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Well, we had an interesting evening last night.  We were just preparing the bed when it started to rain. Then it rained more, and even more and before we knew it we had high winds, torrential rain, thunder and lightning! The gods were throwing everything at us!

Griff had to quickly pull down the pop top as it was starting to go wild with the wind and we were worried it would blow off. The rain lasted all night and thankfully the winds died down as well as the thunder and lightning.

The fun happened in the morning when Griff tried to lift the pop top and it was very heavy to push up. He gave an almighty push upwards which of course pushed all of the water that had collected on the roof to pour through the gap in the rear doors which woke me up with panic.

We later found out that not only the back of the rear doors got wet, cushions, bedding, etc, the side windows too so we had a bit of a soggy bed to deal with which is not what we were expecting.  The weather was due to clear up over the day and we really hoped it did so we could dry everything out.

After an eventful morning, we set off with the intention of driving over the Grossglockner.  It did cost €45 to go over the mountain but it was worth it. The Grossglockner is at 3,798 metres about the Adriatic, the highest mountain in Austria and highest mountain in the Alps east of the Brenner Pass.

The mountain did not disappoint and what a spectacular journey we had albeit it was short.  We kept stopping as the views were jaw dropping and breathtaking.  We even got a new friend for Tigger as he was feeling a bit lonely so any suggestions for a name are welcome.

After the drive we looked forward to a campsite for the night as the previous couple were free stopovers so limited facilities.  The campsite came up with great reviews and it didn’t disappoint either.  The sun came out and we managed to air dry the mattress topper, duvet, pillows and seating which didn’t take long in the heat.

The campsite was in a valley sheltered by mountains all around.  After sorting out the van we headed to the local town (which was uphill) to get much needed exercise after spending so much time sitting in the van. Weather was glorious and warm and just perfect.

After a walk around the local shops we stopped at the local bar and had a beer which was rather tasty.  Sat out the front watching the world go by and we both commented the strong smell of burnt clutch when vehicles passed by. We asked the bar man if this was normal and his comment is, as the locals say, ‘it’s the smell of summer’ as it’s a frequent aroma over the tourist season. Another beer later, which the barman gave us different ones this time, which were even better than the first.

We walked back downhill and went into the local restaurant belonging to the campsite. What a place and along the middle of the restaurant were a collection of things from the owners.  From motorcycles, cars, machines, even a selection of Scottish whiskey and they even had Oban! That blew me away as never expected to see that in Austria.

The owner was a quirky funny guy who explained all of the collection of items in the bar were his which he had collected over the years. We ordered food and Griff had the pork and I had a chicken curry dish. What came out was different from what we were expecting as both dishes had a selection of fruits on there as well.  It did look odd but actually when you ate the dish it complimented the taste.

Music was playing in the background which was typical Austrian music and the owner joked about putting on Cliff Richard for the English visitors.  Griff piped up it should be Dire Straits and lo and behold the owner had a CD and put it on the player.  Griff was well happy.

Back to Van Morrison and to dry bedding.  Looking forward to a good nights sleep after our eventful night before….