Lake Bled & Innsbruck

Lake Bled

It was a special moment when the famous lake came into view as we drove over the hill into the centre of Bled. We couldn't wait to get out of the van and explore. Unfortunately, it can be quite difficult finding somewhere to park a motorhome near Lake Bled. We eventually managed to find a decent place a few minutes to the east of the lake.

We parked up and made our way. When we got to the lake we sat for a moment and took in the astounding view: the water, the tiny island with the church, the castle high up on the cliff overlooking the lake, and the mountain range behind that overlooking it all. It was magnificent. We slowly strolled around the perimeter of the water, soaking it all in. I mean that in the metaphorical sense, not in the sense that we sucked all the water from the lake into our clothes.

We passed a couple of American kids and their dad as we walked. One of them asked their dad which of them was his favourite. The dad immediately replied - ''I don't like either of you'', which I thoroughly admired.

We stopped for a drink and a game of Hive at a bar on the lake's edge. I won't bore you with a detailed post-match analysis. Suffice to say I won. If you don't know what Hive is check it out online. It's a great game.

Our walk around the lake was finished in the dark. Rach pointed out the lights on the other side of the water, commenting on how cosmopolitan it looked. I tenderly explained that she hadn't used the word 'cosmopolitan' correctly. It was so romantic.

We wandered by the giant cliff. I mentioned how cosmopolitan the castle looked, all lit up. Rach didn't kick me in the shins, but I know she thought about it.

The next day we rented a boat and rowed on the lake. Absolutely loved it. We even got to moor up on the tiny island to see the famous church close up and buy a nice cream. The weather was great, and it was so peaceful floating on the still water. The rowing was fun too, despite being given two oars that were completely different in length, which made it a lot harder than it needed to be.

There was loads of red shit on the surface of the lake. When we got back to the boat house the rental guy explained that it was algae and only visible during these rare milder winters when the lake isn't frozen over. I told him to shut up because he didn't give me good oars.

Austria

Austria is always in your pocket man. It fleeced us three times within our first hour in the country, before we'd even left the van. We had to pay a fee to enter the country, then buy a vignette to travel on the motorways, then we quickly arrived at a toll booth for a third fee. I tried to point out the vignette we'd already bought to the boothlady, but she just ignored me and asked for 12.50. I again pointed out that we'd already bought a vignette and asked her to explain what this extra charge was for. Again, she totally ignored me. She wouldn't even look me in the eye. She just repeated the fee - 12.50. She had a big scar on her face, which made her look a bit mental. I asked her if she spoke English. She finally looked at me and shouted ''yes!'' So again, I asked what the charge was for. She immediately went back to muttering in Austrian. I looked across at Rach in the vague hope that she had any idea as to what was going on. She didn't. I had one final try, but the tollswoman continued to ignore my request for information. I gave up and handed the card over to pay, secretly wondering if the scar was a job related injury. Only joking, I would never secretly wonder that.

As we drove on, flabbergasted, I looked up the charge on Google. Apparently some Austrian motorways are more expensive to maintain and therefore require a fee to use, on top of the vignette fee. Finally, an answer. Thank you, Google.

As we drove into the Alps region it suddenly got very white. Not in a racist way. Just lots of snow, not falling but very thick on the ground - about 5 foot of it on either side of the road. It started getting dark, and it was a fairytale drive up through the mountains. We could see the lights coming on in a distant town in the bottom of a snowy valley. It was like something off a postcard. A postcard of a fairytale. Actually no, I hate those kinds of postcards, they're ugly. This was like a postcard of a photo of itself. Yeah, that'll do.

We eventually parked up for the night in a snowy little mountain town. There was a bar right next to our spot, and we could hear people noisily enjoying all the hottest new tunes, like 'I Cant Get You Out Of My Head' by Kylie Minogue. The partying had stopped by about 8pm, which was absolutely pathetic but also much appreciated. Soon, a massive snow plow had taken up the role of noise polluter, tearing up and down all night, right outside the van. What the fuck it was doing, we had no idea.

In the morning it became very clear - we'd parked right at the bottom of a massive snowy slope. There were dozens of people sliding up and down the slope on shoes with outrageously long soles on them. Or 'skiing', if you prefer. I think Rach fancies having a go at some point. We might look into it when we get to Switzerland or Italy in a month or two, presuming coronavirus hasn't killed us all by then.

Innsbruck

We had a great day Innsbruck. The setting alone makes it difficult to compete with. It's a really colourful town, with an incredible backdrop of huge snowy mountains. We did A LOT of walking. We've learnt that it's best to do these cities in 1-2 days if possible, to save on money. It can get very expensive spending all day in a big city. Especially in an Austria, where its normal to pay three separate fees to use the same fucking motorway. I really should let that go.

We really enjoyed the architecture Innsbruck. What really made it stand out was its colour and decorative elements. The buildings had really intricate patterns and illustrations painted onto the facades. Some had become weathered over time which gave them a great faded, roughed up quality.

After our day Innsbruck we got back to the van and noticed that the motorhome that was parked up next to us had gone. Rach was quite upset about this as she was hoping they'd come over and say hello.

Snowwwww

We drove through some serious snow on our way out of Austria. Actual falling snow. It absolutely belted it down. Was like a war zone out there. Pure bedlam. Sorry, I'm writing this bit for the amusement of literally one person. You'd better be fucking reading, Meg.

There hasn't been much snow on this trip due to the relatively mild winter, so it was great travelling through it as we made our way up the winding roads which lead out of north Austria. We were making a lot of ground; only a week before, we'd been on the sunny Croatian coast. As we approached the German border we quickly left the snow behind. My ears had popped at one point, which indicated how great the altitude had been.

We passed into Germany without realising. No tolls, no checks, just a tunnel. Confirmation that we definitely were in Germany came when I flushed the toilet in a service station. I heard an unusual noise, and turned to see the toilet seat rotate three times, and a section of the back of the toilet dislodge to spray the seat clean, ready for the next user. Why are the Germans so good? I flushed twice for fun.

Recommended park up for Lake Bled (25 euro / 24 hrs but it's as good as you will find!):

http://park4night.com/lieu/94711/