ICELAND HERE WE COME

 

We leave Austria and arrive in Czech where we stop to get our toll box sorted and we are off to our next stop – Cesky Krumlov We were here in 2006 and loved it. This town is tourist central and the first few carparks are full, but we find a large grassy camping area only a short distance from the old town and settle in before heading in. The town is set on a loop of the river and is as cute as we remember. But the latest thing to do is raft the river. In fact hundreds of rafts, kayaks and wooden pontoons are out on the water having a fun time. There are even a few rapids to add to the thrill. Later we try out a few local dishes before meandering back to our camp.

The next morning we head back to town, but this time turn and head uphill to the Palace grounds, then slowly wind our way back down to town through the Palace itself. All very stunning. A final meander through town before heading back to GR3 and driving on towards Ceske Budejovice. This is a much larger town, but there is a carpark for motorhomes where we can stay overnight if we want. We park and head out on our scooters. John wants to hunt down the famous Budweiser Budvar Brewery. They have an English tour in a few hours’ time so we head to the old town plaza to explore. It is stunning and we skim around the square admiring the incredible old buildings. Then back to GR3 to pack up our scooters and drive to the Brewery for our tour. The carpark is not really suitable for the night, so after an interesting tour we hit the road and find a nice campspot beside a swimming pool in Votice.

The next morning we head to Prague. Fortunately John has booked a camp spot or we would have missed out. We settle in before walking along the road to catch our free tram to town (yes free again for oldies). We spend ages wandering through the old town. There are heaps of tourists, but they seem to just be in a few areas. Everywhere else is just as lovely and unencumbered with people. Later we join a free (donations accepted) walking tour to explore further. By the end of the day, we head back to our camp. In the morning we set off early to miss the heat, catching a few trams to Prague Castle. After wandering for a while we decide to tram our way around the city. We catch a total 10 trams today before getting back to GR3. Once it has cooled down a bit we head out on our scooters for a jaunt along the river. It’s been a magic visit.

Our time here is up and we head off early out of the city. For some crazy reason I have decided we need to visit a castle. So, we head to Bezdez and park. By now it is hot and of course it is a long hard slog uphill to Bezdez Castle perched right on top of a rocky outcrop. I won’t be suggesting that in a hurry again. Then we decide to continue straight on to Poland. It’s a long drive especially since we are trying to avoid tolls but finally, we cross the border after using up all our Czech cash on diesel. Then we drop off our toll box and find we get a refund. Bonus. Then try to get a Polish one. It is not possible, we must do it online. When we stop for the night I go online. Nearly there but still can’t get it to take money! Oh well we will try to stick to non-toll roads.

Today we head to Wracow city on a busy road. Lots of trucks and fingers crossed no tolls. We find a nice big carpark beside the tram line and head to the city. Again free! We walk to the town square – apparently the biggest in Europe and wander around. It is gorgeous, and even better there are hardly any tourists. The Town Hall takes central spot in the square and it is drop dead stunning. Next we head  to the rather ugly massive red brick Cathedral of St Mary where we climb the 247 steps up the Penitence Tower for views of town. Next the much lovelier Elizabeth Cathedral with its restored organ, all gilded and gorgeous. All around town there are tiny gnome statues that we stop to look at – so very cute! Then after lunch in a café, we jump back on our tram and before we know it, we are back at GR3 and then on the road. After much deliberation we have decided to return to Germany. We had planned to stay longer here in Poland, but we are running out of time (we did end up with extra time at Krug) to get to Denmark and also, we haven’t yet conquered the toll system here. End result: we will stick to the back roads and head towards Dresden.

But first some lovely scenic back roads to our next campspot in the town of Boleslawiec. After dinner we head out to explore and find that the centre is extremely pretty. What a great little find.

The next day we roll over the border and very happily get on the Autobahn. There is not much traffic so before we know it we are cruising into Dresden and hunting down the Stellplatz only 10 mins walk to the old centre. Out come our scooters and we are off. But today they are not so good. When we reach the centre we discover that every spare space on the old square and surrounding streets is taken over with stalls, rides and seating. A huge festival starts today (last year over 600,000 attended) so we must squeeze between everything. Finally, we scooter back to GR3 for a few hours relaxation. It is sweltering hot again at 36. By 6pm we head back in on foot. The place has been transformed. There is a huge crowd getting ready for half marathons and further on stages are set up and people are everywhere. Drink stalls way outnumber food stalls. The whole atmosphere is very happy indeed. We join the throng eating long skewers of pork, drinking beer and listening to music. As we head home, we watch the crazy rides.  There will be fireworks on the last day, but sadly we can’t wait. We can still hear the music from our campspot, but fortunately it stops at 10pm.

We leave bright and early. Today it is supposed to be even hotter so we plan to just drive as far across Germany as we can. So, it is miles and miles of autobann – over 600km. We skirt around Berlin and head north to Frierichsberg (not far from Denmark) and find a campspot on a marina. Our plan is to explore town on our scooters tomorrow.

Well, that doesn’t happen – it decides to rain so we just head on to Denmark. No plans, so where shall we go. We head to Ribe – apparently the oldest town in Denmark and wander its cobbled streets. Just love those crooked half-timbered houses. And of course there are not one, but two Cathedrals to admire. We end the day camped on the waterfront, with a row of motorhomes, at Hvide Sande. There is a bitterly cold wind coming off the ocean.

Time to move on as our ferry is tomorrow. We head north hugging the coastline and end up camping right on the beach at Lokken. There is always something special about watching the sun sink into the ocean. Finally, it is d-day and we head to Hirstals to catch our ferry. We will have 2 nights onboard before we reach Iceland. We can’t wait!