Early autumn holiday, 29 September 2024

Budapest, Hungary

The roads in this part of Europe are absolutely dire! The Swan Whisperer decided, quite sensibly, that our route today should take us along the Danube as much as possible (there were many roads I don't think we could have gone down last week - there was still standing water on both sides), and it was pleasant, but the road might have been corduroy! It jolted the shelves in the fridge and gave me a splitting headache!

However, we got here at long last, and, after a much-needed cup of tea, headed out across the city to meet friends who were, quite serendipitously, there at the same time (they were finishing a Danube cruise). We hadn't seen them for >30 years, but back in the day he had shared a flat with the Swan Whisperer, and she had shared a flat with me! And we totally blame them for our own marriage, as we both went to their wedding, and travelled on the same train - we were already friends, but somehow something ignited that day...

Anyway, it was lovely to see them and catch up, and then they had to go back to their ship for dinner, and we had a bit of a walk,

and then got a bus up to the restaurant we went to last summer, where I have just eaten stuffed cabbage (too much salt, but otherwise delicious) and the SW has had duck and is about to eat apfelstrudel (I shall have a few bites, I dare say), and then we will catch a bus back to the Stellplatz (its official name). 

Early autumn holiday, 28 September 2024

Bratislava, Slovenia

Such a frustrating morning! First of all, Lidl is totally not where Google Maps says it is, and I couldn't find it! Turns out it was in the nearby shopping mall, the other side of the big Tesco's! Meanwhile, the Swan Whisperer had kindly put on a load of washing, but when he went to put it the dryer, the dryer turned out to be another washing-machine, and there was no way of drying our clothes! I mean, who even does that?! What is the point of having a washing-machine for campers with no dryer?

Luckily Park4Night told us where there was a laundrette, so we drove quite a distance to it, and were able to dry our clothes and also do some shopping in a nearby Tesco Express.

Back at the campsite, we put the clean laundry away and had lunch, and then headed to the Old Town on public transport.Bratislava is not the most beautiful of cities, but the (small) Old Town Centre is lovely.

We walked through it, and then down to the Danube, where we caught a tram back as far as the shopping centre. I had a quick look round DM, decided I couldn't cope with Lidl, but did pop onto Tesco (a huge one) to buy cream cheese, which I'd forgotten to get earlier, and also frozen peas. Walked back to the campsite, which wasn't far, but what with one thing and another, I've managed to do >10k steps today! I hope I'm not too tired to sleep... 

Early autumn holiday, 27 September 2024

Bratislava, Slovakia

For some reason I slept badly last night, so ended up going back to sleep after my alarm clock went off. I reckoned I needed a rest day. 

All the same, I needed to shop, and stretching my legs is no bad thing, so after breakfast I headed on down the hill to Lidl, while the Swan Whisperer used the services. Of course, but I thought I knew the way, but discovered that I hadn't turned right when I should have, and ended up going round two sides of a triangle. No harm done, though.

The SW said he would meet me in Lidl's car park, but when we got there, we found that the car park was being resurfaced or something, and there it wasn't. The SW found somewhere to park, although he was not sure how we could get out of there, and we eventually found each other! And found the way out. 

Because I don't have a vignette for Slovakia, we told the SatNav not to go on toll motorways, but had terrible trouble getting on the right road, taking the wrong turning not once, not twice, but three times! But we eventually got on the old road going south that parallels the motorway, and it was a lovely drive after that. Except when we went through the outskirts of towns with their supermarkets, garages, car dealerships, etc. 

We were badly held up by traffic jams on our way into Bratislava, but eventually found our way to the campsite, which is quite some way out of town, but apparently easy to get in via bus or tram. Citymapper works here, which is always a plus. Also, just like at home, apparently Lidl is 5 minutes walk away, and Tesco 10 minutes! Useful, as I shall need to shop in the morning, and we are also going to do a load of washing. 

The campsite is very empty - I think it closes for winter very soon - and only 4 or 5 other outfits here. But that is all to the good, as it is very spacious. It is not the most beautiful one in the world, but the autumn colours are beginning to be lovely!

And despite having a rest day - and sleeping on our drive this afternoon - I have still done >4,500 steps AND part of the tai chi form! 

Early autumn holiday, 26 September 2024

Brno, Czechia

We found that the local bus stop - much nearer than the trams, although still uphill on the way back - had just the one bus an hour outside of peak hours, so were at the stop in good time to catch the 10:31. It is the end of the line, so the bus - a very short route, it can't possibly take more than 10 minutes except in the rush hour - turns round there.

One stop later, and we got out to change on to whichever tram came first - a 2, which took us to the main railway station/transport interchange. We had a lovely walk round the town, looking in a couple of churches, getting slightly lost, finding ourselves again, visiting the Vegetable Market (a Brno landmark), and then eating a delicious lunch.

We had the day's specials, washed down with beer: soup, which was courgette with croutons (chicken stock, though, so not vegetarian), and then the SW had chicken of some kind, with chips and I'm not sure what else, while I had an absolutely delicious stuffed pepper in tomato sauce, which came with bread dumplings. It was lush, but I couldn't finish it! Which was a pity, as I should have loved a traditional Czech honeycake for pudding, but no room!  And all for less than the equivalent of £16 - for both of us!

Early in the walk, I had seen and fallen in love with a light coat/dress/tunic affair, which was also a bargain - CK 999, which is about £33. I couldn't stop thinking about it, so after lunch I told the SW I wanted to have another look at it, so we went back, and he bought it for me!!! 

Then I had had enough, so we went back to the station, took a tram, and changed on to the bus route as soon as thry crossed. We had quite a wait, but there was a bench, so we sat down and read until the bus came, and then back to the WoMo for a cup of tea.

The SW has gone out for another walk, but I have done enough for one day - we're I to walk over to the sanitary block and back, I'd have done over 10k steps! 

Photos on Facebook, as usual. 

Early autumn holiday, 25 September 2024

Brno, Czechia

We had to leave the campsite by 10:00 today, so we didn't linger over breakfast, but the Swan Whisperer used the services while I tried to pay, but for some reason my bank thought Google Pay wasn't me and blocked it, but my physical debit card went through all right when I used the number. I then had to spend some time reassuring my bank that yes, it was me trying to pay, thank you for caring!

Meanwhile, we decided that driving down the motorway to Brno would be rather dull, so although we had paid the toll (electronic vignette, so useful), we thought we would go cross-country, so told the SatNav not to use toll roads.

Mostly, it was a lovely drive, once we were past the incredibly congested traffic in Prague and its outskirts. The Czech seem very good about directions, giving you plenty of warning when you need to change lane to turn left or right. The scenery, once in the countryside, was fantastic. Small villages and larger towns, and lovely countryside in between. But the road surface was not always good, and when we stopped for the SW to have coffee, we found that the big tub of yoghurt had fallen over and disgorged most of its contents into the depths of the fridge! The SW ate quite a lot of it - I pointed out that he needn't think he could put off stopping for lunch just because he wouldn't be hungry, because I would be! 

The SatNav did take us on some very minor roads which it said was quicker, and we didn't really mind, but as we approached the campsite where we had hoped to stay, we were badly held up by not one, not two, but three accidents on the highway! The first one was the worst holdup, at least half an hour. 

And then, when we got to the campsite, we found it was closed! They had had to close during the floods, but they had told me they would reopen on Monday. Evidently they weren't able to. I had, however, prepared a Plan B, so we are now in the secure aire on the outskirts of Brno. The campsite would have been nicer, and we could have taken the boat down the lake, but it will be good to have plenty of time to look round. The only snag is, you have to pay in euros, in cash. A very complicated system - it had a sort-of vending machine, and you chose the option you wanted - in our case, 48 hours with electricity - and then put in your money, etc, just as if you wanted a soft drink or chocolate bar! What was disgorged, however, was a small cardboard box, about the size of a pack of playing-cards, that contained a card with the code to open the gate, a biro, a sheet of paper to fill in your number-plate, date of arrival and date of departure, which you put in your windscreen, and an instruction sheet! The aire is fairly full, with a lot of British vehicles, and small children - I'm sure some of them ought to be at school. We wondered if they were Travellers, but this aire is not cheap,and we've mostly encountered them in free ones. 

Our first desire was for a cup of tea. But when the SW opened the fridge, he found that the "Rote Grütze" (red fruit compôte) that I'd bought in REWE the other day had also upended itself on the rough roads, and gone everywhere! 

I hadn't had any exercise today so decided to take myself to the local Lidl to replace the yoghurt and fruit - there was just enough left for a small helping each this evening - and to get washing-up liquid, which we were out of. I didn't dare switch it to Czech Lidl in case I couldn't get it back, as I don't speak or read Czech. But I bought what I wanted and a couple of ready-meals, and then set off back. But it was uphill ALL the way, and I still can't really do over a kilometre all uphill, so I rang the SW, who was returning from a walk in the opposite direction, and asked him to come and carry my shopping for me, which he kindly did. 

I was a bit worried about tomorrow, as the tram stop is outside Lidl, and the thought of that walk back when I will be tired anyway.... So we did look on Park4night to see if I there was anywhere we could park in town.. There is, but we also found there is a bus route that is much nearer the campsite. We will have to change to get to the heart of the old town, but public transport is free to the over-70s in Brno! 

Early autumn holiday, 24 September 2024

Troja, Prague

I was afraid that, having not wanted my supper last night, I wouldn't be feeling well today. Fortunately, this didn't happen and I was fine, and hungry for my breakfast!

The Swan Whisperer went for a run before breakfast, and picked up the bread on his return. We had bought what we had thought was going to be rolls from the camp shop, but it turned out to be a delicious wholemeal loaf, which will do us tomorrow, too! But the weather had gone back on us, and it rained all morning, so we did not hurry out after that. 

It is very easy to get into central Prague from here, as it is on a direct tram line, although this is on diversion at present, but it still gets to the Old Town eventually. When we finally did go out, we stayed on the tram further than we need, to enjoy the scenery, and then got another one back to the Old Town.

By then it was lunchtime, so we stopped in the nearest café for a bite to eat - I had eggs on avocado, served in a burger bun, and the SW had eggs on pea puree, served on some kind of bread. And beer to drink - very nice, too! 

Then we walked round the Old Town, through the Jewish quarter - all those beautiful synagogue - and the Old Town Square. We ended up in the Museum of Communism, not to visit the museum, but because there was a Billa supermarket on the ground floor, and we needed milk and eggs. The latter of which foiled us by being refrigerated, which we did not expect, so had to ask. Luckily Google Translate managed to put "Please, where are the eggs?" into something reasonably comprehensible in Czech, so we found them in the end. 

There appear to be loads of cannabis shops here - we didn't want any, but lovely for those who do indulge. 

Anyway, by then I was done, so we found our way back to the campsite. Citymapper works here, but I do wish I'd noticed it told you which bus/team stop you needed (ie A or B or whatever) before we got led about which way they were going! Oh well, no harm done. 

Back at the WoMo we had tea and a snack, and now the SW has gone out for another walk and I am flaked out! Wish I had the energy to join him, but putting everything into my mac pockets rather than my rucksack was a mistake, as it has given me shoulder-ache!

Early autumn holiday, 23 September 2025

Prague, Czechia. 

We didn't really get a chance to look round Nabburg - I meant to take a picture of the old town, which looked spectacular, but on a very steep hillside, and I really didn't want to wear myself out before tomorrow. 

As we didn't have all that far to go today, and the reception at this campsite is open until 21:00, we decided to break our journey in Plzeň and have a look round the town. The last time we were there, in 2013, it was far too hot to be enjoyable, and all I remember is looking round the Cathedral in the cool, and having lunch in a shaded garden (I think I found the place), and also visiting a large Tesco and buying an enormous floppy hat and some sandals as mine had demised. Today, the weather was just perfect. 

Our first port of call was a REWE in Nabburg, where I did some shopping - they had Federweisser, which I always love at this time of year. Then we headed on, and it was not long before we crossed the border into Czechia. The motorway to Plzeň was simply horrible - concrete slabs, and it juddered over every join until, in the words of Kipling, our "teeth thuttered"! 

Park4Night told us of a car park in the centre of Plzeň that was only a couple of minutes from everything, so we had lunch and then a lovely walk round, seeing things like the Great Synagogue (I should have liked to have gone in, but the SW thought we couldn't afford the 80 Czf they wanted - all of £2.65 each, what will he do if we want to go to another museum tomorrow? But I suppose he didn't really want to see it, so I had to say I didn't. Anyway, we walked down and found a beautiful park with a statue of the musician Bedrich Smetana (I thought that was sour cream!) and one or two other worthies, and then back to the main square with the Cathedral and Rathaus, or whatever they call it here. Photos on Facebook, as per usual. 

Then we came back to the WoMo and had a cup of tea - I had iced tea - before heading on a much nicer motorway to Prague, and specifically the suburb of Troja where this campsite is. We have been here before, and the proprietor had obviously looked up that we had and pretended to remember us. 

The Swan Whisperer went for a walk, and I read for awhile, and then got supper, but found I wasn't hungry at all, so the SW ate most of mine. However, two glasses of Sekt have gone down very nicely - thoroughly greedy, but we wanted to finish it so we can start the Federweisser tomorrow!