Wednesday 14th November 2018

Today after Kerry had made us some breakfast we returned to Widecombe to find Claud our builder working on the roof of our house.

We travelled 241 miles (388 kilometres) today.

Our journey lasted 32 days and we travelled 2990 miles (4814 kilometres) excluding the ferry crossing from Poole to Cherbourg and the channel tunnel from Calais to Folkstone. We travelled from England to France, Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, France and back to England. 

Many thanks to everyone who has taken an interest in our journey and special thanks to those of you who have commented on it.

Roger.

Tuesday 13th November 2018

This morning we went to the University of Saarland Hospital to see if we could find a doctor to look at Ann's foot. What we found was a vast complex with every conceivable parking place already filled. We couldn't understand the signs and couldn't have found the A&E Department even if we could have found somewhere to park. We then phoned our travel insurance company who advised us to contact another hospital but as we couldn't find this hospital on our sat nav so we went to another one with a similar name. When we got there every possible parking place was filled and there was literally nowhere we could find to stop. We decided to move on. We crossed from Germany into Luxembourg and then from Luxembourg into Belgium. Finally we crossed into France.

Passengers on cross channel ferries are not allowed to remain in their vehicles during the crossing so as Ann is unable to walk it would not have been possible for us to take a ferry to Britain. Instead we took the channel tunnel where you have to remain in your vehicle during the crossing! Here's the view from our van as we drove onto the platform at Calais. Incidentally there were none of the usual searches and interrogations which you get when travelling by ferry. Presumably the authorities think that if you're willing to pay four times the price of a ferry crossing then you're either not a people smuggler or that you've paid so much for your ticket that you deserve to be able to bring in whatever you like!

Here's the view as we were loading onto the under channel train. We got to Folkestone about 35 minutes after leaving Calais - magic! We went to Folkestone Hospital only to find that they had closed 20 minutes before we got there. There was however a notice in the window saying that the A&E Department at Ashford Hospital was open. We went to Ashford and I found a wheelchair to put Ann in. She was seen by a doctor, told she had an inflamed muscle in her foot, issued with crutches and sent on her way! The NHS is a truly marvellous institution! We came on to Ann's daughter Kerry's house in Kent and parked outside. We had previously phoned Kerry and asked her not to wait up for us.

Today we travelled 402 miles (647 kilometres) excluding the distance we travelled on the under channel train. 

Monday 12th November 2018

It was cold this morning at our parking place in Bergen and the sun took a long time to get round to us.

We set off at 9.30 - quite early by our standards. We went past Munich, Stuttgart and Karlsruhe mainly on motorways and then through the Pfalzerwald on smaller roads.

At one of our stops along the way as Ann was getting out of the van her bad foot suddenly became agonisingly painful.

There were beautiful autumn coloured leaves all along the way. We stopped for the night at the town of Zweibrucken. We are staying at an Aire which belongs to a nearby hotel. It is all very well organised and costs 10 euros for the night. There is a Belgian and a French registered van here apart from ourselves. It seems that there is an accident and emergency department at the University of Saarland Hospital quite near here so we intend to go there in the morning and hopefully they will have a look at Ann's foot.

Today we travelled 320 miles (515 kilometres). We are at N49.25410 E7.37648

Zweibrucken    

Sunday 11th November 2018

Ann thought her foot felt a lot better this morning but when she tried to walk it became painiful again after about 100 metres. This confirmed our decision made yesterday to return to Devon and seek medical assistance. We put Dunkirk ferry terminal into the sat nav and set off. Before long we crossed from Slovenia into Austria heading north.

We crossed a pass and continued north through beautiful mountain scenery.

We stopped for a cup of tea by this nice river,

This is a marvellous route to drive.

We passed this imposing Schloss.

We went through this high out of season ski resort.

We passed many of the lesser ranges of the alps.

We saw another Schloss.

After being held up for a short while at these railway/road works we reached the outskirts of the city of Saltzburg, turned west and crossed from Austria into Germany. We travelled a short way west along the A8 motorway before branching off to the village of Bergen where we are staying the night in a car park at the foot or the village ski lift. It costs 4 euros to stay here overnight.

Today we travelled 173 miles (279 kilometres). We are at N47.79854 E12.59071

Bergen      

Saturday 10th November 2018

This morning we negotiated the release of the plug on our electric cable from the locked cabinet it was imprisoned in and left the campsite heading north.

We followed the valley of the river Soca northwards stopping along the way to take in the sights.

The river is a beautiful blue.

We headed up towards a high alpine pass.

The scenery became more and more dramatic.

We climbed up through numerous hairpin bends each one having a sign with a  number and its height in metres above sea level!

Eventually we reached the Vrsic Pass at 1611 metres and stopped for a cup of tea.

It was a pretty bleak place today.

The weather improved as we descended on the north side of the pass and we got some marvellous views of the Julian Alps.

This is the eastern extremity of the main chain of the alps which runs from the south of France all the way here.

Descending through the hairpin bends is much easier than going up. The main issue here is not overheating the brakes - I was in 2nd gear most of the way down.

We stopped for the day at the town of Kranjska Gora and after doing a supermarket shop parked at the town Aire which we are sharing with their mega snow pisteing machines.

We have marvellous views up to the Julian Alps from the Aire.

It is very frustrating for Ann as she can only walk a short distance and it is very painful for her to do so. We very much doubt that seeking local medical advice could alleviate the problem in the short term. We have therefore very reluctantly and with great regret decided to return to Devon and seek the help of the NHS.

Today we travelled 46 miles (74 kilometres). We are at N46.48759 E13.77482

Kransjka Gora      Street view

Friday 9th November 2018

It was nice and sunny this morning. Ann's foot had been very bad during the night but it was much better this morning. We set off north along the western border of Slovenia.

We entered the valley of the Soca river where we stopped for a cup of tea.

The river is an amazing shade of blue - fed by snow melt.

Today we did something which we almost never do - we stopped at a campsite! We are at the town of Kobarid.

On reflection I have really no idea as to why we are here. I find these places profoundly depressing. When we arrived we had to show the reception both our passports. For some stupid reason we said we wanted electricity. The electric sockets are locked in a metal cabinet. After about an hour I went to enquire at reception as to why the cabinet had not been unlocked. When it was finally unlocked our cable's plug was then locked inside it so we will have to negotiate with reception again in the morning to get our cable back!

It costs 29 euros a night to stay here including electricity. To add injury to insult when we went to use the launderette it cost an extra 5 euros to use the washing machine and 4 euros to use the drier! Total outlay 38 euros for services we don't even need. The one good point was that the showers were "free".

Today we travelled 49 miles (79 kilometres). We are at N46.25164 E13.58650

Kobarid     Street view - I would even less like to be here in the summer!

Thursday 8th November 2018

While we were walking around Izola yesterday one of Ann's feet suddenly became very painful. Today it has swollen up. It is very painful for her to walk. We left Izola and travelled north, briefly returning into Italy near Trieste and then back into Slovenia. We came into a very attractive area of forested limestone hills with numerous vinyards.

We stopped for the day at the village of Stanjel. Here's a view towards the village from our parking place.

There's also a nice view out of the front of our van. Pity about the power lines!

I had a wander around the village. Unfortunately Ann's foot was too poorly for her to come too.

The village was once fortified.

To the right of the bistro is the tourist office. I went in and bought a couple of bottles of the renowned local wine. I asked where I could buy some of the renowned local air dried ham and the charming man in the tourist office gave me directions to the shop. I bought some ham at the shop where I noticed that I could have bought the very same wine for half the price! No wonder the man in the tourist office had been so friendly!

Some of the village is a bit derelict.

There are some nice features but it doesn't live up to the rave rating it is given in The Rough Guide to Slovenia.

I'd bought some bread to go with the ham and wine so we had a nice lunch in the van and whiled away a sunny afternoon in this pleasant car park where we're spending tonight.

Today we travelled 38 miles (61 kilometres). We are at N45.82200 E13.84232

Stanjel     Street view

Wednesday 7th November 2018

From Trieste we travelled south and soon crossed from Italy into Slovenia. We stopped for the day at the town  of Izola on the Adriatic coast. We walked into the town centre.

There is a nice compact old town.

There are some really narrow streets.

This church was locked.

This square is next to the church.

Also in the square.

The buildings are multicoloured.

The fishing harbour is nearby, I like this town.

Unfortunately sleeping on benches is strictly prohibited.

We walked back to our parking place along the seafront. We were lucky. Almost as soon as we were back in our van it started to pour with rain and the rain continued for several hours.

Today we travelled 36 miles (58 kilometres). We are at N45.53815 E13.66431 

Izola     Street view