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Published: April 5th 2010
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Greetings,
So it has been over a week since we left Berlin and have some adventures to fill you in on. We apologise for the lack of entries on the blog however finding internet is a tricky little thing…who would have thought. Apparently it is due to the introduction of Wifi, that nobody seems to have.
We arrived in Salzburg today after leaving Germany. Anyhow back a few days. After leaving Berlin we headed to Bamberg, about halfway down Germany. Bamberg was a beautiful little village with waterways, old churches and even older pubs. The campground was nice and a couple of kilometres from town and on a river. After riding into town in the rain we walked the town centre, up to the castles and back then to an old pub for lunch. Now we have come to realise that pork is a German’s favourite dish but after smoked bacon flavoured beer and a pork leg we then spent the next 8 hours paying for it. Needless to say Lola was not impressed.
After Bamberg we headed for Rothenburg in the Black Forest. After driving for a few hours marvelling at the scenery we got to the
campsite to find it was still closed for the winter. After speaking with the owners, they insisted we stay anyway so we had the campsite to ourselves, not including the permanent camp folk though. We only stayed one night as we wanted to head further into the Black Forest, to the more picturesque places.
First stop was Schiltach, nominated as the prettiest town, and it lived up to expectation, although very small.
Now after driving up and down mountains on forest roads, Lola starting making some grumbling noises that she did a few weeks ago and the mechanic assured me was the front wheel bearings which I might add were new and was not a problem. After a picnic by the river, we walked the town and then headed for St Peters campsite. 5 minutes in and that grumble has turned into a volcano approaching eruption. Then halfway up an incline, that volcano erupted with 2 all mighty bangs, which resulted in Em and I simultaneously saying, “what the fuck was that”. After pulling over, I was somewhat surprised to see the engine, gearbox and both axles still in place.
We figured we would try again we
resulted in 2 more bangs so we pulled over and then thought…”what the fuck to we do now”. Well, I remembered we had European Breakdown cover so we gave them a call who arranged the equivalent in Germany to come and have a look. After explaining what happened they decided a tow truck was probably better. This is where the story gets good, at least in terms of your faith in humanity.
So, the tow truck turns up and after hearing the noise, the driver simply says ‘shit’, and then took us to the local Ford service centre. So we arrived just as they were closing up, however the limited English speaking tow truck driver spoke to the owner in German and the Service Manager, and said something like…”look at these stupid Aussies campervanning for 5 months in this shit box” and we figure had never seen Aussies in this neck of the woods and hence we were a novelty, looked at us with pity and probably humour, then proceeded to find the problem. At this stage we were thinking the worst re: money. After putting Lola on the hoist they found that you could shake the driveshaft like
a lolly, hence the problem. It was determined this would take at least 24 hours to get said part and repair and would cost about 300 Euro (a lot better than anticipated).
Now, the owner of the service centre wanted to organise a hotel for us and offered to drive us however we needed this done through our European Breakdown Cover as this was covered. After a few phone calls and the owner waiting, they found one some 45 km away. Now this did not impress the owner and Manager who then got on the phone in his office and organised a local hotel and then rang the insurer who agreed. The owner then agreed to drive us there, some 10 minutes away. So after getting some clothes etc from Lola, the owner then took us to his car…a Lime Green Ford Focus RS with all the sporty crap you could imagine. So Em climbed in the back whilst I took the recaro up front with the non-english speaking German owner. Now a tip for any future travellers, never let your husband/boyfriend/partner ask or do sign language asking is this car fast?
After exiting the car yard we
took off…..holy shit. Needless to say we were there in about 2 ½ minutes, not slowing for roundabouts etc with me smiling and Em cursing. The owner even took our bags up to the hotel and explained in German to the reception who we were.
Anyway to cut an even longer story short, after a free night in a hotel including breakfast, the mechanic came and picked us up from the hotel and after 330 euros and a couple of 6 packs for their kindness we were back on the road by 5 pm. Yes, it did cost us 330 euro but it was an experience and one that certainly restores your faith in mankind when you are stranded in a foreign country not speaking the language and people can be so kind.
So, back on the road and not surprisingly that whirring noise I have had 3 mechanics tell me was nothing is gone. So we made it to St Peters and stayed in a great campsite with awesome views of the valleys and the Alps in the distance. Now periodically it snowed a tad when we were driving in but nothing alarming…at this stage. The following
day, we woke to 1 foot of snow around Lola and the campsite. After the campsite owner ploughed the roads, we managed to get Lola out and headed for Fussen (the bottom of the Romantic Rd). There we found another great campground on a lake with again awesome views of the Alps all around us. After parking Lola we went for a well earned beer at the site bar to find the bartender, a German girl, had recently returned from working on Rottnest for 3 months (let me tell you lads, she was Rotto worthy). So considering it was below freezing, we had dinner in the restaurant chatting to Nicole (yep got her name) before spending a cold night in Lola. We woke to a beautiful day and headed for the Romantic Rd via the castles where the view was something to behold. This castle is the one that Disney modelled the Disney castle off.
We have now spent the last few days in Munich. If you like beer (yes) and pork (yes) this is the place to be. 1L beer glasses are the standard. We have enjoyed Munich and although prettier than Berlin, does not have the same
feel. We once again participated in a free walking tour of Munich but unfortunately this time the guide was not as good as what we have previously had so did not enjoy the tour as much. We think that by now we could do the German history part of the tours. We went to the Englischer Park (Munich’s equivalent of Central Park - so the Germans say) today for a walk around. Em had heard about a man made still wave in the park somewhere and after a few minutes Em spotted a guy with a surfboard. So we headed that way our found the wave, one of the coolest things I have seen. 4 blokes in full wetsuits, boots, gloves and hoodies were strutting their stuff. Now I am sure if Brett was here he would have taken the plunge in his undies but I decided against it.
Until next time,
Love,
Ben and Em
(Lola has been dropped from the signature however may return depending on performance)
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Dad
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Goodbye Germany
All looks good, getting back to Furtwagon, is that the German equivalent to Harry's Cafe de Wheels?? Stay Safe, Dad