All the posts this trip are about food, drink and rain. It is the most peculiar Spring ever. I left Augsburg in a down pour and drove through all those lovely scenes like Oberammergau without being able to enjoy a walk or picnic. The whole region is post card perfect. Mountains still glinting with snow on the peaks, green green meadows, traditional houses and wood carvers, cows grazing - lovely even in the very heavy rain. I stopped in to friends in Oberau near Garmisch for afternoon rhubarb cake and coffee and ended up sleeping right outside their door in the VW after a lovely dinner. The rain was just too heavy to continue.
I had decided to keep costs down and not use any toll roads or Autostradas so went down to Italy on the old roads passing many beautiful villages via Austria into Innsbruck and then over the border to Matrei etc. Diesel is much more expensive in Italy than in Ireland, Germany and Austria. I have loved Vipiteno (Sterzing) for many years and used to go there weekly when I lived in Italy both for skiing in winter and hiking in Summer. Stopped there for the first real coffee and met up with my friend Olga. Went for a bit of a stroll around with umbrellas still required and all the outdoor cafes and seats empty. Here, more than in Germany, there are the signs for places to let, shops changing hands frequently, hotels closed down etc.
On the news things are not any better. Monsanto is winning all the rights to tamper with our food - the citizens of Turkey are battling with the overbearing police although their protests are peaceful and legitimate. I feel very lucky to be trundling along through these beautiful places having put concerns aside for the moment and hopefully for the next few months.
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| bavaria in the rain |
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Italy at last
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