Fair Verona day 2 & on to Garda

April 15, 2018February 15, 2019 / meyouandpogo2 / 7 Comments

Thursday 12^th April 2018

Cathy posting,

Juliet’s house, well we can’t come to Verona without going to look at Shakespeare’s mythical story of both love and tragedy and so we go to Romeo & Juliet’s balcony, it was a little cobbled square and you could also go inside the house, included in our Verona card (€18), it was packed with school children but we’re glad we went to see it.

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Next we climbed 384 steps up the Lamberti tower, it’s 84m high constructed started in 1172, it was intended for defence but also housed a jail, we could have paid €1 to go up in the lift but no! I want to get fitter! (ps my legs hurt the next day!)

Looking at St Peter’s hill from Lamberti Tower

The views from the top of the tower are very good as you look towards St. Peter’s hill.

We have to leave the Sosta by 1.30pm to keep within 24 hours, so off we go in the direction of Lago Di Garda, bring it on. It’s only 40 kms to Garda south at Sirmione and after shopping at LIDL for supplies we arrive at a very pleasant campsite Camping Sirmione where we plan to chill out for a few days, it’s not cheap, but we did pick a superior pitch with lake views personal drinking water tap & hook up! We are having a holiday within a holiday! There is a restaurant and bar on site overlooking the lake and very hot showers! Lovely! €31 per 24 hours. As soon as we arrive the sun is shining and we get straight onto the lakeshore path and walk to Sirmione old town, it’s 4 km each way and the views are breathtaking and beautiful, there are beds of tulips and little marinas along the way which made for a very pleasant afternoon stroll.

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Close up of the view from the campsite

The 13^th Century Castello Di Sirmione played a crucial role in the defence of Lake Garda, we decided to save the castle for another day and headed towards a square with lots of restaurants and bars, it was called Palazzo Callas, named possibly after the late and well renowned opera singer Maria Callas who house is a house on the hill in Sirmione.

View from Camping Sirmione

Pogo’s hiding behind the hedge, he likes his view!

We ordered two beers and it comes with the usual little bowl of olives, crisps and this time some little cooked tuna pieces rolled in black poppy and sesame seeds, we love it! We sat people watching for an hour, then decided to have what all the Italians were having Aperol Spritz in wine glasses with ice, we’re not moving from this spot, best table in the square, we can be nosey from here and the sun is shining! Oh and they brought more olives and mini baked breads, yummy.

Too late we’ve eaten the snacks,yum!

It’s time to head back, the 4 kms walk back was as pleasant as before and we go and have hot showers and I make a triple tomato risotto which is a staple in our house, in LIDL we purchased a wine “brick”, it’s 1 litre of wine, we’ve read about these from other bloggers and had to try some, we bought one white wine €0.65 and one red at €0.95. The review from myself is that it was drinkable at 10% volume & I thought it would be too sweet but it was very dry, maybe I could get used to it when the budget gets off track! possibly the red one will be better.

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Dave in the office

Dave writes some blog as we are 3 days behind! And I read my book for a while. Off to bed early as we really want to explore more tomorrow and the forecast for the weather looks great!

Cathy

Oh Romeo!

April 14, 2018September 8, 2018 / meyouandpogo2 / 2 Comments

Wednesday 11th April 2018

Cathy posting’

We woke up in Brescia this morning with no specific plans once more but the inclement weather suggests we should wait and go to Garda maybe in two days time. Verona is close, let’s go there! We look up the city centre Sosta in Verona, price guide is €10 per 24 hours, that seems cheap, maybe the information is out of date. It’s only 60 kms from here, so a short drive & we arrive and pitch up, ( it’s an unmanned, barrier & ticket entry and pay on exit system). Secured Pogo and we go out for the rest of the day and if it is €10, it’s excellent for Verona.

The bus stop is directly outside the Sosta so off we go €2 each to the stop Castelvecchio, well we can guess what’s at that stop. The friendly bus driver points us in the direction of Piazza Bra, rounding the corner and all I could say was wow! directly in front of us is Arena Di Verona, a well preserved Roman amphitheatre, seats 20,000 in ancient times it was 30,000 and it was built in the 1^st century AD between the end of Augustus reign and beginning of Claudius, it’s the 3^rd largest after the Coliseum in Rome and the Amphitheatre Capua.

A 12^th century earthquake damaged almost all of it and it’s not as splendid as it was once so I would have liked to have seen it before but oh my it was a sight to behold. Excavations under the structure have discovered a complex hydraulic system to bring water inside the arena for spectacular water games but also to clean up after cruel fights held inside!!

Arena Di Verona

Quite a contrast to the wonderful operas held between June and August each year, I would like to attend one of those!

Whilst visiting we could not get up to the top of the arena as staging was being created ready for the performances later in the coming months, the work involved to turn an arena like this into a modern performance venue looks to be very intensive.

We bought a Verona Card for €18 each, this turned out to be good value as it covered the Arena which alone was €11 each and many other attractions plus 24 hour city transport. As ever it started to rain and so we headed to the nearest coffee shop and of course we may as well have a view! We’d missed breakfast so went straight into Bruschetta, they were superb and I loved the little blue coffee cups.

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Bruschetta tastes best in Italy!

What got to me the most was the Juxtaposition of the Arena and the coffee shops opposite, 2 worlds!

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We looked at the information for other tourist sites that were open until the evening and we decide to go to the Museo Castelvecchio, free entrance with the Verona Card saved us a further €6 each.

Fishtail battlements at Castelvecchio

Castelvecchio Museum inside the castle

Museum is quite modern, light and airy

We saw venetian paintings, frescoes, well preserved Flemish art circa 1350’s,many other pieces of extremely well-preserved wall coverings, the castle suffered damage during Napolean times and WW11 but an interesting place all the same with it’s fishtail battlements.

The art work is amazing, look at the colours from circa 1400, not screened or covered up!

Unbelievable fresco’s, so well preserved!

We decide to head back to the Sosta and come back early in the morning as our tickets were for 24 hours and the weather looks like it might be better.

Cathy

Bergamo, day 2

April 14, 2018February 14, 2019 / meyouandpogo2 / Leave a comment

Wednesday 11^th April 2018

Dave posting,

We intended to go back into Bergamo this morning as we loved it, the weather is not looking so good though.

We have been away on the road now for 3 weeks it really is time to do some housework in and around the van. We have been meaning to do the cleaning, sweeping and dusting for about a week now, so today is the day. We work well as a team, we’ve settled in to blue and pink jobs! I wash the windscreen and the whole cab area inside. Cathy did the kitchen, work surfaces, bathroom, Last was the removeable carpets that came out for a beating! A blue job!

Well what a friendly bunch motorhomers are! We have noticed the comradery amongst you, there is always someone to help or advise you. Often conversations start that lead to interesting details and information about places you intend to visit or have been. We met a New Zealand couple who surprised us as we thought they were Italian, he really liked our van and came to take a look.

We don’t always have a plan of what to do or where to go, sometimes we get up &chat and then decide, we follow our instinct and feelings about what we want to do next.

Lake Garda and Venice were always a plan though, checked the weather forecast, urmmm rain and cloud for the next 3 days at least around Garda, let’s go there when the weather improves. We feel the need to move on, so we take a chance and drive to Lake Iseo to find a free wild spot near there. We found it okay but now it’s a supermarket! Oh, we stopped for a while, drove around the area looking for a suitable spot, no joy though. Back to the supermarket to buy a small amount of fresh groceries. Next we had lunch whilst we researched where to go, the heavens open and it’s raining heavily now, spent a couple of hours in the car park, doesn’t matter a lot when it’s raining!

Let’s go to Brescia it’s not far away, we head there hoping to use a free overnight stop. We find the “listed spot” next to the Prison (might be safe!) but it doesn’t feel right, not enough length available to park, it’s close to permit parking for cars, it’s not level with both left hand side tyres in the gutter giving us a lob sided fell, can’t use the chocks as the tarmac and grass shoulder is too rough.

We rested for 10 mins and chose the cheapest paid for site nearest to us, it’s 7.15pm now and we just want a place for the night. Cathy found one 5kms away, Ristorante Cascina Maggia, it’s a farm/restaurant with camper car facilities, €15 including electric hook up. 10 mins later we are there, plugged in and set up. We go back to reception and ask if the bar is open, we need a drink! “no, sorry, not open on Mon, Tue & Wed” Anywhere nearby ? “Yes, 500 m that way!” Off we go on foot to find it, we find a bar near a fairground Called L’Old Roger, it looks like an English pub abroad but there’s nothing else that’s open or near, we go in and ask do you do food? Yes, we are shown to a table, it’s quite busy as well with a good atmosphere, it feels friendly, it’s warm and we feel comfortable, we order food and drink. One beer, one wine and two burgers…unbelievable burgers, Cathy was Iberico ham (200gr) brie, smoked bacon and caramelised onion, mine was 400gr irish steak, bbq sauce, cheese, smoked crispy bacon, the buns were perfect for the burgers, like a soft shell with crunchy seeds and not too doughy inside. Cathy was disgusted at my 400g! she says she makes chilli for 4 people with that much beef! mmmm! but it went down very nicely.

Beer, burgers and football

It’s getting busy now, the atmosphere is ramping up, the Italians are watching and supporting Roma in the Champions League quarter finals and they are beating Barcelona, they get a little nervous as the final whistle approaches, great atmosphere in here tonight!

Cathy’s beer she described as “smoky” I tried it but I didn’t like it! It’s our second meal out in 19 days and it was great, Cathy never orders burgers but this menu had to be tried! and she reported back that if all burgers were like that shed have one more often.

(sorry not many photos!)

Dave

Bergamo – an undiscovered gem

April 12, 2018February 22, 2019 / meyouandpogo2 / 7 Comments

Monday 9th April 2018

Dave posting,

This morning we are waiting for the No.5 bus at the stop outside the Sosta and Cathy asked a young lady if we were in the right place for the bus in to Bergamo, she was very helpful, friendly and spoke good English, little did we know that we would need her help again later in 10 mins! Once on the bus you have to buy a ticket from the machine either cash or card but not from the driver, we tried to buy a ticket, but the machine didn’t work for us, the young lady helped us once again and as we tried to buy a ticket with her help, three bus ticket inspectors got on, the young lady said “you can get off quickly through the other door if you want to”. We said we are ok, no problem, the ticket inspector came along & our new friend explained that the machine isn’t working, and we had tried to pay! He quickly fixed the problem, he inserted a new till receipt roll in! Two tickets later and our friend explained where to alight and to catch bus no.1 for the Citta Alta (Upper town) and the funicular. Apparently, our bus ticket of €1.50 is valid on all city transport bus and tram and funicular for 75 mins from time of purchase!

It is only 40 minutes since leaving the site and we were stepping off the funicular at La Citta Alta we found the Tourist Information office & left with our obligatory maps, outside the tourist info is a board with free City Wifi, nice one, just log on , as we wandered up the hill and discovered the most wonderful shops selling what looks like the best food in the world, the Italians have a great knack of presenting food, drink and atmosphere through their windows and entrances…. Cathy loves looking at the range, variety and different styles & types of food, how it is made, presented & served, she was in her element!

The weather was not good to us it was pouring with rain and we needed to escape, we were feeling a bit peckish, so it had to be coffee time but also with something to compliment it, how about some Arancini?

Bergamo Food & Drink (4) Bergamo Food & Drink (6) Bergamo Food & Drink (8)

Well the Arancini were fantastic, neither Cathy or I have had Arancini before and we loved them! Arancini are soft rice balls with a lightly deep fried outer, the centres are filled with a variety of foods, Cathy’s was pistachio, mozzarella and blue cheese, mine was mozzarella and ham, gorgeous! the bill was only €9.50 for two coffees which were the best we’ve had so far (we love good coffee!) and two arancini’s, very reasonable. It’s called Il sole in Bocca, it was a tiny place with only 8 seats.

The rain has eased now as we go outside and make our way to Basilica Saint Marie Maggiore, OMG, forgive the pun! What a magnificent place, we were taken aback at its outstanding beauty, the vibrant colours, every inch decorated, the architecture, it was so beautiful, the photos might not show the detail, the work and craftmanship. We didn’t speak we were in awe. I had to sit down as I became emotional. We are not religious, but you cannot ignore the hidden history, the stories, the emotions, over thousands of years, we felt privileged to be here and having this experience. It has a Romanesque exterior with a Baroque interior and there were many relief sculptures on the ceiling.

Please zoom in to appreciate the beauty.

Basilica entrance on the left

basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (14)

Apologies for so many pictures but I wanted to convey all its beauty. Parts of the Basilica dates from 5 AD

Once we caught our breath we visited the Duomo (cathedral) next door, all of the historic sites are within short walking directions inside the city walls.

Duomo

Duomo ceiling

Duomo ceiling

Bergamo Duomo (4) Bergamo Duomo (6)

The Duomo Di Begamo was not a disappointment in any way with its gold relief but after the extravagance and outstanding beauty of the Basilica maybe the Basilica should be visited at the end of your day. (it’s closed between 12 and 2pm)

The rain ceased, and the warm weather arrived, we wanted to walk the city walls which are Unesco Heritage and are 16^th Century built by Venetians on old roman foundations and off we go to find them. What an amazing place Bergamo is, whilst walking the walls we can see the creativity of using the surrounding land and the terracing is fantastic, maximum use and reward of their land, they even manage to squeeze a football pitch in! and the views down to Citta Bassa (lower town) are great with many street still covered in cobblestones.

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Bergamo City Walls (7) Bergamo City Walls (13)

A triangle football pitch!

There are many executive and exclusive properties can be seen from the highwalls with a backdrop of the mountains.

There’s no wonder the Italians love there their super mini cars here, the paths and roads are so narrow, but no they drive across and down them no bother! Sometimes we felt we were in the scene of Michael Cain’s Italian Job!

We head off down the hill to Bassa town leaving the marvelous old town behind, the walk was easy enough going down and pleasant with a warm breeze, now we are thirsty! We’ve walked and toured for 5 hours! We stop at a restaurant at the main boulevard with an outside area for patrons behind glass screens as the Europeans do so well! Two medium lagers please, they come with peanuts, olives and crisps, they are great at this aren’t they! They must put something on the snacks because the next thing we know we are ordering two Margarita pizzas and more lager! This is our first meal out since leaving home!

Bergamo Food & Drink (3)

Pizzas were really good, crusty light thin dough base just how we like them. Paid up €31.50 And we walk to the tram station to catch one back to the site, the tram runs past the site as well, cost €1.30 each and only took 10 mins.

Well that was a brilliant day and one we will never forget, we can’t recommend Bergamo enough and we are glad we didn’t miss it.

Bergamo seems to be off the usual tourist trail and maybe it’s an overlooked area, we would recommend a visit to Bergamo.

Dave

Heidi Land – Switzerland

April 8, 2018September 8, 2018 / meyouandpogo2 / 2 Comments

Cathy posting,

Friday 6^th April 2018

We’re heading into Heidiland home of Johanna Spyris world famous Heidi story.

After making everything secure, it’s time to go to Switzerland via the Julier pass starting at Chur and ending near St Moritz, went to the service point for fresh water and the usual stuff. No fresh water here, it’s not working, and we have run out of water, never mind we will try and get some later. We drove literally around the corner after leaving the car park to the Swiss border control, the border runs right through the middle of Konstanz, oh! Let’s see what happens here then! The policeman has a quick visual at the windscreen as we slow down probably checking for the vignette and waves us through, however he pulled the next car over.

Great scenic drive through the countryside towards Bregenz, south of lake Bodensee and joined the A13 south to the Alps. The roads are super smooth and it’s a relaxing drive in the sunshine through Heidi Land, yes that’s what it’s called (most of Eastern Switzerland), we are intending to pitch up at Chur and stay for the night and tackle the pass tomorrow.

Pulled off the motorway, now on the outskirts of Chur, stopped at petrol station and asked if we could fill up with water, no problem they said, topped up & now we are ready to find our overnight stop.

In Chur there is a chargeable campsite and according to our own research also a free “wilding” spot, when we arrive the wilding spot is actually a Stellplatz for 5 Wohnmobile. This Stellplatz is literally a parking bay for 5 vans outside the gate of the commercial campsite plus it’s right next to a quarry entrance and lorries are noisy and whizzing past the end of our van, there’s concrete dust everywhere and the motorway noise is very loud! All this in direct contrast to the lovely Rhine river on our left. We go into the campsite next door to enquire about costs, it’s 33.50 CH francs, that’s €24-28, far too much! and after looking around it seems the campers are of a permanent nature, there were residents with permanent wooden structures attached to their Moho’s, some with guttering and drain pipes, we have seen it all now, it was a scruffy site and we decided it wasn’t for us. The sign on the Stellplatz said pay at the campsite reception so we asked how much to stay, 18 CH francs (about €13 or £15). We are hungry as we’ve missed breakfast, so we have some bread and cheese as it’s 3pm now and out comes the “saucisse expensif”! Feeling more comfortable we decide this isn’t the stop for us and we are out there pronto! As we hadn’t paid yet anyway, let’s tackle the pass Dave says, ok but what if we can’t stop anywhere? I say as it’s about 60kms, 1.5 hrs drive, Dave is sure we’ll be able to stop, and he wants to stay on the pass somewhere, so off we go.

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The weather is lovely and sunny and the views as we go up and down the pass are incredible! Snow capped peaks and then luscious green areas where the sun can get through, there are some very tight bends and I’m clenching my buttocks as we go around them, Dave is calm and steady even when he had to select 1^st gear! We finally hit some ski villages and there are still a few people trundling along in the ski boots. We stop a couple of times to admire the views.

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Whilst we’re stopped I check www.searchforsites.co.uk (free to join) to see if there is anywhere on the pass to stay and it comes up with one 6 kms away at Rona, it’s a Wohnmobile Park with services and not sure if there’s a charge or not, we head there anyway as the photo looks good too. We find it easily, it’s a pleasant enough car park with EHU (electric hook up) and scenic holiday chalets and there’s still a heavy covering of snow but with spaces cleared for motorhomes.

Aire in the Alps – Rona

There’s a shower block with washing machines but it’s closed, a restaurant is on site too and that’s also closed, so we thought oh it’s looks like it’s free then! There’s not a soul to be seen and the chalets are empty too.

Dave pops out to take a photo, it’s a very pretty spot even though the road is nearby.

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I decide to make a Russian’ish salad as I’ve got cold cooked potatoes in the fridge and Tuna instead of ham and some lovely Heritage tomatos picked up in France.

Russian’ish salad, the photo doesn’t do it justice

We haven’t written a blog today but we decided we need to have a chill out night tonight and watch a DVD on the laptop tonight (The Way with Martin Sheen about his quest to fulfill his sons dream of walking the Camino de Santiago, the Pilgrims walk ) so we open some wine to go with the salad, we are relaxing now….”knock, knock” on the door, there’s a gentleman who looks like a farmer with his work clothes and wellies on, he speaks no English and we definitely don’t have any Swiss, he’s talking to me quite fast! I asked him if he speaks French, shakes his head, German I ask, shakes his head, out comes my phone with Google translate, I ask are you the owner? in Swiss, yes he nods, do we need to pay you, yes is the affirmative reply, how much? 25 CH Francs! that’s €21 or £18.50, ooh that’s a bit steep! With no services I thought silently, we don’t have any Francs so I offer him €’s he nods ok, I offer €15 and he smiles and takes it! (subsequently I realised that we had electric hook up! Time to wash and dry my hair!

Dave is laughing afterwards and he can’t believe I just bartered for a stay with google translate and a bit of a smile – Ha,Ha yes I say but that £5 saved just paid for that wine you’ve been glugging away at whilst I’ve been working!

Cathy

Konstanz – Germany

April 7, 2018February 22, 2019 / meyouandpogo2 / 6 Comments

Dave posting,

Thursday 5^th April 2018

Konstanz

Left the Aire at Radolfzell this morning and drove a short distance of approx. 22 kms to Konstanz. Before reaching Konstanz we called at a petrol station to buy a Swiss Vignette for the motorhome, it’s requirement to drive on certain motorways and roads in Switzerland, it cost €36, but it means in effect that you have prepaid for the toll roads, it’s valid up until 31 Jan 2019 I think.

Widely available at stations near the border

The motorhome stopover at Konstanz is a very busy car park 50 yards from the city centre, buses and cars park here also there was about 8 motorhomes when we arrive. (It’s €18.00 for a 24 hour stay). The police seemed to be stationed in the car park which is very comforting, and they seem to be checking every bus that comes in, we’re not sure what they are looking for but they are thorough in their work.

It’s raining heavily so we get the kettle on, finally it breaks and off we go to explore but we got too complacent and it was only a break in the weather, we quickly hurried in to a coffee shop to avoid the downpour, coffees requested and I asked for an espresso special on the menu, turns out it had whisky in it!

There’s a break in the rain and we head back to the van as it’s forecast heavy rain for another hour or two. Relaxing and chilling out in the van, Cathy used the Mr D pot for the first time on this trip, made a chilli con carne for that evenings meal. As it’s being prepared the smells waft across to the van next door and the German lady says with a big smile “das izz goode, yah” we laugh and call back “it’s a chilli for later”. The Mr D pot works like the hay box method of cooking where an inner pan sits inside a thermally insulated larger pan with an outside skin, just chop food in to small pieces, add enough liquid to more than cover, bring to the boil & simmer for 10 mins, put the cooking pan inside its insulated pot and leave for up to 4-5 hours. It loses heat at a very slow rate therefore the cooking process continues. It’s great for low energy use and the convenience of your meal being cooked whilst you are doing other things.

Imperia Statue, it slow turns 360°

Imperia Statue

The statue stands at the entrance to the harbour of Konstanz, Germany to commemorate the Council of Constance that took place between 1414 and 1418, it’s 9 metres high, it rotates on it’s axis once every 4 minutes. A voluptuous, scantily clothed woman holding 2 men on her hands, one is Pope Martin V and the other is Emperor Sigismund, both are naked except for the crown and Papal Tiara. It is said to conspicuously memorialise a prostitute.

Konstanz was the place where the Catholic church finally resolved the question of how many men should rule the Catholic Church and from where. During the council of 1414-1418 the population swelled from 7,000 to 20,000 as the European powers arrived to argue who should have the Papacy, Gregory in Rome, John XX111 in Pisa or Benedict in Avignon. Cardinals, academics, bishops settled to discuss, the statue is said represents the weakness of these powerful, important men gathered to discuss the future Catholic church and yet Imperia has power over them, their morals forgotten.

Old Rhine Bridge

Old town gateway

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The flags caught my eye

Harbour

Ah, we have found the sun at last!

The sun appears once more and we got out again all wrapped up, not chancing it again we are out now no matter, we walk alongside the huge beautiful lake in a westerly direction, it was a dry, clear late afternoon and early evening is imminent. Let’s see if we can buy a drink in that Lebanese restaurant, it looks like its got a balcony overlooking the water, as the door opens we can smell the most gorgeous food smells, urmmmmmm, lovely pity we’ve got a chilli waiting. Nice owners, no problem, zwei lager bitte and can we sit outside? Are you sure? isn’t it very cold and windy she said in excellent English. Yes please if that’s ok we’re English! she laughs yes no problem. Two lagers appear in lovely glasses with Konstanz written on them that we wish we could take home

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We sit outside enjoying the tranquillity, the view and our time here at Lake Bodensee.

The chilli con carne was superb, spicy just how we like it! Cathy threw in some fridge stuff too like green beans, no waste in our van!

The next day we are up at 7.30 and out by 8am without breakfast in glorious sunshine, it looks warmer than it is though.

Heading of in an easterly direction on the shores of the lake. This area is mainly sports and community facilities, museums, docking for boats, lakeshore cafes, bars and restaurant, couple of smart looking hotels, large open spaces and parks. Fantastic for families and big kids!

What a great way to start the day!

Peaceful few minutes

These keep catching my eye!

Meandering back we had to have a coffee on such a superb day we’re not ordering any breakfast we’ll have something back at Pogo, these are the most expensive coffees we had to date at €4.50 each! they were large and they tasted good and we had a lovely view too! we had walked for about 2.5 hours though so well deserved.

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Dave

Border crossings

April 5, 2018February 14, 2019 / meyouandpogo2 / 6 Comments

Dave posting;

Wednesday 3rd April 2018

Woke to the sound of gentle rain drops and rustling leaves in Ribeauville, our plans to climb the hill to Château de Saint-Ulrich quickly dissipated, we decided to get dressed and have breakfast on the road after we have driven for a short while.

40 minutes later we crossed the border on the D424 road in to Germany near Emmendingen. We stopped in a resting place and ate breakfast, switched the van Mifi on click here for our mifi blog, and researched sites and places to stay near Konstanz, Bodensee, we have been to Lindau at the southern end before in 2008 on our motorbike so we thought we would like to go the northern end near Konstanz.

I also wanted to buy an Umwelt Plakette, a green emission zone sticker, you need one for your vehicle to be able to drive in to some German city zoned areas, it’s like the London Low Emission Zone. I tried to buy one online before leaving the UK but I was declined so I thought I’d chance it and try to buy one from any of the 300+ TUV SUD stations in Germany, I found one about 16 kms away, good news, let’s go there and sort that out and we can then relax as we drive through Germany without fear of being caught out or driving into a zone without realising.

Got to the TUV station, after presenting my V5 log book and an inspection under the van I was told we can’t have one because pogo is too old and doesn’t meet the emission standards, oh, that’s a blow but its not the end of the world.

Whilst I was in the TUV station Cathy has found a place to stay at Radolfzell, north end of Bodensee Lake which is actually Untsee, I put the coordinates in and guess what the Sat Nav asked me if I wanted to avoid the environmental zones! What a great Sat Nav this is! That makes our lives more relaxed whilst driving in Germany.

Should prevent a problem later on!

Route planned avoiding environmental zones and off we go, on our journey we see the Alps, they look fantastic, very far away but the scale and size makes them stand out all grey, dark and moody, rough jagged edges and snow capped peaks, we tried to take a photo but it doesn’t do the views we had any justice. I could have stopped and looked at them for hours, to me they are so beautiful!

The Alps

Got to our place at Radolfzell at 3.30pm, and it started to rain hard we’d missed lunch so we ate a meal and read a for a little while and listened to music and waited. The rain stopped and we went for a walk down to the shoreline and the sun started to break out even though it was 7.30pm creating fantastic light and sunset, it was then that I discovered my camera battery was flat so I had to use my iPhone camera.

This area near the lake looks like it would be a super place for families in warmer weather, lots of water based activities, cycle and walking paths that go for miles around the water along with cafes, coffee shops, bars, hotels and restaurants. There are two marinas plus lots of bird life, we saw a heron quite close by until it flew off to “safety”. This is a really interesting place and well worth a visit in our opinion.

Walked along the shoreline for quite a while and back through town its evening now about 8.p.m and we spotted an Aldi and Cathy has run out of porridge! it’s a staple for her and tea bags, essential items bought we were paying at the checkout and picking our shopping up when I noticed that Cathy still had a box of tea bags under her arm that we hadn’t paid for, good job I noticed it otherwise we might have been in the Gefangnis! or Jail as we know it.

Tree of the day! we’ve seen some unusual trees on our journey so far, the ones in France which seemed to line every road I nicknamed Brussels sprout trees, if any one knows what they’re called let us know and these above here in Germany are amazing! they look like they’ve been wrapped in fabric.

We had a relaxing evening with The Bank rolling Sausage and cheese, olives, red wine, music and chatting about our adventures so far, we agreed that we were both enjoying life in a motorhome.

Dave

Sausage gate!

April 4, 2018September 8, 2018 / meyouandpogo2 / 6 Comments

Cathy posting

Tuesday 3rd April 2018

Up at 6am wide awake as we had gone to bed early the night before, I made a cup of tea and sat outside on the bench in front of Pogo and watched the light changing on the River Moselle as the day began to break, I had a good feeling today was going to be a nice day.

Morning coffee, it’s going to be a good day

Left the free Aire (with services) at Millery near Nancy this morning, we bought a baguette from the mobile bread van who came to the Aire. There was a small road nearby but it wasn’t a problem with ear plugs in and the church bells stopped ringing at 11pm.

Drove to Ribeauville in the Alsace region through our first mountain pass Col De Sainte Marie, we peaked at 742 metres above sea level, very steep gradients up to 10% in places on both sides of the mountain, Pogo was miffed a bit and started overheating, not dangerously so but we put the cab heater on full and opened the windows, that seemed to do the trick!

Once we had come down on the other side we pulled in at a supermarket, time to buy supplies, lots of lovely salad and fresh meat , we bought a tin opener! It was €5.75! but we needed one.

On towards the Aire at Ribeauville next to a wine Cave – Cave de Ribeauville, we found the exact spot but now it was a building site. Dave went inside the wine company offices to ask about the Aire and was advised to go the Tourist Information office just a short walk away. Dave came back with information about a new Aire located up the pass slightly, the way we had driven, it was an old campsite it seems as the areas for tents were still numbered it was in the shade of a large rock and away from the road so it was quiet, it took us about 7 mins to walk into Ribeauville, can’t beat that!

Were all alone for now but we saw lots of other motorhomes going to the same closed Aire as we had done so it won’t be long before others arrive, Dave parked up after putting planks down under the drive wheels to make sure we don’t sink in to the grass. The ticket machine was broken so it looks like it will be a free stopover here tonight! Waahay!

The town really made an effort for Easter

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Château de Saint-Ulrich – up the hill!

Butchers Tower built in 1920

Town Hall

zoom in to see the teddy bears!

Dave spotted a Stork on the roof of a building, he gets excited when he sees birds! And the camera was soon out!

On one of the roofs in the centre of the village

We are in need of supplies so when a nice young man invited us into his Fromagerie to taste some cheese we thought why not? We tasted a couple and liked one which was reminiscent of Comte but a bit more fruity so we bought some, I pointed to where I wanted the cheese wire to go but he doubled it! I didn’t say anything as I thought oh well it won’t be going to waste, next was the sausage, we tried a couple but settled on the smoked one, dried hung and matured Saucisse Fumee ….. it was really delicious so we said we’d buy it and I asked him how much it was, he pointed to the scales and I saw 4.6, he duly wrapped it all up nicely in lots of fancy paper and then told us how much it was….. It turned out that my saucisse was in fact 0.46 kg and €25 !!!! lesson learned Cathy, wear your glasses when buying stuff!

How much!

Traditional Alsace wine glass

Traditional UK beer drinker!

We got back to the van and sampled the bank busting Sausage with the lovely cheese and some olives and crackers and it was delicious, erm was it worth €25 of course! at 2mm slices x 2 each hahahaha!.

Cathy

Verdun – day 2

April 3, 2018February 15, 2019 / meyouandpogo2 / 4 Comments

Cathy posting

Monday 2nd April 2018

Pogo is still in the sugared almond factory.

We woke early and walked the 20 mins into Verdun, sun was breaking through and although it’s very quiet all around as it’s Easter there were a few people milling about.

We took a stroll down to the river by the 14^th century gates, it’s a lovely riverside and the Meuse as it’s called is reminiscent of the colour of the Moselle.

I’ll never forget the first time I saw the Moselle, it was at Koblensz, and we were on a motorbike tour following the Rhine and when we got to Koblensz we went to the fortress Ehrenbriitstein looking down on to the point where the confluence of the Rhine & Moselle meet, I couldn’t get over the difference in the two colours as they met the Rhine being very blue and the Moselle a sort of soupy pea green.

Back at the riverside in Verdun we spotted a café open with chairs outside and ordered coffee, a cappuccino for me and espresso for him, no food though but monsieur says go to the patisserie around the corner and bring them back here, off Dave goes and brings back the best pain au chocolate I’ve ever had and he had the freshest quiche Lorraine, all warm and soft in the middle.

Breakfast in the sun!

What’s that doing here?

It was lovely sitting in the sun

We head off to see Verdun Cathedral it’s called Notre Dame it has beautiful stained glass windows and I don’t think I’ve seen so much art on the walls in a cathedral before.

Cathedral Notre Dame in Verdun with paintings

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The marks of the largest battle of WW1 from 21st Feb to 18th Dec 1916, 9 months, 3 weeks and 6 days! Between French and German still an every day reminder of the horrors that took place in this area, lest we forget.

Battle scarred walls

The Eastern side was destroyed and the towers were never rebuilt

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It was freezing inside the cathedral you could see your breath it was that cold so we decide to have a walk along the river banks it was lovely and sunny and lots of joggers about which reminded me to find a walking app, our daughter suggests Run Tracker so I’ll look at that later.

These strange looking trees are all round the city.

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The area around the River Meuse has a surprising variety of fauna and it’s an area of European importance for bird life as 30 endangered species reproduce here in Spring including the Ash Coloured Eurasion Curlew for the bird lovers amongst you, hundreds of migratory birds come to this valley in Autumn and some spend the winter here.

River Meuse

We walked back to Pogos’ resting spot at the almond factory and decide to drive 14kms just outside the city to Douaumont Ossuary high up in the hillside.

Douaumont Ossuary

This is a monument and chapel and national cemetery of war graves dedicated to the dead and it also contains the skeletal remains of French and German soldiers who died on the battlefields, at least 130,000 unidentified soldiers bones can be viewed through windows I wasn’t expecting that and although we’ve seen the huge cemetery nothing prepares you to see bones and skulls piled on top of one another.

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Germans fired 1 million shells in 10 hours during one day in 1916

We climbed the tower 46 metres, 204 steps high and had a panoramic view of the battlefields we went back down and lit a candle in the Chapel.

That’s it on WW1 can’t do anymore it’s too emotional.

We got back into Pogo for a cup of tea with Jacobs cream crackers and Laughing Cow cheese! I know !! but Dave loves them!

It reminds him of all our family holidays in France when we stayed in Gites or Keycamp sites, our son Christopher had his 1^st birthday in a tent in St Jean de Monts, Vendee, France, we hung his cards up on the tent poles!

Tea and crackers done and we’re off to Nancy en-route to Ribeauville. We are on a free Aire at the side of the Moselle now and we like free Aires!

Cathy

Verdun – 1st day

April 2, 2018February 15, 2019 / meyouandpogo2 / 3 Comments

Dave posting;

We left Mutigny this morning and headed towards Nancy in Eastern France, we will have an overnight stop at Verdun.

En-route we bought diesel at 1.36 euros and later stopped at a local boulangarie for a lunchtime baggette, time to try out my schoolboy French, whilst in the shop I bought two cakes, after all it’s Easter Sunday and we don’t have any chocolate in the motorhome!

About 30 kms from Verdun we pull over and munch the lovely bagettes and cakes!

After a decent break we travel on and arrive at the free overnight site, it’s a designated spot at a factory but it’s like an Aire with no services. Verdun centre is 20 mins walk away and it seems very quite here inside the residential area of Verdun.

Clean sugared almond factory at Verdun – a free stopover

Pogo is parked at Dragees Braquier, sugared almonds to me and you! a sugared almond small unit/factory and it’s the smartest, cleanest factory I’ve ever seen, there’s a shop attached to pop in buy their products, maybe we will go in later or tomorrow.

When we arrived there was a locked gate across the entrance, what are we going to do now? wait a minute Dave, Cathy says and reads the signs on the gates, it looks like we are the rear entrance for delivery vehicles! So we drive around the block and found the entrance on the other side! The signs direct us to the rear where there is marked out and designated space for 3 or 4 vans, we are the first here, so we choose our spot.

City Gate at Verdun

After a little rest we walk in to town it’s now about 5pm, over the bridge and through the city gates, we discover a museum tucked away and we spend an interesting 30 minutes in there, it’s an old building dated from 1525 & we found the courtyard really interesting, plus it’s free entrance on the first Sunday off every month, that was lucky!

Musee De La Princerie

Monument of Victory in Verdun towards the River

Monument of Victory where records of soldiers are kept on an old carding system

How about this! a toilet for dogs, only in France!

We head towards the cathedral, and square, once there we decide to save the cathedral visit for tomorrow when we have more time. As we wandered back down the hill towards the River Meuse, we see a bar, Le Club over the bridge, let’s go for a drink ! we have not been to a bar yet and 5 mins later we are having our first wine and beer of the tour! I had Battin Extra at 2.50 Euros for 250ml, expensive but it was lovely! Cathy was happy as they had her favourite Rose wine Cotes de Provence. It was entertaining watching the folks in the bar as there was a bit of Argy – bargy going on with one of the local lads who had obviously had too much!!

We really enjoyed our day and evening today!

Dave

Me, you and Pogo 2

join us as we travel the UK & Europe (2016 onwards) in our motor-home, please click below for our latest adventures

motorhome travel

Fair Verona day 2 & on to Garda

Oh Romeo!

Bergamo, day 2

Bergamo – an undiscovered gem

Heidi Land – Switzerland

Konstanz – Germany

Border crossings

Sausage gate!

Verdun – day 2

Verdun – 1st day