Leg 01 - Vienna-Klagenfurt - 2018-05-17
For my 2018 summer holidays Willi and I decided to visit my uncle in Ibiza. The first night I spent in Klagenfurt where I could sleep at a friend's place and got treated with a great breakfast in the morning.
Leg 02 - Klagenfurt-Lake Garda - 2018-05-18
The next day I drove from Klagenfurt to Torbole at Lake Garda where I checked into Maroadi Campground which is a nice and family-friendly campground with modern and clean facilities and direct access to the lakeside promenade and small pebble beach.
When I arrived it was still sunny but wind and dark clouds ensured it was going to rain soon. Since it was my first time at Lake Garda, I still put on my biking gear and went for a short mountain bike ride up Monte Brione.
Leg 03 - Lake Garda-Barcelona - 2018-05-19
I left Torbole for Geneva at 8.30 in the morning to make sure to arrive early at the ferry terminal in Geneva - which I did.
I arrived at 1 in the afternoon and had to wait until 5.30 together with hundreds of cars to get on the ferry to Barcelona which after that was scheduled to carry on to its destination port in Morocco.
I had booked a 4-women-cabin with shared bathroom which I ended up occupying for my one which was actually great - buy a bunk bed in a shared cabin, get a single cabin with toilet and shower.
I spent a short nice evening with my book and the next day enjoyed my own bring-along-breakfast at six in the morning on the almost empty deck.
Leg 04 - Barcelona-Ibiza - 2018-05-20
The ferry arrived in Barcelona around noon. Getting off the boat was mildly frustrating since there were so many vehicles departing towards the city. The journey from Barcelona to Valencia was straight forward with not too much traffic so I still had a few hours left before the ferry departed towards Ibiza at 10 in the evening.
I had booked one of those seats where you were actually not allowed to lay down although 2/3 of the seats were empty. I occupied a row of three seats and laid down anyways and got a few hours of sleep.
Before the departure I spent the time watching the other cars and big trucks get on the ferry and was amused by the one driver who managed not to turn off the car alarm so half of the night the alarm went off.
At 3 in the morning the ferry arrived at Port d'Eivissa (not in Sant Antoni!) and I immediately drove to Parking Es Pratet which is a big parking lot at the harbor where I spent the first half night in Ibiza.
Three days in Ibiza - 2018-05-21 to 2018-05-24
The next morning I met up with my uncle and we went for a pricy breakfast with a great view at Calma Bistro.
Fortunately, I could stay at my uncle's place near the old town since the nearest campground to Ibiza town is located half an hour away by car (Camping La Playa Ibiza).
At my first evening we enjoyed drinks and the amazing sunset at Cafe del Mar in Sant Antoni.
We spent the second evening picknicking with Es-Vedra-view at a lonely spot up on the cliffs between Restaurante Cala d'Hort and Es Boldado.
On the last day I visited the Punta Arabí Hippie Market and spent a few hours on the beach. In the evening, we crossed Ibiza harbor by the boat taxi and strolled along Talamanca beach to get to a secluded hut housing a fish restaurant in the summer months.
Leg 05 - Ibiza-Valencia - 2018-05-24
The ferry back to Valencia was scheduled to leave around 2 in the afternoon so I still had a bit of time to have breakfast at Croissant Show Ibiza, stroll around the old town one last time and explore the ferry terminal.
I arrived back on the mainland around 7.30 in the evening and drove down south along the coast for half an hour to reach Camping Coll Vert which was ok for just spending the night. However, I would not have wanted to stay for longer since the campground was located right next to the noisy highway, facilities and the pitches were not as advertised on the homepage (the pool was not even filled at the end of May) and I just did not feel comfortable there.
Leg 06 - Valencia-Bilbao - 2018-05-25
The lack of coziness motivated me to leave as early as 7.20 in the morning with the destination of Bilbao.
I reached Bilbao in pouring rain, checked into Sopelana Campground and put up the awning.
Fortunately, the next day was mostly sunny and I could enjoy a stroll through Bilbao as well as the cold atlantic ocean at Playa Arrietara although I missed the sunset only by minutes.
Leg 07 - Bilbao-Canillo - 2018-05-27
The original plan was to leave Bilbao for Andorra and drive through the Spanish Pyrenees on smaller streets through villages, woods and mountains. However, it was pouring rain on the way from Bilbao north so I decided to take the direct way via the French highway.
I chose Camping Casal as my base which is situated near the center of Canillo with a tourist information and two small shops.
Three days in Andorra - 2018-05-28 to 2018-05-30
On the first day I rode my bike up to Mirador Roc Del Quer while it was still sunny but when I came back to the campground it started raining.
The next day I hiked to Mirador del Toll Bullidor which was part of the Andorran part of the Camino de Santiago trail.
Apparently, Canillo's touristic ambitions mainly focus on winter sports which was the reason that there was nothing major going on in the town at the end of May. I loved the quiet and calm atmosphere plus I could focus on biking and hiking.
Leg 08 - Canillo-Dune du Pilat - 2018-05-30
After the third night in Canillo where my feet couldn't get warm in the morning because it was 2°C at night I woke up to yet another day of rain which was why I decided to just move on and continue my journey to France to see the famous Dune du Pilat.
I randomly chose Pyla Camping out of four or five campgrounds located at the base of the dune. This was not my best choice. The pitch was small but okeyish but what really bothered me were the facilities. Most of the showers only had cold water and there was no toilet paper on the toilets. And I don't mean, they were out of toilet paper, but there were no toilet paper holders on the toilets. You had to bring your own toilet paper.
Well, I left the facilities be, packed a book, a banana and something to drink and went up the dune which started immediately at the end of the alleys on the campground. I spent the evening watching the sunset, doing Qi Gong on the beach and reading.
Leg 09 - Dune du Pilat-Tisens - 2018-05-31
The evening on the dune had been the first evening in a long time I wore short sleeves and open shoes and I enjoyed it very much. I don't think of myself as a summer's person but after days of rain and almost freezing nights it was so good to finally feel the sun.
So when I woke up the next day and the sky was grey and the smell of rain was in the air I surrendered and admitted to myself that I can't beat the weather. I left the campground at nine in the morning towards some other national park in France. On my way I followed the weather report and held an emergency meeting with my dad over the phone. I was scheduled to meet with my parents in Parc national des Écrins but we cancelled the meetup due to the weather.
I ended up driving 16 hours straight to get to South Tyrol. I met up with my boyfriend at 1 at night and was finally greeted by the sun when I woke up the next day.
Four days in South Tyrol - 2018-06-01 to 2018-06-04
We checked into Natur Caravanpark Tisens which is a very nice campground with great facilities (comfort camping ;) ) and a nice pool with a lawn for sunbathing.
We spent the next days at Kalterer See, biking around the area and hiking to a waterfall in Terlan.
My boyfriend left before my last night in South Tyrol so I had time to plan the next stops on my adapted journey.
Leg 10 - Tisens-Hinterbichl - 2018-06-04
Before I left South Tyrol for good, I drove Willi from Tisens to Tel where I went for a nice three hour mountainbike ride.
I continued towards East Tyrol via the Staller Saddle and drove on to Hinterbichl in Virgen Valley.
There is a small campground located near a guesthouse which is called Bergkristall which is run by a nice and attentive lady and has clean partly newly built facilities.
Three days in East Tyrol - 2018-06-05 to 2018-06-07
On my first day I decided to hike up to the Wiesbauerspitze which was supposed to be a 7-hour-walk from the campground. As it was early June there was still some snow up on the mountains and I had to cross a few snowfields.
Unfortunately, I did not make it to the top as I had to turn around about half an hour before reaching the summit cross due to a large washed-out snowfield. I did not want to take the risk of crossing it alone so I decided to start the descent early. While going down I was followed by a herd of sheep for a while which was a bit creepy.
The next day I geared up and took my bike to ride around the valley. The other half of the day I occupied myself with sunbathing and watching the construction site of a blockhouse grow and grow.
Leg 11 - Hinterbichl-Graz-Mondsee - 2018-06-07
When leaving East Tyrol I had took advantage of my flexibility and spontaneously visited a friend in Graz for a nice balcony lunch with clocktower-view.
I spent the evening in Mondsee where I could sleep at another friend's place and enjoy the Moonlight Shopping event in the town with local bands and good drinks.
Leg 12 - Mondsee-Traunsee-Traunfall - 2018-06-08
The next day I drove from Mondsee to Traunsee where I rode my bike up to Grünbergalm.
I spent the evening and night at the diving base Magic Dive Traunfall and visited the Traunfall before going home the next day.
Leg 13 - Traunfall-Vienna - 2018-06-09
I had been on the road for 3.5 weeks and never actually got into a traffic jam. Until only 20 km before reaching my destination.