Germany & Austria

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Autumn school term had started and it was time to get Priscilla on the road and head off to Europe. Our ultimate destination was Seefeld, in the Austrian Tyrol, where we had organised another Gathering of Carthago motorhomes at Camp Alpin. Our route down there took us via Belgium and across Germany before looping back into Austria. An overall journey of 3,000 kms in just 17 days.  We had to make sure we were back in the UK for the twin’s 1^st birthday party.

 

We left home on a very wet and windy day and spent our first night in Folkestone rocking around in the gales. We expected a choppy crossing the following morning but to our relief, it dawned sunny and calm. An early morning start and we were on the 07:20 ferry to Calais. Sailing was delayed 1 hour due to the heavy storms in the night.

 

Calais to La Roche-en-Ardennes

A long and not very interesting journey through Belgium on the autoroutes. Arrived in La Roche-en-Ardennes to find that the road to our planned campsite (Le Vieux Moulin) was blocked by road works. There were ways around but not for vehicles the size of Priscilla! We found another campsite across the river (Camping Benelux) which, actually, seemed better than our original choice.  We pitched on the river bank.  The site was very quiet with very few tourers but several residents.

La Roche-en-Ardennes is a pretty, small town near the border with Luxembourg and is where the Battle of the Bulge took place in WWII. We cycled into town to have a look around and found a shop which was selling interesting and unusual things including clocks. We purchased a very large wall clock for our conservatory (1m diameter) which turned out to be an interesting challenge to get back to the campsite on a bicycle!  Especially as it started to rain—hard!!

< left:   Camping Benelux from their brochure

 

^ above:  A Sherman tank memorial in town.

La Roche-en-Ardennes to Enzklősterle, Black Forest

 

We were desperate for diesel but the filling station in La Roche was too tight to get into and had a low canopy. The SatNav told us that the next fuel on our route was at Saint Hubert but when we got there the garage had been closed for some years!  Fortunately, there was a Shell station just down the road. This one was open but we were horrified and amazed to see the staff standing outside the shop, next to the pumps, puffing away on their cigarettes! 

 

400 kilometres today taking us via Luxembourg through the Moselle and Rhine valleys and into Germany’s Black Forest.  Beautiful scenery all day. A few kilometres before our destination was a huge traffic tailback which delayed us for nearly 30 minutes. It turned out the Police were stopping every vehicle and asking questions. They waved us straight through when they saw our UK plate.

 

Enzklosterle is a lovely village, just south of Bad Wildbad in a quiet valley. It was a very tight turn and a steep slope into Campingplatz Műllerweise. This was a cosy site amongst the trees with only a few touring places available. There seemed to be several permanent caravans which were unoccupied. The site is just a short stroll into the village.

It was a 2 night stop at Enzklősterle. The following morning we had a stroll around the village. Light drizzle spoilt the day but the scenery was beautiful and the village was very pretty. Lunch in a local restaurant was good and very reasonable.

 

Just above the campsite is a mountain track which takes you to an outdoor activity centre. We watched the youngsters wandering around the obstacle course in the treetops. Not for those who are concerned about heights!    A circular hike around the woodlands was useful exercise and gave us an opportunity to explore a bit more of this beautiful Black Forest environment.

 

 

 

< left:  Priscilla at Campingplatz Műllerweise

 

↓ below: Views around the village

Enzklosterle to Landsberg-am-Lech

 

Our next destination was Landsberg-am-Lech to meet up with our friends Rolf and Marita. 

We were surprised how busy the autobahns were and we had several long delays. We later found out that it was the last week of school holidays and everyone was heading home. (Memo not to travel on autobahns at the end of school holidays!)

It was a very hot day, 30°C

We had intended to stay on the Stellplatz in Landsberg, as it is conveniently placed, just over the bridge from the old town.  However, when we arrived there were two very shabby, gipsy motorhomes parked up who seemed to take an unhealthy interest in our activities. As we were going to be away from our motorhome for several hours we moved on to a local, rural farm where Rolf keeps his Carthago.

Rolf and Marita were wonderful hosts and Marita makes the most amazing Appfelstűdel!  We were taken out to dinner at a delightful, lakeside restaurant near Denklingen, just south of Landsberg, and enjoyed a wonderful evening.

The following morning we were invited to Rolf and Marita’s for a full breakfast which was rounded off with just a little more Appfelstrűdel!

 

 

Landsberg to Berchtesgaden

 

So, with very full tummies, we set off for Berchtesgaden, in the far south east of West Germany and famous for Hitler’s mountain retreat.  We took the direct route, south of Munich and called in at the War Cemetery at Durnbach to visit the grave of Desnée’s cousin, once removed, who was a Lancaster bomber pilot in WWII and whose plane was brought down after a raid on Friedrichshafen.

Our campsite was just south of Berchtesgaden at Konigssee. When we arrived at lunchtime at Campingplatz Grafenlehen we were surprised to see two other British Carthagos on the site.  Our friends, John and June Pearson-Gee and Paul and Sue Brennan had arrived a few days earlier. The afternoon was sweltering 34°C and so out came the awning and the sunshades;  it was time to chill out!  Just look at the colour of that sky!

^ above: View of Hitler’s ‘Eagles Nest’ (circled) from our pitch

 

< left: Settled in at Campingplatz Grafenlehen

The six of us spent the very warm evening sitting outside until late drinking beer, eating and catching up on each other’s news. John and June told us that they had been stopped by the German police on the autobahn and been told that they were not permitted to tow a car on an A frame in Germany. Their car was parked in Munich and their plans for touring around had been severely disrupted.

 

We were stopping at Konigssee for three nights but the other four departed the following day—maybe, it was something we said? They were heading off to Seefeld and planning to collect the car from Munich once they arrived in Seefeld as they could take the train to Munich and then drive the car back.

 

We decided, as the weather was a bit cloudy, to catch the bus into Berchtesgaden and take advantage of our ‘free’ bus pass which was provided by the camp site.  If the cloud cleared we would go on to Obersalzburg and visit the Eagle’s Nest. If it stayed cloudy (restricting the panoramic views) we would visit the famous salt mines.   We enjoyed a walk around the old town of Berchtesgaden. There were some spectacular wall paintings!