After our rather eventful journey to England, we were reunited with the Blue Gnu and ready to hit the road!
My sister made us a delicious dinner, Peter lent us an emergency kit, and when we remembered we'd left our coffee maker in Paris at the end of our last trip, my sister rescued us with the cutest little Bodum.
We also added some storage to the Gnu's travelling pantry, hoping to simplify meals and spend less time grocery shopping. I even prepared all 40 of my breakfasts before leaving! I would have made Cotty's too, but there wasn't room in our luggage, and frankly, 40 was about all I could manage. LOL.
A little website news
You may have noticed that Curious to Go has a whole new look!
Apparently, I'm on a website-redesigning roll. I spent the two months before leaving completely reworking my jewellery business website, even design, and then decided the travel blog needed some love too.
The new blog design is now LIVE! I'd love your feedback on both websites if you fancy having a look.
I'm still finishing a few little details here, but the thought of not tweaking a website for several weeks is almost as exciting as the road trip itself.
On the road, sort of
The Gnu ran beautifully to LeShuttle, where we promptly lost three precious hours of daylight waiting to cross. The crossing itself was smooth, and we enjoyed a lovely nap in the back of the Gnu.
Then came our first European diesel sticker shock. OUCH. Cotty also managed to leave our fuel cap behind. :(
Luckily, in Strasbourg, I spotted a building full of smushed cars and wondered whether they might have a replacement. Cotty turned around, went in, and a lovely fellow found us a better fuel cap than the one we'd lost.
FOR FREE!
A perfect combination of spotting, stopping and a stranger feeling like being a superhero.
Awesomesauce.
Our first night in the Gnu was surprisingly luxurious. Despite a parking spot that looked decidedly unlevel, we slept beautifully flat. Our setup is working wonderfully — comfortable, private and cozy. My sister even ironed our pillowcases, which makes sleeping feel even more luxurious!
Not every night since has been quite as restful, but we love our little home on wheels.
Small wins and minor catastrophes
European bathrooms are proving to be something of a lottery. Some petrol stations have none, others charge a euro, and some French bathrooms are free but have no toilet seats.
At a Delhaize supermarket, I REALLY needed to go, which made an otherwise pleasant shopping experience rather less relaxing.
I'm beginning to wonder whether bathroom visits need their own line in our budget.
Then there's the Gnu's oil change.
After spending much of a day searching, we found a garage in Freiburg that could see us the following afternoon. We tried sneaking in early. We received a firm NEIN!
When we returned for our appointment, we waited TWO HOURS before being told they couldn't do anything for us.
Sad trombone.
The consolation prize? Two free rubber floor mats. Unfortunately, they also left a greasy handprint on our interior - not sure how to remove it - might be a later problem.
So far, we've acquired a better fuel cap and two free mats, but still no oil change.
Small wins. Sort of.
The nicer bits
We enjoyed a wander through Freiburg's lovely old town, where Cotty found supplies for a scrapbook he's planning to make.
Our simpler meals are working well too. We've enjoyed everything from deconstructed gluten-free sourdough sandwiches with homemade guacamole-esque spread to curries and rice in a park near Zurich.
And yes, we remembered the food in the fridge this time! All those famously rescued burgers have been eaten and thoroughly enjoyed.
We popped into the Lindt chocolate factory near Zurich. Nothing for me to partake in, but the spotless bathrooms were delightful. Apparently, I'm reviewing bathrooms now.
We also finally managed showers at a truck stop, thanks to Cotty snagging us one between truckers. Small, VERY damp and a bit peculiar, stainless steel, but we emerged clean!
The drive through the Swiss Alps was gorgeous, although tunnels, barriers and nowhere to stop made photography almost impossible. Not even a chance for one of Cotty's famous panoramas!
Then came Liechtenstein. Vaduz is ridiculously cute.
We stopped at a pharmacy for allergy pills for Cotty, who's been suffering since staying in a cat-friendly house at the beginning of the trip. Julie, the lovely pharmacist who helped us, even gave him an adorable little pill container device.
More charming towns followed, and eventually we crossed into Austria.
Eight countries already! The UK, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Austria.
Our schedule has become increasingly theoretical, the weather has been mostly grey, and we've taken fewer photographs than we'd hoped.
But the Gnu is running beautifully, our cozy little home is working better than expected, and we've met some lovely humans along the way.
Now we're heading towards Vienna, hoping for a full day of exploring tomorrow.
And there's a SLIDE I really want to ride.
Fingers crossed! :)
