Hiking – Page 13 – When the Cat's Away…

September 27, 2019

21-23 September: A first taster of the Yorkshire Dales

Author: Mrs A

Location: Jervaulx, Richmond, East Witton and Middleham, Yorkshire, UK

Our accomodation was located beside an old 19th century house, Jervaulx Hall, which has the ruins of an old abbey on its land. Mr A, our friends John and Catriona and I had decided to take advantage of the fine weather to do a long walk, starting at Jervaulx abbey, just around the corner from where we were staying.

Jervaulx Abbey – Cistercian abbey dedicated in 1156 to St Mary

Substantial work has gone into ensuring the ruins are safe for visitors, given the abbey is privately owned and managed. The grounds are well cared for, giving a balance between sculpted lawns and natural wildflowers.

Old doorways frame lovely views across the countryside

The walking team looking fresh and energetic at the beginning of the day

Buddies since the age of 12, John and Mark loving the walk…but don’t mention the chilli-red shorts!

We did a fabulous walk, taking us across bridleways, footpaths, across styles and down quiet country lanes. The scenery changed all the time, ranging from green rolling hills with almost-too-perfect trees dotted throughout, through ancient woodland, across rivers and into little villages and past castles.

We felt so privileged to have such a glorious autumn’s day

Blackberries to sustain us on our journey

A lovely autumnal scent hangs in the air, a mixture of moss and decomposing leaves

We’d walked about 17km before we reached Middleham Castle, a welcome sight given we hadn’t eaten breakfast and it was long past midday!

Middleham Castle – built in 1190 and the childhood home of Richard III

We found a suitable pub in the village which was still serving food, and ordered refreshments. There was a brief discussion about getting a taxi back, but we bravely pushed on.

Mr A shows a burst of energy seeing the pub!

We concluded our walk having clocked up 21km (13 miles) the longest we have hiked in a while, (but paling into insignificance when compared with some friends who are managing upwards of 30km daily). We all felt we deserved dinner at the local pub that evening.

Sunday was more of the Yorkshire weather we had expected, the clouds hanging low and grey. After a fine full English breakfast we all drove over to the nearby town of Richmond.

Strolling the streets, still displaying the flowers of summer

Richmond was founded in 1071 by the Normans who built a castle in the town – there are castles all the way up England built by William the Conqueror’s people – this within five years of the Battle of Hastings. The town built up around the castle and looks like it has changed little in that time…other than the cars – the town centre full on this Sunday afternoon. We wandered down to the river.

It’s been a while between cat photos – this little chap was begging for strokes from everyone

The waterfalls tinted with the tannins of autumn leaves

It doesn’t take long for the rain to start again

After the rain started we found shelter in a tea shop before a fun evening back at the apartment.

The sun returned for Monday, our final morning in Yorkshire. Catriona found a walk a short drive away in the village of Wensley.

The entranceway to Bolton Hall, a grand driveway with gatehouse

Bolton Hall – built in the late 17th centrury

A beautiful wizened oak tree beside the River Ure

More autumnal colour – rose hips and acorns

It was just a 6.5km walk this time, a chance for some fresh air and to stretch the legs before we bid each other farewell and went our separate ways, John and Catriona going back to Nottinghamshire while we went further north into County Durham.

It was a fantastic three days in North Yorkshire, giving us a taster of the beautiful walks and scenery there. We loved the villages, the culture and endless miles of hiking options. This is one area we will definitely be back to visit.

September 22, 2019

18-20 September: Exploring northern England

Author: Mrs A

Location: Harby & Newark-on-Trent – Nottinghamshire, & Ripon -Yorkshire, UK

Wednesday: We left Milton Keynes early and by 9am were in Newark in Nottinghamshire dropping Truffy off at our dealer for some warranty work. One of the reasons we love Fuller Leisure is that they’re a small, friendly family business, and they don’t hesitate to loan us a little runabout for the period of the service. We took the opportunity to drive into Newark-on-Trent, just a 20 minute drive from the dealer.

The castle has stood here for over 900 years

We knew nothing about the town as we drove in, but almost immediately saw Newark Castle ruins alongside the River Trent. It’s extremely picturesque, and given it has free entry we couldn’t resist an explore.

The castle was partly destroyed in 1646 at the end of the English CIvil War

Mr A wondering at all the people who looked out from this window before him

Leaving the castle we wandered into Newark’s market place, delighted to find it bustling with market day activity. We picked up some fruit and vegetables before exploring the rest of the town. We just love to buy produce fresh from the local farmers, appreciating the fresh taste as well as the opportunity to support local suppliers rather than supermarkets wherever possible.

Newark Market Place being used as it should be

After some shopping we returned to the car and drove up to our friends’ house in Harby for the night. There we had a delicious meal and shared some of our wine purchases from across Europe….enjoyed post a glass of the 1066 Hastings gin we gifted to Catriona.

Sunset across the countryside as seen from John and Catriona’s back garden

Thursday: My cousin’s daughter Hannah has just started a law degree at Lincoln University, just a half hour’s drive from our friends in Harby. Mark and I decided to drive up there to buy her breakfast and ensure she’s settling in alright. Lincoln is a small and friendly city, reminding me of Chester where I spent my university days.

The view from Hannah’s student room, uninterrupted up to Lincoln Castle and across the canal, walking distance into the centre of town.

Lincoln is a busy buzzing city on this Thursday morning

After farewelling Hannah off to a lecture, we drove back to Newark to pick up Truffy.

Dave debriefing on all the work they’ve completed

Happy customers with Dave ‘Always a pleasure, Fuller Leisure’…

We were amazed how much the team had completed in a relatively short period of time, consistently good. By 3pm we were on our way again.

When you grow up in the far south of England, anything past Watford Junction seems a long way away. Yorkshire, for example always appeared to be a mysterious place with lots of green on the map where people talk with the most intelligent sounding accent in the UK.

Nearly 300 miles (500km) apart – Sussex where I grew up and Yorkshire

So when our Nottinghamshire friends agreed to a weekend away in an AirBnB together in Yorkshire we were quite excited. Mark, Truffy and I skipped our way up the country, arriving in the city of Ripon on Thursday evening. There’s a carpark right in the middle of the city near the cathedral and Sainsbury’s that allows free overnight parking for motorhomes, and £2 for parking all day. It suited us perfectly and we settled in.

After a peaceful night’s sleep, we decided to stick around the next morning and explore Ripon. Ripon is the oldest city in England and the smallest city in Yorkshire.

Mr A does a little ‘Black Sheep’ shopping for the weekend (locally brewed ales)

Ripon Cathedral was originally founded in the 660s by Scottish monks and tweaked and adjusted over the years.

Today it is still a living and active space, with lots of activity and full of people. Despite being an autumnal Thursday morning outside of the school holidays it was busy and bustling with an art and sculpture exhibition. I couldn’t resist a look.

Arches and stairwell to the sculpture exhibition

Many tours around the cathedral going on concurrently. A fabulous space with lots of light for the exhibition

Dating to 1789 a building beside the cathedral is now used as a hotel

Not far from the cathedral is a river and canal, so Mr A and I decided to stroll down. The canal was originally opened in the 1700s and restored in 1996. Today it’s clean with a walkway alongside it with several bird hides looking out towards wetlands.

Mr A crossing over the canal on our circuit walk

We had a great afternoon’s walk around the waterways before returning to Truffy. We drove off to our AirBnB near Jervalaux Abbey to check in and await the arrival of John and Catriona as the sun set. A great first day in Yorkshire. We will be back!

September 7, 2019

5-6 September: And so back to the UK!

Author: Mr (and Mrs) A

Location: Dieppe to Newhaven ferry, English Channel, Europe

And so after just over 4 months touring Europe (we find ourselves already distinguishing that from the UK!) and we are on our way back to the UK. A time to reflect on our experiences.

We started Europe on a high, with a few days with friends (new and old) Champagne tasting

110 of those nights were spent camping, in all sorts of places from car parks in the middle of towns, ‘fancy’ (often not) campsites charging more than a hotel, vineyards, oyster farms, beside crumbling castle ruins…and so the list goes on. What those places had in common was a respect for other campers. Even when crowded together a metre apart, not once were we were disturbed by thoughtless noise from our fellow campers or passers by. In Australia, as our camping friends know, you’re lucky to go a couple of nights without some booze ot drug fuelled hoons running your serenity. A very different culture here, both on campsites and on the roads. We’ve loved that.

Magical sight of Assisi complete with friendly cats

Seafront views complete with oysters in Brittany

What we’ve missed is the ability to just chat to people easily because we share a language. This morning my trip to the boulangerie went particularly smoothly, even ending up with what I thought I ordered, a rarity I have to say. There was a real sense of achievement in that, given my very sad state of linguistic ability. I spent French lessons at school being mostly slapped with a ruler by a very uninspiring educator. I will though miss being challenged to learn at least the basics to show courtesy to our local country hosts. But our UK friends and family beware, we are incoming with A LOT TO SAY!

Plenty of English spoken with friends in La Marche, Italy

Old connections reestablished in Germany…

We have loved the variety of scenery and culture that Europe offers. You drive a few miles down the road and everything you see changes so fast. The landscape, the architecture, the farming, the signs (despite the EU’s best efforts), it’s a constant assault on the senses and we have loved it. The variety in the food as well, stacked up in supermarkets groaning with options. And please explain why you travel 20km down the road and go from one “country” to another and the food is completely different. How did that come to pass? Well I’m glad it did anyway. For us, Italy was an absolute standout winner on the dining-out front, quality, price, service, ambience…all just brilliantly executed. And on dining in, well we found great fresh produce everywhere, and the very talented Mrs A turned that into awesome lunch and dinners in our little Truffy.

In the driving department (there’s only me working in that one), it was a little stressful to start with getting used to the dimensions of our Fiat truck, with its the manual gear box changed with the right hand (it is left hand drive), plus everything happening on the other side of the road. But…OK…settled into it. A few hairy moments, like driving into a tunnel in Italy having roadworks performed, which clearly didn’t involve fixing the tunnel lights, and seeing massive lorries thundering towards me in the other lane, usually reserved for traffic going the same way!! But I have to say while on the subject of Italy, the drivers there were some of the most courteous we encountered, overtaking in places I wouldn’t, but understanding of my constraints in Truffy. We had one horn honked at us in 4 months, I was a little cautious after the tunnel nightmare of every dark yawning hole that I approached…a little too carefully it would seem.

Finding somewhere to park for the night, even in the middle of the high season, never presented a problem. We didn’t always like the prices or the facilities, but there was always somewhere. France the clear winner here. Their network of places to pull up, refill with water, empty your grey and black water, is just fantastic, and many of these are free. We always tried to make sure we went into the town though wherever they were and spent some money, only fair. Many of these places were no more than scruffy car parks with a bit of kit in the corner that allowed for the emptying and filling, with various degrees of success and cleanliness. Mrs A was also an absolute wiz at researching all of these stopovers, allowing me to focus on getting us there in one piece. What a team!

Our bikes that took us for literally hundreds of kilometres

Our packrafts allowed us to get away from the crowds and see some wildlife

So what would we have done differently? I asked Catherine this yesterday and we both agreed…very little. Splashed out on an awning for Truffy to keep us cooler, that’s about it. We also knew we had a great team in our dealer’s workshop to talk to if something went wrong with Truffy, which it rarely did. We loved the layout of the van, but more of that in a separate post. Having almost constant internet thanks to our 4G signal booster on the roof and a super plan from Vodafail…connectivity and therefore information was almost always on hand…well except in Germany where they seem to be strangely lagging in the internet department given their usual level of efficiency! Even the amount of time on the road felt right, if we hadn’t have had our stopovers “drive surfing” through France and Italy we think it would have been more challenging. As it was we got to stretch ourselves out every so often and move our elbows while having a shower…luxury.

A bit of drive surfing to celebrate a big birthday in Italy

And another big birthday celebrated in Croatia, island hopping by boat and cycling

So…friends-and-family time next and we are both really excited to be doing that. One thing we have noticed about writing this blog, our friends don’t feel they need to check in and share what they’re up to (or maybe it’s the excuse they’ve been looking for all along!?).) We have so much catching up to do.

Then at the end October its back to Australia, our fur child and Aussie based friends. That also is something to look forward to. Retirement…the holiday that never ends. Or sorry I should say “career break” for Catherine. She gets a bit touchy if I say “we’re retired”. She’s clearly too young for that, and spends a chunk of her time volunteer-working on her role as admin for the health support group she runs along with research with doctors across the world. Much to admire in my wife…

September 4, 2019September 4, 2019

3 September: Hastings girl gets to see the Bayeux Tapestry

Author: Mrs A

Location: Bayeux and Longues-sur-mer, Normandy, France

Growing up in Hastings, in the south-east of the UK, it was hard to avoid mentions of the battle. In fact I have to say that all my life , when asked where I grew up, I tend to answer ‘Hastings, as in the battle-of, 1066’. It seems there are few people in the world who havent heard of the famous arrow-in-the-eye end of King Harold and the subsequent taking of the throne by King William.

During the 1980s, the mascot of Hastings was even ‘Harold the Hamster’, a cute furry character in Saxon clothing…I wonder what happened to him. Google seems to have no answers on that count…

The Bayeux Tapestry was all but a mythical item, we knew it existed, way across the waters in France, but were unlikely to see it. Instead we had the Hastings Embroidery, commissioned in 1966 to commemorate 900 years since the battle, and depicting scenes throughout British history since 1066. I remember seeing that in the town hall, wondering at the hours of work involved and the stories it involved. But it wasn’t the tapestry.

So today was the day. We drove to the little town of Bayeux, half way up the Normandy coast, inland from where the D-Day landings took place during WWII. We wound our way through the town’s old cobbled streets, dominated by the huge cathedral (consecrated in 1077, eleven years after the battle), where the tapestry was shown for two weeks every year for several centuries.

Today the nearly thousand year old tapestry is stored in a museum, carefully preserved under special lighting and atmospheric conditions. No photography is allowed, but to give you a feel there are some reproduced tapestries for sale in the gift shop.

So, according to the French, the story goes like this…

There once was an Anglo-Saxon king of England called Edward the Confessor. He had no children and was reaching his last days and so had to choose a successor as king. He decided that his distant Norman cousin, William should be the next king of England, and so his brother-in-law Harold was sent over to France to give William the good news.

Once Harold got back to England and King Edward died, Harold decided that he should in fact be king, and announced it, supported by the noblemen. He was crowned and enjoyed a few peaceful months on the throne.

Meanwhile, William was a bit miffed about this and got his people building and preparing boats, horses and supplies to take across the channel to contest the throne.

By October they were ready and headed off across the English Channel, landing on Pevensey beach. They did a little pillaging of the peasants there and enjoyed a good feast in preparation for a fight. English spies ran to Harold and told him William had arrived, and so he got his armies ready.

The Normans set sail across the English Channel

Feasting at Pevensey Bay – the noblemen at a table, blessed by a priest, and the soldiers eating off their shields

There was a bloody and violent battle, with massive losses on both sides, but on 14 October 1066 King Harold was slain. According to the tapestry this was from an arrow which fell from above (perhaps a reference to the hand of God) and into his eye, but other records suggest his death was by sword rather than arrow. Two months later, on Christmas Day, WIlliam the Comquerer was crowned king of England.

Not in the tapestry, but incidentally King William ruled for 21 years until his death aged 59, falling off a horse. His third son William (the second) then took the throne.

So basically the tapestry was publicity to spread the word to the peasants in Normandy that England was theirs for the taking and depicting how powerful the Normans are. Most of the peasants couldn’t read or write, so pictures needed to tell a thousand words, and indeed they did. We can only assume there is some ‘fake’ news in the tapestry to make it a good story…after all, history is in the hands of the teller.

The Bayeau cathedral is huge and dominates the town

Just look at the size of the front door!

And pretty magnificent inside too, clearly designed to overwhelm the local peasants

A quick look into the cathedral on the way back to Truffy and we were on our way to camp for the night, just a short drive away.

We pulled up on the clifftop at Longues-sur-mer along with one or two other campers, enjoying the fresh sea breezes and amazing views along the coast.

Truffy and his motorhome buddies up on the clifftop

This coast, while beautiful and peaceful today experienced much violence in the Second World War, when the area was occupied by Nazi Germany. There remains much evidence around, with huge gun emplacements just behind where we camped and remains of the Atlantic Wall, built as a defence against the Allied Forces.

We did a lovely 8km evening walk before settling down for the night.

Remains of the Atlantic Wall can be seen in the background

September 2, 2019September 3, 2019

2 September: Normandy – a wander up the coast

Author: Mr A

Location: Chateau de Regnéville, Regnéville-sur-Mer, Normandy France

I’ll say one thing about writing a blog, it does focus you to read a bit about where you’re passing through. It would be easy to just drift on through these places. Drive-by tourism I think its called.

Does this remind us a bit of an English coastal resort…except with sand not stones….

Straining to see across the English Channel

Take today for instance. We have been continuing to make our way up the north Normandy coast, and stopped for a bit of wander along the cliffs, looking north over the town of Carolles, before parking up for the night next to a castle ruins. Now if i hadn’t been writing this blog, I reckon I could have easily pulled away in the morning learning nothing more than what was on the info board at the castle. All it said really was that it was built in the 12th century, and for the next few centuries was a fighting base for either the French or the English, depending on who was on top at the time.

Google wasn’t much more helpful, on this particular pile of stones, but it did get me down various rabbit holes learning (or perhaps re-learning because I would have been taught this stuff at some stage!) about this little corner of the world that has had such a huge impact on my English heritage.

I didn’t even know (remember from my…yawn…school history) that the word Normandy is derived from the description “Northmen” (or Vikings) who raided down this part of the coast, and eventually settled and inter-married (presumably after the raping and pillaging phase?), then were awarded lands by the French in return for bashing the English a bit.

La Sienne – the tide goes out a long way here

I guess the most famous bit of English clobbering from this part of the world happening on October 14th 1066 at..yes…the Battle of Hastings. The lovely Mrs A having gone to school there, would have heard our version of that little fisticuffs. Yup…French rule for poor old Blighty, the Norman Conquest as we called it. You’d think we’d have ended up with better food and nicer accents?

Here’s an exam question..if the French speaking nobility who lorded it over the English peasants for the next few hundred years, had forced them to learn their lovely language, what would have been the changes to history we would have seen? Frogs legs and a glass of wine as a Friday night supper, not prawn vindaloo and ten pints of lager? I admit to going down another rabbit hole and reading a whole series of answers to that question. The more you read, the more you realise the less you know. This trip has sure made me realise how woefully ignorant I am!

Is that the real purpose of travel?

And the sun sets on another day on the road

August 23, 2019August 26, 2019

22-23 August: We get moving in Morvan

Author: Mrs A

Location: Morvan Regional Natural Park, Ousoux-en-Morvan, Bourgogne, France

Thursday: When we saw a green patch on the map not far from us we couldn’t resist heading there to visit to hopefully do some hiking. We succeeded in our mission… In fact over the last two days we have walked more than 32 kilometres (or 20 miles in old measurements)….and our legs are feeling it too! These have not been flat kilometres either – we are staying on top of a hill, which means around half a kilometre of ascent and descent each day too!

Morvan Regional Natural Park (RNP) is a designated rural area with a strong identity derived from a rich natural and cultural heritage. The goal of an RNP is to encourage sustainability in development while preserving the natural and cultural environment. It’s a large area, so we picked a random campsite with good reviews and drove on over. It turned out that the village we picked, Ouroux-en-Morvan, is the official centre of the Eurozone (the 19 countries adopting the Euro as legal tender)…not that we saw much evidence of that.

We arrived around lunchtime, and were not long set up when we headed out for a hike. Given my broken toe, we have avoided hiking for the past month and a half , but the pain has now dulled to feeling just like a bruise… we’re not used to hiking!

Appreciating the change in scenery, looking very dry in late summer

A butterfly enjoys the last of the summer flowers

The scenery is very rural, rolling hills, fields of cattle, corn and hay, forestry evident everywhere. The walking paths are mostly old farm tracks, been around for so many centuries they are even marked on Google Maps.

Setting off down one of many criss-crossing lanes

A gorgeous fox hunting field mice and lizards in a field, we watched him for about 20 minutes as he got closer and closer to us

We hiked over to the Chapel of Banquets, a small church built in the mid 1800s on the grounds of a Château. It had commanding views over the countryside and was a great spot to rest and have a cup of tea.

The Chapelle de Banquet – so named because of the feasts local villagers used to enjoy on this hill with a view

It looks like there have been pagan visitors recently…

Mr A sitting in the shade pouring us a herbal tea…

Enjoying the view…already feeling the walk after only 6km

The circuit walk then proceeded to follow trails through beautiful woodland, across streams and passing via tiny sleepy villages.

Guard geese make a welcome change from yapping farm dogs

We concluded our walk at our campground after 15km (9 miles), where we ordered two plates of fish and chips, enjoyed with a bottle of wine purchased at a cave in our nearby village of Ousoux-en-Morvan. Yes…we combined hiking with wine tasting, not something we do every day!

Friday: After that successful walk, we decided to repeat our efforts the following day. This time the circuit took us down to a reservoir and back up – a 17km hike. The day was even warmer, topping out at 31°C, so the final kilometres uphill were pretty exhausting.

Every little village has a well with one of these pumps

We are eyed with suspicion by the bovine locals everywhere we go

Climbing up and and up on our return hike

We enjoyed a cup of tea here while watching a pair of swamp harriers hunting in the field below

After showers and lots of rehydrating we still managed to go out to dinner in our local village. In the main, Ouroux-en-Morvan looks fairly run down and abandoned, weeds in the gutter and a general feeling of neglect. It was pretty quiet on our visit despite being peak holiday season in Europe, with plenty of room on our campsite for spontaneous visitors. We can imagine it would be fairly bleak during the winter months. That said, our dinner at Le Lion d’Or was delicious, and their excellent reviews well deserved.

We had four courses for €25 (AU$41/£23) plus a carafe of house red (which was really good). Despite dairy being an issue for me, I was able to eat something from every course (other than the local cheeses – this is cow country), including a marvellous poached pear and home made blueberry sorbet. A fabulous end to our visit in the region.

August 5, 2019August 5, 2019

3 – 4 August: Into the Zillertal Valley

Author: Mr A

Location: Saint Ulrich am Pillersee & Kaltenbach, Zillertal Valley, Tirol, Austria

Saturday: Our final day in the Kitzbühel region was very wet. We had been invited over to Maayke and her husband Simon’s house for lunch so we could get some cat-time and some ideas for places to visit during our next couple of weeks. We donned our waterproofs and hiked the 4.5km over to their house.

Raining cats and dogs on our walk over….

We arrived rather damp, but soon warmed up with a fabulous feast for lunch and shared a bottle of delicious wine while stroking their gorgeous Persian cats and getting some tips for further exploration in the Tirol area.

Maayke, Mrs A, Simon and Mr A…the cats refused to pose

Sunday: It was time to pack up Truffy our motorhome and drive deeper into the mountainous Tirol region. We had been given a few suggestions about where to head and finally settled on the Zillertal Valley. It lies around 40km east of Innsbruck, and is well known for its network of cycling trails. But first we had to get there, and decided to take a bit of a detour on the way to see the Krimml Waterfalls, the highest in waterfalls in Europe – the fifth highest in the world. Their backdrop is the snow covered mountains of the Hohe Tauern National Park, containing their highest peaks.

We parked up and paid our fee, then we paid another fee to see the waterfalls. I must admit that’s a first for us, paying to see a natural landscape. Anyway it was quite spectacular, if you could look past the rows of cafes and streams of other visitors!

The force of the water is massive, sending a spray over everyone. Look to the right to see the scale – yes, those are people!

Mrs A trying not to slip into the raging torrent below

The view from the cafe where we stopped for refreshments

We moved on and followed a route that would take us over a high pass to the Zillertal Valley. Well that was quite an adventure, with the first part of the route being via a single track road with occasional passing places, sheer drops and largely no fencing! Of course we met two motorhomes coming the other way on the narrowest section. All breathe in! I’m so glad that we went for a left hand drive vehicle, as most of our challenging driving will be in Europe where I can see a little better what’s coming round the tight bends.

The view from the top of the pass was just breathtaking. We decided it would make a top lunch spot and settled down for a calming cuppa and a sandwich. Heart rate settled, it was time to tackle the route down, which thankfully was mostly on two lane roads. I just had to avert my eyes from the precipitous drop to my right. Catherine was as cool as a cucumber of course enjoying the views.

Another blind bend…this is a wide bit of road with white lines!

A bird’s-eye view over the valley as we come down the switchback roads

The bottom of the wide valley floor was reached and our campsite located. Nowhere near as nice as our previous one, crammed in next to a main road, but it will suffice as a base.

Off we headed next on the bikes down the valley, along with half of Austria it seems also cycling! It’s great to see so many different ages enjoying a ride on a glorious Sunday afternoon. Families towing trailers with nodding off children, mountain bikers wearing big grins and mud streaks, and of course the odd roadie with a serious game face on.

The valley is populated with a string of small villages nestled on the bright green slopes, the cycle path cutting through fields of corn, with jagged mountains piercing the sky in the distance. Not a bad ride at all!

Flowers line the banks of the Ziller River we cycle alongside for much of the ride

As all the shops are closed on Sundays, like most countries in Europe (frustrating) and supplies were low, we had an early dinner, and once again had to pay cash as no cards were accepted.

Is this the Austrian banks not supporting small business?

This was sixth time in as many days this has happened, and every time I have asked the merchant “Why no cards?”. The answers have ranged from “All our customers want to pay with cash” (when I was left wondering “Am I not a customer then, as I don’t?”) to “It’s too difficult as we are a small business” (I fight the urge to smile, remembering so many market stalls in other countries where I see traders using their phones or tablets to transact).

Austria appears to be a country that is very conservative in its culture, with its traditional food, dress and customs. Their approach to tourism it seems therefore is to offer what they always have, hearty food of meat and dairy dishes, chosen from a menu with no other language other than Austrian.

The incredible natural beauty of the country, and its seemingly endless options for outdoor activities, will keep bringing more and more tourists, with diverse expectations about what they want to eat and how they want to pay. Last year Chinese visitors to Austria were up by 25% for instance, and they. like me, will expect the convenience of paying by card, phone or watch, shopping when they want to, and seeing a variety of food options on a menu. They all seem to be sticking to the big cities though as we have only met a handful of non-Europeans since arriving here.

It will be interesting to watch how and if the Austrians adapt, hopefully without losing the traditional culture that is part of its charm and attraction. The government is certainly innovative in how it has invested in cycling though, even providing e-bike charging points along some of the paths!

We rode back to Truffy as the sun set, completing our 25km ride safe in the knowledge we were unlikely to meet a car on our path.

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 15, 2019

15 July: Ljubljana – a pocket sized slice of city gorgeousness

Author: Mr A

Location: Ljubljana, Slovenia

We found a place to park Truffy and wandered into Slovenia’s capital city – all very easy as it’s so dinky! The vibe was just so good.

We climbed up to its centrepiece, the magnificent castle.

Our first sight of the castle walls as we climb up

Mrs A relishing every single easy breath

Looking down to where we started…great views all the way

We did the whole Ljubljana Castle tour with audio sets and it was so worth it. From the unique artefacts showcased in the museum (including a 5,000 year old Celtic vase), to the description of its turbulent history as it suffered the onslaught of the mighty Ottoman Empire – at one stage only 100 miles from its doorstep, to the beautiful entertaining spaces that have been created inside the old castle walls and are a hub for modern day culture in Slovenia.

An art exhibition space in what used to be artiilery storage

On climbing to the highest tower, amazing views over the city and beyond

You can see a third of Slovenia from the top of this tower

Spiral staircases – wisely providing separate staircases for up and down

Now that’s what I call a wine fridge…or two…

Really the only parts of its history not covered was that during the Second World World War it served as an Italian prison (was that a deliberate omission? I don’t really understand the unwritten rules around what’s not spoken about in a tourist context). Then right up until the 1960s the castle was used as overspill city housing for the poor.

A short ride down on the funicular railway and it was time for lunch. We seem to have slipped unconsciously into that Mediterranean pattern of no breakfast (well we substitute tea for their coffee), then lunch as our main meal and a snack at night. I think Catherine’s missing her creative time in the kitchen!

Water is a key feature in the city with the Ljubljanica River forking off and looping around, creating an island

A tasty Chardonnay for Mrs A – we are rather appreciating Slovenian wine after the desert of Croatia

We had a lovely meal by the river at a fish cafe, then wandered around the lovely streets filled with interesting shops, cyclists and happy smiley folk! What a great vibe…a city we would call at first glance like this very liveable.

In fact it’s the most likeable capital city we have seen so far on our travel based on our criteria – easy to get around by bike, waterways and green spaces everywhere, loads of food and wine choice, easy access to the mountains.

At just over 20,000 square kilometres, the country of Slovenia is a good deal smaller than Australia’s largest cattle station (Anna Creek in South Australia at 23,600km²), so its major tourist attractions are apparently heaving …we will find out tomorrow!