Idling Round Istria - the full blog in the right order

This is a repeat of my travel blog for Autumn 2015, but rearranged into the right order, so the trip reads right through, more or less coherently

Tues 1st Sept 2015

A late start - we are only going to Horsham to drop in on Rosemay''s dad and wife June. We spent the night at Slinfold caravan club site, not far from Horsham. We haven't yet booked a ferry, and did so from Horsham. All ferries tomorrow are either sold out or hideously expensive, so we have booked a sailing 0800 on Thursday morning.

Wed 2nd Sept

Another diversion, as we have a day in hand. Back to Rainham in Kent where we used to live, a trip down memory lane. Trouble was, it has changed so much we didn't remember much at all - by Golly we are pleased we moved to Dorset! Our old house has changed a lot, too. There's an extension onto the drive, and the plum tree on the front lawn has gone - one year we got 135 lb of plums from it. one thing still the same - they have kept the house name plate I made 42 years ago, and the name "Hygldi Pygldi". Very gratifying. Then on to see Rosemary's cousin in Herne Bay - she shares my birthday - and had a nice meal and some excellent beer in her local pub, before heading for Dover seafront for the night. The cruise ship "Costa Fortuna" (a particularly honest name!) was in, and sailed just after sunset. We last saw her in Dubrovnik (or maybe Venice)

The aptly named "Costa Fortuna"

Thurs 3rd Sept

we have booked with DFDS to go to Dunkirk, still in France, but nearer the Belgian border. It is half an hour longer crossing than Calais, but after the problems with wildcat strikers (aided an abetted by the French Gendarmerie) we want to give Calais a miss. We have only booked a single crossing, to leave options about returning. However I can confirm that DFDS does a very nice breakfast.

Arriving in Dunkirk just after 11.00 French time, we were surprised to see a HUGE queue of lorries waiting to cross, the queue extending right back to the motorway. There are reports that the Channel Tunnel is closed because of illegal immigrants on the track, attempting to cross the Channel, so maybe they have diverted to Dunkirk.

We followed our favourite route - past Lille, into Belgium, and Luxembourg. Just across the German border, at Trier, there is an outdoor shop we hoped would sell the rather specialised chairs we are after. They don't! So we have settled down in a large car park by the Moselle, with quite a few other motorhomes. There is an official wohnmobilstellplatz not far away, but it costs €9, and all other services cost extra. As we are only staying a few hours we opted for the car park.

 502 miles (from home) N49.738589 E6.621515

Fri 4th Sept (The day war broke out)

A storm across Germany (Blitzkrieg?) via Karlsruhe, where we had visited another Helinox chair stockist - another wasted journey. Getting close to the Austrian border, in sight of the Alps, we have stopped at a wohnmobilstellplatz at Bad Aibling , a spa town. €10 pn, inc electricity.

Miles 853, N47.856114 E12.006547

Graffiti under a Moselle bridge at Bad Ailing

Sat 5th Sept

Another long storm - through  Austria, Italy and Slovenia, to the campsite from hell - Camping Sirena at Novigrad in Istria. the north westerly part of Croatia.

OK, we arrived in a thunderstorm, in the dark, and very tired. It is a HUGE site, pitches mostly full and all cramped on top of one another. The first pitch we found seemingly empty, the neighbour said that was part of his pitch. One camper had placed his awning in the road, so was not pleased when we asked him to move it. The campsite roads were narrow (very narrow) with caravans jutting out into them, so navigating the obstacles in the heavy rain and dark was a nightmare. We are now on a pitch, at an angle, and the only electricity point is too far away to connect to. Then, to cap it all, they demanded our passports, to be kept by them. The Germans seemed quite happy with this - we were decidedly not, and got them returned to us. We don't expect to stay long in the morning.

Miles 1130. Longer than it should have been, because I had Sally Satnav set to avoid toll roads. A mistake, because tolls in Italy are not unreasonable, and the route avoiding them was extremely tortuous. However, avoiding tolls in Slovenia is well worthwhile. There is only  35 mile "ransom strip" between Italy and Croatia, and Slovenia milks it for every penny. A week's vignette for a motorhome is €40, compared to Austria's €8 or so for 10 days. They try to hide the fact that you can get to the vignette free roads from the border crossings.  We watched Croatians and Italians dashing off up a well disguised side road, and followed them. Sally then took over and we reached Croatia without having to cough up loadsamoney for Slovenian coffers. €15 for cars was acceptable (just) - €40 is a rip off.

  Sun 6th Sept

We awoke to a bright sunny morning, and by 9.30 many campers had left, so it all seemed a good deal more reasonable. However, we are moving inland slightly, to one or more of the little and old hilltop towns that Croatia does well.

The first one we visited, Buje, was quite disappointing. Not a lot there, but we did attack an ATM for some Croatian Kunas, and visit a small supermarket for the supplies we had forgotten - chiefly coffee and peanut butter. I also manage to trip, and fall flat on my face. It must have looked spectacular because a car stopped and people asked after me. Luckily, just a small scratch on my little finger. Even my camera bounced, and continues to work.

Buje

Thence on to another, more touristy, hilltop town, Motovun. Here there is a very nice private motorhome stellplatz, set up by the main hotel in the town. €18, but more  a small and well appointed campsite. The town itself has no parking, indeed only local cars are allowed, so it's a long and steep walk up to the town. Lots of restaurants, free wifi everywhere, very pleasant, ice creams only 70p (handily, there are roughly 10 Kn to the GBP, so estimating prices is easy)., but there isn't a great deal more to do or see. One afternoon has done it all.

Miles 1152 N45.334933 E13.825557

View from Motovun towards Slovenia

I like it! Seen in Motovun

Istria 

Mon 7th Sept

We drove out from the site, to investigate even more hilltop towns, but none was as interesting as Motovun. We also read about a local script - "Galaglytic", which was in use here some centuries ago, reputedly created by St Cyril, who also invented Cyrilic, so we hunted down a few examples - but it was all hieroglyphics to me:) Then back to the nice little site at Motovun

Rosemary in my favourite dress

Galaglytic script

Red squirrel - a lot tamer than the British version

Tues 8th Sept

Time to move on, further south, to Camping Porto Sole at Vrsar. The book says it is medium size- but it seems pretty huge to us. There is a pleasant walk into Vrsar. This is something the Croatians excel at - nice paths beside the clear blue sea but under pines most of the way. Good easy and attractive walking. In the evening we walked back into Vrsar for  meal, £20 bought us a superb meal, with a litre of local Chardonnay. I'm not a wine connoisseur, but I found it very tasty

miles 1219, N45.142146 E13,601530

Vsrar, Croatia

Wed 9th Sept

On again, only a few miles to a HUGE site near Rovinj. Quite expensive, a lovely shoreline, and some lovely views. Still surprisingly busy, and almost all Germans. And wifi isn't free. However the showers are the classiest I have seen anywhere.

Miles 1238  N45.122243 E13.628273

Sunset, Valalta camping

Sun 13th Sept

We have been at Camping Valalta for 4 days, and had a very relaxing time. There are quite a few residents who spend their entire summer there - you can tell by their extensive tans. However, we always get itchy feet after a few days, and have moved to a site only a few miles away, Camping Porton Biondi, within walking distance of Rovinj.

 Weather is now cloudy, and there were quite a few spots of rain, so photos of Rovinj, a beautiful islet city, don't have the sparkle they normally have. We have been here a couple of times before, and somehow the town seems less interesting than previously. Very touristy, but it always was. We must be getting stale!

At a very tourist oriented market we were given the hard sell about truffles, which are a local delicacy/industry. We've not tasted them before, and were offered tiny tasters from a very small and very expensive jar - it tasted rather like mushroom in olive oil - and it took quite a while to get rid of the taste, So much for truffles - like caviare and champagne - overrated. Back on the site, to find some very voluble Italians have taken the pitch alongside. We have already shared wine, and it looks like more will be shared tonight.

Rovinj, from Camping  Porton Biondi

Rovinj streets

Rovinj streets

Walls and washing

Remember this fellow? Seen on a utility box

Rovinj

Mon 14th Sept

I had my fill of Rovinj yesterday, so Rosemary walked into town on her own, with her painting materials, for some serious painting, which she enjoys a lot. I relaxed on site - and had my first ever full body massage, from a very muscular Croatian lady. It was certainly experience - I went for the "full classic", 1 hour costing £20. I'm guessing that is cheap compared to UK, but I don't expect to be having another one anytime soon.

We both walked in in the evening - there is a festival going on. The highlight of my visit to Rovinj was a very young pop group. The lead guitarist didn't look older than 10, and the female singer no more than 14 - but they were very good, and very professional

Youth pop group  - they were VERY good!

Tues 15th Sept

Leaving Camping Porton Biondi - a very reasonable £25 for 2 nights. We are heading for Pula, the regional capital, but first we visited a tiny mediaeval town en route - Bale, So tiny we didn't stay long at all.

A cafe (I think!) in Bale

Parking seems to be an issue in Pula, but we found parking on a quayside to the west of the old town. The main feature of Pula is it's Roman remains, including the 6th  largest amphitheatre in Europe, and a number of other buildings. As the afternoon wore on it got hotter and hotter, and very humid, About 5 we headed off to find Camping Diana, a very small campsite at Banjole, about 6 miles from Pula.(and fast and free wifi)

Miles 1273, N44.825040 E13.858339

Pula - amphitheatre, and still used for concerts

Rosemary, in Pula Amphitheatre

Roman pots, in a large room under the amphtheatre

Rosemary in Pula

Roman building, now a museum in Pula

James Joyce, sitting in a cafe. There is another bronze of him standing on a bridge in Trieste

Tito

Wed 16th Sept

 The campsite owner, a  large friendly man with excellent English, made several references to his mother, who lived in a small house by the gate. We imagined a little old Croatian crone - so when she came and introduced herself we were surprised to find a lively 40 year old, with superb English. She certainly didn't look old enough to be the mother of the owner, Left Camping  Diana after only 1 night, for a gentle drive eastwards around the Istrian coast, to visit the nature reserve at Kamenjak. A small peninsular, unmade roads, and beautiful Croatian beaches - limestone pavements gently sloping into the sea, and fringed with mature trees.

  Quite late in the day we arrived at Camping Romantik. It isn't very romantic, but it is very friendly, and small, and was obviously someone's (large) back  garden. It is obviously their hobby, and they are very proud of it - and rightly so. A tiny swimming pool, spotless amenities, and introductions all round when we arrived. In one corner is German sculptress in a rather old and hippyish caravan. She appears to be working limestone (and this area is STUFFED with limestone)

  Thurs 17th Sept

It was quite a warm night, we made do with just a sheet. All our windows were open too. Left our chairs, tables and washing on site, and went off to visit Gracisce - small mediaeval town, and nearby Pazin.

Gracisce

 Pazin has a gorge, cave and underwater river that inspired Jules Verne to write "Journey to the Centre of the Earth". For a fee, you can walk down into the gorge. We had plans to do this, but it became evident that this did not include entrance to the caves, which is the interesting bit. There are a number of zip lines across the gorge, and for a fee you can spend 10 seconds whizzing across the gorge and another 10 seconds whizzing back.

showing off!

The cavern that inspired Jules Verne

On the way back to Camping Romantik, we topped up with diesel, at 87p/litre, and topped up with groceries at a supermarket with the slowest checkout line ever! We were planning to move on tomorrow, but we have been invited to help pick their grapes, followed with lunch. That sounds like an experience not to be missed.

 Miles 1362 N45.081342 E14.101404

  Fri 18th Sept The day began in earnest at 11 am, when the assembled workers (about 8 of us)  stoked up on rolls, fish, meat, cheese, apple pie and home made grappa. The 3 hours of picking grapes - first the white, then the red. They use them to make their own wine and grappa.

After the grapes, more food and drink - Croatian minestrone soup, goulash, and apple pie - and of course more than enough wine. The other guests - Dutch and German, spoke good English, as did a number of the Croatians, so it was a very pleasant lunch. It seems the German sculptress (Angelika) is working on soapstone, which is primarily composed of talc (from which we get talcum powder), which is quite soft, and does indeed have a soapy feel.

post picking lunch

Sat 19th Sept

Moving on again - those itchy feet! To Brestova to catch a ferry to the island of Cres. We joined an enormous queue, as the ferry arrived. We were sure we would not all get on, but we did, and with a huge space behind us. Many more vehicle arrived, and there was still space when we sailed.

Cres is a long thin rugged island (actually, everywhere in Croatia is rugged!) There is nothing at the ferry terminal on either side, just a long and narrow road heading up hill to the crest of the island, Spectacular scenery.

We continued most of the way down Cres, until we reached a tiny town, Osor, which stands where Cres divides into 2 fingers. Here the Romans dug a channel across, less than 100 yards long, to allow small craft across. On one side of the bridge is a very nice campsite, and mediaeval Osor on the other side. Cobbled streets, and statues of musicians scattered around the town.

The campsite at Osor

the channel dug by the Romans

Osor - and its statues

He didn't look happy at being sat on!

Sun 20th Sept

 We spent one night at the campsite, which has the air of a municipal site, and explored Osor, then headed south to Camping Baldarin on the eastern finger of Cress. This requires a drive along 12 miles of single track road, and it had been described as hairy - but we found it OK, as passing places were very plentiful, and oncoming traffic minimal.

Camping Baldarin is quite a large site - but nowhere near as large as some we stayed on, and much less formal. There are different grades of pitches, at different prices: Superior - mostly right beside the sea, Premium, back just a few yards from the sea, and also more inland, then ordinary - just find a place and stop - and there are a huge number of areas to choose from, amongst the trees - rather like camping in the New Forest, We chose a premium pitch, close to the sea.

 At times there is a cool wind, but very nice in the sun. More excellent showers. We ate in the nearby camp restaurant - and it was superb, Rosemary had swordfish, I had mixed meat, cooked over charcoal - and very tender and tasty.

 Miles 1423, N44.610393 E14.516544

Our pitch at Camping Baldarin

Mon 21st Sept

Autumn equinox - and the Bora is beginning to blow. The Bora is an offshore wind caused by cold dense air simply falling off a plateau, or a mountain, under the force of gravity. Because it is offshore, it can be dangerous to swim in the Bora - people get swept out to sea. It can get very strong indeed, 200 Km/hr, but here it was only about 20 Km/hr ...and we  ate in the restaurant again

  Tues 22nd Sept

In contrast to yesterday, the weather today has been idyllic - warm sun, not too hot, and a very gentle breeze. The weather is due to break tomorrow, and it is time we moved on anyway.

  Wed 23rd Sept

 We have enjoyed our few days at Camping Baldarin. Although it is a large site, it is well spread out, and quite informal, with some lovely views. It is low season - it closes in a few weeks - and cost around £15 per night. We are planning to visit the other limb of Cres - down to the big resort of Mali-Losinj. So we drove back up the 12 miles of single track road, past the Osor and over the swing bridge over the Roman cut, and quite a few miles to Mali-Losinj.

We were aiming for a small campsite, and had a GPS for it. And Sally took us to the gates of a HUGE campsite - just like those we  normally hate. After searching around a bit, we parked in a shady area and walked into town.

Cres to Mali Losinj, and back to Osor

Lonely Planet describes Mali-Losinj as "a stunner" - the author must be easily stunned! Very pleasant, lots of yachts, wall to wall restaurants, but not a lot else. We did find an excellent restaurant in one of the side streets, Rosemary had "Homemade pasta with smallpox and zucchini" - we think smallpox referred to shrimps - small prawns. She's showing no symptoms so we're guessing it's a mistranslation;).

 Not much here, so we moved on to a neighbouring town - Veli-Losinj. This was smaller, more charming and interesting, not unlike a Cornish fishing village (complete with tourists).

Mali Losinj

water main cover

Pasta with smallpox and zucchini - mmmm! delicious!

Needing a campsite for the night, we returned to the site beside the Roman cut at Osor - much more our scene. The swing bridge opens for boats at 9 am and 5 pm.  It was closed to road traffic for 15 minutes, and built up quite a queue. I can imagine in August there would be long tailbacks

 Miles 1470, 44.692552 14.391700

  Thurs 24th Sept

 And away again, back to one of our favourite sites, Camping Romantik, where we picked the grapes a week or so ago. We were greeted like long lost friends, both by the owners, and by the caravanners who were there when we left last week,

 Fri 25th Sept 

We came to Camping Romantik (actually, I see now, it is Mini-Camp Romantik) to see old town of Labin. There is a big new town in the valley, and the old town, which getss a good write-up in Lonely Planet. We were planning to drive there, as it seemed quite a way, but we discovered there is an easy (but uphill) walk to the old town (stari grad) from the site - about 1 1/2 miles. and old Labin is lovely. Just touristy enough for there to be a few good cafes. I had a really good ham and egg brunch, only £2.50, which was enough for a full meal

Labin - the home of gastronomy

Seen in Labin

Sat 26th Sept

 Time to move on - we want to see the Hapsburg resort of Opatija further up the coast. Leaving the site took a long time.

First, we had a long goodbye with our Dutch neighbours, and then our German neighbours wanted to know all about Cres. Then we went to pay, and found ourselves having breakfast (a second breakfast) with Florijana the owner, her sister, and the German sculptress Angelika. Eventually we made a break for freedom, after promising we will return. And we will, easily one of the best and friendliest campsites we've been to.

Labin to Opatija

An hour's drive, and we're in the centre of Opatija- with absolutely nowhere to park a motorhome, Instead we retraced our steps a couple of miles to Camping Icici, at the town of the same name. The site is rather decrepit, has an unkempt feel about it, and the showers are only luke warm, but it is in a good position. And has a good wifi connection.

 Opatija has a very rocky coastline (no surprise - so has the rest of Croatia) and there is a promenade that stretches for miles in each direction. Steps down from the campsite lead to the promenade, then it is a pleasant walk into Opatija. We were expecting great things of Opatija - it has lots  of grand Hapsburg buildings, originally holiday homes for wealthy Austrians in the days of the empire, now mostly hotels and casinos. However quite a few are abandoned and derelict, although you can see echoes of their former glory. Rosemary summed it up well - "we were expecting Eastbourne, but we got Bournemouth" - another grand place wrecked by commercialism

Cormorants (someone will tell me they are shags!) close to the shore

Opatija has a famous statue

James Joyce certainly gets around - and I've never read Ulysses

Miles 1552, 45.308425 14.285205

  Sun 27th Sept

 In just a few hours, we have been in Croatia, Slovenia, Italy and Austria. The total distance in Slovenia was 27 miles. Using a motorway for that would have cost either €15 or €30, depending how we were classified. Instead Sally took us via non motorway main roads - which is the way most people go it seems, judging by how busy it was.

 In Italy, we returned to the Plockenpass into Austria. On one of the tighter hairpins near the top, one of those that also has a tunnel, a car came round too fast and too wide. We avoided a direct crash, but he did slide down the side, damaging the fibre glass skirting, and leaving his black paint along the side. We didn't stop to examine it at the time - stopping there would have caused traffic mayhem.

Croatia to Austria

We have returned to Camping Ponderosa, not far into Austria. This is our 3rd visit there this year. The Dutch caravan that was here in May & June is still here, but the elderly couple who occupied it have gone, and it looks like their son is getting it ready to take it back to Holland. We found ourselves awake at an unreasonably early hour, and went out to see if we could see the promised red moon - unlikely because of the surrounding mountains - but it was there, nearly all red with a white patch at the bottom. Not nearly bright enough for a hand held photo, and MUCH too cold to stand around for long admiring it.

 Miles 1710, 46.744528 13.043927

  Mon 28th Sept

 We are north of the Dolomites, but south of the Alps. Our plan is continue west, in the valley between the 2 ranges. This will lead us shortly back into Italy, and then into Switzerland. We are still discussing how to cross the Alps.

 Once into Italy we found a reasonably size supermarket, we are really short of fruit and veg. We like Croatia very much, but it has to be said their supermarkets and veg shops are pretty poor. The area is stuffed with apple orchards. We have seen more apple trees today than we have seen in the previous 65 years - and we grew up in orchard country! We also stopped at a roadside stall, selling apples from the attached orchards. Generally we avoid  buying apples abroad - they are generally horrible (exception - the Coxs we bought on Bavaria last year, better than British Coxs). However this enterprising farmer had apples to taste, and we particularly liked Elstar and a green apple "Renetta del Canada", all at €1 per  Kg, - about 30p/lb. We bought 17 Kg, which we now have to find room for. The Renetta del Canada din't look too great, but is delicious.

 The route did include an Italian motorway - €3.70 for about 60 miles. If French motorways weren't at least 10 times as expensive as this we'd use them instead of the routes nationales. We are now at a free Italian aire, (sosta), at Silandro, close to the Swiss border

Miles 1871, 46.627216 10.781768

The free aire at Silandro

and views from the front window

Tues 29th Sept

 An hour spent looking at Silandro, and back on the road into Switzerland We were in 2 minds whether to buy a motorway vignette, about €40 for a year (ie 2015, not 12 months). We did, to give us more options, even though we'll only be here 3 days. An interesting and scenic road, but very slow. At one Swiss town, Glurns, the road went through a narrow gate through the mediaeval wall, which had signs warning it was only 2.8 metres high. We are 2.75 metres high, and it looked tiny. Initially we chickened out, parked up and walked into town for coffee and sightseeing. As we did so a similar sized motorhome came through the gate - and there was oodles of space all round. So after our coffee we followed suit.

The gate looked tiny as we approached - but there's bags of room!

Glurns

Glurns

Glurns

We stopped for lunch at Mustair, which boasts a monastery with 8th century wall paintings in the church - but to our untutored eyes the style seemed much later than that - for example, perspective was correct, and that didn't arrive util centuries later.

Mustair, Switzerland

Mustair, Switzerland, the monastery

Then another pass - Ofenpass. High - 2149 M, but easy. Bitterly cold at the top! It has been noticeable that in Austria, Italy and Switzerland so far, scenery, architecture, farms etc are all very similar, and the language of choice throughout is German. Later in the afternoon we made our way to a little village, called Guardia. Lonely Planet says its a gem. Lonely Planet doesn't also say it's a hairy drive up to it!

Guardia

View from Guardia

By now it is getting late, time to find a campsite. We retraced our steps several miles and took the St Moritz road, to Camping Chapella. Good free wifi here.

 Miles 1940 46.632202 10.014833

Austria, Italy, Switzerland, France 

Wed 30th Sept

 Woke up to a frost, the first this autumn, and a very cold morning. I mentioned this to the lady selling bread at reception, and she said "well, we are at 1,600 metres!"  We are continuing our gentle amble homewards, along the very pleasant Engadin valley. After St Moritz we turned north over the Julierpass . a high but easy pass, spectacular views and very little traffic. We stopped at Savognin, because it has a campsite and a chairlift. The campsite was awful, but we had a very enjoyable up and down on the chairlift.

View from the chairlift - what you cannot see is the biting wind!

It's late afternoon, and I've had enough driving for one day. We have stopped at a campsite at Churwalden, just below Chur, beside another chairlift. Lots of static caravans, and quite cramped, but we are only here for one night

 Miles 2010, N46.777095 E9.541028

Thurs 1st Oct

 Chairlift adjacent - too good to miss. There is also a toboggan run, reputedly the longest in Europe. I've never tried one of these before - so an opportunity not to be missed. And it was really exhilarating - steep slopes and sharp bends. I shall be keeping a lookout for these in the future.

apprehensive!

It's a long way down!

At cafe at  top of chair lift - (expensive luke warm coffee) the proprietor proudly showed us 2 stuffed birds on the rafters, and explained how rare one of them was - an Auerhahn (which Mr Google later translated as capercaillie), and about the terrain and food it needs - Then he beamed and said "I shot them", without any hint of irony or embarrassment.

Auerhahn - capercaillie - a BIG bird (and rare)

We are not far from Maienfeld, and Rosemary wanted to do the Heidi thing again. We brought the children here about 20 years, walked up to Heidi Alp, etc. Now it is a major industry!  Maienfeld itself is moderately uninteresting, but it is the start of the "Heidi Weg", a walk of about 4 miles taking in various Heidi elements. Quite a few other walkers - mostly Muslim women wearing full hijabs, which did seem rather surprising, and their husbands and offspring.

On the Heidi weg (the cows aren't real)

At 5 pm we set off to find somewhere to spend the night. A nearby aire at a motorhome dealers proved to be a  dead loss - aires at motorhome dealers are always a waste of time. So instead we aimed for an aire at Elm -not far as the crow flies, but a long way as the motorhome drives, especially in rush hour traffic. It was almost dark when we arrived - a large and empty car park for the nearby ski lift - and we were the only occupants. Miles 2080, N46.912106. E 9.161398

  Fri 2nd Oct

 A very cold night, and a lovely but very cold morning. We have determined to go up in the ski lift - small cabins this time, then meander back down. We dressed up warmly, and, typically, when we got to the top it was baking. It was a nice scenic walk back - about 8 miles. The signpost said 2 1/2 hours, but it took us 3 1/4 hours.

Sat 3rd Oct

 Time to start the long trek home. We have booked a ferry on Monday afternoon, from Calais. The plan for today is to look at the town of Elm, then drive 160 miles to Colmar, in France, find a hypermarche, then stop at one of the aires there.

Elm is famous for the shaft of sunlight that peeks though a crack on the mountains on just one day of the year, lighting up the church spire (so famous we hadn't heard of it until we read it in the Guardian 2 days ago). And we missed it by 2 days!

 We left Switzerland via Basle - motorway all the way. It WAS worth buying the vignette after all, it would have taken forever on ordinary roads. Into France, and we eventually found a huge Cora, tucked away outside of Colmar, after some searching. We now have to find space for another 24 bottles of wine - but we got them securely stowed eventually. There are 3 aires in Colmar, 2 near the city centre, and we are on one of those. It is in the middle of of housing estate, but is an easy walk into Colmar. Day parking costs €5 per day, free lunchtimes and overnight.

Colmar centre is an absolute delight - full of cobbled streets and mediaeval houses, and mostly unspoilt by modern developments. There are a huge number of tourists during the day ("tourist" = any visitor except us!), but much quieter at night - even Saturday night. We shall surely be returning here - it is close to a good route to Italy. We would stay longer - but we have a ferry tomorrow evening - and still 500 miles to drive. They also have a one quarter sized statue of liberty, There was a small "Free Tibet" demonstration in front of it when we passed it.

Miles 2238, N48.083738 E7.355246

Sun 4th Oct

The last leg

Rain overnight - we were lucky to see Colmar in fine weather. A long drive today - not helped by my failing to set Sally correctly - in Switzerland we needed to use toll roads because we had bought a vignette. I failed to to reset Sally to "always avoid toll roads", because French toll roads are obscenely expensive, especially for motorhomes. This meant we found ourselves on a French toll road - luckily we extricated ourselves before it got too expensive - but then we had a long meander though small roads in the Vosges. Very scenic, and very slow.

Eventually we joined our normal autobahn to Luxembourg. where we topped up with cheap diesel, then through Belgium to Charleroi, before turning left to head across France towards Azincourt. We have parked up overnight in a Vauban fortified town - Quesnoy. Superb fortifications by the master military engineer Vauban, grotty little town with no control over where they empty their dogs.

There is a monument to the New Zealand soldiers who, in the last week of WW1, scaled the 17th century fortifications to take the town from the occupying forces - who promptly surrendered - no one wants to be the last man to die in a war!

The spot where the Kiwis scaled the wall, November 1918

As I was parking up, the front wheels dropped off a step I had failed to spot - it had been a long day! - and bent the mud flap support so that it impinged on the front wheel. So another half hour spent removing that before I could get the beer I was gasping for.

 Miles 2588 N50.248412 E3.632843

Mon 5th Oct

 Another look at the Vauban fortifications. They are huge and magnificent, and there are lots of these scattered across France. Then on the road again, for Azincourt. Not far, but a 2 hour cross country drive nevertheless.

There is a superb little museum here, all about the battle. Worth the €7.50 entrance. You can also drive round the perimeter of the battle site. Unsurprisingly after 600 years, there's not a lot to see, but is fascinating being on the spot where it took place.

Basically, the French did not have a single competent leader, they were cocky and over confident, and they totally underestimated the power of the longbow. 1500 archers, and each could have 3 arrows in the air at the same time, means a devastating blanket of arrows, each capable of piercing armour. A freshly ploughed field, and heavy rain, meant the French cavalry and infantry turned the field into a quagmire before they even reached the English lines, when they were knackered. Following waves, eager to get some action before all the English had been killed, piled into the knights and soldiers retreating, and falling over the dead and dying. Heavy armour meant they couldn't get up again. Then all the English archer had to do was push a dagger through one of the gaps in the armour.

Agincourt - the battlefield

Some knights look remarkably realistic...(spot a camera in 2nd knight?) "Gentlemen in England now abed will think themselves accursed they were not here on St Crispian's day"

It is rather surprising the French under estimated the longbow  - they had already suffered heavy defeats at Crecy and Poitiers due to the longbow, and in the following century 200 English archers helped the king of Portugal defeat a massively superior combined French and Spanish army (which is why Portugal is England's oldest ally).

 We lunched at the local hostelry, the €15 menu de jour, but it decidedly wasn't good value for money. Then on the road again, for Calais and the ferry. The last time we were there wildcat strikers held us up for 4 hours, but there were no problems this time.

 It is now 9pm UK time, and we are spending the night on Dover seafront.

 Miles 2738 N 51.121105 E 1.313731

  Tues 6th Oct

 A quiet night. then off through the usual heavy heavy traffic and queues of lorries on the M20 and M25, to Rosemary's Dad and step mother in Horsham - accompanied by torrential rain. We are spending the night at Slinfold Caravan Club site. only 4 miles from my father in law.

Miles 2841

  Fri 9th Oct 

Late pm - home again in Shaftesbury - and a mountain of mail Miles 2950

  Sun 11th Oct

 Not strictly part of idling round Istria, but worth adding. Today is the last flight of the last flying Avro Vulcan, the iconic delta wing bomber of the cold war era, and I drove to Old Sarum, near Salisbury, which was one of the turning points on its flight path, Huge crowds, and she was in view for less than a minute, but worth the trip.

Avro Vulcan's last flight, over Old Sarum