Well it was time for something different today. After our first hotel breakfast of cold meats cheese and sweet pastries, DB hung up his tour operators hat and we headed to Barcelona on an organised bus trip. Destination Camp Nou. Home of Barcelona FC to watch a game of soccer between them and RC Deportivo. I think it was similar to our A-League games and just the normal weekly game. It was a great day, obviously winners are grinners. The home team won 4-0. The crowds were amazing, it was almost a full capacity crowd. Capacity is 99,354. The chanting and cheering went for the majority of the game. Tickets cost between €59 and €750 each. As you can imagine we sat almost in the bleachers (€67 each plus the bus ride it was a total 110 each ) but the stadium seating was quite steep and our view was really quite good. I learnt a few things for next year they were very good. The crowds as we left were entertaining as they chanted and sung continuously in the stairwells which was about 20 flights of stairs. The trip out of the city took a long time as well which was to be expected. The game was at 4.15 and it was a beautiful sunny day. Lucky they eat late here as we won’t be back to the hotel till about 9.30pm. Lucky we are still flexible to change as our initial  plans were to drive to Barcelona and see the city. Last time we were in Europe Gavin told us if we had the opportunity to watch an Italian match we should do it as they are so passionate about their football, so as there was one in Barcelona today we hoped that would be as good. It definitely was s great experience.

We only stopped the night in Tossa de Mar because of the rain and have now stayed 2 nights. Our dinner tonight was traditional tapas. I wish I knew they always give you a plate of olives as I wouldn’t have ordered the stuffed olives as DB doesn’t eat them at all. Oh well, 1.5 plates of olives later we enjoyed fried little fish (DB even ate some heads as well), cuttlefish and spanish omelette. It was really nice, the only thing missing was the veges.

Another great day!!

Well today we were to drive to Barcelona, about 300km. Driving in a new country, on new roads,  with tolls as well, is always a little scary.

We left Agde in the pouring rain again and decided against any sightseeing as it was quite miserable. We drove along the freeway for a couple of hours headed towards Barcelona and then stopped for lunch at a freeway service station/cafe. As we were deciding on the next route DB was approached by a hitch hiker wanting a lift to Barcelona. We told him we were not sure which way we were going and he obviously suggested places headed towards Barcelona which is where he wanted to go. Anyway DB managed to say we weren’t going in that direction yet. We then diverted the drive along the coast road, so only spent 16,85 euro on tolls today, as DB gets bored on the highways. We finally made it to the beach at Sa Riera which was quite windy and had a bit of swell. It was a pleasant 21′ and was nice to put our thongs on. From here we followed the coast road from Sant Feliu de Guixols to Tossa de Mar. This was 23km of winding road along the sea cliffs. A bit like the Great Ocean Road at home. They say that the section of road has a bend for every day of the year. It was very spectacular and would have been even better had they not had rain for the last 3 or 4 days, therefore making the water murky instead of the crystal blue it usually is. At Tossa de Mar we went for a walk and came across some ruins from 100-600AD. The mosaic tiles and stonework was quite colourful. We then headed to the Castillo de Tossa de Mar (the castle) at the beach. It would also have been amazing without the rain. A little disappointing but being used to the changes of colour of the ocean at home we can imagine how beautiful it should be. Whilst deciding where we would stay near Barcelona late today, the storm clouds rolled in and the heavens opened up with torrential rain, so we decided it was best to stay here at Tossa de Mar for the night. After finding a hotel we headed out for dinner in the castle restaurant. We had an amazing 3 course dinner. We shared a lovely grilled vegetables platter for entree, then DB had Prawns Au Gratin and I had Seafood Paella, followed by ice-cream for DB and Crema Catalina (Creme brulee) for me. Every course was delicious. It was a lovely walk through the cobbled streets back to our hotel as the rain had stopped and the weather was quite pleasant.

We ended up driving 280 km today but are still 106 km from Barcelona.

Tolls 16,85

We spent he day today travelling from Lake Iseo in Italy for a s long as DB could go towards Barcelona. The day started out overcast but quickly changed to rain of different intensities throughout the day . Please see a little description of the day in the life of an Italian driver. They travel through many tunnels but whilst in the tunnel they consistently overtake a line of 6 or more cars at once over double unbroken lines. Not many options when the truck comes the other way. But they keep on doing it. Someone always lets them in. They like DB as there is always a gap to move in to in front of him. But he drives them insane in 30km zones and they keep surging back and forwards in annoyance trying to push him faster. As you can imagine, this doesn’t work. They only know 2 speeds, fast and stop.  They sit 2 feet from your bumper waiting for smallest gap to overtake. Besides that they are very good drivers, just fast.

DB said “I have had fun driving, it has been a big maze to work around.” Then a little later “We are going to pay for these tunnels. I am sure they press another button when you are from another country. Toll X 2 times”

Next moment our GPS said “Cont. along the A180 for 245km”, seems amazing to continue along the same road for so far.

DB again “Where do we want to go. Vegemite.” It was really Vermiglia. Hehehe!

Yay. The ocean after 5 weeks inland.

Must have gone through a hundred tunnels. Tunnel. Blinker. Bridge windscreen wipers on. Trucks trucks. Tunnel. Wipers off. And again. Tunnel. wipers off. Blinker. Bridge windscreen wipers on Trucks trucks. Tunnel. Wipers on. And again. Tunnel. Blinker. Bridge windscreen wipers on Trucks trucks. Tunnel. Wipers off. No time to fall asleep which is good.

Tolls were amazing it felt like we stopped very frequently throughout the day., 9 tolls throughout the day.

We started at 1066km to Barcelona and paid the following tolls in Italy
14.50 euro at 993km
28.30 euro at 698km
Total 42,80 euro in Italy.

We are in France now
2,40 euro at 676km
1,50 euro at 657km
3,00 euro at 639km
14,40 euro at 497km
4,40 euro at 435km
5,60 euro at 368km
4,60 euro at 293km.
Total 35,90 euro in France

Db’s description of approaching the toll gates. “Time to scramble for a slot. Grab a ticket and scramble for your lane. And don’t get behind a tourist“ says the experienced DB. “We have paid 7 tolls so far today.” Some of the toll gates were 15 or more slots wide. Once you had been through a couple it was pretty easy. They took credit card so mine got a lot of use today.

We arrived at Agde, France for the night after travelling about 809km today. DB was amazing I read my book a bit as he was concentrating so much it was difficult to talk at times.

It was very wet in Agde and the thought of going out for dinner was not inviting. Oh well. Had to eat. It looked like there were some restaurants open along the river, but how to get there, the roads were dark, very wet, very very narrow and went round in all different directions. One way and very, very difficult driving conditions. We decided on a restaurant and couldn’t get down to the riverfront street. It was blocked with a gate. Oh well, just have to find a parking space. Done. Now about a 400m walk, the weather was kind to us on the way there, just drizzling rain. The river had almost burst it’s bank at one spot. At the restaurant, minuscule amounts of English, but they had an English menu. Thank goodness as we hadn’t downloaded google translate for France. I had an interesting, but quite nice meal, even though I wasn’t always sure what I was eating. DB did as well. Whilst at dinner the heavens opened up, the downpour was torrential with lightning and thunder. How to get back to the car, remembering it was only 400m. Lovely distance on a warm, moonlit, dry night. Tonight it was heads down and move quickly. All part of the adventure. Nighty night.

Today we travelled by ferry to a little island in the middle of Lake Iseo. It was a quick ferry ride, maybe 15mins and we arrived on the island. As always parking the car, paying for parking was tedious but we managed eventually. I had to go into the bank to ask someone where to buy parking voucher but that worked out ok. There were no cars allowed on the island, the only form of transport were bicycles, scooters, a bus and walking. We had intended hiring bikes to do a lap of the island and then head up to the church at the top, unfortunately the cycle hire place was closed so we had no choice but to walk or catch the bus. As the bus would not give that much flexibility we went with walking. That meant our afternoon hike was canned. Oh well. Poor Db’s plans have been re-written so many times this holiday.

With a total area of 12.8 square kilometres, Monte Isola is the largest lake island in Italy. The single-nave church of San Michele in Peschiera Maraglio was consecrated in 1648. This baroque church is notable for the many frescoes on the walls and on the ceiling and for its wooden carvings. The shrine of Madonna della Ceriola stands 600 metres above sea level, the highest spot on the island.

The fortress Martinengo was built in the 15th century, it has been renovated in an elegant residence and foiled DB’s trail as it is now private property. Added a bit of extra time to our walk as we couldn’t go through the grounds to the planned track.

The island was very typically Italian village style. Cobblestones, narrow streets and terrace type housing. I really love the little villages. We walked around the entire island and to all it’s Points of Interest, churches and castles. We also watched them harvest some olives. They just spread netting under the tree and use a tool that shakes the branches and I assume the ripe olives fall to the ground onto the netting.

It was a pleasant day with many pretty spots along the way.

Well, we woke to a beautiful day this morning, albeit very cold still in Val Gardena (The Dolomites) Italy. Time to move on again, but before we do, we have time for a short stroll through the valley above where we have been staying for the last couple of days. It was a gorgeous view of the enormous dolomites, walking through pine trees along a path to a church, then up a switch back track to the ruins of Castle Wolkenstein, a short distance along a closed via ferrata (cable path), passed the Stations of the Cross carved out of tree stumps, above the town and back to the car. It was a really pleasant walk with the most amazing views again and it snowed for the last 10 minutes as a parting gift to us.

After our walk it was time to head to our next destination, which was about 3.5 hours or a bit longer depending on how many wrong turns we take to Lake Iseo, Italy. After a major mistake with booking.com where our cleaning costs (70,00 euro) was almost as expensive as the accommodation itself and didn’t include parking costs, we accepted my blunder as it still was cheaper than any accommodation we would get at home. On arrival we decided it was well and truly worth the cost. We are staying right on the lake with an amazing view and a lovely apartment, balcony, open fire and cooking facilities. Yay, another home cooked meal compliments of Benny’s culinary skills. I made one of his recipes tonight. Thanks Benny.

The Italian’s still drive as wild as they did 2 years ago. No wonder they all have side-swiped car damage, they drive down streets wide enough for 1.5 cars and pass at mad speeds for the room available. On the freeway they drive fast, but not as fast as the Germans. We arrived safely in the daylight, in time to shop and have a rest before dinner. I do not now what has come over us.

Oh, and we paid the tolls today 12 euro as it would have added over an hour to our 3.5 hour drive.

The stations of the cross images are for Mum. I added an extra 15 minutes to our walk to get the first 6 as they weren’t along our planned walk to find out later when I looked up the names of each station that there were 14 not 12 and I had missed the last 2. Sorry Mum.

Tolls 12,00

When we woke this morning there was a white blanket of snow on the mountains and also down quite low towards our house. We took advantage of the snow and the cold and stayed in resting. A well deserved rest as we have really been on the go since we left home over 5 weeks ago. After lunch we headed out for a drive to Ortesei where one of the nine ski lifts (of the 209 in the area) was still running. We caught the cable car up from 1236m to the top at 2005m – the Alpe di Siusi which is the largest high alpine pasture and one of the most famous ski and excursion areas of Europe with its 52 km² mountain surrounded alpine pastures. The Alpe di Siusi is well-known all over the world for its colourful flowers in the summer and its glittering blanket of snow in the winter. It was very picturesque with the snow on the mountains behind, one of them reaching 3091m. Our gondola ride was quite inexpensive only 17 euro return each. At the summit we went for a walk through the pastures as DB hadn’t mapped out any tracks for us today, we had a time limit of 2 hours before the last ride back down the mountain. We decided to just follow the track to the next hut along. It was a very pleasant walk. True to character though DB couldn’t cope with just returning the same way back to the cable car so he worked out a different way back, me being me stressed not that we would get lost but true to DB form it would take longer than anticipated and we would miss the last cable car or be running the last 15 mins to make it. I never really doubt DBs ability to get us anywhere just in time was the issue as it was very cold up there. Anyway, we followed his loop route and arrived in plenty of time. Yippee for DB!!

We then caught the cable car back down and for anyone that is married to an engineer you will know that the view wasn’t the only thing of interest on the way down. Our entire discussion on the descent was about the mechanics of the cable car, how it worked, what would happen should it break and all the logistics that you could discuss over the 10 min trip down. By the way, the view of the town and surrounding mountains was amazing.

We then went into the little village where there was a market stall along the main street selling the usual clothes, parkas, socks, shoes, handbags, fruit and veg, jams, cheeses and sausages. The most populated tents were the wine and beer tents. We bought some fresh nougat which was really yummy. So yummy, I went back and got some more. We then headed back to our little sleepy hollow for an early dinner at a small Italian restaurant where I enjoyed some veal and grilled veges.

We have a big night planning our next destination. We are thinking maybe Barcelona but so far we have worked out this is about a 13 hour drive with a 140 euro toll cost. Can DB do it??

Well the temperature got to -3′ overnight and snowed but the apartment is very warm and the doonas are feather so lovely and warm. It was still 0′ when we started out for our walk. Our plans were foiled again as the lifts weren’t working today. We were not sure if it was because the summer season was over and one had a sign it didn’t re-open till 3.12.2016 for winter or because it was Sunday. But the walk DB had planned used 2 lifts to get us 1/2 way up to where we were going to hike today. Oh well, back to the drawing board. Half an hour later we decided on an easy loop walk from San Cristina which was about 10 minutes down the road. As we had been for a walk and the roads weren’t icy we drove to the start. It was to be about a 3hr hike with elevation of about 500m.

As we got out of the car we saw our first snow flake for the day. As it was quite light and snow wasn’t forecast until about 3pm we decided to make a start. If it got too bad we could always turn around and come back. The walk started at 1700m above sea level with a downhill trek for about 5 minutes and then it was a constant steep climb for the next 2 hours — DB still wasn’t well and we are not sure if he may be suffering with a little altitude sickness from our previous climb and also our apartment is at 1500m — which DB found a little tough. But he soldiered on. We passed a little cafe with an amazing view after about 1 hour but decided as we were only about 1/4 of the way we would not have a stop at this one. We kept climbing up and up and up. During the second hour of our climb the snow became quite heavy but it was quite pleasant walking still so we decided to keep going. It was a single file track most of the way and still quite steep and a little slippery from the snow. The views along the way were quite good but unfortunately once the snow got heavier the views disappeared and the mist rolled in again. By the time we reached the top of Mount Pic at an elevation of 2363m there was no view again. We met a couple from Glasgow at the top who told us they caught a lift to a spot a short way from the summit but it was it’s last day of operation today and that there was only one other lift still working. We will have to do loop tracks instead of utilising the many lifts that are here which is a shame. We sat at the top waiting for the fog to lift but it was quite cold, still 0′, so we decide to head down as we still had about 6km to walk. We started the descent which was also quite steep and tricky because of the wet ground from the snow. After about 15 mins the slope became more gradual and was a pleasant walk back to the car, it still took about an hour and a half. But believe it or not, we reached the car by about 4.30pm, in daylight. Woohoo!!

We then headed home for a much deserved rest. A lazy afternoon reading and resting was enjoyed by both David and I. Probably the 2nd time I have picked up my book since we got off the plane, the first being last night. DB is still not well so we will see how he feels tomorrow as to whether we get out again. It is forecast to snow from 6pm tonight and most of tomorrow, but only time will tell.

A couple of things I meant to mention yesterday was that Zugspitz mean yearly temperature is -4.2 and its Height is 2962m.

Wll, last night was spent deliberating where to go next. The weather in this area was to be wet and miserable for the next week, so although we would like to stay and do a few more hikes we have decided to move on. Where to is the big question? Options we were considering:
1. Spain – Temperature 20-30′
2. France – Water temperature 24′
3. Portugal – Same as Spain
All of these were alluring for DB as it was warmer, the only problem was that this weeks weather in Füsson was heading there in 7 days and it took 12 hours to Barcelona.
4. Croatia – By public transport as our car can’t go there, but temp has dropped to 20′ there this week.
5. Austria – Weather similar to Füsson
6. Italy

After much deliberation, checking accommodation, weather and things to do we decided on Italy’s Dolomites at Val Gardena. Looks like some amazing hikes. Downside was the temperature is very chilly.

Anyway, we got up and organised ourselves and as it was raining decided to get on our way. Last night time to get there was 3hrs, today’s time was 3.5hrs with tolls 4.5hrs without tolls. We all know how much DB hates paying for tolls but the time difference was too much to not pay.

We headed out and DB thought he knew where he was going so was chatting away not watching the GPS for instructions, 5 minutes into our trip he missed a turn which added about 10 mins to our trip. I am sure this will be the first of many, we have laughed a lot about wrong turns over he last 5 weeks.

As we had a long time  in the car today DB kept me amused with his little anecdotes.

He is feeling a little off and tired still today
He said: Maybe we are pushing it a bit too much
Me: You are allowed to slow down
DB: No, Must not slow down

Me: Where we are heading overnight temp -2′ and some snow. Wednesday is -7′.
DB reply. We will be gone Wednesday. We are so dumb.

As we drove in to Austria we were faced with the Toll sticker the same as last time that all cars must display whilst on Austrian roads (whoops for yesterday) Cost €8.80 for 10 days. We bought it today at the first service station which was so crowded, all people juust buying the sticker so we thought.

As we were heading directly across Austria from North to South.
DB said: You will see mmmmm…clouds today.
He would have loved to have said we would see the amazing Alps, but not to be today.

As we drove on we couldn’t believe the traffic. And all D (meaning Deutsche-German) number plates. We googled and discovered it was lower Germany’s school holidays starting today. Another thing we probably should have researched. Oh well we are stuck in the traffic jam, so just deal with it we did.

I caused about a 15 min increase in our time by telling DB to take an exit 1200m too soon. Unfortunately my wrong turn cost in tolls of €2 each, once to get off and once to get back on. Oh no!

We have learnt a few things in our travels so far. You are always paying 50 cents to go to the bathroom, but you must remember when going to maccas, to use the toilet first as you get a €0.50 voucher and you can redeem it in the shop. Their way of getting money from people who just stop to use their toilets. This also happens in some cafes at museums and shopping centres.

There have been no tolls at all in Germany, but now we are in Italy there are tolls, tolls and more tolls. Today cost a €9 + a €4  + my mistake (a total of €17) to save 1hour, not sure DB thought it was worth it.

The first service station in Italy the petrol price was €1.69 = AUD2.54, it was only €1.19 in Austria, another reason so many cars at Austrian service station.
DB: Lucky we only use 6 litres per 100km
Me: We should’ve filled up in Austria only €1.19

We had a lovely drive and quite a few laughs. We have arrived at our accommodation and got upgraded to a balcony view. The lady said it is lovely on the balcony if the sun comes out. She obviously doesn’t know us, we never get home in time to sit on the balcony.

Well it is time to plan tomorrow’s adventures, so for today. Good night.
Woohoo! My earliest post yet, 7.19pm. Yay!!

Tolls 17,00
Vignette sticker 8,80

Today was another quiet one. Db not feeling great. We think the craziness of the last few weeks has caught up with him and we need a rest day. The plan for the day was to drive to Zugspitz Mountain (the highest mountain in Germany 2962m) do a cogwheel train up, cable car across the glacier at the top, have a look around maybe a hike then cable car down. The mean yearly temperature there for the year is -4.2′. So off we went through some lovely scenic countryside, over the border in to Austria. The only thing that changed was the colour of the road right on the border. Houses changed a bit but the size of the alps and views were extraordinary. I was awake this time where as in 2014 when we drove into Austria I was in La-La land. We stopped in a little town near Garmisch-Partenkirchen (which DB nick-named Simon and Garfunkel) and had a little look around . Very quaint. Then on to Zugspitz Mountain. We knew before we left Füsson that the weather was probably not going to be great for the journey up but thought the mist might break at some stage during the day. When we arrived it was very bleak up the top so we went for a walk around the picturesque Eibsee (a lake at the foot of the mountain). It was very beautiful. We could have gone for a hike down in this area but weren’t really up for it today. We kept an eye on the mountain peak for a couple of hours but it seemed to get more and more fogged in. Final decision was to give it a a miss this time as we saw yesterday how little you could see through the mist.

We headed home after lunch via Austria again and passed a suspension rope bridge spanning the valley up at a vertigo-inducing height, bringing together the Ehrenberg Ruins and Fort Claudia. The pedestrian suspension bridge is called “highline179″. We just took a picture and then came home for a  much needed Nanna nap.

The weather here is forecast to be rainy for the next week so we are not sure where to head to next. So until next time I write, in who knows where, I say good night.

After our reasonably quiet day yesterday we are up for an adventure. We went for a short scenic drive around part of the lake where we are staying just outside Füsson. Again we have a very nice little apartment right on the lake. Very pretty. The drivers are often upsetting DB though, as when in the 30km zones they sit right behind him, trying to hassle him to go faster. They are succeeding but he doesn’t go faster.

We then head to Tegelberg cable car for the start of our walk. As we are getting organised DB said “We are going to climb one of these beasts today”. Our destination is to the top of Tegelberg where the cable car goes. Starting height 830m, we haven’t gone more than 5 mins when we realise we can’t go one of the planned tracks as it is closed, a Sister stopped as we were reading the sign to let us know the track near the creek was closed so we would have to head towards Hohenschwangau castle then go via Neuschwanstein Castle up the same track as last night to the bridge. From there we head on a single file track up and up and up. Great views back to the castles and out to the pastures. The edge is very close and oh so steep. Not one for Kristen and Benny to look down from. We hardly see anyone all day. A total of 24 people over the entire day. A bit different to the 50 or so we left on the bridge. Whilst we are stopped for lunch a couple of german boys (23 years) and a backpacking Californian guy (25) that they picked up at the bridge, stop for a chat. The American guy was really struggling and the German boys may have wished he hadn’t joined them as he was definitely going to slow them down. DB said at this stage as we were about halfway “Not far to go, up that is, only another Kariong hill. That’s all.”

The young guys set off just as we were about to leave, so we waited a bit to give them a lead as there is nothing worse than following people through the bush where it is nice to be out on your own. Anyway every up section we closed in on them until we eventually caught them on another uphill section. We passed them and kept heading up to the top. Up, up and up some more, at about 1650m the mist started to roll in, a real shame as the day had been so clear and the views amazing. We eventually made the cable car station and another cafe. We went in for a drink and once again were greeted with the warm smells of German food. After about 20 mins the boys arrived for a drink and some food. As we discovered when eating out with Benny it is always good to share a meal with a local who understands what is being served. The American chose some of the local food suggested. It was now time for us to leave.

To go to the next summit or not? That was the question as it was now 3.30pm, there was a heavy mist with little or no visibility out to the view and we still had a 2 hour descent. After our too big cycling day we were trying to be sensible and not ruin tomorrow by doing too much today. Did we succeed? Have a guess. Of course not!

So on we went up to Brandenschofen summit. A height of 1881m. This was an interesting walk, via rocky crags and with assisted cables we climbed to the top. It was quite tricky and very slow going. We had to be very careful as the drop was incredibly steep and the way to the top very steep. Sure-footing was essential. Well we made it but unfortunately the mist meant “NO VIEW”. Poop! We sat there for about 20 mins and had a snack as we have been up mountains before and started our descent and the mist had cleared. It did clear a little but we were not to see the spectacular view from the top today. The climb down was slower and trickier than the climb up, which is normal. We took it slowly and made it down safely. Just at the bottom of the tricky section we took a photo of a sign we couldn’t read when we headed up to translate when we got back tonight. The sign read:

ALPINE SLOPE WITH CABLE SUPPORT
• At your own risk
• alpine driving
• Route not left! Danger of falling and falling
• Do not get in wet, thunderstorm, rain, lightning, frost, snow
• Important requirement is a good sporting constitution
• Safety and dizzying!
Walking time to the Branderschrofen: 20mins

Now for the 2.25 hr walk back down. Lucky we didn’t want to catch the cable car as it stopped at 4.45pm. Although we had already decided to walk and leave the cable car for a day when you could see where you were going. The trip down went quickly although it was quite cold as by now it was 5.15pm and the temperature had dropped considerably. At one stage we passed near the cables for the cable car and DB said “We should flying fox down”. I said “I could imagine Frankie doing this.” The track down was quite good with only a few slippery sections. It was quite steep in some parts but we made it down in about an hour and a half. Our total loop time was 6 hrs 50 mins but our total walking time was only about 4 hrs, a 18.2km hike.

Again our car was one of the last in the car park. Another great day!