I know it’s been a while since the last blog, we have just been out and about enjoying the countryside too much, leaving little time to catch up with ourselves.

So, leaving Graz behind us we headed into the mountains to find a bit more of the traditonal beauty of Austria, and it is fair to say that we weren’t disappointed.

The rain was still ‘doing it’s thing’…but we have generally been lucky enough that it hasn’t impacted us too much in so far as we have just worn the waterproofs a little more than expected, or been lucky in so far that it has rained most heavily later afternoon/evening when we have been inside anyway.

Keith had found a little campsite (Campingplatz Pyhrn Priel €42 , Spital am Pyhrn) in a valley that appeared to be in the back end of nowhere, although it was only 5km from the closest town. We are glad that appearances are deceptive as it had put quite alot of people off – definately a bit of a bonus for us as it was stunningly beautiful.

We had been looking for a somewhere for a couple of nights over the weekend with hard standing which was proving difficult to find as oddly the majority of campsites believe that the grass should be sufficiently dry at this time of year….it is mid-June after all – just a shame that they were mistaken… that however, was a good thing as we fell upon this place.

After lunch we headed out for a walk into the hills in the afternoon to take in the views, then the following morning took the bikes out for a beautiful 22km circuit, taking in Windischgarsten and Spital am Pyhrn, getting back to the motorhome just as the heavens opened – perfect timing for lunch.

The skies cleared again just as we finished washing up and we managed to get another long walk in in the afternoon, and despite the skies looking very black, it held off until we got back. A lovely campsite situated in a beautiful area for walking and cycling or just looking up and admiring the snow topped mountains that surrounded it.

On Sunday morning we moved slightly further West to get to Hallstatt which can only be described as a ‘picturesque’ gingerbread Austrian town. Although it is stunningly beautiful, it also unfortunately comes with the bus loads of tourists which takes away some of the beauty.

Hallstatt is at the end of a lake on windy, narrow roads at the foot of the mountains. As land is scarce, I am guessing if you, or your family have property there, you can dictate your market which is pretty much what the campsite does. The reviews (Campingplatz Klausner-Höll 50€ p/n) were poor but the owner just doesn’t suffer fools gladly. The website quite clearly states the price, location and facilities, it is the only campsite in the town, and he doesn’t make any apologies for it which appears to frustrate some – mainly the Germans, quite funny really!

We however, had completely the opposite experience – I had barely turned the engine off when the owner appeared with two beautifully poured pints of Guiness, then following a conversation with Keith about his previous life as a game keeper, he presented us with half a kilo of his Wild Boar sausages….hunted and made by him – lovely chap!

As we were lucky enough to have a little bit of sunshine when we arrived, and with the forecast looking pretty grey again over the coming days, we set out to do our best to take in some of the beauty… and to be fair, inspite of the quantity of people, it is a beautiful place.

Hallstatt is tiny, with one main pedestrian street going through the center and a couple of other roads adjoining it, but all traffic free as there is a tunnel that goes round the town through the mountain. The buses arrive, drop everyone off and then disappear, leaving everyone for three hours in the town – so it is just a matter of catching it at the right point, probably at about 8am or 10pm!

In addition to Hallstat being an ‘idyllic’ town, it also is home to the oldest saltmine in the world. As Tuesday was forecast rain all day, we thought that it would be a good way to spend the morning so we set off to get the funicular up the side of the mountain and learn more about the set up and process.

It was very well set up and an interesting couple of hours with a great guide. And by the time we came out to walk back down again, the cloud had cleared enough for us to get some ‘moody’ views from the top of the funicular which was a bonus.

The saltmine is another one of those things that you do once – and we are glad we did it – but wouldn’t ever do it again … whether in Austria, the UK or elsewhere – for me, there is only so much you can/ want to learn about salt, although I appreciate that many would disagree.

Leaving Hallstatt behind we moved only very slightly further North West to possibly one of the most beautiful places we have ever visited – St. Wolfgang im Salzkammergut, where we had found a spot at Camping Appesbach (40euros p/n without elec).

The weather was still incredibly unpredictable and changeable – one minute being blue skies and sunshine, and the following torrential rain, but even when it was raining it was still incredibly beautiful.

We had only planned on staying three nights but quickly fell in love with the area. Thankfully the owners of the campsite were kind enough to re-arrange pitches so that we could stay for an additional four nights to make the most of the area and also the weather… as it was looking better later in the week..

To settle ourselves in slowly, we had a wander down to Strobl at the Southeastern end of the lake on the first afternoon, caught up on the shopping and took in the beautiful views.

The following morning, we woke to the most beautiful ‘moody’ views out over the lake. I left Keith to continue to admire the scenary whilst doing his exercises and set off on a stunning run into St Wolfgang itself and then out the other side, winding my way down the side of the lake on a small lane… exactly how you want to bring in the day – mountains, crystal clear glistening water and beautiful contours and lush greenery….. a little hot and sweaty but I definately had a smile on my face when I got back…. truly invigorating.

After catching up on some admin, we decided to try out the campsite restaurant for lunch as it had such good reviews and weren’t disappointed. The chef apparently is ex-michelin star restaurant and used to work in London until COVID hit when he was made redundant and he decided to look further afield and ended up here.

Keith had a fish soup to start which had a great flavour and was served with some delicious breads, the fish main was full of flavour and texture, as was the traditional ‘kaserspatsel’ which is the cheesey- noodle / macaroni cheese-type dish with crispy fried onions on top, both of which were served with a lovely, refreshing salad…. a step above any normal campsite restaurants and well worth a visit.

After lunch at the campsite, we walked into St Wolfgang and I showed Keith my morning running route as it was so beautiful.

The following day we cycled over to Bad Ischl which took us up and over the hills, through some beautiful countryside and when we arrived found they had a vintage car rally in the town – incredibly impressive.

We really went a bit full on over the following few days exploring the area in more depth by foot and by bike, pushing the bikes – and our legs – a little further… they were a great investment – the bikes at least…. the legs I am still unsure of!!

We had been told there was a possibility of a market in St Gilgen – the other side of the lake, so we thought we would see what it had to offer. We set off on the bikes and found our first oompah loompah band of the year, which had taken over the market square and thankfully, as we had arrived just before lunch, were in the middle of a set and demonstrating their best whilst the audience were happily tucking into Brutwurst and tankards of beer. We also found a the market with local, seasonal produce and bought some fantastic cheese, honey and eggs… our fault for being distracted by the oompah loompah’s as by the time we made it back to the market, most of the stalls had packed everything away despite only being mid-day.

We then decided to take on the three lake challenge… the challenge was more for me, rather than anyone else as I still have a fear of steep downhill runs on gravel following my accident 25+ years ago… weird how the brain works isn’t it?

Our route took us to Lake Schwarzenzee, Lake Attersee and Lake Mondsee… roughly 50km round trip with 800m ascent and 800m descent….stunningly beautiful.

I was a bit of a nervous wreck after the descent on the way there, with the forearms aching from gripping the handlebars too hard, but thankfully after a bit of lunch by one of the lakes and a coffee, the return ride wasn’t quite so bad as the descent on the way back was mostly on the road and not gravel. Needless to say it was a beautiful ride, pushing my limits a little but it was good – perhaps it will give me a little more confidence in myself for next time.

We arrived back to the campsite to the arrival of Pete, Liz and Monty who were stopping off for a night en route. They brought the weather with them as although we had planned a BBQ – using the Hallstat Wild Boar sausages – and amazingly, we even managed to sit outside to eat!

As always, it was lovely to see them but the evening went far too quickly and all too soon the sun had set and they were leaving in the morning… just need to plan these catch up’s in more frequently!

We woke to sunshine and clear blue skies again so, after saying our goodbyes to Pete and Liz, we headed up the Cog railway to the top of Schafberg. The Cog train has been running since 1893 and takes roughly 35 minutes to cover the 5.85 kilometers track which rises 1190 vertical meters.

All I can say is that the photos don’t do it justice. It had unfortunately started to haze over by the time we got to the top and although it was breathtaking to the naked eye, the photos – despite actually using my camera as well as my phone to make a comparison – aren’t as clear as I would have hoped…. but although I like to share our experiences, it is our memories that count and it was an incredible experience.

We had decided to walk back down, rather than take the Cog Railway both directions and it is fair to say that this was quite hard work. There is no doubt that walking downhill on un-even rocks is tiring, and when there are 10km of it, you definately feel it afterwards!

The route was beautiful whilst out in the open and then lovely and tranquil when it went into the forest, just quite hard on the muscles in the legs and feet… we both felt it for the following few days having used muscles we had neglected for a while. Glad we did it once, but we wouldn’t walk down again.

Dragging our heals behind us, we finally left the campsite and St Wolfgang after an amazingly full on week of cycling and walking and headed to Salzburg – our final stop in Austria.

We chose to stay at an Aire 6.5km outside the center which was owned by the same company as the one in Graz (25 euro p/n without elec). The Aire was tucked in between a motorway and a railway line, and although fairly tranquil probably a bit of a shock to the system after so much greenery and tranquility over the last few weeks, so we decided to head into Salzburg in the afternoon and in our heads were already contemplating only staying one night instead of the intended two.

I guess we wouldn’t expect anything less in Austria, everything has been so well kept and beautiful, and Salzburg wasn’t an exception to the rule. It is the birth place of Mozart and where ‘The Sound of Music’ was filmed…..so there is also no surprise that there are music schools everywhere you look, I think the university must focus on music too. The only way you can describe the old town in Salzburg is ‘refined’ and ‘elegant’… a little like walking round an enlarged Bond St.

All the boutiques, cafe’s and restaurants were beautifully set up to match the elegant architecture – leaving us feeling slightly shabby in comparison, so we headed over to the new town on the other side of the river to have a coffee where we felt slightly more in place…. although the other side of the river is still ‘refined’ too… just a little less so….like us!

A lovely place to visit, but not necessarily a place that we would come running back to unless we were specifically passing this way.

Moving on from Salzburg – and Austria as well, the plan was to do a couple of new stops on the Romantic Road whilst we were travelling through as the towns are so beautiful. Unfortunately our first stop was due to be Landsberg am Lech, and it turned out to have a fairground on the Aire so after a quick pit stop to re-think – and a bit of lunch – in Aldi’s carpark, we travelled a little further up the road to Harburg where we parked up next to the castle for the night (8 euro p/n inc).

Although we didn’t have a huge amount of time to explore, the town appeared pretty and the castle – which apparently is one of the oldest in Germany, dating back to 11th/12th century was pretty impressive. They had placed themed ‘fairy’ tales all around the exterior… Keith and I are proud to say that we managed to get most of them, although I was a little disappointed to see that Harry Potter was now included … as much as I love the stories, I am not convinced you can class it in the same league as Snow White or Rapunzel!

Walking and cycling looked plentiful, so we would look to stop off again if we were passing through, albeit I will try and plan my morning run a little better as I ended up going down a few dead ends – and 180m ascent/descent….ouch!

We moved on though as we had set our sights on getting to Dinkelsbuhl and as it was Friday and we were conscious that places get busy the further you get into the weekend, we didn’t want to leave it until Saturday. We managed to sneak in and get probably the last ‘big’ spot before the carpark started to fill up – little did we know that it was also a medieval festival this weekend.

Dinkelsbuhl is a beautiful town with perfectly maintained, coloured buildings and cobbled streets. Most of the town wall remains intact with 18 towers that still stand at different points around it.

It is a tourist location but there is no denying that it is very attractive and this weekend we were honoured to have a large number of people dressed up to the full in medieval costume, accompanied by music and some axe throwing to make the most of our visit.

As Pete and Liz were due to arrive at Dinkelsbuhl today and space was limited we did a cheeky little shuffle this morning, handing over our space to them so that they could enjoy the medieval festival and beauty of Dinkelsbuhl as we moved on to Sommerach to walk through the vineyards and buy some wine!

We have been cooking a fair bit – especially as its taken a while for me to get the blog updated – and the new ‘keeper’ recipes are as follows:-
– Olive Tapenade Hummus
– Mushroom wraps with mango salsa and crushed avocado
– Coriander and Mint Chutney

We were in Slovenia for four weeks to the day – what a fantastic country, albeit a little – ok maybe an understatement – wet in places, but that is why like the UK, Slovenia is so beautiful.

We had a little taster of the coast, the national parks, the lakes, the caves and the gastronomic delights of Styria – both in Slovenia and also now Austria… we consider ourselves to be very lucky to have had the chance to visit so many new and interesting places this trip.

So, following my last blog, we moved from Kamnik to a small town called Zalec in the middle of ‘hop’ country, where we had been told that there was a beer fountain which sounded like something different to do on a Sunday afternoon. Zalec is a sleeply little town on a river with lots of cycle paths and a little lake, which is where we parked up at a lovely little Aire (10 euro p/n).

It didn’t take too long to explore the town, so we soon ended up at the fountain which has been set up so that you can try 6 of the different regional beers… from light to dark, to green…..yes, I did say green, and it was actually quite nice despite the colour being a little off putting. Reminded us of the Christmas beer at the Green Tree Pub in Bath which was also very, very green… certainly makes you smile – or grimace. You buy a glass which is charged with ‘n’ servings of beer and help yourself…. great concept. I am sure that the kebab stall next door makes a killing!

Whilst in Zalec tasting the beer and exploring the area, we decided to pop over to Celje for a couple of hours with our picnic lunch – a nice cycle along the river but not a huge amount more… a good little stop over if you are in the area, but I wouldn’t go out of your way to make the detour.

Moving ever so slightly further North, we arrived in Maribor where we found a great little campsite 6km out of the center for 3 nights (Autokamp Kekec 28 euro p/n). We arrived to beautiful sunshine, although no sooner had we got our solar panels out and sat down to have a bit of lunch, the skies went dark, the wind got up and in came the torrential rain which continued on and off for about 12 hours but leaving us with beautiful sunshine and blue skies the following morning to head into Maribor to explore.

Maribor is Slovenia’s second largest city with a population of just over 100,000, many of which I would say are students as it has a large university. The city is not going to be to everyones tastes as it is a mix of new and old, but it does have some beautiful architecture and we felt that it had a nice feel to it.

Maribor is at the heart of Styria and this region , as well as Maribor itself, are known for their wine and culinary delights. There were far too many restaurants for us to try but Keith did find one which we decided was well worth checking out – Seben. Seben is a cookery school that is in the Michelin Guide and the photos do not do it justice, it was a real treat at a very reasonable price……and definately motivation to come back again.

Not only was the food excellent, but the service and setting was exceptional too, enabling their catering and hospitality students to work under supervision to deliver a level of precision that would be fitting for Michelin Star restaurants.

The restaurant only serves Slovenian wine – although they do offer some Champagne – and the focus is on local, seasonal products which the students cook up and serve up to diners in the form of a la carte or 5, 6 or 7 course tasting menus – although you wouldn’t believe it from the above photos, we opted for the 6 course menu…. it was perfectly balanced but I was still quite thankful that we had chosen to walk back to the campsite as it helped the food go down!

With the torrential rain hammering down again, we set off towards Ptuj – Slovenia’s oldest recorded city dating back to the stoneage. We decided to stay at the Aire by the Thermal Spa (36 euro p/n) which was effectively a large carpark so not particularly pretty, but it served a purpose. The other options were a grass pitch which currently we would definately be sinking into and not getting out of very easily due to water levels, or a lovely Aire half way down the lake that had horrendous reviews at weekends due to the noise and parties… obviously just getting old!

After lunch, we set off along the river for a quick leg stretch between the rain showers to explore and it is fair to say that Ptuj is a very pretty town with alot of character…. and that is without mentioning the strange looking sheeps’ costumes and masks which are apparently part of the Korent carnival / fertility festival!

Despite the weather forecast having predicted a very wet weekend we were actually lucky in the most as although the rain was hard and heavy, it pretty much rained all night, and all three nights, leaving the days reasonably dry for us to get out and explore on the bikes.

Ptuj is on the Drava cycle route which is roughly 700km long and crosses Slovenia, Croatia, Italy and Austria, so we decided to take one afternoon and cycle towards Maribor, and then the next day, to Gorisnica. A lovely area to explore with gently rolling hills – all in all, another lovely stop off.

Leaving Ptuj behind us we headed to a Vineyard (Vineyard Valentin, Vodole 36, 2229 Malečnik, Slovenia 25 euros p/n)) situated in the hills above Maribor… and our last stop in Slovenia.

The Vineyard was in an absolutely stunning location – thankfully Maribor itself was hidden from our views – so before settling in to a tasting session we set off on a lovely little walk to explore further.

Although we were pretty much at the top of the hill, as is always the way when we go out for a walk, we went up further, down again into the valley… and then back up… just to get the blood moving… and of course to take in the beauty around us before we settled into trying out the local delicacies!

The Vineyard has been in the family for a long time but is now run by the son and his wife who are in the late 30’s. The vineyard has roughly 10 acres of vine and in addition they grow seasonal produce including pumpins for pumpkin seed oil, apple cider vinegar and cherries. They also have chickens for eggs, and pigs for cured Sausage….. a pure feast.

We opted to do a tasting where Simon, the husband walked us through some of the different wines they produce. We tried 6 whites (a mix of Sauvignon blanc, Reisling, Muscat and Chardonnay), 1 red and 2 orange – which is effectively ‘fermented’ wine. Keith also tried some of the cured sausage, which he said was exceptional….. we left slightly lighter in the wallet but happy none the less, having bought 5 bottles of wine, 1kg cherries, cured sausage, eggs and some of their apple cider vinegar…that’ll keep us going a day or two!

Needless to say that the morning run the following day was quite hard work – down hill on the way out and up on the way back…. absolutely nothing to do with the amount of wine consumed, honest!

Once we were suitably showered and breakfasted we thanked our hosts and headed off to Austria, to Graz to be specific, stopping briefly en route to pick up a ‘Go’ Toll box just before the border.

We had been told about a Stellplatz which is roughly 7.5km outside Graz on a cycle path and next to a huge swimming pool which sounded lovely and suitable for a three night stop. (Reismobile stellplatz graz €25 per night plus 2€ pp tax inc swimming pool).

Despite the sun blazing down from above the ground on the campsite was still pretty saturated and with the forecast still looking a little tempramental we opted for what looked like one of the best drained pitches…with some hard core underneath – not making that mistake again!

We set off to explore the area, getting some shopping done and enjoying some of the small lanes which went up into the forest behind the campsite – very tranquil. The heavens opened again late afternoon and an incredible amount of rain, and hail fell….looking on the bright side though we were inside and it helped freshen the air a little as it has been so hot and humid.

The following morning, after another beautiful morning run, we hopped on the bikes and went into Graz to explore. Like most of the rest of Europe, Austria is well ahead of the UK with their cycle routes which in turn means there are a lot of cyclists and also, generally alot more respect from motorists

Having parked up the bikes we meandered towards the center but got distracted by the fort on the top of the hill, ending up climbing up the 260+ steps to the clock tower and then walking up to the fort to take in the views… I just love those rooftops. A great place to stop and have our lunch…the Satay Sweet Potato Bowl mentioned below – rather tasty, if I don’t say so myself!

Refueled and refreshed, we headed back down into Graz to explore the beautiful old town before crossing over to the West bank of the river which houses the ‘Martian’ building (Kunsthaus Graz)… yes, it has weird looking antennas so is definately alien-like.

The West bank is the ‘alternative’ side to Graz with lots of lovely coffee houses and boutique type shops, not as traditionally beautiful as the old town – but still a great place to meander and stop for a coffee to watch the world go by.

The following day we had booked to try out a small Austrian eatery in the old town, so jumped on the bikes again and after a quick diversion back to the West Bank as we had found a Vivo Barefoot shop with a sale on, we settled in to a lovely, rather generous lunch with delicious seasonal, local produce… we will definately be back in Graz if we are passing this way

and those new recipes…. although no photos, sorry
– Satay Sweet Potato Bosh Bowl – can only be described as ‘umptious’
– South West Bosh Bowl – a bizarre combination and method for the sauce, but it does work… very tasty

We have done alot over the last couple of weeks and I just haven’t had a chance to update the blog before now – apologies. So before it gets even more out of hand, here is a map of where we have been.