Come so far, yet still so far to go
24 August
Wake up Theodora!
Sorry that you were abandoned for so long because of the house move,
but we will make it up to you with an extended European trip, now
that our holiday entitlement is “infinite”.
The Channel Tunnel was
very busy in the run up to the August Bank Holiday, with an hour's
delay in scorching sunshine. We are not accustomed to such English
summer delights. In France it was nice to revisit Camping Les
Erables for our first night, with its views across the Channel. The
site certainly lived up to its description of “aire naturelle” as
we went off to sleep to the sound of a tractor engine throbbing in
the neighbouring field and with a whiff of fertiliser. A good
night's sleep nonetheless.
Next day we headed for
Maastricht for another night halt. Luxembourg had been the plan, but
we decided to cut back on the miles a little, in view of the heat.
Thank goodness for the aircon! The Chris Rea track “Driving Home
for Christmas” seemed somewhat inappropriate until he got to the
line “top to toe in tailbacks” which accurately summed up the
traffic heading in the opposite direction.
After another
misunderstanding with the SatNav we arrived at Stadscamping den
Driesch, which sits above the town of Valkenburg, a five minute walk
from the centre. The chap on reception was very welcoming and
directed us to a pitch with shade from an apple tree, for which we were very
grateful, despite being bombarded by the occasional piece of falling fruit! The facilities are excellent and the site well maintained.
The tariff varies considerably depending on the time of year and type
of pitch but is generally quite high. However, Camperplaats
Valkenburg (like an aire, with optional electricity) is located next
door and is a cheaper option.
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| Theodora adjacent to apple tree |
Valkenburg is about 10
km from Maastricht, in the area of the Netherlands called South
Limburg, a finger of land poking its way between Germany and Belgium.
South Limburg is sub-divided into five small areas and offers a host
of things to do, in addition to the inevitable cycling. It
certainly struck us as worthy of a return visit in its own right.
More information at www.southlimburg.com.
26-28 August
Another 200 miles under
our belt brought us to our friend Silvia's home in Lingenfeld,
Germany. Theodora has been parked up while we stay with her for
three nights. The incredibly hot weather continues but we have
managed a couple of outings. First to the Hambach Castle, home of
the Hambach Festival of 1832, which was instrumental in the
development of democracy in Germany.
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| Hambach Castle |
We also rode the
Rietberg chair lift taking us up through the woodland to wonderful
views of the surrounding area and a perfectly situated Gasthof for
Kaffee and Kuchen.
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| Rietberg Chairlift |
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| Gasthof with wonderful views |
29-31 August
Cooler weather made the
journey to Vitznau, on the northern bank of Vierwaldstaettersee and
to the east of Lucerne, more pleasant. The motorways in both Germany
and Switzerland ran well and at a service station the drivers of an
English coach tour engaged John in conversation and had advice to
offer about whether to use the Gotthard Tunnel or St Bernadino Pass.
Camping Vitznau
overlooks the lake to the west and has a backdrop of mountains,
including Mt Rigi, with the Rigi mountain railway operating from the
nearby station. There are many houses dotted all over the
mountainside, making you wonder how people manage to live there.
Early the first day we were entertained by a helicopter, which we
could only guess was transporting construction materials from an
accessible part of the mountainside to an inaccessible location. It
made endless trips carrying goods on a long line, returning with the
empty line floating behind it.
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| Not your average Jewson's delivery! |
Once this entertainment
was over, we set off on a 28 km cycle ride to Brunnen further along
the lake, using the footpath rather than the road, which is both busy
and meandering. There were pleasant views across the lake with
passenger boats criss-crossing from one town to another.
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| Paddle steamer on Vierwaldstaettersee |
On the way back we
stopped off for a cup of coffee at a restaurant with a terrace and
which quickly confirmed just how expensive Switzerland is. Good job
we are just passing through. Next day dawned sunny and clear, ideal
for a trip on the Rigi Mountain Railway.
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| Rigi Mountain Railway |
The day-rider ticket is
pretty expensive but enables you to ride on more than one line and at
least one cable car – it seemed a little vague as to which were
truly included! The second train of the day from Vitznau (10.15) was
packed and we decided to ride straight to the top (Rigi Kulm) in the
first instance. The views over the surrounding mountains and lake
are amazing.
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| View from the top - Rigi Kulm |
There are well-signed hiking trails
and easier walking paths in every direction
We spent the day riding
a second line to Arth-Goldau, which was more wooded and had less of a
wow factor, taking a return trip to Wessig on the cable car, and
walking a short distance between two stations, before finally
descending to Vitznau. It became obvious from the dizzy heights of
the cable car that the houses, which from below look so isolated, are
in fact connected to civilisation by basic roads.
1 September
– Our journey continued to the Swiss/Italian border and then
through the Gotthard Tunnel.
Did you know that
- the tunnel is 10.5 miles long
- was built in 1980 and was then the longest tunnel in the world (now only the fourth)
- although it is part of the A2 motorway, it has only one bidirectional tube, with two lanes
- there are no tolls!
It took quite some time
to negotiate our way around Lugano, then we followed the road along
Lake Lugano until we reached Menaggio, halfway along Lake Como. Our
destination was Sorico which lies at the northern tip of Lake Como.
The lakeside roads passed through one village after the other, were
often narrow and winding with occasional hairpin bends, going through
many tunnels. Hats off to John who was driving – it took about 2
hours to cover the final 40 miles. We could see why this is not a
recommended route for caravans.
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