Friends New & Old and Leaving Behind Lake Bled

Europe By Camper accompanied by Emily & Steve from Bert The Merc!

We've probably surprised everyone, not least ourselves, by still being at Lake Bled 9 days after we arrived. The truth is the weather is just so beautiful we can't bring ourselves to up sticks and leave until today, when we need to head back to Hook of Holland for the ferry.

We've had a good pitch and while we'd have loved to visit the Triglav National Park again, it's simply too hot to do any serious hiking - which we'd like to do. We've driven 1,200 miles to this point, so we're going to make the most of it before we return to the height of the Motorhome Show season and the NEC in October. At the shows we attend we chat to lots of people who followed or read about our year long trip and there is a great community feel. Still, we're never quite sure how to react when people walk over to introduce themselves.

"Hey, we're here because we followed your blog!" came a voice and across strode a tall guy a similar age to Sophie and I with an outreached palm. Steve and girlfriend Emily have been traveling Europe for two months with two months left to go before they hit Australia. They had seen some of our pics we've been posting on Instagram and thought that we were heading in this general direction.

 It's been great to have some unexpected company out here and even more so when you're all of a similar mindset. They had picked up a great Mercedes Sprinter panel van christened 'Bert the Merc' and loaded it with all the outdoor gear we've been promising ourselves we'll one day get into. You can check out their blog by clicking here: Bert The Merc.

Safe to say that the BBQ got some hammer over the forthcoming days, when Steve and Emily were introduced to our staple of Indian themed BBQ food; home made Seekh Kebab and Tandoori Chicken are almost always present on our grill!

It's not just new friends we've made here at Bled, Steve, Mandy and Melissa from Brit Stops called in for one night on their way back from Hungary. They're on a whistle stop tour of Europe in their new Frankia. The campsite was so full that they had someone turning people away from the roadside, but fortunately a van had left next to us in the unmarked area and so we were able to get them through the roadblock.

So, an apology to those who had expected an epic adventure or a repeat of our 10 countries in 21 days tour in 2009. We've failed to blog about an adventure, but instead brought you along on our two week holiday to one of our favourite places in Europe. We've had 9 days of wall to wall sunshine and tomorrow is set to rain, so we must have done something right to deserve this. 

With two more Vignettes purchased for the return journey, we'll be lucky to see out of the windscreen on the way back! I've lost track of the amount of time we've spent in a road and racing cycle shop while we've been away and so perhaps we'll just buy a cheap or second hand road bike and see how we get on with them to begin with.

Camping Lake Bled - Slovenia

Panoramic View of Lake Bled, Slovenia

We've been meaning to come back to Lake Bled since we left, almost 4 years ago. Having visited Camping Bled out of season in 2009 we found it almost deserted. Fast forward to the last week in July 2013 and the shoreline is a hive of activity, but somehow still manages to hold the same appeal.

Prior to arriving at the site we'd e-mailed ahead, the reply to our e-mail told us that they were in fact fully booked until September but to try our luck at around 2pm in their unmarked pitch area. When we rolled up there were already 4 vans queued up in front of us and so it was with trepidation that Adam walked into the reception area.



"Do you have any room for a motorhome?", "Sorry, no we're full" came the reply. Not as an attempt to challenge him but in passing I told him not to worry and that we had e-mailed yesterday and were told to arrive about 2pm. Then, he looked at something scribbled on his pad and picked up a site map. "You can try here, if you like" he said, circling a large green area outside the toilet block "But there is no electric". Somehow, to our amazement, we were directed to the front of the queue and into the campsite.

As it transpires, we'd scored ourselves one of the best 'non-pitches' on the site and our 50m hookup cable came in handy once again to plug us up to the grid. I don't know why, but we were very grateful. Looking at how much the prices have increased during the 2012-2013 season its obvious that Bled is becoming increasingly popular. A pitch with electric runs at €30.50 at peak season with a 10% discount for staying 7 nights or more and a further 5% for a Camping Carnet, I'm not sure if we'll stay that long.

Despite being 'full' the campsite does a good job of absorbing its residents and as always European children are impeccably well behaved. The campsite entrance is quite literally on the shore of Lake Bled which extends back a long way and is surrounded by trees and rocky outcrops. There is a well stocked shop, restaurant and ice cream bar along with a bar on the lake.

It's hot here. Really hot. Upon chatting to a number of campers we've found that people are here having come back from Croatia where it is "too hot". That was our ultimate destination and now we're having second thoughts. Time to enjoy what Bled has to offer around its 6km shoreline.

The town itself is focused around the hotels that hold the summer and winter tourists, a visit would not be complete without some 'Kremna rezina' or quite simply 'Bled Cake'! There is something about Bled Island and its 99 steps that sets this place apart from elsewhere in Europe. Boats can be hired for 10 euro (euro sign) per hour which if you don't mind rowing yourself you can spend 4 hours out on the lake for the price of someone doing it for you.

Bled Castle (Blejski grad) offers panoramic views of Bled and you don't have to pay its €8 entrance fee to see them. There is a lesser known snicket around the back from which you can afford virtually the same views, without the price tag, see below.

There is however a better viewing point. Osojnica is an easy 650m climb from outside the campsite, from which you have spectacular views over the lake - seating provided! We loved this little known viewing area, the panoramic views are just amazing. If you dare to climb the rocks you can even get your own campsite panorama - can you spot our van?

We're starting to settle in here. Its been 35 degrees in the shade for three days on the trot. 

Grossglockner Pass Austria in a Motorhome

Having already conquered the Transfăgărășan pass in Romania and Trollstigen in Norway, we couldn't wait to get our tyres into Grossglockner. After buying some fresh bread in the campsite shop, we left our pitch at sportcamp Woferlgut. It worked out at £32 per night, which wasn't too bad considering we had unmetered electric on our pitch. Filled with Austrian Diesel at £1.12 we hit the road at 9am heading south along the pass.

The cost of the pass in a motorhome under 3.5T (or car) is €33, which seems reasonable when you consider the cost of some of the tunnels in Austria. Despite having a wild camping pushpin right on the pass, motorhomes are not allowed to overnight on the tolled section officially. It did appear that some had overnighted in the carpark before the toll booths, which doesn't appear to be subject to the same restrictions.

Passing through the toll, we began our ascent. We chose to set off early as the cloud coverage was set to increase by lunchtime and we wanted to see as much as possible. Checking the live webcams before we left ensured that we wouldn't be driving into a wall of cloud.

The new van handled it incredibly well and thanks to the new rear discs and pads fitted before we left the handbrake held up so that we were able to get out and take pictures! The temperature at the 'top' was a brisk 3 degrees c, with snow still visable at the side of the road.

The pass certainly focused on tourists, with lots of parking areas suitable for large vehicles and busses along the way, with some routes marked for motorcycles only that you wouldn't want to attempt in a car nevermind a motorhome!

We approached the pass from the north and headed out of it South, where the landscape gets even more impressive, this post is certainly lending itself more towards photos than it does words!

After purchasing another Vignette for €15 and paying €6 for the Karawanks tunnel, we crossed over into Slovenia. Lets just see how long we stay in one of our favourite countries in Europe... 

500 Miles through Germany and Sportcamp Austria

Sportcamp Woferlgut, Austria

No sooner had we departed the ferry and fueled up, we hit the road, determined to get a days driving under our belt. We love Germany for its motorways and before we knew it we had notched up 400 miles along the E41. Somehow driving in Germany is just easier, you seem to get places much quicker and the driving itself is largely effortless as Germans and Europeans alike exercise excellent lane discipline, with few exceptions. The van was running well and the new tyres have really improved the noise (or lack of it) in the cab.

It wasn't until about 3pm did we open the window and realise that the temperatures had risen to over 30 degrees. Having driven through a couple of rain showers, this was a welcome realisation and we began thinking about where to stay the night.

While on the road we use our EuropaSIM and MiFi device to give us an internet connection while driving. This means we can cross reference our POI file for Microsoft Autoroute with Camping Car Infos which provide photos and prices. The first aire we tried had been turned into a festival, which looked pretty interesting; we just weren't in the party mood. Second time lucky, we stumbled upon Gastof Hotel in Denkendorf. They have parking for upto 8 motorhomes at the rear for €4 a night including electric, beer €3 for 500ml and what looked like a pretty good food menu. The garden was beautiful and while the town was small we could have stayed for a couple of days.

In the morning, we hit the road again. Destination - Austria. A slight de-tour in Munich to a Real supermarket in order to stock up with Erdinger Weissbier @ 50p/bottle. The roads were incredibly busy being a Saturday and we were glad we picked up our Austrian Vignette (€8.30 for 10 days) early doors because the queues for the fuel stations were halfway down the sliproads.

We decided to try and avoid the traffic and take a less than direct route into Austria along the B178, somewhere we had driven down previously in our 2008 tour. You start to realise just how small a place Europe is when you start visiting places twice!

Our destination was originally Zel Am See, a large lake in the Salzburg region of Austria. However, the campsite here was full and the area around the lake was chocablock with tourists. Instead, we decided to spend a few days at Sport Camp Woferlgut.

The initial reaction at reception was that we weren't going to like it. It looked rammed, with loads of screaming kids and rent-a-tents. However, once escorted to our pitch it seemed we were in fact at the other side of the campsite in a sort of overflow area which suited us fine!

We've never really been campsite people, but our new van, time of year and our location lends itself more to this method of travel. It means you can setup camp, something we've never really done before. We have an awning side which came from the previous owner of our Adria Twin (www.fabricworks.co.uk) which works great as a sunblocker with a window that can be rolled down which provided much needed shade in the 40 degree heat.

With WiFi at an eye watering €7 per day, we enjoyed a great 3G connection with our EuropaSIM and MiFi device which enabled us to spend Monday processing orders and responding to e-mails while we were out of the office. This is our first attempt at running our business from the road and even though we're only offering one delivery slot per week our customers have been great.

Before we left on this trip we were looking at road bikes but just couldn't decide which one to buy. As it turns out the weather is going to be so hot its probably for the best that we didn't!

With temperatures rising, we're starting to wonder if Croatia is such a good idea. This is supposed to be a relaxing holiday after all, not an attempt to roast ourselves! Perhaps we can find some cool air at 2,504m above sea level - if you can guess where we're going tomorrow!

Private Lake on Woferlgut Campsite

Stormy Skies at Sunset