We departed the fairy tale beauty of Neuschwanstein castle on the Austrian border and drove on towards Innsbruck through the picturesque but windy Alps. Overhead soared stunning mountain peaks covered in snow which remains there most of the year. The road often cuts through large sections of the Alps with tunnels in excess of 15 km long. In other places the road weaves down cliff like faces with multiple hair pin turns. Local truck and car drivers descend at speeds that we would consider reckless and overtake where we wouldn’t consider, while we took our time and gawked at the amazing vistas.
Darkness has arrived well and truly by the time we pull into Innsbruck and make our way towards the city centre. Rooms in the centre are small and expensive, so we decide to drive out to the outskirts where we had noticed some camping signs on the way in. Tired and desperate after finding that none of the campsites offer bungalows, we decided to try a guest house nearby, the Kranbitterhof Gasthof. Suzi negotiated a super deal, and we headed to our first true Bavarian room. (3rd floor in photo) All of the fittings and furniture were carved or decorated with floral and other local artwork, and we went to sleep expecting to be woken by yodelling or cow bells.
We were close! Donkeys baying in the morning awoke us and when we opened our bedroom shutters, we were taken aback by the snow covered mountains that fringe Innsbruck looming above us. After a breakfast served by ladies wearing the traditional garb consisting of off the shoulder blouses, lace up vests and billowing ¾ dresses, the younger 3 boys jumped at the opportunity to visit and feed the animals of the attached farm and spent the morning in the playground while we reorganised our bags and cleaned up the car interior.
We ventured into the old town and enjoyed the Christmas shop and many other unique stores and took up the opportunity to entertain each other trying on novelty hats. We loved the local architecture and although we suddenly found ourselves looking for our winter gear again, we enjoyed Innsbruck’s beauty.
That afternoon we headed towards Stuttgart, Germany to fulfil our birthday promise to Jordan to visit the Porsche Museum. (Next Blog written by Jord) As we drove along the highway through the mountains we studied the map more closely and decided that a huge lake on the map would be an excellent stop over. We arrived in a town on the bank of the Bodensee (as per the map) or Lake Bregenz (according to the signs) by late afternoon and went in search of a home for the night. The lake is stunning and huge, with Sydney Harbour type ferries operating. It helps form the border between Austria, Germany and Switzerland and is obviously fed by the melted snow from the area. We again failed to secure a bungalow, and so after the positive experience the previous night, we settled in at the Krone Guesthouse. Lovely!
In the morning we explored the banks of the lake where access to the water was possible amongst the bird habitat and avoided collisions with the stream of aging cyclists who were out exercising. The kids were fascinated by the sight of a flock of ducks resting/ feeding in the water while large fish which we guessed to be Pikes, breached the water as they attacked something on the surface. Mother ducks carefully herded their chicks towards the shallows to prevent them becoming a meal. Try as we may, the leaps were erratic and taking an action shot was impossible, although we caught plenty of splashes.
We followed the lake road towards the Autobahn to Stuttgart and came to Lindau, a charming town with beautiful views over the lake. As we wanted to continue driving, we stopped to admire, take a photo or 2 including this obscene sunbaker, added the town to our ‘come back without kids’ list and hit the road again. We got to Stuttgart a couple of hours before the museum closed, and had some male bonding time. For those not interested in 4 wheels, we warn you that the next blog may not be your cup of tea.
Until then, goodbye from the Wockies.
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