Here we go again, the start of another busy (hopefully)
year, and my first tour of the year to Austria for our Winter Wonderland trip.
This year we are staying in the lakeside town of St Wolfgang.
Winter trips are hard to fill so this has been priced on
going with a lower number and indeed we only have 19 passengers although it was
21 at one point with a couple of cancellations.
This time last year there was too much snow in Austria
but there hasn’t been that much this year and we are hopeful all will be white
when we arrive! I hate the snow in England but love it where it should be!
However much snow does fall the roads are always kept clear and driving is a
pleasure.
I am taking Brian with me this year which makes
everything easier from my point of view especially if we do have a lot of snow!
I meet Brian at the yard at 05:15 and soon we are driving
to Petersfield for our first pick and a departure time of 06:00. We then have a
pick up in Liphook and finally Milford before going on our happy way.
Our channel crossing is by shuttle and our booked
departure time is 10:20. I have allowed plenty of time to reach Folkestone
because the Hindhead tunnel was supposed to be shut this weekend for
maintenance but the works were postponed a couple of days ago.
After a stop at Clackett Lane on the way down we arrive
at Folkestone early enough for some breakfast and to catch the 09:20 train.
Happy with that!
We arrive in Calais at 10:55 (local time) to be met by
heavy rain but this soon clears for a good journey through to Brussels services
for our lunch stop.
Most countries through Europe charge for toilets and the
Belgians have followed the Germans by installing turnstiles at the toilets
where you pay €0.50 to enter and as you go through you receive a ticket worth
€0.50 to spend in the restaurant or shop.
After my bowl of soup I realise pretty quickly I need the
loo only to find I have left my euro’s at home! I remember that my friend Sarah
gave me a euro coin the other day and I still had it in my pocket! Thanks
Sarah!
From here we drive through Belgium into Luxembourg and
make a last stop before arriving at our overnight hotel in Kaiserslautern.
Luxembourg is a good place to stop as the fuel is cheap (about a £1.08 a
litre), cigarettes and tobacco are cheap (Brian is buying for his neighbour)
and the loos are free!
At the start of the day I wanted to arrive in
Kaiserslautern between 18:30 and 19:00 and we arrive at 18:30. The journey
today has been good with no hold ups and decent weather all the way once we had
left Calais and am well pleased to be on time.
Our hotel, the Dorint Kaiserslautern, is a very
comfortable hotel with excellent food and a place we have used many times
before.
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