2014 At the Beginning

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We had left our caravan last summer in Augsburg, Bavaria, so we had a long drive down there, broken up by visiting friends.



We arrived at Augsburg about 12.30 and the site was closed for dinner. However, we found our caravan which seemed dirty but OK and not, as we feared, full of gypsies! Next day we spent some time cleaning it and putting things away so we were then soon off for Italy.



The sat nav decided not to take us the straightforward motorway route via Munich but through the hills around Oberammergau, past Innsbruck and into the Dolomites. We had been used to the cold and rain of Germany and even Austria but as we drove into Italy the skies cleared and the sun shone.



We had decided that a campsite near Trento on Lake Caldonazzo was far enough for a day and Michelle remembered that her friend Sue and her partner Alan were attending a car rally around this time so we could also meet up with them. The campsite was Camping Mario Village and we were very impressed. The cleanest toilets we have seen and most were new, some even had a bidet and there was a special children's toilet block with tiny showers and toilets! Free wifi all around the site and a most helpful and friendly reception staff. The best campsite we have ever stayed on.



Sue and Alan visited us and we sat in a bar overlooking the lake drinking coffee until they had to leave to go to Lake Garda.



Next day and being great biking explorers ha ha, we decided to set off for the nearest town Levico Terme so Michelle could have an ice cream there. We looked on a map and saw a cycle track which started nearby, so off we went and with the help of some locals who clearly understood Terry's Italian, found the track. After some time we came to a crossroads of cycle tracks, no signs. This happened twice more but then the track came to a dead end. After a couple of 'I told you so' from Michelle we came to a locked gate across the path. We turned back and up another path that stopped in the forest. We could see a village on the side of a hill but in front of it was a road. However, there was a partly dried up river bed between us, so we rode along and found a ford where what was left of the river was very shallow. We managed to cross it. We came to a road which we followed and eventually came to the town. It had taken just over an hour.



Michelle got her ice cream which made her very happy as you can see on the photo. After a good look around we decided to return by road as Michelle had had enough of exploring, it took 10 minutes to ride back.



For some reason the campsite offered us a card which gave free bus or train travel within the region and free entry to most museums etc. Trento is a town in the valley of the Dolomites which you travel past. People just bypass it, as we have many times, but we heard good reports of it so decided to take advantage of the free transport offer and the hourly train to Trento for the day. It is a ten minute bike ride to the station so we allowed an extra ten minutes. Unfortunately, as we approached the level crossing just before the station the barrier came down as our train was due to come in. We could not cross and we had to watch our train come in and leave before the crossing opened. So back home we went and waited for the next one; this time we were twenty minutes early!



Trento was as had been described. A nice central area with pretty churches. Our pass took us into several museums (not that we found much interest in them) but the town was very Italian. We drank lots of coffee and Michelle had plenty of ice cream. We met a couple from our campsite (whom we later kept meeting) called Debra and Frank from near Oxford and spent an hour talking to them in a cafe. So it was a pleasant day and we retuned home on the 18.05 totally worn out.



After one week we had to leave our wonderful campsite and set off for Bologna.

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Photos

What More can There be in Life
German Beer and a Pizza Romana

Sheltering from the Rain
Cafe in Caldonazzo with Debra and Frank

Comments

[Janette Jones]

Week one
Sounds like a good and interesting first week, your both very adventurous and have such a lot of good times and stories to tell us all. Look forward to all your other entries telling us of your travels. Have fun.