Day 04: Plzeň to Bregenz

Waking early the next morning in Plzeň, we knew a long day of driving lay in wait. We had not originally intended to stay in Plzeň (nor the Czech Republic) but continue on to a small town in Germany called Neumarkt where we knew a camping 'super centre' existed.

Anyway, after a brief wander about the centre of Plzeň, we saddled up and drove out of town back toward Germany. Before going, we went inside the Cathedral of Saint Bartholomew (in Czech katedrála sv. Bartoloměje, don't ask me how to say this!) and walked amongst some inner city parks bursting with flowers.

Yep, this is where it comes from. Outside the hotel in Plzeň. 

Gerle's first cathedral visit, church was in session inside so we didn't stay for long.

Slightly different to the taxis in Ulaanbaatar, and Australia!

We weren't in such a rush as not to stop and 'smell the roses'. 

Arriving shortly before midday in Neumarkt, the 'camping super centre' Fritz Berger lived up to expectation with literally hectares of camping supplies. We stocked up here on most of the items we're expecting to use en route to Mongolia that we hadn't already obtained. Nothing too exciting, just water and diesel containers, cutlery and crockery, solar shower, 12V electrical items and such. We didn't actually stop in Neumarkt itself, but on the outskirts at the camping shop before continuing onward toward Bregenz. 

Between Neumarkt and Bregenz, there are numerous places in Germany to visit (Munich for one) but wanting to try out the camping equipment meant that we were trying to get to a campsite adjacent to Lake Constance sooner rather than later. 

One interesting site en route however, which would also take us away from the excessively boring Autobahns was the Neuschwanstein castle above the village of Hohenschwangau near Füssen in southwest Bavaria. I had been here before on a dreary grey day in September 2008, but the weather today had fined up as we had proceeded south.

The Neuschwanstein castle is a 'modern' construction compared with traditional castles. It is a 19th-century Romanesque Revival palace, commissioned by Ludwig II of Bavaria with construction completed in 1886. The architecture of the castle is of the style 'castle romanticism' which was common at the time of construction for the construction and renovation of other castles, and the style has lent itself to several movies and was the inspiration for Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle. 

Given all this, I thought that Gerle would like this, especially as a 'first castle' visit.

On approach to Neuschwanstein Castle

Beneath Neuschwanstein Castle

Hddfohenschwangau Castle

Neuschwanstein Castle... 4 years on and still undergoing renovation (from my last visit in 2008) 

Neuschwanstein Castle and Forggensee Reservoir in background, taken from the Marienbrücke 

The Marienbrücke

The Marienbrücke, close-up

Leaving the Neuschwanstein Castle complex late in the day, it looked like a fairly quick drive (about 75km) to our intended camping park on the shore of Lake Constance in Austria. Well, midway through was turned into a 2.5hr drive it dawned on me that the 'distance' measurement given on the GPS unit at the start of a route is likely the 'straight-line' distance.... need to figure this out before the next journey guided by GPS...

Anyway, it was  pleasant drive nonetheless, through German and Austrian countryside villages amidst increasingly heightening mountains before descending into Bregenz. A short stint on the Autobahn was negotiated without a vignette (a bit of a risk since last I did this I was fined 120 euro for a 5 minute drive....) but there were no signs until 'trapped' on the Autobahn. Not sure whether speeding and road tax fines will accumulate on the license plate to be paid prior to export, but fingers crossed things aren't that advanced.

Arriving at the camping park close to dark, we setup the tent for the first time having seen any staff on the assumption all would be OK and that we could pay in the morning. It was now that we realised some of the shortcomings with the electrical controls of the vehicle; the 12V outlets could be turned on without having the car on (this had taken a little while to figure out previously, given the keyless system), but this presented two further problems:

1. The accessories electrical control automatically timed out and turned off after about one hour; and
2. The car couldn't be locked (via remote control) whilst the accessories electrical was turned on, and when manually locked could not be unlocked via remote control from outside the car.

Figuring that we were in a fairly sleeping campsite, and most residents had already bedded down and not noticed that we had arrived, we naively decided that leaving the car unlocked would not be a problem... how lucky we were.... more to be detailed in the next post.

Anyway, before dinner we ventured to the lake, about 100m from where we had setup tent, to watch the sun disappear below the horizon. It was a great sunset, and a very relaxing end to what had been quite a busy day. 

Lake Constance, Bregenz, Austria

Sunset over Lake Constance

Sunset over swans on Lake Constance