Journeys end.

Dijon seemed to have a slow start on monday morning as we got into town well before the shops had opened. Its a pleasant little city which we enjoyed strolling round and spying lots of lovely french courtyards looking for ideas for ours. We had a very french lunch where both boys tried and enjoyed escargoes ('texture of an over sized winkle with garlic flavored soil!'); bought tickets to disney land as a surprise and treat for the children as they have been so wonderful over the past 9 weeks; and failed to get jem school shoes as couldn't find a plain black pair - much too british!. Back at the camp site the children made friends with 2 older english kids and they happily collected conkers together until bedtime.
We decided to select the non motor way option in tomtom to paris so that we might explore a bit more of france (hoping to pick up a few antiques en route). We had a wild and windy stop for lunch rustling up some pasta in the middle of nowhere (another benefit of the camper) then with the weather turning bleak and no antiques in sight we headed towards the motor way coming across a vinyard south of chablis with 'cave vendre degustation' on a sign outside, so decided to stop to explore. A little impromptu wine tasting later or wine smelling for the driver, long french-english exchanges that neither party understood and after watching tractors hauling vats of red liquid around we packed our purchases into the wardrobe and set off again.
After 9 weeks of travelling without a single traffic jam we were oblivious to the fact that we were approaching le perifique at 5pm so it was a harsh reminder of what we are heading back to to drive 2 miles in an hour, but we made it round and ant excelled in his driving of a 7m long vehicle through rush hour. We did get a great view of the eifel tower though, even if it did take charlotte half an hour to see it. We still hadn't mentioned disney and the kids didn't pick up on the road signs so it was super excited children as we pulled up at the gate for our biggest value camping of the trip at only 13 euros you can park overnight with all the facilities you could need ie hot showers, loos, water and waste disposal and just a minute from the musical travelator taking you into the parks. (3 mins after we moved when we realised the music kept on playing all night). We went into the disney village that evening for a quick look and to pick up some info then back for bed.
The kids loved disney. We spent the first day in disney land going on rides together. Zoe took them all in wide eyed as we shot aliens on buzz light year or flew round london with peter pan or went into snow whites spooky forest. Charlotte was less impressed with the darker rides but enjoyed dumbo the flying elephants and sleeping beauty's castle. Jem loved them all. We abandoned plans to eat out that night as we were all too tired so headed back to bed. The next day we split up so that jem could do some of the more adventurous stuff in disney studios and the girls could cuddle princesses and the like. Ant dragged jem on the twilight zone tower lift plummeting ride (both were rather scared!) then they did the stunt show, high school musical and buzz again whilst we went to disney live on stage, round the world and then waited for ages to meet sleeping beauty which was worth it when she picked charlotte up and gave her a big cuddle and chat. Charlotte didn't stop beaming for the next hour. We met up again then a few more rides, parade and train ride, trip to the store to spend their allowance and then to the rainforest cafe to end an exciting day.
We decided we might as well camp there for the rest of our stay in paris so got the train into paris the next day at midday. We had arc de triumph, eifel tower and le louvre in our sights and managed them all. Torrential downpour at the eifel tower forced the all weather gear to be got out and on for the first time in the trip and i'm sure we looked a sight in the most chic city in the world kitted out in north face et al. but the beauty of travelling for so long is that you no longer care ;-)
Anyhow the view from the top was worth it. Feeling a bit hungry and realising it was almost 5pm we found a street cafe and had our last supper. Great food followed by chocolate mousse x3 and a choc gateaux for mum then off to le louvre as the sun was setting.
We were typical tourists in the museum heading straight for the mona lisa. Very enigmatic! Though there were so many people it was hard to stop and ponder. Jem and zoe saw her but by now charlotte was asleep in the buggy so a reason to come another day. Getting very lost with the lift system we managed venus de milo before deciding we ought to head back on the very packed 10.20 pm train for our last night in the camper.
Cake apples and milk for breakfast and a raid on the makapaka for zoe nappies (almost out of supplies) then as the weekend euro disney goers raced to park around us we emptied waste and refilled water and headed to calais for the euro tunnel and home.

La vachey

We're sitting outside the camper under the tarp with the kids in bed listening to fast flowing water. Wearing fleeces, hats, full legs, socks..... Yes we're back in the mountains and its glorious! We're in northern italy now at Tronchey campsite near la vachey close to the mont blanc tunnel. Already had some rain which was actually rather nice (how british) but what is just wonderful is that it is so so quiet, just the waterfall and river and occasionally a sound to remind us there are other people here. It feels like we've come home! We camped here a couple of years ago on our way into switzerland and fortunately it hasn't changed a bit. We left deiva marina about 2pm after spending the morning in the pool and sorting out the camper. Its hard to believe we only drove for 4 hours - the climate and environment couldn't be more different. The children were so excited to be wearing clothes to bed again and to have their duvet back, and it was like they had a surge of energy out of the stifling heat which had started to show in shortness of patience and general grumpyness.
An ice fall sounding distinctly different yet similar to thunder just broke the silence and a dog is now barking in the distance along with zoe stirring ... back in a mo.

Ok so not quite a mo.... We've been here 3 nights now already and plan to leave for france tomorrow. Its been lovely. The sun has shone but there's been a distinct alpine nip in the air. We feel very relaxed now. We've spent quite a bit of time around camp playing with the kids or they've been scootering about, flying the kite, recreating the colosseum out of granite rocks, (which today were moved into the camper and will make a vast improvement to our fire pit in the garden!), running about and walking by the river. Ant's been fishing a couple of times including a bitterly cold 6.30 start this morning but unfortunately they weren't biting (well they were, but not the flies he took with him..and to rub it in a cheeky italian cast over his shoulder with a worm and fished out the whopper he was after whilst he'd bent down to change to a different fly). We headed out today for supplies and to the playground a couple of miles along the valley and the kids had another go at bungy trampolines. Its been windy and cooler today and feeling more like september is just around the corner. Zoe ate polenta last night and loved it and tried her first fish finger today! She is so strong now standing at every opportunity and is desperate for jems old blocks walker.

After a freezing night (ant was convinced that it must have snowed outside and even though the heating was used zoe still woke up about 10 times) we had a leisurely start to the day and a little reluctantly packed up again. After a stop off to buy some italian wine we said arrevederchey to italy and bonjour to france and headed off for Dijon through the mont blanc tunnel.

Rome

After a leisurely start to another very hot day near venice, taking advantage of the heat to get 2 loads of washing done and having no real plan other than to head towards rome, and stop somewhere en-route, we set off around 2pm.
After very good progress (we havent really seen any traffic problems in 7 weeks!) with the temperature dropping nicely as evening approached we figured we might as well continue to rome as it was now only 2 or so hours away rather than drive an hour out of our way to stop for the night. We stormed rome under the cover of darkness negotiating its double helix under passes/over passes and surprise-a-passes with sore knees from the steering and a need for loose fitting underwear, arriving at camping Tiber at about 9pm. Having organised the van into sleeping mode (move the slovenian wicker basket, 'pinky red' as charlotte calls it - wicker seat, makapaka II, bbq and everything else we've accumulated ! And we thought it was full when we left!), we hit the sack planning a full day of relaxation by the pool.

The pool was great, no frills, just oblong but with hammocks, sun beds and tables and chairs around the edge and shade provided by parasols and trees, and a kiosk selling snacks, beer, a mojito for daddy (thinking of you in the office gazza!) and ice cream - it was just what we needed. It was quiet too and we managed to get a couple of hammocks and table under the trees and spent most of the day there jumping in the pool to cool off and have a splash about with our water babies. Jem's doggy paddle improved with an occasional few metres of breast stroke, charlotte floated about or got piggy backs from daddy and zoe splashed about objecting profusely to going in her baby float and snoozed in the hammock with mum. Back at the camper the kids amused themselves with the fallen leaves which made into helmets, shields or bunches of flowers whilst we got ready for a day in Rome, then early to bed.
We left early (9am - about 5 hours after 'american dad' who had pitched next to us late the night before...they left at the crack of dawn, dad striding in front checking watch, kids in synchronous check plus fours behind, no doubt the words 'son...take no notice of the guide..i'll tell yer why the romans couldn't have won the iraq war' would have been uttered at some point that day) on saturday heading to the vatican city as realised that the museum was closed on sundays. A shuttle bus then a 20 min train journey got us into the centre of the city then a couple of stops on the metro and we were there. The moment we emerged from the underground we were approached by a friendly tout who persuaded us to take a formal tour promising that we'd be inside within 15 mins rather than the 1.5 hour wait in the queue. Probably about 40 mins and 80 euros later, after walking around the complete outside wall and playing about with dodgy radio sets on a street corner, explaining to jem that no, 'hope' wouldn't be here (neither would the 'pope' today) and we were inside - no queue, phew! It started out well and our guide knew his stuff but the comms gear had seen better days and after much whistling and beeping to the point where charlotte refused to wear hers the guide gave up using it and resorted to shouting which, 10 people deep and with 3 children to contain meant that we missed most of what was said, losing him completely in the cistine chapel after having to hold back for charlotte to remove her knickers (to wee in a nappy..but another good wedding day story - the only girl to take her knickers off in the vatican), catching up as he was saying his goodbyes (and we thought we still had the basilica included in the tour too!). So all in all we decided tours may not be our thing as they don't wait for buggies or wee stops, you can't speed up when the kids get bored or stop for a rest and hand held radios only work with kids if you have 3 preferably 4 hands and then they crackle through the important stuff and give up completely.... but at least we avoided the queues! Dazed by the sheer quantity of art and scale of the vatican city we headed off in search of a bite to eat. Finding ourselves back outside the restaurant where we'd handed over a pair of folding nail scissors (security almost as bad as heathrow) and against our better judgement we went inside and ordered reasonably priced food for the location but omitted to check the price of slush puppy at 7 euro each - we had 3! (1.5 Eu in venice) or single scoop ice cream at 6.5 Eu each and we came out feeling somewhat ripped off. Putting it all down to experience we headed back for a cool off in the pool and trip to the playground where ant and i fed the local mosquito population for half an hour before we called it a day. Another early start to day 2 in the city was rewarded as we came out from the metro to see the massive collosseum right in front of us. Again another tout offering a queue jumping all inclusive tour for 25 euros each though he thought zoe might be free! Learning from our vatican experience we thought that we'd do a little exploration first, to find yes quite a long queue but with an official guided tour for just 16 Eu each (kids free) would take us straight to the front. 15 mins later and we were inside this gigantic structure where gladiators, lions, leopards, elephants had been fighting in around 80 AD and then penguins and baby cheatas in the 21st century. Built in less time than it took to build Terminal 5 (only 10 years). Unfortunately once again the comms gear failed and again our very knowledgeable guide resorted to shouting so again we missed some of the good bits, but we got to explore afterwards at our own pace and the kids loved it. After a stop in the gift shop we grabbed a bite to eat (water to drink only today!) and carried on walking north taking in the palentine hill, pantheon, trevie fountain and the spanish steps as well as many other monuments and beautiful yet gigantic structures the romans seemed to have just constructed here and there, along the way. We couldn't get over how much there was to see. You'd turn a corner in a side street next to the 'Spar' to find 8 huge columns... And the depth of the beauty as you looked beyond one gorgeous building there was a beautiful arch and beyond that another extravagant structure. The romans certainly knew how to build with style and on such a massive scale they must have thought they'd gone to a model village when they went to england. Lots of cheers for the children for their mammoth sight seeing achievement then back to the campsite for the last 40 mins of the pool then supper in the restaurant before taking our tired tribe off to bed.
We were sorry to leave the next day as we'd very much enjoyed Rome and had aclimatised somewhat to the heat too (though cooler than venice it was still incredibly hot), but we were conscious of time and wanted to spend a little while chilling in the italian alps after 3 cities in a row, so on monday morning we packed up again and set our sights on a campsite that looked from the map as though it was on a little spit just past Pisa.

Venice

Setting off from slovenia we crossed the border to italy. Ironic for the home of beautiful cars that the drivers themselves lack similar finesse. The italians appear to use their genitals to work the accelerator leaving their hands and feet free to operate the horn and cigarette lighter. This doesnt leave much for steering which is probably the real reason the romans built such straight roads. Some of the younger italians have evolved to cope with the newer, less than straight roads and use their knees to steer, the side effect being greater aggression and more gesticulating possibly as a result of the posture cutting off circulation to the accelerator 'foot' inducing panic. Most cars also seen to be equipped with a device that automatically flashes the headlights when in the vicinity of any other vehicle so as not to detract the drivers attention away from horn/cigarette/gesticulating etc.
Having adapted to the new driving style, We arrived at Fusina camping which was in a wonderful location on the mainland, sw of venice, positioned right on the waters edge overlooking the city. It was recommended to us by an italian guy we met in Bled and we were very pleased with the find. The breeze was so welcome too as it was boiling hot and didn't cool down until about 5am! (and that only lasted an hour). We stayed around the camper for the rest of the day too hot to move. The kids made a den under the throw and washing line and zoe crawled around in the dust eating twigs and any paper we dared to try to read. We decided it would be nice to head into venice for the evening so took the 7pm ferry. What a super sight to see venice for the first time from the water. It looked stunning in the late sunshine with its pretty colourful skyline and boats everywhere. The kids (and mummy) were very excited as within 20 minutes we docked into the hustle and bustle of early evening in venice. We meandered through the streets carrying the buggy up and down steps to cross the many bridges. 117 islands apparently connected by bridges make up the city (117 multiplied by about 14 steps on each..1500 odd steps two toddlers one buggy and two hot/sticky adults..you get tho picture!). We loitered in doorways of churches where concert practices were taking place, passed by street vendors and hawkers pointed out leaning buildings and architectural features to jem and charlotte and smiled at all the 'bella bella angelino' comments aimed at zoe who was being extra charming in her pretty green sun dress. Then we came out from the alley ways (thanks largely to ant keeping his eye on the map) to st marks square and the basilica st marco. It was an amazing site with rows of arched windows the gleaming basilica and the many orchestras taking it in turn to play in the numerous cafes lining the square.
After a while taking it all in and a few pigeon chases by jem, we thought the occasion deserved a g&t in one of the cafes. So we sat down to silver service gin and tonic for the adults, pure chocolate sauce and milk for jem and charlotte and milk for zoe. The children rose to the occasion and displayed their best manners pouring their own remaining sauce and milks and eating olives and crisps like it was an everyday occurance. Charlotte got a little carried away and wet herself (bless) and they both loved the music whilst we chilled out taking in the atmosphere. We then headed back for the last ferry home. On arriving back we realised that the kontiki coaches we'd seen arriving were actually bringing club 18-30 holidayers complete with tents. The party was in full swing, karaoke bar and all so succumbing to loud pleas from the kids to go to the party we spied a table on the outskirts of the bar and 3/4 of us sang along, jem and charlotte making it up as they went whilst zoe slept in the buggy. several games of find the lady with the beer mats later we were ready to leave so as the disco started we headed back to our camper to bed.
After a relaxed start the next day we headed back into venice on the 1 o'clock ferry this time getting lost several times as we wandered around the different areas resorting to using tom tom at one point to find where we were (yes it does work in venice!) We browsed a few shops and main sights, the kids discovered slush puppy, we carried the buggy over what seemed like all 117 bridges (and their 1500 steps again!), chose a dodgy place to eat which too late we realised was a chinese restaurant doing a side line in italian food (quite poorly though still expensive); then with 2 fading children jumping on and off the buggy with zoe in the baby bjorn we headed back for the 8.30 ferry a little short of time requiring a rather too quick dash up and down said steps getting there with a minute to spare and all the outside seats taken though worth it to get the kids to their beds shortly followed by us. After another relaxed morning and mid afternoon check out we set off for somewhere between venice and rome with ant taking charge at the helm due to the mad italian driving antics causing mummy to have driver's stress in the passenger seat let alone behind the wheel! We made good progress and with the kids tired and happy to doze in their seats we decided to put Camp Tiber, Rome into Tom Tom arriving there about 9pm.

ljubljana

Having decided to leave bohinj for ljubljana we couldn't resist a final trip to the lake that morning so we de-camped early with the now ritual maypoll dance jem and charlotte like to do whenever a free end of rope becomes available as the tarp is taken down for packing...charlotte decides to bind her naked body up with the rope daddys trying to neatly lap (we do wonder about her sometimes !).
Arriving at the lake around midday we found the carpark full but a 5 minute wait was enough to get a campervan sized space. Heading through the trees to find the cove we used the previous day in use, we went a bit further a found a perfect rocky outcrop sloping into the water, another private, quiet spot on a lovely lake, 3 minutes walk from the carpark ! We spent the afternoon there snorkleing and swimming with even zoe having a cool dip of her legs which she loved. Zoe had her first wobbily stand whilst in bohinj pulling herself up on one of the kids camping chairs letting go with one hand, waving to us all before letting go with the other, standing for a few moments whilst she took in what she was doing then plopped onto her bottom to a cheer from us all!
So we joined the exodus of cars and campers heading back through Bled and onto ljubljana where we spent the next couple of nights at the ljubljana resort camp site (most expensive to date and least value for money at 50 euros a night with 'resort' facilities all extra).
Anyway it had a play ground so the troops were happy and it was only a short bus journey into the city the next day. Ljubljana although quite a pretty city with its 'unique' triple bridge, market, few art deco buildings scattered amongst the lovely painted older buildings, it is already fading in our minds. The castle was the least interesting one that we've seen due to it either being over restored or under derelict - not sure which. Infact the highlight was undoubtedly walking back down from the castle when ant commented to charlotte that she was walking like a duck and zoe immediately started quacking... Her first words ;-). We left the following morning for venice dodging the tolls with our day expired vignette pass - had we really spent over a week in slovenia?

Bohinj Bistrica - Slovenia

Bohinj Bistrica Camp Danica was a super place, the sort of place that we could easily have stayed at way too long if Rome hadn't still been on the 'to see' list! We spent 4 lovely nights there, and were completely chilled out by the end of it. The site although big was very quiet, no late night music other than the slovenian folk band one evening which the children followed along the road like the pied piper and a magician on another evening which went down a treat with the 3 of them, with both jem and charlotte having a go on stage as magicians helpers. As such we spent 2 very relaxing evenings with a camp fire; feeding zoe and reading swallows and amazons until charlotte fell asleep then looking out for satellites and star gazing with jem until eventually just the two of us to poke the fire with a glass of local vino / beer (at one point ant daring to face the goldwaser again since the 'pigs with bugs' incident that its been associated with ever since) .
The afternoon we arrived we played in the sava bistrica (river) which was about 10 meters from the camper. After being dragged over the rocks on the back of jems kick board (bruises to prove it) realised it was a little shallow for canyoning and took to sending jem down on his own then hauling him out before he got washed out to sea. We did brave the plunge pool where a second river joined, which was freezing but a superb way to cool off. Most of the river was too chilly for charlotte (and ant to start off with) so she just wet her hair and paddled. We ventured into the village for supper that evening and found a super pizza place at the end of a lane. They were the biggest pizzas that i think i've ever had. Even ant was struggling! Zoe was on form charming everyone and took a liking to Charlottes strawberry ice cream grabbing hold of the whole cone trying to stuff it all in her mouth and getting very excited whilst charlotte got a little worried that she may not get it back and jem ant and i just fell about laughing!
Day 2 we ventured out on a hike but soon realised just how hot it was, how low we were, how tired Charlottes legs were and how steep the surrounding triglav range of mountains were.... so ended up with a walk to Brod and picnic in the shade of a barn; taking a short cut back across the river to camp. Day 3 fooled us into thinking it was going to be a bit grey so we opted to go to the aqua park in the village. Not quite center parcs but it had 2 wicked slides, bubble pools, a river, climbing wall over the water, baby pool and cafe so we spent about 5 hours there. Jem proved to us that he actually could swim 50 metres, all be it doggy paddle, but still swimming - we're very proud of him. Zoe was a star and loved it and charlotte enjoyed the waterfall caves, sleeping on the sun loungers and the dark slide with sparkely lights.
The following morning we thought we'd explore the lake so leaving our pitch strewn with washing line and clothes, the tarp up and the levelling ramps out (first time we used them-that's how settled we got!) we set off expecting to find someone camping in the middle of the pitch on our return. (we take back all the rude things we may have said in the past about camper van owners marking out their pitch - really theres no choice if you want to come back!) Anyway so off to lake bohinj expecting it to be heaving like Bled, instead to find our own little cove just 3 mins from a parking space. I think ant and i enjoyed ourselves more than the kids as it was a bit shady and they decided too cool to venture for long in the lake. But we'd taken our snorkles and were happy imagining that we were back in borneo or indonesia as we explored the lake, this time on our own while the other one stopped zoe from diving in and cheered up the other 2. Jem did eventually venture out in a snorkle and was immediately hooked, especially as he saw Perch and Chub. Back to the camp for lunch to find our delineation had worked a treat or possibly the evidence of 3 young children had put anyone in their right minds off coming within 10 metres of us. The boys then went off on a canoeing adventure whilst the girls explored the other playground, did a bit of retail therapy in the bakery and had a very quick drink in the bar as zoe decided that the bar was too dull and screamed her head off until the waitress quickly brought the bill and we wandered off to the river to see our hero's return. Which we almost missed (and charlotte still claims she didn't see them whiz by looking rather like the pros in llangollen). After sitting in a prime spot for 20 mins it got a bit hot so thought we ought to find a shady spot to wait .... a short series of events involving.. Slipping down the bank washing off mud in the river loosing shoes tripping over guy ropes finding shade with rubbish sightline of the river to then spot them coming so running back to original place with more shoe losses dropping of hair bobbles... you get the picture... quick cheer and wave (on my part as the boys were concentrating way too much) then back to disembarking spot where proud daddy and elated son were already pulling the canoe out, only to yield to a request from charlotte for a ride down stream and unfortunately for poor ant upstream back to where jem was telling me how fabulous it was, how he bounced out of the canoe after hitting a rock at the base of a rapid and didnt even cry (luckily, as daddy was at the back we the canoe he could haul him back in as he passed), about the man he'd seen jump off a dive board, and the canoe rental guys who both said how quick we'd made it down (they initially wanted to give jem a half paddle as he wouldn't be able to handle a full paddle and daddy a wetsuit until daddy explained politely the whole point was to make jem do some work whilst daddy relaxed, and sitting in 20 litres of sweat inside a wetsuit when it was 30+ degrees wasn't going to help either) .. ..well worth the 30 euros.

anyway we decided that we must move on (taking the tetley tea that bev had begged off some unsuspecting family from huddersfield , saying goodbye to the prospect of any fly fishing as the eur50 a day permit in bohinj was far too steep for the 2 hours daddy might have got in, said goodbye to alice from france who adopted our camper after making friends with jem and Charlotte) otherwise we'd have stayed for weeks !

Searching for shade?

Always funny to get back to the camper to see who's been brave enough to pitch next to us but these guys were the bravest yet, practically pitching underneath the van! They got the full force of our fermenting chemi loo and three hot, bothered and delirious road angels when we got back from a sweltering day in venice :-) not sure how much of that tent will be left after i put full lock on the steering to get out today !

Venice! ...too...hot...to blog

Shopping After aqua park

Jem and charlotte collecting seeds of some sort!

Snorkleing on bohinj lake

A mornings swimming at the lake in a surprisingly quiet spot given it was right opposite the car park!

White water jem!

This is jem by his canoe after canoeing for 2hrs down from the lake at bohinj to the campsite, through some rapids and 2-3 wiers ! 

Bohinj magician

A magician at the campsite in bohinj(not the apparently dirty campsite on the lake but the danica site by the river that we swam down/in/under today)

Benefits of the Camper

On the road again after a lovely stay at Dachstein Camping. Lots of rain over the part three days and we realised the benefits of the camper over our tent. Wouldn't say we're converted yet but it was nice not to be lying on our bellies in a damp tent having to get the MSR stove going out in the rain. Still did 2 good walks one at low level due to the low cloud and one at height.
Our first walk was 10 km. Jem was a star and did the whole lot which was quite fortunate, it being a circular route, and charlotte managed half way before her legs got tired and the second makapaka was used again - unfortunately just as it got rather hilly. Jem was flagging a bit as it started to pour it down saying his legs were tired and ant and i agreed that so were ours when charlotte piped up her legs were really tired and she needed an energy sweet - little princess!
After the first 2k we came across a tobogan style roller coaster and gave in to the whoops of joy and paid our 14 euro. As under 8's had to have an adult to drive ant and i had an adrenaline rush as we sped down the side of the mountain on a sledge on a track doing 180 degree turns over about 7 meters of track. Charlotte yelling at ant to go faster. Both kids got off with beaming smiles and both adults with jelly legs. Zoe sadly had to stay at the bottom with whichever adult wasn't whooping down the mountain. After a wee stop for charlie we set off again to our half way mark hut with the promise of our first kaiserschm - very eggy pancake chopped up laden with icing sugar and black current jam. Delicious! We set off on the final leg with Charlotte spotting way finder marks developing bottom blisters, zoe getting coos and smiles from any one we passed and jem chattering about everything from why are some babies twins to why did the snake (mosquito) bite daddys finger (the questions being a big improvement on 'why doesnt jesus ever get any false arms' which was posed in the showers in the last campsite which suddenly went quiet as fellow campers stopped what they were doing to see what the answer was-having two perfectly healthy arms didnt seem to cut it so a couple of willy jokes were used to change the subject) and all that goes with snake bites out in the wild. Rather wet and 7 hours after we set out we got back to the camper. Heater on supper, pj's, swallows and amazons and bedtime for all.
Walk 2 was much shorter as a result of the previous days hike. We headed off early to get the best of the weather up to the start of the cable car which went to the dachstein glacier. Unfortunately we couldn't take it up as zoe was too young to cope with the 1000m climb in one stop. Instead we set our sights on a small mountain hut in the hills. First we stopped to purchase a walking pole each for jem and charlotte as a treat for doing so well yesterday and some new walking socks for mummy after getting the start of blisters and prickly heat due to very hot (and ant reckons sweaty) feet, then with zoe on ants back we were off with our 2 little german hikers tapping their sticks as they went on ahead. The highlight was definitely crossing over snow closely followed by the spotting of a playground at the hut. After an apple juice stop and a look around the corner at what would have been a rather superb climb over several snow patches we decided to quit whilst we were ahead and race the storm back down to our camper which we timed perfectly with the first rain drops falling as we opened our sandwiches. Back to the camp site and we ventured into the 'rest room' which was a rather cool basement room in the owners house with sofa, tables and chairs, games and toys, books, a bar but most importantly for the children their first tv in 5 weeks even if it was in german... Jem was transfixed. About two hours later we headed back to the camper in the still pouring rain to make supper and another early night as there was no chance of getting a fire lit again.

We're at lake Bled now in slovenia having arrived about 1pm. Ants spotted lots of english which raises our current english spotting from 3 to double figures. As usual i didn't notice other than the initial very friendly brit who ran across the front of us waving within moments of us arriving. This must once have been such an idyllic place. A stunning green lake small island with pretty church on it and medieval castle on the hill, but unfortunately tourism has arrived big time and our camper is parked amongst it on the one night only field. Still we had a lovely afternoon strolling round the lake in the sun with the kids scootering away only almost falling in once (Charlotte) then we had early supper, learning a few words of slovak from the waiter, jem continued his food experimenting and ordered shark looking somewhat disappointed when it arrived on a plate rather than filing 2 tables, and charlotte did her trick of eating very little even though we didn't order her anything and just shared ours (new tactic). Then we got the land train the rest of the way back to the delight of 2 little cooks for a play on the play ground, air hockey and table football before bedtime. Then the disco began and we realised we'd left austria camp sites behind and were back camping in eastern europe!

Flizmoos

Sitting by the campfire watching a storm brewing over the dachstein mountain range. Ok so its the mountains opposite dachstein as ants just corrected me but anyway its promising to be a good storm. We moved after 2 nights at 'camping am see' seeking something a little more private as although a lovely site we were a little too close to our neighbours. We headed up the cable car to go to the ice cave - oops i forgot to pack ants fleece so he braved the minus celcius for a whole hour for the benefit of the children tho jem was a little worried that ant would freeze to death and thought we were 'very lucky' that he hadn't with daddy doing alot of the driving plus it would be very unfortunate to freeze to death scrape the van and get food poisoning all in 3 days. Bazaar experience of 'extreme' piano tuning down the ice cave which ant heard early on to which i said he must be mad then there it was a grand piano down a cave and a guy tuning it! Cable cars close early here though so our trip up to the next level was a little too short to walk to the glacier which was a bit of a downer. There was the opportunity for the kids to go sledging though which was a huge hit as they toboganned down the slope in shorts and t-shirts. Got back to the van and did 5 weeks worth of washing and drying. Seeing the baskets stacked again and laundry bags empty was rather satisfying if not a little sad. Anyhow 108 euros down in camp and laundry fees no fishing no glacial walk (tho ant was happy that he'd managed to charge his toothbrush after some minor modifications to a travel plug), charlotte said goodbye to her straight haired friend that she'd made and shared sweets with (who needs words?), we hit the road. The phone is getting a bit wet now so may need to huddle a bit closer to ant and the fire as the storm has arrived. I do wonder what people think of us sitting under an army tarp tied onto a very large (biggest on this site) camper with climbing rope. Oops few tweaks needed to the tarp as ant just found himself sitting in a puddle better go and help....(2 hours later)..
Tarp tweaks amounted to a rapid dismantle of my carefully tied knots...individually planned indoors and executed with precision so as not to look an idiot in front of the real climbers watching with intrigue as i encased the van with an intricate rope structure. They where clearly envious of our tarp/awning and warm fire and hopefully had scurried into their tents before version 1.0 showed its weaknesses. Safely in the van, now looking like a marsh, heating switched on, floor mopped, integrated little boys room, feet up, whos laughing now climber boy :-)
All that's needed now is a plan for tomorrow and hopefully a reduction in the % of rainy days in austria which is currently at about 60%

Runs for the hills

So after 5 weeks of noise pollution, a lack of anti-socialism, and too many gated national parks we decided to run for the hills. First stop en-route to austria was trenchin in slovakia. (first stop was actually a tiny bar somewhere in nowhere as a result of the 2 hour rule - it had a swing and locals doing a 'bring your own bbq'. I ordered a coke, the kids asked for apple juice but after 3 weeks of polish and 5 seconds of slovak bev turned up with 4 multi juices...we returned to main roads and eventually came across an odd site of a man laying on a rug in the road shortly followed by two others walking in the middle of the road, 5 minutes later a barefoot pikey, 5 minutes more and 2 tourist looking types meandering, then a main street where we came to the conclusion this was the set of a new league of gentlemen series or a Rowy in the making. Another km down the road and it all became clear, a cowboy come beerfest come funfair extravaganza. We accelerated through the whoops of joy from the road angels explaining it was closing down and sped to an 'island campsite overlooking medieval castle' at trenchin. It was a great view of the castle, only marred by the trailer park theme (the 'sex shop' sign spotted by daddy was probably not a drunken student trophy after all!) we had a beer and jem learned to flip beer mats then the following morning the kids played on the swings by the lady that seemed to walk around the campsite in a body stocking most of the morning. Then we left for bratislava as jem had had enough of castles, but continued on to austria after reaching the city and voting unanimously we all needed hills...we crossed into austria without even realizing it (bar the marked difference in roadside food) and found beautiful gesause national park with a camping site 'forstgarten' that was exactly what we needed. Right between two high mountains in a typical alpine meadow and most importantly, hardly anyone else there:-) after what seemed hours of driving in torrential rain at night on windy roads it was well worth it. The next day was still constant rain but we got out to admont, the nearest town to get supplies and even got bbq fodder, then returned back to play rainy day games and spend the best part of an hour figuring out the best way to get a tarp up. That night the kids really behaved themselves and went to bed quietly so mum and dad could sit out on their own under the tarp in the rain (ironically the first time we'd been able to with all the great weather, and now it was bucketing it down) but totally relaxing. Sitting under the tarp we finished the bbq and turned it into a fire with the help of some bundles of birch we'd got from a petrol station in slovakia and found our 12 pound bbq purchase to be perfect! We both fell asleep by the warmth of the fire and woke up at some point after midnight and returned to the van. It was 2 maybe 3 hours after the perfect evening that ant woke up needing to perform a complete system evacuation and did so 2-3 times during the course of the night, not due to the goldwaser as bev first suggested whilst hubby was doubled over 2 days of rotting chemiloo but some good old bbq pork poisoning. The next day bev did a great job looking after the whole family whilst suffering from relatively mild food poisoning herself and daddy retired to the bunk only to emerge mid afternoon to answer Charlottes equally helpfull question 'why did you eat pig with bugs in it?'
That night we listened to 19 feral kids that weren't our own let off steam on some outward bound course and decided to keep moving the next day to find more mountains for when the weather improved.
We headed for a lake at 'bad aussie' wondering what 'bad' meant to find it was bad luck as daddy got his first scrape on the van. Not too bad but highly annoying as it was a scratch to the rear bumper as he was turning round having pulled in to a layby only to check the width of the van before deciding we'd have to take a different route round the lake. Anyway that's done now so move on, move out, and park close to someone i can blame it on !
we're now at winkl or something like that..camping am see ..the most expensive site so far at near 40 quid a night...it is nice tho ! For the days ahead, There's an ice cave, salt mine, some decent altitude and you can fish the lake so looks promising ! Sorry for lack of photos..was busy being sick !

Zacopane pics

Think i sent the wrong photos with the last post so here is Nosel peak in the tatras and the fun horse and cart home !

Zakopane

Arrived at Auschwitz to be greeted by several people in the road waving at us all pointing in different directions. It took a moment or two to realise they were car parking touts - ignoring then all we parked in the main carpark.
The overwhelming feeling of auschwitz was how vast it was. An old army barracks that was extended throughout the war with rows of buildings all still intact where people were kept. There's an amazing number of photos showing actual life in the camp and what blows your mind are the thousands of shoes and other belongings such as false limbs shaving brushes suitcases all piled up in rooms filling the whole side of buildings, of all the people who were killed or who died there. Its so clear that they went there expecting it to be very different. The gas chamber and incinerator chimney both still intact were almost unreal to imagine what had happened there and there was an urge to pay ones respect to those who had suffered here. Part of it felt almost unreal like a museum rather than the actual place. It was hard to see all the children's things and made you realise just how wrong it all was. We decided to go in separately as we didn't know what to expect and after the kids re-enactment of the berlin wall in warsaw we realised that our 2 little explorers were actually taking more in than we'd credited them with. So i went first with zoe leaving ant to feed the kids then we swapped and i took them round the outside of the buildings for a while before ice creams and a barrage of questions. We then went on to Birkenau where most of the people were killed in the gas chambers. It was massive. A large part had been burnt down by the retreating nazis but you could see the outline and brick chimneys of about a hundred huts with 20 or so still standing... But the railway tracks were still there going under the arch to the unloading area where people were selected to work or not, and about 80% including all women and children sent straight on to the chambers and their deaths. There's a beautiful memorial on the site of the incinerators. The place was so huge it just absorbed the number of people visiting and it was easy to feel like we were there alone. We took the children with us this time and jem found it interesting though it was very hot which distracted them a little.
We left auschwitz in somber spirits at about 5pm and headed for zakopane.

The Tatras seemed to hold alot of promise when we first glimpsed them on the 120 km drive south.
However arriving at zakopane we realized it was going to be another town campsite, as we passed masses of partying tourists. A quick stop at the base of the massive ski jump to try to locate the exact spot for the pod krokvia camping was greeted by a parking official who's only english seemed to be 'go away' after we asked for 5 minutes to find the campsite on the map before doing a 360 and finding it behind where the guy was sitting.
Day 1 in zakopane we thought we'd use to get our bearings and decide whether to stay or move on to try to find mountains more accessible to our motor home, as the Tatras dont seem to allow any access to cars even at moderate altitude so you have to camp in town. We first picked up some info then headed for a short warm up walk to the cable car to try to get some mountains in. Charlotte continued the 'legs hurting' line that she'd started within 10 meters of us leaving the campsite but we managed the 1-2 hour uphill struggle after bev found she responded to a 'zloty per tree passed' tarif, earning enough by the time she got to the cable car station to buy 3 ice creams (she offered!). At the station we found a long queue which didnt move for 45 minutes and when it finally did we worked out it would be another hour and a half before we got on, with a similar problem at the top when we wanted to return, so gave up and walked 200 meters to at least get onto a hiking trail and have what was intended to be our post mountaineering lunch. We watched numerous people walk down past us in flip flops and trainers and figured the earlier delay must have been a cable car problem and people had decided to walk down instead. We then joined the march down (still in our full mountain kit to make it look like we'd done something that day) rather than walking up and having to turn round when Bevs money had run out as it was mostly dense pine. Returning to tho cable car station we played table air hockey (courtesy of charlotte) followed by a ride back to the campsite on a horse drawn carriage which the three of then loved.
Day 2 and we're so proud of jem and especially charlotte today after completing a pretty strenuous hike up to Nosel peak, the first hour and half being more of a scramble than a hike. Somewhat ironic really that over breakfast this morning we decided if we were to ever do any decent hiking on this holiday then we'd have to invest in a second back pack for charlotte or bring a hell of a lot more cash with us to pay her. Having spotted a mountaineering shop close by yesterday ant popped out to get one and to Charlottes delight "whats that makapaka for?" came back 10 mins later with an identical back pack to what we have but in red. We set off on the hike first stopping to buy what we thought were decorated cheese rolls which turned out to be solid smoked cheese - not so pleasant. Then when we turned off onto the national park charlotte found her hill legs saying it was fun because it was all wibbly wobbily. So holding onto mums hand did the full hike under her own steam some of the rocks being so large she had to get onto her knees to get up. Jem was in his absolute element and had to be persuaded to save his energy and not to come back down too many times. The view from the top was worth it jem saying "i don't know what to say its like being in the sky" . We even walked through the pass and took the extended route home. Zoe as all little Cooks enjoyed being carried on daddys back smiling at walkers going the other way and turning lots of heads. We stopped at a spring on the way down which was flowing at 700 litres a second (according to the map) and it tasted superb so we filled up the water bottles, and no-one fell in! A feed for zoe and play by the river then we were out of the park. Once back along the road heading back into town we came to a polish cafe so decided to stop for some well earned 'anything you want off the menu' jem was delighted to see that there was a pond full of trout at the back and fishing rods to catch your own meal, so helped by little sis caught their supper. Charlotte almost fell in with shock and excitement as their catch jumped towards her in the landing net. Ant at last got his Bigos and i got polish dumplings stuffed with cabbage and mushroom plus a little sprinkling of diced ham which was donated to the Bigos. Two beers, dessert and a Polish string folk band then it was time to leave for the remainder of the walk back, which this time did make use of the second back pack to transport a very tired girl home to bed. Jem having just enough energy left to make it back and our legs having given up the moment we'd sat down.

A couple of missing weeks!

Well well ! Took a little longer than expected to find some blog time :-)

We left gdansk and headed for Briebrza national park with the promise of wolves, bear, and wilderness. Arriving at the tourist information charlotte managed to trap her finger in the door and after 5 minutes of screaming the tourist info lady finally offered a pointed finger towards the toilet..no harm done luckily. Tourist info then pointed up to the only campsite there and we got ourselves a map. Getting to the campsite we found a shut gate that looked like the entrance to jurasic park and after 10 minutes in the now boiling heat the gate keeper arrived and gestured to us to just push it open. Behind the gate was a lovely empty site near water and beautifully peaceful. We pulled up and opened the doors to a swarm of clearly starting mosquitoes and other unidentified biting things, discharged our grey water and hot footed it out of there nursing our bites. Heading to the next village we found another site swarming with people swimming and nowhere safe to leave the van to allow us to explore the park and maybe a bit prematurely due to the heat and disappointment we called it a day and sped off to warsaw..

In Warsaw we found a surprisingly nice campsite 'camping123' which restored our faith in city campsites. With warsaw English being much more westernised and more english speaking it was easy and although enjoying the difference of eastern europe so far, the choice and variety in shops and level of service made it easy to relax bar the kiddy rebellion that had begun centered on what was deemed adult fun versus child fun and the lack of toys that made the packing shortlist. Having had a family discussion we agreed the following:
No driving for more than 2 hours without a play break
More regular feeding during city tours
More playtime
Day 1 began with a toy purchasing trip to carefour to appease the tribe followed by an afternoon Chilling at a nearby bar where kids could play(and daddy could try the homemade lard on bread)..jem getting good on monkeybars now and daddy learned polish for apple juice..can now quite successfuly order a small and large tyskie or zywiec and two apple juices without pointing or shouting
We Went back that evening for live music which bev really enjoyed, jem thought was too loud and charlotte thought somebodies sparkely shoes where nice (aunty sharrie will buy me some when im older was her comment in the toilet:-) )

We Explored the city with a long walk up and down from the new town to the old. It was so quiet you couldn't believe it was a saturday in the capital city of poland. After quite a relaxed day with only a few arguments over who should sit in on or generally hang off the buggy, a disappointing trip to the marie curie museum which took longer to carry the buggy up the stairs than to see it and Charlotte tripping over a mans display of hand carvings, we finished off wish sushi (in poland, to the sound of balearic beat...the guy having the cheak to explain that sapporo was chinese and so asahi was all he had because that was japanese and this was a sushi bar)

Next move was to krakow via another carefour trip this time to stock up on essentials whilst we had the chance. We arrived late at night at camping 'smok' after the now obligatory 2 hour stop which consisted of charlotte and jem scootering around a carpark in some little town off the main highway (attracting lots of attention from the local kids looking in amazement at jems attempts to aquaplane a scooter across a large puddle), and the last minute tomtom crash within 5 minutes of the destination.
Camping smok was a great site. We moved 'upstairs' the next morning having been put in the lower field late the previous night. Up the hill we had a spot right opposite the little playground so the kids could play close buy (of course after 3 weeks of them pointing out of the window at every swing we drove past
, they had to be practically forced to play on the ones 5 metres from the van!)
The campsite was a handy base to explore krakow from. Another family vote and it was decided zoo for day 1. The zoo was about 4km so we decide to walk and quickly came to the conclusion that this sucked. The roads were narrow and windy and the zoo happened to be on top of a hill! Luckily we came upon a walking route that cut through a forest and shortened the journey..unluckily the forest turned out to be infested with mosquitoes and ticks ! Jem broached the subject of the meaning of the word 'shortcut' and by the time we got to the zoo had worked out it wasn't always good. Anyway, an hour or so of near vertical climbing we got there and had a great day seeing a surprising number of big cats..the route back was uncannily familiar given the lack of bus, but was at least quicker downhill. Jem decided he needed to 'rest' his eyes on the way :-)
Day 2 got the adult vote for a trip into Krakow which was lovely. Very much focussed around the old town square which is apparently the largest in the world though we think they cheated as the cloth hall takes up quite a large space. Our first attempt at stopping for frequent kiddie snacks and drinks failed as one coffee 2 milkshake and a lemonade took 25 mins to arrive, so with restless tribe in tow we explored the cloth hall souvenire sector. Indecision reigned and jem couldn't choose what he wanted eventually agreeing to wait til he found something he really wanted. Zoe and charlotte got an amber charm each and we got some elusive goldwaser(even if it was a gdansk speciality). Jem and charlotte found a fountain to play in getting just a little too damp but they had fun as did the locals watching them. Still no meat for our £12 bbq/wood stove that we'd picked up in carrefour so home for early bed. Day 3 kiddie day ... So we headed off to the 350 metre deep salt mine. This was really good despite yet another example of how poland hasn't quite caught up with tourist demand. A longish wait in the sun and another point of 'confusion' about whether bev was number 40 or 41 in the lift and we entered the mine with one of the best tours we've been on culminating in the huge 130 meter deep church entirely carved out of the salt. The way back up was the same disorganized event with a 40 queue in a tightly packed hot passage as opposed to the cavernous souvenire hall. Charlotte in her usual manner walked into a door frame nearly causing a roof collapse (from the screaming) so we were then fast tracked to the lift.
Heading back to 'smok' we stopped of at tescos to get some bbq fodder for our last night..next stop zacopane via auschwitz (or oswiecim to give it its polish name..but we couldn't work out how to pronounce that)

We have procured the goldwaser !

Having fun in krakow...sorry for the radio silence ! Will update shortly...

All the way to Gdansk...

Couple of days to update on i think? Losing track cus it feels such a long time already but only been 2 weeks ! If its been more than that please someone call us otherwise we'll miss the eurotunnel back :-)
We left czaplinek having spent 3 nights at the lake. On the last day there was a break in the scorching weather with a 5 minute storm..the lifeboat could be seen leaving the marina to rescue someone sailing who'd forgotten their hat. That evening we went up to the marina having asked some advice on where to get a better meal (poland so far had been either pasta a la cook, or eating out - a choice of fryti (fries) or zapiekanka (frozen pizza) - 'bigos' a tantelising polish stew was on the menu, but never available...so microwaved frozen pizza or chips it was!).
At the marina (which turned out to be drawtur camping site), the choice on the menu did extend but only to cheese burger (frytki and zapiekanka being the other options of course). So, the burger (frozen then micro-zapped) was good..along with a tyskie beer which is definitely a good substitute for stella. The kids had their usual microwaved hotdog and bev had an unusual cheese toasty (unusual in that it wasn't microwaved) - so no real evidence of good food out yet! After a game of table football with jem, both jem and charlotte went skinny dipping in the lake...that was their bathtime done !
We said goodbye to sonia, hello to zoe's new tooth and headed off towards the coast in search of peaceful sand dunes so bev...i meant the kids, could get their fill of sea air before heading inland and picked a small looking coastal spot into trusty tomtom. A few hours later down twisty narrow roads, another 14 wee stops for charlotte and a driver swap to avoid the pressure of narrow roads and other vehicles daring to use them causing a marital event, and we arrived at the twilight zone. This episode is about a family arriving at a sleepy fishing village called 'rowy' (somewhere north of slupsk) and it turning out to be some sort of holiday village for the polish middle classes..fully equipped with fair ground, amusement arcades, henna tatooists and pirate boats...the road angels were obviously overjoyed ! I was overjoyed by the drastic reduction in football t-shirts which clearly meant safe parking and good food.
Bemused about where we had ended up (i suspect 50 years ago, some mind altering substance was put into the water system so that all the local residents agreed to sell their properties to some tyrant) we parked up in a temporary car park and headed for the beech. 20 minutes later having negotiated our way past the inflateables, popcorn, amusements, go-kart rentals, ice creams etc we planted ourselves amidst the entire population of poland and joined the human BBQ. Bev bravely took the kids into the baltic..jem and charlotte loving to leap under the waves and zoe even had a jump in the wash...until a big wave came and soaked everyone ! Daddy sat guarding the valuables worrying about where we'd actually camp assuming the van was still there when we got back. Jem and charlotte finished off the beech fun with the usual argument about whether to dig or fill, with charlotte filling as jem dug :-) on the way back we succumbed to an inflatable kick board after much negotiation (jem wanted a boat, bev still wants an inflatable dingy, daddy refuses to blow one up..so kick board it was luckily)
The return to the van was a pleasant surprise.. i.e it was still there yet again ! What luck :-) even after stopping at a 'ryby' (fish bar) for some expensive food for which daddy had to check the bill...25 quid for a meal for 4 with drinks..ridiculous, where's the manager ! Turned out the prices where per 100g hence the confusion :-) jem had eel and liked it..even the crispy skin !
We checked into a little friendly campsite and returned to the beech the next day for more baking then after a nice milkshake (and an iced coffee for bev after a slight mixup over which bar was the milkshake bar) we pegged it back to the van as a huge storm came over..luckily getting in before torrential rain and lightning. Jem and daddy laughed from the safety of the van at the fellow campers rushing to get their awings up and failing miserably! Waiting for it to pass over so we could leave for gdansk we contemplated how daddy hates the beech as much as jeremy hates sleeping, Charlotte hates clothes and zoe hates eating and had a laugh together :-)
We then set off at break neck speed to gdansk. The road between slupsk and gdansk is paved with speed traps of all types..luckily the poles like to flash their lights to warn oncoming vehicles of speed traps being moved about by fat policemen.
Having caught up with the storm, fueled up, and cunningly bought a gdansk map at the same time which showed the campsites in gdansk bev took the helm and tried to apply the starboard tack rule to a lorry as we joined a roundabout..luckily we stopped before sinking it ! Jem finally woke up from his slumber to ask where his leapster game was to which daddy responded 'probably in zoe's lap' as pretty much everything else in the van was now 5 meters forward of where it was when we set off.
Tomtom finally alerted us to our arrival at the campsite having had to drive up and down the road looking for it..only to find the helpfull map didnt differentiate between scout huts and actual campsites..the former being daddys chosen destination. After re-'punching' the route in, we arrived at the 'other campsite in gdansk', the crappiest most jam packed campsite ever, drove round twice to get our eye in before pulling up. Bev wasn't happy one bit, so time for a beer and bed.
We took the tram into gdansk the next day and the center was quite amazing in contrast to the suburbs outside. Stopping as usual for lunch (we're finding on the cities, by the time we're up, sorted, out, and in town...its gone midday !) we had the best meal so far (some restaurant called euro i think).. Zoe was asleep, jem and charlotte ate everything and behaved so well the waiter brought bev and i some 'goldwaser' which we let them both dip their fingers in (bit like sweet sambuka with gold flakes suspended it) that was a perfect end to a perfect meal (did i mention jem getting even more adventurous with his food and opting for pigs trotters baked in beer? )
Having seen gdansk and its amber stalls and painted buildings we headed back to the campsite from hell which by now didnt seem so bad after all (maybe that was the goldwaser) and bev and the kids dragged daddy to the beach,which despite our suspicions that it was all a con and wouldn't be there, actually was...and what a beech it was ! Long stretch of white sand for a few miles...of course the kids immediately started digging 10 meters from the entrance and that's where we stayed for an hour before the gates between the beech and the campsite would be shutting. Jem and Charlotte had candyfloss which charlotte promptly dropped...
Next morning (this morning in fact ! Finally up to date !) we drove the 3 hours (6-7 hours) to get us half way to briebrzia national park via the polish lake district and have stopped at a beautiful lake.... Which we'll tell you about later !

More ice creams!

So, apologies for the lack of update in the last couple of days ! We left the place of frank zander having been hit for about 20quid a night at jagerbude where the proprietor directed all new comers 'round the back' despite there being lots of empty, purpose built pitches in better locations..showers where another 50c per 2 mins, washing up water another 50c, surprised we didnt get charged for the kids dancing ! so to do my bit for caravan site reviews near berlin 'dont bother with jagerbude'
We stopped at a park and ride at fangschleuse train station so we could get into berlin for the day. Where does one park a 7meter van when the car park is full was the next challenge. Figured the two disabled spots wouldn't fly with the local police so parked in the largest open space i could find that would leave space for the local bus to turn, then we hopped on the double decker train much to fellow commuters delight with excited kids and wingy baby :-)
The journey was compliments of DB bahn as there were no ticket machines and no guard...getting off at friedrichstrasse there was no barrier so i guess in some sense karma ruled and we got our jagerbude money back!
On the train into berlin you could just about still see glimpses of the wall approaching alexanderplatz but very little of it and obviously on the tourist bus route now.
Off at friedrichstrasse and we walked up to unter den linden, the road leading up to brandenberg gate where it was lunch time and the usual 30 minute toilet stop for charlotte :-) zoe spread her lunch around her face then had a paddy a tenth of the way through as per normal too !
We decided to take an open top bus tour to get around..horrible idea i know, but got us around without walking and you could get off at each stop and catch the next one along so no need to sit on a sweltering bus all day (it was boiling) and no need to rush the sites either. We saw the main sites of course..brandenburg gate and the whole center of berlin having been remodelled since i was there 20 years ago..have to dig the photos out when we get home to compare but certainly not much wall left and all the no-mans land now taken up by office blocks of course.
We left berlin from fredrichstrasse where we arrived having spent a good 20mins trying to get the ticket machine to do english :-)
Arrived back at fangschleuse to have dinner in the van before driving to poland. This is when bev noticed we'd picked up a parking ticket ! A few exchanges of text messages with skipper mark back home and worked out we needed a sparkasse bank or post office or a clever disguise should we ever want to return to the area. Fuming for several minutes about the situation (ant not bev), making several references to history under my breath and taking a leak with anxious anticipation of being stung with a public disorder notice i saw a massive coach followed by an artuculated bendy bus swing past us giving me the evils and i realised we'd been blocking them up all day so 15 eur fine fair do's i guess..still, a problem to pay bank or post office at 6pm when we were due to be in poland in 3hr time :-(
Any how leaving the station heading for the nearest post office we spotted a rollerblader getting into her car and luckily Bevs german got us through and she offered to lead us to the sparkasse bank..speeding off at 0-60 (sorry 100 for you europeans) in 3.5 seconds she showed no respect for our built in fridge and for once, full to the brim water store. Luckily the stig of campervan world kept up and we arrived at the now closed bank but many thanks to rollerblade girl of fangschleuse ! We then met our second friendly german at her bank in gunheide..after some explanation of our situation she offered to fill in the payment details on the form with her bank account and we handed her the 15 euro cash and the form was deposited in the post box at the bank, so many thanks carola liebsch of gunheide for helping us out and really sorry you missed the super market closing !
We then set off for poland ....

Poland doesnt like tomtom, or tomtom doesnt like poland :-) half the time the car appears about 50 feet off the road, the rest of the time they've done so much road construction that we appear to be driving through fields ! Fun fun...by about midnight we'd got to somewhere in the middle of nowhere having hoped to find a layby only to find they dont have them in poland by the looks of it. Poland was of course a very different atmosphere having driving through scezinek on the border and felt decidedly uncomfortable...
We stopped, too tired to continue at trabki, at night, not too welcoming and even jeremy said it didnt feel safe...it was however just different to the affluence we're used to seeing and despite a night where bev had little sleep (waking me up to tell me about a 'car' that had stopped near us) it was much more friendly by daylight as most places are. The shop didnt take euro tho, and we had no zloty so breakfast was limited !
Driving towards our planned stop near lakes at czaplinek we realised cash is king..the last few days in fact, less and less places accept cards. In poland tho, cards and maybe no cash points either ! Suddenly we're in a place where its difficult to get cash out (seems to be some limit on how much you can get from a atm at any one time) and we need to fill up with diesel every 5 minutes ! Luckily we got sorted at a town on the way and found at the same time the poles to be very friendly people with a shaven headed tattooed lad showing me in perfect english where to go to exchange currency having noticed the trouble i was having with the bank clerk.
We've now stopped at czaplinek right on the lake and decided to stay 3 nights to chill especially as the kids are enjoying it here. Jem and charlotte have been swimming, playing pool, goading the other children by trying to sneak up on them (jeremy thinks that his green t-shirt is some sort of invisibility cloak against the grass and has been crawling up to other children not quite understanding how they spot him - charlotte is of course a foot behind him in bright pink and shouting). We went canoeing today and jem was a natural on his first attempt (if you exclude the last time bev and i went to scotland when she was pregnant with him) charlotte enjoyed it too but wasn't too keen on the drips from daddys paddle :-) jems also made friends with 'sonia' next door, having left them a note to say 'lublie' (i like) and a picture of a dog(sonia is a daschund) and not to forget zoe who is full on crawling(especially towards paper, grass, dirt or sand), shes been a real challenge like her predecessors to feed solids ! Every time the baby pots and spoons come out its paddy time but tonight bev hopefully made a breakthrough as zoe ate a whole ellas kitchen straight from the packet with her super suck ! No mess, no spoon, no bowl..now that could be a winning formula if only we had enough to last the next 7 or so weeks !