Leslie and Ingel’s Trip to Europe

[Jim Young]

#7889

These reports are fantastic, you really should make a book when you are finished your trip Lesley.RegardsJim

[Dave Ross]

#7890

Hello AllHere is the latest update, as usual new pics via web site.Lesley and Ingel 31/07/07We left Prague on Monday to ride down to Wien (Vienna). We passed many new businesses and shopping complexes in Czech Republic which looks as if the west has rushed in when they joined the EU. Very new and modern buildings and all well known companies. Also hundreds of tall apartment buildings between 10 and 15 storeys tall.  As we left the city outskirts behind, the towns became few and far between. Not overly populated. The motorway had grooves going across each lane every 2 metres or so which made the ride very uncomfortable and bumpy for the trailer and us. The trailer coupling actually loosened because it was so bumpy. For about 40kms Ingel rode in the shoulder to avoid these bumps. We rode through lovely forests and bush and the green became noticeably darker and a deeper green than what we had seen north of Praha. The Republic needs to be farming its wind though! It was very strong as we came out of the forest region into more open countryside. We had a definite lean on a lot of the time and not because of Ingel’s riding. Crossing the border just south west of Brno was no problem and we were in Austria. Here the aliens had their arms spinning very quickly as the wind was just as strong. As in the Netherlands and Luxembourg the aliens here have 4 bands of green painted from the bottom up. The very bottom one is dark green and the shades get progressively lighter as they go up the body of the wind machine until they are a very pale green, almost cream colour. I can only imagine that the colours are there to disguise the wind machines and make them look like they are tree foliage fading into cloud colour.  They had us fooled. It also became evident that the average villager in Austria is wealthier than their counterpart in Ceska – the houses were a bit better maintained. The houses are made of brick and then given a coat of plaster. In many cases in Ceska this plaster has started to come away, almost as if someone has peeled it off like peeling off sunburn. In Austria there is less evidence of this and the homes are painted more brightly. However, we don’t think the homes in need of repair in Ceska are any worse or more in number than those in France or Italy. We both think Wien is a beautiful city and one in which we could live. We saw less  graffiti or tagging than other cities, the public transport is frequent, efficient and very new and clean, the streets are wide and clean, the tubes must have rubber wheels because they are quiet, the trams run everywhere over the city and quietly, there are several pedestrian only areas, the horse drawn carriages taking tours are smart, parks abound, the old buildings are everywhere and exceedingly well maintained and Strauss is from here. We spent the whole day walking round the streets to all the sights we wanted to see and coming across others we had no idea were there. It seemed every corner we turned, there was something else of interest and so many different architectural styles - Neo-Gothic, Greek Revival, baroque, 19th century, Gothic, Wien seems to have it all. The Rathaus which is City Hall (don’t you just love the name? I think maybe appropriate at times) was amazing, as was St Michael’s gate leading to the Imperial Palace. However, our favourite had to be the Schloss Schönbrunn – the Habsburg’s summer palace. It is set in incredibly huge and lovely grounds and gardens and looks up to the imposing Gloriette Monument on top of a hill.  We saw 9 gardeners working on one garden. Two of these gardeners had strung a line of string along the edge of low box hedging and were trimming the hedge to match the line, at times one blade at a time with hand hedge clippers. Tuesday we rode through to Slovakia to visit Bratislava, another recommendation from Nikalas. There were many crops along the way – market gardens and sunflowers and maize. We were just waved on at the border after they saw the outside of our passports. He did a double take at my New Zealand one but then just waved us through without a word. The city of Bratislava, to me, seemed a poor cousin of Praha. Ingel really liked it. It is full of old buildings again and quaint little streets leading to yet another church or old building. We first went up to the castle on the hill which was a frontier post for the Romans from the 1st – 5th centuries. Only some of the original walls still stand and also the 84.7m deep well. The view from the castle ramparts over Bratislava and the Danube meandering its way to Austria is just wonderful. Although, thousands of tall apartment buildings again. We parked down in the old town and wandered about visiting the Primates Palace (where Napoleon signed a treaty with Franz 1), then on to a Franciscan Church (1297) which holds the skeletal remains of St Reparatus a martyr who died in 353! He is in a glass case and is dressed in the clothes of his time and his bones are covered in fine cotton gauze. He has wonderful teeth still (for his age). He is very tiny and thin with not much meat on his bones, maybe 4’8 or 4’10 and he looks really creepy grinning out of his case. Trams are the mode of transport in the town and they run very quietly. The city appears to be modernising itself with new architecturally designed corporate buildings going up alongside the old. This poses quite a stark contrast. I now blame the Netherlands, Germany and Austria for my losing the war against my bulging thighs and bottom. I had trimmed down in England but with the absolutely scrumptious breads they have here, I am sure to have put it all back on again. The rolls and baguettes of many different styles are just delicious. We have been eating local style food as well with goulash, schnitzel, salamis, strudels, pastries and cheeses. Yes, Sonja, walnuts on and in all the desserts as well, in Czech Republic and Slovakia. Ingel says the beer is getting better with every town we visit. We spoke to Nik on the phone on the weekend and the first thing he asked was if Ingel was enjoying the beer! Hell yes, says Ingel. We left Wien early on Thursday for an effortless ride through to Slovenia. Sunshine all the way. Again we were just waved through at the border after they looked at the outside of our passports. We rode through cropping which gave way to large forests in both Austria and Slovenia. The hills also grew the further south we rode until we were in alps. The Austrian farms are very well manicured and a lush green making it all look fresh and tidy. We stopped at Wörthersee for lunch. Oh Wow! We had lunch at the services on a terrace overlooking the lake surrounded by Alps and high hills at the other end. People were swimming, skiing, sailing, cruising and taking tourist boats. Extremely pretty in the bright yellow sunshine, under the clear blue sky.

[Dave Ross]

#7891

Hello All04 update . New pics via web site also.Lesley and Ingel. 04/08/07Oh WOW! Bled, just inside the Slovenijan border with Austria. We met an English couple way back in Innsbruck who recommended we come here and after checking with the insurance company on Ingel’s run back to Dover, we are here. It has to be the prettiest place we have camped. The camp ground is on the western end of the lake with the Julien Alps behind us and the Karavanke range separating Slovenija from Austria to our left. The camp site is in a narrow valley between forest laden hills – just beautiful. It is the closest we will get to your home this time Sonja and Dejan. Perhaps another time we will travel down through Croatia on our way to Greece. We hope so. We had trouble finding a place for our tent as this place is jam packed and we wanted electricity. We arrived at 2.30 and it was still difficult. However, we jammed ourselves in next to 2 other tents and set up. Each day since we arrived people have been turned away because the camp fills up very quickly before noon. The first day it poured with rain all day so that was a drinking beer in the tent and catching up on emails day. Guess which one of us did which. I went for a walk all round the lake, about 5km, in the rain and it is so pretty. That night the sky was clear and all the stars were sparkling in the very black sky. This is a truly magical place. The next day dawned beautifully fine and we both walked round the lake to the town. The lake has a small island with church in it towards the southern end. One is able to hire row boats or pay to be rowed out to the church and ring the bell for luck. Consequently the bell rings incessantly with all the tourists.  There is also a castle overlooking the lake from the northern side. Lake Bled is used for rowing training for the Slovenijan rowing teams. In 1988 they won Olympic bronze, 1992 – bronze and silver, 2000 – gold and in 2004 they won silver. I am getting a bit concerned about who runs the Netherlands during the summer because it seems every Dutch person is on holiday and filling all the camp grounds we go to. Ingel’s theory is that there are so many people in the Netherlands and so little space that half of them have to be out of the country at a time to allow room for the other half. I am also convinced that they are born with bicycles between their legs as they ride everywhere. Having said that, Ingel and I have decided if we do another one of these holidays we will also take bicycles because it is a great way to get around locally. A nasty experience of a camper’s small dog being mauled to death just outside our tent at night by, they think, a local farm dog. The woman was also bitten and needed hospital treatment. So terribly sad for her and all concerned and very unnerving with the noise, panic and agonised sobs from the woman as she watched her wee pet die in her arms. Not at all nice. We rode around the Triglavski Narodni Park today, of which our camp is part. First we went to the Vintgar Gorge and walked 1.6km of it. It was only discovered in 1891 and is truly beautiful. The water running over the rocks at the rapids has an ice green colour to it and such a loud noise. A wooden walkway has been built along the sides of the cliff face and at times crosses the raging waters as bridges. Where there are no rapids the water just flows very slowly and quietly, so peaceful until you reach the next set of rocks. The cliffs are quite high and the gorge is very narrow. The greens of the beech trees range from dark green to a bright yellow/green where the sun hits them. It is a beautiful and stunning walk. We came back towards Bled then and rode south west to Bohinj. We took a detour on the way, up into the hills to see the local farms. There were hay racks everywhere with their hay drying and a man turning his hay on a very small and ancient looking hay turner thing on which he sat. Sorry for the lack of noun there, can anyone help this city girl out with the name of the hay turner thing? The fields were small and neatly ordered and the little villages so tiny that there was only room for one car to pass some of the buildings and get round some of the corners. Very quaint and so pretty. Bohinj is the name of the valley, lake and area and the settlement is called Bohinjska Bistrica. This lies at one end of the long glacial lake. The mountains rise straight off the sides of the water (very like Milford Sound) and it is quite spectacular. We sat at the southern side of the lake in the glorious sun and watched small children swimming (brrr in the glacial waters), hang gliders catching thermals at the tops of the mountains to the northern side and ate a picnic lunch. The water is crystal clear and people had snorkels and scuba gear on prowling round in the water which drops off an edge to a great depth just 3 metres from the shore.  Such majesty of nature can only be looked at in awe.  We were treated to some fun here in Bled when a group of Catalonian (northern Spain) gave an impromptu concert for the campers. There are about 100 Catalonians staying in the upper end of the campground away from everyone else and we have heard great clapping and cheering some nights. Then one night they started moving through the camp doing a special dance banging sticks together across rows and then they stopped outside our tent and made human pyramids with the children. Apparently these are traditional dances in Catalonia and people practise for a long time to get them right. The pyramids go 10 high but the children just did three high. Then 3 of them were marched down through the camp on men’s shoulders. A woman explained it all to me and an old man asked if I was English. When she told him New Zealand, he again was astounded that we had come so far. It was a lot of fun and everyone in the camp came out to see and clap their performances.Lesley

[Dave Ross]

#7892

Hello AllNew pics posted via website. Cheers Lesley and Ingel9th AugustWe checked the weather forecast again on the net and everywhere we wanted to go, including Lake Bled where we had enjoyed 6 days were in for heavy rain. So the morning being fine and dry, we decided to pack and leave for Innsbruck. Our plan was to get south to some better weather but we chose to go through Austria and Switzerland rather than Italy. Interestingly, we travelled from Slovenia to Austria then into Italy and again into Austria all in less time than it would take us to travel from Auckland to Levin to visit Ingel’s Mum. It still amuses me the number of countries so close together. We left the highway behind as we crossed the top of Italy between the green tree clad mountains of Austria on one side and the tall, craggy mountains of the Dolomites on the other. We passed through many timber mills and timber businesses as this is obviously the predominant financial source of the area. There was also an archaeological dig just before Lienz. It appeared to be an old town being uncovered. The clouds hung around all day hiding the tops of the mountains and at times the mountain heads would break through and wear the clouds as fluffy collars or at times as frilly tutus, so low were the clouds and so high were the mountains. As we crossed the Brenner Pass (again) we were in and above the clouds. We made it about 6pm after leaving after lunch and had only a small amount of rain on the way. We tried to get a caravan at the campground we were at 6 weeks ago. No luck so we booked into the hotel just down the road. Ahhh a bed and not in the night’s rain. This meant we were able to get up and leave early without having to break camp and pack a wet tent. It was fine as we travelled away from Innsbruck but began to rain before lunch and continued to rain the whole day. We had intended to stop in Luzern to do the Pilatus trio but as it was raining again we kept going to get as far south as we could. We rode right through Switzerland until we reached Genève and crossed the border into France where we booked into a hotel again very, very wet. Our feet were soaking and we were really cold. The temperature had been 11 degrees most of the day with the high being only 17. How nice to have a warm bath. Again 3 countries in about 7 hours.We crossed - on high bridges, 2 very swollen and flooded rivers in Switzerland and many of the fields were in the same condition. They have had plenty of rain as well. We stayed in Genève for 2 nights and had a good look around the city. I like Genève because of what it stands for, what is here and because it has the air of a conservative older family member. We used up all our Swiss francs at a petrol station then crossed into France to look for an eating place for lunch. We came across a tiny town with 2 eating establishments opposite each other. We chose to go to the one with lots of people outside figuring that the reputation was better. We walked in looking for a table and everyone’s eyes swivelled to watch us. There were 2 women inside and close to 100 men. We threaded our way through the packed tables and a waitress stepped in front of us and pointed to a table for 2 – just where we had been heading. Immediately we sat down we were given a basket of bread rolls (yum, my downfall) and a plate each of various cold meats and a knob of butter on top. We looked around and watched the locals to know what to do. After polishing off the meats and buns our plates were spirited away and the waitress babbled to us in French. I replied “Pardon? I am sorry, je ne parle pas Francais” and she said “Oh no, I am sorry. You do not want $&^^*&%^%#$, chicken is not for you”. OK we thought, if not chicken, what are we getting? The little toothless man sitting to my left started explaining in French, “la vache, petit, la tête” were the only words I could pick up – the cow, small, the head. Hmmmm so veal’s head, and the waitress had said the chicken was not for us!!!! Grief, what part of the chicken was it going to be? The other man at the table when I asked in French if it was good, gave the sign for so-so, then said “Specialitie”. We had a good laugh and waited with some trepidation for our main course to come. When it did arrive it was chicken in a sauce with rice and more bread rolls. So the chicken was for us after all. After that we had cheeses and cake. My little toothless friend offered me some veal to eat and put a small piece on my plate. It was quite nice but extremely fatty. Part way through the meal we realised we had walked into a plat du jour restaurant and on leaving I saw a sign saying “Aujordhui – la tête veaux” (French experts, please excuse my spelling). We were also to have paid before we sat down, hence some of the stares. We had a good laugh and a good meal.We left Genève at 7am and finally arrived at a camp ground at 4.30pm! The journey was supposed to take 6 hours but we met several traffic jams – one of which was when the motorway split going one way to Marseilles and one way to Montpelier, another was 21km long leading into Montpelier and the third was when 3 lanes of traffic converged on 14 toll gates. Now pure logic and mathematics suggests that 3 into 14 should go very easily but no, it took 30 minutes to get through the toll gates. Most of the vehicles were campers, mobile homes or vehicles with thule boxes on top. Hmmmmm, we began to think….. French holidays? Sure enough, as we had not booked anywhere we left the motorway and followed road signs to towns we had discovered on the internet to have camping grounds. So eventually at 4.30pm we began putting up our tent in the 7th camping ground we stopped and asked at – all the previous 6 were “complet” (full). It was extremely hot, sunny, dusty and we were thirsty so we took it even though the woman in charge kept saying in French that there was no shade only in the sun. At this stage we did not care - outside the gates of hell would have looked good to us then. After pitching the tent we looked around and decided perhaps we were at the gates to hell after all. The camp ground is old, decrepit, smelly, dirty, dusty and ill-equipped. However, beggars can’t be choosers and we did want to get south to the sun – us and every other French family and tent load of young men. It is in the grounds of a Catholic school and was probably once a very good camp ground. It has a large disused pool and spa, many showers, many Turkish toilets and only 2 sit downs, no toilet paper, cold water for dishes, hands and clothes but the showers are good. Lesley Join Ingel and I on our journey through Europe at: http://www.geocities.com/ezpeznz/LesleyandIngeltrip.html

[Dave Ross]

#7893

Hello AllNew pics via website.Cheers, Lesley and Ingel 20th August We left Bruce and Jane’s Sunday morning and rode south again over some of the same highway past Toulouse. For some time we had a goldwing and matching trailer following us. Several lots of showers on the way and we were hoping to be going south for the sunshine. We pulled into a services for gas and lunch and an elderly French couple parked next to us asked about the size of the bike as their son has a BMW. They were also surprised at where we were from and wished us “Bonne Route”. As we were backing the bike out I looked around and we had an audience of about 7 people at different points all watching. A couple of the men gave us the thumbs up and then all of them waved as we set off. Lovely. Fifteen minutes down the highway and the elderly couple passed us tooting as they did so. Nice. The grape vines around this area of Bergerac are only about 1 metre high. They must use little people to pick the grapes or at least people with very bent backs. I remember my student-grape picking days at Hotel de Vin where we had to reach up to cut our bunches. Obviously, different areas, different grapes, different heights. As we rode south there were many hillsides striped with lush green grape vines and every now and then we saw a chateau on the hillside lording it over all the surrounds. This region has field after field of sunflowers all with their golden rimmed faces turned towards their sun king for the last burst of energy in their life. They also are only about 1 metre high and many of them in the last throws of their cycle. Many fields were hosting sunflowers which were withering and dying in preparation of giving their seeds and oil to us. It is interesting to see the different stages each area is at in the cycle of their crops. We arrived at the resort at about 4.45pm to be told the weather this week is going to be bad. Hmmmmm just seems to be our luck. However, we at least do not have to worry about the tent blowing away as we are in a nice little unit and we have different parts to see. After 2 days of lazing and lying by the pool we thought it time to be on the bike again so Wednesday we set off at 8.30am for Spain to visit Barcelona and Montserrat. The 1st tolls in Spain shocked us at how expensive they were and we had only been on their roads an hour! An hour north of the city it started to rain and continued for most of the day. Emily was very confused by Barcelona’s one way system but we found La Sagrada Familia, the cathedral by Gaudi that has been under construction since 1882. It has a very weird collection of styles but the sculpting is phenomenal. As it was pouring with rain we decided to head on to Montserrat where we wanted to climb the mountain to see the monastery. Just as we reached the top (1236m), the sun came out so we were able to see the clouds swirling below us in the valleys and down on to some of the towns far into the distance. The monastery is built on the side of the mountain and is surrounded by really strange looking craggy rock formations. We had finished here about 2.30pm so decided to carry on to Andorra. Emily said we would be there at about 5pm – just enough time to do some duty free shopping thought I. It rained the whole way there but we were able to admire the towns we passed through which are all built from the local stone. Le Seu d’Urgell is so beautiful with all the buildings being built out of this stone. Imagine Queenstown buildings, but smaller. We crossed the border into Andorra and noticed the long queue of cars at customs going back into Spain. We wanted some of this shopping as well so pulled into a ‘commercial centre’ for some serious spending. It was like a huge department store with everything imaginable (except laptops which we were looking for) at cheap prices. We bought 2 dvds and a chocolate bar which I thought was very restrained for us. Emily told us the quickest way back to the resort was back south through Spain but we chose to carry on through Andorra to France. The capital is very pretty as are all the other towns we passed through. All built of slate or rocks and stones cemented together. There is a phenomenal amount of construction happening all through the country so duty free shopping must be profitable. It was now getting on for 7pm and still raining quite heavily. We saw 2 signs which said Franca via Pass 5km or Franca via tunnel 3km, distances from us we thought. I had done the pass before and told Ingel of the roads so he thought he would go that way. The roads were very twisty as we climbed to nearly 2000m and 3 degrees! As we came over the pass we knew what the 5km and 3km signs meant – traffic queues!! We were directed down towards a town and stopped at the top of a hill where we joined the queue. It took 1hour 23minutes to do 5kms and 1 hour and 2 minutes of that was to do 1km!!!!!!!! This was at 8pm and 3 degrees in the rain with fresh snow dusting the mountain tops 800m above us. People were buying up boxes and boxes of alcohol and tobacco and loading their cars with all sorts of goodies before the shops closed at 8-8.30pm. We saw laptops at good prices in shop windows but were loath to leave the line of traffic and give up our place.  The hold up was the customs going into France. When we reached them they were in no hurry and pulled the van in front of us over and waved us straight through - motorbikes can’t harbour too much over the limit. We saw 2 more customs roadblocks further on and one was hastily set up as the customs car speedily overtook us on a bridge to await someone coming along behind. We climbed again through the Pyrenees and dropped down the other side in the pitch black, rain and very twisty, greasy bends. Continually out of a left hander and into a right with only about 100m of straight in between. The BMW boys would have loved it!  Even I enjoyed it, but ssshhh, don’t let on to Ingel. We finally made it back to the resort at 10.45pm very cold and damp but what fun we had…..a great day. Unfortunately there are no pictures of Andorra because of the dark and rain. We would love to go back again and spend some time wandering round the little cobble streets and see the passes in better weather.

[Dave Ross]

#7894

29/08/07Hello AllHere is the latest update.Cheers Lesley and IngelA friend emailed me asking about prices of things so for those who are interested here goes. The € is about NZ$1.90 at the moment for those who want to convert. Not sure of the pound conversion.The ferry crossing over here, once we had found a company who believed a bike could tow a trailer, was £56. We were told we could not book a return trip “we don’t book that far in advance and the prices are variable and will change”!! So this week when we went on line to book, Ingel again had difficulty finding someone who would book a trailer and bike but we are booked to return to England and the price this time is, wait for it………..£130!!!!! Petrol was cheapest in Spain and Andorra being only €1,08 and €0,99 for 98 octane respectively. In Slovenia it was €1,10. Austria was the dearest we paid being €1,54. Tolls were the most expensive in Spain, we paid €10.70 for about 100km and then it seemed we paid for every little tunnel or bridge we went through or over. Travelling up to Riberac from Agde in the south of France we paid just over €30 for about 450km. The run back from Perpignan to Calais will be expensive as the whole way will be on toll roads because we need to do the trip in 36hrs. In Switzerland we paid a one off fee of €55 which entitles us to ride there towing our trailer for the whole of 2007. In Austria we only paid €4.50 for 10 days for a motorbike regardless of having the trailer and another €8 for using the Brenner tunnel. Italy we were charged as a car towing a trailer because we didn’t fit their system. The roads on which we paid tolls were excellent but Ingel thinks they should use some of the toll money to do up the non toll roads, particularly in France, Spain and Italy. Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, and Slovenia do not charge tolls on any roads. Slovakia charges for toll roads but we did not use any so have no idea of the cost.We stayed 5 nights in hotels with prices as follows:- Rouen, France €50, Innsbrück €72 including breakfast, Geneva (Ibis) €62 and Orleans €62 as well for Ibis.Campgrounds ranged from €14,50 in France before the season started to €27,50 in Florence in low season as well. Bled was the best for the cheapest, €18,20, as it was high season and included unlimited free wi-fi. They also had the best stocked camp shop and extremely cheap. All camp grounds charged us for our bike and 2 in Germany charged for showers. Most provided electricity for a fee of about €3 (average) per day, some put the electricity charge in with the tent and people fee and all charged a tourist tax of about €0,60 per day. Everywhere charged for the washing machines and driers – between €4 and €5,50 each time.  We ate very well every night whether we cooked or ate out. Meals at restaurants for the two of us plus beer and usually a dessert were between €25 and €30. Generally mains at restaurants did not include salads or vegetables, these were purchased as extras. We were not disappointed with any of the meals, they were all delicious. We tried local foods and enjoyed. Thank you Sonja for telling me what we ate in Bled! The breads, pastries, cold meats and cheeses were outstanding. I loved cheese shopping with Gundel in Kiβlegg. The fruit tarts in jelly or custard in a pastry case, large and small, were my downfall as were all the different breads. Thanks to Werner for his early morning trek to the bakerei to buy many different types for our breakfast. I loved the markets where we bought fermiers’ rotisserie chickens and the stalls selling cheeses, cold meats, spices and seafood were a treat to peruse, see the photos. Unfortunately, I did not get a photo of the spices stall at the markets in Riberac but I did stand there for some minutes savouring all the different smells from the many spices displayed in open sacks or bags, mmmmmmmmm. We ate very well when we cooked for ourselves spending about €8-€12 for the two of us at supermarkets. This included mains, salads, potatoes/rice/spaghetti, desserts and drinks. Meat, other than locally grown, could be expensive. The restaurant at the resort proudly states the beef is ‘originale per Allemagne’ – from Germany (to avoid mad cow disease?). Many foods are universal and we were able to buy seasoned rices as we have at home, just by looking at the pictures. Shopping for food and other groceries was a favourite past time of mine as I loved looking to see what they had and working out from the packets how to cook it. Fruit and vegetables were very fresh and delicious.  Internet varied in price as well. I think I have said the further east we went the better the prices, well, the same applies to the internet. In France and Germany we paid  €5 - €6 at camp grounds, except in Potsdam near Berlin it was €2 for the whole day; in Italy at the campground we paid €6 and in the town we paid €2 per hour. In Prague, Bled, Canet en Roussilon wifi was free at the camps and resort. In the south of France we paid €0,80 for 30 mins in Montpellier and €2 for 30 mins in Agde. Now for the most important as far as Ingel is concerned, BEER, the cheapest was €0,26 for 330ml in a supermarket in Agde, south France and the dearest was €2,70 for the same size in the camp in Venice. The price didn’t ever stop him as it was all yum and all worth it.One of the things I missed was being able to buy and read books or newspapers in English. We were able to buy 2 papers in the South of France – one in Monaco and one in Agde so had a bit of news. I took 4 books with me and when Ingel came back to Dover for the insurance run he bought me 2 more and then I found an English book stall at the markets in Riberac so that kept me going. Friends we made in Florence we met again in Venice and they found an English book store in the little back streets of Venice so they stocked up and gave me a spare as well. We had set a budget and only 2 days did we hit that limit, all other days we were under the budget and therefore we came back with quite a bit of money in our pockets. Being under budget was of course helped by the fact that we were travelling on a bike with a very full trailer so not a lot of room for purchases. We did however post some souvenirs back to London and we managed to squash another few small ones in to the bags.

[Dave Ross]

#7895

Hello AllA few more pic's via web site.Cheers Lesley and Ingel Journey’s EndNow we have come to the end of our 2 new tyres, 1 full bike service, 1 new back rest, 1 new helmet, 1 new jacket, 2 new west suits, 1 new camp chair, countless laughs, some cross words, many exasperating moments, some camping inventiveness, lots of fun, lots of sights, lots of memories and just over 19 000 km trip, we have some observations to make. The motorway systems are superb. The scenery is supreme. The people are interesting. Disappointments: - not enough time, not enough space, missing München and Pilatus (both times we were in Luzern to do the Pilatus trio it was pouring with rain). Changing these disappointments to positives: - knowing which places to return to, knowing what and what not to take, having to go back to München and Pilatus. Highlights: - Prague, Lake Bled, Pompeii, Nürburgring, BMW rally, meeting family and friends, most of the people we met. Lowlights: - the weather (at times), some of the people we met. Pet hates: - drivers in most countries entering the motorway system at on-ramps very slowly instead of ‘merging like a zip’; poor road surfaces; toilets without toilet paper. Pet loves: - courteous truck drivers; the food, the beer, the beer and the beer. The people: - The Dutch, French, Italian and German campers do not like the English; the Dutch, French, Italian and English do not like the Germans; The French, Italian, German and English do not like the Dutch; the Dutch, French, German and English do not like the Italians. Our impressions from those we met in the campgrounds and the towns: - the English were the least friendly; the Germans were the most reserved; the Italians were the loudest; the French ignored us; the young Kiwis did not want to know us; the young Australians were chatty; the Australians and Kiwis our age wanted to chat and share experiences and travel tips; the Dutch (after a warming up period) were the friendliest. The Dutch are the most prolific in numbers camping outside of their own country.All we have spoken to are astounded at where we are from and have wondered why we are so far from our own beautiful country. We hope we have left them with the impression that New Zealanders are friendly people and that we think their countries are beautiful as well. Campgrounds varied in cleanliness and facilities, some we would definitely not return to e.g. Camping West Vienna and Camping Baldy, Agde, France. The further east we went the cheaper the shopping, petrol, entrance fees and camping were, without compromising quality. Camping Bled in Bled, Slovenia and the Goldene Meile in Remagen, Germany were the pick of all of them. Camping Bled cleaned the toilet block 6 times a day. One major component that made it great was catching up with family and friends. Mine in France and Holland, Ingel’s in the Netherlands and Alex and Gerda’s in Germany. Thank you all for making us so welcome and showing us such wonderful hospitality! We now know how much we appreciate the ‘no-smoking in public places’ law in New Zealand and now in England. Everyone smokes everywhere here. We are constantly amazed at the number and age of people smoking. It is really noticeable and it is not nice to have smoke blown across your food in restaurants. As a student of linguistics I have been fascinated at the use of language. A Dutch boy conversing with a Russian in English, Germans talking English to Italians, Spanish people using English with the Austrians. English is often the first language a lot of people use and this is not due to America the super power, despite what the young Californian boy may think. Sign language is also great for getting messages across and has helped us out on many occasions. I am also fascinated with crossing the borders and the proximity of countries. This, I guess, is having come from an island nation. I love the way we can change 2-3 countries in a matter of hours. The language changes, the food (some dishes), the style of architecture and the physical appearance of the people also. It is delightful. I love the way in Italy the road signs and town names are written in both Italian and German near the Austrian border and in Switzerland they are written in German near the Austrian and German borders but in French closer to France. Lovely. Road signs in Slovakia were written in English as well. “Stop” is a common road sign in all the countries we have visited. My biggest disappointment has been not having friends or family actually travelling with us to share all the highs and lows, all the laughs and frustrations, all the sights and good times. However, I thank those of you who took the time to comment on my tomes indicating you enjoyed reading about where we have been and what we have seen. If it has interested you, then that was my aim; if it has inspired any of you to travel, then well done; but if you just simply enjoyed travelling from your computer chair, then I have been very happy to have you along with us for the ride. Thanks go to our families in New Zealand for letting us go and follow our dream. This was an experience not to be missed and one to be repeated. However, we have missed you all greatly and we have really enjoyed the phone conversations with parents, children, grandchildren, brothers and uncles. Final thanks to Ingel for negotiating every twist and turn, every narrow street, every bump in the road, every crazy driver (1 or 2), every crazy motor scooterist (1 or 200), every wrong turn, every detour, every roadworks to get us safely through this journey.

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