878 -Friday 27th October 2017:  Wet and Windy (and that’s just the weather!)

Quite wet wether but Northern Germany and Poland have been hit hard…. we vanpottered and waited for the skies to clear – walked into Oberndorf village, posted some cards and wended out way home… a very quiet sort of day.  The highlight was watching the Police arrive with a trailer full of bikes and then teaching youngsters how to navigate the roads safely.  Part of the car park had lanes and junctions painted and the kids carefully followed instructions, sitting erect and careful on their bikes … arms out fully stretched and horizontal with the tarmac to indicate a turn.  Our motorhome neighbour told us that the kids get a badge they can fix to their bikes.  We spotted other car parks with similar road markings.  I don’t think UK Police Forces fund this any more … or do they?

879 -Saturday 28th October:  Cycling to Sulz am Neckar

Dry skies but cold….cycling through a forest along the Neckar – each wearing tights under trousers! On to Sulz am Neckar – and a complete impromptu lunch – the local Fire Service seemed to be all there lunching – good honest food – and a little vino…..

Maultaschen:  sausage filled pasta pockets with 3 different toppings … hearty fare in Germany.

Even our home towns of Bristol and Aldreshot are warmer!

880 -Sunday 29th October:  A Good German Tradition – Kaffee und Kuchen

What’s with this cold and damp weather? Is it Europe in October?  A friend had posted that it’s 34c in Marakesh!  Very helpful, indeed…  We decided to move to another Stelplatz with electric @ 1 Euro for 8 hours – heating on.  Haigerloch on top of the hill – posh castle/hotel. We visited the “Atom Celler” where German scientists tried to split the atom during WW2 – for various reasons – the Allies bombed the place once they worked out where it was.  The scientist were interred after the war in a Cambridgeshire country house with CCTV in every room … Big Brother-esque, but less extreme, I should think!   “Kaffee und Kuchen” – coffee and cakes, getting into German culture. The cakes had an unusual effect on our tummies – no more details required!  

Atom Keller – apparently no risk of radiation!

The view down to the town after the walk back up!

 881 -Monday 30th October:  We’re Off

A tentative fart – very sorry, readers – a tentative start (the other one was probably right too post cakes!) – awaiting news from Kerstin about the post – our green cards  – no, we have not joined the Green Party.   Green cards for insurance for taking Jez into the Balkans.  Phone call from Kerstin – and joy – we’re on the way back to Kerstinland. Gorgeous neighbours helped with the postal vigilance – checking K’s post box and placing the envelope in the garage so we could pick it up, as K is away. Much ‘dankes’ and away southwards….travelled all day and got just south of Munich – overnight car park in Neuberen – Halloween party locally until 6:00 am – oh the exuberance of youth!  K walked O to the town – archway – lots of painted old buildings, hotels and restaurants.

Neubueren – another come back to place.

882 -Tuesday 31th October:  Not that RAMP again!

Grahame Leslie’s 81st birthday – we donated whiskey from Scotland… part of the fun was doing the sampling ourselves.  

As we motored through Austria and climbed through spectacular scenery – there was snow on the roadsides. We chose motorways after hours in the hills – splashed out for vignette – our progress speeded up. Then, like flash – we’re back in Italia – bella Italia – la Dolce Vita. Can you tell how pleased we are?  Possibly our favourite country – the people, food and wine…  and, of course the chaotic driving!  We recited our limited Italian at each other … a fav being “Strade piccolo, Camper grande … Possible?’ and K’s perfect sentence asking fro stamps for postcards to England!  Given we spent 6 months in Italy our linguistic skills leave a lot to be proud of.

Now then – 2 years ago in Chardonnay, our SatNav took us around Trieste to avoid the centre and motorways. But at one point, we came to a No Entry tunnel – and the only escape was to gun the van up a steep and narrow cobbled ramp with hearts in our mouths and the wheels scrabbling to gain a purchase!  We joked today as we skirted Trieste about that little fandango….. Minutes later, we rounded a corner and came to the same feckin’ No Entry tunnel!!!   The cobbled ramp is still there and we are a tonne heavier with less traction.  It’s called “Rampitupme Crustifer”!!!  A bit like the Egyptian Queen – “Ramitupme”.  We reversed subito and retraced our steps.  We ended up paying for a Slovene motorway toll for EUR16 for all of 5 km of motorway to avoid the ramp!  It’s sitting next to the Austrian one …. and we prefer to travel toll free!  The joys of motorhoming…  

Free aire with services in Gemona, some halloween noise from groups of kids – but a peaceful night – dreaming of cobbles. 

Picture perfect Austria. 

No stopping for us … we have snow chains but practising fitting them is still at the top of the To Do list!

Sunset from our Italian Sosta.

883 -Wednesday 1st November:  Another New Country

Germany, Austria, Slovenia and Croatia in 3 days for Oscar. Croatia new for K – I had stood on Croatian soil for 5 seconds 2 years ago when we thought we had wandered into Hungary… Lovely big Lidl lots of foodie things, aubergine, mozzarella, etc. Another m’way vignette (still visions of the Trieste cobbled ramp) – 5km again… Passports to show at border – holding up other cars as we retrieved them from our ‘gasafe’ secret store – now you all know – we’ll have to shoot you!  Or – you could sign “The Oscarficial Secretz Axe” – section 4 of course – for his birthday…  Approaching Porec, our chosen campsite was closed (in spite of their website saying otherwise). But all the campsites seemed shut – out of silly season….  Nice large free parking though with a few other vans, including one GB on our second day there.  We meandered into the old town and had our first Croatian wine….

“T’is the season to be jolly…..tra la la la la…”  Hang about, James – Christmas crumble is light years away – or is it?  Are the 2018 Easter eggs on sale in Asda yet?  52 shopping days…..yikes!!!  

A nano stop just so Oscar could tread paws on Slovene soil. 

Would that be the first HAPPY Croatian ice cream …

 … And the first Croatian glass of vino? 

Porec

There are few vitamins in ice cream, thats why you have to eat so much of it!  

So true!