Lake Bled Monday 29 July 2013

Up at 06:00 having slept well and feel a whole lot better than yesterday. Still raining as I quickly clean the inside of the bus and have a nice chat with the Italian driver parked in front of me before going into breakfast just after seven. Again it is a buffet and a good one at that. Going in early for breakfast was definitely the right move as we had no trouble finding seats in the relatively small restaurant but by the time we are away it is packed with few places free.

We depart at 08:00 and even though yesterday was a very long day it feels worth it today when I join the motorway and it is less than an hour to Stuttgart!

We stop just before Ulm for toilets and the chance for me to top the drinks water up (this would normally be reached for a lunch stop) and then on towards Munich.

As we drive around the Munich ring road I have Hollie taking pictures of me as we pass the Allianz Arena, Bayern Munich’s ground and the scene of Chelsea’s Champions League triumph last year, with me in my Chelsea hat! All very sad but makes me smile!

We pass Munich before stopping for lunch and by the time we have a last comfort stop we are in Austria and less than an hour and a half from Bled.

This part of the journey is beautiful as the motorway winds its way through the Alps with much of the road high up on stilts.

Between Salzburg and the border with Slovenia we pass a famous castle at Werfen, a small Austrian town. It is the castle used in the film “Where Eagles Dare.”

We pass a few tunnels en route to the border where the longest of the day is about five miles long. This is a toll road and my Go Box has, at the very last moment, decided to tell me it is out of credit! I am supposed to top up within four hours but cannot stop until we reach Slovenia so will have to do it on the return.

The last time I waited I was sent a letter in the post fining me about £200.00. Hopefully they can see the problem here and will allow me the time until we return to Austria on Saturday.

The Go Box is an Austrian toll system in the form of a small box stuck to the windscreen that has a chip inside with this particular coach’s details. We top up much like a mobile phone with the minimum top up €75.00.

I had called the hotel and said we would be there at about 18:00 and we arrive at 18:10 so I’m quite happy with that. We soon unload passengers and luggage and I park up in the space provided at the front of the hotel.

No cleaning today as Hollie and I go to our rooms. It is very warm now and the rain seems to have cleared the air as the sun is shining in a bright blue sky with the promise of excellent weather for the remainder of the week.

Our rooms are facing the town with nobody facing the lake which is probably a little quieter but obviously without the stunning view of the lake. There is no air conditioning in my room but I do have a large fan to use if it becomes too hat at night.

Dinner is a buffet and we all go in at 19:30 to our allocated tables. Hollie and I are sat on our own but will make a bigger table of six so we can sit with Deb, Luke, Sophie and Dot from tomorrow.

After dinner (which was very good) we go to the Devil Bar for a beer before bed! It is only about £2.00 a pint here so quite happy with that!

Only one tonight as I’m absolutely shattered.