TotTravelTips

Well….. decided to take the camper van out for a ski trip, actually we did two trips but I will write about both here.

First we drove across Czech Republic to the edge of Austria, crossed through Vienna and then stopped to ski in a small resort there called Pernitz. For the kids it was fantastic. Obviously a local spot, had a restaurant on the mountain, ski rental in the parking lot, and as only local Austrians as far as we saw. We rented for two days here, kids loved skiing the blue and red runs. It wasn’t difficult skiing but there were a bunch of runs, lots of T-bar lifts, no chairlifts. Parking was free if you bought a lift pass, and you caught a free bus to the bottom of the first lift, about 10 minutes up the hill. Super cute and we would definitely go back. For the weekend we found most folks there were doing ski touring- walking up the mountains and skiing down, so there were barely any lift queues which was great.

Link to the site I used to find the resort is here https://metropole.at/9-places-to-go-skiing-near-vienna/

The other ski trip we did last weekend because I said living in Poland we have to ski in Poland. Not such a great idea as it turns out, but we did it. So we went in the RV to Zacopane. It was meant to be clear of kids but turns out some other district still had winter break, so it was busy. The snow was very slushy, so the fun stuff was mainly over for the season (end February). I have to say, we did find skiing for intermediate young skiers about an hour away in Ski resort Białka Tatrzańska. It had what we needed, rentals, multiple restaurants, parking, the lifts were right by the car park. However, it was all fake snow and not great conditions. We had fun, and the price was good, but would not do it again.

https://www.skiresort.info/ski-resort/bialka-tatrzanska-kotelnicakaniowkabania/

Also in Zacopane there are many activities between Skidoo/Snowmobil, husky sled rides, nearby thermal springs, horse and cart ride in the snow, cross country skiing in the Tatras on the tracks, snow shoeing, etc etc. I took a run out early on the cross country course (starts behind the sledding area or by the Olimp RV park too). The trails were great and I ran in trail shoes- it would have been better had I remembered my snow spikes. there is decent food all along the main ski street area and if you’re walking down into town a bunch more there too.

We have camped in both Olimp and Camp Pod Krokwia. Both are central and near the sledding and ski jump area. Olimp was cheaper but facilities were more rustic. Krokwia was more formal as a setup, fully functional toilet and shower block, but it is on a hill so it was a little scary spinning wheels to get out of there on the ice.

https://discoverzakopane.com

Went to a cute town for a soccer tournament but it’s worth a mention. It’s in the Masuria lakes region, we passed loads of campsites, fishing spots, kayak options on our way in from Warsaw.

We stopped at a sign for camping in some guys garden near to the soccer pitches. Very against my normal hesitant nature to just drive into someone’s yard, but I rang the doorbell and he said PLN50 a night, there are bathrooms and showers (a little rustic but totally fine), and we are good. There’s a fire pit, option to fish, and one lake end in the garden. Across the road are a bunch more options for camping and activities. https://maps.apple.com/?address=Tymniki,%2011-700%20Mragowo,%20Poland&ll=53.874517,21.324557&q=My%20Location&_ext=EiYpbtjJOFDvSkAxuFmySwRRNUA57K3vlHbwSkBBiDJo3upUNUBQBA%3D%3D&t=m

In town there is a cobbled market square with quaint buildings and local shops. The town is decent and there are some restaurants as well as a really small but amazing pizza oven place. https://maps.apple.com/?address=Warszawska%2012,%2011-700%20Mragowo,%20Poland&auid=7387807525896271520&ll=53.868206,21.305302&lsp=9902&q=Pizzeria%20Duo%20Napoli%20Rafal%20Mozdzen&_ext=CiwKBQgEELoBCgQIBRADCgUIBhDfAQoECAoQAAoECFIQBAoECFUQAAoECFkQAhImKYTdZtGM7kpAMVEEacUHTDVAOQKzjC2z70pAQaP8rDPuTzVAUAQ%3D&t=m

Poland: Warsaw-Poznań

Germany: Berlin-Lubeck-Hamburg-Bremen

Netherlands: Utrecht

Belgium: Antwerp-Brussels

France: Marne-la-Vallee (aka Disney)-Paris-Dijon

Switzerland: Lausanne-Interlaken

Germany: Black Forest Baden Baden- Dresden

It seems like a shit ton of planning would be needed for this trip. Not the case. If we had been alone in our camper it would have been a breeze. We took my 82 year old father in law so had to plan in some hotels and close by stopping places to camp which was an added complexity. Plus we got a dog and travelling with a puppy requires a little more organisation. In general though, having internet on the phones and not getting cut with going over the data plan (welcome to Polish phone contracts) was the biggest logistic issue.

The Park4Night app is 100% the most required app across Europe for anyone camping or RV-ing. You can see free parking places, local options for overnight, local campsites. Love this app and it makes travel here so low planning- we looked for spots in the morning when we knew where we would be later. Even for Disney we found free local parking where campsites were still under covid restrictions or shut.

Of all the places we went to Lubeck was hands down the most impressive and unexpected. I highly recommend booking a boat trip in advance as they were fully booked when we got there. What a fantastic little town, so much history, amazing architecture, beautiful restaurants on the river. Parking was tricky as RVs are not so welcome in the small streets but at the end of the Main Street there was RV parking albeit at a short walk back to town.

For the other locations the architecture in Dresden and Bremen was breathtaking. Dijon was old French style town and a great boeuf bourguignon area. Lausanne and Lake Geneva were stunning and I wish we had more time to go further around the lake to Vevey and beyond. Interlaken was slightly flooded from the recent rain, our campsite was open but the lake water was lapping at their static homes and the rain was still falling.

In Dresden I was worried that we arrived on Sunday so no shops open and we were out of food. As luck would have it a van laden with bread and cakes showed up at 6am right in the parking lot where we and a bunch of other RVs were stopped. Happy days!

Car and camper van arrived after 4 months somewhere between LA and Gdansk Poland! After the debacle to get them insured temporarily just to collect them from the port, we went by train (all of us) 4 hours north. The central Warsaw train station was freezing cold and the ticket lady was not helpful. COVID has blocked half the seats out, so even if you’re a family you can’t get on if it’s already half full. We finally got a train after waiting 3 hours- mental note to buy advance tickets next time. Got to Gdansk at dusk and taxi took us to a dockyard in a mud pit where we found our vehicles. It was raining hard, stepped out into the dark and a muddy pond. Luckily the guy had managed to get the camper started (touch and go when he said it was out of oil?!) and we were able to take a car each and drive the 4 hours home in torrential rain. The cars were covered in mud. Luckily the motorway home was very nice and apart from the trucks coming from the port, it was fairly easy driving. Was a huge relief to have both vehicles parked at home. Now to get them modified, tested and registered!

Finally managed the relocation to Poland. After 8 months of photocopying documents and visa minutiae during COVID we packed and left. We are just south of Warsaw and it’s lovely here. Beautiful forest and cool weather. Cars didn’t ship yet but hey ho, we have bikes, our box shipment arrived, and we can ride to the shops and school. We know not a word of Polish but so far: Zabka- 7/11 type shop, Biedronka- a step up from 7/11, Auchan or Tesco – supermarket, Carrefour- a little more expensive but does organic and nicer bits too. There is barely any Amazon and all other stuff requires a trip to the mall or Decathlon. Life is good!!

One day online and I haven’t found time from work and kids to make a start on my travel blog. Bear with me. I will have Chile, Ecuador, Arizona, So Cal, England, Hong Kong and more. I have so many lists for camping, skiing, beach holiday, city holiday, self catered accommodation that I can’t wait to share ….. stay with me, it’s coming!

Bongiorno