Nittendorf, Germany

After Dachau we headed a little way out of Munich, (we decided to skip Munich as Jo and I did it last year and Aims and Jake are planning to come back for Oktoberfest later this year). We picked a place out of our camping book that was on the way to Prague. Regensburg was the large town that we wanted to see but the closest campsite was in a small riverside town called Nittendorf. We arrived at around 8pm, got settled and then headed to the beer garden to sample the local food and drink. After a schnitzel (love schnitzel!!) and a few giant beers we hit the hay.

Dachau, Germany

None of us really knew what to expect when visiting one of the WWII concentration camps. Amy especially was not keen at all but knew that it was something she should do.
We had all heard stories about people going to these places and breaking down at what they saw, or the haunting feelings they experienced walking the grounds.
Needless to say it was a very somber, and uneasy place to walk around. We watched a 30 minute documentary which showed the camp in the 1940’s in full swing. It showed how the people were tricked into thinking that these camps were for there safety and protection to start with and then became a place for slave labour, and death for so many innocent people. It showed some pretty horrific images of demoralization and death, all of which make you realise how lucky we are to live in a different time.
We wandered the grounds, quietly, trying to imagine how 40000 people were squeezed into a camp built for 6000. We walked down the hallway of the bunker where prisoners were kept and tortured, some of which would spend more than 6 months at a time in complete darkness. We saw the hanging posts behind the bunker where the guards would tie a persons hand together and then hang them from a large hook, dangling there for hours at a time. We saw the living quarters (rebuilt in the 60’s as the originals were to rotten and filthy to keep standing), 3 tier bunk beds, no more than 6 foot long and 3 foot wide. At the end of the war there upto 500 people living in a room built for 50, everyone sleeping on these bunk beds, no one was aloud to sleep on the floor.
Originally there was 30 rows of living quarters all of which were torn down in the 60’s because of the filth and disease from the way they were used in the war. Now only 1 row remains that is the rebuilt buildings.

We saw the crematorium, a new one had to be built during the war to cope with the amount of bodies that need disposing of. We also saw the gas chamber, that was built for mass executions but was never used at Dachau. It was made to look like a shower block. The word “Brausebad” (shower) written across the doorway to make the prisoners feel at ease. There were fake shower heads installed that released the gas. It was amazing to see how sneaky the Nazi’s were.
Behind the crematorium, next to the old firing range, with blood gutter, was a memorial stone with the words “Grave of many thousands unknown”.

Austria Drive-By

Jo again... In order for us to get close to Munich, Germany, we had to get through Austria first. Ads and I had been skiing in Austria in March of this year and we loved what we saw. To see it again in the summer was just as beautiful! It is such a green luscious place with huge mountains and pine trees and green fields all surrounding the highway. It does seem like the one place in the world that you see in movies (mainly ‘Sound of Music’) and it really looks like that! It was just so enjoyable to drive on the main highway for a few hours taking in the scenery. We stopped by one of the 100’s of McDonalds on the highway for some food (bad Westerners we are!) and the restaurant had some of the best views of the valley! It would have been nice to spend some time in Austria but unfortunately we don’t have the available time but at least we had a drive-by visit. Now on to Germany!

Venice, Italy

Jo here... After arriving back in Venice we headed to San Marco square to see how big the line was to the basilica. On the way we found a nice mask shop and bought some masks. On arrival to the basilica it was still too long to wait in the hot sun to get into the church so we again decided to give it a miss. We did though jump on the water bus to Murano island to see the glass works that are famously produced there. It was amazing and a a beautiful island. We had a look around at the shops and the show rooms and were lucky enough to see the last glass blowing demonstration for the day. The man created a glass horse with ease. It was incredible! It only took him a few minutes but I imagine he’s been doing the same thing for the past 10-15 years.
Once back on the main island we strolled back through the streets to catch the bus back to Sarsha so that we could get well on our way to Germany. We had picked a campsite on the boarder of Italy and Austria to stay but upon arrival at around midnight we were told they were full but somehow we think they didn’t want Sarsha chugging through the campsite waking everyone up. Fair enough we thought so we kept driving and Aims and Jake had spotted signs to an ‘auto-stop’. We were unsure as to exactly what it meant but we thought we would give it a try. Luckily it turned out to be a great stop-over. It was just off the motor-way and there were lots of motor homes set up there for the night. The place looked like a car park but was complete with hook-up electricity. It was perfect to catch a few hours sleep and best of all it was only €12.00!

Venice, Italy

It’s Jo here... I have always wanted to go to Venice every since I was a little girl. All of my family that visited Venice would bring me home a mask. We arrived to Venice at lunchtime an it was so sweltering hot but we were all determined to see as much as we could. Amy and I walked into sooooo many of the mask shops and were in absolute awe. They were amazing! I would have been happy to walk around all the little alley’s of Venice and look at all of their mask stores but unfortunately we didn’t have the time and the boys didn’t have the patience (but fair enough). So we combined looking at the mask stores and sight seeing. Walking through the streets of Venice is incredible. It is so easy to get lost as it is highly unlikely that you will walk through the same alley twice (unless they are near the Rialto or San Marco)! We first headed in the direction of the Rialto bridge and from there San Marco square. Along the way we saw all the gondolas’ in the canals. We had decided that we wouldn’t go for a ride as there were way too many tourists on too many gondolas’ and there was a traffic jam in the canals. Not a great way to spend €80.00.
Once we got into San Marco square I thought there were going to be a lot more pigeons then there were. I now understand why they are always there though. People feed them and let the pigeons walk all over them! It was disgusting! One kid lied down on the floor and had his dad put bread crumbs on his stomach and as you can imagine all the pigeons flocked on him! We were all disgraced as we think they are flying rats! Moving on from that we took in the beauty of the basilica of San Marco. It was quite impressive but we didn’t go in as the line was long and there was no shade so we quickly gave up on that idea.
We continued to stroll through the streets and shops until the early evening when we decided that it was too hot and we would go back to our campsite and come back early tomorrow to see a little more.

Cervia, Italy

We needed to find somewhere to stay between Assisi and Venice so we picked Cervia. It was a dodgy campsite but it was only somewhere to stay for the night so we weren’t too fussed. We were under the impression that the campsite was close to the beach so the next morning after check-out we headed there to take a look. We were so surprised the find that you couldn’t really see the beach from the street. This was because it was covered in restaurants and bars and then meters and meters of umbrellas and beach beds down to the sea. The craziest thing was standing on the waters edge and looking each way the beds and umbrellas spread as far as the eye can see! I couldn’t think of anything

Assisi, Italy

Driving into Assisi you get a very postcard like view. The small town nestled on the side of a hill, St Francis Basilica on one side and hundreds of orange tiled roofs covering the town. We parked at the bottom of the hill and trekked our way to the top. When we finally made it to the top and entered the city walls it was like stepping back in time. The town was very well preserved and felt like nothing much had changed in the past few hundred years. There was minimal traffic, not a McDonalds in site, the streets where all stone, and besides the few Souvenir shops, relatively untouched.
Assisi was on the top of my places to see list from the very start, back when this roadtrip was just an idea/conversation back in our lounge room in Wimbledon nearly 12 months ago. Assisi was a significant stop for myself and for Amy as our grandfather had travelled there 14 years earlier. Amy and I were young and this was a time before digital cameras so we only saw a few photos, but he gave all the cousins Assisi crosses. These are made of wood and looks like a “T” with Assisi written along the top. I still have mine and take it with me as a sort of lucky charm whenever i travel etc. I’m pretty sure Aims still has hers. But it was nice to see the place that our Grandfather was not able to stop talking about when her got home.
St Francis Basilica was beautiful. In 1997 the region was hit by an Earthquake so some of the wall murals and parts of the foundation are cracked but never the less it is still breathtaking. We wondered around there for a bit and saw St Francis’s tomb in the lower levels of the church.
After the Basilica we wondered the streets of the town, snaking there way up and down. We wondered past a choir practicing in one of the old halls which was the perfect soundtrack to walking the old paved streets.
I can defintely understand why my grandfather liked this place so much. I wish we could have stayed for a day or 2.

Rome, Italy

With the prospect that this may be the last opportunity to laze around a pool in the sun until Jo and I return to OZ, and even longer for Aims and Jake, we decided that nothing would be done today. We swam, ate and drank all day....In the evening we watched Angels and Demons in preparation for Aims and Jakes adventure into Vatican City.

Rome, Italy (Lunch with the locals - Jo's family)

It’s Jo here... I had organised with my family that live an hour outside of Rome to meet us in Rome for lunch. I hadn’t see then for 2 years. We organised to meet Maurizio and Mary and Maurizio was keen to show us around. We met up with them near the Piazza del Popolo. Known in English as the ‘People’s Square’. From here they took us strolling through the streets whilst Maurizio was telling us where Julia Roberts, Dustin Hoffman, George Clooney were currently staying as they were beginning to film a movie the following day. Maurizio is a paparazzi so he is always in the know as to where the stars are. So we were heading toward the Piazza Navona. Along the way he stopped to look at some scooters who he knew belonged to his paparazzi friends and we were hoping to catch a glimpse of Julia Roberts but unfortunately we didn’t. We continued walking and with the sweltering heat is wasn’t all that comforable but Maurizio was being a great local pointing out to Adam the Ferrari store and the Fendi store to me which he couldn’t pull Mary away from. He also told us that above that store was where they produced some of their collections.
Walking through the streets it seemed as though Maurizio knew everyone! Especially in the restaurants. He also told me to tell mum and dad that they must eat at the restaurant Macaroni as all the stars eat there and it is supposedly some of the best food in Rome!
We arrived at a restaurant that was down one of the side streets near Piazza Navona. Here we had a delicious meal. Maurizio went ahead and ordered for us. We had antipasti followed by Florentine Steak. It was brought to us sizzling on a stone plate and was the best steak I had ever tasted! For dessert was an enormous slice of watermelon and an espresso. During our meal Maurizio had been speaking with the owner (who owned 5 of the restaurants in the area) trying to get the owners to tell him in which of his restaurants were being used to film Julia Roberts and co.'s latest movie. Unfortunately for Maurizio the owner wasn’t going to spill the beans.
After our fantastic meal Ads and I were uncomfortable full but were keen for a walk to Maurizio continued to be tour guide. We went to a square near by (I can’t remember what it was called) but it is one of the oldest squares in Rome. Our first look at it we were surprised Dan Brown didn’t make reference to it in ‘Angels and Demons‘ as it had a freaky statue of a monk looking man in the centre. From there we went to the Pantheon. We asked Mauritizo if ‘Angels and Demons‘ was actually filmed there. He wasn’t sure so went straight up to the street sweeper and asked him and they did (we hadn’t seen the film at this point).
From here we started heading back to Piazza del Popolo. We headed via the parliament which had police around everywhere. He was telling us about the Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi when we were told to step aside and saw a convoy of cars with their lights on and it was the president himself that was coming! A rare sight for any tourist to see! From there we had to quickly say our goodbyes so Ads and I could catch the train back to the campsite to finish doing some chores and then cool down in the pool. We had a great day and it’s great to be shown around by the locals!

Rome, Italy (Return to Sarsha)

After a 5am wake up and catching the 9am flight to Rome, we caught the courtesy bus back to the long term carpark and there she was. Still intact! And started first go...not bad seeing she had been left sitting there for 3 weeks in the scorching heat. We found a supermarket on the way to the campsite and picked up a few essentials. It was then back to the Rome campsite. When we arrived we found out that the Saturday was a Catholic public holiday and that the Vatican would not be open to the public....this was quiet annoying as this was the main reason that we were back in Rome as Aims and Jake had not had a chance to get there yet. Sunday also was not a good dat to explore the Vatican being the sabbath so it was decided that we would have 2 lazy days in Rome, then on the Monday and Aims and Jake would go into the Vatican, see the sights, while Jo and I drove to Assisi where Aims and Jake would catch a train to and meet us. This meant lots of sun and beer for the next couple of day...what a shame!
It also gave us an opportunity to catch up on 3 weeks worth of laundry!