The Launder's big adventure

Sunday 22nd July
In order to go on the motorways in Switzerland you need to purchase a toll sticker, which admittedly lasts all year but costs a shocking €60. After Dizzy (the sat nav) takes us to the wrong Strandweg in the capital of Bern and we drive through a roundabout instead of around it, well in our defence it was a strange design and we were unknowingly following the tram lines that went straight through it, we end up at the campsite next to the raging river Aare.

After pitching up we walk along said river, Max carrying his football and yes you guessed it, in goes the ball. Just to give you an idea of how fast the river was flowing, we were running alongside the ball and it quickly rushed out of sight. Max put on a good show jumping and screaming hysterically “My ball! My ball!” So much so that one man took pity on him and risking life and limb jumped in and rescued the ball, even though he was fully clothed. This ball saviour delivered the prize to Max. If he was expecting enthusiastic rejoicing from our eldest he was sorely disappointed as Max merely whispered a quick “Danke”, after prompting, and gave a quick smile. I on the other hand thanked him profusely; the man took it on the chin and walked away.

The following day we walked into Bern along the river Aare, needless to say Max did not take his ball. We did however take his scooter and it proved to be a great success. It took the boys’ minds off walking and despite our natural worry about cars and using people as skittles there were no near misses and all went well. Bern is a lovely city and we were surprised how quiet it was for a capital city on a Monday. The traffic, car and people, was light and it felt so relaxed and airy. The boys had fun spotting all the bears and the interesting fountains, a favourite being the child-eating ogre. Bern has had live bears in their bear pit since 1450 and so it was a must that we gave these a quick visit, the boys were thrilled to see two full grown brown bears.

On the walk back from Bern Jon remembered that the HR Giger museum was supposed to be in Switzerland so after a quick internet search we find out it is a 50 minute drive away so plan to go there the next day. For all those, like me, who have no idea who Giger is, he designed and built the Alien, the Alien craft and face huggers, for which he received an Oscar, on show at the museum. Much of the museum is based on the Alien character and there are drawings and life size models of it. There is also a rather wicked table and chair set made out of Alien forms and many other ‘interesting’ pictures and sculptures. Just across the way is the bar with the most groovy feel to it with spinal columns encasing the ceiling and skeleton chairs and tables that give the place an unworldly look. We were lucky that our boys didn’t find it scary or disturbing but mostly funny and the vaguely pornographic images seemed to go unnoticed (the really pornographic images were hidden behind a flimsy curtain but despite an irresistible peek from all 3 they didn’t seem to register what they were seeing.). The Giger museum is situated in the town of Gruyere and according to Jon the whole place had an overwhelming cheesy aroma. Still suffering from my cold I could not smell a thing. The town of Gruyere is small and pleasant, if somewhat touristy.

Wednesday 25th July
We head off back to Germany with Jon now suffering from the cold and of course he is dying! We camp in the black forest in a child-orientated campsite. A good idea as we have just spent an entire afternoon without seeing the boys. Relax, what is normally a point of consternation, turned out to be a good monitoring system as we could hear them all afternoon, however, they were far enough away for us to keep an ear on them without giving us a headache! We are currently sorely disappointed in the lack of black forest gateau in evidence! But rest assured we will continue our search even though we have just found out it originated in Switzerland, Doh!

Saturday 21st July
Oh woe is me, the worst thing has happened! I have caught a cold, my 9 months of germ free living has come to an abrupt end with sore throat, headache and more snot that can be conceived (sorry but its true). However, I am not a man and will struggle on.

We are close to Liechtenstein so decide to go there, for no other reason then it is one of the smallest countries in the world and we can say we have been there. As it turns out that is the only reason for going! We can at least say we have been in 4 countries in one day as we start in Germany, the road leads us in and out of Austria, we make a small foray into Switzerland and of course stay a few hours in Liechtenstein. With a lack of information on the country we head to the capital Vaduz, the town (as it can not be called a city) has an interesting main street with many modern sculptures and water features which keeps the boys amused running from one to the other. There are a couple of museums to be visited but as the boys were not in “the right frame of mind” we elected to give them a miss. We were particularly spurred on to this course of action by looking in through the window of the modern art museum to see several exhibits on the floor; this was definitely not a place for little feet to tread.

The castle overlooking the town was interesting but as it is now the residential home of the ruling family, visitors are not allowed, however there is a walk that can be taken up to the castle from the town centre. We did not know how long it would take and did not feel like climbing a hill so did not go this route. With little else to do there with the children we headed home.

Tuesday 17th July
Monday I take the boys off to the park for a few hours whilst Jon studies and then we get ready to head to a campsite near the castle of Neuschwanstein. On Wednesday we travel to the castle, after waiting in the queue for tickets for a good 40 minutes we discover that the next tour is another 4 hours away so we decide just to walk up and view it from the outside. With another promise of ice cream the boys become angelic willing walkers and the dragging up the hill is kept to a minimum. Neuschwanstein is one of those places you either love or hate but nobody can deny its dramatic presence perched on a mountainside it dominates the surroundings. The fairytale turrets and the grey granite walls certainly give it a majestic and imposing character. The short walk to Saint Mary’s Bridge is well worth it as the view of the castle from there really shows it’s regal qualities at its best. For the walk back to the car park we decided to go “off-piste” and walk through the woods.

Sunday 15th July
We meet in the middle of Halstatt where we are taken to the Charnel house. An interesting place where the skulls and long bones of the local residents are set on display after having been painted. The reason for having the charnel house is due to the cemetery not being big enough. After 10-20 years of being buried the skulls and long bones are removed from the grave, cleaned, bleached in the sun and then painted by the family before being put in the Charnel house. The last one to be put in there was 1983. Most people are cremated now. It is a fascinating if somewhat morbid place.

After this we head off to walk up the mountain; it is a hot day and the climb is hard going but the boys do really well. The walk down is understandably quicker. After this we picnic and go to a lakeside park where the boys enjoy playing in the water. We return to the same restaurant and then say a fond farewell to our guides, interpreters and friends with the possibility of meeting up again in France in August.

Saturday 14th July
We meet at the bottom of the cable car that is to take us to the Dachstein ice caves; on the way there we are stopped on the road due to a helicopter flying overhead. The person stopping us did not speak English and we are none the wiser about the reason for stopping traffic. However, when we get to the car park all is explained. A large part of the car park has been sectioned off with a cement mixer in the middle, the helicopters are coming in to pick up large vats of cement and carry them up the mountain. This is how all the buildings on the mountain are constructed and explains why the food on the mountain can be very expensive. The boys were beside themselves with excitement at being so close to helicopters landing and taking off frequently.

We travel in a rickety old cable car which swings about a bit too much for my liking and, in Jon’s words, I am standing next to Miss Panic Pants who is not overly keen on us all crowding in around her and offers up words such as “Oh my god!” every few seconds. On arrival she unceremoniously pushes past us and shouts “Move!” I try not to get cross as she is obviously a bit stressed.

It is quite a steep walk up to the mouth of the caves and takes about 30 minutes, it is really quite hot, so we feel a little foolish when at the mouth of the caves we start putting on jumpers and coats. They were most definitely needed though as the temperature in the caves was around 3 degrees. Having never been in an Ice Cave before we found it quite interesting and unique. The boys enjoyed it as well.

Friday 13th July
We have arranged to meet the Querner’s at the bottom of the near vertical Funicular railway; it is only a 5 minutes walk from our campsite. The boys are all excited to see one another not to mention about going on the railway that can be seen from the campsite and has caused much fascination over the last couple of days. At the top of the railway there is a 15 minutes walk to the Salt mines. We all dress up in ‘mining gear’ and join the tour spoken in both German and English. It was a well organised tour with many different techniques used to share the information. There were a few talks, lick stones to experience the salt in the rock, a short video that even though in German the boys were captivated enough to behave through, a talking miner, a couple of still life exhibits, a light show on the walls of a cavern showing where the man in salt had been found, the highlight of course has to be the two wooden slides that you need to use to get to the lower levels of the mine and finally the train ride out of the mines. This was definitely a worthwhile visit and the boys really enjoyed it.

The Querner’s used their local knowledge and took us to a nearby restaurant that specialises in a traditional Austrian dish consisting of different cuts of pork, Sauerkraut and dumplings; it was delicious. It was a novelty to have someone who understood the menu and knew what to order. There was unexpected excitement for the boys as the large Pole that had been erected in the car park for the May festival was being taken down, we stayed around to watch the unexpected event with the men of course offering their opinion on what the professionals were doing wrong with the whole procedure.

Halstatt Wednesday 11th July
After two weeks our cards run out and we have need to move to Halstatt where we have arranged to meet our Austrian friends. We arrive at a wet and soggy campsite where the owner tells us they have had 3 days of solid rain, a common problem in Austria.

Thursday we take a walk around the town of Halstatt. Situated on a beautiful mountain lake with the surrounding mountains reflected in the still waters, it has a nice fresh Alpine feel to it.

Sunday 1st July
We decide to take the boys on the fairy tale walk near Trebesing. First we stop off for lunch in the town of Trebesing and marvel at the giant inflatable pink beach balls dotted around the town. We also pop into the Porsche museum, which is supposed to be the largest private collection in Europe; free of course with our Karnten card.

Monday 2nd July
A day to be remembered. Jon takes all 3 boys out and gives me a day of peace. Hurrah, ok so I spend the first 3 hours cleaning, tidying and washing but I can do it at my own pace without interruptions. The other hour I spend writing this and hopefully I will get an hour to read my book or do some other relaxing activity, alas it is raining so I expect they will be back soon.

I was right 4 minutes later they all turn up noisy and demanding, after having a pleasant day at a weird animal park where most things were stuffed and a doll museum (free of course!).

We spend the next week or so visiting a few more attractions. I take the boys to the Reptile zoo where I am rushed around the room with cries of “Mummy look at this” and “Come on I’ve seen something amazing”. After 10 minutes of being pulled in three different directions and much shouting resulting in drowning out everybody else, I call things to order and go round the exhibits in sequence. After this we visit Minimundus, a park of famous buildings in miniature, to my surprise the boys did recognise the acropolis and the leaning tower of Pisa. They had a good space shuttle model and we were lucky to be next to it when it ‘blasted off’. However, the kids were mostly bored of the park so we didn’t spend too long there. There was a film show about the planets but this was 50 minutes long so I didn’t even contemplate it.

We had two more walks on Gelitzen, we did attempt to visit one of the other peaks but as it had only a single chair lift, this would mean Max would have to go up by himself so we decided against it. The walks were pleasant and we made sure we always walked down hill to reduce the amount of moaning. We also struck a deal of ice cream at the bottom if they didn’t whinge or moan and this worked really well. Bribery; a parent’s best tool.

We had a couple of days lounging about the caravan where Jon put together a video of our trip so far and the boys and I did a project on all the animals that eat fish, inspired by the BBC’s Blue Planet series. The boys make friends with some Dutch boys and although they don’t share a common language manage to enjoy each other’s company. All 4 of Max’s front teeth fall out and the tooth fairy is now skint.

Thursday 28th June
We are in the southern region of Carinthia near the town of Villach and spend Thursday getting our bearings and shopping. Friday we invest in the Karnten card; €34 for each adult and €14 for Max, the other two are free. This gives us free entrance to most attractions in the area and is valid for 2 weeks. Straight away we make use of it by catching the cable car and then chair lift to the top of the Gerlitzen mountain and enjoying a gentle 90 minutes walk back to the midway point, here Jon and Max enjoyed going on the Go-Karts and then we caught the cable car back to the bottom. Parking was free and with the Karnten card so were the cable car and chair lifts.

Saturday 30th June
Jon needed more studying time so I took the boys to the Rosegg wildlife park (free entrance with the Karnten card). There are the usual goats, deer, donkeys, guinea pigs, kangaroos and a Lynx. At the entrance there is a play park and an area where you can feed the deer and smaller animals. Further along you can enter a separate area where you can actually walk with the deer and goats amongst the woods. During our walk in the woods we saw a goat standing precariously on a branch part way up a tree, the boys found this very funny.

Sunday 24th June
We unrepentantly spent a day in the local shopping centre, the only reason I feel the need to mention this is that we could leave the boys in a special play area with a carer for free for 1 hour! How fantastic is that and of course we didn’t leave them there – are you kidding? We practically shoved the kids inside and then did a runner, well the kids weren’t exactly waving tearfully as we ran off, parents? What parents? As is always the case 1-hour sped by but we did manage to do what we wanted without being stressed and the boys had a good time playing. In the shopping centre there is also a bouncy castle with a slide; this was free too. What a fantastic service for families.

Tuesday 26th June
We take the caravan into Zagreb to get the water heater fitted. Our idea was to leave the caravan there and take the boys to the zoo for the day. This was not to be however, despite booking the caravan in for 10am there were a lot of other people they needed to attend to. Basically we had to stay with the caravan and didn’t leave until 3pm.

Wednesday 27th June
During breakfast the police arrive because someone’s car has been broken into, it turns out someone else had something stolen as well. Although we should really be remaining in Zagreb to have the car fixed we decide it is only a matter of time before something happens to us. So within 5 minutes we have not only decided to pack up and leave Zagreb, sadly without seeing the old city, but also to head to Austria.

Wednesday 20th June

We spend a day looking for the Land Rover garage to get another quote for the damage to the door as the one we had in Italy never made it to the insurance company. We have to wait 10 days for the quote to be translated; this big delay does not fill our hearts with joy.
We later find a Truma outlet where we can take our caravan to get the water heater fixed and book the caravan in for the following Tuesday.

Thursday 21st June

We head for the Plitivice lakes, we have been told by many people that these are most beautiful and are a must see. We were not disappointed; it was such a tranquil, calming and truly beautiful place. There are tranquil lakes with golden coloured fish swimming close to the surface and even a few Crayfish can be spotted if you are lucky. Soothing waterfalls ranging from a gentle trickle to a thunderous torrent provide the calming melody of nature. There are many boardwalks taking you across the lakes and the path through the surrounding wood twists and turns that the boys didn’t seem to mind walking and the moaning was kept to a minimum. The fact that a train ride and a boat ride are included in the price also helped with the boys’ enjoyment. This place is truly a gem and a place not to be missed, if you don’t go anywhere else in Croatia, you must go here.