Day 40
We turned left!
On the road for 11.30 after some maintenance on Bessie as she is smoking like a navvy! Jane is also having an off day...looks like fun all round...Jumpers on and jeans at is bloomin cold this high up!
Through the Grand St Bernardo tunnel into Switzerland 43.50euro's to go thro the tunnel and Jaz hasn't stopped swearing about it yet...lol
Switzerland is a lot like some of the places we have already seen in Italy and France and as yet nothing special.
Drove along the bottom of the Matterhorn mountain and not over it thank goodness! Lots of Alpine houses and it is very scenic but as yet nothing shouts 'Switzerland' about it. It seems the Swiss have lost some of their identity altho they do have their own currency (the swiss franc CHF). Parked up for the night in a campstop after about half an hour the man from the nearby restaurant came over and said when we arrived we should have gone into the restaurant to pay, he was really nice about it. He looked like a fat Robbie Williams...lol
charged us 7 CHF as the toilets and water are not working.Went into the restaurant a bit later for a beer the place is called 'Restaurant Tunetsch'. 7CHF for 2 halfs of beer thats about 5GBP....Jaz is swearing again... ha ha
Back to the van for cheap Aldi beer......
Day 41
Bessie didn't want to start this morning, the old girl doesn't like the cold....but then neither do i.She finally fired up and smoked out the campsite in protest! 10.30 on the road towards Briel fuel 52CHF
Took a train ferry from Films Waldhaus through the mountains of Gom. 33CHF 3.5 Height restriction. The train is called the Matterhorn Glacier express.... sounds exciting!25 minutes of complete darkness and we pass through the mountain It was like being on a ghost train and very eerie not being able to see anything but the odd light in red or green for the train. Into the mountains we go again and nothing but snow and fog as far as you can see, which is not far
in the fog....just about the car in front of you, pretty scary stuff. Now rain,rain and more rain.... bloody great and if Jaz doesn't stop signing Edelweiss I will have to bury him in the snow!
Switzerland is tunnel after tunnel after tunnel especially as we skirt around the edge of Zurich towards Vaduz.
Vaduz is the capital of Lichtenstein the smallest country in Europe...we pass a lindt factory shop but jaz wouldn't let me stop....
Arrived in Vaduz.
Took some pictures of the castle where the crowned price resides. did a spot of shopping... people are really friendly here. Brought some sparkling flavoured cigaretts and the man in the shop showed me a cigar that was 500CHF to buy!!
Dauphinois potatoes and Schnitzel for tea tonight...oooo aint we posh! (chicken burger and cheesy potatoes really)
Parked up next to FC Vaduz football stadium for the night under a blanket of cloud and fog Bessie wont want to start in the morning!!
Spicy cheese and ostrich cheese for supper later yum yum 216km
Day 42
11.00 ready for the off. During the night it rained heavily and we discovered that Bessie has a few leaks!
Most of them in places we could do without! 11.20 crossed the border into Austria. In the 20 minute journey the cost of diesel goes from 1.60E per litre to 1.19E HUGE difference! No wonder the garage was full of Swiss cars. 14km Under ground mountain tunnel...wow...long and very dark. Nearly blinded on the exit! 9.50e to cross the tunnel and 9.50e for a Vingette which is compulsory on the highways. Fuel 50e stopped at a shell garage to have a shower, why is it that they are only in the men's toilets??? Are there no lady truckers!! I think i will complain!I had to sneak in shower super fast a sneak out again...with Jaz aiding and abetting...lol
Into Innsbruck, saw a McD's so stopped to use the wifi and skype the folkes and caught up with emails.
On the move to the German border. We went up a hill so steep Bessie ended up in 1st gear and it was slow going I now know how a snail feels lugging its shell up a branch...lol there were about 20 cars behind us and it was doubtful at one point if we were going to make it! Thankfully we did.... we only ever seem to go up in Europe never downhill...lol
Took a wrong turn and ended up in a Bavarian village called GroBville (pronounced Grossville Gross means big in German). Spotted a sign saying 5 rock bands here tonight so of course we decided to stop. Drove thro the village (about 2 mins) 4 times and couldn't find anywhere to park so took a side road near the river. As we rounded the corner we spotted a camper
and 2 guys waved at us so we parked next to them. Their names were Lawrence(Lo) and Jonas...They were from Munich and were there to watch their friends band called Sundog. They drive a MH older than ours... their Merc is 31 years old...Few beers and chatting then went to watch the bands. They were playing in a traditional Bavarian restaurant and it was an odd setting.....Imagine a church hall with crucifixes on the wall and stuffed deer heads and on
stage were rockbands... very weird... Jaz said sundogs had a saxon sound about them and he was really impressed. I stole a poster and asked Lo to get the band to sign it for me, which he did. Dok the singer laughed when I told him where i got it from. This is what this trip is all about.... Meeting new people, different cultures and cities and so far the German welcome was right up there with the best.Jaz is currently trying to light the BBQ @ 12.15am 242KM
Day 43
It was bloody freezing last night, inside and out! BBQ finished about 01.30 after a guitar singsong.
It was so cold it was almost painful, but woke up to blazing sunshine and warmth this morning...at least Bessie might start ok if she is warm...When we woke up we could hear a distant sound of a marching drum and gunfire but more like cannon fire....weird. Jaz is trying to fish in the river but I don't think it will work as it is running too fast and he really doesn't know what he is doing... good job we don't rely on him to feed us... ha Said goodbye to the boys and on our way through Munich to Denkendoff. The A9 E45 motorway to Munich is a race track apparently without limits! The cars go by so fast you cant tell what make they are. Campstop is a pub carpark with no facilities so we decide to carry on a bit further.Move onto Greding only 10 mins up the road. car park with
swimming pool and an old traditional Bavarian village with turrets and stone walls all around the town... so pretty.
Day 44
Such a quiet night apart from a succession of black Audi's driving around the carpark doing stop starts and parking... think it is a driving school or something.....bit strange tho..Shopped at Netto, super cheap brought a hair dye for 2.20E. on the road for 13.30 towards Berlin. Stop for tonight is a village called Kemnath. Parked next to the village pond and sat in the sunshine talking rubbish and drinking tea....lol Jaz has a theory of Evolution... In the future we will only have 2 big fat toes, no nails and be completely hairless....Im sure Jaz was married to her once....pmsl.
Day 45
12.15 on the road to the Czech Republic (CZ)when we got there we realised you need a special driving permit to drive here so we decided to stop and have lunch. Jane also doesnt know CZ as she has no maps for it and as soon as you cross the border she tells you to turn round....lol They are still using Khrone too (not sure how its spelt) so 20 cigaretts cost 80 CZK. Retraced our steps back towards the German border. On our way to Erfurt. Arrive at 18.00 300km at a campstop called Sauna Trautman....which has all the usual paid stop advantages including massages,sauna and Jacuzzi....lol I think ITV should start a new show called Camper wars...
I am sitting in Bessie watching 3 German guys falling out over space issues....its better than watching TV. There are cones separating the spaces and lord help you if anything passes over to a neighbors space... ha ha Poor old man Einstein has had to move his camper 3 times so far and the people next to us have reversed 3inches 3 times trying to get a satellite signal to watch the soaps.... I think Bessie is blocking them all ha ha and of course I have been laughing my head off at all the antics, which really pisses em off!
Managed to buy gravy (good old Netto) and had pork chops and spuds for tea...it was yum. Now waiting for the washing to finish drying and that will be us for the night.
We turned left!
On the road for 11.30 after some maintenance on Bessie as she is smoking like a navvy! Jane is also having an off day...looks like fun all round...Jumpers on and jeans at is bloomin cold this high up!
Through the Grand St Bernardo tunnel into Switzerland 43.50euro's to go thro the tunnel and Jaz hasn't stopped swearing about it yet...lol
Switzerland is a lot like some of the places we have already seen in Italy and France and as yet nothing special.
Drove along the bottom of the Matterhorn mountain and not over it thank goodness! Lots of Alpine houses and it is very scenic but as yet nothing shouts 'Switzerland' about it. It seems the Swiss have lost some of their identity altho they do have their own currency (the swiss franc CHF). Parked up for the night in a campstop after about half an hour the man from the nearby restaurant came over and said when we arrived we should have gone into the restaurant to pay, he was really nice about it. He looked like a fat Robbie Williams...lol
charged us 7 CHF as the toilets and water are not working.Went into the restaurant a bit later for a beer the place is called 'Restaurant Tunetsch'. 7CHF for 2 halfs of beer thats about 5GBP....Jaz is swearing again... ha ha
Back to the van for cheap Aldi beer......
Day 41
Bessie didn't want to start this morning, the old girl doesn't like the cold....but then neither do i.She finally fired up and smoked out the campsite in protest! 10.30 on the road towards Briel fuel 52CHF
Took a train ferry from Films Waldhaus through the mountains of Gom. 33CHF 3.5 Height restriction. The train is called the Matterhorn Glacier express.... sounds exciting!25 minutes of complete darkness and we pass through the mountain It was like being on a ghost train and very eerie not being able to see anything but the odd light in red or green for the train. Into the mountains we go again and nothing but snow and fog as far as you can see, which is not far
in the fog....just about the car in front of you, pretty scary stuff. Now rain,rain and more rain.... bloody great and if Jaz doesn't stop signing Edelweiss I will have to bury him in the snow!
Switzerland is tunnel after tunnel after tunnel especially as we skirt around the edge of Zurich towards Vaduz.
Vaduz is the capital of Lichtenstein the smallest country in Europe...we pass a lindt factory shop but jaz wouldn't let me stop....
Arrived in Vaduz.
Took some pictures of the castle where the crowned price resides. did a spot of shopping... people are really friendly here. Brought some sparkling flavoured cigaretts and the man in the shop showed me a cigar that was 500CHF to buy!!
Dauphinois potatoes and Schnitzel for tea tonight...oooo aint we posh! (chicken burger and cheesy potatoes really)
Parked up next to FC Vaduz football stadium for the night under a blanket of cloud and fog Bessie wont want to start in the morning!!
Spicy cheese and ostrich cheese for supper later yum yum 216km
Day 42
11.00 ready for the off. During the night it rained heavily and we discovered that Bessie has a few leaks!
Most of them in places we could do without! 11.20 crossed the border into Austria. In the 20 minute journey the cost of diesel goes from 1.60E per litre to 1.19E HUGE difference! No wonder the garage was full of Swiss cars. 14km Under ground mountain tunnel...wow...long and very dark. Nearly blinded on the exit! 9.50e to cross the tunnel and 9.50e for a Vingette which is compulsory on the highways. Fuel 50e stopped at a shell garage to have a shower, why is it that they are only in the men's toilets??? Are there no lady truckers!! I think i will complain!I had to sneak in shower super fast a sneak out again...with Jaz aiding and abetting...lol
Into Innsbruck, saw a McD's so stopped to use the wifi and skype the folkes and caught up with emails.
On the move to the German border. We went up a hill so steep Bessie ended up in 1st gear and it was slow going I now know how a snail feels lugging its shell up a branch...lol there were about 20 cars behind us and it was doubtful at one point if we were going to make it! Thankfully we did.... we only ever seem to go up in Europe never downhill...lol
Took a wrong turn and ended up in a Bavarian village called GroBville (pronounced Grossville Gross means big in German). Spotted a sign saying 5 rock bands here tonight so of course we decided to stop. Drove thro the village (about 2 mins) 4 times and couldn't find anywhere to park so took a side road near the river. As we rounded the corner we spotted a camper
and 2 guys waved at us so we parked next to them. Their names were Lawrence(Lo) and Jonas...They were from Munich and were there to watch their friends band called Sundog. They drive a MH older than ours... their Merc is 31 years old...Few beers and chatting then went to watch the bands. They were playing in a traditional Bavarian restaurant and it was an odd setting.....Imagine a church hall with crucifixes on the wall and stuffed deer heads and on
stage were rockbands... very weird... Jaz said sundogs had a saxon sound about them and he was really impressed. I stole a poster and asked Lo to get the band to sign it for me, which he did. Dok the singer laughed when I told him where i got it from. This is what this trip is all about.... Meeting new people, different cultures and cities and so far the German welcome was right up there with the best.Jaz is currently trying to light the BBQ @ 12.15am 242KM
Day 43
It was bloody freezing last night, inside and out! BBQ finished about 01.30 after a guitar singsong.
It was so cold it was almost painful, but woke up to blazing sunshine and warmth this morning...at least Bessie might start ok if she is warm...When we woke up we could hear a distant sound of a marching drum and gunfire but more like cannon fire....weird. Jaz is trying to fish in the river but I don't think it will work as it is running too fast and he really doesn't know what he is doing... good job we don't rely on him to feed us... ha Said goodbye to the boys and on our way through Munich to Denkendoff. The A9 E45 motorway to Munich is a race track apparently without limits! The cars go by so fast you cant tell what make they are. Campstop is a pub carpark with no facilities so we decide to carry on a bit further.Move onto Greding only 10 mins up the road. car park with
swimming pool and an old traditional Bavarian village with turrets and stone walls all around the town... so pretty.
Day 44
Such a quiet night apart from a succession of black Audi's driving around the carpark doing stop starts and parking... think it is a driving school or something.....bit strange tho..Shopped at Netto, super cheap brought a hair dye for 2.20E. on the road for 13.30 towards Berlin. Stop for tonight is a village called Kemnath. Parked next to the village pond and sat in the sunshine talking rubbish and drinking tea....lol Jaz has a theory of Evolution... In the future we will only have 2 big fat toes, no nails and be completely hairless....Im sure Jaz was married to her once....pmsl.
Day 45
12.15 on the road to the Czech Republic (CZ)when we got there we realised you need a special driving permit to drive here so we decided to stop and have lunch. Jane also doesnt know CZ as she has no maps for it and as soon as you cross the border she tells you to turn round....lol They are still using Khrone too (not sure how its spelt) so 20 cigaretts cost 80 CZK. Retraced our steps back towards the German border. On our way to Erfurt. Arrive at 18.00 300km at a campstop called Sauna Trautman....which has all the usual paid stop advantages including massages,sauna and Jacuzzi....lol I think ITV should start a new show called Camper wars...
I am sitting in Bessie watching 3 German guys falling out over space issues....its better than watching TV. There are cones separating the spaces and lord help you if anything passes over to a neighbors space... ha ha Poor old man Einstein has had to move his camper 3 times so far and the people next to us have reversed 3inches 3 times trying to get a satellite signal to watch the soaps.... I think Bessie is blocking them all ha ha and of course I have been laughing my head off at all the antics, which really pisses em off!
Managed to buy gravy (good old Netto) and had pork chops and spuds for tea...it was yum. Now waiting for the washing to finish drying and that will be us for the night.