It had started raining during the night so we packed up the van and parked it next to the laundry room so we could do some washing. It felt wonderful to get clothes clean and pillowcases, everything smelt so fresh and lovely, especially after it had been tumble-dried.

We did a grocery shop while the washing was on: yoghurts, mustard, fleisch salat for Tim, muesli, oranges and nectarines.

We were glad to leave the campsite as it was a bit depressing although hard to put your finger on why. It had stopped raining by the time we arrived in Klosterneuberg, just outside Vienna, about 2:30pm. This campsite felt very friendly and cheerful and we relaxed, played cards, bought some cheap red wine and planned the next day.

16.09.04.

Headed into Vienna about midday on the train and got a 24 hour travelcard each. Started at the main square where we had a look at the cathedral which was a bit dark and grey. Headed for a wurst stand for our daily sausage fix, the weather was beautiful again.

Kathy foolishly agreed to finding the Apple centre, was a bit of a trek across the city but we passed the Opera house and some of the museums, all very grand, beautiful buildings. Wandered through the pedestrian area looking in the shops and then headed for Cafe Central that we had read about in one of our books.

We were glad we did as it was really gorgeous, arched ceilings, pillars, all beautifully decorated and a guy playing the piano while we relaxed with coffee/tea and cake, again (are you all worrying about our waistlines???). Tim had the famous Sacher torte and read a newspaper and we soaked up the atmosphere while smart waiters bustled around.

We had a look around a department store which was like John Lewis and set off to hunt down some Teewurst (one of Kathy’s favourite things). Found it in the basement of a shopping centre in a supermarket called Billa. Looked like the basement floor or Selfdridges in Manchester!

Had originally planned to have dinner in a Heuringer, one of the wine taverns which are part of Viennese culture but they are all out in the suburbs so we chose a restaurant that sounded good where we could go and have Wiener Schnitzel.

It was in a quieter area of town and took a bit of finding but we were so glad we had made the effort as soon as we arrived. It had a lovely atmosphere and when we ordered a beer each two half litre glasses arrived and tasted great. We shared a wonderful fried chicken salad for starter, Kathy had Wiener Schnitzel with potatoes and Tim had fried potato stuffed with mince meat with a sour cream and garlic sauce, it was out of this world gorgeous. Anyone who wants to come to Vienna with us for a weekend can come and see for themselves.

We were too full for dessert so made our way back to the van and rested our happy tummies!

A well deserved sleep saw us getting up at 10:30am and rushing to pack and leave by 11am. It was a fantastically beautiful day, clear blue sky. Shortly after leaving we got a right shock when the roof of the van flew up, Tim had forgotten to close the catches that keep it down! Well it was his job! So we stopped speedily and did them.

The land was very flat and the views were beautiful. Had to queue for over half an hour to get through border control but finally entered the Czech Republic. We then began to encounter the detours, it seems there were road works going on on most of the main roads we wanted and so instead we ended up driving down bumpy rural roads some not much wider than single track. Thus the journey took longer than anticipated and the campsite proved difficult to find – what is it about campsites??

The campsite we were aiming for was closed when we arrived but there was one next door so we went there and chose a lovely spot next to an apple tree. In this area of Prague there are lots of small campsites that have people have set up in their back gardens. It was lovely and quiet, clean loos and a wonderful beer for sale called Gambrinus that cost us approximately 37p each! We had a wonderful dinner of boiled potatoes with butter, ham, leek, bread roll and cold beer, mmmmmmm!

We got up early and prepared for our day trip to Bratislava. We had originally planned to camp there but had read that the campsites were ‘grim’. As it is not far from Vienna we changed our plans and took the train there instead. We got to travel on a double-decker train into Vienna centre!

The journey took about an hour and a quarter, including a fifteen minute stop for border control / passport checks. Tim read up on the city while I wrote postcards. The weather was getting cooler, we were both wearing jeans and the nights were starting to get a bit chilly.

On our arrival in Bratislava we realised we had no currency – they don’t join the Euro for a few years yet – and couldn’t speak the language. We got some Slovak crowns out from the cash machine and wandered around until we found the tram ticket office. Got a tram into the centre and paused to eat the lunch we had brought with us, for a change.

We followed the route in the ‘Rough Guide’, had a look into a church that was closed, wandered down into the old town, past two towers. We stopped into a shop called L’Occitane, the French equivalent of the Body Shop but more expensive! The sales assistant was very enthusiastic and told us all about the products and gave us several free samples. We bought some lavender oil for Kathy’s bites.

We found the two main squares of the city which were wonderfully peaceful and pretty in the sunlight. We then wandered on to the river and saw the bridge support which is reminiscent of the Starship Enterprise, it has a cafe at the top.

We visited the Jewish museum which was small but interesting and not emotionally orchestrated. We got two books as part of the entry fee.

Back in the main squares we went in search of refreshment and sat outside a cafe. We had Golden Magic tea with lemon and shared a piece of apple strudel. We were entertained by a group of young people who were practising juggling and Diablos overseen by a very tall guy in a waistcoat and trousers, looking very Aladdin-like.

We then set off to find the National Gallery which we’d read had an exhibition of design and architecture on the top floor. We got there just after five with under an hour ‘til closing time so rushed to the top floor but all we could find were paintings and statues. We were a bit disappointed but we found some fantastic sculptured heads showing different emotions – one called ‘suppressed laughter’.

We were determined to find the blue church we had read about before we got the train back so we set off. We were ready to give up when we found the right road and the church. It is like something out of a fairytale with beautfiul mosaic glass tiles that look like strings of jewels hanging from it.

Short of time we walked in the direction of the station stopping to take a picture of a map which we then referred to as we made our way. We spent the return train journey reading the books from the Jewish museum.

…with the sound of music! No we weren’t in Austria but we were travelling through the Alps.

We left Lyon at 10am and struggled to escape, French signposts are pretty awful.

Looking forward to the Alps we began to see them as hazy outlines against the horizon. Difficult to put into words the beauty and awesomeness of the landscape, we took lots of photos and exhausted the battery in the video camera.

We drove zig-zag up a mountain, astounding views and the road dropped away on one side in a stomach-lurching manner. The thermometer on the van stopped working, which it had done before in England, but the engine fan was working, phew! The van (now nicknamed Freda) did really well considering the gradient, the heat and the tight corners.

The view from the top was amazing.

On the way down the van began to make a squealing noise – can’t say we blame it really – which seemed to be associated with the brakes, bit worrying. We took it easy and stopped a couple of times to let it cool down. When we reached the flat ground at the bottom it stopped.

We left the mountains, sadly, but were now in Italy, Buongiorno!

Decided to press on to the lakes and so took the motorway (Autostrada) which you have to pay for. Got to the booth before joining the motorway and as there was no person had no idea what to do. Sat there panicking for a while until some people at the next booth called to us, in fantastic English, to ‘push the button and take the ticket’.

Managed to get up at 7:30am and Tim did the mountain of washing up. We stopped in Nevers for petrol, it was 23°C by 10am, a cloudless sky.

It was a lovely drive to Lyon with some beautiful views. We arrived at the Camping International site, 9 km from lyon centre, at about 2pm. Chose a pitch near to the amenities – toilets, showers, games room (table tennis, table football), washing machine – and set up camp. Relaxed for the rest of the day ready to take on Lyon the next!

06.09.04.
Got into Lyon at about 11:30am and took the funicular railway up to see the Roman theatres. Then back down and wandered around the Presqu’Ile, a peninsula between the Rhone and Saone rivers. The campsite had given us a really excellent tourist booklet about the city, very well written and humorous. We went to see the underground car park the centre of which is designed to look like the tower of Pisa, with a revolving, angled mirror! Very cool, took some photos and did some filming.

Had a meal at a cafe in Place des Terreaux, a large square with a huge fountain involving a large guy and some horses. Found a chocolaterie, they just seem to call to us! Incredibly yummy dark chocolates called Palet d’Or.

Went to a lovely internet cafe but struggled with a slow computer running Windows for nearly 2 hours trying to get some photos up.

The Lyon transport system is amazing. You buy a single ticket, we got ours at the campsite on the bus, which can then be used to travel on bus, metro or tram on a journey in one direction within the space of one hour. Really good value too, 1.40 euros for a single and 4.20 for a day travelcard. The metro trains are very cool, funky seventies-style decor and driverless!!

07.09.04.
Relaxed at the campsite for most of the day, did a load of washing. Went into Lyon and wandered around to pass the time before meeting our friend Simon, who works in Lyon Tuesday to Thursday every week. Found some cool, little shops and bought a few gifts (it’ll be Christmas soon you know). Took some photos of a beautiful church and a waterfall.

After meeting Simon he showed us a whole area of Lyon we had missed the previous day which was great and he took us to a lovely little Bouchon – not one of the ‘official’ ones but what does it matter – where he knows all the staff and the owner! The food was heavenly and the wine wonderful, we talked and talked and then thought we had missed the last bus back to the campsite.

On our way to get a taxi, after saying goodbye to Simon, realised there was a night bus, waited for 40 mins, then found out it was the wrong bus stop so had to wait another 30 mins for the right bus. Got bakc to the campsite at 1am! Tired but very happy!!

Hi folks!

We’ve taken loads of photos! Unfortunately the internet café in Lyon had no means (as far as I could tell) of resizing those that we transferred to the PC. I miss iPhoto“! Anyway, we’ve uploaded ten choice images to our photo gallery Flickr