Check out our trip on Google Maps!
Not quite as far as we travelled as John kept giving me rubbish directions but it'll give you a good idea of where we went.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Day 10 - Mont St Michel - Paris - Kings cross - Camberley - Cambridge (Ryan Only)
We decided it was best to hit Saint Michel early before the tourist rammed the place and we needed to drop the car in Paris before 17:00 requiring use to leave St Michel before 13:00. Arriving at the ancient monastery site just after 9:00 we parked as designated and realised that the car park is on the tide path. We were sternly warned that we had to move our car before 20:00 as the tide by then would reach it and wash it away. This of course didn't fear us because we were required on the 20:13 train to London otherwise we wouldn't make it home! Still it was pretty quirky and cool to see a car park appear as the morning high tide receded. The Mont resembles something out a fairytale.
Imagine a rocky outcrop in the sea, connected to the main land through a causeway that during high tide disappears, isolating the island. The mount rises out if the north sea to a hight of 681 metres. Pretty low compared with some of the places we had seen but vast when all the landscape around it is flat. Around the base of the mountain there is a village with the buildings dating back to 1400s, protecting the village and the entire mount is a defensive wall and ram parts. This wall directly faces the sea when the high tide is in. Think Helms deep from the Lord of the Rings, spectacular and its easy to see why no attacker has ever managed to breech the walls and take the city. The Mount was an effective stronghold in the 100 years war. Further up the mount sits a monastery that is made up of buildings from various ages, the first dating back to 801 AD! The monastery is vast, and dominated the top of the mount. Like nothing I or John have ever seen. We climbed the wet and rather unforgiving looking stone steps up to the monastery, it felt a little like Switzerland and legs began straining again. We toured through the various rooms of the monastery, the stone work was undeniable impressive. Just the fact that the stone was there at all was staggering when you realise the location and the lack of modern building infrastructure back when the buildings were constructed. Just hiking the stone from the base of the mount to the top looked like a Herculean task.
After seeing the historic buildings we went to have our penultimate European meal. We had a very Normandy themed meal, with John enjoying steamed mussels, although they are of course fiddly. I had to have crepes for dessert, its just rude to be in France so long and not enjoy their famous pancake desserts. John had apple sorbet with Calvados dripped on, all good times. We paid up and headed off to our car, although we had parked as close as possible when we turned up the tide movement meant that our car was now at the furthest part of the car park, more and more of the car park is revealed. We had one final look at Saint Michel and jumped in the car for the final driving leg in Europe.We headed to Paris to drop off the car, we had managed to do over 3 500 miles. :-) yea for getting our monies worth out of our unlimited mileage contract.
During the drive we had the worst weather all holiday. Rain lashing down at times we could hardly see the car in front. This posed us a problem. You see in France they have two speed limits on their motorways, 130 kmh if it's dry 110 kmh in the rain. Our flawless planing had us expecting to be travelling at the maximum speed limit to hit Paris in time to drop off the car. So we decided to play it safe and do 120 kmh in the rain. Also we were confused by the nuances, what exactly was rain, the lashing stopped for a while but the roads wear still soaked, we decided to play it safe and presume that unless it was heavy rain the maximum speed limit stood. We had a long way to drive and not much time to do it in. We arrived in Paris in good time, however the city isn't the easiest to navigate and Parisians drive like absolute death wishers. John found it immensely funny when we discovered that I had to drive the car around the Arc de Triomphe roundabout. This roundabout is lengendary for being mental, no lights, no lanes, no rules, every car for itself. Infact we had heard that many insurnace policies in France would cover cars only they never went around the roundabout. With a battle cry in my lungs and the roof and windows down we fought our way across the roundabout, John captured the event in a number of still shorts from his camera. He said the shots would act like a black box recording if the infamous roundabout got us. We made it! No crash, or bumps or even scrapes. We continued to the Gare du Nord. Finally parking the car in the drop off point I breath a sigh of relief, I had crossed Paris and survived the Parians death drivers!
The hand over of the car keys was surprisingly casual. We expected trouble on a couple of fronts, first the massive chip in the windscreen from the stone in Spain. Two the number of miles we had ( the paper work suggests that the two companies we had dealt with involving the car hire hadn't communicated as best as they could----the hire company expected us drive 999 km in the hire period, we managed 5630 km! Of course our contract with Holiday Autos stated unlimited mileage, so we were covered but we thought there would be a bit of a battle when we dropped the car off. However true to form the Parisian (lazy) worker just took the keys and wished us bon voyage. Glad it went easier than planned, good times. We popped into a little cafe in the station, just 4 minutes from the check in of the Euro Star. Having a very un-French final meal of burger and chips we paid up and filed into the Euro Star loungue, awaiting boarding we sat down and tried to finish this blog.
We arrived back in London and jumped in a Taxi to Waterloo. After paying for the taxi with proper money (i.e. it had the Queen's head on it) we rushed to get a ticket and get on a train to Camberley. We were very kindly picked up by Amber - Thank you! Unfortunately, I didn't get a kiss and hug, only John did. When we got back to John's we partook in a Chai tea as recommended by John - very nice. I headed home and after flagging a bit halfway through a swift redbull allowed me to make it home.
All in all an amazing 10 days!
Imagine a rocky outcrop in the sea, connected to the main land through a causeway that during high tide disappears, isolating the island. The mount rises out if the north sea to a hight of 681 metres. Pretty low compared with some of the places we had seen but vast when all the landscape around it is flat. Around the base of the mountain there is a village with the buildings dating back to 1400s, protecting the village and the entire mount is a defensive wall and ram parts. This wall directly faces the sea when the high tide is in. Think Helms deep from the Lord of the Rings, spectacular and its easy to see why no attacker has ever managed to breech the walls and take the city. The Mount was an effective stronghold in the 100 years war. Further up the mount sits a monastery that is made up of buildings from various ages, the first dating back to 801 AD! The monastery is vast, and dominated the top of the mount. Like nothing I or John have ever seen. We climbed the wet and rather unforgiving looking stone steps up to the monastery, it felt a little like Switzerland and legs began straining again. We toured through the various rooms of the monastery, the stone work was undeniable impressive. Just the fact that the stone was there at all was staggering when you realise the location and the lack of modern building infrastructure back when the buildings were constructed. Just hiking the stone from the base of the mount to the top looked like a Herculean task.
After seeing the historic buildings we went to have our penultimate European meal. We had a very Normandy themed meal, with John enjoying steamed mussels, although they are of course fiddly. I had to have crepes for dessert, its just rude to be in France so long and not enjoy their famous pancake desserts. John had apple sorbet with Calvados dripped on, all good times. We paid up and headed off to our car, although we had parked as close as possible when we turned up the tide movement meant that our car was now at the furthest part of the car park, more and more of the car park is revealed. We had one final look at Saint Michel and jumped in the car for the final driving leg in Europe.We headed to Paris to drop off the car, we had managed to do over 3 500 miles. :-) yea for getting our monies worth out of our unlimited mileage contract.
During the drive we had the worst weather all holiday. Rain lashing down at times we could hardly see the car in front. This posed us a problem. You see in France they have two speed limits on their motorways, 130 kmh if it's dry 110 kmh in the rain. Our flawless planing had us expecting to be travelling at the maximum speed limit to hit Paris in time to drop off the car. So we decided to play it safe and do 120 kmh in the rain. Also we were confused by the nuances, what exactly was rain, the lashing stopped for a while but the roads wear still soaked, we decided to play it safe and presume that unless it was heavy rain the maximum speed limit stood. We had a long way to drive and not much time to do it in. We arrived in Paris in good time, however the city isn't the easiest to navigate and Parisians drive like absolute death wishers. John found it immensely funny when we discovered that I had to drive the car around the Arc de Triomphe roundabout. This roundabout is lengendary for being mental, no lights, no lanes, no rules, every car for itself. Infact we had heard that many insurnace policies in France would cover cars only they never went around the roundabout. With a battle cry in my lungs and the roof and windows down we fought our way across the roundabout, John captured the event in a number of still shorts from his camera. He said the shots would act like a black box recording if the infamous roundabout got us. We made it! No crash, or bumps or even scrapes. We continued to the Gare du Nord. Finally parking the car in the drop off point I breath a sigh of relief, I had crossed Paris and survived the Parians death drivers!
The hand over of the car keys was surprisingly casual. We expected trouble on a couple of fronts, first the massive chip in the windscreen from the stone in Spain. Two the number of miles we had ( the paper work suggests that the two companies we had dealt with involving the car hire hadn't communicated as best as they could----the hire company expected us drive 999 km in the hire period, we managed 5630 km! Of course our contract with Holiday Autos stated unlimited mileage, so we were covered but we thought there would be a bit of a battle when we dropped the car off. However true to form the Parisian (lazy) worker just took the keys and wished us bon voyage. Glad it went easier than planned, good times. We popped into a little cafe in the station, just 4 minutes from the check in of the Euro Star. Having a very un-French final meal of burger and chips we paid up and filed into the Euro Star loungue, awaiting boarding we sat down and tried to finish this blog.
We arrived back in London and jumped in a Taxi to Waterloo. After paying for the taxi with proper money (i.e. it had the Queen's head on it) we rushed to get a ticket and get on a train to Camberley. We were very kindly picked up by Amber - Thank you! Unfortunately, I didn't get a kiss and hug, only John did. When we got back to John's we partook in a Chai tea as recommended by John - very nice. I headed home and after flagging a bit halfway through a swift redbull allowed me to make it home.
All in all an amazing 10 days!
Day 9 - Amsterdam - Bruges - Mont Saint Michel
We awoke in Amsterdam ready to see another side of the city, being kicked out at 11:00 and therefore losing the car parking space we got ready had the provided breakfast (which was more American in nature, pancakes!) and hit the city streets early. So wondering around at 9:30 am we were a little shocked to see some prostitutes still plying their trade during the day time - during the day it is obvious that the 'B' squad are out. After some pictures of city squares, monuments, trams, bicycles and canals we had run out of time and went to pick up the car. The main town square was impressive, with the old city hall and cathedral at one end, unfortunately the city hall was surrounded with scaffold. 'Cest le vie'. Ryan drove and the TomTom instantly directed us down some tiny city streets. After some very slow driving and some illegal reversing we reached the end of the road. We could see the main road which we wanted to be on but there was some pavement in betwen us and it. An executive decision was made and after some pavement driving we were where we needed to be and on our way to Bruges.
Bruges was wet. Really really wet. We took some pictures of the main square. We also did some shopping. Main tip for future trips: try and go when it's not raining. Of course as this was our only stop off in Belgium (apart from petrol stations) we went to a number of chocolate shops. After deciding that we had a long way to travel we got back in the car and started on out journey to Mount Saint-Michel.
We arrived at Mount Saint-Michel at about 10:30 to see the whole island lit up. It is an absoutely amazing sight which looked like it could be straight out of a fairytale. Something which was so far from anything we saw in America. We parked the car and walked to the walls expecting the island to be closed. We were actually able to enter the walls and take a night time walk through the tiny streets on the Island. Lit up in the evening and with very few others around, the place had a magical feel. Standing on the walls We were able to look back onto the French mainland, over the flats flooded by the high tide. The city was so quiet we were able to wonder and appreciate the wonder of such spectacular space, never had we been to a place like this without hordes of tourist being there too. Truly epic, it felt although we had travelled through time.
We set off in search of a room in the plethora of hotels near the mount and found a vacancy in the second hotel we came to. After a swift nightcap Ryan headed to bed and John followed after writing another day's worth of the blog. John was delighted to find that the hotel had some Calvados, apple brandy. Calvados its truly potent. After one of those John then ordered a local cider informing me that Normandy was famous for its apple based alcohol products. Just before surrendering to sleep we realised that apart from the first two days we had been in at least three countries every single day - We still made two contries in those days. Good times.
Bruges was wet. Really really wet. We took some pictures of the main square. We also did some shopping. Main tip for future trips: try and go when it's not raining. Of course as this was our only stop off in Belgium (apart from petrol stations) we went to a number of chocolate shops. After deciding that we had a long way to travel we got back in the car and started on out journey to Mount Saint-Michel.
We arrived at Mount Saint-Michel at about 10:30 to see the whole island lit up. It is an absoutely amazing sight which looked like it could be straight out of a fairytale. Something which was so far from anything we saw in America. We parked the car and walked to the walls expecting the island to be closed. We were actually able to enter the walls and take a night time walk through the tiny streets on the Island. Lit up in the evening and with very few others around, the place had a magical feel. Standing on the walls We were able to look back onto the French mainland, over the flats flooded by the high tide. The city was so quiet we were able to wonder and appreciate the wonder of such spectacular space, never had we been to a place like this without hordes of tourist being there too. Truly epic, it felt although we had travelled through time.
We set off in search of a room in the plethora of hotels near the mount and found a vacancy in the second hotel we came to. After a swift nightcap Ryan headed to bed and John followed after writing another day's worth of the blog. John was delighted to find that the hotel had some Calvados, apple brandy. Calvados its truly potent. After one of those John then ordered a local cider informing me that Normandy was famous for its apple based alcohol products. Just before surrendering to sleep we realised that apart from the first two days we had been in at least three countries every single day - We still made two contries in those days. Good times.
Day 8 - Luxembourg - Amsterdam
We awoke in our hotel just outside of Luxembourg city, had our traditional Germanish breakfast, cheese and meats. After filling up we headed towards the city. Luxemborg is the last dukedom in the world, the head of state is a Grand Duke. We arrived and parked and then wondered around the old city. A truly wonderful place, very affluent. The old city attained UNESCO status in 1993. The architecture is stunning and certainly the old city has much beauty. We manged to get lost and spend an hour trying to find the Ducial Place. What wasn't great was the rain, it was tearing it down, the first bad weather we had had all holiday. After much consultations with the iphones we found the place with its solitary member of the Luxembourg army on guard. We felt a little sorry for the fella as he had to march up and down to keep warm in the rain - 25 steps each way. After a little research we found out he was one of the 450 people in the Luxembourg army, a very select organisation indeed. Please don't think Luxembourg in languishing in the shadows of history, many banks are based here, another micro state with liberal tax laws. In fact the entire city, the whole of it, has free public access wifi. A totally unrealistic goal for London. So sad to be leaving such an interesting place bit happy to be out of the rain we got back into the car. Sodden but happy we headed for Amsterdam.
We noticed the landscape changing. Where there were once, mountains and hills the Netherlands is very very flat. There were many of the famous windmills of the nation although every attempt at taking a picture of them failed, our photography and the kit available failed us (John just can't point a camera straight - Ryan). We entered Amsterdam with John at the wheel, a complex city with trams and what seemed like a billion bikes challenged his driving prowess. It seems that Amsterdam's bike riders have no fear of life nor limb and many course remarks came from John as he traversed through the city attempting not to hit any of the reckless cyclists. We arrived at our hotel after a swap of drivers, John's nerve being broke. I had no trouble with the cyclists or trams but the hotel's under ground ( and pretty expensive) parking area was a different story. Almost getting the car crushed but the automatic door only quick thinking ( and reversing) saved us from an accident! Once we settled into the room we headed out to the city.
Amsterdam is a pretty liberal place and is shocking to the initiated - like me. Wandering through the streets and next to the canals we saw many eye opening sights. The smell of marijuana is everywhere with the city having one of the most lax laws on the drug in the world. Prostitutes display their wears in glass fronted buildings, they are lit with red and UV light. John claimed this colour combination was a particular alluring mix. The girls, there were only women, wore practically nothing, often just white underwear which caught the UV well. Feeling at little overwhelmed we went for dinner, the thought of getting closer to the prostitutes repelled us as we saw the number of men coming and going. What a different culture. What was funny was that these seedy area's were not just full of lecherousness men, there were the older tourists and couples too. Headed for dinner in a less seedy establishment and found a lovely taste of the Netherlands. Traditional pea soup and meatloaf later we went to a bar sampled the local. A little tip don't be anywhere near the the red light district if u want some booze, two double jds and cokes cost about 28 Euros. Damn expensive. What a fantastic and troubling place indeed, glad to have seen it glad its not just next door. We looked forward to seeing it in the daylight.
We noticed the landscape changing. Where there were once, mountains and hills the Netherlands is very very flat. There were many of the famous windmills of the nation although every attempt at taking a picture of them failed, our photography and the kit available failed us (John just can't point a camera straight - Ryan). We entered Amsterdam with John at the wheel, a complex city with trams and what seemed like a billion bikes challenged his driving prowess. It seems that Amsterdam's bike riders have no fear of life nor limb and many course remarks came from John as he traversed through the city attempting not to hit any of the reckless cyclists. We arrived at our hotel after a swap of drivers, John's nerve being broke. I had no trouble with the cyclists or trams but the hotel's under ground ( and pretty expensive) parking area was a different story. Almost getting the car crushed but the automatic door only quick thinking ( and reversing) saved us from an accident! Once we settled into the room we headed out to the city.
Amsterdam is a pretty liberal place and is shocking to the initiated - like me. Wandering through the streets and next to the canals we saw many eye opening sights. The smell of marijuana is everywhere with the city having one of the most lax laws on the drug in the world. Prostitutes display their wears in glass fronted buildings, they are lit with red and UV light. John claimed this colour combination was a particular alluring mix. The girls, there were only women, wore practically nothing, often just white underwear which caught the UV well. Feeling at little overwhelmed we went for dinner, the thought of getting closer to the prostitutes repelled us as we saw the number of men coming and going. What a different culture. What was funny was that these seedy area's were not just full of lecherousness men, there were the older tourists and couples too. Headed for dinner in a less seedy establishment and found a lovely taste of the Netherlands. Traditional pea soup and meatloaf later we went to a bar sampled the local. A little tip don't be anywhere near the the red light district if u want some booze, two double jds and cokes cost about 28 Euros. Damn expensive. What a fantastic and troubling place indeed, glad to have seen it glad its not just next door. We looked forward to seeing it in the daylight.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Day 7 - Interlaken, Switzerland - Luxembourg
We awoke to the view over the lake with mountains all around, a rather impressive sight. Both John and I sat and looked over the lake, although not both at the same time. John recovering from the cheese overload that was the 'fondue' woke after me and came to the window when I was in the shower. What struck us was the absolute natural beauty of the place, so clean and fresh. Although it was freezing (well not freezing literally but really cold) John opened the window and wrapped up warm. The air was so clean and fresh.
We got in the car and went in search of a boat on one of the lakes. We went armed with the TomTom and a visitors book with no luck. After about 45 minutes of driving round - not wasted time at all, the views were amazing - we decided that instead of being at water level we should see how high we can get. We headed up the mountains to a town called Grindelwald in search of peaks and cable cars. We found a cable car and attempted to park. After failing to find a space and some pretty dodgy reversing where no one was hurt we decided to carry on and see where the road ended. We wanted to get as high as possible. After a bit more driving we came to a car park from which a number of walks were signposted.
After stocking up on supplies (i.e. we bought Ice Tea and Water and chucked it in my rucksack with the Brioche we bought earlier) we went a walking. A crack team of the most well trained and equipped mountaineers. We picked a certain path and reached the end of it within 20 minutes. It led to the base of the worlds first ever cable car. The building had been left in ruin as the cable car had not been used for years - the cables were not even in place any more. Surprising to stumble upon a little history even halfway up a mountain. Rather in contrast to our America trip.
We headed off on another path towards a path with directions towards a Glacier. We reached the end of the path and were presented with a lot of steps which disappeared up the mountain. Never ones to pass up a challenge we decided to climb the steps. After climbing up about 100 steps we were pretty knackered but pleased that we were half way through and nearing the top. After climbing the next 100 it became apparent that we were mistaken. It turned out that there were 890 steps in total all different sizes and heights. John kept muttering about health and safety not allowing this kind of thing, the treads were different lengths and the risers were abnormal too! There was a bridge over a river at the top. The river was made of water from melting Glaciers. The Bridge was a suspension bridge 60 metres above the water. Think of the bridge in Indiana Jones and the temple of doom but made of steel cables instead of rope. The bridge was pretty bouncy! The view up on the rocky top was breathtaking. Although we were still miles from the top. We took some pictures and decided that Switzerland was a cool place. John's favourite place of all, perhaps the most beautiful country on Earth. After the long trip down the steps - It almost took as long as the climb up but was a LOT less tiring - we headed for Luxembourg.
We arrived at Luxembourg about 22:00 hours and decided that we would stay out of the city and travel in on the morning. We found a hotel in the TomTom and headed there. It was a nice place and we asked for some red Luxembourg wine. Apparently Luxembourg only does white so we tried it, not as good as red but you must help out the local economy. In trying to find the hotel we found ourself with the car in a church car park. Arrows indicated we could provide another way out the car park, after some nimble manoeuvring from John who was the driver we managed to get through the width restriction. However we must have read the arrows wrong as we found ourselves in a school play ground. Thank god it was late, the school was shut, the kids were at home in bed and the local police were not around. We got out as soon as possible and ignored the arrows and finally managed to find where we had booked.
We got in the car and went in search of a boat on one of the lakes. We went armed with the TomTom and a visitors book with no luck. After about 45 minutes of driving round - not wasted time at all, the views were amazing - we decided that instead of being at water level we should see how high we can get. We headed up the mountains to a town called Grindelwald in search of peaks and cable cars. We found a cable car and attempted to park. After failing to find a space and some pretty dodgy reversing where no one was hurt we decided to carry on and see where the road ended. We wanted to get as high as possible. After a bit more driving we came to a car park from which a number of walks were signposted.
After stocking up on supplies (i.e. we bought Ice Tea and Water and chucked it in my rucksack with the Brioche we bought earlier) we went a walking. A crack team of the most well trained and equipped mountaineers. We picked a certain path and reached the end of it within 20 minutes. It led to the base of the worlds first ever cable car. The building had been left in ruin as the cable car had not been used for years - the cables were not even in place any more. Surprising to stumble upon a little history even halfway up a mountain. Rather in contrast to our America trip.
We headed off on another path towards a path with directions towards a Glacier. We reached the end of the path and were presented with a lot of steps which disappeared up the mountain. Never ones to pass up a challenge we decided to climb the steps. After climbing up about 100 steps we were pretty knackered but pleased that we were half way through and nearing the top. After climbing the next 100 it became apparent that we were mistaken. It turned out that there were 890 steps in total all different sizes and heights. John kept muttering about health and safety not allowing this kind of thing, the treads were different lengths and the risers were abnormal too! There was a bridge over a river at the top. The river was made of water from melting Glaciers. The Bridge was a suspension bridge 60 metres above the water. Think of the bridge in Indiana Jones and the temple of doom but made of steel cables instead of rope. The bridge was pretty bouncy! The view up on the rocky top was breathtaking. Although we were still miles from the top. We took some pictures and decided that Switzerland was a cool place. John's favourite place of all, perhaps the most beautiful country on Earth. After the long trip down the steps - It almost took as long as the climb up but was a LOT less tiring - we headed for Luxembourg.
We arrived at Luxembourg about 22:00 hours and decided that we would stay out of the city and travel in on the morning. We found a hotel in the TomTom and headed there. It was a nice place and we asked for some red Luxembourg wine. Apparently Luxembourg only does white so we tried it, not as good as red but you must help out the local economy. In trying to find the hotel we found ourself with the car in a church car park. Arrows indicated we could provide another way out the car park, after some nimble manoeuvring from John who was the driver we managed to get through the width restriction. However we must have read the arrows wrong as we found ourselves in a school play ground. Thank god it was late, the school was shut, the kids were at home in bed and the local police were not around. We got out as soon as possible and ignored the arrows and finally managed to find where we had booked.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Day 6 - Piding, Germany - Vaduz, Lichtenstein - Interlaken, Switzerland
Piding to Vaduz (Lichtenstein)
Vaduz to Interlaken (Switzerland)
We woke up in Piding and enjoyed our German breakfast of meats and cheese. Lots of meats and cheese. John ordered a black tea and was given an earl grey, well everyone knows earl grey is not breakfast tea. You can't put milk in it, although we saw some Germans doing just that. Satisfied in the knowledge as Englishmen we knew more about tea than these European lot we set off towards Lichtenstein. As we were on the road we checked the documents for the car and saw that potentially we couldn't drive into Lichtenstein. We probably should have done this before with Andorra. John rang the branch in Paris and asked if we could, we were willing to pay extra if insurance cover was the issue. The Parisians said it wasn't possible, they had no agents in Lichtenstein. We couldn't really understand this, Lichtenstein isn't Chad or Angola and companies usually like taking more money. Suspecting Parisian laziness (we now think the problem with the car was with National Car Rental not Holiday Autos) John rang National in the UK. They were extremely helpful and checked with National international and got back to us in 5 minutes. Apparently we could go to Lichtenstein and it wouldn't cost us a penny extra. Motto of this story never trust a Parisian.
It was about a three hour drive through the countryside before we arrived at Vaduz, We crossed three boarders on route. Leaving Germany we entered Austria and then even crossed into Switzerland before eventually getting to Lichtenstein. Vaduz the capital was just across it boarder with Switzerland. Lichtenstein is the only remaining Absolute Monarchy in Europe. The Prince has the power to dissolve Parliament at will, however the royal family are loved by their populations as their business sense has created one of the highest GDPs in all of Europe. Living standards are high and we saw a clean, neat, modern capital. The fair was in town too so the entire population of the town was out and about, all 5000 of them. We went to the public buildings of note, the Parliament building, the Cathedral, the Town Hall. The place had a very affluent feel, we felt that when we ordered sandwiches that cost way too much. Still it was preparing us for the expense of Switzerland. After sandwiches we drove up to Vaduz Castle which sits on a cliff overlooking Vaduz and all of Lichtenstein. It is the castle of the prince of Lichtenstein, was very imposing. As we loitered outside a well dressed man, woman, and child come past us and said 'Hello' in German. All three entered the castle after waving to the guard outside. A bit confused we looked up the royal family of Lichtenstein and discover that the man was the son of the Prince. You wouldn't see the heir apparent wondering around without guards in the UK!
Leaving Lichtenstein we head for Interlaken Switzerland, its a long drive over mountains and through tunnels. After a brief time on the wrong side of the road we remember we are not in the UK and they drive funny in these foreign parts. We arrive in Switzerland almost straight away, Lichtenstein being quite a small country but need to traverse nearly the whole of Switzerland to get to get Interlaken. For the first time during the trip we hit traffic, we hear sirens ahead and we grind to a halt. Up ahead we see a man dressed in military uniform run ahead of us. The traffic starts to roll again, and we see the trouble. There is a Renault Clio on its roof. No sign of how it got there, the only indication of damage was a broken back window. As we were crawling before this incident occurred, this accident was so fresh there weren't any emergency vehicles at the scene yet (although we could hear them coming) we believe it wasn't involved in a collision. So how had this Clio come to be on its roof upside down, the3re was a bridge very close to it, we think it must have gone over the bridge landing on its back. There was no one in the Clio and saw a shaken woman milling about so we reckon they were OK. Strange times, we thankfully past it before the entire plethora of emergency vehicles arrived and shut our side of the road.
Got back to our hotel and watched a strange (Swiss?) German version of 'You Bet' where some of the wonderful acts included a man picking up stamps with his spit and another where a man blew over about 40 bottles of water. One presenter looked like a dodgy Dr Who and the female presenter was high on the eye candy ratings. And that's all we did that day.
Travelling:
Piding - Lichtenstein 210 Miles
Lichtenstein- Interlaken 131 Miles
Total: 341 Miles
Vaduz to Interlaken (Switzerland)
We woke up in Piding and enjoyed our German breakfast of meats and cheese. Lots of meats and cheese. John ordered a black tea and was given an earl grey, well everyone knows earl grey is not breakfast tea. You can't put milk in it, although we saw some Germans doing just that. Satisfied in the knowledge as Englishmen we knew more about tea than these European lot we set off towards Lichtenstein. As we were on the road we checked the documents for the car and saw that potentially we couldn't drive into Lichtenstein. We probably should have done this before with Andorra. John rang the branch in Paris and asked if we could, we were willing to pay extra if insurance cover was the issue. The Parisians said it wasn't possible, they had no agents in Lichtenstein. We couldn't really understand this, Lichtenstein isn't Chad or Angola and companies usually like taking more money. Suspecting Parisian laziness (we now think the problem with the car was with National Car Rental not Holiday Autos) John rang National in the UK. They were extremely helpful and checked with National international and got back to us in 5 minutes. Apparently we could go to Lichtenstein and it wouldn't cost us a penny extra. Motto of this story never trust a Parisian.
It was about a three hour drive through the countryside before we arrived at Vaduz, We crossed three boarders on route. Leaving Germany we entered Austria and then even crossed into Switzerland before eventually getting to Lichtenstein. Vaduz the capital was just across it boarder with Switzerland. Lichtenstein is the only remaining Absolute Monarchy in Europe. The Prince has the power to dissolve Parliament at will, however the royal family are loved by their populations as their business sense has created one of the highest GDPs in all of Europe. Living standards are high and we saw a clean, neat, modern capital. The fair was in town too so the entire population of the town was out and about, all 5000 of them. We went to the public buildings of note, the Parliament building, the Cathedral, the Town Hall. The place had a very affluent feel, we felt that when we ordered sandwiches that cost way too much. Still it was preparing us for the expense of Switzerland. After sandwiches we drove up to Vaduz Castle which sits on a cliff overlooking Vaduz and all of Lichtenstein. It is the castle of the prince of Lichtenstein, was very imposing. As we loitered outside a well dressed man, woman, and child come past us and said 'Hello' in German. All three entered the castle after waving to the guard outside. A bit confused we looked up the royal family of Lichtenstein and discover that the man was the son of the Prince. You wouldn't see the heir apparent wondering around without guards in the UK!
Leaving Lichtenstein we head for Interlaken Switzerland, its a long drive over mountains and through tunnels. After a brief time on the wrong side of the road we remember we are not in the UK and they drive funny in these foreign parts. We arrive in Switzerland almost straight away, Lichtenstein being quite a small country but need to traverse nearly the whole of Switzerland to get to get Interlaken. For the first time during the trip we hit traffic, we hear sirens ahead and we grind to a halt. Up ahead we see a man dressed in military uniform run ahead of us. The traffic starts to roll again, and we see the trouble. There is a Renault Clio on its roof. No sign of how it got there, the only indication of damage was a broken back window. As we were crawling before this incident occurred, this accident was so fresh there weren't any emergency vehicles at the scene yet (although we could hear them coming) we believe it wasn't involved in a collision. So how had this Clio come to be on its roof upside down, the3re was a bridge very close to it, we think it must have gone over the bridge landing on its back. There was no one in the Clio and saw a shaken woman milling about so we reckon they were OK. Strange times, we thankfully past it before the entire plethora of emergency vehicles arrived and shut our side of the road.
We arrived to Interlaken after a rather hairy drive involving some pretty crazy Mountain driving in the dark. John managed rather well and I only thought we were going to die a few times. John said that he hadn't had to concentrate on driving like that since just after he passed his test. Found a hotel overlooking the lake, dumped our bags and went on a quest for fondue. With a recommendation from the hotel receptionist we went on out way looking for the Bear restaurant. Sat down an ordered Starters and Fondue - Everyone speaks impeccable English here. We asked for the recommended drink for Fondue which was white wine. We wondered what we would be brought to dip in the cheese. Some meat perhaps? some vegetables as well? We were presented with a vat of hot cheese and some bread cut into squares. Bread to start - no problem. We worked our way through the bread and awaited the next dipping food to arrive. More bread was placed onto our table. We then understood why no-one else was eating fondue. While it is a traditional dish, an exciting dish it is not. At least it explains why not every one in Switzerland has Scurvy. After working our way through the second basket of bread we gracefully declined the third. We had had rather enough bread and cheese for now. Saturated fat levels were plenty high. We had strange noodle looking stuff with ice-cream for desert it was called Vermicellis and we don't really know what it was made of although we have a hunch it was hazelnuts as it was 'special nuts from the tress that arrive at this time'. Paid with our Swiss notes that looked like they were coloured in with a crayon.
Got back to our hotel and watched a strange (Swiss?) German version of 'You Bet' where some of the wonderful acts included a man picking up stamps with his spit and another where a man blew over about 40 bottles of water. One presenter looked like a dodgy Dr Who and the female presenter was high on the eye candy ratings. And that's all we did that day.
Travelling:
Piding - Lichtenstein 210 Miles
Lichtenstein- Interlaken 131 Miles
Total: 341 Miles
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Day 5 - Mira - Venice - Salzburg - Piding
Mira to Venice
Venice to Salzburg
Salzburg to Piding
Woke up in Mira, had a lovely provided breakfast and saddled up for the short drive from Mira to Venice. After the 20 minute drive, which includes crossing a large bridge over the estuary we arrived in Venice. No canals or boats yet we had arrived at the parking/bus depot. After sitting in a traffic jam just to park (it took longer to park than to drive there) we were sent to the top of the car park which had some stunning views of the city as we were 9 floors up. Venice is simply amazing, stunning(a bit mind bending really) and beautiful. It isn't what I expected at all and i thinj is probably pretty unique in the world.
The city reeks of history and past power. There are canals everywhere and bridges to cross them, but what I didn't expect was the little alley ways that the locals and tourists squeeze through to get form place to place. The alley ways are very tight as space is obviously at a massive preimum in the city. We think that the city must be an amazingly hard place to learn your way around, with tight alleys, water blocking your path and dead ends. We managed to find dead fairly quickly after entering the city proper, don't presume all bridges in Venice lead somewhere. We eventually got a map on our Iphone and headed to St Marks square (the cities formal meeting place)Also on our travels we noted that boat is used to transport everything, boats passed us loaded with building materials, groceries and even dead bodies! A funeral boat passed us with coffin on display! Also there are traffic lights for the water and John noted they drive their boats on the right!
We eventually got to St Marks square, amazing! The St Marks Campline dominate the sky line, its almost 100 metres high, at one end of the square is the basilica and the moor clock-tower. Around the square various cafes ply their trade. We were drawn to the one playing music, there was 5 a piece band playing various classical pieces. The waiters were all uniformed in white and we realised this was going to be expensive. I had an espresso and John tried the 1720 Venice tea blend. Both the drinks, the music and atmosphere was incredibly relaxing. It felt great to be there at that place. We chilled there for a while and then paid up, I believe the tea cost around 13 pound. Well worth it.
After refreshments we went to see the shore line and the monuments close up, the intrices of the moor clocktown beligh to its age, It's over 500 years old. We decided to dip into the shops, venice is famous for its masks, glassworks and other artiostries. We found ourself with avery helpful shop owner who spent a good deal explaining Venitian history and culture. after making our purchases, again not cheap ( a reacurrin theme in venice) we headed to the shore line again. We didn't want to leave but Salzburg was waiting. We decided that gondala's were a bit romantic for us so we looked for a water taxi, one to have a ride an two because the car park is really quite a long way from where we were. The taxi was expensive (60 euros) but what a way to travel. Very quick and effeciant and lets face it we ain't in venice every day.
We got to our car and fought our way out of the city. Sad to leave Venice it was really a great place but on to Salzburg. It was quite a long drive, cutting almost straight north. We drove past amazing scenery disecting thr4ough the mountains and entering Austria. The became cooler as we headed north abd the greenery more green, not that we though that it was possible. Again it was a race against time as the sun was going to set and we wanted to see the city before it did.
We arrived with a little under an hour of sunset. Again what a fantastic place, but very different from venice. I don't think I have ever been anywhere as clean. We parked near the old city and walked in, We accidentally bumped into the birth place of Mozart and took the obligatory pictures. The city was a lot calmer than Venice, with a lot less tourists. The baroque architecture is brilliant, the entire old town attained UN status as a World Heritage Site. Of note is the Salzburg Cathedral which after the grandeur ostentatiousness of St Marks Basilica was refreshing and just as impressive. We bagan to feel hungary, ofcoursre not daring to eat in Venice for fear of bankrupt. We decided to go local and vist a wurst wagon on the street, lots of locals were trying the fair indicting it was good stuff. After having the national dish of sausage, various types we were hungry we had anoth walk aroud to soak up the culture and then headed back to the car.
A short journey saw us crossing into the third country of the day, Germany. Piding is where we were staying, a tiny hamlet just across the boarder. John had chosen it for its silly name. A very pleasant welcome and comfortable beds.
Mira to Venice 15 Miles
Venice to Salzburg 170 Miles
Salzburg to Piding 15 Miles
Total 200 Miles
Venice to Salzburg
Salzburg to Piding
Woke up in Mira, had a lovely provided breakfast and saddled up for the short drive from Mira to Venice. After the 20 minute drive, which includes crossing a large bridge over the estuary we arrived in Venice. No canals or boats yet we had arrived at the parking/bus depot. After sitting in a traffic jam just to park (it took longer to park than to drive there) we were sent to the top of the car park which had some stunning views of the city as we were 9 floors up. Venice is simply amazing, stunning(a bit mind bending really) and beautiful. It isn't what I expected at all and i thinj is probably pretty unique in the world.
The city reeks of history and past power. There are canals everywhere and bridges to cross them, but what I didn't expect was the little alley ways that the locals and tourists squeeze through to get form place to place. The alley ways are very tight as space is obviously at a massive preimum in the city. We think that the city must be an amazingly hard place to learn your way around, with tight alleys, water blocking your path and dead ends. We managed to find dead fairly quickly after entering the city proper, don't presume all bridges in Venice lead somewhere. We eventually got a map on our Iphone and headed to St Marks square (the cities formal meeting place)Also on our travels we noted that boat is used to transport everything, boats passed us loaded with building materials, groceries and even dead bodies! A funeral boat passed us with coffin on display! Also there are traffic lights for the water and John noted they drive their boats on the right!
We eventually got to St Marks square, amazing! The St Marks Campline dominate the sky line, its almost 100 metres high, at one end of the square is the basilica and the moor clock-tower. Around the square various cafes ply their trade. We were drawn to the one playing music, there was 5 a piece band playing various classical pieces. The waiters were all uniformed in white and we realised this was going to be expensive. I had an espresso and John tried the 1720 Venice tea blend. Both the drinks, the music and atmosphere was incredibly relaxing. It felt great to be there at that place. We chilled there for a while and then paid up, I believe the tea cost around 13 pound. Well worth it.
After refreshments we went to see the shore line and the monuments close up, the intrices of the moor clocktown beligh to its age, It's over 500 years old. We decided to dip into the shops, venice is famous for its masks, glassworks and other artiostries. We found ourself with avery helpful shop owner who spent a good deal explaining Venitian history and culture. after making our purchases, again not cheap ( a reacurrin theme in venice) we headed to the shore line again. We didn't want to leave but Salzburg was waiting. We decided that gondala's were a bit romantic for us so we looked for a water taxi, one to have a ride an two because the car park is really quite a long way from where we were. The taxi was expensive (60 euros) but what a way to travel. Very quick and effeciant and lets face it we ain't in venice every day.
We got to our car and fought our way out of the city. Sad to leave Venice it was really a great place but on to Salzburg. It was quite a long drive, cutting almost straight north. We drove past amazing scenery disecting thr4ough the mountains and entering Austria. The became cooler as we headed north abd the greenery more green, not that we though that it was possible. Again it was a race against time as the sun was going to set and we wanted to see the city before it did.
We arrived with a little under an hour of sunset. Again what a fantastic place, but very different from venice. I don't think I have ever been anywhere as clean. We parked near the old city and walked in, We accidentally bumped into the birth place of Mozart and took the obligatory pictures. The city was a lot calmer than Venice, with a lot less tourists. The baroque architecture is brilliant, the entire old town attained UN status as a World Heritage Site. Of note is the Salzburg Cathedral which after the grandeur ostentatiousness of St Marks Basilica was refreshing and just as impressive. We bagan to feel hungary, ofcoursre not daring to eat in Venice for fear of bankrupt. We decided to go local and vist a wurst wagon on the street, lots of locals were trying the fair indicting it was good stuff. After having the national dish of sausage, various types we were hungry we had anoth walk aroud to soak up the culture and then headed back to the car.
A short journey saw us crossing into the third country of the day, Germany. Piding is where we were staying, a tiny hamlet just across the boarder. John had chosen it for its silly name. A very pleasant welcome and comfortable beds.
Mira to Venice 15 Miles
Venice to Salzburg 170 Miles
Salzburg to Piding 15 Miles
Total 200 Miles
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