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Now this is where things could start to get confusing...we're certainly starting to get muddled (which is why M has left the blog to me this time round !) To explain... after Slovenia our now well worn round Europe Road Atlas started to fall apart (and I think some of the pages must have got mixed up)...the net result is that the navigator (M) has clearly become disorientated, which means (this is obvious to those that view the "our journey" map regularly) that we've now doubled back on ourselves two or three times and have spent the last couple of weeks back in Austria and Germany, which if memory serves me correctly we visited back in June !. Still what do I know, I'm only the driver and I'm assured by the navigator that we haven't actually been back to exactly the places previously visited !
So lets try to straighten things out. We left Slovenia and entered Austria first, then we went to Germany (everyone still clear ?). Then we went back into Austria a couple of times by mistake (this was at the South end of Lake Konstanz, which is also called Bodense just to confuse things. I'm told we then actually went into Switzerland (more on this later as we haven't finished with Switzerland yet) but then went back into Germany for a couple of beers because it was nearby (but we did this on our bikes, so it doesn't count)...So all dead simple really !
We stopped off first at Dobriach on the Millstattersee in Austria. This was notable for the whacky toliets at the campsite, which were heated (good news for us as it was getting cold outside an omen of what was to come !) The sun did shine here and we were able to go cycling around the lake which was lovely.
After a day or so we decided to leave and head off over the Alps into Germany. We took the scenic route and drove up over the Grossglocknerstrasse (highest mountain in Austria). This turned into a bit of an adventure as the van struggled up steep inclines and around numerous hairpin bends, still M got some nice photos so that's okay then. It's also the most expensive toll road in Europe we think (28 Euros to knacker your vehical over 46 km - a bargain). As soon as we got to the North side the weather closed in with driving rain and snow ! Still we made it over the otherside and camped out at Bruck (near the German border). We woke up with snow on the hills and did manage a walk up the nearest hill and got some great views of the three valleys that converge around the town. The campsite had a hotel attached and the best bit here was the bar with it's roaring log fire and authentic (we thought) Austrain accordian player complete with short leather trousers. It transpired he was actually from Yorkshire and had retired to the area and was employed at the campsite. Never mind he could play and even fitted in a quick rendition of "Scotland the Brave" on his squeeze box just for us (in the Austrian style of course so as not to offend the locals.
The weather then drove us on and we headed into Germany in search of sun (fat chance !) First stop was Fussen. It's not that we're hard to please but we couldn't find a decent bar and the swimming pool was closed so we left in a grump !
Next stop was Lindau on the shores of Lake Konstanz (otherwise known as Bodense). Lindau is in Germany but close to Austria (Bregenz) is the next town. So close in fact, that I was able to run back and two between Germany and Austria during my morning constitutional (this is where I started to get confused I think). Anyway this was a nice spot and we found a couple of bars so stayed for a day or two comparing the difference between Austrian and German beers.
Next stop...Switzerland plans include a visit to M's family in Zurich, raids on a couple of banks and a chocolate factory heist...stay tuned !
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