So, up at OUR crack of dawn and after our amazing Italian coffee/croissant experience, we head off to quit Italy driving around the Southern Italian coastline which is extremely pretty. It is quite hard to get the GPS to stay on the coastline because it is difficult terrain with rocky overhangs but the struggle is definitely worth it. Cruising along we hit San Remo, centrum again, on a Saturday and slap bang in the middle of their market day which just happens to line the main street. Add a few hundred scooters and people and it was chaos. Gary loved it but I was too scared to even get a decent photo. People were just coming from everywhere, jumping in front of Molly, on or off crossings and as we finally exited the centrum Gary said "Can I open my eyes now?"!!!!!!!!
Ventimiglia, another crazy, congested township: Latte and then Grimaldi where we finally crossed the border into France.
Still trying to stick to the coastal road to Nice through Monte Carlo, Monaco and Eze we somehow got lost firstly in the back of Menton and then in the back of Monaco. Remembering these places have very steep, narrow, extremely pretty, winding roads this makes for an extreme experience with a campervan. Following Kate(GPS) we turned left at her instruction straight into a hotel carpark!!!! Jumping out to guide Gary and Molly forward a YOUNG man strolled over asking me what we were doing? Explaining the best I could in broken French there was no way he would allow us to turn round in the carpark - Private Property!!!!!! The situation forcing Gary to reverse I firstly had to stop 2 fast flowing lanes of French traffic, coming up on to the brow of a hill. Feeling very embarrassed and being watched by this young man I promptly walked out, stuck up my hand, everyone came to a halt and, guiding Gary backwards out on to the main road, I managed to thank them profusely, jump in the cab, give the fingers to the young man and Gary drove away.........job done. We finally arrived at our amazing campsite -Campsite Colombier in Cagnes-sur-mer - settled in and started exploring.
High above Cagnes-sur-mer, sitting on a mountain top is the medieval village and castle - Haute-de-Cagnes and that's where we headed. It was undescribably amazing as those who have seen the facebook photos will confirm. We spent hours there then walked down to the township proper mainly to try to buy data for our phones. Do not be ungrateful for our NZ cell system and pre paid price structure - it is great. 50Euro each was what we were expected to pay just for 1GB of data, nothing else, for 1month. Sadly we were not prepared to do that but in France Wifi is not too bad so we should be OK.
Next day we walked to Cagnes-sur-mer beach - a bit like a mini Nice - sunbathed on beach (the weather has been awesome), found an Irish pub with good beer, lunch and free wifi, strolled along the front with an icecream then walked the 5km back to the campsite. Whenever we needed wifi we would stand in front of the Irish pub - it didn't open that often - hook up, send a few texts, download the current NZ news and then head home.
Next day we cycled to Antibbe - that was a pretty tough 12km ride, the wind in our face and the weather was looking a trifle doubtful. We took our togs though just in case. Arriving in Antibbe we discovered a place we had no idea was sooo gorgeous and the sun came out on cue. Antibbe is cute, quirky and a delight to visit. The harbour of course is home to the most amazing boats which can create a little envy. My love, but huge respect, of the sea is getting stronger and stronger and we would love to own something less lavish but as safe as some of the smaller boats. So we explore, have a bite to eat with a glass of French wine and decide to have a swim on the teensy, weensy beach there. (Well we were going to toe test the water whatever). Just as we walked through the archway the heavens opened and we had 12kms to bike back!!!!!! The torrential rain did not let up till the following morning so the rest can be left to your imagination. Exhaustion is what I recall.
But, gluttons for punishment, the following day we cycled to Nice - 13.5kms each way. This time though we were prepared - we took our raincoats with us but no togs. It was an easier ride as the cycle ways are continuous but as we biked it got hotter and hotter. That day we definitely neeeded the togs not the raincoats - foiled again!!!!! We had a lovely day in Nice - once again just strolling along the promenade and around the old city finding a fabulous authentic French restaurant for lunch - with Free Wifi of course - stopping on the way home at the infamous Irish pub for a beer and yes.......free wifi!!!!!! The day was sooo hot that all the dye came out of my M&S dress as I cycled my little heart out. Going home was better though because Gary let me lead?????? There is nothing more despondent than seeing your cycling mate trucking off into the distance with graceful ease whilst you lag further and further behind!!!!!!!
That evening we spent with an English couple on the camp, Jane and Mike, discussing Spain, amongst other things, till the wee small hours.
Next day we headed for Castallane via Grasse (famous perfume producers), Escrenolles and St Vollier du Thei along the Route Napolean. This route is very high and once again very windy but not half as bad as we had been through in the backblocks of Monaco and Monte Carlo. Gary is a great driver and Molly is a great campervan so we manage most things.
Castallane was a place where we recouped. We were both pretty tired - not getting any younger - caught up on blogs, rested, relaxed but we did walk into the village which was rather a surprise. Once again it was cute and quirky with lots of narrow streets, high buildings, blue shutters and geraniums - oh and plenty of high price restaurants filled with tourists. 2hours was all that was needed here - the tourist information centre was closed and the church on the top of the mountain (literally) was way out of reach. Hiking the 3km home again we came across a restaurant with a Formulae lunch for 8.50Euro. We enjoyed the first steak we have had for months followed by Creme Brulee and a jug of rose wine. It all came to a little more than 17Euro but it was yummy - we love French cooking.
Settling down for an afternoon of blogging and planning we had a visitor to our campsite - a little Alpine Shrew and only a youngster. Protecting this Shrew from man and campervan became my focal point for the rest of the afternoon - I mean where were his parents for goodness sake?
This little Shrew caused us to meet another GB couple - Margaret and Phil - who we hope to stay in contact with as well. We enjoyed our time in that campsite, small, typically French, but great.
Next day we head for Dauphin just outside of Manosque to hopefully meet up with Calum and Jane - good friends who we first met in Split last year. We are heading west to the camperstop they are heading East. We are travelling there through the Gorges du Verdon - Frances answer too the Grand Canyon - and we are a trifle disconcerted by tales we have been told. Bravely we travel forward! We spend a spectaular day travelling through the Gorge, stopping to take breathtaking pictures by the side of the road. We are sooooo high and we are sooooo proud of Molly who doesn't miss a beat. Coming out of the gorge we pass through Riez, through fields and fields, acres and acres of lavender - unfortunately not in bloom as this would have been spectacular - and our pot of gold at the end of this rainbow? Our friends Calum and Jane who we always have an amazing time catching up with.
Arriving within half an hour of each other and after a "cup of tea" I get to work cooking an easy curry. Another van arrives, Jen and Glynn - GB as well, and we all get together eat curry and drink wine till 1am. Have to say saying farewell again the next morning was hard but recovering from the night before was even harder!!!!!!! See you around March time Calum and Jane.x
Moving on from our free night at the camperstop we head for St Remy. Love it, love it, love it. It is hot and sunny and great.We have arrive on a weekend where everything cultural in France is Free so we head into the village to take advantage of this. Van Gogh is here as well as many other artists. We were fortunate enough to be able to purchase a Van Gogh at a very reasonable price as it was in this town that he painted 160 paintings whilst in hospital with bi-polar disorder. It will look nice on the wall in the Lodge. Natural museums explain how the land use has changed over the years around here. There are lectures on the archaelogical aspects of the area etc etc. We are spoiled with a free Jazz session in the square as the sun is burning hot and we share Pizza at an Italian restaurant in France and drink Rose wine. We are replete and happy.
Today we catch up on house stuff and of course the blog. The washing is drying in the sunshine, Molly has had her mudguards sanded and painted and her rust medicated - she tells me she is feeling good, for tomorrow we expect more of her as we move on.
And finally the blog is 100% up to date - phew! Till tomorrow that is!!!!!!
Bye for now xx
Monday, 22 September 2014
Italy - second attempt
From Switzerland we decide to make our way to Italy. Now in previous blogs we have said we would never return but.......return we did, lured by good weather and recommendations to give it another go!!!
So from Locarno we headed South down the East side of Lake Maggiore to Occimiano. The trip down was extremely hazardous as the roads were very narrow, hilly and bendy but it was definitely worth the stress for the sheer beauty of the small villages, the continuous tunnels and the breathtaking views. Somewhere along the way we crossed the Swiss Italian border where border booths were still attended but, without looking up from his cellphone, the policeman waved his arm for us to continue on. (Seriously we could have had a dozen illegal immigrants in Molly for all he cared!!) Continuing down but now on the Italian portion of the lake, the roads immediately deteriorate, becoming narrower and unkempt. The road patching seems random, the potholes huge and then, on a narrow right hand bend with a huge, solid cliff-face to our right, we come face to face with a massive tourist bus. We both come to an immediate halt, as does all the traffic behind each of us, the female bus driver hangs out the window gesticulating wildly and we can only assume she is staying right where she is and we have to sort it out!!!! OK so we have solid rock to our right, we are going uphill and we have traffic backed up behind us? Yep..... The only way is forward. Slowly, inch by inch Gary creeps forward. We are a quarter of an inch away from the cliff on my side, the motorbiker behind the tourist bus is pulling a face as though to say "you are never going to make that" and the female bus driver is shaking her head.....why we have no idea. Molly takes a big breath in and we squeeze through, give everyone a happy wave and continue on. I no longer need reminding why we said we would not return to Italy!!!!!
We make it to our free Camperstop, with electricity, in Occimiano which is absolutely lovely. The village has done a great job of setting up an area with lighting, a seating area, electricity etc but the downside is?........it is on a small island in the middle of the road where 3 maybe 4 roads converge........and it is no longer free????? That is OK though - it is still cheap - so the bikes come off and we cycle into the village to pay our money at the local pub. This is when the church bells start ringing and ringing and ringing..............and then the cockrells start crowing and crowing and crowing! Bellringing practice and Alzheimer cockrells (this is late afternoon after all)?.......we jump on our bikes and cycle out of town to hopefully a village a short distance away which is a little quieter, leaving Molly to soak up the atmosphere at the camperstop.
But we never get there!!!! The roads are soooooo bad that a screw in Gary's pedal keeps being shaken undone and he is having to stop every few minutes otherwise his pedal will fall off. After a few kilometres of this we give up and return to Molly where we are joined by 2 French couples and enjoy a lovely evening chatting over a few glasses of wine.
Italy is just not for us!!!!! Next day we decide to head towards Nice, France and there is a tunnel on a border which will eliminate us having to go over the Alps but give us some great low mountain scenery through picturesque villages. This is good. GPS set....off we go.
We skirt around Cuneo, travel through the lovely ski-ing town of Limone Piemontè, zig zagging our way up the lower mountain roads as we do so, reaching the tunnel maybe two and a half hours later..........CLOSED!!!!! Everyone is bought to a halt at a set of traffic lights, on red, which never change!! In the distance 2 men can be seen chatting, leaning on road works barricades, oblivious to peoples distress (or ignoring it) - they seemingly, really, just don't care! If they did they would have pulled the plug on that road down in the Valley or at least set up some diversions. We are, once again, on a narrow road, on an up hill with nowhere to go. Big lorries and tankers in front of us are trapped. Once a stream of traffic appears from nowhere heading towards us. There is a road over the Alps apparantly but we are advised, by very definite headshaking from other travellers not to go. Cars and motorbikes, behind us in the queue, begin to pass us and travel to the roadworks site, turn around and head back down the hill. This is what we must do too - we have lost hours of travel time, we have to find another route over a different border which is not mountainous and we realise we will have to spend another night in Italy!!!!! Mmmmmm........once again I need no reminder of why we and Italy do not agree.
So we set off for Imperia - south-east of our intended direction skirting the base of the mountains via Mondovia, past Vicofort Sancturio and through Ormea. It is actually a very nice journey, beautiful scenery, not much rubbish, only 3 prostitutes on display and those oh-so-nice little villages. We wonder how they feel or cope with the huge trucks and sheer volume of traffic rumbling through their once peaceful villages.
We finally arrive in Imperia on rush hour and Kate (GPS) takes us directly into the City Centre, thru the middle and spits us out the other side. This is a large, major city with plenty of traffic and crazy Italian drivers and it is hot! Safely out the other side and close to our campsite she instructs us to "turn left"...... Straight into the sea?????? Really have to question that choice Kate! So, missing our campsite, and not being able to do a U-turn on such a narrow, winding road we are forced to head back up into the hills again. Spying another campsite we investigate that as an alternative option even though it is nowhere near the beach and directly underneath a motorway flyover. 30Euro a night???? Get real!!!!! Think they saw us coming.
Anyway if nothing else we had the opportunity to turn around here and recalculate Kate - taking us back, correctly this time, to our original campsite. It has been a long and arduous day and we sleep like babies.
This campsite is awful - but this is Italy after all - the take it or leave it attitude we have grown to understand. There are no toilet seats, no loo paper, no handwash and filthy, but hot, showers. We make do knowing this is our absolutely last day in Italy - we need no more reminders, we will not be back.
Irony is, next morning, before we left for the French border we walked along the beachfront, over the expressway and under the railway line, opposite our campsite. We discovered a cute cafe with a lovely, charming, Italian waitress where we bought fabulous coffees and scrummy Italian choc au pain (best I ever tasted anyway) and had FREE wifi for as long as we liked. I would say a very positive ending to Italy - wouldn't you? This, however, was not the end of Italy but that all comes in the next blog.
Love to all - hope you enjoy and understand travelling, the way we are, is not all stars and roses!!!!!!
So from Locarno we headed South down the East side of Lake Maggiore to Occimiano. The trip down was extremely hazardous as the roads were very narrow, hilly and bendy but it was definitely worth the stress for the sheer beauty of the small villages, the continuous tunnels and the breathtaking views. Somewhere along the way we crossed the Swiss Italian border where border booths were still attended but, without looking up from his cellphone, the policeman waved his arm for us to continue on. (Seriously we could have had a dozen illegal immigrants in Molly for all he cared!!) Continuing down but now on the Italian portion of the lake, the roads immediately deteriorate, becoming narrower and unkempt. The road patching seems random, the potholes huge and then, on a narrow right hand bend with a huge, solid cliff-face to our right, we come face to face with a massive tourist bus. We both come to an immediate halt, as does all the traffic behind each of us, the female bus driver hangs out the window gesticulating wildly and we can only assume she is staying right where she is and we have to sort it out!!!! OK so we have solid rock to our right, we are going uphill and we have traffic backed up behind us? Yep..... The only way is forward. Slowly, inch by inch Gary creeps forward. We are a quarter of an inch away from the cliff on my side, the motorbiker behind the tourist bus is pulling a face as though to say "you are never going to make that" and the female bus driver is shaking her head.....why we have no idea. Molly takes a big breath in and we squeeze through, give everyone a happy wave and continue on. I no longer need reminding why we said we would not return to Italy!!!!!
We make it to our free Camperstop, with electricity, in Occimiano which is absolutely lovely. The village has done a great job of setting up an area with lighting, a seating area, electricity etc but the downside is?........it is on a small island in the middle of the road where 3 maybe 4 roads converge........and it is no longer free????? That is OK though - it is still cheap - so the bikes come off and we cycle into the village to pay our money at the local pub. This is when the church bells start ringing and ringing and ringing..............and then the cockrells start crowing and crowing and crowing! Bellringing practice and Alzheimer cockrells (this is late afternoon after all)?.......we jump on our bikes and cycle out of town to hopefully a village a short distance away which is a little quieter, leaving Molly to soak up the atmosphere at the camperstop.
But we never get there!!!! The roads are soooooo bad that a screw in Gary's pedal keeps being shaken undone and he is having to stop every few minutes otherwise his pedal will fall off. After a few kilometres of this we give up and return to Molly where we are joined by 2 French couples and enjoy a lovely evening chatting over a few glasses of wine.
Italy is just not for us!!!!! Next day we decide to head towards Nice, France and there is a tunnel on a border which will eliminate us having to go over the Alps but give us some great low mountain scenery through picturesque villages. This is good. GPS set....off we go.
We skirt around Cuneo, travel through the lovely ski-ing town of Limone Piemontè, zig zagging our way up the lower mountain roads as we do so, reaching the tunnel maybe two and a half hours later..........CLOSED!!!!! Everyone is bought to a halt at a set of traffic lights, on red, which never change!! In the distance 2 men can be seen chatting, leaning on road works barricades, oblivious to peoples distress (or ignoring it) - they seemingly, really, just don't care! If they did they would have pulled the plug on that road down in the Valley or at least set up some diversions. We are, once again, on a narrow road, on an up hill with nowhere to go. Big lorries and tankers in front of us are trapped. Once a stream of traffic appears from nowhere heading towards us. There is a road over the Alps apparantly but we are advised, by very definite headshaking from other travellers not to go. Cars and motorbikes, behind us in the queue, begin to pass us and travel to the roadworks site, turn around and head back down the hill. This is what we must do too - we have lost hours of travel time, we have to find another route over a different border which is not mountainous and we realise we will have to spend another night in Italy!!!!! Mmmmmm........once again I need no reminder of why we and Italy do not agree.
So we set off for Imperia - south-east of our intended direction skirting the base of the mountains via Mondovia, past Vicofort Sancturio and through Ormea. It is actually a very nice journey, beautiful scenery, not much rubbish, only 3 prostitutes on display and those oh-so-nice little villages. We wonder how they feel or cope with the huge trucks and sheer volume of traffic rumbling through their once peaceful villages.
We finally arrive in Imperia on rush hour and Kate (GPS) takes us directly into the City Centre, thru the middle and spits us out the other side. This is a large, major city with plenty of traffic and crazy Italian drivers and it is hot! Safely out the other side and close to our campsite she instructs us to "turn left"...... Straight into the sea?????? Really have to question that choice Kate! So, missing our campsite, and not being able to do a U-turn on such a narrow, winding road we are forced to head back up into the hills again. Spying another campsite we investigate that as an alternative option even though it is nowhere near the beach and directly underneath a motorway flyover. 30Euro a night???? Get real!!!!! Think they saw us coming.
Anyway if nothing else we had the opportunity to turn around here and recalculate Kate - taking us back, correctly this time, to our original campsite. It has been a long and arduous day and we sleep like babies.
This campsite is awful - but this is Italy after all - the take it or leave it attitude we have grown to understand. There are no toilet seats, no loo paper, no handwash and filthy, but hot, showers. We make do knowing this is our absolutely last day in Italy - we need no more reminders, we will not be back.
Irony is, next morning, before we left for the French border we walked along the beachfront, over the expressway and under the railway line, opposite our campsite. We discovered a cute cafe with a lovely, charming, Italian waitress where we bought fabulous coffees and scrummy Italian choc au pain (best I ever tasted anyway) and had FREE wifi for as long as we liked. I would say a very positive ending to Italy - wouldn't you? This, however, was not the end of Italy but that all comes in the next blog.
Love to all - hope you enjoy and understand travelling, the way we are, is not all stars and roses!!!!!!
Thursday, 18 September 2014
Switzerland
Heading for Zurich we pass through firstly the German border into Austria, then back into Germany and finally into Switzerland - firstly stopping off at Winterthur in a lovely pub carpark to cut Gary's hair and have lunch, in that order. Gary sitting on the step of Molly, without his T shirt on as I cut his hair, caused quite a stir from passing motorists (we were at a major junction) some tooting, some giving the thumbs up - it was quite a spectacle to behold.
Making sure we were at least mildly presentable we headed off to Huntwangen Switzerland, just outside of Zurich, to stay a few delightful days with Markus and Livia. We were only intending to stay two nights but that slowly increased to four, with some help from Livia, and we so enjoyed ourselves spending time with them. The first evening we had a fabulous dinner with Livia's mother and father, sister and new brother-in-law, their friends Reudi and Nadine and a couple of rogue policemen - one of whom was Markus. Livia put on a fantastic meal in a beautiful setting and it was very special reconnecting with everyone almost one year to the day of our first meeting. We spent a lot of time being lazy, chatting and generally getting caught up - hugging Pepo and Sydney was high on the list as well. Gary did lots of good long, uphill walks with Markus and the dogs and Livia and I did short ones. The weather was hot with plenty of sunshine. This was just what we needed - good company, plenty of laughter, warm sunshine, relaxation and good wine. Oh yes and plenty of Grappa for Gary!!!!!!!!
Our next treat was a visit to a Japanese restaurant in a cute little village in Germany. Here the German border is possibly only 5 minutes away but unfortunately i cannot remember the name of either the restaurant or the village. It was "all you can eat" for a fixed price but you do not face the food train you are side on to it so the two people closest to this revolving food heaven are at the beck and call of the two people sitting beside them. Now this is OK but..........the food train whizzes round really fast, you then have to open two sliding doors and deftly grab the requested plate. Markus has this down to a T (obviously he has been many times before) but me? Nah! Also the food is coming round towards Markus - he can see it coming miles away - but I have my back to it which is a definite disadvantage. By the time it registers that Gary has seen and has then asked for a specific dish it has gone past and is just out of reach. Solution? Grab as much as you can, when you can, and surround yourself with little plates of food you can both share.....easy! OMG though it looked sooooo greedy! Once icecream started coming round I knew Gary would be happy?????? It was a great evening and a place I would love to go back to.
Our time went quickly with our two happy friends and once again it was time for us to say goodbye and head off into the sunset. This was quite hard for both of us as we are unsure when we might see them again. Thank you once again Markus, Livia, your wonderful family and friends for such an amazing few days. Next time New Zealand?????
From Huntwangen we drove to Locarno, Lake Maggiore close to the Swiss Italian border driving through a 17km tunnel to get there. Strolling around the Old town that evening we discussed, over a glass of wine of course, giving Italy another go. We did not enjoy Italy last time round but driving around the lake and down the west side of it into Italy seemed a good compromise and hopefully a better outcome. We will let you know in due course.
Making sure we were at least mildly presentable we headed off to Huntwangen Switzerland, just outside of Zurich, to stay a few delightful days with Markus and Livia. We were only intending to stay two nights but that slowly increased to four, with some help from Livia, and we so enjoyed ourselves spending time with them. The first evening we had a fabulous dinner with Livia's mother and father, sister and new brother-in-law, their friends Reudi and Nadine and a couple of rogue policemen - one of whom was Markus. Livia put on a fantastic meal in a beautiful setting and it was very special reconnecting with everyone almost one year to the day of our first meeting. We spent a lot of time being lazy, chatting and generally getting caught up - hugging Pepo and Sydney was high on the list as well. Gary did lots of good long, uphill walks with Markus and the dogs and Livia and I did short ones. The weather was hot with plenty of sunshine. This was just what we needed - good company, plenty of laughter, warm sunshine, relaxation and good wine. Oh yes and plenty of Grappa for Gary!!!!!!!!
Our next treat was a visit to a Japanese restaurant in a cute little village in Germany. Here the German border is possibly only 5 minutes away but unfortunately i cannot remember the name of either the restaurant or the village. It was "all you can eat" for a fixed price but you do not face the food train you are side on to it so the two people closest to this revolving food heaven are at the beck and call of the two people sitting beside them. Now this is OK but..........the food train whizzes round really fast, you then have to open two sliding doors and deftly grab the requested plate. Markus has this down to a T (obviously he has been many times before) but me? Nah! Also the food is coming round towards Markus - he can see it coming miles away - but I have my back to it which is a definite disadvantage. By the time it registers that Gary has seen and has then asked for a specific dish it has gone past and is just out of reach. Solution? Grab as much as you can, when you can, and surround yourself with little plates of food you can both share.....easy! OMG though it looked sooooo greedy! Once icecream started coming round I knew Gary would be happy?????? It was a great evening and a place I would love to go back to.
Our time went quickly with our two happy friends and once again it was time for us to say goodbye and head off into the sunset. This was quite hard for both of us as we are unsure when we might see them again. Thank you once again Markus, Livia, your wonderful family and friends for such an amazing few days. Next time New Zealand?????
From Huntwangen we drove to Locarno, Lake Maggiore close to the Swiss Italian border driving through a 17km tunnel to get there. Strolling around the Old town that evening we discussed, over a glass of wine of course, giving Italy another go. We did not enjoy Italy last time round but driving around the lake and down the west side of it into Italy seemed a good compromise and hopefully a better outcome. We will let you know in due course.
Wednesday, 17 September 2014
Austria
Leaving Czech we head for Vienna but not before being warned, once again, about the antics of Romanians by the Camp owner. This story goes like so: "Be very careful the Romanians lie in wait by the side of the road and when you stop they jump out, spike your tyre and then when you are distracted jump in the campervan and steal things" ???? Romanians obviously leave nothing to the imagination creating huge fear among travellers. We hear different stories so often some just have to be true. In my world though....... I prefer the rose tinted lenses.
Closing in on the border we decide to stock up Molly at the last Lidls store in the Czech Republic. Gin is NZ$6 bottle, wine is NZ$5.60 for 1.50litre bottle. Oh yes, food is very cheap too! We have our Vinette for Austria - a must that we bought at the Polish/Czech border (possibly from scammers but we are still not sure) - so we are all ready and prepared for our border crossing.
This we do and straight into a traffic jam. It takes us 1hour 30mins to travel 5kms and guess what? It is raining again!!!!! The holdup is because of a bottleneck through this charming little village which also has a sculpture of a naked lady leaning on and looking over the bridge in the middle of the village. Could she have had something to do with the holdup????
Finally arriving in Klosteneuburg, still in torrential rain which we will experience for the next 72 hours, we next morning brave the elements to visit the village and it's majestic castle. It is a really cute village, not much happening because of the rain I guess, but the castle is magnificent and has been restored over several decades by the current owners who are winemakers. Best find though?........ a Japanese Restaurant buzzing with life where we actually ate Thai/Chinese food in the warmth for our late lunch early dinner. Vienna tomorrow with a hopeful improvement in the weather.
Alas this was not to be although breaks in the rain were sporadic. Vienna was a disappointment - maybe it was the weather I am unsure - but the journey from campsite to the metropolis was definitely not.
Firstly the bus = perfect. Secondly the Underground = not so cool. I figure going up an escalator not down should have been our first clue and as we climbed the moving staircase I whispered in Garys ear..."are you sure about this Gary?" Armed with cellphone, google maps, underground map and various other paper maps....yes he was certain. Ok onto waiting train. Second clue should have come when we remained on the surface of the earth not once venturing underground!!!! End of the line = Hutteldorf = totally wrong direction, totally wrong train, and totally wrong service line.
VIENNA. Yes there were some beautiful buildings steeped in history: some lovely parks but nothing particularly memorable for us. The Danube was brown not blue and everything and everyone seemed to pack up early and disappear??? Vienna was without a heart - just a rambling, sprawling city. I had always wanted to visit Vienna - my rose tinted glasses threw up idylic visions of waltzes and violin music in picturesque squares but no, nothing like that. To stave off disappointment we decided to take a boat trip along the Danube only to be told that the last one had left for the day but one was leaving at 5pm from a different destination. Cool it didn't look that far away on the map so off we trotted feeling at least we would get something out of this very expensive city. An hour and a half later, and not at a slow pace either, we arrived at the harbour and, getting to within 100yards of the boat, we watched in horror as it pulled away from the shore!!!!! Finding the closest underground station, regardless of our ticket zone, we headed back to Molly putting Vienna behind us.
Up early the next morning we decided, before departing for Salzburg, to take a bike ride along the Danube. Although the bike ride was good the Danube was not.....but I am fed up with being negative about Vienna so shall say no more.
Travelling to Salzburg we made a detour to Lake Mondsee where the sun was shining. This is such a cute, pretty place with a community feel about it. Everyone was friendly and helpful and our spirits lifted. Arriving at our camp which was also lovely, the bikes came off Molly and we headed into the town which was 5km into the Centrum. Cycling a fair distance uphills and over dales and looking at a cluster of buildings still on the distant horizon we finally came upon a sign. This indicated that Centrum was in the opposite direction!!!!!!! Cycling back the 6km to the camp we ditched the bikes, jumped on the bus and had a thoroughly perfect day in Salzburg. If you come to Austria forget Vienna, Salzburg is the place. There is so much to see and appreciate. It is easy to navigate and as a large town makes sense for some reason.The castle was standing proud in the sunshine - it was an amazing day. We finished the perfect day off with an Asian buffet - fabulous choices and loads of it - meeting a couple of Australian people, Maggie and Richard from Perth, who came and sat beside us. Time slipped by as we happily chatted and we still had a fair walk and a bus ride back to Molly to do. Unsure when the last bus was we were lucky to catch the last one for the night exposing ourselves to arguing Romanians and drunk elderly ?Russians.
Managing to find the correct bus stop to get off, in the dark, up in the hills along a very narrow winding road we happily made our way back to Molly. Suddenly Gary exploded in fits of laughter - he still had his bicycle clip around his jean trouser leg and neither of us had noticed - all day!! I like to think we didn't notice because we were captivated by Salzburg - we really do love this place.
We are making our way to Zurich so next stop is a campingplatz in Izny, Germany. To our surprise it was based at the Dethleff factory and they had made a very nice set up there for overnighting. Electricity, showers, toilets etc and all for 8 Euro. Off came the bikes again and we biked into the very small but cute village, had a beer in the sunshine and then prepared for our final trip to Zurich to meet up again with Markus and Livia, Pepo and Sydney. We are so looking forward to spending time with them again.
Closing in on the border we decide to stock up Molly at the last Lidls store in the Czech Republic. Gin is NZ$6 bottle, wine is NZ$5.60 for 1.50litre bottle. Oh yes, food is very cheap too! We have our Vinette for Austria - a must that we bought at the Polish/Czech border (possibly from scammers but we are still not sure) - so we are all ready and prepared for our border crossing.
This we do and straight into a traffic jam. It takes us 1hour 30mins to travel 5kms and guess what? It is raining again!!!!! The holdup is because of a bottleneck through this charming little village which also has a sculpture of a naked lady leaning on and looking over the bridge in the middle of the village. Could she have had something to do with the holdup????
Finally arriving in Klosteneuburg, still in torrential rain which we will experience for the next 72 hours, we next morning brave the elements to visit the village and it's majestic castle. It is a really cute village, not much happening because of the rain I guess, but the castle is magnificent and has been restored over several decades by the current owners who are winemakers. Best find though?........ a Japanese Restaurant buzzing with life where we actually ate Thai/Chinese food in the warmth for our late lunch early dinner. Vienna tomorrow with a hopeful improvement in the weather.
Alas this was not to be although breaks in the rain were sporadic. Vienna was a disappointment - maybe it was the weather I am unsure - but the journey from campsite to the metropolis was definitely not.
Firstly the bus = perfect. Secondly the Underground = not so cool. I figure going up an escalator not down should have been our first clue and as we climbed the moving staircase I whispered in Garys ear..."are you sure about this Gary?" Armed with cellphone, google maps, underground map and various other paper maps....yes he was certain. Ok onto waiting train. Second clue should have come when we remained on the surface of the earth not once venturing underground!!!! End of the line = Hutteldorf = totally wrong direction, totally wrong train, and totally wrong service line.
VIENNA. Yes there were some beautiful buildings steeped in history: some lovely parks but nothing particularly memorable for us. The Danube was brown not blue and everything and everyone seemed to pack up early and disappear??? Vienna was without a heart - just a rambling, sprawling city. I had always wanted to visit Vienna - my rose tinted glasses threw up idylic visions of waltzes and violin music in picturesque squares but no, nothing like that. To stave off disappointment we decided to take a boat trip along the Danube only to be told that the last one had left for the day but one was leaving at 5pm from a different destination. Cool it didn't look that far away on the map so off we trotted feeling at least we would get something out of this very expensive city. An hour and a half later, and not at a slow pace either, we arrived at the harbour and, getting to within 100yards of the boat, we watched in horror as it pulled away from the shore!!!!! Finding the closest underground station, regardless of our ticket zone, we headed back to Molly putting Vienna behind us.
Up early the next morning we decided, before departing for Salzburg, to take a bike ride along the Danube. Although the bike ride was good the Danube was not.....but I am fed up with being negative about Vienna so shall say no more.
Travelling to Salzburg we made a detour to Lake Mondsee where the sun was shining. This is such a cute, pretty place with a community feel about it. Everyone was friendly and helpful and our spirits lifted. Arriving at our camp which was also lovely, the bikes came off Molly and we headed into the town which was 5km into the Centrum. Cycling a fair distance uphills and over dales and looking at a cluster of buildings still on the distant horizon we finally came upon a sign. This indicated that Centrum was in the opposite direction!!!!!!! Cycling back the 6km to the camp we ditched the bikes, jumped on the bus and had a thoroughly perfect day in Salzburg. If you come to Austria forget Vienna, Salzburg is the place. There is so much to see and appreciate. It is easy to navigate and as a large town makes sense for some reason.The castle was standing proud in the sunshine - it was an amazing day. We finished the perfect day off with an Asian buffet - fabulous choices and loads of it - meeting a couple of Australian people, Maggie and Richard from Perth, who came and sat beside us. Time slipped by as we happily chatted and we still had a fair walk and a bus ride back to Molly to do. Unsure when the last bus was we were lucky to catch the last one for the night exposing ourselves to arguing Romanians and drunk elderly ?Russians.
Managing to find the correct bus stop to get off, in the dark, up in the hills along a very narrow winding road we happily made our way back to Molly. Suddenly Gary exploded in fits of laughter - he still had his bicycle clip around his jean trouser leg and neither of us had noticed - all day!! I like to think we didn't notice because we were captivated by Salzburg - we really do love this place.
We are making our way to Zurich so next stop is a campingplatz in Izny, Germany. To our surprise it was based at the Dethleff factory and they had made a very nice set up there for overnighting. Electricity, showers, toilets etc and all for 8 Euro. Off came the bikes again and we biked into the very small but cute village, had a beer in the sunshine and then prepared for our final trip to Zurich to meet up again with Markus and Livia, Pepo and Sydney. We are so looking forward to spending time with them again.
Monday, 8 September 2014
Czech Republic and Poland
So here we are having crossed the border, as such, into the Czech republic and we have decided to go briefly to visit Loket. It is a beautiful sunny day and Loket matches our expectations. The streets are narrow and cobbled, there is the customary square in the middle of which stands a bronze statue surrounded by parked cars which is a shame. We have come here for the castle though and we are not disappointed - Hrad Loket is steeped in history and is amongst the oldest in the Czech Republic. It is over 800 years old and has been many things in it's time including a prison and a place of torture. We spent hours wandering around this place but sadly we needed to move on as we wished to reach our campsite in Prague before dark and what a good job we did.
Kate, our GPS not me although we probably have a lot in common, took us straight through the centre of Prague (Praha) which was quite nerve racking in many respects especially as it was rush hour. It is a vast city dotted with the usual road works which always sends Kate into a spin, and the roads are terrible. Eventually we were spat out the other side and arrived at our campsite. Parking beside the pool - quiet because it was too cold for even the children to swim - we were entertained that night by a band with a female singer playing in the restaurant - it was rather lovely. Alongside the restaurant the children were entertained by a couple of exuberant young girls and the whole welcome and feel of the camp was quite special.
Prague (Praha)! What to say? We loved this city. As you all know we are not big city people but this place is very special. Firstly we had to get there though. A brisk walk to the station worked out well but do you think we could find out how to get onto the platform? No! This is just a small country station, trains whizzed through incessantly without stopping, but we were lucky enough to find a nice young man sitting in his car who spoke a little English and voila the puzzle was unravelled. We do not think we would have ever found the entrance if we had not asked. Unbeknowingly we then travelled first class to Prague and decided to spend our day just wandering.
So much to do and see: Charles Bridge, Prague Castle, the Old Town Square, St. Vitus Cathedral, Wenceslas Square, lunch on the river - you name it we did it and both were foot weary at the end of the day. Every time we turned a new corner or went down a new narrow cobbled street there was another amazing "something" to take our breath away.
As I say we wandered all day but something happened in Prague that Gary and I still find absolutely amazing. We have only met one other couple from NZ on this trip but in Prague we met 2 more. A lady was calling out to her friends saying she had no idea what the food was she had just purchased and Gary explained to her it was sweet bread rolled in cinnamon sugar. This of course started a conversation which would have lasted at least an hour. They all came from Whitby in Wellington which is where I lived for four years and where I started the Carols by Candlelight around the lake, at least 29 years ago, which still run to this day. (Very much like Nelson) They knew where I lived, they knew the same people as me, their children went to school with my children - it was bizarre. Somewhere our paths would have crossed but.......it was a long time ago.
Prague we both thought was the best large city we have visited and if you have not been and get the opportunity you have to go. The architecture alone is out of this world and the history - well it is something NZ just doesn't have.
Moving on we travelled through Czech, through magnificent hopfields to Zemberk on the Czech Polish border. Czech Republic is very clean, although a little dilapidated, and along almost every road we travelled apple and pear trees grew by the side of the road. They were abundant with fruit but as they are left to their own devices the fruit was very small. They also like to dress the round hay bales up as people which is quite effective.As I said earlier the roads are very poor - even the motorways - but worse are the communal showers which neither of us could bring ourselves to use.
Next stop Auchwitz or Oświęcim - now the shower issue has probably become clear to all.
We have crossed the border into Poland and are camped just 10 minutes walk away from Auchwitz 1 - it is raining but somehow it seems ok for it to be raining here. Sunny would be wrong. We are in a fabulous campsite attached to this huge hotel and have met a wonderful family from Holland. Mama is a ceramic potter who sells her creations all over the world and very good they are too. Daughter in law is a singer and a jeweller - both are very talented and it was nice to spend the evening (our last sunny evening) chatting whilst the sun went down.
Our day in Auchwitz 1 and Auchwitz 2 was sobering. Putting the crowds aside and just being in our own personal space taking it all in was, I believe, lifechanging. The sheer volume of people murdered, tortured, humiliated, separated, exterminated, abused, starved and kept in overcrowded cruel conditions because of one mans gene fault is entirely overwhelming. There are no birds and apart from the tourists it is deathly quiet. The "shower block" and the "crematorium are still standing as are the rooms where those who were destined for the gas chambers were made to undress.These would have been Jewish women, children, the elderly and the ones with disabilities: those with brown eyes and darkhair and those who were of no value for medical experimentation - in fact everyone who had no value to the Nazis. When visiting the site you have to have a tour guide and you keep moving pretty quickly. You pass through rooms filled with shoes (mens, womens and childrens), toothbrushes, suitcases, clothes, shaving brushes and worst of all hair - removed before or after death. Standing there in the same spot where all these atrocities happened............was very emotional and very overwhelming.
I will always be reminded of Auchwitz not only for what I saw but because I decided to buy a necklace here made by Jeske as a lasting memory of this place but also for a reminder that life still goes on.
The next day we drove to the Salt Mines in Wieliczka which dates back to the thirteenth century. Here too you can only take a tour with a guide and it is 3 hours long. You walk through amazing caverns on tiles made of salt. See monuments sculpted from salt, chandeliers of salt crystal and experience how salt extraction has changed over the centuries. There are underground churches where the salt miners prayed for their safety and the mine runs for kilometres horizontally and is very deep - it took us 300 steps to get to the first level. It no longer extracts rock salt as the remaining salt layer is now too thin and closed production in 1999. It was a good day and a different experience.
From here we continued on to Krakow. This was to be our last stop in Poland as the country, to be honest didn't really inspire us. This was before we ventured into Krakow old city which has a wonderful feel about it - it also was a sunny day with brilliant blue sky.....to begin with anyway!!!! Catching a bus a short walking distance from our camp we wandered along the river Wista to the Castle of Krakow, spending hours taking in the history, architecture and gardens then moved on to the Main Market Square to find the Underground museum which lies directly beneath the Market Square. It is like another civilisation has lived down there and I suppose they did over 600years ago. Archaeologists uncoverd the old roads and old trading sites under the square and it has been turned into this very modern interactive museum.......very enjoyable.
Having eaten a very nice Polish BLT with an egg on top and the most delicious indulgence of some huge chocolate icecream desert whilst people watching in the square, we headed home. The clouds were rolling in, the weather was on the change.
Sourcing the return bus home......no problem. Getting back to the campsite.......very different. "We need to cross the road and turn left and left again" my trusty human GPS announced. "You sure about that?" I proclaimed. Let me tell you now he has the eye roll down to a tee so I trustingly followed. Three quarters of an hour later we were back to where we started from. "Oh! We should just turned right and right........". Mmmmmmm!!!!!!!! Anyway we arrived back in the nick of time just as the heavens opened. To be honest they haven't closed yet and the rain has been continuous for days.
Krakow was a good high to leave Poland on. We are pleased we have done it but have no desire to return.
So next day we head back over the Polish border to Frydeck- Mistek in Czech Republic where we once again camped by a lake. We managed to bike around this lake too, along with dozens of in-line skaters, but were not able to have a shower that night because the receptionist left at 6pm and she held the key????? We were treated to a free firework display that night but there was nothing else to keep us there so next day we headed for Bojkovice close to the Slovakian border. This is where Kate (the GPS remember) decides to play a game with us and takes us the mountainous route. Well we travel up hill and down dale upteen times and often in first gear, bikers wave merrily to us on route, which kind of makes our day because they are struggling more than us, the destination flag appears, disappears, reappears and the disappears again from view on Kate and we wonder where the hell we are going to land up but..........true to form it is right at the gate of the correct campsite.
We have a break in the rain so we set off to the village on foot to look around but this is the weekend and everything is closed, it is as dead as a doornail - even the castle jeering at us atop the hill is closed. The only thing open is a smelly museum where the receptionist is soooo pleased to see someone we cannot stop her talking and thrusting paperwork in our hands. We cannot understand a word she is saying so politely accept all that is offered, shake her hand and leave. At least we know we have made her day. The white castle is the reason we have come here but never mind the Czechs have retained their family weekend and we are very pleased for them. We arrive back at Molly just as the rain restarts and decide a shower is in order. Here you can only have a shower after 5pm or before 9am???? So we are OK. If you have facebook you will have seen the now famous shower experience Gary had....what a drama....for those who haven't heard here is a copy.
DRAMA IN THE SHOWER.
Camping near the Slovakian border in Czech Republich I thought I would have a shower before tea. Well what a palarva! Entered a cubicle and stripped off. Put my soap and shampoo in the tray and threw my undies in to wash. It was now that I noticed that the shower head was broken. I opened the door and made two trips (in the nude) to the next cubicle transferring all my clothes, shampoo, soap, towel and shoes. I felt like Gollum! Checked the shower head.......not gunna fall for that again, and shut the door. Bugger, no lock and the door kept swinging open. Gollum checked out all the cubicles and the only one with a lock and a functioning shower head was flooded! No choice but to use that one. All good. Hung up the clothes, put the towel on the stool and climbed in a small tub behind a plastic curtain. Now I have been in a few showers in my time and know that you take the shower head down and get the temperature right first so you don't get sprayed in the face with cold water. Well the hot water took its time coming so I increased the volume a tad. 400 degree water shot out on my feet under pressure which made Gollum immediately stand on the sides of the tub while bending down to adjust the taps. This took quite a while. The cold tap pressure couldn't get past the hot tap pressure until I turned down the hot. Several scalding seconds later I had a nice temperature coming out of the shower. I put the head back in the holder and it immediately swung to the right and gave me a face full before finding a gap in the curtain and flooded the floor. I rammed it solidly into the holder and eventually had a nice shower.
Now I had to dry and get dressed! No problem as I normally dry most of my bits before getting out. Job done, i reached for my T-shirt......damn it's still in the second cubicle. Just as well, as the shower now proceeded to drip cold water down my back. I fetched fresh undies off the hook and standing on one leg tried to put them on. My toe caught the crutch and off balanced me so I stepped on the shower bottom in the wet with clean undies underneath. Another cold drip down my back straightened me up before I fell face first outof the shower. Eventually I was dressed, except for the T-shirt, and squished back to the camper in wet shoes. At least the water was hot.
So you see all this tripping around the world is not as luxurious as some people think! It is hard work.
Penned by Gary.
Relating this to me back in Molly....well we couldn't stop laughing.
Next day we headed for a campsite just outside the larger City of Brno in the very small village of Veverska Bityska. It is Sunday!!!!!! There is an electric boat that takes an hour to cross the lake in the general direction of Brno but it is cash only, as is the campsite, so we need an ATM. Off came the bikes again and off we go in search of it. There is definitely an ATM in the village but we never found it and of the few people we happened across no one spoke English - not even a little. We did however find an amazing place to eat in the garage of a house????? The Czech food we had was wholesome, delicious and cheap - the beer was cold and refreshing. NZ$13 in total. Yum.
Heading back to the campsite, just before the rain started once again we were treated here to a spectacular thunder and lightning display accompanied by torrential rain for many hours. Half way through this a car and caravan arrived and pulled up on the grass to wait out the storm. When the storm finally abated we realised it was a lovely Dutch couple we had met at the campsite in Krakow and whom Gary had helped with his GPS - Coby and Gerard. Neither of us knew that we would meet up again, let alone so soon, needless to say a lovely evening was had chatting over a bottle of wine till the early hours.
Saying farewell again the next day we headed for the Austrian border with Vienna in sight.
That is where we will see you next - hopefully with some sunshine to report.
Kate, our GPS not me although we probably have a lot in common, took us straight through the centre of Prague (Praha) which was quite nerve racking in many respects especially as it was rush hour. It is a vast city dotted with the usual road works which always sends Kate into a spin, and the roads are terrible. Eventually we were spat out the other side and arrived at our campsite. Parking beside the pool - quiet because it was too cold for even the children to swim - we were entertained that night by a band with a female singer playing in the restaurant - it was rather lovely. Alongside the restaurant the children were entertained by a couple of exuberant young girls and the whole welcome and feel of the camp was quite special.
Prague (Praha)! What to say? We loved this city. As you all know we are not big city people but this place is very special. Firstly we had to get there though. A brisk walk to the station worked out well but do you think we could find out how to get onto the platform? No! This is just a small country station, trains whizzed through incessantly without stopping, but we were lucky enough to find a nice young man sitting in his car who spoke a little English and voila the puzzle was unravelled. We do not think we would have ever found the entrance if we had not asked. Unbeknowingly we then travelled first class to Prague and decided to spend our day just wandering.
So much to do and see: Charles Bridge, Prague Castle, the Old Town Square, St. Vitus Cathedral, Wenceslas Square, lunch on the river - you name it we did it and both were foot weary at the end of the day. Every time we turned a new corner or went down a new narrow cobbled street there was another amazing "something" to take our breath away.
As I say we wandered all day but something happened in Prague that Gary and I still find absolutely amazing. We have only met one other couple from NZ on this trip but in Prague we met 2 more. A lady was calling out to her friends saying she had no idea what the food was she had just purchased and Gary explained to her it was sweet bread rolled in cinnamon sugar. This of course started a conversation which would have lasted at least an hour. They all came from Whitby in Wellington which is where I lived for four years and where I started the Carols by Candlelight around the lake, at least 29 years ago, which still run to this day. (Very much like Nelson) They knew where I lived, they knew the same people as me, their children went to school with my children - it was bizarre. Somewhere our paths would have crossed but.......it was a long time ago.
Prague we both thought was the best large city we have visited and if you have not been and get the opportunity you have to go. The architecture alone is out of this world and the history - well it is something NZ just doesn't have.
Moving on we travelled through Czech, through magnificent hopfields to Zemberk on the Czech Polish border. Czech Republic is very clean, although a little dilapidated, and along almost every road we travelled apple and pear trees grew by the side of the road. They were abundant with fruit but as they are left to their own devices the fruit was very small. They also like to dress the round hay bales up as people which is quite effective.As I said earlier the roads are very poor - even the motorways - but worse are the communal showers which neither of us could bring ourselves to use.
Next stop Auchwitz or Oświęcim - now the shower issue has probably become clear to all.
We have crossed the border into Poland and are camped just 10 minutes walk away from Auchwitz 1 - it is raining but somehow it seems ok for it to be raining here. Sunny would be wrong. We are in a fabulous campsite attached to this huge hotel and have met a wonderful family from Holland. Mama is a ceramic potter who sells her creations all over the world and very good they are too. Daughter in law is a singer and a jeweller - both are very talented and it was nice to spend the evening (our last sunny evening) chatting whilst the sun went down.
Our day in Auchwitz 1 and Auchwitz 2 was sobering. Putting the crowds aside and just being in our own personal space taking it all in was, I believe, lifechanging. The sheer volume of people murdered, tortured, humiliated, separated, exterminated, abused, starved and kept in overcrowded cruel conditions because of one mans gene fault is entirely overwhelming. There are no birds and apart from the tourists it is deathly quiet. The "shower block" and the "crematorium are still standing as are the rooms where those who were destined for the gas chambers were made to undress.These would have been Jewish women, children, the elderly and the ones with disabilities: those with brown eyes and darkhair and those who were of no value for medical experimentation - in fact everyone who had no value to the Nazis. When visiting the site you have to have a tour guide and you keep moving pretty quickly. You pass through rooms filled with shoes (mens, womens and childrens), toothbrushes, suitcases, clothes, shaving brushes and worst of all hair - removed before or after death. Standing there in the same spot where all these atrocities happened............was very emotional and very overwhelming.
I will always be reminded of Auchwitz not only for what I saw but because I decided to buy a necklace here made by Jeske as a lasting memory of this place but also for a reminder that life still goes on.
The next day we drove to the Salt Mines in Wieliczka which dates back to the thirteenth century. Here too you can only take a tour with a guide and it is 3 hours long. You walk through amazing caverns on tiles made of salt. See monuments sculpted from salt, chandeliers of salt crystal and experience how salt extraction has changed over the centuries. There are underground churches where the salt miners prayed for their safety and the mine runs for kilometres horizontally and is very deep - it took us 300 steps to get to the first level. It no longer extracts rock salt as the remaining salt layer is now too thin and closed production in 1999. It was a good day and a different experience.
From here we continued on to Krakow. This was to be our last stop in Poland as the country, to be honest didn't really inspire us. This was before we ventured into Krakow old city which has a wonderful feel about it - it also was a sunny day with brilliant blue sky.....to begin with anyway!!!! Catching a bus a short walking distance from our camp we wandered along the river Wista to the Castle of Krakow, spending hours taking in the history, architecture and gardens then moved on to the Main Market Square to find the Underground museum which lies directly beneath the Market Square. It is like another civilisation has lived down there and I suppose they did over 600years ago. Archaeologists uncoverd the old roads and old trading sites under the square and it has been turned into this very modern interactive museum.......very enjoyable.
Having eaten a very nice Polish BLT with an egg on top and the most delicious indulgence of some huge chocolate icecream desert whilst people watching in the square, we headed home. The clouds were rolling in, the weather was on the change.
Sourcing the return bus home......no problem. Getting back to the campsite.......very different. "We need to cross the road and turn left and left again" my trusty human GPS announced. "You sure about that?" I proclaimed. Let me tell you now he has the eye roll down to a tee so I trustingly followed. Three quarters of an hour later we were back to where we started from. "Oh! We should just turned right and right........". Mmmmmmm!!!!!!!! Anyway we arrived back in the nick of time just as the heavens opened. To be honest they haven't closed yet and the rain has been continuous for days.
Krakow was a good high to leave Poland on. We are pleased we have done it but have no desire to return.
So next day we head back over the Polish border to Frydeck- Mistek in Czech Republic where we once again camped by a lake. We managed to bike around this lake too, along with dozens of in-line skaters, but were not able to have a shower that night because the receptionist left at 6pm and she held the key????? We were treated to a free firework display that night but there was nothing else to keep us there so next day we headed for Bojkovice close to the Slovakian border. This is where Kate (the GPS remember) decides to play a game with us and takes us the mountainous route. Well we travel up hill and down dale upteen times and often in first gear, bikers wave merrily to us on route, which kind of makes our day because they are struggling more than us, the destination flag appears, disappears, reappears and the disappears again from view on Kate and we wonder where the hell we are going to land up but..........true to form it is right at the gate of the correct campsite.
We have a break in the rain so we set off to the village on foot to look around but this is the weekend and everything is closed, it is as dead as a doornail - even the castle jeering at us atop the hill is closed. The only thing open is a smelly museum where the receptionist is soooo pleased to see someone we cannot stop her talking and thrusting paperwork in our hands. We cannot understand a word she is saying so politely accept all that is offered, shake her hand and leave. At least we know we have made her day. The white castle is the reason we have come here but never mind the Czechs have retained their family weekend and we are very pleased for them. We arrive back at Molly just as the rain restarts and decide a shower is in order. Here you can only have a shower after 5pm or before 9am???? So we are OK. If you have facebook you will have seen the now famous shower experience Gary had....what a drama....for those who haven't heard here is a copy.
DRAMA IN THE SHOWER.
Camping near the Slovakian border in Czech Republich I thought I would have a shower before tea. Well what a palarva! Entered a cubicle and stripped off. Put my soap and shampoo in the tray and threw my undies in to wash. It was now that I noticed that the shower head was broken. I opened the door and made two trips (in the nude) to the next cubicle transferring all my clothes, shampoo, soap, towel and shoes. I felt like Gollum! Checked the shower head.......not gunna fall for that again, and shut the door. Bugger, no lock and the door kept swinging open. Gollum checked out all the cubicles and the only one with a lock and a functioning shower head was flooded! No choice but to use that one. All good. Hung up the clothes, put the towel on the stool and climbed in a small tub behind a plastic curtain. Now I have been in a few showers in my time and know that you take the shower head down and get the temperature right first so you don't get sprayed in the face with cold water. Well the hot water took its time coming so I increased the volume a tad. 400 degree water shot out on my feet under pressure which made Gollum immediately stand on the sides of the tub while bending down to adjust the taps. This took quite a while. The cold tap pressure couldn't get past the hot tap pressure until I turned down the hot. Several scalding seconds later I had a nice temperature coming out of the shower. I put the head back in the holder and it immediately swung to the right and gave me a face full before finding a gap in the curtain and flooded the floor. I rammed it solidly into the holder and eventually had a nice shower.
Now I had to dry and get dressed! No problem as I normally dry most of my bits before getting out. Job done, i reached for my T-shirt......damn it's still in the second cubicle. Just as well, as the shower now proceeded to drip cold water down my back. I fetched fresh undies off the hook and standing on one leg tried to put them on. My toe caught the crutch and off balanced me so I stepped on the shower bottom in the wet with clean undies underneath. Another cold drip down my back straightened me up before I fell face first outof the shower. Eventually I was dressed, except for the T-shirt, and squished back to the camper in wet shoes. At least the water was hot.
So you see all this tripping around the world is not as luxurious as some people think! It is hard work.
Penned by Gary.
Relating this to me back in Molly....well we couldn't stop laughing.
Next day we headed for a campsite just outside the larger City of Brno in the very small village of Veverska Bityska. It is Sunday!!!!!! There is an electric boat that takes an hour to cross the lake in the general direction of Brno but it is cash only, as is the campsite, so we need an ATM. Off came the bikes again and off we go in search of it. There is definitely an ATM in the village but we never found it and of the few people we happened across no one spoke English - not even a little. We did however find an amazing place to eat in the garage of a house????? The Czech food we had was wholesome, delicious and cheap - the beer was cold and refreshing. NZ$13 in total. Yum.
Heading back to the campsite, just before the rain started once again we were treated here to a spectacular thunder and lightning display accompanied by torrential rain for many hours. Half way through this a car and caravan arrived and pulled up on the grass to wait out the storm. When the storm finally abated we realised it was a lovely Dutch couple we had met at the campsite in Krakow and whom Gary had helped with his GPS - Coby and Gerard. Neither of us knew that we would meet up again, let alone so soon, needless to say a lovely evening was had chatting over a bottle of wine till the early hours.
Saying farewell again the next day we headed for the Austrian border with Vienna in sight.
That is where we will see you next - hopefully with some sunshine to report.
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