2. Travel Time. Across Germany & Short Visit to Austria

Berlin calling. 05/06/2020 - 09/06/2020

Since Italy was already planned, we had to head south, so why not go through Berlin. We could kill three birds with one stone. Support my parents in a family matter, visit friends, and get to know Berlin better.

For Wilma, it was pajama day. For us, it was a 5-hour drive. Thank goodness we knew where we could park peacefully, in a green area, good and cheap. Once we arrived, we had dinner and nothing else happened. Or so we thought.

We all went to bed early. At some point, I woke up in the middle of the night. Something was shaking our camper van. I immediately thought of our bicycles. Oh God, are we being stolen from? I woke up Mathias. He hadn't noticed anything going on. The noise moved forward. Oh God, someone is breaking in. Brave and fearless, I opened the window in the alcove. "Hey, what's going on? Go away." There was no one to be seen. That's not true, suddenly I saw a shadow and then the intruder in all its glory. Apparently, a fox had wanderlust and was looking for a ride. So it wasn't a burglar, but a curious fox. Strange. We don't know why he had climbed onto our hood. Anyway, we were glad they weren't thieves and nothing was damaged.

Wilma hadn't noticed anything at all. We told her about it in the morning. "He was probably looking for chickens or smelled our eggs..." maybe 😊.

We spent the day in Berlin with my parents. Playgrounds, ice cream, and more. A typical day in the city.

Today is Sunday, 06/07. It was supposed to be a relaxed day. We had a late breakfast. Read and played a lot. Simply spent the morning in the camper van. In the afternoon, we met up with our friends. Took a walk in the park. Tested a few more playgrounds and explored the Wedding district. We had a huge cake fight with our friends and made music together. We love being with the two of them. Wilma feels very comfortable, and Pablo and Lene have supported our journey from the beginning.

Monday was a busy day for us. We helped with an apartment move. Painted and more. We had moved our sleeping place and were expecting a noisy night. But we were prepared, and it was supposed to be our last night in Berlin.

The next day, we met up with my mom. Handed over the apartment. Spent the day as relaxed as possible. Had dinner in Berlin before we headed south.

Across Germany. 06/09/2020 - 06/19/2020

First stop for a few days was a lake near Ferropolis. The Iron City. It was green. It was quiet, and we had water again.

We spent two days here swimming, climbing on hay bales, and more. Mathias and Wilma discovered dragonflies, mice, and grasshoppers. They picked flowers for me. We were back in nature. After the days in Berlin, it felt really good.

Actually, we wanted to visit Ferropolis, but somehow we didn't. It was raining, and we weren't in the mood. So we continued on.

Laundry and Errands in Bayreuth. 06/11/2020 - 06/13/2020

Our goal today was to find a laundromat. There was supposed to be one in Bayreuth. So that was our next stop. We had heard beforehand that Bayreuth was supposed to be nice. We went to the laundromat first. Three washing machines were running. So we had time to do a little sightseeing. It was in the middle of the week, and everything seemed to be closed. Welcome to Bavaria - the state with the most public holidays. But people were sitting in cafes and restaurants. Corona was ever-present. We walked around a bit. Had an ice cream and made our way back to the laundry. Quickly put everything in the dryer. In the meantime, we had dinner. Folded and stored the laundry.

We didn't want to drive any further and looked for a place to stay overnight. When we arrived there, the place was full. We hadn't expected that. Thank goodness it was just a regular parking lot, and we found another spot. Wilma played by the door. We settled in.

The neighbors and Wilma quickly became friends. We met Verena and her parents from Augsburg.

That was it. The day came to an end.

The next morning, we started the day leisurely. Wilma and I talked, played, and read. Dad made breakfast. We had homemade rolls. It took forever, and in the end, Wilma didn't like them.

The weather was very nice. We decided to take a closer look at the city. Walked along the river towards the city. It was super green, and the sun was blazing. The desire to go swimming grew. But there was no swimming area in sight. Under a bridge, we were able to dip our feet in the water. Watched ducks and enjoyed the shade. Every now and then we came across a playground. And we swung and see-sawed diligently.

Almost arrived in the city center, we found an artificially created riverbed. Here we dipped our feet in the water again. It felt good. It was very nice. We passed the festival hall, walked through cute little streets. A cute city. Lunchtime hunger caught up with us. Wilma and Mathias had a Thuringian sausage. "The best Thuringian in the world"... well, I thought it was terrible. So my hunger wasn't satisfied, and my mood sank with every step. We had some ice cream, and then we made our way back to the camper van.

It was quite a walk. Completely exhausted and still hungry, we arrived at the parking space. We rested and warmed up and had dinner. And went to bed early, we had something to catch up on.

It was a dream. Besides the rain, we heard nothing.

The next day, we were woken up by rain. Too bad. We had breakfast. Wilma still wanted to go swimming. Okay, I let myself be persuaded. Mathias came along. But he grumbled the whole time. We sent him indoors and went swimming. Probably 10 times for 5 minutes each. Back at the camper van, we took a hot shower and played.

A car came and stopped. Looked at the license plate and took photos. Mathias yelled out the window and asked what they were doing. The man in the car scolded, "Wild camping is not allowed. I'm going to report you." Great start to the day.

We spent time at the spot until around 2 pm and then set off on our way. Among other things, because we didn't feel like getting reported, and because our toilet flush was broken. Mathias had ordered a replacement part and had it sent to a pick-up station. It should arrive in the next two days.

Biking vs. City Stroll along the Isar. 06/15/2020 - 06/18/2020

We looked for a spot near the pick-up station. We ended up in Grünwald on the Isar. Specifically in Pullacha.

A super nice spot on the edge of the forest. Right on the Isar and without any other people. Unfortunately, it was still raining. But once we arrived, we had to stretch our legs and take the scooter out for a ride. Thank goodness there were some "hills" here. So we zoomed around again. Watched the rushing Isar and enjoyed the peace and quiet.

Nothing else happened. We had dinner with homemade bread and went to bed early.

I felt like riding a bike. There were several paths right along the Isar. A monastery was signposted. We had read about this yesterday. However, the weather wasn't cooperating. So we opted for a train ride to Munich instead.

We walked to the train station through the forest, about 20 minutes away. After another 45 minutes, we got off at Rathausplatz. We didn't have a specific destination and let ourselves drift. Looked at a few churches. Ate Bavarian food and went into some shops here and there. We spent the longest time in a bookstore. After a long time, Wilma got a new book. Pippi Longstocking moved in.

We had ice cream for coffee and a few cherries from the fruit stand. The weather was okay. It wasn't raining anymore, and the sun even came out in the afternoon.

We made our way back to the train station. Had enough of the city. Wilma enjoyed the train ride and ate cherries the whole time. After the second cherry, she got the hang of it. First nibble on the stone and then spit it out.

The stretch from the train station to the camper van was difficult for all of us. We dragged ourselves back. The weather was now very nice. We sat by the Isar for a while and enjoyed the sun.

The next morning, we started the day as usual. Wilma called for Dad. The two of them snuggled up in bed and read a book. I had a moment to myself. Hunger drove us forward. Mathias was in charge of the rolls. Wilma and I snuggled in bed and continued reading a few pages from the new book - Pippi Longstocking.

Outside, the weather had calmed down. It wasn't raining anymore. It was mild and beautiful. We spent the morning relaxed. For lunch, we had leftovers, and around 2 pm, we set off with the bikes. Dad and child weren't really in the mood. But it didn't matter, Mom was excited. Our destination was the monastery about 3.5 km away. The bike path was great. Right along the Isar. We started with a straight stretch. Comfortable to ride. But that quickly changed. I approached the situation a bit naively, considering we were in Bavaria after all. We rode into the forest. The paths became narrower. Steeper. Occasionally, there was a fallen tree in the way. And the nice "bike path" turned into a hiking trail. Exhausting and beautiful at the same time.

We passed a spot where you could dip your feet in the Isar. We did just that. Threw stones, saw a beaver dam. Drank from a small spring. The path seemed endless.

At some point, we were back on a paved forest path and came to a road. 5 minutes later, we were in a beautiful little village with an even more beautiful monastery. We looked for Brother Jakob. Answered countless questions about Jesus. In the small monastery shop, we bought honey from their own beekeeping. The courtyard was beautifully designed, and there was a guesthouse across the street. After the distance we had traveled, we deserved some refreshment. We had hot chocolate, coffee, and cake. We rested. The sky above us got darker from minute to minute. A thunderstorm was expected. We quickly finished our drinks and food and made our way back. The forest protected us from the rain at first. We even jumped into a spring pool once more. Well, Wilma did. I only went in up to my knees. Ice-cold water times ten. I can still feel it pinching today. The rain got stronger. In the end, we arrived back at home soaking wet. It was a nice outing. Now some snuggling, a hot shower, dinner, and off to bed.

The night was quiet. The thunderstorm was moderate.

Einsiedl on Lake Walchensee - swimming later. 06/18/2020 - 06/19/2020

We spent the next morning at the Isar. Played, romped, looked at the sun. Had lunch there before we made our way to the pick-up station. Our package with the toilet flush had arrived. Finally, a smell-free toilet. We continued driving south and stopped at Lake Walchensee. A very beautiful area. Campgrounds with direct access to the water for over 30 euros per night. It wasn't worth it to us. We drove a bit further to a parking area. However, the lake could only be reached through a forest. The spot was functional. But we didn't want to drive any further. So we stayed here. Since Wilma wanted to swim all day long anyway, we walked through the forest and arrived at a small bathing area. The water was crystal clear. There was no one there. So we quickly undressed and jumped in. Beautiful! The plan for tomorrow: swimming and paddleboarding.

Back at the camper van, we got ready. Had dinner outside. Wilma fell asleep, and Mathias and I chatted with the neighbors. The night wasn't great. The spot was right next to a road, which was heavily trafficked.

Swimming and paddleboarding didn't happen, as it rained all night and in the morning. We considered and decided to keep driving. We wanted summer now. It had been difficult for the past few days. We hoped to find better weather in Austria. The drive to Austria was not far now. We found a nice spot at a reservoir with swimming options and set off.

Autumn weather in summer. 06/19/2020 - 06/20/2020

We quickly arrived in Innsbruck and thus in Austria. The weather wasn't better. We debated whether to go to Italy already. We decided to stay in Austria for a few more days. The chosen spot was nearby. Neighboring in the mountains is relative. We drove and drove at a snail's pace and wound our way up the Gerlos Pass to an altitude of 1628 meters. When we arrived at the reservoir, it was raining, windy, and everyone was in a bad mood. It was really beautiful, but we were disappointed that we still hadn't had better weather. After a cup of hot cocoa, we put on our rain gear and went outside. It was beautiful. We had a huge lake right outside our door. Mountains. A waterfall. We could watch anglers. Hear cows. Otherwise, it was all quiet and peaceful. We collected stones and took them home. Painted them. For dinner, we had pizza, and we slowly prepared for Italy. It rained all evening and night.

The morning was no different. We stuck to our routine and started the day with cuddling, reading, breakfast, and playing a bit. A phone call with grandma, grandpa, and friends. Afterwards, we left the decision to Wilma about what to do next. Stay here or head for the sun. Wilma decided on sun and churches. So now we're going to Italy. YEAH!