Springtime and snow in Scotland

The Kelpies.

Just before we embark on our touring season we decided to take a short break up in Scotland to give the van a run out. We just went up as far as the Caravan Club site at Edinburgh, which is perfectly situated just across the road from the Firth of Forth near Leith and only 20 minutes by bus to the city centre.

We spent five days up here with our friends from Aberdeen and had a superb time despite some slightly unfavourable weather. Highlights of the trip for us included: 

• The three National Galleries of Scotland (all free) and all easily accessible.
• The Royal Mile and Castle.
• The Forth Railway Bridge at Queensferry South where we spent a glorious evening at the Railbridge restaurant.
• The royal Yacht Brittania docked at Oceana at Leith.
• The Kelpies - two massive horse-head sculptures on the road to Falkirk.
• The Falkirk Wheel - a spectacular lock where you sit in a boat and literally get scooped up about 100 feet in a giant gondola.



Snow storm on the border

• The snow - yes it was 31st March and we got caught in a snow storm on the border. 

Looking forward to some proper Spring weather in the Netherlands!

Croatia

It's been a while since we last went to Croatia and we are planning a trip down towards the end of the year. We are hoping to offer a tour there in September 2016, which will also take in Slovenia.

Night-time on the Croatian coast.

Croatia for use seemed to fall into three main sections: coast, city and lakes. I like to keep the blogs short and sweet so I will limit myself to the coast for this post and look at the cities and lakes in future weeks!


We limited our trip on this occasion to the Istrian Peninsula on the north west coast going down as far as Pula. As a matter of interest, to get right down to Dubrovnik (popular with the Brits) you need another 8-9 hours of driving including a 10km jaunt through Bosnia! We decided to save that for another trip.

The coastline down as far a Pula is beautiful and very reminiscent of Italy and even boasts some Roman remains to rival them. For example, the coliseum at Pula is more complete and probably more spectacular that the one in Rome! The coast itself is dotted with pretty villages, multi-coloured houses, sandy beaches and a warm Adriatic sea.

Pula Coliseum.

There is plenty of coastline and campsites to go at here with many of the sites providing direct access to the beach. We would avoid July and August as it gets very busy, with May and September providing plenty of heat but much smaller crowds.

We stayed a few kilometres north of Pula at the large, but well-located and well-equipped Bi-village, just a short walk from Fazana:  http://bivillage.com/en/

More information: http://www.pulainfo.hr/en/

Austrian Alps

Massive panorama and mist on the Alps.

Our interest in the Alps was revived at the NEC Motorhome Show when we got chatting to a couple of site owners who had stands at the show. It's been over three years since we last went down and we are hoping to offer a tour there next year, to go a little further afield into Austria, to include Switzerland (and squeeze in a quick stop off in Lichstenstein.

This part of the Alps is commonly referred to as the Austrian Alps or the Central Eastern Alps, that extend into Switzerland and into Italy and Slovenia. We don't ski so our interest is in visiting to hike, bike or generally just take in the amazing views, quaint local towns and fresh air.

The highest peak is the Glosslockner, which is drive-able on an amazing High Alpine Road. For the active there is the option of a cable car and then hiking trails part way up the 3,900 metre mountain: www.grossglockner.at/en/. 

The waterfall in Malta, Austria.

The area is characterised by dramatic peaks, lush valleys and glacial lakes. For a bit more hustle and bustle, popular towns to the west of the country include Innsbruck and Salzburg, both highly recommended. www.tyrol.com/innsbruck 
http://www.salzburg.info/en/

The capital Vienna is probably on most people's bucket list but it considerably further east - around 500km in fact. Vienna is so far west you are almost in Slovakia. Bratislava (Slovakia's capital) and Vienna are actually Europe's closest capital cities (just 50 miles apart). http://www.wien.info/en

The Alps - France/Italy border

Wendy at 3000 metres.

The first year we started motorhoming we took the van down to the bottom of France, with a view to nipping across the border into Italy. This was in May. We figured that we would just pop across the Alps and take in a bit of scenery on the way. The satnav said we would be there comfortably within a few hours.

Three days later we arrived in Italy after an unexpected mini-break at 3000 metres! To our surprise, even though the temperature was well into the 20s, and even though we were in shorts and t-shirts, most of the passes were still closed due to snow. We've come on a bit since those days and have learnt to be much more respectful of the mountains. 

Alpine campsite on the Italian side.

Driving in the Alps is as amazing as you might suspect, with narrow winding roads, very steep inclines and declines and dramatic drops over the side. Our old van was getting very hot as we reached the top of various peaks, and the brakes were burning very hot at the bottom. It's certainly not for the faint-hearted.

The one advantage of our unexpected delay there was that there weren't many people around and we got the aires pretty much to ourselves. We also had a priceless moment when we went for a walk at over 3000 metres (still in shorts and t-shirts) and scared the living daylights out of three local skiers who clearly didn't expect to see anyone on the footpaths.

We steered on the side of caution and limited our walk to the way-marked paths where the snow had cleared. We stopped at the point where the thick layers of icy snow have fairly large streams running beneath them!

Our route took us through via Briancon, Vars, Montegenevra (on the border where we spent a couple of nights in the aire) and ultimately into the beautiful Italian city of Cuneo.

More information: www.montgenevre.com, www.vars.com and 

www.italia.it/en/discover-italy/piedmont/cuneo.html

Peschiera Del Garda and Lake Garda

Peschiera Del Garda at night.

One of our favourite haunts in Italy is Peschiera Del Garda. As the name suggests it is slap bang on the shores of Lake Garda. In fact it is right at the bottom of the Lake and is the site of a sixteenth century island fortress. It's a very relaxed place for shopping, eating and general pottering around. At night all the cafes and restaurants light up to magical effect.


More information on the town: www.lakegarda.com/peschiera.php

We like it for its close proximity to some of Italy's finest cities including Verona and even Venice. It is also a fantastic place just to spend your time on a sunny day around the lake.

Lake Garda.

Lake Garda is the largest of the lakes in Italy being over 50km long at up to 17 kilometres wide. Although it's a really popular tourist hotspot, assuming you don't go in the height of August, there is plenty of room to enjoy the lake and to find a pitch on numerous campsites that actually border the lake.

More information on Lake Garda can be found at:
http://www.visitgarda.com/en/lake-garda-data/?s=313

We can recommend either of these campsites close to the town and train station and on the shores of the lake: www.campingdelgarda.it/ and http://www.campingbutterfly.it/EN/Default.aspx

The E6 in Norway

The Arctic Circle Visitor Centre.

It's not often that I write a blog entry about a road, but my thoughts have turned again to the Arctic Circle, which we hope to visit again soon.

One of the most amazing things about Norway is that once you get up past Trondheim, it really is pretty much the only road left! The E6 in fact starts down at the ferry port in Trelleborg, Sweden and goes nearly 2000 miles right up to Kirkenes in the north of Norway. 



Following the E6 is a bit like the European equivalent of following Route 66. Well maybe not but you get the idea. It's pretty epic. En route you take in some major cities including Malmo and Gothenburg in Sweden and then Norway's capital Oslo.

A typical fjord - the rainbow was a bonus!

The real excitement for us started after Trondheim when the traffic thins out and there are just a few locals, truckers and fellow motorhomers left. Road repairs are done while the road is open as there is no other way of doing it. That means that for certain stretches you are driving on dirt road! 

The scenery is absolutely phenomenal with ever-present fjords and hills. We said 'wow' on every turn. The small towns you come across tend to be pretty and have everything you need to continue your journey although it is advisable to get diesel whenever you see it.

Overnight stops are plentiful and free as there are many lay-bys and 'aires' by the side of the road, including a great one at the Arctic Circle itself. It's a mammoth trip - but it stays in the memory for years.

Central Paris by motorhome!

Priority motorhome parking outside the Louvre!

We have never driven into the centre of Paris although plenty of people do with motorhomes and even caravans. We have never felt the need as there are quite a few decent sites on the outskirts that are very easy to get to and you can then just use the train to get in. Options include sites at Versailles (with the added advantage of visiting the palace), Melun ( a nice little town in its own right) or the slightly more urban Paris Est site at Champigny. 

The Champs Elysees

Versailles is probably the nicest as it's set in a wooded area and only 5 mins from the RER, which then takes you straight along the Seine. You can be at the Eiffel Tower in 20 mins! Melun is the easiest to get to and is on the Seine, not too far from Fountaineblue. It does take a little longer to get in to Paris though than the other sites. Paris Est is probably the most difficult to get to simply due to the weight of traffic, but is one of the nearest sites to the centre as it's only a few minutes on the train.

The last time we went on our way back from a Germany trip in November, we stood and watched the traffic around the Arce de Triomphe for a while and pondered driving in some time just for the hell of it. A little later we walked back to the Louvre and were amazed to find a motorhomer parked right out the front! It did have a disability badge on it otherwise I think he would have been moved on pretty quick.