1. Slovenia here we come! 🇸🇮

We’re on our travels again, this time heading further east across Europe - Slovenia is our destination 🇸🇮 Intrigued by the magnificent descriptions of the Julian Alps and other mountain ranges, turquoise blue lakes, ancient unspoiled forests, a beautiful (small) stretch of coastline on the Adriatic, interesting towns and villages, a varied culinary culture, interesting wine growing regions, and overall a warm and welcoming culture of tourism, we set off to explore.

Our planned route took us through northern France, across Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, to arrive in the north eastern part of Slovenia. Our travel is fairly slow, planning on taking a few days to arrive.

Setting off from Calais we arrived at our first destination, the beautiful ancient village of Rodemack in France for the evening. Having discovered this place last year, we were keen to return. The village is surrounded by 15th century ramparts and retains a medieval atmosphere with cobbled streets and beautiful architectural heritage. As is so typical in France, an Aire is provided by the village, free of charge, for campervans to park up and stay the night.  

A visit to the fabulous little artisan brewery in the village was just what was needed after a hot 5 hour journey 😃

The old citadel of Rodemack

Any guesses where Rubes is heading??

One of the old gateways into Rodemack

Back at the camp - Dave protecting his dinner 🤣

Setting off early the following morning we made good progress along the German Autobahn, and late in the afternoon we arrived at a beautiful lake located between Augsburg and Friedberg, where parking overnight was permitted (and free again), with direct access to the lake shore. After a bit of a walk round the lake, and a swim for Rubes (of course) we settled into the lovely little bohemian Biergarten on the edge of the lake. It was obviously a popular early evening destination for locals, as numerous cyclists and walkers all arrived, meeting up with friends to enjoy a drink and the lovely evening sunshine. Enjoying a fantastic cold beer, we marvelled again at just how welcoming and friendly people were towards us, speaking to us in fluent English, both in Germany and in France the night before - We felt very fortunate. Things all seemed very easy going and relaxed (so far 🤞), so we were very happy 😃 

Beautiful Kuhsee lake

Very enjoyable 😃

Cyclists gathering for early evening drinks

As not planning a particularly early start, we braced ourselves for a morning jog around the lake - just under 2 miles in total, but pleased that we had eventually stretched our legs after a couple of days sitting in the van 😃 Onwards then for a short journey into Austria, where we planned to spend a couple of nights and have a break from the journey. 

Our complacency got the better of us, again, when we arrived at our chosen camping Aire in Austria, just south of Salzburg, to find that it was full 😢 Think we are so used to travelling out of season, where we rarely need to book places in advance - but not the case now! 🤣 Eventually rocked up at a small campsite a bit further south at Rennweg, and although not enthralled by it initially, we actually spent a lovely couple of nights there. Our plan was to get out and explore, do some activity, and generally have a break from the journey. The campsite was in the foothills of the Austrian Alps, a famous winter skiing area.

Interestingly, Rubes was actually up for a walk in the morning (unlike at home 🤣) so off we trekked on a very steep walk up the valley slopes - the views were amazing 🤩 Later on Dave and I set off on our bikes to explore the valley, which was stunning. Thunderstorms were threatened for later, and fortunately they arrived just as we’d arrived at the cafe on our return leg - our plan to sample some authentic apple strudel. Noticing that it was a cash only place, we managed to cobble together the necessary coins, not wanting to leave disappointed. It was delicious - but probably made the ride a net calorie gain, rather than a deficit 🤣 

Rennweg valley

“Rest a bit” - very welcome on our alpine trek 😃

Cycling in the valley - the storm clouds were approaching 😢

A welcome thirst quencher 🤣

Delicious Apple strudel 

Fortunately the rains passed soon, which left a window of opportunity for tennis 🎾 The village sports complex was adjacent to the campsite, and freely available to use. Given my recent uptake of tennis, we’d packed my racket and balls, and managed to borrow another from the campsite - so off we set! Neither of us are that good at the game, but we did manage a few short rallies - and most importantly, we enjoyed it! So definitely hoping for more opportunities and practice as we travel on 🤞

Bought some lovely local honey, jam and cheese from the camp farm shop before leaving, then set off on our final leg of the journey to Slovenia - only a couple of hours away (and a quick diversion to the Trek shop for more biking paraphernalia 🤣). Was interesting passing over the border from Austria into Slovenia, as the old border crossing was still in situ, with green lights overhead indicating to proceed through. Although now an open (EU) border, it was striking to see this old border station still there (unlike passing through all the countries so far on our journey), an obvious relic from former west / east county divisions. But thankfully now, open borders for travelling in the EU, which we very much appreciate and enjoy 😃 

So we’ve arrived in Slovenia, and it is very hot! 🥵 Wondering how all 3 of us are going to cope with the heat 🤣🤞