• BIOGRAPHY

MOTORHOMENEWS

~ A personal take by Christopher Macgowan on tourism, travel and motorhomes.

MOTORHOMENEWS

Monthly Archives: September 2012

….and so to San Gimignano

30 Sunday Sep 2012

Posted by chrismacgowan in Places

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Bologna, chrismacgowan, Christopher Macgowan, Florence, motorhomenews, San Gimignano, The Caravan Club, Tuscany, Verona

20120930-125016.jpg

After Lake Garda it was Verona, Bologna, Florence and so to San Gimignano where I joined friends for the best part of a week. On almost every hilltop there is either a walled town or a substantial villa and the whole area is a delightful experience.

There was a slightly anxious moment getting the motorhome into the driveway but all was well in the end!!

20120930-125309.jpg

Tuscany remains one of my most favourite places and the light really does seem different there. It has over the centuries attracted many artists and I can see why. Typically the motorhome camping sites are a bit rough and ready and fall well short of the sort of standard we are used to at The Caravan Club but you can easily get by. Hopefully at The Caravan Club we never become complacent and always listen to members’ comments and complaints, but as someone who spends most of his time in Continental Europe I am only too well aware of the exceptionally high standards The Caravan Club has on offer – and which we take for granted.

Christopher Macgowan
twitter: motorhomenews

Lake Garda

28 Friday Sep 2012

Posted by chrismacgowan in Sites

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Brenner Pass, Camping Ai Salici, Christopher Macgowan, motorhomenews, The Caravan Club, Torri del Benaco, Trento

20120928-171454.jpg

A delightful drive across the Brenner Pass from Austria into Italy delivers an abrupt change of tempo as the Italian DNA takes hold. There is a long downhill run towards Trento with the railway line on the right hand side for much of it and as you get lower down the acres of fruit farms start to dominate. As soon as I can I turn right for the tourist route to and around Lake Garda.

There are more campsites here than you can sort out in your head but I prefer the run on the east side of the lake and I avoid all the obvious tourist traps and keep on going until I am about half way down and come to Torri del Benaco. I routinely stay in what amounts to an olive grove overlooking the lake. Camping Ai Salici suits me just fine as I can walk up the near vertical path to the village’s centre and get one of the finest pizzas around with a commanding view of the lake as I huff and puff my way up to the stop reminding myself that I have been in the van all day and this is very, very good for me. The site is on page 486 of The Caravan Club’s “Caravan Europe 2” directory.

The lake has a micro climate of its own as it is so big and is a wonderful relaxing stop over before heading into mainstream Tuscany.

Christopher Macgowan
twitter: motorhomenews

Seefeld in Tirol, Austria.

23 Sunday Sep 2012

Posted by chrismacgowan in Sites

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

alpin, alpine, Austria, chrismacgowan, Christopher Macgowan, Innsbruck, motorhome, motorhomenews, Seefeld, The Caravan Club, Tirol

20120923-141809.jpg

The five star site at Seefeld near Innsbruck is in my top ten favourite list of Continental European sites. Immaculate facilities, bar on site, restaurant on site, WiFi, a wellness centre, scenery that takes your breath away and all this just a ten minute walk from the town centre which is bigger than you are expecting and completely enjoyable!

The site is on page 145 of The Caravan Club’s “Caravan Europe 2” directory. Do visit Seefeld Alpine Camp

Christopher Macgowan
twitter: motorhomenews

Exquisite Namlos in exquisite Austria!

19 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by chrismacgowan in Places

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

chrismacgowan, Christopher Macgowan, Fussen, motorhome, motorhomenews, Namlos, Seefeld, vignette

20120919-190506.jpg

I stayed overnight on an aire in Fussen on the German Austrian border which enabled me to take a far more rural crossing route into Austria. Fussen is a smallish town with lots of places to stay both in and on the outskirts and the border crossing is virtually in the town itself.

After purchasing my vignette at a convenience store on the border I embarked on a wonderful journey towards Seefeld and Innsbruck and in so doing happened on the beautiful hamlet of Namlos (pictured) where I stopped for a very leisurely coffee break. It is these “off the beaten track” finds which make travelling by motorhome the delight it is!

Christopher Macgowan.
twitter: motorhomenews

Speyer near Heidelberg, Germany.

17 Monday Sep 2012

Posted by chrismacgowan in Places

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

am Technik Museum, chrismacgowan, Christopher Macgowan, motorhome, motorhomenews, Speyer

20120917-184122.jpg

I think Speyer will prove to be one of the stunning finds of this trip.

Just south of Heidelberg, Speyer is a delightful town successfully mixing old and new; loads of restaurants, a decidedly upmarket town centre and, above all, a very warm welcome everywhere I went. I must admit I was primarily attracted to staying in Speyer because of its very impressive technical museum which was superb. I love anything which could be loosely described as modern industrial technology and the museum is full of it.

However, it transpired that the excellent site I wanted to stay on is owned by and adjacent to the museum which was pretty handy and was less than a ten minute walk into the town so for me a perfect combination. The museum camping website says it all and it is a very good, secure site with access managed by the adjacent hotel reception area. You can find it on page 348 of The Caravan Club’s “Caravan Europe 2” directory.

There is an active airfield attached so a few planes and helicopters take off from time to time but the 747 in my picture I am pleased to tell you is part of the impressive static display so not too much noise!!

And a biplane landed and a hot air balloon took off before my very eyes!

20120917-185353.jpg

Christopher Macgowan
twitter: motorhomenews

Trittenheim Germany.

16 Sunday Sep 2012

Posted by chrismacgowan in Places

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

chrismacgowan, Christopher Macgowan, MOSEL, Moselle, motorhome, motorhomenews, Trier, Trittenheim

20120916-191021.jpg

Trittenheim is near Trier in Germany and on the Mosel and just over the border from Luxembourg. It is one of my favourite parts of Germany because it is firstly beautiful, secondly a wine lover’s paradise and thirdly in a general area which is almost unbelievably motorhome friendly.

20120916-191623.jpg

Wikipedia offers a slightly more prosaic description: “Trittenheim on the Middle Moselle is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Trier-Saarburg district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.”

Christopher Macgowan
twitter: motorhomenews

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

What I’ve been up to – so far.

September 2012
M T W T F S S
 12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
« Aug   Oct »

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 1,928 other followers

September 2012
M T W T F S S
 12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
« Aug   Oct »

Create a website or blog at WordPress.com

  • Follow Following
    • MOTORHOMENEWS
    • Join 1,928 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • MOTORHOMENEWS
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar