Back home this morning - in the rain! We actually stopped the night, part way home, in the Thurrock motorway services amongst the juggernauts. Not the most attractive stopover, but it was free (thats another story!) so we treated ourselves to an English breakfast in the cafe before returning. I shall be uploading some more photos to add to earlier blogs over the next few days.
Its nearly 'gooey gnome' time and we are in Belgium near the French border for our last but one night away. Hope it has stopped raining at home. We visited Ypres to learn something about the 1st WW battles and the huge loss of life that occurred around the Flanders fields. The whole area is a memorial to the soldiers who died here. The Messen gate is just one example and has the names of the 54,000 commonwealth British soldiers who were lost and never found. It made the Daily Express headline of the day 'Killer storm hits Britain - 4 dead' seem completely irrelevant.
We are in Luxembourg now in an area known as little Switzerland, very pretty but no snow. Had a quick look at the Rhine and then crossed the border back into France (and motorway tolls) near Strasbourg. It was a nice day yesterday until about 10pm then we had 3 cracking storms again and another this morning - they seem to be following us around. 255 miles from Calais now and back on schedule. We took the van out for the day and went to Vianden which is near the German border and has a huge castle on the hill overlooking the town. We went 500m up the hill on a chair lift and then walked back down the hill to the castle and into the old town.
We are definitely on our way home now! We are in Germany about half way between Basle in Switzerland and Strasbourg in France, just off the A5 motorway. Judging by the number of NL plates around the site this is a popular route south and stop off for dutch caravaners. The van is creaking under the load of Italian wine and Swiss chocolate (and we still have Belgium and France to shop yet). I will have a day off driving tomorrow while Rosemary does some washing, then it will be off to Luxembourg for a couple of nights before hopefully finally reaching Calais on Wednesday evening for the ferry on Thursday.
We spent 3 days in the mountain region near to the Alps sight seeing and taking photos. Firstly a lazy day walking around Engleburg which is a 'dead end' as far as a paved road is concerned, at 3000 ft, but then becomes a hiking trial in summer and ski centre in winter. The camp site shares its amenities with a 4 star hotel so it was really nice This is also the place to go to the top of Mt Titlis in a rotating cable car to view the Alps, which Mark and Christina did when they came to Lucerne, but at £60 each was out of our budget. We moved on to a new site at a small place called Meiringen, via Lucerne, to find that it is famous for a couple of things. Meringues (they were named after the town) and a water fall where Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty fell to their deaths in Conan Doyle novel. Quite a few English people here, especially visiting the falls - which we did too on the funicular railway. Finally spent a night at Camping Jungfrau which is about as close as you can get to the really big mountains with a caravan or camper. Unfortunately we had storms the night before and the morning turned wet and overcast, so no mountain views of the Eiger or Jungfrau before we had to leave. The webcams on a TV weather program were showing a grey speckled screen from all the peaks. We were going to take the 'viewing' train to Murren at 6000ft but that was pointless in the rain. Maybe next time - but at least I got a sticker for the van!
We have been in Switzerland for 3 days now and it hasn't rained for the last two days. First we stayed at Buochs for 2 days and enjoyed a boat trip on Lake Lucerne. Enroute we passed thru a 10 mile long tunnel thru the Alps a very interesting experience. Now we are in the mountains staying at the foot of Engleburg (site is at 3300 ft) and we will be heading to Interlaken to stay near Eiger and Jungfrau later this evening. According to the GPS we are only 536 miles from Calais so nearly home. We should actually have been waiting for the ferry as I type this, but Katie changed the booking for us and we will be home on 29/30th now.
We finished our stay on Lake Garda by driving the 40 miles or so round the top of the lake which gets much narrower and steeper sided in the north. The road on the West side is very impressive with tunnels and balconies practically the whole way down. We stopped for lunch in Limone which nestles in a 'hollow' in the rocky face and is a warren of steep cobbled streets full of bars, cafes and nice little boutiques. Its also a popular boat trip from the other side of the lake and was full of trippers consuming huge ice creams. Lost Rosemary for over an hour but she didn't seem to mind for once. We moved on to Lake Iseo which is much smaller and less commercialised, but has an island with a 2000 ft mountain on it, so just as spectacular. However like most lakes it has its share of rain. The day we chose for a trip around the lake developed into a typical English lake district day out - wet. It finished with another cracking thunder storm - begining to lose count of them on this trip. The site we are staying on is very small, only 64 lawned pitches, but immaculately maintained. Never seen such high tech sanitary facilties and the owner is brushing and mowing grass within 30min of a pitch being vacated.
The difference between the beach resorts of Croatia and Lake Garda area is very marked. Garda is very cosmopolitan and sophistated catering for every taste from aqua parks to Saga holidays. We are staying at Camping Serenella which is half way between Bardalino (which gives its name to a well known wine) and Garda which gives its name to a well known lake. The two are joined by a 3 mile paved promenade which makes for a very pleasant stroll. There are many lakeside 'watering holes' en route to tempt one with enormous ice creams or something stronger. I must confess that we have not been delivered from temptation! Rosemary almost caused an ecological incident by feeding the ducks yesterday! A piece of bread she threw was carried away by a coot to feed one of its tiny babies. A swan decided it wanted the bread and grabbed the baby duckling in its beak. Some German onlookers went hysterical when they thought the swan had eaten it alive. All very embarrassing. Still having storms at storms at night with almost continous lightening for hours on end - very spectacular but a bit tiring. We have just explored the south east corner by ferry boat and will take a brief drive round the rest of the lake (its over 20miles long) before moving on.
Sunday was a funny day. We had breakfast in Croatia, morning coffee in Slovenia and lunch in Italy! Finally stopped at Lake Garda having covered 285 miles in the day. Very few lorries on the road on Sunday so it makes sense to get some comfortable miles in. There are 120 sites around Lake Garda so finding a pitch is not a problem at the moment, although the ACSI one we chose is about 90% occupied. Planning to spend about 3 days here washing and doing a few boat trips around the lake. Then maybe move to Lake Iseo. Immedialely noticed English and French voices, not to mention Dutch and Italian, around us. A big change from the last few weeks in Slovenia and Croatia.
We lingered longer in Krk Island than expected but it is a rather laid back place like most Islands I guess. Just beach, bars and camp sites and souvenir shops of course The old town at Krk was a bit dissappointing but we have done so many nice old towns already in Italy. Its also the destination for most of the coach trips and where the pirate boats etc are touting for business. Punat where we stayed 4 nights was much nicer and enjoyed a lovely position on a large bay with a huge marina. The camp site was near the entrance to the bay so we could watch the yachts and launches going out for the day and we had some good sunny weather for a change. It was good stroll into the village to shop or simply stroll. Baskra and Istra Baskara on the southern tip have suberb view to the other isands and mountains on the mainland. Istria and Krk are very much German holiday playgrounds, about 90% with maybe 5% Austrian. No English newpapers till August (!) and not many English. This is the furthest East we will get this trip.
We have spent the last week on Krk Island the biggest of the Adriatic islands and connected to the Croatian mainland by a toll bridge. The first 2 nights we were close to the capital Krk which was a bit disappointing and as campsite doubles as a winter boat store - a bit of a shambles. The last 4 days we have been at Punat on a site over looking the entrance to the bay, a short stroll to the harbour/marina and under the shade of a huge fig tree. Its a very picturesque but popular area of holiday islands and we have driven to the southern most point, Baskra, which one must always return to (apparently). Clothes must be expensive there, as a lot of people are not wearing any! Its an ideal sailing area with lots of island and coves to visit if you dodge the numerous ferry boats which are doing the same. Just bought some very fresh mackeral (I think!) on the quay to BBQ tonight. The fish we caught yesteday, Rosemary caught her first ever fish from the sea, were not big enough to eat unfortunately. I suppose we need to start heading home soon, but the chances of getting the 20th June ferry are a bit low, what a surprise, but who cares!
