Prien am Chiemsee
When you put a UK sticker on your van everyone thinks your English. But of course we are not. We made a conscious decision to put NI stickers on the number plates and a magnetic NI sticker on the rear door. You have no idea the amount of discussion this has caused, especially the Dutch. It has been a great conversation starter. When we pulled into this Aire there were only two spots left and it was a race to get the hook up cable out as we only have a shortish lead. The other van that pulled in just literally on our tail was a lovely English couple called Lesley and Andy. Together we negotiated the pay machine. But we had a lovely conversation and it was really welcome to be able to talk to someone. John was filling up the water tank and this guy points at the number plate, and it a really familiar accent say “norn Ireland” we bonded instantly. Brendan and Molly were from Newtownabbey. Both of them are able to work remotely and travel around Europe, living the dream. Brendan loved all things van life and had done most of the work on his van himself. He offered to make John a coffee on his coffee machine. We had been preparing to go to the lake for a swim, but that was put on hold. The four of us must have chatted for an hour and a half. The two guys were heading to Luxembourg for weekend, so we said our good byes, and promised to get in touch when we got home. We then mad our way on the bikes to the lake and had the most wonderful time swimming in the lake. To tired to cook we unusually got a couple of pizzas and sat on a bench and watched the world go by. When we got back to the van, Lesley and Andy were just getting back from eating out and we had another long chat. This was just one of those perfect days.
The Eagles Nest.
The long awaited trip to the eagles nest had finally arrived and as we said good by and set off it was sad to say good bye. The journey was about 1 1/2 hours and we arrived at the carpark and got very blessed with a parking space. The tickets for the bus also entitled us to visit the museum. It was very good and the audio guide was excellent. We then boarded the all electric bus and it climbed effortlessly up a very steep mountain road and through several tunnels. At the top the climbing was not finished and a lift took you 124 Mts to the eagles nest. We had a lovely open sandwich and some tea and cake in the restaurant, before climbing the last section to the cross. Im glad we got are timings right as big rumbles and lighting started to form and the mist crept in on us. It wasn’t the clearest day but we did get some lovely views. Time to high tail it back to the bus and down the mountain. Mission accomplished!
Salzburg
John had emailed a camp site at Salzburg and they had room for us, so from the eagles nest we headed to Salzburg. The camp site was a short distance from the city, a nice walk to the bus stop and a no7 bus to town. We arrived in Salzburg just at the start of a three day festival. We got up on Friday morning and did a recon of the route and also where our tour bus left for The Sound of Music Tour we had booked for Saturday at 14:00hrs. The town was buzzing and it really is a lovely place. Around every corner there was something new to see. They had a number of stages set up for live music and many many organisations had stalls set up. The weather had been fine but thunder and rain were not far away. We got caught out in a very heavy downpour on the way back to the bus.
On Saturday we got up, organised a packed lunch and headed for town. We ate lunch at a nice park just facing the bus terminal and then had a nice drink in a cafe just facing in the shade.
The process for getting people was hilarious to watch. The both busses were full so they had to make sure every seat was filled.
The tour guide was called Connor, an lorraine noticed he had a bit of an Irish lilt. Turns out he was from Cork, retired then moved to Salzburg. The craic was mighty and he brought something extra to the tour. The tour was to last 4 hours, we drove to many of the iconic places used in the film and Connor filled in much of the back story as to how they were used. The tour also took us 27k out of the city to the church that was used for the wedding scene in the film. They even had us singing on the bus which added to the whole experience. The plan was that we would have something to eat and stay in town for the evening. When we arrived back at our not so quiet park. It had turned into one massive rave full of young people. Long story short, we were tired and made our way back to the bus stop and the camp site. We intended to make dinner but went to the little on site restaurant instead. Next morning we pack up and headed down the road. Salzburg is an impressive city to visit, it would be nice to come back some time.
