Day 39 - Mosel Valley, Germany

16/07/2016

First thing I collected my freshly baked bread and returned to the van to treat myself to beans on toast. I'd had cereal everyday after the first week so it was a refreshing change. After slowly packing and getting ready to move on I paid at reception. My next stop is 'Burg Eltz' or 'Eltz Castle'. It was only a short drive towards the Mosel Valley. As I arrived I paid €2 to park and the attendant pointed in the direction of the castle and said '3 minute walk that way'. When I actually started walking the signs said 15 minutes and I can confirm it definitely wasn't a 3 minute walk.

Burg Eltz, Germany

The castle looked spectacular appearing through the trees sticking out in the middle of the dense woodland all around it. I walked around the grounds and enquired about entry to walk around inside but it cost €10 and then I had to knock on a door around the corner and request an English guide. I would then have to wait 30 minutes, I decided its probably not worth the wait so I wandered around taking pictures and slowly headed back to the van. I met a couple from America who took my picture next to the Castle.

Squinting at the non-existent sunshine!

My next stop was the Mosel Valley which was going to be exactly like the Rhine Valley but I like the surroundings so why not? I found a campsite on an island in the river which was pretty cool but the woman at reception wasn't helpful at all. Reeling off loads of German when she knew I was English and I found we were irritated by each other, I assume because my German is very poor or I'm only stopping 2 nights. It costs €40 for 2 nights which is a bit much and then even worse I still have to pay €3 for a shower! Even then I realised I need to prepay the money onto a fob I was given but I hadn't gone for my shower until 11 pm so the office was shut. Another bloody sink wash, great!

Mosel island Campsite

Day 38 - St. Goar, Germany

15/07/2016

I woke at 9 am feeling horribly ill. I headed over to the campsite shop to pick up my freshly baked bread, when I got back to the van I just sat there slowly eating the bread feeling awful. I spent the morning reading and tidying the van until 11 am when I decided to cycle into Oberwesel which was only 5km away. I felt good for the cycle and wandered around the town for a while.

Leader of the pack! Crammed in pretty tight on this site

I spotted a lidl so once I finished walking around the town I cycled over to restock the van. After the shop I headed back to the van to continue reading and backing up all the photos and videos I've taken. It took ages as there was over 20 GB between my slr, GoPro and phone. On the evening I wandered into St. Goar which looked beautiful at that time with the lights reflecting off the river and the pitch black valleys towering behind. When I returned to the van I did more research on the AA map planning where I'll be going and staying the next few days.

St. Goar at night!

Day 37 - Mosel Valley Germany

14/07/2016

This morning was another chilly and wet one from heavy rain and thunder through the night. After breakfast I packed up the van and set off for St. Goar in the Rhine Valley. The German motorways are very confusing as they were still being built and changed meaning speed limits changed often so if I was in doubt I decided to stick with a lower speed. When I reached a sign for Mannheim I noticed 3 police cars pulled up at the side of the motorway parking. As I flew past I imagined them all launching out and chasing me. Funnily enough a few miles down the road a police car pulled in front of me flashing a message on a board set on the roof between its sirens. The first few messages were in a different language so I planned to ignore it until I read 'Follow me'. I thought oh crap, what have I done!

Parked up in St. Goar, Germany

I followed them into the next services and pulled behind the patrol car which had also pulled up by another patrol van. I opened the door and luckily they spoke very good English. I asked to turn off my fridge as I didn't want the battery to go flat and I didn't want to look suspicious! Once I flicked off the fridge I hopped out and as I looked in the van I remembered my hi vis jacket so I quickly grabbed it ripping it off my chair and threw it straight on.

The male officer made me aware it was just a customs check which was a relief. They asked the usual questions and had a look in and around the van. The female officer checked the bike was well secured and requested my passport to run checks. I was questioned about my journey and the officers seemed suspicious that I was travelling alone. They also seemed confused where I had entered Germany without them knowing as they asked multiple times where I had come from and about my whole route. I knew I was fine, the only thing I was smuggling was cupboards full of chocolate!

Rhine Valleys, Germany

 They returned with my passport and said all was okay so I started the van and drove off. They seemed a little disappointed all was okay. I caught them watching me pulling off the slip road, I was a little concerned they were going to stop me again! I arrived in St. Goar a couple hours later. I hadn't done much research here and couldn't use my phone to google the area so I used the satnav function to take me to the closest campsite. This brought me further into the town and tried to send me on the ferry across to the other side again. Annoyed I followed the river a couple minutes ignoring the satnav and came across a sign for a campsite in 500m, perfect!

Rhine Valleys, Germany

I followed the sign and found the campsite on my left with views over the river. It was very packed but the location was ideal so I went with it. I parked up and made lunch, nearly falling asleep I got ready and cycled back into St. Goar for a look around. There isn't much to do here but the valleys look amazing with castles purched on the hillside. I cycled back to the van and decided to go to the restaurant over the road and ordered a beer, burger & chips and ice cream with warm chocolate dressing.

Choccy fiends heaven!

I felt real ill by 9 pm and I noticed a large guy jog past the van which reminded me of a few years back. I jumped up and got changed, dug out my ipod and went for a jog into St. Goar. I felt even worse when I got back after the run I thought I was going to throw up in the shower. I was awake until 2 am trying to get to sleep with the sick bucket at the ready!

Day 36 - Stuttgart, Germany

13/07/2016

Last night was another filled with torrential rain and deafening thunderstorms. They seem to be following me!! I shut the roof at 3 am as it feels more comfortable shut in such bad storms. By morning the rain calmed down so after breakfast I unhooked the bike ready to cycle to the Porsche Museum which was five miles each way. Three miles in and the rain began, I tried to find somewhere undercover but didn't succeed for a good half a mile. Luckily I remembered to pack my coat but even with that on I was soaked through in minutes! I stopped under trees and bridges between the heavy showers and eventually made it.

I HAD to stop and ride the pump track on route to the Porsche Museum!

It turned out I actually made it to the Porsche apprentice building after speaking to a couple of lads who were sat outside having a smoke. They spoke good English and directed me further down the road to the Porsche museum. The museum was actually very interesting but near the end I was a little bored of hearing the same slow voice on the audio guide so I read the plaques of information instead. The entry was €4 as I was a student which wasn't too bad.

Porsche Museum, Stuttgart

Porsche Museum, Stuttgart

I cycled back to the van for lunch which seemed to take far less time than the journey there. After lunch I headed back out for the Mercedes Benz museum which was only a mile away from the campsite. This also cost €4 and I walked straight past the official entrance and ended up wandering around the shop at the end. I didn't realise the only way up was via the lift! We had to leave bags and coats in the cloakroom at this museum which I found a little unusual.

Mercedes Benz Museum, Stuttgart

After wandering around I headed back to the van to relax, cook and begin to plan my next few days as I decided against going into Frankfurt. I think it would be far busier than Stuttgart so unnecessary stress, I've had enough of busy cities.

Day 35 - Stuttgart, Germany

12/07/2016

Last nights sleep was up there with one of the worst. I woke up about 8 times through the night due to the rain pounding off the van roof and the thunder was so loud it kept making me jump. I considered dropping the roof at 4 am but decided not to bother, I was too comfy in bed. In the morning I packed up the can and prepared to drive deeper into Germany towards Stuttgart. The plan was to find a campsite as close as possible however being a big city I knew this would not be easy. I followed the satnav to a location where one supposedly was but I could find it although I did notice signs. I parked next to a couple other motorhomes and I assumed this was what the signs were for but after a quick check around the signs directed past the big fair ground/circus parking away from the Porsche Arena.

Porsche Arena parking Stuttgart, Germany 

The campsite was closed when I arrived but it was due to open in 10 minutes so I sat in the back of the van and put my feet up. After 5 minutes the owner arrived and let us in, it was unusual as I followed the other motorhomes who flooded the campsite to get a pitch straight away. I was glad to be at the campsite so I could have a shower and head into Stuttgart.

Stuttgart, Germany

As I cycled off over the bridge I nearly hit another cyclist as he held his position and I slammed on the brakes. I knew straight away what happened, I was on the left hand side of the path when really I should be on the right. I threw the bike over to the other side and apologised. I proceeded to cycle deeper into Stuttgart trying to follow my printed maps which were very faint to read and not enough detail. I brought my cycling Garmin which let me enter the exact addresses of the landmarks and made it much easier and quicker to find.

Stuttgart, Germany

The owner of the campsite was very friendly and funny, she also spoke very good English which made things easier as the only German I know is Danke and Sprichst du English - thank you and do you speak English? I threw together a big pile of pasta for tea as I was starving. It's never a good idea to prepare portions when you're starving and I ended up so full I could barely breathe. It took a while for the dishes to be done and I finished reading my book by the evening.

Piling on the pasta!

Multitool burst the can of monster, Emergency vodka came straight out!

Day 34 - Konstanz, Germany

11/07/2016

Today was another day packed full of exciting blog updates and reading. By lunch time I had enough so I unhooked the bike and explored Konstanz and bought a few bits to restock the van - this ended up mainly being chocolate and cake.

Konstanz, Germany

Konstanz, Germany

I finished the day at the leisure centre swimming and diving, I then found steps that lead down to the lake where I hopped in for another swim. I headed back to the van after for a shower, cook some food and do more blog updating with a Swiss beer and a side of choccy. 

Konstanz, Germany

Day 33 - Zurich & Konstanz, Switzerland/Germany

10/07/2016

Today was time to leave Lac de Chalain and continue my journey back through Germany, James and Luke left by 8am but I was only just waking up. After breakfast and a hefty €207 bill I hit the road and headed for Zurich, Switzerland. I set the sat nav to take me straight to a camperstop by the lake but the problem was being a Sunday and amazing weather the parking spaces by the lake were rammed so I could barely get onto the car park. There was a campsite just over the road which I pulled onto but it was so tight it and it looked so busy I just span it round and headed straight for Konstanz. I set the satnav to take me to another camperstop but I had exactly the same problem so I decided to try the campsite and managed to get a pitch.

Once I parked up I organised the van and began catching up on the blog and with my reading. After a couple hours I headed over to the pool which was awesome. It was a proper leisure centre separate to the campsite but I was given a pass, the pool was huge with a separate deep pool with three diving boards - good job I learnt to dive! The one was a bit too high for me to try diving off but it was still fun jumping off it.

Day 32 - Lac de Chalain, France

09/07/2016

Today was our last full day at the lake so I spent the morning packing away the kayaks, awning and I put on another wash. after that we spent it wisely, swimming, diving, and messing about around the pool. Unfortunately I was wearing speedos whilst around the pool because I had to, not out of choice and well it was certainly interesting. James and Luke had similar but were more shorts.

Looking startled or maybe a few too many 1% beers

On the evening we went back to the restaurant we went to at the start of the week for another great meal to finish the holiday and then of course to the campsite bar for a few beers.

Lac de Chalain, France

Day 31 - Vineyards and Mussels, France

08/07/2016

This morning we decided to head straight for the wood shop when we knew it was open and took the car rather than doing that cycle again. It was worth it as the wood shop had so many cool random things, I could've spent all my money in there on things I didn't need. I had to buy something considering how much effort we put into getting there, I bought a spatula for cooking in the van, two scented wooden balls to make the van smell fruity fresh and a mini spoon just because.

Happy? Sad? Scared? I have no idea 

It was lunch time once we left the wood shop so we went in search of a restaurant to get mussels. This was much harder than we anticipated and after wandering about we finally found one, we were stood by the door for a long time waiting to be seated but the staff just walked straight past us. After a while we decided to seat ourselves then a waiter came and took our drinks and food. I could not wait for them to come out, I was so hungry.

Never too old for a slide!

After Lunch we decided to head out and look around some vineyards, but this was easier said than done. We drove for miles and didn't see any so I tried searching on my phone, I thought I found some but it turned out to be a winery but we tasted some wine and James bought a bottle from there.

Jumping off the top, bit sketchy with it moving around!

We headed back to the campsite and cycled over to the other campsite to hire a pedalo which was awesome fun but tiring on the legs after such a big day cycling to the wood shop yesterday.

Pedalling standing, far more comfortable than sitting and quicker too!

Day 30 - Lac de Chalain, France

07/07/2016

After driving to Annecy, James recognised a wood shop he had visited where his Dad wanted some utensils from. We decided it would be an okay distance to cycle so we packed our bags and hit the road, we realised it was longer than we first thought. We were pedalling for what felt like hours and it was so hot we were sweating so much, we passed a sign and hoped we finally arrived and we did. We pulled over straight into the shade then had a sudden thought, looked over and it was closed. The heat was too much so we rode back to the campsite and headed back to the rock to cool off. The journey back was way quicker, as it was mainly downhill.

Say cheeseeeee! .. or hang your tongue out like a dog

We had food back at the Caravan and then headed to the campsite bar again.

Day 29 - Cascades du Herisson, France

06/07/2016

Today we planned to head to some waterfalls that James had visited before when he came here with his family. We cycled down the road to the shop and toilets and locked the bikes, after a long trek around we came to the edge of a cliff and decided to sit and eat lunch on the side of it. Any pictures we took just didn't give it justice just how high up we were, the view was incredible and the waterfall we passed at the start looked like a tiny dot from where we were sat.

Nice and relaxing lunch spot..

Loads of little waterfalls as we walked along the path

Cascade de L'Eventail

We found a waterfall with a decent depth to swim in so hopped straight in as the heat mixed with the long walk was unbearable. Shortly after another family followed us in and Luke found a rock just under the waterfall you could sit on and jump off which was a good laugh.

After a refreshing swim we walked back to the bikes to head home and have some food then hit the bar. 

Day 28 - Annecy, France

05/07/2016

My first nights sleep in Lac de Chalain and it was weird, it was very cold at night but luckily I had my quilt to keep me warm. It was so hot in the day and at night it was freezing. After breakfast I headed over to the Caravan and we were off into Annecy, France in the car. Annecy was Venice look a like with the small canals running through.

Annecy, France

Annecy, France

Annecy, France

Chillin' in the park after a huge ice cream

After a long day in Annecy, we didn't get back to the Campsite until lake. We got the bikes out and looked at a few restaurants up the road until we decided to go with Restaurant La Sarrazine. As we entered and were seated neither us nor the owner could understand each other. The owner tried to describe to us the set menu is broken English and bringing the dishes out to show us. We decided to go for it and I had the starter which was some sausage on toasted French stick with melted cheese on top with a side salad and dressing. My main was fish, that was all I knew at the time but when it came out it looked like Tuna and it tasted amazing, finished with a dessert of chocolate tart which had nuts and caramel in and that was awesome. We headed back to the campsite bar with our bellies full ready for a couple of pints.

Day 27 - Lac de Chalain, France

04/07/2016

Today the plan was so make my way closer to Lac de Chalain, and to pull in at one of the free camperstops for the evening and to meet the others the next morning. I did a big shop in Lidl on route and tried to find a camperstop but I was struggling, I went to two and they were full and I'd be driving away from the Lake so I decided to just go and book in for 6 nights. I arrived after 2pm and had loads of washing to do, after heading back to reception to confirm my pitch I could tell James and Luke had already found me as the wipers were sticking up and the passenger side mirror was pushed in. I also found an Ice lolly stick on the bike rack but I didn't think that was them two.

Pulled up at a lake just round the corner from Lac de Chalain

Just as I finished setting up the awning James and Luke appeared as I was unpacking and we dug out the kayaks and yellow dinghy and headed straight for the lake. We paddled over to a rock they found to dive off and on the way the dinghy was half deflated so Luke decided to just swim.

Nice size pitch, Lake was directly behind me taking the picture

After a day of sunbathing, diving and kayaking I bought some chips on route to James and Luke's Caravan to have with pizza and beer. The chips took ages! I thought 10 minutes would easily be enough but I was stood waiting for over 25 minutes but they eventually came.

Day 26 - Verzasca Dam & Martigny, Switzerland

03/07/2016

I fired up the van and was excited to be stopping off at Verzasca Dam which is where 007 Goldeneye was filmed. Most of the journey was pretty standard with a few hills until I took a wrong turn (following the satnav) and ended up and a ridiculously steep road with a dead end at the end. The van crawled all the way up in first gear but I was now purched on the side trying to decided whether to reverse back down or try spin it round. After nearly mounting the pavement and a burnt clutch I somehow managed to squeeze it round and go back down facing the right way, which was definitely a good idea!

Verzasca Dam, Switzerland

After wandering on the dam for an hour and watching some people bungy jump off it, it was time to hit the road again. I was very tempted to book on and try it out but the cost was 250CHF which worked out at £200 which was too much for me. Maybe that was my excuse haha. The roads were pretty tough on the van chuggin' up and over the mountains and winding around the side of them. It was a day spent mostly doing 20 mph as the roads twisted around so much and the slow gradual ascent meant the van was giving all it had. I'm impressed it didn't overheat considering what it went through!

Truckin' through Switzerland

Coffee break on Simplon Pass

Got a bit carried away on my break

After easing the van the last bit of the journey I found the first free spot in Saillon which was quiet and decent side spot however it was very exposed to the elements. I already wasn't keen on popping up the roof and the sun was directly on the van. After a short debate I decided to try the next one along in Martigny.

First spot in Saillon, which was better than paying for a campsite

Next spot in Martigny, Switzerland

I decided to opt for the second spot as it was in a big parking area in the town of Martigny. I went for a long walk around the town and it had a very busy square. Once I was back it was time to get some food cooking, I opted for a Carrot and Corriander tin of soup I brought with me which was very nice.

Carrot & Corriander Soup

The car park was completely packed by 9pm and it turned out I was on a museum parking where they were holding a Picasso Exhibition. It felt weird lay in bed reading my book whilst people were all dressed up off to see an Exhibition. One lady walked straight into my wing mirror who was parked next to me, maybe she had a few too many.

Day 25 - 02/07/2016

02/07/2016

This morning was another filled with debate over breakfast as the thunder and lightning returned along with heavy showers. My plan was to start making my way towards Lac de Chalain to meet James and Luke but the rain was so hard I was unsure whether it was a good idea driving in it. The facilities weren't great at this site and the spot wasn't so enjoyable anymore so I decided to carry on with my plan to head to the next place. The other thing that swayed me to go is that tomorrow is Sunday and the van fuel gauge is on 1/4 which wouldn't get me very far. As I was leaving I paid up and the cost was €50 for two nights! It's an awesome spot but I'd expect the facilities to be better for that money.

Truckin' around Lake Como

I set the satnav to take me to a free camper spot over the other side of Lake Como which would put me closer as this journey alone was 50 miles. The satnav was doing my head in as it took me to a ferry which didn't seem fit for the big van and wouldn't load a different route so I had to just drive off in the direction I thought was faster when it then rerouted. Unfortunately the direction in terms of distance was quicker, however there was an accident in the direction I was going causing standstill traffic for 2 hours. Eventually I made it through and around to the free spot which was nice and quiet with a handful of other motorhomes parked up.

I didn't arrive until late so I chilled in the van reading and catching up on the blog.

Day 24 - Lecco, Italy

01/07/2016

Today was another day of chilling by the van, by mid morning I also received an email from my University confirming the classification of my degree. I kayaked across to the other side of the lake and had a paddle around. 

Breakfast

Slacklife keeping me busy

Floating about sunbathing

Perfect spot to catch up on reading

Day 23 - Lecco, Italy

30/06/2016

I was pleased to be hitting the road and escaping the commercial campsite with kids screaming everywhere, it was too much I needed to get out. I tried to have a quick research of a campsite but I just wanted to move on so I entered Lake Como into the satnav and hit the road. Once I was closer I decided to just use the satnav function to find me a campsite, I wasn't impressed when it was directing me off the big motorway and underneath it but I was surprised to find one of the best sites I've been to. This was purely down to location as I could almost touch the lake from the van. I did discover that this actually wasn't quite Lake Como, but I didn't care.

Room with a view

I decided to spend two nights here doing some exploring on the kayak seeing as this was the first time using it on this trip. I paddled up and down the lake and then dug out the slackline for a session followed by a cycle around the lake to find what restaurants are about but I couldn't find much other than the Chinese I spotted when driving in.

Kayaking in Lecco, Italy