Well we have arrived at the site in Munich at 10.30 this morning 09.30 our time..
We set off Wednesday with my favourite holiday album in the CD player The Monkees and continued south taking the rain with us I don’t think it stopped till we crossed the water. It was a hard drive fighting the traffic and the weather all the way with the obligatory stop and stare at the sites for half an hour on the largest southern car park the M25.
We arrived some 300 miles later at Dover for around 19.30 and managed to get on the earlier ferry leaving at 9pm at a small cost of 10 quid to sit on a half empty boat .
We did another 80 mile into Belgium and pulled over in a service station at 00.30 UK time for the night..
Thursday was a nice steady plod setting off at 09.30 and driving 520 mile till we stopped at 22.30 Uk time
30 mile from Munich. Sun all the way with a few minor roadwork’s and one diversion but nothing to delay us too much (May look for a better return route as returning this way looked to be very delayed).
And today we did the last 30 mile arriving at the site for 10.30.
Stats.
930 miles.
200 litres fuel ish
194 quid
Highest price 109.9 pounds M25
Lowest .83 euros Luxembourg
We are staying at camping Thalkirchen just a few miles from the centre of Munich. A small site with very small pitches just enough for car and caravan no awning. It is only 25 euros a night so can,t complain. The zoo and outdoor pool complex are within a short walk and the centre is a short tube ride away.
The kids have been playing at the river that runs along side the site and love it..
Just outside the entrance to the site the locals like to surf the weir. They have been doing this for years.
They log the trees somewhere further up the river then bring the logs down in rafts. As a tourist attraction they fill the rafts with beer and some entertainment in the form of bands etc and these trips look very popular.
Saturday.
Lazy morning around the caravan then off on the short walk to the pool (Bad Maria Einsiedel) a natural pool fed by the river Isar that runs along the campsite and through Munich.
As well as the large pool part of the river is diverted through the pool complex via a canal. Heather and Abigail loved getting in and floating down then having to swim fast to get out at one of the many exit points only to then run upstream and do it all again.
Some plonker forgot to take the sun cream and Annette is now like a lobster. I’m a little red myself and must remember to take it next time.
Sunday.
Very hot to start the day but we knew storms were due for the afternoon and following day so we decided to do a few days sightseeing. We walked to the local underground station around 20 min and purchased a 3 day unlimited transport ticket for the whole family costing us €21. The transport system is very clean and easy to use. Our first stop was the Olympic stadium where we had a nice stroll around and ended up at a fair ground which relieved us very quickly of some hard earned dosh. Lunch was bratwurst and frites yummy.
We saw the rain clouds approaching so decided to head back to the city centre Marienplatz where we visited the toy museum. The kids were very interested with the collection of toys, old teddy bears, dolls and houses etc. Some of which were a few hundred years old and very basic.
The kids were hungry again and we stopped at McDonalds kids choice not mine but it kept them happy. We then had a stroll along all the shops but thankfully they were all shut.
Annette has this idea in her head that I deliberately only take her shopping when the shops are shut I don’t plan this but I never complain.
We strolled back to the centre and timed it nicely for the 5pm show of the Glockenspiel on the front of the Neus Rathas (Old Town Hall) by this time it was absolutely lashing it down but the kids enjoyed the characters moving around with the 43 bells chiming in the background.
We then travelled back to the caravan site to dry off that is unless you are a mad Englishman who decides to wash his caravan in the rain.
We met a lovely family from Australia whose younger children had been playing with Abigail and Mathew on the park for the past few days. They were on an eight week walkabout around Europe.
Jared and Raphi liked the sound of Croatia and have decided to travel there tomorrow. We may well meet up with them again next week.
Monday.
Woke up and it was lashing it down again. The kids did there school work for an hour or so then the weather eased off a little so we thought we would hit the town again. Our first stop was the Viktualienmarkt one of Europe’s great food markets loads of stalls selling all the local specialities and fresh produce. We just had to buy one of the local pretzels just for curiosity and we all loved it freshly out of the oven it was nice and warm. Basically it’s just bread with sea salt sprinkled on the outside (no wonder it’s sold in all the beer halls).
We had a stroll around a few more of the sites and churches then decided on some food and I knew just the place. Hofbrauhaus with it’s past of more than 400 years was the ideal setting for a beer and some food. The beer hall is massive full of tables and benches that are over 100 years old it has 4 floors and its own beer garden and the atmoshere is unique. Although the brew kettles stood in the high ceiling rooms some 100 year ago the brewing kettles have now moved to a more modern facility not to far away. Every day guests from Munich and all over the world are enchanted by thetraditional bavarian music and food This place has entertained some very famous people over the years and is also the place where Hitler had one of his very first rallies.
We sat down at a big wooden table and within a few moments one of the chaps came and took our order 1L of Hofbrau Original for me @€6.90 and three cokes the kids had the local speciality veal sausages and we had pok knuckles with potatoe dumplings. The quantity was fantastic and we were all stuffed. Annette was not a big fan of her bavarien fayre but the kids loved their sausages and we thought they would hate them. And Heather loved my beer much to my disappointment.
Tuesday.
The weather is crap again it’s been raining all night with that patter on the roof of the van that just drills into your head. It clears up by midday and we decide to visit Dachau memorial. It surprised me how small the place was considering the numbers that were killed here. There is a good display with photographs explaining what life was like at the camp and how it changed over the years. Some of the buildings were original and some had been reconstructed. It did bring home the horror of the nazi regime.
Wednesday.
We visited the famous Hellabrunn Zoo with over 5000 animals the kids had been looking forward to this all week and really enjoyed the petting area where they hand fed they sheep and goats. It was a long day with lots of walking but we all enjoyed our self’s. A family pass for three kids and two adults cost under £20 and it’s a 15 min walk from the campsite.
Thursday
Washing and ironing and getting the van ready for meeting everyone the next day for the last leg.
Friday.
The boys had done well last night with the driving and were 50 mile ahead of us so we had a 6am start leaving the site at 7am and pulling in to the lay-by at 8 am just as Tubbs was coming out of his caravan. We had a good chin wag while everyone got fed and watered then we all plodded along in convoy leaving Germany and travelling through Austria and Slovienia till we arrived at our site in Croatia. It was a good comfortable drive and we all had a bit of banter on the CB’s along the way to keep us entertained. Fingers got a little delayed at the Croatian checkpoint and had his own little tour of the area but soon caught up with us.
