RARECATION 13: AUSTRIA: Lake Atter - GERMANY: Munich

Good morning!

Today is the day (October 20th, 2015)....and we finally reached the end of our journey and go our separate ways.

Apis, Didit (with towel), Radzi and Saiful -
a very slow morning...

geronimo! 

the camping ground...

Lake Atter, note the edge where the water
immediately turns dark...a favourite spot
for scuba divers in the region

RARECATION 13: AUSTRIA : Salzburg

I did not have the slightest idea that it was Salzburg and not Vienna the movie 'Sound of Music' took place in the 60's. All thanks to TV1 or TV2 in those days. Yes, two channels only and cartoon from 4.30pm to 5.30pm on weekdays and we were already ecstatic! Children nowadays needs dedicated cartoon channels and still they complained not enough...

It was my mum and dad that got us interest in it (I mean the movie). The songs and I believe Capt. Von Trapp is just plain stern....not psychotic enough like my dad and now .....me. Anyway, how can we forget the 'Do Re Mi' song...and the eldest girl singing  'Sixteen going on Seventeen' with her boyfriend...and Julie Andrews after 'Mary Poppins' go on the become Maria in 'Sound of Music'. So this is quite a big deal for me....finally got to see the place, Salzburg.

We parked our vehicles at Lindhofstraße (sounds: Lindhofstrasse) and walked towards the Old Salzburg Town. 

Salzach River

RARECATION 13: AUSTRIA (Part 2) - Hallstatt

Morning!

A camper van locked for the night, heater on highest setting, old socks, smelly shoes...you get the idea. So opening a window first thing in the morning is welcoming. Ahh the fresh and cold autumn air in the morning is refreshing. 

It was still early...and when everyone was ready...some of us opt to take some photos by the lake. The usual suspects were already there when I arrived. But since it was a wet morning, only a handful of us by the lake and the rest were inside. The lake..was well, like a lake. But it's huge, just like Lake Como. 

Radzi, Mun and Harun (l-r)

RARECATION 13: AUSTRIA (Part 1) - Hallstatt

The route we took from Bovec to Hallstatt was quite interesting. We traced our route we took the other day back into Italy and into... Austria. Passed quite small towns along the way. Not seeing anyone outside...feels weird though.

no one around...

The monument I mentioned in the 
previous post

sorry for the angle...but monument dedicated
to Johann Hermann von Hermannsdorf by
Kaiser (Emperor) Ferdinand I

Italy!

the Slovenia and Italy side of border

one more time, back to Italy

I admit, with all the pictures...I was unsure. Unsure of the route we took..but it seemed that we were climbing higher towards the Austrian border, I guess. Most of the pictures, I had to magnify for clues and chart them on the Google Map to see the actual route. 

From the monument in Predel, we passed the area which I enjoyed the most...a zigzag. Syibli refused to drift with the camper van though. 

RARECATION 13: SLOVENIA - Bovec

This morning, the camper van seems to be empty. Abang Rashid and Kak Mona continued their journey from Venice straight to Prague or was it Budapest. Anyhow, this couple had traveled far and wide. During our trip, they would talk about their Switzerland trip, how they enjoyed Verona and their next visit to Jordan to visit the eldest of their children. It will be sometime when our path will cross again...InsyaAllah (Allah willing)

Anyway, the ladies and 2 men (Januar and Anz) were nice enough to cook breakfast for the whole lot of us. I think it was spaghetti and nasi lemak. Yummy!!!

coconut rice

the ladies hard at work...that must be
Che Mun's batik sarong

The top part of the small California van,
enough space for 2

RARECATION 13: Venezia (Venice)

I don't know about the rest of the team, but to me Venice or Venezia has always been in my top 10 list of places to visit. Read about it quite a number of times from various books, gathering infos and would only imagine the places  like Doge's Palace, Bridge of Sigh, San Marco's Piazza, Rialto Bridge etc. 

"he must have traveled everywhere, at least in the spirit "

 - Jules Verne describing Phileas Fogg in 'Around the World in 80 Days'

Marco Polo was from Venice, so does Tomaso Albinoni (one of my favourite composer known for 'Adagio in G Minor') and Antonio Vivaldi (also a Baroque period composer, composed '4 Seasons'), it's importance in trade between West and East, the place where spices from India arrives in Europe brought in by the Muslim traders...and of course the not popular ones like being the centre of some secret society as depicted in Lara Croft's: Tomb Raider movie and other movies as well etenerlized Venice as one of the best place to visit....hmmm put in under the headline of "Old Cities"

Anyhow, from Verona...we arrived just before Maghrib at this camping site: Camping Sporting Centre

The camping ground

Hotel and reception centre

lined up for the night...

RARECATION 13: Verona (Part 2)

Verona!

From my first observation, if you can't get to Rome....Verona certainly would be the next best thing. It has almost all of the things you might expect in an ancient Roman town. Lots of plaza, tall huge medieval walls, the Roman Arena (amphitheatre) and enough ruins (above and below ground) which I promise you, will occupy an amateur historian like me all day long. Happy is the word...

our convoy passed Chiesa (church) di San Fermo Maggiore
-picture taken from inside the camper van

We circled the town twice before our convoy parked at a public parking area near Ponte Aleardi. 

RARECATION 13: Verona (Part 1)

Luckily for the pictures that were taken during the trip, it has been months since I last wrote about the Rarecation trip. Now to start all over again, it won't be easy without the pictures.

Anyway, we left Maloja in Switzerland and arrived within the vicinity of Lake Garda (Lago di Garda) around 11pm. It was raining too. The name of the camping site was Camping Amici di Lazise (it's beside a theme park - Caneva Aquapark)

Campsite location on Google Map

RARECATION 13: ITALY (Lake Como) - Switzerland (Maloja) - (PART 2)

From Maloja, we drove on a little further. The town how should I say..quiet? I mean there were people walking here and there... hiking the terrain, but I am sure this place is livelier during winter. That was what we noticed, travelling around this mountainous area. 

A few kilos further down the road from Maloja we came to a lake, Lake Silser (Silsersee). We stopped again, naturally, to take photos of the area. How we decided to stop at one place, instead of the other...it depends on how loud the request for the driver to stop the camper van by the roadside. 

"cantiknya..berhenti, berhenti berhenti!!!!"
(Nice...stop, stop, stop!!!)... someone would called out. 

RARECATION 13: ITALY (Lake Como) - Switzerland (Maloja) - (PART 1)

This trip, to me was an exciting one. 

The drive up to the destination was scenic too! The sun finally decided to show up, it promises a day of trouble free and no drama.

A1 "California" and "Temerloh" at the gas station

doing a 'time-lapse' using the GoPro

RARECATION 13: ITALY (Lake Como)

What can I say, I was raised listening to my father's LP (vinyl) on Sunday mornings. I can remember it quite clearly, after breakfast we would be listening to his selection. Simon & Garfunkel, Tom Jones, Elvis Presley, Boney M, Beatles, Santana (Black Magic Woman, especially) and then mom would select songs from Allahyarhamah Datuk Sharifah Aini (Seri Dewi Malam), tunes from Tan Sri P. Ramlee and Puan Sri Saloma and once a while, Hamzah Dolmat. So oldies are nothing 'new' to me. I enjoy them, still! Since we were at Lake Como...the song by Cats Steven, then Yusuf Islam "Morning Has Broken" seems appropriate for this occasion.

Sab and Che Mun were already with Syibli. Radzi was there too. Obviously taking pictures of the lake using the filters. I joined them and tried taking a few pictures with it but the result was appalling. I don't have those holder for the filter and my hands must be trembling against the lens....

some part of the huge lake

RARECATION 13: Switzerland - Italy (Lake Como)

From our last stop, with Didit safely on board we moved on towards the Swiss town of Lugano. From there, Allah willing we will reach the fabled Y-shaped Lake Como. 

George Clooney, Stallone, Madonna, Versace made home along the shores of Lake Como. In the movie Star Wars episode II, part of the Naboo scenes (with lake) were shot in Como especially the marriage of Anakin to Amidala. Suffice to say, it is one of the most desired place to stay in Italy or maybe the whole of Europe if you have cash to burn. 

Autobahn

travelling along the streets...

RARECATION 13: Switzerland (Day 2) : FRIEND GONE MISSING!!!

Before we begin this part of the story...I would like to give credit to Radzi Yusoff from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania who gave the title of this particular posting.. It was, from the rest of us men point of view..excluding the victim, it was sort of funny how it happened. 

Anyway, en route to Lake Como which is in Italy we stopped at a lay-by and use the much needed toilet. We do have it in the van, but  usually reserve it for emergency. 

All of us went down at once and since it was the last stop in a maybe long journey, best get it done with. This last stop proved to be a good one. A Full fledge stop centre with a cafe/restaurant, petrol station (pump station), toilet and a souvenir cum-convenience store. All needed by hungry petrolheads with active bladder and money to burn... 

There's also lots of info regarding the nearby Gotthard tunnel which this place is famous for. There's also another service area opposite this one..servicing the Northbound traffic. It has been around for ages and renovated to serve the road users in this area.

The last major stop before pushing on
towards Lake Como

Ok, for the sake of accuracy and to tell you that this really happened, we stop at My Stop Gotthard. The full address as follows:

Gotthard Raststätte A2 Uri AG
Dimmerschachen
CH–6467 Schattdorf

MY STOP Gotthard

RARECATION 13: Switzerland (Day1 - 2) : Schwyz

OK.....This part of the trip really puzzled me. I can't really recall much, even with the pictures. This was because, I was unable to get connected to the Wifi. 

Yes, there was Wifi available for us to use. Two units of moving hotspot for the whole convoy, but each unit only able to connect to 8 mobile phones at a time. So we have to take turns to be able to use it. But I was busy looking outside the camper van's window that I totally forgot to check my location. But we were heading towards Schwyz, which is not far from Lucerne.

From one town to another..to get to our
destination

RARECATION 13: Switzerland (Day 1): Rhein Falls

Driving in convoy of camper van requires you to check the rest of the vehicles from time to time. Each time we reached a roundabout or about to take a junction..we would relay the news first and later check with each driver if they had successfully navigated the road. We tried our best not to be too far from each other...lest we have to pull over and guide the missing van back to us. 

RARECATION 13: Switzerland (Day 1)

This Rarecation trip is the 13th instalment by SNAP. So far there's been trips to India, China and Indonesia. They did Europe back then, and this one is a repetition of some sort.  Since it's close to my backyard, of course I'm interested.

The next day, SN informed there will be a breakfast together with the whole group instead of our designated 'canteen' (Two canteens in a group of 4 camper van). It was a get to know session. 

the usual suspects....Radzi and Harun, first to eat

Welcoming speech by SN

seating (l-r) Anz, Januarhaikal, Kamalia (K) and Tasha

seating (l-r) Didit, Sab, Kak Mona, Zach, Coke and Pah

RARECATION: Germany en route to Switzerland (WHAT ARE YOU DOING?)

We left the vicinity of Schwangau..the "Swan Land" and venture south towards Switzerland. We entered the Autobahn (highway) for some kilometres, enough for Syibli to key in into the Google Map for our next destination. 

Another aspect of Rare in this Rarecation is the fact that we travel, as much as possible not using the Autobahn or Autostrada, I mean the highways. The old road, the one less travelled? Those are the most scenic don't you think so? Old road or state road follows the terrain but highways...highways take point A and B, connect them in the most direct route. Mountain in the way? Either you bore through them or smash them into kingdom come. Need to cross a valley? Just build bridge with its support 100 feet tall or more.

rolling fields

road between the trees in autumn 

We were traveling along the road when suddenly from 'Temerloh' (Saiful Nang (SN) was driving) called in over the walkie talkie telling us to pull over..."berhenti! berhenti!" (Stop! Stop!)

RARECATION: Germany: Schwangau:- Schloss Neuschwanstein

Heraldry! A study of coats of arms has always been one of my interest. A family coats of arms evolves thru time. A marriage is the usual cause for it. But a city? I doubt any change...unless for a special reason. 

Lo and behold! Above is the coat of arms of Schwangau. A swan on red shield. Schwangau means "Swan Land". Must be lots of these gentle creatures roaming around these area for them to adopt such name in the first place. 

The Bavaria Coat of Arms on the flag
(horizontal light blue and white lozenges shape)