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Alpine Europe
Roadtrip
Article originally published in VW Bus Magazine
Alpine Europe Roadtrip: Image
Our 8-country summer adventure of 2020, covering more than 3400 miles, seeking out the best of what Alpine Europe has to offer in our T6 Campervan Nelson.
Alpine Europe Roadtrip: Text
As a relatively new couple to the VW scene, it is fair to say that we have fully embraced the “vanlife” culture of travel and adventure over our first two years with Nelson. With many years of adventuring to come, we have quickly learned that travel plans are made to be broken!
Since having our very own home on wheels, we have rediscovered our love of the great outdoors. We are an active couple who embrace the mountains and lakes as an outdoor playground for walking, biking and exploring. Our initial “big trip” of 4 weeks in the summer of 2018 opened our eyes to the wonders of central Europe. For our latest adventure we decided to push the boundaries further, delving deeper into the rich opportunities that alpine Europe has to offer, particularly looking at the Italian Dolomites and neighbouring Slovenia for their mountains and lakes.
Anyone who has embarked upon such a far-reaching trip will know the excitement and pleasure that comes from planning in the months leading up to departure. We are not yet at the stage of “winging” our adventures entirely, but we both felt that we needed to build more spontaneity into our plans when out on the road. Much to our angst, we were unable to pre-book accommodation in Zermatt, much of the Dolomites and Slovenia, with the majority of these locations seemingly operate a first-come, first served basis. It looked like we had no alternative than to build some spontaneity into our plans.
Alpine Europe Roadtrip: Text
On the hottest day of the summer our drive down to Dover went well, surprisingly for the British motorway network, with us arriving early at the port in plenty of time for our ferry (booked using our C&C Club discount). After a delayed, but great crossing, we were all set to disembark from the car deck, excitedly planning to drive further into France than planned to make the following days drive a little easier. Plans changed when it emerged that the bow doors of the ship had seized in the extreme heat and could not be opened. After 90 minutes of hammering and banging, the doors remained firmly shut. The ship was turned around in port and we were reversed off the car deck 3 hours after our scheduled arrival time. After less than an hours drive, we found a free Aire in Watten, curtesy of our favourite Park for the Night app. Walking up in the morning after a late arrival is always with some trepidation, but the Aire and the village were idyllic. What better way to start the trip with fresh coffee and croissants from the local shops? The journey to Annecy was trouble and traffic free- as you often find when driving on the continent. Our campsite on the shores of Annecy was beautiful and accommodated our late arrival with ease. The following morning saw the first of many swims of the trip in the crystal-clear waters of the lake, followed by a lazy breakfast in the local village. We then heard the surprising news that the nearby Tour de France stage was postponed due to the winter storms hitting the mountains that were heading our way! We spent the next couple of days dodging showers and downpours, but it didn’t dampen our spirits, getting out in the dry spells, and staying in during the downpours with a book and a supply of good wine- “vanlife” at it’s very best!
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Our journey to Zermatt, via Lake Geneva was simply stunning, as was the drive up to the village- a great (and subsequently rather tame) introduction to driving alpine passes. Zermatt is an entirely car free resort, so we stayed at the closest camp site to the train station that is the only route up to the village. An early arrival allowed us to pick our spot in a picturesque and very relaxed mountain campsite. We took advantage of the weather window, immediately heading up to the village via the railway, then ascending even higher via the funicular and cable car for the very popular 5 lakes hike that allows multiple viewpoints of the iconic Matterhorn. We knew that we would be unable to complete the walk before the last funicular back to the village, but our calculated gamble saw the dispersal of the crowds, leaving us with the mountain to ourselves, and a rewarding extended walk down to the village. There is nothing to beat the high mountains in the early evening, it is simply glorious.
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After a couple of days, we decided to cut our time short in Zermatt as there was so much more of Switzerland to experience. We were booked into Lake Como in a few days time, so decided to take the mountain route to Italy and discover what the southern tip of Switzerland had to offer. Good old Google maps didn’t fail to entertain, sending us over both the Furka and Gothard passes in one day. Both were driving experiences that everyone should plan to do at least once in their lives- multiple switch backs and perilous drops. As we drove, Jackie searched our route via Google maps for campsites, taking time to look at the reviews to find an appropriate stop for the night. We decided to stay at Bellinzona, a small UNESCO heritage site with 3 medieval castles. The campsite was everything that we could have hoped for- clean, quiet and with the cheeky bonus of a pool. We spent the following day on the bikes, discovering the beautiful castles of the area via deserted streets as it turned out to be the National Day in Switzerland. Great for quiet exploring, not so great for buying food for the day. This forced our hand in eating out at the campsite’s restaurant for the night. The close proximity to the Italian boarder did not disappoint with the menu, luxuriating in some of the best stone fired pizza’s we have tasted- along with the obligatory pitcher of ice-cold house white and local desserts.
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The taste of pizza blazed the trail for Italy, our next stop-over at Lake Como. We purposely chose a campsite to the north of the lake, in a much less touristy area, but still linked into the very efficient ferry services around the lake. Apart from long, lazy days sunbathing on the lakefront, the main highlight was the full day of seeing the sights of the lake using the local boat services to Perledo, Bellagio and Menaggio.
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Heading west to the more mountainous Dolomites was a cultural revelation. The South Tyrol is incredibly close to the Austrian border, and as such the region shares languages, customs and culinary treats from both countries. High on our hit list of things to do was a visit to the Instagram famous Lago Di Braies. Forgoing the opportunity to drive, we had a beautiful day’s trek from our campsite up through deserted alpine valley’s and meadows to the lake. After such an idyllic and isolated trek, the crowds disappointed, but the views didn’t- a true natural wonder of the world.
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As beautiful as the Dolomites were, as often occurs, the weather cast its shadow over the mountains. We had the option to sit it out, or move onto Slovenia sooner than expected, sound in the knowledge that the Julian Alps had a good long term forecast. We chose to move, driving through southern Austria and entering Slovenia via the Wurzen Pass, with the accompanying tank relic marking the boarder. Having done some rapid research whilst on the road, we targeted the little known winter ski resort of Kranjska Gora within the Triglav National Park as a good base for some mountain climbing and exploring- it didn’t disappoint! We spent days exploring the high peaks, stunning waterfalls and clear blue lakes. Slovenia is a mountain paradise and lives up to its reputation as a mecca for adventure seekers.
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After such an epic start to our Slovenia experience, we were so excited to move onto the famed Lake Bled having seen so many images of it in our research. Unfortunately, seemingly half of Europe had the same travel plans. There was no room at the inn…any inn, or campsite…at all. We took stock and re-evaluated our plans over a cold drink sat by a river in the sun…things could be worse. Google didn’t let us down, and we found the most stunning camp site at nearby Soriska Plania- a tiny local ski resort, but with the most amazing, modern and ridiculously cheap camping facilities. We explored the mountains that housed the most incredible bunker network from the Austrian/Slovenian conflicts- real living history without a museum in sight! Bovec was our next stop, the heart of the Socha river and a mecca for wild water enthusiasts from around the world. As a community it had a really chilled, hippy vibe which was very welcoming, but again availability of camping spots was limited at the height of the summer. The riverside walks and swims in the crystal clear, glacial waters will stay with us for ever.
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I can remember the night clearly, sitting outside the van under a clear night sky with a glass of local wine, when Jackie came up with the idea of bear spotting! Slovenia has a good population of wild bears, so when we knew we had a few nights to fill, we headed south to the bear population hotspot! Cerknica was certainly off the tourist route, but what a hidden gem. We stumbled upon an organic farm, where the farmer was quite happy to provide a place to camp, electricity and hot showers. Exploring this forestry lowland of the country was a real delight, but despite the frequent warning signs of bears in the area, we saw none.
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Pre-van, Jackie has always been a lover of beach holidays, and I needed to fly back to the UK for work for a couple of days so that we could extend our adventures. We looked for the cheapest flights home, from a coastal location and Croatia hit the bill. We headed south out of Slovenia into Croatia and onto Split where we had pre-booked a week on a peninsular campsite, right on the beach. This far south, in the height of the summer…wow it was hot! Keeping the van cool was a real challenge, but we had the time to enjoy the beach, slow down and chill out for a week. I had the added luxury of escaping the heat for a couple of days back in rainy Manchester.
Safely back in Croatia after my mini UK break, the 2000km drive to the channel began, but not as early as we expected. Ready to be up an off at 7am, imagine our surprise when Nelson wouldn’t start! Battery absolutely dead as a dodo after a week of standing still on a camp site. After a morning waiting for VW assist to organise help from the Croatian AA, we were on our way home, along with seemingly most of mainland Europe on the last weekend of the summer break. The roads north were jammed, particularly around the border crossings. Regular updates from Google Maps proved useful, but more and more roads north became clogged. We headed back to the Triglav National park, and then onto Zel am Zee in Austria. A couple of impromptu days here highlighted to us how much more of Europe we have yet to discover. Crystal clear waters of the lake, quiet mountain roads for cycling and a ski lift network to access high mountain summer walks were a delight. The drive north through Austria was similarly delightful, endless lush meadow-lined valleys surrounded by the most stunning mountain landscapes.
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With only a few days left until we knew we had to be back in the UK, our race to Calais resumed in earnest. Knowing nothing of Germany, we decided to follow the Rhine route north, taking the opportunity to take in a range of different vineyards along our way. The Autobahn was an experience in itself…top tip, look a very long way backwards before you venture into the outside lane- if you dare! We targeted our next stop to be close to the Menin Gates in Belgium so that we could visit and pay our respects to the fallen that are remembered in Ypres. A truly memorable experience that we would recommend to anyone passing through these parts of northern Europe. We chose to camp in a lovely campsite on the outskirts of Calais that we have used in previous trips. It is safe and secure, has a pool and bar and is only a 20-minute drive from the ferry, opening up access to the early ferries and maximising our time on the road to finish the holiday off with a heavy dose of UK motorway driving.
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Alpine Europe Roadtrip: Pro Gallery
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