Weranui Wanderers Return to Europe May 2011
AUSTRIA:
After arriving in Zurich from Johannesburg on the 27th May we picked up a rental car and drove through to Bregenz on the edge of Lake Konstance in Austria. This is the home of our dear friends Siegrid and Gerhard and where we had left Moggie to rest over the northern winter while we escaped to the warmth and sunshine of South Africa. Sadly Moggie did not fare so well in the cold winter climate. This lead to us having to find someone both experienced and willing to work on the old girl to get her up to travelling fitness once again and to replace some of her pipes which had split with the cold. After some time following leads and referrals we found a man across the border in Germany in a little place called Fredrickschaven. As we all know technology has changed considerably since 1980 when she was built, so getting replacement parts has taken time and lots of patience. We decided that this gave us the perfect opportunity to take a long term older rental car and while basing ourselves in Bregenz we could do a number of short trips to countries whose borders touch or are close to Austria as well as seeing more of the valleys and larger areas surrounding Bregenz which is an absolutely beautiful part of the world and so safe.
ALSACE & LAKE COMO:
Firstly we visited the Alsace wine region France, driving through Germany and up to Mulhouse, Colmar and Strasbourg. We swayed in a small hotel and then did daily trips meandering our way through small historical villages which were alive with colour as everyone has window boxes full of flowers. We also visited the famous cathedral in Strasbourg before returning to Bregenz. Our next trip we decided to head off to Lake Como in Italy taking in south eastern Austria and Lichtenstein along the way. So many of our friends back home have visited here and raved about it plus my son Hamish is being best man for his NZ business partner there in Sept so we decided to go and see for ourselves especially as the forecast for the next 5 days in Austria was for rain. Lichtenstein is very small and did not hold a lot of interest on a cool wet summers day so after visiting the art gallery, having coffee and a drive around we moved on. Obviously we have been spoiled by the Austrian countryside.
On arriving at Como we drove up the lake away from the main centre, it is beautiful and everyone was very friendly and helpful. The sudden change to the Italian way of life was evident. We found a dear little hotel right on the lake and proceeded to hike around the village and up into the valley to some small villages, the weather was perfect for sitting outside a small cafe/bar sipping a little glass of vino. The old architecture and the history in these villages is wonderful and some of the old lakeside properties are breathtaking, full of period furniture and with amazing gardens. After a few days we headed back to base and life on the shores of Lake Konstance for a week or so.
HUNGARY:
Next we decided to travel through Hungary and stay in Budapest for a week exploring all the wonderful sites historical sites. Here we took an apartment in one of the main streets so that we could park the car and walk everywhere. Budapest has a turbulent history and some wonderful architecture which I am pleased to say is still very much intact. One evening after a long day of walking we took a cruise on the Danube and watched the sun set. We visited the historic old Turkish baths, where the waters are said to be healing. Seemed like a great idea for my tired feet. Spent evenings in the huge parks watching families and young people enjoying the outdoors and sunshine. Life is Budapest in summer is very much a cafe scene like the rest of Europe, they are very fashion conscious and the # of designer shops makes you think you’re in Milan or Paris, with price tags to match. My only purchase here was post cards. After 6 days here we drove into the Czech Republic and Germany and back to base as we were running out of time as two days later Vic was to fly off to the States for 2 weeks to help Terry Winson celebrate his 60th birthday.
Those of you at Vic’s 60th will remember Terry, he acted as M.C. He was also able to catch up with Stephen his eldest son who was attending a work related conference in Las Vegas.
SPAIN:
Vic was home 3 days when we decided to head to the Island of Mallorca to look after Andrew, Vic’s youngest son who had broken his heel after a good night on the town and trying to impersonate Spiderman, he ended up in plaster and on crutches with no weight baring allowed for 6 weeks, this out an end to his working on luxury yachts for the season.
We arose early on the morning of the 15th July (early being 3.45am) and drove through Switzerland, France and on to Barcelona, Spain where we caught an overnight ferry to Mallorca arriving at 6am on the 16th July. Here we decided to take an apartment for a month in the Santa Catalina area so Andrew could move in and still have easy access to his friends and the local bars and night life activity that the area is famous for. During the month here we have had endless warm sunny days of between 27-32c, lots of swimming while exploring all corners of the Island. We have eaten seafood almost every day as it is so fresh and plentiful. We love visiting the market daily and deciding what to cook for dinner that night. Vic is truly in his element.
Andrew finally got his plaster off but was still not allowed to weight bare for another 2 weeks which would then need to be followed by physio so he decided it was time to return home to NZ. He flew out on Wed 10th Aug. We leave Palma in 2 days for the mainland.
We will take a ferry to our first stop of Valencia from there we head to Grenada to visit the famous Alhambra. The bull fighting season is over thank goodness as neither of us has any desire to see such an event live and might offend the Spanish if we were asked to do so. After that we will head to Cordoba and then Seville. Here we hope to meet up with some people we met while camping in Norway last year. After Seville it’s on to Lisbon in Portugal where Julia, Vic’s daughter will fly in from Dubai to join us for a short break away from the extremely hot weather there at this time of year. After a few days seeing the sights of Lisbon we will all head to Porto where Julia has friends to catch up with. As this is the Port Wine area of Portugal no doubt once again we will visit a vineyard so Vic can do some tasting. We did this when we were here 3 years ago and it was fun. However Port and Michele do not go together so I shall just look on from the side line. Then it’s off to Madrid for 5 days. Our itinerary for Madrid is hectic as there is so much to see plus we have some friends there to visit we will locate ourselves centrally so we can walk to all if the museums and art galleries etc. From here Julia will fly back to Dubai and we will drive back to Fredrickschaven to collect Moggie who is ready and waiting for us to do the next phase of or European trip. We still have to decide in which direction we will head, but bearing in mind that winter in Europe can start as early as mid October you can bet it will be to somewhere warm. Who knows we may even get to Turkey and Croatia yet.
We read in this morning’s Herald that you are having a really cold snap and that Auckland had snow for the first time in 30years, our house at Weranui Road must have looked beautiful, hopefully Richard and Linda took some photos for us.
We wish you all the very best of good health and happiness. Don’t forget we love to read your comments which you can put at the end of each blog entry. Warm regards to you all
Michele & Vic Aug 2011
