Lido di Nazionali & Comacchio, Italy – Sept. 19-20, 2012

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Our great expectations of the Adriatic Coast combined with the promise of a full service pitch had us driving in thinking that we may have to stay in Lido delle Nazioni until Camping Tahiti closed five days later.    We were out of there in two nights.

First for the campground:  We should have prophesied the end of our visit when Reception asked for our wrists in order to attach non-removable plastic bracelets. We are not the plastic bracelet kind of people.  We much prefer that business take it upon themselves to remember who is a paying guest and who is not.  On the plus side, our pitch came with its own private toilet, shower and outdoor dish sink which were nice; unfortunately the star attraction was the millions of mosquitoes.  We were eaten alive.

As for the coast, the area is run down and not very inviting.  The seaside is almost completely segmented into private beaches (Campground Tahiti has one of them), their entrances protected with chain link fences, making a walk along the coast seem like you are venturing around a prison yard.  With a storm brewing, the Adriatic wasn’t beaconing either and thus we spent our one full day in the area playing tennis (terrible courts), visiting the Thermal Spa (not nearly hot enough for this time of year) and dining in the nearby village of Comacchio (easily the jewel of our stop.)

In Comacchio we found Crusties and lots of them.  Crusties is a name I gave to all the old men in Barcelona:  They looked like they had spent their lives on the sea and could not get used to walking on the stable earth.  As in Barcelona, the Crusties of Comacchio gaze out of their unflappable eyes, gesticulated wildly, discussing lord only knows what.  Commachio is full of them.  I managed to get two of them in a photo of the town, but you have to look carefully—I didn’t want to be obvious.

Along with the Crusties came a good dose of authentic Italian life.  At cocktail time (Prosecco and local olives) the Crusties gathered for their drinks and smokes while there was never a woman to be seen.  We figured the women were home making dinner.  I have rarely wanted to speak another language so much in my life:  Oh to eavesdrop on their conversations!  What do they talk about with such excitement hour after hour after hour?

With nothing garnering our attention more than swapping at the mosquitoes, we knew we had to get back on the road and thus headed deeper into Italy and into another country; San Marino.  Nothing beats mosquitos like the oldest republic in the world.

-K

PS:  For those of you wondering how in the world we could drive by Venice twice without stopping, I give you this:  We try to visit the out of the way places on this trip.  Venice can be easily toured without your own transportation and most likely much more enjoyable without your own dogs.   If you have not been there but are planning a trip, prepare yourself for some of the ugliest scenery in the world on your drive from the airport to the water taxis.  The area is a marsh-land (hence the mosquitoes) and covered with low-rise industrial buildings. 

Bled, Slovenia – Sept. 12-17, 2012

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With so much to love about this area of Slovenia, it seems odd to rank our pitch at the top of the list; such is the life in a 19’ Airstream.  

As I alluded to in my prior post, we were in heaven the minute we drove into Camping Sobec:  Gentle paved roads through the half empty, pine-forest campground led us to our pitch, #123.  We happily set up camp at the end of a road while gazing at the open fields around us.  This spot did not have the elements of a comfort pitch (specifically water and drainage) but it had its own luxury item:  Privacy; couple that with the ability to just open the door in the morning and let The Noses run, it was perfection.

Then we drove into Bled.

Wow.  We have seen some picturesque sites on our journey but Bled easily tops the list of picturesque towns.  To think that prior to talking to a Europcar rental agent in England, we had never even thought of visiting Slovenia just makes me realize how large and varied the earth is and how limited our ability to appreciate it.  

Due to the rainy weather, the tourist office recommended a hike into Vintgar Gorge for our first full day in the area.  It was as gorgeous as promised but I imagine it would be breathtaking with some direct sun to light up the aqua river.  We continued up to the Plateau area hoping it would contain wide open vistas over to the Alps but the area was also tree-filled (and, having gained in elevation, very cold – 6/42!)  We dropped down the other side of the plateau to Lake Bohinj which is more rustic and natural than Bled but not nearly as picturesque. 

Our most memorable day was when SP rented a bike and I walked The Noses from the campground, meeting up in Bled for lunch.  A delightful day!  Sadly followed by a night in which SP became violently ill (we think from some bad water) and all of a sudden we were back to wishing for the luxuries of water and drainage over privacy.

Actually, we were wishing for all three.

-K

Dobriach, Austria Part 2 – Sept. 5-11, 2011

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It is not often that we find ourselves in one spot for three weeks.  In order for this to happen the stop has to either have in-pitch drainage (known over here as a comfort pitch) or be so stunning that moving Salt out and back for dumping is not considered a chore.  It turns out that Camping Brunner am See in Dobriach, Austria offered the perfect combination:  Stunning comfort.

We had no preconceived notions about this area; as previously reported, we headed up to Austria to escape the heat of Slovenia and took the first campground claiming a comfort pitch.  Maybe it was due to the lack of preconception but the area’s beauty stunned us into a languor that suited our vacation-mode attitudes.  Really, you can get quite spoiled (and fat) when you hardly have to move in order to see an awe-inspiring view.  Thankfully the area offers easy access to tennis, hiking, biking and swimming otherwise my waistline would be in much worse shape.  (Have I mentioned my addiction to the local pretzel bread?)

Also as previously reported, the crowds initially diminished after the third week of August.  We had almost a week during which we thought the campground would remain half-full and thus we didn’t worry about turning Salt around (remember, we are still parked in such a way that, if people moved in across the drive from us we would not be able to get out.)

To our dismay, starting around the first of September, the leisurely unemployed (or just the smart European vacationers) starting filling up the campground; with an average age closer to 70 than 7, they are, thankfully, a much more peaceful group than the young families.  However, watching the pitches fill, we quickly realized that our inability to move Salt had returned.

So one day during the Great Migration (the incoming and outgoing of the motorhomes during this time was tremendous:  Every day at least a dozen came and went) we spotted an opportunity to turn Salt around.  We hitched her up (much to the delight of many watchful eyes), drove her further down the row, turned left, pulled through two spots, backed up into another spot and completed our three point turn; pulling back into our pitch with Salt’s nose facing toward the exit.  We could now leave at will.  Well, just as soon as SP had the caulking done.

The supplies arrived, the weather cooperated (day after day of lovely 23/76 degree sunshine!), SP had us patched in a day and we had the hideous blue tarp back on the ground where it belonged.  With our return to the USA looming ahead, we felt pressure to resume the Aventura and decided to head back south to Slovenia. 

On the designated driving day, I woke up and took The Noses for a long hike up into the woods and then down along the lake, two hours in total.  Arriving back later than usual with the warm sun shining I wondered why we were leaving this heavenly spot, voted for one more vacation day and so talked SP into staying another 24 hours. 

Topping my morning hike with a quick swim, some sunbathing while SP waxed Salt, and another epic tennis battle in the afternoon, it was a perfect last vacation day.  Happy and tired, we settled into our camp chairs with chips and gin to watch the final parade of people by Salt.  (She must be, by now, in more home movies and pictures than most children.  Some people try to take pictures in a nonchalant manner, “Hey, I’m just out here taking pictures of all the caravans” and others are more direct often just standing right in front of us staring, photographing and filming without saying a word [in any language.]  The latter are not my favorite people; the former I often invite in for a closer look.)

Staying so long in one spot always makes us a little soft:  The stressors of towing on small, windy roads to another unknown location (will we even be able to fit in the campground?) weighed heavily on our minds as did leaving Austria; what a lovely place.  We are trying to come up with one descriptor for each country and Austria’s effortlessly became “Elegant.”

Having no joy for the back roads of Slovenia, we opted to use the Motorway down the eastern side to Bled.  It was a short drive, so short in fact that I voted to keep heading south unless the area and campground really rang our bell.  But the bell tower was rocking when we pulled into Camping Sobec and became deafening upon our first view of Bled.  

-K

Salzburg, Austria – Sept. 2-3, 2012

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One of our readers asked if we missed enjoying activities as a couple due to having The Noses with us, referring to visiting museums and the like.  On the few occasions when this has come up, it hasn’t been a hardship to separate for a few hours and enjoy some time alone.  Most commonly though, having The Noses with us broadens our experience of an area, often leading to spots with fewer tourists and more nature; our visit to Salzburg was no exception.

Although it was time for our stay in a hotel anyway, Salt's leaking roof made heading to Salzburg’s Wolf Dietrich hotel that much more appealing.  Yes, during the last rain storm in Austria, Salt sprung not one or two, but three leaks.  We were forced to go out into the deluge and string a bright blue tarp over her top (well, SP was forced . . . I was going to do it with or without him.)  As SP said, “We went from the upscale Americans with the fancy car and trailer to White Trash in 15 minutes.”  So with caulking supplies on order, we locked up Salt, gathered The Noses and treated Pepper to some fast driving up the A10 to Salzburg.

First of all, the drive from Dobriach to Salzburg is gorgeous, rivaling that of Canada’s Highway 1 through Banff.  It was a quick hour and half drive to our lovely hotel, The Wolf Deitrich, which I highly recommend:  It sits across the river from the touristy “Old Town” section of Salzburg amongst appealing local shops and restaurants. The staff was welcoming and the service is excellent; offering a well-stocked breakfast and a coffee/tea service each afternoon in their charming bar.  (Note that our room was not a typical room, they have more ordinarily decorated rooms as well.)

The “Old Town” is filled with new fashion stores and most of the tourists.  The small pedestrian-only streets are charming if you can get around the people and enjoy walking at a tourist pace; neither of which we tolerate very well.  To get above the crowd, we quickly jumped on a horse-drawn carriage (Noses included, of course!) and were heartedly entertained by our driver during our 20 minute tour. 

For our full day we headed up to the fortress eschewing the funicular and opting for exercise—and exercise it was!  The hike up the hill had us dripping in sweat by the time we were reading the “No Dogs Allowed” sign at the entrance gate. 

Having seen a lady coming around the outside walls with a Labrador we thought perhaps there was a trail around the fortress that we could enjoy.  It turns out that there are a myriad of trails running through the woods surrounding the fortress.  It was the highlight of our trip; the Noses running free and racing around the top of the hill as we paused every so often to enjoy some coffee, warm apple strudel, and the fantastic views back down over the city.

And so we got something out of Salzburg that we never would have had we arrived at those gates without The Noses.  Truth be told, we are not great museum or tourist attraction fans so it is not difficult to pass up most of the sites, particularly when they are so crowded.  I expect this to change when we reach Florence and Paris where we will need to alternate viewing days in order to enjoy David and the infamous Don't-You-Dare-Call-Me-Mona, Ms. Lisa. 

But as I mentioned above, after a year of living in 19’, a day alone isn’t so bad.

-K