Europe Road Trip Part 2: The Balkans, Greece & Turkey

Contents of this post7 chapters

• 1Beautiful Bavaria
• 2Off Through Austria
• 3Slovenia
• 4Italy
• 5Finally in Croatia
• 6Next Stop: Croatia
• 7Frequently Asked Questions

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From Germany -> through Austria -> through Slovenia -> through Italy toward Croatia

We're starting our second trip through Europe, with our self-built campervan! An incredibly exciting backpacker trip through South America is behind us. We were also able to explore Cuba and Morocco within just a few weeks. Despite all the wonderful experiences, we longed to be back in our little home, our camper. So we packed up all our things again and set off. We started our trip from Magdeburg and drove 3 hours toward Bavaria.

Beautiful Bavaria

City of Hof

So here we were. In the small Bavarian town called Hof. Wow. Who would have thought it was so beautiful? Honestly, I had never heard of “Hof” before. But the botanical garden and the cute town center won me over! A lovely place to “arrive” again for a bit and relax a little.

The town center was pretty empty in the afternoon. But on every corner you'll find something to shop for.

Campsite: In Hof you'll find plenty of free campsites. In the end we decided at Lake Untreusee to spend the night, which turned out to be a good decision. (Motorhome type: self-sufficient.)
Little tip: Don't let the paid motorhome parking spots fool you. If you drive down the street toward “ car parking ”, you have to take the first left! The spot there is free and only a few minutes' walk from the lake. *no guarantee!*

For lunch we had a delicious gnocchi pan, cooked, as always, on our gas stove. The next day we were already moving on again & made a quick stop at the car wash. After all, our home has to be kept clean.

Bayreuth

The city of Bayreuth is one of the most beautiful cities in Bavaria. Here you'll find lots of different sights, like palaces, museums & historic parks. Somehow we expected a bit “more” – but that's probably also because we only got a rough picture of the city. In the evening we went to see the new Jurassic World at the cinema. By the way: in the evening things really get going here. It feels like 1000 students are walking around! Everyone is between 25 and 35 years old.
Campsite: Easy with the Park4night app

Regensburg

From Bayreuth we continued to Regensburg, where our spot was right with a view of the Danube. In the old town we strolled through the little alleys. At St. Peter's Cathedral there was, as in almost every city, of course construction work going on, so I naturally couldn't take the prettiest photo (bottom left). Regensburg really has something! First you walk across the cool Stone Bridge from the 12th century and then you reach the well-preserved medieval center. Nice!

Landshut

In Landshut, I finally met up again with my good old friend Jessi. As you may remember from my Australia post, Jessi was my very first travel companion 1. Together we did a Work and Travel in Australia for a whole year. A time I love looking back on! By the way, that's also something I particularly value: sharing memories. When you're traveling alone (as wonderful as that can be), nobody can truly understand your experiences afterward or empathize with your situations. That's why I enjoyed bringing up old memories with Jessi so much and laughing heartily with her about our embarrassing, silly, funny & beautiful moments! When we arrived in Landshut, Jessi had conjured up a great Bavarian meal for us! Quite traditionally, there was: white sausages, pretzels, sausage salad, a homemade Obazda from her grandma & not to forget a lovely wheat beer! By the way, Obazda is a spread that is totally delicious (with soft cheese, onions…!).

The next day we finally explored the old town of Landshut. Through the Ländtor gate in Landshut and you're there. I liked the pastel-colored houses with their different shapes best. I also loved the view over the Isar!

In the late afternoon we looked for a quiet spot to go fishing. Once there, Jessi & her boyfriend Max (yes, her boyfriend has the same name as my boyfriend) taught us the basics of fishing. And indeed, we caught a fish! I learned an incredible amount, but one thing in particular: when fishing you need loads of patience! Even once the fish is caught, you still have to prepare it (gut it, scale it…) so that you can then grill it or fry it in a pan… What an effort for such a small meal. But fishing is still a fun hobby. That excitement when one bites is indescribable. It almost becomes a real sense of achievement! Kind of funny, really. For us humans it's totally normal to go into a store and just quickly toss frozen fish into the shopping cart. But if we look back years, people depended on getting their own food. How many people can still do that? It was extremely interesting for me to experience the process! Thanks to Jessi & Max!

But then, unfortunately, it was time again… Time to say "goodbye"… Why does that never get any easier, I constantly wonder? That's probably the downside of being a traveler. Again and again, you have to say goodbye. Well, for now, a big thank you for the wonderful time to Jessi & her boyfriend Max, and until next time!
Campsite: We parked one night next to the house of Jessi’s mom & the other night with Jessi in a public parking lot… So I think there shouldn't be any problems standing anywhere in the village.

Erding

On the drive to our new campsite, we were still looking for a station to fill up on water. It's really not particularly easy to find one in Bavaria, except of course at a paid campground! When we were just outside Erding, I told Max enthusiastically about my experiences at the Therme Erding spa. I tried to quickly convince him to make a detour, but Max expressed his lack of interest, and quite emphatically at that. Eventually I accepted it and we changed the subject. Suddenly, though, we ended up in the parking lot of Therme Erding. What? Huh? What's going on now? We went into the hotel and it didn't take long before the staff welcomed us. Max had apparently planned a surprise for me weeks ago. Everything was already reserved. I was frozen in shock. I was so incredibly happy, you can't even imagine! I mean, I would have been happy with an ordinary day pass, but instead we had two different lounges and stayed at the cool Victory Hotel. Absolutely amazing! And now somebody tell me I don't have the best boyfriend in the world!

In the two pictures below you can see what our Alm chalet looked like. We had a seating area, a fireplace & a cozy corner. The bathroom was outside the room! (Note the urinal next to the regular toilet in the picture bottom right)

Later we made ourselves comfortable in the Diamond Lounge. Lovely XXL pizza & a little glass of sparkling wine’ – nice! *celebrity feeling*

What an experience, I tell you! Whether action or pure relaxation, it always feels like a little piece’ of vacation! Especially with my sweetheart. We'll definitely come back in winter!

Chiemsee & Surroundings

Next, we headed to Lake Chiemsee. Our little water problem still hadn't been solved. We simply couldn't find a refill station! In the end, we had no choice but to ask at various gas stations (yes, we could also have asked at paid campsites, but we'd had rather negative experiences with that, since people don't like it when you stop by "just to fill up on water"). And sure enough, we got lucky at the third gas station. We had to fill up on fuel anyway, and as a thank-you, we dropped a coin or two into the coffee cup. Afterward, we enjoyed the beautiful view of Lake Chiemsee.

As we drove on we made another stop at a small castle and finally ended our day with a heavenly sunset.
Overnight spot: At Lake Chiemsee, it was a bit harder to find a nice, free spot. For that reason, we decided to keep driving to Gmünd.

Off Through Austria

Gmünd

For crossing the border from Germany to Austria we bought a 10-day vignette for about 10 euros. On the route to Gmünd we had to pay another 13 euros in tolls. After that we chose the toll-free routes on Google Maps. In the beautiful artist town of Gmünd we once again strolled through small alleys. Trumpets hung above us, little fabric bunnies lay in the bushes in front of us & sculptures dangled their feet from the roofs. A really cool town!

The view from the castle was also exceptionally beautiful! After that we desperately looked for a parking spot for the night. In Austria, camping outside of a campground is prohibited by law… And with the 100 prohibition signs they don't make it easy for you…! Bummer
Campsite: Park4night app at your own risk

Villach

In the town center, there were street performers proudly showing off their tricks. Right next to the show, "influencers" came streaming out of the shops one after another. In the background, cheerful music filled the whole town. What's going on here? I guess we danced right into a festival. The town was packed, but my impression of Villach was still really good! But my favorite thing was Max's "church hat" (see the picture in the middle).

Slovenia

Kranjska Gora

Off we go across the border. We leave Austria and say “Hello” to Slovenia. I could hardly have imagined a nicer first stop. So there we were in “Kranjska Gora”. In this case I'm glad I write a blog and don't run a podcast. This place name is an experience in itself. Well… So in front of us lay the extremely clear lake with wonderful, magnificent mountains in the background. Definitely a MUST SEE on my imaginary list of Slovenia. Campsite: Wild camping explicitly prohibited -> Otherwise high fines

Bled

Of course, Slovenia has more than just one lake to offer, in fact quite a lot of them. That's why we stopped at Lake Bled. Instead of the slightly greenish water of the previous lake, this time we were treated to a vivid shade of blue. No filter was used in the picture on the left! Unbelievable, right? In the bottom right picture, you can see the Pilgrimage Church of the Assumption of Mary, which sits on a small island. On the mainland, there's also an 11th-century castle perched high up on a cliff.

Ljubljana

Time for a little city trip through the capital of Slovenia! With our e-scooter we were probably the fastest tourists in the whole town. I especially loved the restaurants & bars right next to the river & the sunset with a picnic in the park!
Campsite: Park4night app // In general it's also prohibited by law in Slovenia to spend the night outside of a campground… So it's not all that easy… We didn't have any problems, though.

Italy

Trieste

Ohh, how I've missed aperitivo time. Finally, a lovely Aperol Spritz & some little treats to go with it. In Italy, it's common to get free snacks with your drink order (e.g., little pieces of pizza, chips, wraps, small sandwiches, etc.). But of course, that wasn't the only reason we were here; we also wanted to explore this famous big city. I did find it a bit annoying, though, that the streets ran through half of the city center, so there was often a lot of noise in the background. But deep inside, in the midst of the alleys, we eventually found a quiet little spot to fully enjoy our long-awaited aperitivo.
Campsite: Parking lot available, right at the harbor, but without shade. Costs a few bucks.

Finally in Croatia

We drove on from Trieste to Croatia the same day. It only took one night & the police were already standing in front of us. FUCK!
In my next blog post about the Europe trip I'll tell you more about our unpleasant experience & how our trip continued from there…
Thank you to every reader and until next time

Next stop: Croatia

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