Stage 1: from Großkrotzenburg via Switzerland to France

On Sunday, April 14th, we started early, first to Horgen on Lake Zurich to visit our friends and godchildren. On the way, about halfway there, we were surprised by thick white flakes... Everything around us was really white, luckily the snow did not stay on the road - not the best start with summer tires 😬 Finally arrived, we had a nice relaxed day & evening with Stephi, Sascha and the kids. Thank you 😘.

The next day we continued our journey, via Bern and Geneva to Aix-les-Bains in the Savoy Alps. Just as we wanted to leave Horgen, we got stuck with our mirror on the mirror of the neighboring bus. Luckily the owner was very easygoing and nothing was broken... When we arrived without any further problems, we found a place to park right in front of the closed beach (which was still closed). There was a huge fair along the promenade, like the Dippemess. The weather was also great, so we found a nice picnic spot by the lake and could put our feet in the water.

On Tuesday, we continued straight to the Verdon Gorge. The way there was definitely a challenge for our Miss Molly, winding narrow roads, up and down... But the view of the gorge: a dream! Since we didn't know exactly where to settle down, we really drove almost all the way around. At Lac de Ste-Croix, we stumbled upon a great spot for us, right on the shore of the lake. Camping is officially forbidden there, but fortunately it doesn't matter at this time of year.... 😉 The weather was also good, so we rented canoes the next day and paddled into the gorge. In the afternoon, we also inflated our SUP and each took a turn on the lake. And I jumped into the ice-cold lake again.... In the night, a storm came and our bus was shaken quite a bit. But we survived it safely. Oh, it was really beautiful there, a dreamy spot on earth. It was almost a bit hard for us to move on after 2 days.

It was time to get to the sea. Spontaneously, we decided to go to the Giens peninsula near Hyères. We had been in this area before, but we didn't know this spot. Looking for a not too crowded campsite (after camping wild for 3 days, it was time for a shower), we drove back and forth, because due to the French Easter holidays, it was quite busy everywhere. But we found what we were looking for in Tour La Fondue, a not too big and not too crowded place for the next 2 days. We had barely settled in when I received a WhatsApp message: 'Could it be that you're on vacation in southern France right now? We saw a bus earlier that looked like yours and had the license plate MKK....' Yes, there were really three people from Großkrotzenburg that we know, who were diving there and just when we were driving around, they crossed the road. The world is a small place! Of course, we arranged to meet on Saturday at the market in Hyères and spent a nice day together.

Right after the meeting, we moved on a bit and then landed in Martigues for the night. A small town right by the sea, full of surfers who plunged into the waves. We found the place in a parking app, but before the official parking area there was a larger parking lot where many buses were parked, so we just joined them. Another free night 😉 The next morning, there was a fish market right behind us (despite Easter Sunday!). How nice that the car key was sticking in the door all night.....🙈

Since yesterday, we have been in Marseillan Plage, which is roughly between the Camargue and Spain, at a beautiful and quiet little campsite, the Beauregard. We had been here a few years ago, so we knew what to expect. You just have to walk over a small dune and you're already on the beautiful long sandy beach. There's a party going on in front of the campsite, with lots of shops and bars, but we don't notice any of it here. That's a good thing.... Everything we need is available at a tiny little shop in front of the campsite, which has fresh baguette in the morning and where you can tap wine for the evening from a large barrel. Today we saddled up our bikes again and explored the area a bit. Cap D'Agde, Marseillan Plage and a little bit through the nature reserve. Now we hope that the sun will come out again and we can jump into the (cold) sea again.... Tomorrow we want to head towards Spain.