Roadtrip Around Germany – Part 4 (CZ) (A) (D) Metropolises on the Danube

Czech Puszta-Sounds

Monday, 03.08.2015

Today we have to say farewell to the phantastic Moldova metropolis, because meanwhile we have an appointment with hockey friends in Linz for the Black Wings‘ training start.

That means finishing the shower, paying the camping fees (somehow they forget to charge us one night, but we won’t complain… 😉 ) and hitting the road towards the south.

We leave Prague via the southward expressway. Soon the landscape becomes more rural, and we turn onto country road 102, always following the Moldova river. In the tranquil village of Davle we find a Coop supermarket where we stock ourselves up with some breakfast and cheap beer (unfiltrated Staropramen for 20ct per pint and absolutely delicious… ♥ ).

The journey continues along the well-developed route 102. After some kilometres the main road does a wide left turn, while the 102-road continues straight on on a considerably smaller road. Promptly we have unintentionally left our road. Actually we want to turn round in Slapy, the next village, when we spot a signpost towards a place called Buš. Of course we have to go there. 😉

Apart from the town sign Buš has not much to explore, but nevertheless it is another milestone in our collection of curious place names.

The nearer we get to the Austrian border the broader the landscape becomes. Even though none of us has ever been there, the area here reminds us of the Hungarian Puszta.

At some point we turn on the google maps satnav again, because we want to reach Linz before 6pm for being able to still fetch some meat for a barbeque. Again, that lady sends us through areas where we feel thrown back in time.

Via Vyšší Brod we finally reach Austria and stop at the very first supermarket in Linz. The butchery saleslady still has some meat on display indeed, but her expertise ends somewhere far behind the counter and so she herself has not a single clue what kind of dead animal she has on offer. We don’t have another choice than to chose by appearance and hoping that it is going to taste good. 😉

Since we do not have any grill lighters left, Junior grabs a pack of “amazing grill lighters on an eco-friendly basis”, followed by a hymn of praise for the  wax-impregnated, ball of wool  like, crocheted chains.

Having arrived at the campsite at Pichling Lake we are immediately overcome by hunger and start to heat up the grill. With the eco-friendly grill lighters. The particulate emissions of the Didimobile are nothing compared to the eco-wool, all our neighbours are coughing tremendously and we are really curious how long it will take for the campsite to issue a general prohibition of charcoal because of us? However, the lighters work perfectly and the charcoal is ready in no time. 🙂

Linz icecold

Tuesday, 04.08.2015

We cannot sleep really long today. At 10am the thermometer inside the Didimobile shows 30°C already, and outside it is not much colder.

The public bus soon takes us to the capital of Upper Austria. The scenic city centre is quite manageable, so we take the “Bim”, what Austrians call their tramway” up to Pöstlingberg, the local mountain of Linz.

Having arrived on the mountain top we fetch something to eat and drink at the Biergarten. Prices are more than moderate for a touristical hotspot here, only the unwanted guests in Borussia Dortmund colours disturb the overall impression.

The views from Pöstlingberg towards the city of Linz with about 200,000 residents is terrific, when the weather is clear you can even spot the Alps more than a hundred kilometres away.

Afterwards we stroll from Urfahr on the left side of the Danube river across the Nibelungen Bridge back to Hauptplatz, where we refresh ourselves with a delicious ice-cream. Temperatures have already risen to 33°C and we cannot await the opening of the doors of the local ice rink.

At 5pm we slowly walk to Keine Sorgen Eisarena (No Worries Ice Arena – that really is its name…) where me meet our friends from Linz and enjoy the coolness of the arena.

In the evening we have some Leberkäse, a southern German and Austrian speciality, at Leberkas-Pepi, some kind of fastfood shop for Leberkäse. Lovely ♥. We have a farewell beer at Rox-Musicbar before we take the last bus back to the campsite at 23:00.

Dorf (Village) – Passau – Übersee (Oversees)

Wednesday, 05.08.2015

Alongside the Danube river we go back to Germany today. Taking the Autobahn would be an extra 20 kilometres and eight Euros more exensive, so this option is none for the Didimobile.

Therefore we pass some villages with so sounding names as “Dorf” (Village). 🙂

The next bigger town is the German border town of Passau. Already at my first visit to Linz in March, this Danube city caught my attention when I was driving by, thus we have to do a short stop here today. Luckily we find a parking spot in the shade under a bridge and start exploring the Old Town lying on a promontery between the rivers Inn and Danube.

In one of the many small pubs we have a delicious Flammekueche, and full of new energy we continue our roundtrip through this beautiful city.

In the Old Town‘s alleys people seem to have a faible for drying their umbrellas in the open air. It might probably only be some kind of art installation, but the streets are full of umbrellas hanging down from clotheslines.

Before returning to the Didimobile we have a tasty ice-cream on the go. There are many cafés and restaurants in Passau, but nevertheless the city is nowhere near as crowded as Prague is.

The onward journey to lake Chiemsee is quite unspectacular. Once again we stop at RV-park Wohnmobilstellplatz am Hof Steiner, where we have aready been staying last year on our way to Großglockner. On our arrival we are shocked to finde the camperstop to already be more than full. Interestingly, the senior remembers us from last year and offers us to spend the first night directly in front of his private home.

For dinner we walk to Hotel Zur schönen Aussicht again and enjoy a great meal at the summer terrace. When we come back to the camperstop full and satisfied, we enjoy a last Staropramen Nefiltrovaný under the stars.

The ultimate camping experience then were two campers giving a spontaneous nightly camperstop concert with their guitar and accordion. Bravo. 😀