Diary - July 2013

1^st -3^rd July.  The weather is gorgeous here, if a tad hot, so we aren’t in any hurry to go over the Dolomites to Austria just yet, it looks stormy in the mountains per the forecasts.  So we are staying in Italy and visiting three more interesting towns in the shadow of Monte Grappa where we have since learned, much fighting took place in both the first and second world wars.

Impressive walls and two castles surround the town of Marostica which has a grand chessboard effect main square.  It seemed quite a sleepy place until the day we left - a massive market had taken over the town.

Too late for us we were already on our way to Bassano del Grappa, where the famous spirit originated and is still distilled.  A wooden bridge, designed by Palladio spans the river and although had to be rebuilt many times, still retains it's original design.  We headed there on our bicycles from our small farm stopover to see the bridge and of course to partake in a Grappa tasting session.  Yes ….it’s still horrible ……. but the lovely Nardani Spritz chaser (made by a local distillery) made up for it but maybe causing us to wobble a bit on our return journey.

      

In between watching Murray in the tennis quarter final we strolled around the historical and extremely neat hillside town of Asolo where there has been a settlement since the Roman times.  We are lucky to be here on a weekday, the small shops are full of fascinating local produce, breads, wine and olive oil and probably awaiting the hoards of visitors at the weekend.   

Asolo flower shop

4^th to 6^th July.

The Dolomites beckon – but first of all we stay in the surprising town of Belluno situated just at the start of the roads upward.  We were a bit concerned as we drove downhill to the parking spot as the town seemed to be towering above us and we wondered if we would have the energy to visit.   Then we saw the three tiered escalators ready to take up upwards again …. Whew! what a lifesaver … and another interesting town for us to partake of  Aperol Spritzer while people watching……this is becoming a habit!

Just in-case you fancy a swing at the bar!

Our first night in the mountains was spent in the little village of Taibon where the community had provided a motorhome stopover place surrounded by mountain peeks but luckily we were still able to tune in to the TV for the tennis semi-finals.  Next morning though we were awoken about 7am by animal sounds and whistles.  In no time at all in excess of 500 long eared sheep, some goats and a few donkeys where making their way past the van to the small pasture in front of us lead by three young men and a girl.  So mountain life continues into the younger generation here … and lovely to see.

We have moved on and up a few miles to Alleghe which is a small ski resort but has lots of walking the cycling paths too.  As the walking is mostly uphill here we have opted for cycling around the lake and along the riverside where is feels quite strange having such flat cycle paths amidst all those mountains.  Very beautiful …… not so sure about the painting effects on a house wall we passed though … not your usual alpine murals at all!      

          

Those murals! 

7^th July.  A few miles up the windy road ahead brought us to Arabba.  About 10 years ago, over Christmas, we had skied here with Ross, Dawn and Paul so it was quite exciting to see it again in the summer sun and relive those memories.  Not much has changed – maybe a new hotel or two – but it’s quite a small area so is much the same – all overlooked by the massive Sella mountain. 

It is the Wimbledon final today so we have chosen a parking spot which just about allows us access to the satellite so after a lovely lunch of typical Italien/Austrian mountain food we are looking forward to the match……..Hooray!  What a win.

8^th July.  Another strange sound awoke us this morning at 7.30am and not animal noises this time.  We peeped out of the curtains only to find a couple of road workers diligently re-paining the stripes on a zebra crossing just a few metres from the van, all well and good we thought, hoping we the paint would be dry before we needed to cross it.  Halfway through this job they then decided to re-paint the parking bays next to us and also around us too!  How funny – you just never know what you will wake up to next in these lovely mountains. 

We left Arabba this morning (after the paint dried of course) and noticed that we were at around 5000 feet high.  We travelled a few miles downhill towards Cortina but then started to climb again just when the road sign advised us that we had 17 hairpin bends to contend with - at least there is always the fun of counting them I suppose.  At the top, we reached 7000 feet and it certainly felt as though we were on top of the world at Passo di Falzarego.  We could see an easy walk stretching away over the mountain and next to the winter ski lifts so it was “on with the boots and out into the fresh air” – and yes, as you can see, the views were totally amazing.   

Chapel at the pass

Yes ... it's snow! 

9^th July.  We had planned to stay in Cortina last night but all the signs in this high end ski resort suggested they don’t like us motorhomer’s anywhere near.  Just as well, the prices in the shops are astronomical.   Instead we carried on to a lovely spot by Lake Misurina, which is overlooked by the Tre Cime mountain peaks.  This morning we strolled around the lake, coming across lots of wild alpine flowers and a few wild ponies too ….. far better than Cortina!

Lake Misurina

10th July.  As we have been meandering around the Dolomites we notice the same van’s coming and going but there are no other Brit’s  - almost all other nationalities are represented so why is it just us in beautiful land?  It seems we are well known too by the local policeman who came to check our parking ticket earlier today……he mentioned that he saw us yesterday at the previous lake.  What a lovely job he’s got.

It’s a bit thundery today and could rain later so we have got up and out early to cycle into Auronzo di Cadore  just a couple of miles down the valley.   A lovely ride beside the river and through the trees and the place was buzzing when we got there.  Of course, as with most Italian towns we know it will be deserted at about 12.30 until around 4.30 and not all the shops open in the afternoon at all! 

11^th July.  We are in a lovely parking spot in Sappada which is a small ski area in winter but a golf and walking centre in summer.  Mostly German speaking this small village looks very Austrian with lush meadows and cow bells.  There is a sign to a local farm shop a short walk from the van so we stopped by and just couldn’t resist the cheese, sausages and local spek dumplings.  Total cost was €9.78 – not a bad price I thought compared with the prices in the village but what a kind gesture for the farmer to round it all down to €9, would you get that at home?....... we doubt it.   A little further along there is a small wooden hut at the end of a winter ski piste so will be off there for a drink later.

Sappada Golf club

12^th July.  Just 5 miles back along the road and up the valley called Val Visende we are now staying for the night at an Albergo which also has a small camper area to the side.  We had been given a walking map when we entered the valley so set off on a short walk supposed to take no more than one hour.  We followed the fast flowing mountain stream just by the camping area and saw the sign for our walk across the fields – over another small stream with handy rocks to stand on – so far so good.  At the next stream however we could see the wooden bridge had been washed away ....... with no handy rocks to step on, Les soon found some and chucked a few across.  Taking my stick, he easily made it to the other side.  Next, my stick was thrown back to me and a few more rocks thrown into place.  As you can see Les was very concerned that I might not make the crossing but just had enough time to snap me (without my knowledge) just before I wobbled into the water.  Actually, it wasn’t that cold so might have been better to have just paddled in it in the first place! ….. Why do I always end up getting soaked?   

  

Socks drying on the broken bridge

Typical mountain hamlet

Now, that's a good place to take a nap!

                         Not the kind of thing you usually find while on a quiet walk in the mountains is it?

13^th and 14^th July.  We are making our way to Austria, the roads climbing all the time, until reaching the pass at the highest point.  

We are a little sad to be leaving Italy and as we come nearer to the border so can’t resist a quick lunchtime stop and a stroll beside a cascade. 

The parking places we had earmarked on our route turned out to be non-existent now so we arrived in Austria a little earlier than we expected. (You know you are in Austria when passing a fuel station with prices a good 20cents cheaper per litre)   Luckily we found a small campsite, with WiFi, just over the border so it was a  good time to catch up on the washing and cleaning before going on the walk the next day as suggested to us by the campsite owner.  What we hadn’t realised was the first part of the walk was almost perpendicular thorough the trees and I was becoming more and more frightened the higher we got ..…..”definitely not coming down this way even if I have to get a taxi” I thought to myself.    However, as with most things all was forgotten when we at last came out into the sunshine ….. what a marvellous view and a small hostelry available too for a quick beer!   No …. We didn’t need to hire a taxi there was another route back down but rather longer ….. I didn’t mind at all.

It looked much steeper in real life! 

Back down again - bee hives in the hut we think.

15^th July.  Oh dear….. things were going so well, we had a short time looking around Lienz today, a nice town, and have now travelled north to Matrei but it seems the tunnel we were planning to take over the Austrian mountains is closed for road-works …… damm!   so we are parked for the night OK ( at a restaurant next to the tunnel) but we will have to retrace our steps tomorrow and find another way over.  One of the passes charge around 32€ and as we didn’t plan on taking any motorways we don’t have a Vignette to travel on them so maybe we will go via Obertauen which is very tortuous …. we will have to see.  For now we will have a glass of wine and contemplate.

16^th July.  What an exciting day!   Having been awoken at 6.30am by the roadwork gang who are building a new temporary road nearby, we have set off down the mountain again to Lienz where we hope to find a tourist office.  The chap in the restaurant last night seemed to think we would be able to get through on the train tunnel which goes to Bad Gastein, we are just hoping they take motor-homes.   We have also found out that a landslip occurred last May which had caused the road closure just before the main tunnel so we are feeling lucky we were not involved in that.

Good news …… we can go on the train and it only costs 17€, it will be about 100 mile detour for us but we are glad we can get across without too much hassle. 

Once over, we drove around Zell am See hoping to park up for lunch but it was all too busy so we have now arrived in our small campsite at Mittersill where we had originally intended to stay … and very nice and quiet it is too ….. perhaps we will stay two nights here.     

 17^th July.  We have decided to move on ….. the camping is great but there is some building work going on right next door and in true Austrian style they started at about 6.30 am!  This together with Austrian workmen’s music at full blast and …..  you know what I mean.  So we are now in another lovely spot just 14 miles to the west at ‘Gasthof Freidburg’ near Neukirchen where the parking is free if you eat at the restaurant …. the views here are stunning so with the offer of a good meal too we are staying put here for the night. 

  We embarked on another walk down to the valley after being told the path was good – it turned out mostly to be a very narrow path through the pines with a steep drop-off to the right and only a single run of barbed wire to break any fall.  Just a word of warning ….. if any Austrian tells you a walk is not very steep and quite short ….. don’t believe them !!!! Lovely walk nonetheless.

A handy bench and the scary path! 

18^th July.  Just resting up at Gashof Freidburg – the cow bells are clanging around us, the meadow is buzzing with insects and the sun is shining.  If we listen carefully we can just make out those singing nuns!  By late afternoon the clouds had come in and thunder could be heard in the distance.  Heavy rain followed for about two hours and through the night but in the morning we had the sun again.

19^th July.  A long road trip today over the top of the mountains via Kitzbüle visiting a few Tyrolean villages where Dawn and I had holidayed around 25 years ago, Sheffau, Ellmau and St Johann in Tyrol.  All were much busier than I remembered them but still had the same Austrian charm and some painted houses.

House in Ellmau

It was very hot, so when we walked past a cold spa treatment (supposed to aid blood circulation) beside the church in the middle of Sheffau I just couldn’t resist trying it out.  In freezing mountain water I managed just once round the small circuit before my lower legs were almost completely lifeless ( I was supposed to do three rounds then dry off on the sun drench pebbles) …. the next part of the treatment, the arm bath, I resisted!  Legs nice and cool though for some time later.

We travelled on easterly along a small valley to Maria Alm where we had planned to stay overnight on land beside a small farmhouse with goats, chickens and a marvellous view of the mountains. The owners speak no English at all so it’s all a bit difficult to make even the smallest small talk with them.

That's us! 

  20^th July.  This is such a lovely spot we have decided to stay another night to make the most of the walking opportunities in this valley.  Earlier this morning another camper on the farm caught two trout from the very small pond which is fed by the mountain stream. ( we didn’t even know, a) there were fish in it, and b) whether you were allowed to catch them).  Having no landing net, Les lent him his one, the reward being one of the fish ….. guess what we are having for tea tonight!

Here in Maria Alm a cable car takes you up to the top and various walks lead you down past one or two handy mountain huts where refreshments are available.  We made a day of it ….  lovely walks, greats views and not scary this time so I am in heaven.

Before

After! 

Mountain hut

Just couldn't resist that Germ Knôdle

 Once back down in the village we had a quick look in the church.  Even the smallest village church here is very ornate and quite beautiful.  The one was even better as there was obviously a wedding taking place later that day, the flower decorations were  absolutely wonderful and it was lovely to hear the flautist and singer practicing their musical pieces.    A little later the guests started to arrive so I just hung about a bit to catch a glimpse of the bride escorted by her young bridesmaids and pageboys all in traditional dress …. very sweet.   

Those flowers

21st July and 22^nd July.   We have travelled further east in Austria along some very windy roads to the next valley and staying at a small farm in Altenmarkt im Pongau.  We thought we would be all alone in this quiet place but around ten more vans turned up throughout the day.  It seems this is a popular stopping off point for those travelling on to Croatia so the next morning most had already left by the time we were outside for breakfast.  As we are in the mountains I hadn’t realised it would be so easy to do as much cycling as we have and today was no exception.  We cycled through the valley a short way to the walled town of Radstadt who’s main claim to fame seems to be quashing the Peasant’s revolt in the 16^th century!  Apparently 5000 farmers rose up and tried to besiege the town, the uprising failed and the main culprits beheaded, leaving the rest to be forced to rebuild the fortifications and towers which still stand today.  I couldn’t help feeling a bit sad for them all.

What a lovely breakfast

23^rd July. We made our way along a very pleasant road to the Austrian Lakes region just east of Salzburg arriving at the small lake of Gosau which is overlooked by the Dachstein Mountain group and Glacier.  Wow!

The mountains rose above us as we neared the lake and not really knowing what to expect we parked up to go for a short stroll.  It would have been possible to go up the cable car but we didn’t have our hiking boots with us, so, after an ice-cream at the touristy bit we opted for a walk around the lake. 

Various hardy souls were swimming from the small ‘beaches’ in the clear water and as it was so hot, in the end we just couldn’t resist a quick paddle … it was lovely and cool  -  when we looked closely we saw it was  also inhabited by a few tadpoles.  The whole walk was a little longer than we expected but nearing the end we noticed a very small hut, which had smoke rising from the chimney, a few cows and trestle tables, and a very limited menu.  After we had ordered our shandy and doughnut we saw lots of other folk drinking half litres of milk …. of course from those lovely cows.  We wish we had seen that first, it would have been just the thing.  

  We are parked up tonight in one of the car-parks here with another Austrian van so we are in good company. 

24^th July.  Today we are planning to spend the day at Hallstatt See just a few miles away.  As the town of Halstatt was very busy we drove a little further on to Obertraun where we found a good parking spot away from the tourist masses with a good cyclepath of about 3 miles into the town. Pretty Hallstatt, with it’s houses clinging to the steep mountain sides originally became wealthy because of the salt mines.  By the 1860’s it was becoming a tourist hotspot as the railway was put in and a steam ship operated in the lake … 

....... now coaches arrive and their passengers spill out into the small town not realising the best bit is where we are, just across the lake.

 

Hallstatt town square

  We cycled into town getting back about 4.30pm where we joined the local people swimming in the shallow water and sunbathing on the grass.  What a blissful place this is.

I did swim ...honest! 

25^th July.  We had a thunderstorm last night and some heavy rain but today looks good so we are spending the day at Wolfgangsee. 

Early morning mist after the rain

It’s a bit touristy here at St Wolfgang but we parked for 24 hours for 9€ in the large coach and carpark and will spend the day wandering around the town and taking a boat trip over to St Gilgen at the northern tip of the lake.  The water is turquoise in the sunshine and there are more swimmers making the most of the lovely clear water. 

View from St Gilgen

                        

Tonight we are going to stroll down to the marketplace as there is a traditional evening with folk music … I wonder how long we can last watching the thigh slapping and umpah music!

26^th July.  We are slowly making our way towards Salzburg visiting two more lakes on the way – Mondsee, and the smaller Irrsee where we have been lucky enough to find a small farm which has a few pitches for motorhomes.  We can buy fresh milk and eggs here from the farm cows and chickens and bread from the baker who calls each morning.  A bit of R+R today and then perhaps a cycle to lake Irrsee for a swim tomorrow. 

View from the van at sunset

27^th July.  After a breakfast using the fresh milk from the farm for our cereal we cycled just over a mile down to the lake at around 10.30am.  There were already lots of people under colourful sun umbrellas and a few swimming in the lake so we parked our bikes and joined them. These places really do put any UK facility to shame, with a small bar in one corner selling food and cold drinks/beers, lovely loo's and changing rooms – all for the price of a 3€ per car parking fee.  For us of course, on our bikes, it was all free! 

28^th July.  In Salzburg…….see the blog.

29^th to 31st July.      A couple of days spent around Lake Chiemsee and continuing on towards Reit am Winkl just on the border with Austria again, staying at a large restaurant/farm where they welcome motorhomers -  we suspect in the hope we will spend some money with them. Of course we obliged – the dumpling soup was delicious.  The weather has cooled at last and we have had a few rain showers but it’s lovely to have a break from the oppressive heat of the past few days.  Reit am Winkl is set in a wide valley surrounded by mountains, great for walking in the summer and both Nordic and downhill skiing in the winter.  We have met an English couple who have been coming to Southern Germany for 10 years and who have kindly given us a loose itinerary to follow westwards. They come in winter too spending about three months Nordic skiing and walking – it certainly made us think of other possibilities for us in future years?