Flatlander goes to the mountains (1 Viewer)

[Flatlander]

The middle part of my latest trip. The first is too personal, and the last not finished as yet.

Starting in Hamburg was a nightmare! The autobahn from there to Hannover was just one long "stau." Not helped by drivers, mainly Danish for some reason that were unaware that cars are wider than motorbikes!

The first night was spent at Birkensee Camping. Its just a few hundred metres from the autobahn, and a handy place for a one night stay. Good facilities, including a lake for swimming, and Beer Garden with simple food. Its the third time we have used this particular site. Normally, being so close to the autobahn its noisy. At least this time, the stau made it a lot quieter! These photos taken from the motorhome parking area.

Although part of their website is in English, the staff speak only german, and refuse to speak any other language.

 

[Figaro]

What does stau mean please ?
I motorhomed in germany for the first time this year and loved it !

 

[Flatlander]

What does stau mean please ?
I motorhomed in germany for the first time this year and loved it !

Literally, it means "stay or stop." In good old English, a traffic jam. Its a good german word to learn if motoring there.

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[Flatlander]

The following day, we drove down to Freiburg am Breisgau, which is in the Black Forest. We'd chosen to stay for a few nights on Hirzberg Camping which is on the outskirts of the city. Even if the site was a bit cramped, it was no problem for our under-6-metre Adria. Facilities were good, and the staff absolutely brilliant. Friendly, helpful and good fun to talk to. We also got a nice shady spot, something appreciated in the hot weather they were having there.

The following day, we walked along the river into the old town. Frankly, we were shocked to see the amount of homeless people that were living under bridges, etc. In a way, we felt quite intimidated by them. As can be seen from the following photo, the river was quite low.

After a few hours mooching around the town, we walked back to the campsite along a slightly different route that avoided the intimidating areas. Staying onsite for the rest of the day, our evening meal was taken at the restaurant/beer garden that was by the entrance. We found the restaurant food good...

Day 2 at Freiburg was spent making a cycle ride out of town along possibly the best cycle path we have ever used...

In contrast to the previous day, everything felt relaxed and peaceful. Such a contrast!

On our third and final day there, we took the tram into town, and did a bit more sightseeing. If anyone on here goes to Freiburg, look for this crocodile in the canal…

The reason? A short distance behind it is this brewery…

...and to the right of it the only place in which their beer can be bought. If any funsters actually drink beer, its highly recommended! Finally a couple of shots of the area around the Minster.

Next time, off to the mountains we go!

 

[Flatlander]

From Freiburg, we headed off to Meiringen in Switzerland. A probably unknown place to most, even if it does have a part in literature and food.

As we had a vignette, we were able to enter the country though the "mit vignette" lane at the border. As can be seen from the photo, this put us in a queue. Maybe things would have gone quicker if we had simply spent the 40CHF for one when we crossed?

Although the first miles towards the campsite were on motorways, they were soon followed by some tortuous mountain passes. Some with quite steep climbs and descents. Somewhere else on here is a debate as to whether a 150 engine is preferable to a 130. All I can say is that the 130 in ours performed very well under what I would consider to be testing conditions. My opinion is, the 150 in a 3500kg. max motorhome is not only overkill, but a distinct waste of money. Sorry if this upsets some!

The site we stayed on was probably the best laid out we have been on to date. Each pitch was quite large. Sadly, not large enough for a British tugger that insisted on parking one of the two cars they had with them on another empty pitch rather than the dedicated "extra vehicle" car park. In my opinion, nothing more than a case of idleness!

Facilities were centrally placed, and nothing was lacking. On site food, though simple, was excellent! Other than the motorhome, there were two separate areas to eat it as well. Adjacent to one of these areas was a barbeque area. The barbeques being in the centre of each table!

What really made this site though was the surroundings. On all sides, it was surrounded by mountains. These gave a very peaceful and relaxing atmosphere to the whole place. Even when two Hornets buzzed by. I'm talking Swiss Air Force F-18's here, not flying insects! To end this post, a couple of photos of the site.

 

[Bailey58]

Been to Meiringen whilst staying at Camping Alpenblick in Interlaken. Don't know about the food, meringues maybe, but the literature fame is of course Sherlock Holmes.

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[Flatlander]

Been to Meiringen whilst staying at Camping Alpenblick in Interlaken. Don't know about the food, meringues maybe, but the literature fame is of course Sherlock Holmes.

@Bailey58 correct on both counts. Meiringen is where Sherlock Holmes supposedly fell to his death there in 1891, and there is even a plaque commemorating where it happened.

If the town name is said in the local dialect, it does sound very similar to the word meringue. According to the locals, its where they were invented.

 

[Garfields]

If you are still there and have the time take the train to the station inside the tunnel at the Aare gorge and walk back to town
https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-gb/gorge-of-the-aare-meiringen.html
Or you could walk both ways

 

[Flatlander]

If you are still there and have the time take the train to the station inside the tunnel at the Aare gorge and walk back to town...

@Garfields you guessed part of this post!

We had three goals when in Meiringen. The first was to eat a meringue in the Tea Room...This is one of the smaller ones…

...which was partaken in these surroundings…

After that, we walked up to and through the Aare Gorge. This is well worth a visit, and was a lot more spectacular than we had imagined. My poor photography skills do not in any way do it justice!

At the end of the gorge, we took the train back into town. It seemed a little bit surreal to enter a train by walking through a door in the side of a mountain!

The following day was our last in Meiringen, and we decided to visit the Reichenbach Falls. This is the place where Sherlock Holmes reputedly fell to his death when struggling with Professor Moriarty. To get to almost the top of the falls is a 4 minute ride in a funicular. Yes, on the single trac is one carriage coming down, as we are on our way up!

...which at times affords spectacular views…

At the end of this ride is this view of the falls...

Walking further upwards, there are a number of viewing platforms. Finally, right at the top of the mountain, is a rather nice restaurant where we sat and relaxed for a while. With refreshments, of course!

The following day, we left Meiringen, and continued upwards...

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[Garfields]

If anyone is in the area Trümmelbach falls near Lauterbrunnen are also worth a visit
We thought it was well worth the entrance charge
There is a camp site close by but we haven't stayed on it

https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-gb/truemmelbach-falls-water-in-a-corset-of-stone.html

 

[Flatlander]

If anyone is in the area Trümmelbach falls near Lauterbrunnen are also worth a visit
We thought it was well worth the entrance charge
There is a camp site close by but we haven't stayed on it

https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-gb/truemmelbach-falls-water-in-a-corset-of-stone.html

I agree. There are plenty things to see all over Switzerland. Its a shame that more British dont visit there, despite it being an expensive country. We were told when there that the British were the first tourists in the 1800's, and we are also credited with the invention of downhill skiing in the country. How true that is, I have no idea. Even if as a nation, we are always looking for new, fun ways to break bones!

On with the trip...

The next destination after Meiringen was the Austrian Tirol. There, we would meet up with some friends, and go up to the top of the highest mountain peak in Germany together. Its called Zugspitze.

The chosen campsite was right at the foot of the mountain. Despite it having a 4-star rating, we were disappointed with it. The feeling of "trying to be something it wasnt" prevailed. For goodness sake, I dont enjoy risking contracting tetanus simply connecting to the EHU. The staff we spoke to were not exactly helpful either. The view of the mountain from the camper, nice as it was...

...did not make up for theses shortcomings.

The following day, it was into the cablecar, and up the mountain we went…

Even if there were clouds, the views were still spectacular...

To conclude this post, in this final photo, play spot the rather relaxed Flatlander after having climbed the final few metres to the summit!