Oberstdorf and more, 7 June 2022

The holidays frequently start off with a long, slow, usually wet drive across Belgium, and they frequently finish with one, too. And today was no exception. We have been in four different countries today: Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France!

We started off with a trip to Lidl where I did a Last Shop in Germany (they gave me a €3 coupon because it is going to be my birthday) and then the horrible, long, slow, wet (why does it always rain in Belgium, especially round Brussels?) drive, first to Dunkerque and then when we decided we didn't really like that aire, another 30 minutes to this very nice one at Esquelbecq, which is free except for water, which we are not going to want anyway.

The SW, who went for a run this morning, went for a short walk this evening while I got supper. He says it is lovely, and I expect it is, but I am tired after the drive - I did doze a bit, of course, but mostly sat and was bored! Still, the holiday as a whole has been worth it, and I am very sorry it's almost over. 

There is a peacock somewhere - we can hear it but not see it. The SW says there is a woodpecker, too, but I can't hear that. 

Oberstdorf and more, 6 June 2022

It is Whit Monday here in Germany, so most shops are not open and people are not at work.  I was surprised how many goods trains were going through Königswinter, both yesterday and this morning.

Meanwhile, as we only had an hour's run today, we decided to go up the Drachenfels this morning on the rack railway that takes people up to the top. It was a steepish pull up to the bottom station from the main railway station, and I was out of breath when we arrived. This would not have mattered, but I had to put a mask on when we got to the station, and being out of breath in a mask is not pleasant!

We had a good look round the top when we got there; gorgeous views over the Rhine in every direction,

and you can even just see the spires of Cologne Cathedral.

Just, and I think you have to have a bit of an imagination!

I treated the SW to coffee and apple streusel, and I had coffee and mandarin cheesecake.

Then we got the train back down (not nearly as many passengers as going up!), and walked down to the river and back to the station along the river.

We set off almost at once and arrived in Düren an hour later, where we used the services and then had a late lunch and then the SW went for a long walk round the town and I had a quiet afternoon reading and playing computer games. 

Oberstdorf and more, 5 June 2022

This has been rather a "nothing" day from my point of view. I slept badly  with many anxiety dreams, and really only left the van to go to the local bakery and buy breakfast rolls and our Pentecost cheesecake.

After which I went back to sleep and really slept on and off for most of the rest of the day, including, I regret to say, while watching the service from our Church (can't do that next Sunday - I'm taking the service!) . We parked up in Limburg-an-der-Lahn to do that and then have lunch, and then we drove here to Königswinter where we are parked across the road from the station and I can watch the trains go past from my bed!

And we have just eaten a seriously good courgette, mushroom and pea risotto! 

Oberstdorf and more, 4 June 2022

Today is Saturday, and shops in Germany will be closed not only tomorrow, as is normal, but also on Monday for Whit Monday. So a big shopping was necessary to make sure we had everything we needed (bakeries are open so I hope I can get our Pentecost cheesecake in the morning). There was a Norma not five minutes' walk from where we were parked up, and so I went there. There was also a petrol station - which we couldn't get to in the WoMo as it was the wrong side of the one-way system and it had a large off-licence, or whatever the German equivalent is called, next to it. I couldn't carry a dozen bottles of beer back to the WoMo, so the SW came with me and we bought a dozen bottles, and also a bottle of Pfälzer Landwein, which was less than €2 and may not be drinkable. 

After that, it was time to move on, and because the place I had originally earmarked for us to spend the night looked rather dull, we decided to drive right up to this aire in Hanau, 

which we have been to before. It was a very long drive, mostly on motorways (thankfully quieter on Saturdays with few lorries) and I slept when I could - it's far too hot to knit. 

When we finally arrived, I went up to see if I could find the bakery we have used before, and then to have a wee look at the Main, which is flowing past this car park. 

We are thinking that we might go to Königswinter again tomorrow, as we like it there and ought not to need services. What we do need, though, is diesel, but there is bound to be somewhere we can get it tomorrow. 

Oberstdorf and more, 3 June 2022

Public transport in Austria is free on Fridays at the moment, and the temptation to go and catch a train to Vienna - or, more realistically, Linz or Innsbruck - was very strong! It would only have cost us an extra €5 to stay in the aire until 17:00.  But we resisted. 

I showered in the sanitaires again, but if my shower yesterday had been like my shower today, I wouldn't have as I had to wait for ages for one to become free, and then the floor was soaked (they did provide a shower curtain, but who would have known!)  and because the other showers were in use, the water temperature varied dreadfully!  Oh well.

So resisting all temptations, we programmed the SatNav and set sail for Augsberg.  The first bit of the journey was very pleasant, along the B304, and a detour to find a ReWe and have lunch, but after lunch we joined the motorway and it was hold up after hold up after hold up all round Munich.

However, we got to Augsberg at last and got the last space in the aire - it's supposed to fit 20, but some people are badly parked so there are only about 18 here.  There was a signpost to a petrol station and shop, so I went to investigate and there is relatively cheap diesel and a large Norma - we have most of the things we need to do us until Tuesday morning, but I do need one or two things like fruit juice and sausages, and perhaps onions (we need to check the onioni bag).  Monday, being Whit Monday, is a holiday here and you can't count on anything other than bakeries being open.

The Swan Whisperer went for a walk, and got quite wet as it started to rain, and now there is a severe thunderstorm going on!

Oberstdorf and more, 2 June 2022

We decided it was silly to move on today since we are so well-found here. It is seriously nice, with free, hot showers, electricity, and a bus stop literally outside the gates, from which buses into the centre of Salzburg run every 15 minutes. 

Had today been Friday, the bus would have been free, as all public transport is free in Austria on Fridays; as it was, we were able to buy tickets on-line. We discovered, too late, that we were supposed to print them, but obviously we couldn't so we just left them on our phones and hoped for the best - and nobody checked them, so that was all right. 

The bus dropped us, as I said, in the town centre and we wandered around finding Mozart's birthplace,

the huge Mozartsplatz with the cathedral in the middle

, and then the funicular up to the fort above the town. We didn't take that in the end, as they had no concept of just going there and coming back again or, better still, going there and walking back down. It was assumed you wanted to go to the fort while you were there, and the ticket prices reflected this. So we said thanks, but no thanks, and were deligbted to then find the upper entrance to the St Peter's cemetery

with all the family graves in the walls. So we walked down there and then remembered that the SW's brother and his wife had been to, and loved, the eponymous restaurant. Sadly, it was too expensive for lunch, so after sitting in the courtyard for a bit we wandered back towards the main square and stopped to look at the Franciscan church

before finding a superb value lunch at the university café - soup, roast pork, dumplings and salad for a total of €17.50 for both of us! I couldn't even finish more than half of mine! 

After lunch, we walked a little farther and came across a random trolley-bus going somewhere, so we took it some of the way (and a wonderful view of the fort from where we got off), 

and then another bus back to the Hauptbahnhof and an S-Bahn to the local suburb here. Then another bus that would have taken us straight back to the campsite head we not broken our journey to buy eggs and butter (and an ice lolly each). I was done by then, so haven't moved since, but the SW headed back into town to do more exploring on his own. 

Oberstdorf and more, 1 June 2022

We decided to have a boat trip on the Königssee this morning, although we were slightly worried about queues and how long we would have to wait if the boats were only every half an hour, but, in fact, they were every few minutes. They had need to be, too, as even though it is mid-week (on the other hand, with public holidays last Thursday and next Monday, I rather think a lot of people are on holiday this week) the boat we got on was very crowded. 

We stayed on it all the way up the lake, to Salet, which is the start of various hiking trails. Part way up, the boat stopped for a few minutes by the "Echo wall", and the MC got out a trumpet - each phrase he blew was answered by its echo! I had never really believed in that sort of echo, although it features in many books, and was amazed! 

The Swan Whisperer wanted to go up to another lake only 15 minutes walk away, so I sat in the shade and read while he did that, and then we got the next boat back to St Bartolomä, which is a very beautiful church, a couple of restaurants and not much else!

We would have liked to have eaten there, but it was still too early for lunch, so we got on the next boat back to Königssee. This took a long time to leave, and was very full by the time it did, so it was well past 13:00 when we arrived back. We lunched at the local Bierkeller - the SW had currywurst and chips and I had Munchner Weisswurst, which came with a ginormous pretzel that I couldn't finish. 

We bought a scoop of ice cream each in a local gelateria - strawberry for me and some kind of cookies for him - and ate them walking back to the van.

The SW decided we should come back to Salzburg for the night, largely, I think, so we could buy diesel at Austrian, rather than German, prices, and right by the border, the prices were a great deal cheaper than in town. We did stop at a shopping centre in Berchtesgaden, where I visited Lidl, ReWe and DM! And then on to Salzburg and a rather slow journey through the city in the rush hour, to the aire here, which is rather nicer than most city aires, having loos and showers and extremely good services. It is not cheap, but you can stay until 17:00 for an extra €5, rather than having to check out at noon. We haven't quite decided whether to spend two nights here or not.... We shall see.