Bed and Breakfast on the Continent

 

Schoppernau in the Au valley in Austria

    We came across this delightful little village in August 2000, when we were having a short break on mainland Europe by car.  It lies between Bregenz (at the eastern end of the Bodensee) and Lech in the Arlberg region.  Having stayed B and B a great number of times in Austria, we have gotten to know what sort of place we both like.  We pulled in onto the front car park of a small 'Pension' and I enquired about a room with breakfast for the two of us for 4 nights.  I didn't ask the price as you can usually tell the approximate band.  After seeing the delightful and very large room (en suite), the Lady told us that if we filled in the guest card and took it to the Tourist information in the Village, they would issue us with a pass which could be used for discounts for all manner of things.  Over the next four days we used the pass for the bus in both directions along the valley, the swimming pool in the village and we had two trips up the cable car to the top of the nearby mountain - one of those being at night to watch the sunset - fantastic!  The total saving on these trips amounted to the equivalent of £55 and when we came to pay the bill for the room it was a grand total of £88 for 4 nights for the two of us - it's cheaper than staying at home!!

 

Mosel valley - Cochem, Germany

    This has been a favourite of ours for some time now, both for short breaks by North Sea Ferries and as one of our break points on the way to Austria.  Using the Hull  to Rotterdam route, the actual road mileage to the Mosel valley is less than it is from our house in Southport to Dover - great for us Northerners.  There is so much to do around this famous wine growing area, lots of walks to interesting castles, trips on the river, and the Rhine is not very far away - but much noisier.

                                    

          Along the Mosel towards Cochem                         Cable-car near Cochem

Harz Mountains - Germany

    Not far from Hannover and Hameln (the Pied Piper), this wonderful area was, until recently, split by the east/west border and is rich in tradition.  Every May there is is a festival of the Witches (Hexen) and you must taste the local speciality drink, 'Schierke Feuerstein'.   Drink it straight from the freezer, to settle your stomach after a big meal - it works a treat!  Some excellent walks and trips up the Brocken mountain (about 1000 metres)  You can easily reach it from Rotterdam (ferry terminal) by mid afternoon.

 

 

Spreewald near Berlin, Germany

This is in the former East of Germany and has great traditions - they still use special boats (Kahn) to get to some of the houses; the children are picked up by a kind of 'Water Taxi' to get to and from school.  The roads are a bit of a problem though - talk about rough! - it was so bad between Berlin and Lubbenau, that the lower mounting on my Gold Wing headlight was smashed by the vibration.  I did manage to repair the ABS though, when I got home.

 

Fuschl in Austria

This is a lovely tranquil village on the edge of the Salzkammergut region of Austria, to the east of Salzburg.  The lake can be walked around in a morning, and there are stunning views of high peaks all around.  Salzburg is a short bus-ride away and there are magnificent walks over the hills to St Gilgen (Birthplace of Mozart's Mother) and across the Wolfgangsee to St. Wolfgang, home of the White Horse Inn.

    The Rathaus in St Gilgen

 

Whole of Salzkammergut in Austria 

                

Wedding in the Sound of Music was filmed here in Mondsee

 

Salt mines to visit.  Lots of wonderful walks

 

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