EUROPEAN ROADTRIP JUNE 2013 chapter one

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Tuesday 11^th June 2013

Leave Scawby around 10.15am and spend the night at Ashford in Kent. Next morning we arrive at the Channel Tunnel at 6.50am and we are on our way to France at 7.10am arriving 25minutes later. It really is amazingly quick and efficient.

Wednesday 12^th June

We drive about 230miles with a few stops along the way, it is not cold but there is a thick covering of cloud and we do not see the sun. A bit like home. Very pleasantly surprised when we arrive at our chambres d’hote in St Germain la Ville, it is a charming old farmhouse “Les Perrieres”. The owners Nicole and Denis are very friendly and make us drinks and snacks after showing us to our room. There is a child’s birthday party in progress and it's certainly child-friendly with little tables and chairs all around.

Drive into Chalons en Champagne to eat and enjoy a very good “plat du jour”, it's a fairly warm evening. We had to go to the pharmacy to get some mosquito bite cream first because, as usual, George had been bitten. The mozzys just will not leave him alone.

Thursday 13th June

After breakfast we are on the road again and the temperature climbs from 20 to 33 degrees! Just before we leave France we have a picnic lunch and enjoy the sunshine for a while then over the Rhine and into Germany, hardy noticing we have crossed a border. It is very hot indeed and our hotel is a lovely, unusual place, we are told we can help ourselves to tea and coffee in the kitchen and there is also an honesty bar. We always feel a bit more vulnerable in Germany as although we can get by in French we only know a handful of words in German. It is still around 30 degrees when we go out to eat and we have a delicious, (expensive) meal sitting outside. George finishes the meal with cheese and it comes with a little bowl of smouldering grass that gives the cheese a smokey taste. While we are there the sky starts to darken and we just get back to our hotel before it rains.

Friday 14^th June

Every breakfast we have ever had in Germany has always included a boiled egg and this morning is no exception, we eat perfectly boiled eggs,(they do get lots of practice). Spend the day exploring the Black Forest and walk miles around Freiburg; as well as the fabulous scenery and architecture they also have fantastic shops. Fresh water flows through the streets in little narrow rills and some shops float toy ducks or boats. It has been much cooler than yesterday.

Saturday 15^th June

The machine declines our card when we want to pay this morning so we have to use euros, we wonder if the card has been locked as this has happened to us before on more than one occasion. It is annoying but we have been pleased, on two occasions, when the bank has noticed payments that we had not made. We set off for Austria passing orchards of apples and peaches and lots of vineyards. The weather is warm and sunny with blue skies and we stop for coffee at a lovely place called Freidrichschafen which is on Lake Constance. When we arrive at the Austrian Border we are pulled over and fined 120 euros as we haven’t purchased a Toll Sticker in advance. We had seen a sign for “TOLL” and we thought it meant that we would be paying a toll at the border, we don’t object to paying but such a large fine seems a bit harsh. Apparently you have to make a detour to a gas station to buy one. We knew they were necessary in Switzerland but did not know that we would have to buy one in Austria. Welcome to Austria!!!!

We drive through dozens of tunnels they are all quite long and the longest is about 15.5km. We arrive at another really lovely hotel, this booking beforehand has certainly got some advantages. A Dutch couple, Erik and Mirka run the Landhaus Tyrol in Gries im Sellrain. They make us feel very welcome and we tell them we are actually having a rather bad day. George phones the bank and they say his card has not been locked so we are not sure what happened this morning. Our room has a balcony with a stunning view, it starts to rain and we watch a beautiful rainbow appear. We walk a few hundred yards to a restaurant and have a very good meal, finishing with apple strudel and cream. We meet a family in the restaurant who are staying in the same hotel, Larry, a Texan and his German wife Maria and their daughter and son-in-law. We meet them in the little hotel bar later and have a good evening with them and our hosts.

Sunday 16^th June

Fathers Day, a beautiful morning and we have tea on the balcony before going down to breakfast. We say good bye to our new friends of yesterday who are travelling back to Germany today. Innsbruck is stunning and we have a lovely day just wondering around and watching the mountains gradually appear through the clouds as the temperature climbs to 33 degrees. Take plenty of photos, walk alongside the river, which is very fast flowing as there has been a lot of rain over the last few weeks. Return to the hotel for a rest and are greeted by the two resident bearded collies, whoopi & Lunar. Later we walk down the road to eat at the same place as last night and spend our last evening in the hotel bar with Erik & Mirka putting the world to rights!

Monday 17^th June

If it’s Monday this must be Italy. Before we leave Austria I take some photos of the drying grass which they pile onto poles; it looks very strange. We drive past alpine pasture to the Alps and through the Brenner Pass, fantastic views with snow still on the highest mountains and into Italy. A lot of houses on the hillside still look like Austrian or Swiss chalets but gradually the scenery begins to look more Italian. The Cypress trees that are quintessentially Tuscan are all around and everywhere is a lovely smell of jasmine. The German phrase book is now in the bottom of the case and the Italian one in my handbag. Note to self: remember to say “buongiorno” and “grazie” instead of “guten morgen” and “danke”. Lake Garda is really beautiful, our hotel is up a very steep hill but the room is lovely and we again have a balcony with a stunning view. We have had a walk down to the lake, it is not far but walking back up the steep hill was not easy in this heat. The room is lovely and cool and we intend to relax until we go out tonight to find a restaurant.

Have a pizza tonight just at the bottom of the hill sitting in the restaurant garden, it is lovely and if we had not pre-booked all our accommodation for this trip we would be staying another night, steep hill or not!

Tuesday 18^th June

We leave the hotel before 9am and it is already 29 degrees, we drive around Lake Garda through towns and villages managing to keep off the Autostrada even though the sat-nav is determined to get us onto it. The temperature climbs to 37 degrees and the scenic route we have chosen has more twists and turns than we have ever experienced it takes us forever to get a few miles. We start to climb up to the Ski Resort of Abetone in the Dolomites and the temperature plummets to 18 degrees, it turns very black and heavy rain turns into a thunderstorm, spectacular when you are 1400m up a mountain. We gradually get in front of the storm and the temperature climbs back up to 30 degrees but it still takes us a long time to reach Montecatini. The hotel is in the middle of the town and it is very difficult to get to it as the narrow streets are being set out with tables and chairs, plants and stalls. George goes in and is directed to their underground car park. We nearly have a disaster as the car is too high and almost becomes stuck. George manages to back out onto the street and has to leave me there with it while he goes back to the hotel to ask what to do. It is very busy with crowds of people milling about and very hot. The manager helps to get us into a gated area and George backs the car into a very awkward place at a busy road junction. The day actually started with George having to back out of a very tight space at the last hotel, he is quite pleased to leave the car securely parked as we will not need it again until we leave here on Friday.

After a shower and a rest we go out to expore the area and have a drink and pasta at a very friendly café and discuss plans for tomorrow.

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Photos

Austrian Tyrol
We watched the rain and then a beautiful rainbow appeared.

Freiburg
Fresh water flows through the streets in a little rill.

Toy Ducks for Sale
enjoying a swim in the freshwater rill.

Landhaus Tyrol
A very lovely place to stay

Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

The joys of champagne
I discovered your blog today and have enjoyed reading it. Looks like fun.

[Pipistrelle]

Thanks for your comments.
Hi Dave and Merry Jo. I thought I had repllied to you yesterday buit can't see it so I'll give it another go!! It's very nice of you to comment on my blog. We have been in the French Alps all day today, very pretty, had a picnic amongst the beautiful alpine flowers. Hope your day is going well, when I get time I will ready your blog. Happy blogging, Rosemary

[Gill Steel]

Fabulous
I am green with envy, it all looks lovely. We are having a hot spell again in England only 20 degrees, but still welcome. Carry on having a great trip and keep the blog coming. See you soon love Gill.