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! 

Early autumn holiday, 22 September 2024

Nabburg, Bavaria

The Swan Whisperer went for a run this morning, so I got breakfast. After it, we went for a walk round Aschaffenburg, which is a lovely town. We didn't see all of the old town, as what we wanted to see was the Schloß, which is absolutely enormous! 

We walked all round it, and then back via an organic market - didn't buy anything, but it was fun to look round. In hindsight, I wished we had bought some fresh apple juice that was being sold, as we were both thirsty and have nothing non-alcoholic to drink other than water. This will, I hope, be remedied tomorrow!

When we got back to the WoMo, the SW had his coffee, and then we set off. We had about 300 km to drive, but, given that it is Sunday, there are almost no lorries on the motorway, and even the very long stretches of contraflow due to road works went smoothly. We stopped for lunch in a random Rastplatz, and arrived here about 4:00 pm.

It is a very nice campsite once you are in, but there isn't a human being to welcome you or give you a map of the site or anything; you enter the code they have previously sent you, and they issue you with a card - you pay by credit card - on to which you have to add money for electricity, emptying the loo (those very nice CamperClean places that sterilise it for you and adds liquid when they are at it). But there were no maps of the site, and the sanitaires, which do have maps on them, took some finding! I believe there are maps on the website, the SW said, but you would need to know that! All very weird - and I am unimpressed by the way the laundry facilities are on the women's side of the sanitaires! Sexist, much? 

We are several km out of town, so I hope we can find a car park nearer so we can explore in the morning. I am cooking a large pan of mince and rice, which will have spinach stirred through it. Sadly, the mushrooms had gone rather past it, so we are having to do without! We are also drinking rosé Sekt, which I bought in Lidl yesterday, and the Swan Whisperer seems to have found where the bins are and is emptying the rubbish! 

Early autumn holiday, 21 September 2024

Aschaffenburg, Bavaria 

Another very long drive today; it should actually have taken less time than yesterday's, although slightly longer in terms of mileage, but due to roadworks, roadworks and more roadworks, to say nothing of sheer weight of traffic, it didn't. 

Blégny-Mine offers free services, even water, so we made use of them and filled up - after all, since the water is provided free of charge, rude not to, really! We were away shortly before 10:00 am, and our first port of call was some 50 km down the road, in Düren! I However, we were badly held up crossing the border, which we thought at first must be because they were checking passports or something, but in fact it was an accident which had closed a carriageway. The traffic was already slow where two lanes merged, but when a third had to as well.... 

My favourite Lidl in Germany is in Düren! I did a very large shopping, including much of the stuff on offer there this week - wine, Sekt, Bratwurst... and even rolls for lunch! 

So far, so good. But as we neared Köln, the traffic got worse and worse, as did the holdups. The SatNav claimed there was a route 15 minutes faster - as, indeed, did the variable signs above the A3, but everybody else had the same idea. So it was slow, slow, slow - and even more roadworks than there usually are in Belgium, never mind Germany! Once we were past Bonn, things got easier, though, and we found a random rest area in which to stop for lunch, and then on and on and on down the busy motorway until we got here. Although we are in Bavaria, we are not far from Frankfurt, and saw a lot of planes going in and out, plus one going across the taxiway that the motorway goes under. 

The aire here is very nice, just beside the Main. I was afraid it would be flooded, but luckily not, and shows no sign of having been. All the same, we are parked on the side furthest from the river. The Swan Whisperer went for a walk, and I did some tai chi to loosen up. And as it is Saturday, I hope he will soon go and cook our sausage and mash!