Well, Day 14 turned out to be another one of those days where you cover a ridiculous number of miles, cross three countries, get very wet, slightly confused, accidentally overpay for things and somehow still end the day thinking, “That was a pretty good day!”
That’s touring for you!
After a lovely stay at Berchtesgaden/Königssee Lake a bit of a squashed-up parking spot, but with everything we needed, we packed up the motorhome and took Tilley and Frankie for one last swim before heading off.
And then we were off towards Slovenia and the famous Lake Bled.
🇩🇪 Germany → 🇦🇹 Austria → 🇸🇮 Slovenia
Today was another proper European road trip. We skirted around the outskirts of Berchtesgaden, joined the motorway network and headed towards Salzburg before crossing Austria and eventually making our way into Slovenia.
The scenery was absolutely stunning, although the weather decided to add a little drama.
At one point we hit some seriously heavy rain and thunderstorms, with so much water coming down that Steven had to pull the motorhome over because he simply couldn't see where he was going. Then a car came flying past and threw a huge wave of water over us. Just what you need when you're already trying to see through a biblical downpour!
Eventually the rain eased and we continued towards Bled. And what a place to arrive at.
🚐 A Couple of Expensive Little “Booboos”
Every day on tour brings a lesson. Today brought several!
One of today's biggest tips for anyone touring around Europe is to remember that countries such as Austria and Slovenia require a vignette to use their motorways. These can be bought online and effectively act as a road tax.
We had ours sorted, but we also discovered that some of the major tunnels have additional toll charges.
And when we say major tunnels, we mean proper tunnels. We travelled through several, including one around 7.9km long, another around 7km and another roughly 6.5km. That's a lot of mountain to drive through!
Then came Steven's parking-machine adventure. Let's just say he didn't read the instructions properly.
He managed to pay for the wrong thing, including a coach ticket, and ended up paying around €50 without actually getting the electricity he thought he'd paid for. The electricity also managed to run out twice.
Cue much laughter from Suzanne and, of course, the immortal words: “I'll sort it tomorrow.” Famous last words!
We also had a slight water-related misunderstanding. We thought we'd had 50 litres in the tank, and asked for another 50 liters to top it up to full, only to discover that we'd actually ended up with around 75 litres. How does that equate?
Then there was the €2 toilet emptying charge... and it still clean it properly.
By the end of it, we were beginning to wonder if the motorhome was simply eating money.
🐕 Lake Bled With Tilley & Frankie
Once we'd arrived and settled in, there was only one thing to do.
Take the dogs out.
We walked down towards Lake Bled, and this was one of those moments where you realise why you're doing all this travelling in the first place. The lake was beautiful, the weather had improved and we even managed to go for a swim.
And, of course, we got our first proper look at the famous Church of the Assumption of Mary, sitting on its little island in the middle of the lake. It really is one of those views that looks almost too perfect to be real.
We're hoping to spend a full day exploring Bled tomorrow, so we'll hopefully get to see much more of it. Although getting into town wasn't exactly straightforward...
🗺️ Google Maps vs Steven: The Battle Continues
We've established something on this trip.
Steven does not always trust Google Maps. Steven 'knows' better
And today, Google Maps had the last laugh.
What should have been about a ten-minute walk into town turned into something closer to 45 minutes because we decided that our own route looked more direct. It wasn't. We ended up heading through a wood.
At this point, we're beginning to think that maybe Google Maps actually knows what it's doing.
Maybe!!!... But don't tell Steven.
🌭 Today's Local Food Challenge
One of the things we've set ourselves on this trip is to try local food and drink wherever we can.
Today we had what we thought was some sort of Bavarian sausage, something a bit like a kabanos, which was actually very tasty.
There was also a slightly suspicious-looking processed meat experience at lunchtime. It looked a lot like spam.
Suzanne was not impressed by the suggestion that it might be spam.
Whatever it was, it tasted pretty good with tomato ketchup and mustard in a bread roll. So we're calling that a win!
We also spotted some Slovenian cakes that looked rather tempting. We're thinking one of those might have to be investigated tomorrow.
Purely for research purposes, obviously.
🎧 The Audiobook Has Finished!
Another important event today: we finished our audiobook!
We'd been listening to The Stone Sisters, which was a freebie, and we both really enjoyed it. Neither of us managed to work out the ending, which is always a good sign.
Now we need something new for the next part of the journey. We're thinking another Ken Follett might be on the cards. Because nothing says relaxing motorhome journey quite like a gigantic audiobook full of murder, secrets and intrigue!
🍽️ The Problem With Travelling With Dogs
There's another little reality of motorhome touring that you don't necessarily think about before you set off.
Dogs take time.
And we're absolutely fine with that. But, when you're travelling all day, then stopping to walk the dogs, taking them for a swim and generally letting them enjoy themselves, suddenly it's 10pm and you're standing in the motorhome thinking:
“Should we be cooking dinner now?”
Tonight we ended up having sausages with our tea because we'd planned to have fish but simply ran out of time. It's all part of the adventure and to be honest, Tilley and Frankie are having a brilliant time.
🇸🇮 Halfway Through Our Adventure
Today also marked the halfway point of our trip.
We've travelled through Germany, Austria and Slovenia, and we're now beginning the journey back towards home through Italy and France.
Tomorrow we'll spend another day in Bled before continuing our journey south. We also need to find a vet somewhere along the route, so we can make sure everything is sorted for the dogs before we eventually head home and, naturally, Steven says he'll “ask Google”...
Although given today's navigation performance, we're not entirely sure whether we should trust him, or Google!
🚲 Tomorrow: Exploring Bled
Tomorrow should be a more relaxed day.
We're hoping to spend the day exploring Bled, see more of the lake and possibly even manage another swim. There was also some discussion about taking the SUP out onto the lake.
The only problem? Getting the thing down there! We removed the trolley from the motorhome because we decided we didn't need it. We're now discovering that we probably did. Typical.
We're still trying to work out whether one of us can walk while the other cycles, or whether someone is going to have to carry the SUP. Knowing us, we'll probably come up with a ridiculous solution and somehow make it work.
That's pretty much how this trip has gone so far!
🌍 Day 14 in a Nutshell
Countries visited: Germany 🇩🇪, Austria 🇦🇹 & Slovenia 🇸🇮
Destination: Lake Bled, Slovenia 🇸🇮
Dogs: Tilley & Frankie 🐕🐕
Weather: Sunshine, thunderstorms and biblical rain ⛈️
Google Maps score: Still questionable 🗺️
Parking-machine score: Don't ask 💶
Local food: Sausage… and possibly suspicious sausage 🌭
Audiobook: Finished 🎧
Swimming: Yes! 🏊
SUP: Maybe tomorrow! 🚣
Halfway point: Reached! 🎉
Another day, another three countries, another collection of stories, and another reminder that the best adventures are rarely the ones that go exactly to plan.
Join us tomorrow as we explore Lake Bled and continue our European motorhome adventure!
Follow along with Steven, Suzanne, Tilley and Frankie at Touring Ideas for more motorhome adventures, travel tips, campsite discoveries, food, tech, dogs and the occasional expensive “booboo”! 😂
#TouringIdeas #MotorhomeAdventure #MotorhomeTouring #MotorhomeLife #EuropeanAdventure #TouringEurope #LakeBled #BledSlovenia #Slovenia #Austria #Germany #RoadTripEurope #MotorhomeTravel #TravelWithDogs #MotorhomeWithDogs #DogFriendlyTravel #TilleyAndFrankie #TravelBlog #TravelVlog #EuropeanRoadTrip #VanLife #ExploreEurope #AdventureAwaits #RoadTrip #MotorhomeLifeUK
Add comment
Comments