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. 

Oberstdorf and more, 31 May 2022

Yesterday started off badly but ended well; today was the other way around. 

The Swan Whisperer said he was going for a run this morning, but somehow he didn't go and didn't go and didn't go, and it was 09:00 before he finally went, saying he would be about 45 minutes. Well, I was hungry by then, and decided that I wasn't going to hang around for him, so quickly dressed and ate my own breakfast and then headed out for the boat pier once again. This time I knew what time it was due to leave, and knew that I had to hurry, but got to the pier just as the boat came into view and a couple of minutes before it actually stopped! 

It was a lovely run, first to Seespitz and then to Pertisau; it took about 25 minutes, I think, but I still had over half an hour in Pertisau before I had to get the bus back.

I went to the Steinol shop and bought some shower gel, shampoo and conditioner, which was my main reason for going there, and then pottered around the do-the-tourist shops, being very tempted by a handbag, but decided the quality wasn't good enough for the price they were asking. 

The bus back was one of the random buses that go up to Achenkirch and beyond without you having to change in Maurach. Whichever bus you catch goes all round Pertisau, so you get to see a lot of the town.

It stopped for several minutes by the Karwendelbahn (I think the driver went to spend a penny) and then again in Maurach where he got out and proceeded to have either a friendly gossip or a raging argument (difficult to tell from the body language) with the driver of the bus going in the opposite direction! So I was slightly later back to the campsite than I'd planned, expecting to find that the SW had packed up and used the services so we would be ready to go. Only he hadn't, and we had to hurry to do all that and get away before we would owe another day's fees! 

We decided to drive through Austria, but not on the motorways, and it was a lovely drive. But when we got to Bad Reichenhall, it all went pear-shaped. 

I had booked us 3 nights in the campsite - you can do that on the website - and the idea is that you collect a key from the spa which opens the barrier for your reserved place. You also have to pay for parking in the normal way. Well, all well and good, but they do not police it or check that people put the barriers back when they leave, so someone had parked in our space. We parked in someone else's space to go and report to the spa, but they basically said nothing they could do.... Wouldn't you have thought they would have arranged things better? 

So we gave them their key back, and drove down to a car park on the Königsee, which looks as though it will have some lovely things to do in the morning, including a possible boat trip. All the same, I was really looking forward to a couple of days in Bad Reichenhall, and am bitterly disappointed! 

Oberstdorf and more, 30 May 2022

It all went a bit pear-shaped this morning. The Swan Whisperer decided to catch the bus to Achenkirch and walk down to Pertisau via Gaisalm and the dripping rock, and we agreed that I should join him in Pertisau in time for lunch. 

I discovered that there was a steamer at just the perfect time, and what better way to cross the Achensee than on one of the traditional ships? But, sadly, I misread the timetable - quite my own fault - and arrived at the pier just as the boat pulled away! Bother!

The alternative was to catch the bus but, try as I might, I couldn't find the way up to the bus stop, which was on the main road, and the bus went roaring past before I could get there! Expletives rather worse than bother! 

The buses are only one an hour, and although their core routes are the same, some go on to Pertisau, others stop in Maurach, and there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason which does what. If you do have to change in Maurach, the connections wait for each other. 

So I rang the Swan Whisperer, and we agreed to meet in Maurach an hour later and have lunch there. Which we duly did. We then decided to catch the bus down to Jenbach, which would have been simply glorious had it not been raining, but as it was the scenery was still magnificent. We didn't have long there - just time for a quick look round the station,

wishing the Achenseebahn was running (only at weekends for a bit), and then got the bus - and, of course, this one had to be going to Pertisau, didn't it? There was another English family on it, I wondered if they were fans, but didn't like to ask. 

Anyway, our plan was to get off at Eben and visit the church and the museum of St Notburga, the local saint. I gather she was basically a farm labourer, but her cult seems to have grown among the locals and various miracles have been attached to her. The church is very ornate, but rather lovely, even if it does display her dressed-up skeleton above the altar! 

Then we came away and got the bus up to Maurach. It was late, but the connection towards Achenkirch had waited for it, so we caught it back to the campsite. Of course, the sun came out, so after a cup of tea and a nap, the SW went for a short walk along the lakeside - similar, I think, to the one I had enjoyed this morning. I just dozed and read and read and dozed....

There are more photos on Facebook. 

Oberstdorf and more, 29 May 2022

I was very, very tired this morning, although I had slept fairly well. So I slept through most of today's drive - a pity, because it was a scenic one - only rousing briefly to have lunch somewhere - I have no idea where - and then coming awake properly when we drove into a terrific rainstorm. 

After that, it was not long before we arrived at our campsite,

where we were warmly welcomed. It didn't take us long to settle in, and we had a cup of tea before the Swan Whisperer went off for a walk. With the terrifying unpredictability of the weather in the mountains, he had only gone about half an hour when it started pouring with rain and visibility decreased to almost zero. The poor man was soaked and, to add insult to injury, the sun came out again once he got back to the van to change! 

I, meanwhile, had got much wetter in a much happier way, as (new since we were last here, I think) there is a big pool and spa complex a couple of minutes walk away. I didn't fancy the saunas, as they are "textile free" zones, which means you have to be naked, and although I don't particularly mind, one does, in the words of a friend in similar circumstances in the Oberstdorf spa, get bored of counting willies! 

Anyway, the pool section of the complex was lovely. There was a 25m pool for lane swimming if you wanted to do that - I didn't - and a huge "family pool" with an indoor and an outdoor section, jacuzzi seats and one of those "lazy rivers" that whirl you round and round, which I always love. I spent a very happy hour there! Almost as nice as the Rupertustherme I hope to visit in a few days, and certainly a lot cheaper. Talking of which, if I go to the spa again tomorrow, which I probably won't, I must remember to claim a discount with the Achensee card - I I forgot earlier. 

The Swan Whisperer, now dry and safe, walked up to meet me, and now we are having a drink and cooking supper. It is not a warm evening, and there is snow on the more distant mountains.