artist in the village of Globasnitz during the 1970s

Mr A checks whether anyone is home…they’re not…when it is open, the public can explore the ornate interior and artwork

Just a few of the colourful houses we encountered on our ride…a veritable rainbow…

Even the local fire station is beautifully painted with a mural on the wall

My bike ticked over to 1,000km since we first purchased it (1 April) meaning we’re averaging more than 250km per month. They have definitely been a great investment. Mr A’s ticked over to 1.000km a couple of weeks ago – he had my surgery time to tick up a few bonus kilometres.

It’s been a great introduction to Austria. Our only challenge has been the lack of English spoken by anyone. It gets a little lonely only talking to each other, we’re dying for someone else to converse with!

Tomorrow we start heading north. We’re expecting it to get a little busier the closer to the cities we get, but we know there will be more adventures and great scenery ahead.

Our stay in Pirkdorf concluded with a fabulous dramatic thunderstorm, followed by a beautiful sunset. Just lovely.

July 23, 2019July 23, 2019

22 July: On to our eighth country this year…

Author: Mrs A

Location: Kranjska Gora, Slovenia and Ferlach, Austria

Another fine morning dawned so we decided to don the hiking shoes and explore a new dimension of Kranjska Gora, heading up into the mountains via the chair lift.

Once up the top though, the walks were pretty much all up, and on a 30 degrees day it was hard going.

Mark finding his leg muscles wondering what’s happened

The pathway becomes very steep and largely washed out by the winter’s snowmelt

Mrs A pleased her airway is nice and wide right now – breathing well!

We walked a couple of kilometres up to a great viewing spot, and enjoyed the downhill a lot more than the up!

These craggy peaks still a great novelty for us

Yellow Foxgloves brighten up the woodland

Shades of mauve (species unknown to us!) attract many butterflies

The downward chair lift takes the pressure off still delicate toes! You can see the mountain bike park tracks beneath us, the town of Kranjska Gora and into the valley beyond…

We wandered into the pretty town of Kranjska Gora to find somewhere for lunch. Unlike many ski resort towns we have visited during summertime, this is busy and bustling, full of e-bikes for hire, busy cafes and interesting shops.

A brief moment with no cyclists on the pathway

It’s great to see a town being successful all year round – no doubt the cycleway passing through is a big drawcard, with many tourers stopping for the night in hotels and B&Bs here.

Full of pizza, we returned to Truffy to move on to our next destination, out of Slovenia, and into Austria our eighth country this year (the others being New Zealand, Australia, UK, France, Italy, Croatia and Slovenia).

It was less than an hour’s drive to our next destination, Ferlach – Austria’s southernmost town. We took the Karawanks Tunnel, a nearly 8km tunnel beneath the Karawanks Alpine Range.

80km/hr through the tunnel…we’re through to Austria in no time at all!

We had a very loose plan on the other side, aiming for the region of Carinthia. There are a number of cycleways in the area, coupled with beautiful castles and mountainous scenery. We were keen to check it out.

We found ourselves a parking place in Ferlach, a town famous for its gunsmiths, making guns for hunting which are used worldwide. Behind us are the mountains we were the other side of this morning and beside us a babbling mountain creek.

Our nearby creek might get a workout tomorrow with 33°C forecast.

A little further upstream are these lovely falls

We got the bikes out for an explore. The town is so pretty, and hardly a person around.

A lovely water feature surrounded by blossoms in the town square

Mr A kindly demonstrates one of the many hanging arrangements

We had an explore locally before heading down to the 510km Drau Cycle Path which runs alongside the River Drava nearby. We did a small taster cycle as it was getting late in the day, but it has definitely encouraged us to come back and see some more tomorrow.

Schloss Hollenburg – medieval castle built in around 1100

Heading back to camp through a local farming village

After riding 19km, a beer in the local pub completed our day before we headed back to camp for showers and dinner. A great introduction to Austria.

July 21, 2019July 21, 2019

18 – 21 July: Lake Bled woos us with its loveliness

Author: Mrs A

Location: Lake Bled, Slovenia

We had driven past Lake Bled on our way to Bohinj and it looked lovely, but totally booked out in terms of camping opportunities. We could have done a day trip, but were really keen to see it in depth, so instead booked a hotel room for a couple of nights.

We selected the Grand Hotel Toplice, one of the oldest and most spectacular hotels on the lake’s edge, with fabulous view across to Bled Castle and Bled Island. We have our 17 year wedding anniversary coming up next month and I will be in London for my next hospital appointment, meaning we won’t be together. So, what better excuse for a few days of luxury?

Breakfast at the hotel was an event in iteself, with the best spread of food either of us have seen in many years of staying in hotels.

Delicious breakfast of poached egg with avocado and salmon, with an amazing view

DIY museli with fresh nuts, seeds and fruit, cold meats and juices, cooked eggs, sausages and vegetables, cakes, buns and yoghurts – the choice was endless and meant there was no need for lunch! All this while sat on a balcony with arguably one of the best views in the world.

We set off after breakfast to Bled Island on which stands the Church of the Mother of God, Mr A valiantly rowing us over in a wooden boat.

No motorised boats are allowed on the lake, keeping it serene. The church date back to the introduction of Christianity in this area (the year 745), with many adjustments over the years – mostly in the mid 1400s. Before this, there was a temple on the island dedicated to the Slavic goddess of love, Ziva.

Traditionally the groom has to carry the bride up these 99 steps before they can marry at the church!

A shoal of fish under one of the rowing boats

Very fit rowers paddle boatloads of people to the island all day long

Humans have been settled in this area since the Stone Age, with numerous artefacts found and displayed in the Castle, which we walked up to on our return from the island. There we enjoyed more amazing views, and saw our first little Slovenian red squirrel.

A well deserved shady break after the climb up

Impossible to do these views any justice…looking down towards Bled Island

Breathtaking…but breathing well (still hobbling with injured toes though)

Looking east towards the Karawanks…some big hikes through here

After an hour or so enjoying the hotel’s spa we went back to the room to get ready for dinner…Mr A decided to see whether we could get an upgrade. Well, he was very successful – managing to get us room 501, the best lake view room in the hotel!

A room with a view – cheers! 17 years of marriage coming up on 16 August…

Our hotel and new room as seen from the opposite shore, beneath the castle

Yet another photo of our ever changing view to the castle and island

Truffy was parked nearby so we picked up a bottle from our champagne stocks and cracked it open to celebrate with a glass of bubbles before going to dinner.

Dinner was at Restaurant Sova, which we had booked because of its fabulous reputation for both modern and delicious Slovenian food as well as having a wide selection of local wines and highly trained sommeliers. We were not disappointed.

They allowed us to split a glass into two glasses to widen the sample tasted

We enjoyed a bottle of the middle wine – Starà Brajda Old Vineyard Red 2015

Food was amazing too – this seafood risotto with a scallop with champagne foam

Mr A enjoyed a pasta with cheese and truffles

Our evening finished off with a free live concert as part of the ‘Taste Bled’ weekend event. A great band called Lumberjack entertained us with covers from Kings of Leon, Lenny Kravitz and Dire Straits among others, before a ‘famous in Slovenia’ band headlined playing their own music (which was great for the locals especially). A perfect end to a perfect celebration!

After sunset – the view out towards Bled Island, the church all lit up

The castle floodlights stay alight all night

I really did not expect to like Lake Bled as much as I have done. After Lake Bohinj, seeing big hotels, restaurants and a casino it all felt a little commercial. But in reality it has been far from it. The local people have been so friendly and welcoming, the hotel staff excellent, and everyone clearly loves Slovenia and is full of recommendations of what to see next. It has been more like being welcomed into a small town. This area will always have a place in our hearts.

It’s so hard not keep looking at this ever changing scene, the chiming of church bells around the water (especially now as I write on Sunday morning, calling people to service). With a late checkout today I think we will treat ourselves to this view just a little bit longer before we jump back into our camper and continue our journey in Slovenia.

July 17, 2019

16 July: Slovenia really takes our hearts

Author: Mrs A

Location: Lake Bohinj, Slovenia

We left Ljubljana early to drive the 90 minutes up to Lake Bohinj, Slovenia’s largest permanent lake, in the hope we might be able to find a lakeside campsite for a couple of nights. There is one campground beside the lake, and they had told us to be there early to find a spot as they didn’t take bookings.

Our first view of Lake Bohinj – mirror-still in the early morning

On arrival we found a chaotic jumble of tents, campers and motor homes camped and parked up everywhere and anywhere, no set sites or organisation whatsoever. Most were parked within just half a metre of each other on muddy patches. Oh, but they were close to the water. Definitely not our type of camping., no matter how beautiful the lake is.

We abandoned that thought and found an alternative camp at Camp Danica in Bohinjsko Bistrica – further away from Bohinj but on a picturesque river and off road cycleway leading to the lake.

We got set up with almost no incident. Usually it is Mr A who is the clumsy one, but today it was me. I managed to trip over an unexpected guy rope on the campground. It sent me flying and now I have a suspected broken toe…perhaps two! Either way my left foot is not in a state for walking with two purple puffy toes. Hopefully they’re just badly bruised and my hobble will reduce with time (I will withhold photos – they can be shared on request if desired!).

I dosed up on anti-inflammatory tablets and we jumped on the bikes to ride…it didn’t hurt too much as long as I didn’t pedal with my left foot or step down…again – thank goodness for e-bikes!

It is hard for photos to do it justice as we ride through the valley surrounded by mountains

And what a ride! The path wound through beautiful alpine meadows full of white, yellow and mauve flowers of every variety, surrounded by the most gorgeous mountains of the Julian Alps and Triglav National Park.

Meadows full of flowers, butterflies and the hum of insects

The Bohinjsko River which leads from the lake

Bohinj’s 700 year old St John the Baptist Church is visible for miles around

For most of the ride we followed the crystal clear Bohinjsko River, watching groups of paddlers negotiate the small rapids and gravel races. We explored small villages, full of flower filled holiday accomodation intermingled with farmers. It was just magical.

The lake was icy cold when we dipped our feet in it, though there were a few brave people in for a swim, not us…it did my toes some good though!

The lake – not as mirror perfect as first thing in the morning, but still beautiful

We followed a path part the way around the lake – stopped by a pile of boulders we couldn’t cross

It was a beautiful ride – just over 35km (about 22 miles) all up, so we were ready for dinner on our return. In spite of an unexpected injury, a brilliant introduction to this area.

Author: Catherine Anderson

15-18 August: Another flying visit to the doctor

12-14 August: A little taster of south-western Germany and into Switzerland

8 August: Venturing into Germany

5 August: Castles, rivers, mountains and views – quintessential Austria

1 – 2 August: Tinkering around Tyrol

28 – 29 July: Haunted castles and rainy days

24 – 25 July – Continuing our cycle exploration of southern Austria

22 July: On to our eighth country this year…

18 – 21 July: Lake Bled woos us with its loveliness

16 July: Slovenia really takes our hearts

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