Austria Continued - Lofer, Wallersee and The Danube

31 May

Leaving Innsbruck and a beautiful two hour drive through the valley following the river Inn.  Passed farmsteads, fields of veges and strawberry pickers, the chateau in Brixleg, through Worgl and a climb into ski villages dominated by snow capped Alps.  

Found our campsite in Lofer, ‘Park Grubhof’ (24 euros) situated in an old park by the river Saalach.   Found a great pitch by the river and went for a recce of the camp.  Would have to say it’s one of the best camps we’ve been in, well organised, very modern facilities, on a river with biking and hiking paths and beautiful views of the mountains.

  

Thought we’d make the most of the rest of the afternoon (and hopefully beat the next downpour) and went on a two hour hike following a track next to the camp through the woods and meadows and into the village.  Here you can catch two cable cars that whisk you up to the Almenwelt Lofer, an alpine pasture and the starting point of hiking and biking trails.  Lets hope the weather is better tomorrow.

1 June

After a walk to Chaeau Grubhof, the residence of the original land owner and now part of ‘Camp Grubhof’, we went for an explore following a pretty pathway through the meadows and little farming hamlets.

2 June

Made our way to the River Danube as the weather hasn’t cleared.  Excited to be able to catch up with our Austrian friends who we met last year at Lake Bled in Slovenia.  

Meandered through ski villages, woods and meadows, popped into Germany at Bad Reichenhall and back into Austria.  Drove through Salzburg and caught a glimpse of the old town where we explored last year.

Rupert and Claudia live near Neumarkt am Wallersee, a pretty area of meadows, lakes and farming hamlets.  Found the closest camp, ‘Camping Strandbad' at Seewalchen (20 euros) situated on Lake Wallersee.  

Went for a recce through the fields and to the lake which is overlooked by a restaurant which backs onto the camp.

Spent a wonderful evening with Rupert and Claudia who took us back to their home where we met son Rupert and daughter Marget as well as ‘Josh and Clara and the gang’!

A fabulous spit pork dinner overlooking the lights of Salzburg!

3 June 

A beautiful ‘green’ drive through the country side with a dash of red, the poppies are starting to bloom!  However as we got closer to Linz the drive became ‘commercial’, with lots of traffic and lights, added an extra hour to our trip.  Passed Linz it changed just as quickly as we hit the ‘Romantic Road’ and caught glimpses of the Danube River, which incidentally is not ‘blue’!  Through woods and passed Stein Castle and a lovely drive following the Danube to Marbach and ‘Camping Marbach’ (18 euros) on the Danube. 

Went for a two hour hike uphill and through the woods to the pilgrimage church ‘Maria Taferl’.  At this beautiful baroque basilica we enjoyed a fantastic panorama of the Danube Valley.

4 June

Left camp heading to Krems situated along the Danube in the Wachau Valley.  The Valley has a picturesque landscape formed by the Danube and is known for it’s quality wines (mainly ‘dry whites’), castles and ruins and the urban architecture of it’s towns and villages.  Drove through orchards, cute villages and vineyards to our next designated camp, ‘Camping Donaupark Camp Krems’ on the Danube.  We were so fortunate to be given a pitch overlooking the Danube and the beautiful Gottweig Abbey high up on the other side of the river.

Went exploring and took the cycleway along the Danube, passed the ‘spit fish’ outdoor eatery through the vineyards to medieval Durnstein with it’s striking blue tower of the Monastery Durnstein.  

The Donauweg is the most popular cycleway in Europe running over 1,000kms and following the Danube River through ten countries.  

The most picturesque part is between Passau and Vienna. 

Hiked up the slopes to the Castle Ruin where 'Richard the Lionheart' was once kept prisoner.  Took advantage of the ‘history info stops’ on the way up. 
Stunning panoramas of the Wachau Valley from the top. 

In the evening we strolled through the little village of Stein next to Krems.

5 June

Watched the tourist boats and barges from our pitch, drank coffee and chatted with our neighbours.  

Twenty camper vans have arrived today, they’re part of the ‘Netherlands Camping Club’. 

6 June

Determined to see the beautiful Benedictine Gottweig Abbey close up, we crossed the bridge over the Danube and followed the cycle path to the base of the Abbey.  A steep climb to the Abbey.  

Stunning both inside and outside, baroque architecture.  There is a restaurant on the other side of the Abbey with panoramas overlooking the valley.  20kms and we were back at camp just missing a thunderstorm.     

Germany - Lake Constance and Fussen, Austria - Innsbruck

24 May 

Off to Germany today heading for Lake Titisee in the Black Forest.  Took the country roads through Freiburg into alpine country complete with ski jumps and a steep climb through a gorge to our intended stop at Lake Titisee.  However for some reason the route to the camp on the Lake was barred with no alternative route.  
After several unsuccessful attempts we abandoned and continued for another hour to Lake Constance (Lake Bodensee) a short drive away from the Black Forest.  

Lake Constance is a lake on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps.  Found our camp at Stockach, ‘Camping Park Papiermuhle’ (20 euros) which we chose as it’s connected to the 273km long ‘Bodensee-Radweg cycle path’.  Went for an evening walk and ended up on the outskirts of Stockach, then had a look at the Camper Vans in the Dealers opposite our campsite. 

25 May 

A wonderful ride around Lake Constance (Lake Bodensee) following the ‘Radweg’ network of cycle paths through small lake-side villages, passed orchards and fields of wheat to the historic town of Constance. 
Our first view of the lake was from the pretty town of 

Allensbach.

Into Constance where we explored by bike and foot.  An interesting laid back, bike friendly town joined by a series of bridges over the Lake.  Ferries ply the lake back and forth to the surrounding resort towns, there are marinas and people sunbathing and ‘picnicing’ on the lake edge.  There seems to  be a lack of eateries on the water, however we found a 
Pizzeria and fortified ourselves for the ride home with pizza and beer, hit the spot!  

15km from Stockach we took an alternative route through Wahlwies where we stopped at a lovely cafe overlooking a glider air field.  72km and we were back at camp and hot showers!

26 May

Left early for our next destination Fussen and the ‘Castle that inspired Walt Disney'.  Skirted around Lake Constance to Lindau, driving passed apple orchards, fields of wheat, vineyards and through pretty villages.  We can see a Zeppelin hovering over the lake, what a great way to take in the lake and scenic views.  There is a lot of traffic on the road today as evidently it’s a Public Holiday. 

Two campsites we tried were ‘full’, we were lucky with the third who squeezed us in!  ‘Campingplatz Seewang' (20 euros) situated on Lake Forggensee in the Bavarian alpine foothills.  

Went on a recce following the track down to the lake, through the woods and farmland taking in the sound of cow bells.  What a beautiful spot, backed by the Alps!

27 May

Up early hoping to beat the crowds visiting the ‘two Castles’ and the mountain town of Fussen.  Followed the cycle path around Lake Forggensee, through meadows and small villages into Fussen.  

Continued through the woods until we could see Neuschwanstein Castle perched on a rugged hill above us.  We arrived in Hohenschwangau and started a twenty minute uphill walk to the Castle, passing the second Castle, ‘Hohenschwangau Castle’ on the way.

Neuschwanstein Castle is a nineteenth century Romanesque Revival Palace.

It was commissioned by King Ludwig II as a personal refuge but was opened to the public after his death in 1886.  

We can see why ‘Walt Disney’ chose this fairytale castle as his prototype for ‘Sleeping Beauty’. On the return trip we climbed the stairs to the second castle, also a nineteen century palace and the childhood residence of King Ludwig II built by his father, King Maximilian II.  

Biked back to Fussen for an explore.  Fussen is known for it’s violin making and is the transport hub for the two Castles.  Had lunch at a small alfresco restaurant in the old part of town.  First time we’ve tried ‘cola weissen’ beers, ‘weiss beer’ with a coca cola flavouring added.  Thirst quenching and nice!

Took an alternative route back to camp following the cycle path on the opposite side of the lake.  Just as beautiful but more hills!  40kms and we were pleased to see the camp signs! 

28 May

Decided to take advantage of another glorious day and drive through the Alps.  A pretty drive  towards Augsburg on the ‘Romantic Road’ through the woods and little alpine villages and up into the Alps to the ski resort of Garmisch-Partenkirchen.  Over the border and into Austria, winding through the Alps looking down on villages and farmsteads in the valley below, then a spectacular descent along the Inn Valley to Innsbruck.  The Inn Valley is located between high mountains in the Karwndel Alps.  Innsbruck is the capital of Austria’s Western State of Tirol and was host to the '64 and '76 Winter Olympics .     

Our designated campsite is 10kms out of town, ‘Schwimmbad Camping Hall’ in the town of Hall in Tirol (17 euros).  Price includes free admission to the large swimming complex next door.

29 May

Col here!  I’ve hijacked the blog for a day for reasons that will become apparent.

Right!  A relaxing day planned for today.  A gentle bus ride into Innsbruck (14 euros return for two), a leisurely amble along the quaint streets of the old town, smelling the “potpourri” sold in the gift shops, the coffee, beer and apple strudel aromas wafting from the cafes. A hand in hand stroll along the Inn river…. A relaxing day right…..Wrong!!!!

Pamo decides instead of taking the Hungerburg funicular railway (which most normal people do), to the start of the cable car stations, we will climb the very steep 860m!!!  We followed the narrow trail into the woods and continued passed the rock climbers.  Once there, she then thinks it’s possible to continue another 900m to the top of the first cable car lift (there are two, reaching 2,256m).  

It’s about now I begin to realise that with all the biking, the walking and now the mountain climbing that she’s trying to do me in.. I refuse to go any further and take refuge in the cafe overlooking the city, I then start the decent back to the old town and start asking for help… of course.. they only speak German so I’m buggered, hence the reason for hijacking the blog… Help…I need a rest day…please rain…better go,  I can hear her footsteps returning… probably with plans of a bungee jump off some mountain top !!!!  

Pam back again, just seen the huge ski jump station on the edge of town …wonder if Col would like a go ??  It’s the ‘Bergisel Sprungschanze Stadion' which has a capacity of 26,000 and is a ski jumping hill stadium. 

Had a great panorama of the city and mountains.  Headed back to the medieval old town along the River Inn with it's colourful houses.  We listened to the orchestra playing in the old town’s most famous symbol and ornate Habsburg residence, ‘Goldenes Dachl’. 

Strolled up the Maria Theresien Strasse lined with palatial residences, eateries, street lamps, promenades and more views of the stunning Alps which surround the City.  Evidently Empress Maria Theresien ruled the Habsburg dynasty for forty years.

30 May

A relaxing catch up day!  Col is a very happy man!