Day 43 3rd May Wednesday
The Return – Hungary to Austria
Balatonszemes to Klosterneuberg
Much rain this morning, but we got away promptly to return to a favourite campsite near Vienna. We headed up the M7 where it eventually stopped raining and had lunch in a motorwayside café. Here we had amazing pizza and soup for not much money and got rid of our forints. We continued on for 130 miles to the outskirts of Vienna where it was raining again. We got caught in much traffic but arrived at the campsite at 18:30 just in time to see reception. Set up camp by which time it had stopped raining and so we walked over to the camp restaurant and had the turkey special. Youtube QI to finish off.
Day 44 4th May Thursday
The Return – Austria
Klosterneuberg – Rest day
Much blogging and laundry on a quiet pleasant weather day in a nice campsite – apart from a heavy shower – which occurred just when I went for a walk into town. Cordon bleu schnitzel and special cabbage for tea. Slept well.
Day 45 5th May Friday
The Return – Austria to Germany
Klosterneuberg to Egglfing am Inn
Very prompt start on a nicer morning than expected. Stopped at our favourite fuel station (i.e. cheap – for Austria) just down the road from the campsite, then out of Vienna onto various motorways towards Germany. Stopped at a Landzeit motorway services for lunch, very nice but very expensive, then drove on through some rain and some boxing in by many lorries but arrived at the Fuchs campsite, just the other side of the border, very easily. Booked in, got our loo block dongles and set up camp. Settled down to a pleasant afternoon and evening surrounded by music and beer. Pickled herring, cabbage and potatoes for tea – much nicer than it sounds.
Day 46 6th May Saturday
The Return – Germany
Egglfing am Inn to Bad Fussing via Aigen am Inn (22k ridden)
Awoke to the nicest morning and eventually the nicest day so far. Pottered about until midday at which point we prepared and mounted our steeds for a ride towards and along the River Inn. Very pleasant. So much so I could ride Bernie with the motor shut down a lot of the way. Very lovely lunch in Aigen in a lovely café with a lovely garden. We then rode back through several pretty villages, again with Bernie’s motor shut down, to Bad Fussing for some shopping. A strange town full of retirees and other ancients and no obvious supermarket. After some searching we found an Edeke which Kate liked. Returned to the campsite to a lovely afternoon in the sun. Al fresco salad for tea.
The cafe at Aigen
Day 47 7th May Sunday
The Return – Germany
Egglfing am Inn to Lengfurt
Not much to report. A prompt start, some lesser roads to navigate before getting on the A3 which took us all the way. Quite a scenic motorway with viaducts, mountains and valleys and not too many lorries as it was a Sunday. We stopped twice at motorway services and there was some rain, but we arrived just after five to a very pleasant campsite and a very good camp restaurant meal. I had my last schnitzel in Germany and Kate went Italian. They didn’t take plastic so we were not sure we had enough cash. Our fears were unfounded as the bill was extremely reasonable. Unlike the wifi which we made much use of to get our eight euros worth. Luxembourg tomorrow.
Day 48 8th May Monday
The Return – Germany to Luxembourg
Lengfurt to Michelau
Again not much to report. Another prompt start by our standards on a gloomy morning. A slight panic until we eventually found some fuel and then on to the autobahns. The route was quite fiddly as we went via Frankfurt, Mainz, etc. eventually coming off the autobahn to head towards Trier. We stopped at a nice restaurant near Morbach where Kate had a substantial soup and I had Bohr steak- lovely! We carried on, passing many lorries being stopped by the polizei and following one going up what became a very steep single lane road very slowly. Through the Luxembourg border without stopping, then some impressive Luxembourg motorways with huge viaducts over wooded valleys and towns and a steep windy hill down to the campsite. Booked in and set up camp by the river and walked to the nearby hotel for a drink. Pasta and QI for tea.
Day 49 9th May Tuesday
The Return – Luxembourg to France
Michelau to Dunkirk (in the end)
Wow! What a day! We started out by intending to go to a campsite near Gent in Belgium. After an initial climb up and down through the Luxembourg hills and a dearth of fuels stations we came upon a veritable oasis of fuel stations, supermarkets etc. etc. where we stopped for quite some time shopping and having lunch. We drove on into Belgium through Bastogne (the epicentre of the Battle of the Bulge) and onto the motorway towards Brussels. This proved quite bumpy especially at bridge joins! So much so the bike carrier finally gave up and fell off! We pulled over, deployed triangles, hi vis, flashers etc and Kate ran to the SOS phone 500 metres away and managed to call for assistance. We settled down to an hours wait for a kindly policeman to arrive and help us pick up the pieces. The carrier was thrown away … and the bikes, looking a little sorry for themselves (damage to be assessed) thrown inside Hattie. We changed our plans – camping was no longer an option – so we headed for a hotel in Ostend. most of which appeared to be shut, so Dunkirk, after some detours, became our next port of call. At last we found an IBIS, booked in at 22:00, and found some beer and late night snacks to finish off the day!
Day 50 10th May Wednesday
The Return – France to England
Dunkirk to Bristol
Lovely sleep in the hotel. Nice breakfast. Resolved a Hattie parking issue so we didn’t have to rush off. We were slightly surprised that the car ferry port was still 15 miles away but we got there quite quickly after a big refuelling session for Hattie. In fact we got there just after 11 and were booked straight onto the 12:00 sailing. Much security getting on but two hours after 12 we were driving on the left again. Since the run to Bristol was the equivalent of one of our normal daily runs we drove straight there with one stop at Chieveley. Arrived home at 17:30 local, unloaded Hattie at my house, put the bikes back together and noted that the battery was flat on my car. I made the tea – Ardennes pate and salad, watched cricket and fell asleep on the sofa. Lovely.
THE END (of March/April/May 2017 cycling)
AROOD - a record of our doings 