Driving.

I really will have to figure out the Italian toll road system if I ever plan on driving in Italy again, driving via the non-toll roads although scenic can be a real drag with the traffic, the circuitous route and the Russian Roulette of the speed cameras.

Thanks to an early start yesterday I had time to visit Hitler’s Eagles Nest in Berchtesgaden, it was interesting especially the way it was so matter of factly presented but the tourist hordes jammed the place solid, there were queues to get in, to get out, for the busses in fact for everything except to view the buildings.

I had my third schnitzel of the trip last night in a very local restaurant, I think I was the only non-German there and I must admit it stretched my brain to remember all those forgotten words and phrases needed to order. The schnitzel was served with zigeuner sauce something I have been looking forward to since the last time I had it forty years ago.

Three long drives now to get home by Friday evening but some of it is through country that is new to me and I will be stopping to pick up wine but not Camembert, last time I did that the car was a no-go zone for weeks after.

The tunnel to the lift up to the Eagle's Nest

The Eagle's Nest from the tunnel entrance.

So much happening.

Early start yesterday got me down to the Lipizzaner stud farm at lipica in southern Slovenia where they bred the first Lipizzaner horses and have been doing so since. I booked the horse whisperer deal which after watching a young ladies skills with four horses allowed those who wanted to venture into the ring with just the one horse where we were shown how to interact with this beautiful animal. Of course the little girls in the group mobbed the poor beast but it was a privilege to share some time with him.

 The scenic journey from Lipica to Venice turned into a bit of a saga but i arrived eventually in time to book in then head of to Mestre town square for a well deserved beer and a prolonged spell of people watching so muchso that I stayed at the same table for three beers and a pasta dinner.

One of the advantages of travelling

Today was a wonderful day, I had arranged to meet Barbara and my god-daughter Ruby in Venice where they would be spending the day ashore from their cruise ship after Ruby and Paul had been married at sea. I was far too precipitous in thinking that they would be ashore early so I bought a day ticket for the vaperetto and spent some time just cruising the canals and then visiting the Leonardo da Vinci museum (well worth a visit) before i met them of the boat. It was lovely to see them all especially as i hadn't seen Jodie for years and never met her children or the husbands, a totally joyous occasion and the rain that had threatened held off.

I was back at my table in Mestre this evening for more of the same except I had the pizza in place of the pasta but i was welcomed as a friend and the bill was noticeably less, strange how these things happen isn't it?

Innsbruck to Bled

The Hungerburgbahn, a funicular railway, takes you over the Inn river and then the Nordkette cable car whisks you up to nearly 7000 feet above sea level all in less than 30 minutes, it took a lot of tourists in shorts,T shirts and flip flops by surprise even though you could see from the city the snow lying on the tops of the mountains. 

The cross at the peak.

Yesterday i decided to take the scenic route from Innsbruck to Lake Bled via the Brenner pass and looping down through Italy, it was certainly scenic but the amount of roadworks and other hold ups added an unconscionable amount of time to the journey and i was charged tolls for the pass itself part of the autoroute and the tunnel into Slovenia as well as another Toll Vignette, an expensive decision.

The difference in the accommodation between the two places is astonishing especially as they are priced the same, I will not bore you with the details but I am polishing up my review skills for Trip Adviser and Booking.com. Bled is a beautiful place but very touristy and there seems to be a lot of work going on to make it more so, I circumnavigated the lake on foot today which seems to be a popular pastime especially by people on wheels. The different forms of wheeled transport I have seen on this trip are amazing, not only bicycles of all the usual forms but also recumbent and semi-recumbent cycles and weird bikes that have what looks like a gym style stepper as a means of propulsion. Electric bikes have taken off hugely and I am beginning to see how effective they can be especially for us fogies who may need a little assistance where inclines are involved. I have also seen a variety of scooters from children's to adult some with electric power and some with full bicycle sized wheels.

My landlord recommended a local restaurant for last night, the food was as usual far too plentiful but so good, I will be going back there again tonight. On to Venice tomorrow via Lipica which is home to the Lipizzaner stud if I can find it.

Bavaria to the Tyrol.

My last day in Munich was a bit of of a failure, I blame my lack of research but both the old and the new art galleries were closed for one reason or another and the planned visit to the BMW experience was delayed for nearly 2 hours due to the late start of one of the underground lines so I pampered Magda and took the rest of the day off, enjoying an Italian lunch in an Asian fast food joint and finishing the day off with souvlaki in a local restaurant.
Yesterday I planned a route to Innsbruck avoiding major roads and under advice from the google maps lady the journey took me through some beautiful countryside with stunning views, I will try to attach some photos of them later. I arrived in Innsbruck by lunchtime and went straight to tourist information for all the facts, the first one I learnt was parking is at a premium and you can pay through the nose for it, having said that I dumped the car on the outskirts of town and used my newly purchased Innsbruck card which gave me free transport on local buses plus the hop-on-hop-off sightseeing bus along with free entry to most of the interesting sites. My first free tour was a walking tour of the old city with Barbara, poor girl I was the only attendee so she had to put up with my inane questions for an hour and a half, her tour was informative and she also gave me loads of advice about transport, parking, what to see and more importantly what not to see. After that I managed to drag myself to the court church which was planned as a tomb for one of the emperors but the highlight of the visit is the 28 larger than life bronze figures who line both sides of the tomb including KING ARTHUR???? What I don’t understand is that there is a local superstition that touching parts of these highly patinated bronze figures will bring you luck, fertility, or whatever but it is quite startling to see the figure representing Juliet in Munich with one golden breast where the rest of the figure is virtually black with age or one of the monarchs in the the tomb with a golden codpiece.
Today’s exploration was an example of how things can go with an organised transportation system, free parking if you use the train and buses to everywhere you could ever want to go, even with a late start I managed a prolonged visit to the Ambras Castle which from a military point of view, think of knight’s weapons and armour, was informative and 15th century children paintings were frankly disturbing. My next stop was a multi interest site but the highlight was the Bergisel ski jump (no pun intended), while I was there I watched some young German teenager jump, no snow and just some wet fake grass to land on, in my opinion  a loony. The view from there is amazing and it makes you proud to know the Eddie the Eagle managed a jump of over 75 metres but more importantly his photograph is there with all the other record holders.

The view from the sundeck in my hotel in Innsbruck

The view Eddie the Eagle had, the area immediately behind the green patch at the bottom is the cemetery.

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Reservoir on the rout to the Brenner pass

Where to start.

I have been travelling, no wifi or having fun for the past few days so i will have to drag my mind back to Thursday. I had an early start so even with refreshment breaks I was in Canterbury by 1pm to explore the cathedral then on to my quirky B&B in Dover right next to the ferry port, after a Guinness in Cullin's Yard a pub/restaurant overlooking the marina I hit a back street chippy 'The Castle Takeaway' with tables outside for a real treat, proper fish and chips at a reasonable price. The B&B had a double and single bed, two settees, a full kitchen including freezer and dishwasher but most of all a 7 foot mirror in an ornate gold frame opposite the bed, fortunately the lights were out on my mid-night trip to the loo otherwise I would have frightened myself to death.

The War Horse, to honour the millions of horses that died in France during the Great War.

Another early start on Friday saw me on the ferry an hour earlier which was a bonus as the continent is currently and hour in front of the UK so after a leisurely full fry I was on the road just after 10am. the route took me through Boring Belgium, less than interesting Luxembourg and parts of the French eastern border that does not have a lot to recommend it but the the Vosges changed the whole perspective then just across the border into Germany and it was all immaculate, welcoming and felt like coming home. After nearly 8 hours behind the wheel my B&B that night was perfect except for no wifi but a night without is no great hardship and it was more than made up for by the beautiful little pedestrianised town of Neuburgen am Mulhouse with a pavement restaurant the served me good local food and beer with a charming lack of laughter at my appalling German. Saturday's start was delayed by breakfast but a non-motorway route from Neuburgen to Munich took me through the scenic countryside and villages that really need more investigation, the last 100kms is by necessity on autobahn but most of it is limited to 80km/h so still relaxing until you hit city traffic then it is less fun but I was safe at my hotel by 3pm.
The local/underground train service in Munich is as expected efficient and you never wait more than 10 minutes, there are stations either side of my hotel both less than 5 minutes walk away and with a three day pass for around £15 who needs a car. I went down town exploring yesterday afternoon and as usual got lost but i got my bearings in the end and found myself being served large beers by well presented young ladies, I tried the local speciality Schweinebraten mit nudeln the two hunks of roast pork would have fed a family of four and the nudeln was a cricket ball sized lump of bread dumpling with very little taste I was thankful I had packed the Rennies. Today's highlight was a Sandeman's free walking tour around the city, obviously there is no charge and the guide works only for tips which means he is an informative performer and well worth the tips he was given, they offer tours in other cities in Europe, the US and in the UK, well worth a try. Stupidly I carried on with the walking and visited the English Garden, another place worth a visit either on foot or by bicycle but not as I did on a sunny Sunday, the food and drink places were mobbed.

The Eisbach River flows at speed through the English Garden

and people leap in to be swept down stream

Googling food where i am staying took me to a bar/restaurant attached to a local sports club which was celebrating their team's winter season achievements, great entertainment the longer the evening went on and the owner kept buying me beers because the food was so slow in arriving, I tipped him enough to cover what should have been the bill. 
Well I am now up to date, plans for tomorrow are still fluid so watch this space.

last day.

It is definitely time to pack my case and head home, I have just used my last teabag.

Yesterday’s Piton nature trek was interesting google hike the Tet Paul Nature Trail and click on uncommoncaribbean.com the description is a little over the top but the guy writing it is American so that is to be expected. The hike is not difficult and it lets you get really great views without too much effort, to keep costs down catch the Vieux Fort bus from Soufriere and walk up to the start of the trail, about half an hour up, the trek including a guide is only US$ 10.00.

I have been for my last coffee at Zaka’s so time to shower, pack the case and catch my transfer to the airport, due to get home tomorrow at 3pm if I make all the right connections.

No rugby in St Lucia

I had high hopes of catching the Six Nations rugby this weekend either at a local sports bar of on the TV in my accommodation which runs on an Amazon Firestick but no, I signed up to BBC Sport and iPlayer but their programmes are not available here. I saw that the French only turned up for the first half of their game against Wales that should give the Welsh boys some momentum beating The French on their home ground.

Yesterday was enjoyable doing a little bartering with the street vegetable sellers and generally meeting the locals, I also went up another hill to view the Toraille Waterfall $3 entry to view a very unspectacular waterfall which is hyped into a refreshing plunge for the tourists however, the

locals tell me the the village upslope from the waterfall use the stream for all their grey water so I did not join in the experience.

Today is a rest day and is the first day with no rain, so far, but to be honest the showers are usually very brief and it is no problem to stand under a banan plant or something similar to avoid the heavier downpours. I have taken a photograph of a beautiful rainbow, I hope it comes out well when I download it.

It’s all uphill.

Soufriere is located in the caldera of a hopefully extinct volcano consequently any walks are going to be uphill so today’s adventure took me up a long mile and a half hill to Morne Coubaril estate where Noelle took me for an informative tour of the estate what really interested me was the simple way sugar cane was milled and how complicated is the process of getting cocoa from the pod to the finished product and then there was the whole coconut/copra story. It was an excellent tour,  I tasted herbs, freshly squeezed sugar from the cane, raw cocoa beans and the finished roasted bean as well as coconut water, heart of coconut and the flesh itself, there was no need for lunch after all that.
After the tour I explored the rest of the estate which offers highly priced tours on horseback or by zip line to bus loads of tourists from the cruise ships and the resorts in the north of the island. The zip lines are well laid out and run through the rain forest, the horses are really healthy looking and very amiable when I went and said hello even though I had no carrots.

Because of all the ripoffs of the cruise passengers and tourists from their highly priced resorts the costs of transport, accommodation and dining in the town is really OTT, I was enquiring about taxi fares to the start of a walk I would like to do, the first offer I had was £90.00 for a 6 km return journey so far the cheapest I can get it is £29.00, basic main meals off plastic tablecloths in a restaurant on the harbour are over £40. I had one of the best pizzas I have ever eaten tonight at a local joint for under £7 and the beer was half the price it is in town plus I got to meet Rusty who besides running his own small farm hand carves various rocks, shells etc to make jewellery, between us we put the world to rights over a few beers.

I haven’t made plans for tomorrow yet but I have to get back here by 4pm for the start of the 6 Nations rugby.

Observations.

I have mentioned before how the current crazy British political correctness can stifle your feelings and experience but on two occasions in Tobago I had to smile. I was talking to Cat, the guy who picked me up from the airport and made himself into my minder and mentor, I mentioned that two girls had visited me at my first apartment to ask what it was like as the were  thinking of renting it, he asked me straight away if they were dark, no mention of the word black also when I was getting my haircut Kamala  Harris one of the senators for California was on the TV making a speech and all hair cutting stopped whilst they discussed wether she was mixed race or not, no mention of that spurious phrase Woman of colour.

Today’s exploration of the local area allowed all the touts in the area to offer me the services of their water taxis, normal taxis and tour opportunities, even the girl in tourist information joined in and took me to her preferred provider who only wanted £27.00 for a 6 km return taxi ride. I stopped off at a cafe recommended by Cisco, the coffee was probably the best I have ever tasted and to top it off it was served by the prettiest girl I have seen on this trip, I may have to go back for another cup.

I did visit the Diamond Botanical gardens and waterfall which were pleasant but when you live down the road from Bodnant nothing else measures up but the cats whiskers plant was cute, I now know that mace and nutmeg come from the same fruit and when I do develop dementia my way out will be ricin which is obtainable from the castor oil plant and is twice as deadly as the worst snake venom. On that Happy note it is time for an aperitif.

Thoughts so far and moving island.

I have enjoyed Tobago but it is the people, my choice of location and the bird life that have made it for me. Castara where I was staying is only a small place where everyone knows everyone else so it is very friendly and laid back, in the capital Scarborough and the tourist areas the locals are getting on with their busy lives.

Today I had fortunately booked my transfer to the airport quite early and despite my driver stopping to make sure his kids were OK and also picking up his sister to take her to work we were at the airport in plenty of time, the flight I was booked on had been cancelled so they had moved me to an earlier flight. I am sure if had arrived late they would have shrugged their shoulders and still got me there in time, I cannot praise the airport staff and Caribbean Airways employees highly enough, they were friendly and laid back but oh so efficient. I arrived in Castries airport ahead of time so after whizzing through passport control, customs and baggage collections I was still in my transfer car at the time we were supposed to land, brilliant service.

My lodgings for the next week is in Diamondview in Soufriere, St Lucia. Cisco my host gave me an exhaustive run down on my bayt and the local area, the apartment is immaculately clean but very shabby chic, however, there are floral displays everywhere made from flowers and foliage from his garden, he mentioned that he travels around the world with his business, it has got to be something arty, I will find out.

I went downtown to explore and buy the essentials and the first person who spoke to me was a scantily clad young lady in a red minidress who invited me over to drink and dance with her much to the amusement of her raucous friends, I took a raincheque on her invitation.

This week looks like it could be busy and interesting, I will keep you posted if I have time to write.

Slow time.

Not a lot has happened in the last 7 days, I had a little bit of enforced rest because my right heel objected to thursday’s walk in trainers to English Man’s Bay, they will now be relegated to light duties only. I must admit it is very pleasant here swanning around in just a pair of shorts I will have to turn the central heating up when I get home and continue the motion.

Apparently there are over 200 species of birds on Tobago and I have enjoyed seeing them on my explorations but yesterday I went on a rain forest tour where in addition to explanations of all the flora we were seeing Roachee our guide really has his eye in and pointed out all sorts of exoctic birds including a couple of rare examples which birders come back time and time again to see, all in all it was a pleasant afternoon with a knowledgeable guide contact him on roacheesrourstaxiservices.yahoo.com.

Chilled

Golden Apple Villa is up a steep road out of Castara so I am getting enough exercise with trips down to the village at least three times a day. Today I went down to book tours for next week, to order tomorrow’s bread and pick up coffe for tonight’s carrot cake. The carrot cake is excellent but the Nescafé takes me way back to Oman in the late 1980s, it was the only coffee brand I recognised and I have been bitten once too often with local brand imitations like yesterday when I walked to English Mans Bay I had a couple of locally bottled/canned US drinks and they were so sugar laden that they reminded me of the gunk you drink for the diabetes test, it is a wonder the locals have any teeth left.

Besides my calls in the village I also visited the waterfall on the Castara river, it was lovely, just a hundred meters off the road and I was in the forest and surrounded by local birds which had no fear of me. I went to the bonfire on the beach last night, the food was good even if I couldn’t identify everything that I was eating but the highlight was watching them light the bonfire with a refreshing disregard for health and safety, this is another country that puts responsibility for such things in the hands of the individual, if only we could go back to the days before the nanny state, rampant political correctness and ridiculous H&S, I hope coming out of the EU will be the start of the revolution. Oops that rant slipped out, I was going to say that I didn’t stop long at the bonfire because the music was turned up too loud for my old ears so it was back to chillin’ on my patio which I will be doing again very soon after I have collected my takeaway from Ria who is acknowledged to be the best chef in the village.

With Virgin to Tobago

Tuesday’s travel plans went seamlessly. A three minute walk from my hotel to the bag drop followed by less than 10 minutes to get through security and a well planned rush free loading by the Virgin ground staff deposited me in an aisle seat with no one besides me. I was surprised that there were no new passengers boarding the plane when the majority disembarked at St. Lucia so less than 50 of us made the eighteen minute hop to Tobago. Cat my transfer driver was waiting for me in arrivals  and he deposited me at Golden Apple Villa my accommodation for the next week in less than an hour but we did make three stops on the way for beer. I was unpacking when things went wrong , the power went off as soon as I switched the air conditioning on, it wasn’t until later that I learned that one of the local buses had taken down not only the power lines but also the internet and TV cables as well. The power company guys were out within the hour and the electricity supply was soon reconnected but TV and internet are still down but Bruce, my host, brought around a dongle this morning to satiate my digital desires.
I am staying in Castara on the Caribbean coast of Tobago, it is a fishing village that has some rustic tourist accommodations. The people here are lovely and love to chat but I have not yet managed the local greeting of ‘yeah man’. I have met Hazel the baker and ordered bread for Friday, and also ordered a carrot cake from a lady who bakes to order, the barber is proving elusive, he only opens when he has nothing else to do. It is cheaper here to dine out than to buy the ingredients and cook yourself so besides breakfast and the occasional lunch on my patio I will be dining out especially as there seems to be something happening at one restaurant or another most days of the week.
Today I plan to book some trips out and walk up to Englishman’s Bay, the next beach north, for lunch.
The only drawback so far are the Tobago alarmclocks, there are an over abundance of cockerels in the village whose internal clocks are out of whack so they seem to crow constantly, fortunately my brain has tuned them out so I can sleep soundly until the sun comes pouring in my window at 6:30.

A faltering start.

Everything was going too smoothly, the packing and house prep was all finished with time in hand, Peter and Helen got me to the station in bags of time and the sun was shining then in Chester after waiting a while for my connection to Euston there was an announcement to say that the service had been cancelled and that we should catch a later train to Crewe and then catch the next connection to Euston, 10 minutes later this train had been cancelled due to technical problems in Crewe with no further information forthcoming. I had a word with one of the station staff who told me that my best bet was to circumvent Crewe and catch the train to Warrington where I could change for the express to Euston and from then on everything went swimmingly (why couldn’t the announcer have told us all that) I actually got to Gatwick airport only 15 minutes later than my original time.
I am staying tonight at the Hampton by Hilton which is located in the North terminal only a few minutes walk from check in tomorrow morning, the room is excellent and the bar serves Becks Vier but the dinner menu is very limited in fact half of the dishes are not available and the prices are a little inflated, however, the friendly Irish waiter has recommended a restaurant in the terminal so I shall give that a go.