End of June 2024 we had returned from Africa and the Middle East. The summer in Austria was great, and we had enough time to meet with friends and family, attend a wedding, celebrated a birthday and much more.
A lot of time went into servicing our “Cochecito”, which needed a bit of attention after more than 200,000 demanding kilometres.
But as winter approached, we got antsy and wanted to be on the road again. The day we could leave was postponed many times, but finally we were on the road again. Just our faithful “Cochecito” had to stay home, and we left with our new ride, which we call “IGL”. More about this later.
We drove into the north of Austria, where already during the first night, we ran out of propane gas and had to return home to exchange the bottles. Very experienced campers indeed!
First, we did a hike, which was already a long time on our bucket list, the Ysperklamm. The forest was magical and the hike up the gorge on a beautiful day a real pleasure.
Travelling in the direction of Germany, we chose a route through the very north of Austria, where we hiked near Ober Neustift to at a mystique place in the middle of the forest: an almost seven-metre-high stone pyramid, until today an archaeological mystery. The steps of the pyramid are arranged in a circle, directly on star-shaped geomantic lines and right-handed water veins. Therefore, a strong energy is attributed to the structure. Was it a signalling station, a place for rituals, or connected to the Masonic lodge once at nearby Castle Rosenau?
When we reached Bavaria, we visited our flat close to the border to Czechia and spent the night in the area, before we hiked from Dreisessel along the border to the border triangle of Germany, Austria and Czechia. Our route back led us through the “Steinerne Meer” (the “Stony Sea”?).
This area is part of the Bavarian Forest National Park, where nature is left to take its course, without human intervention. When there was a large scale bark beetle infestation, a huge area of trees died, but the growth of new trees shows how nature recovers from such disasters.
The next day, we had our technical check of the car at Passau, which went smoothly.
Afterwards, we explored first the town of Schärding and then drove further south along the border to explore the longest castle of the world – the castle of Burghausen.
Burghausen Castle, is the longest castle complex in the world (1,051 m long), confirmed by the Guinness World Record. The gothic castle comprises the main castle with the inner courtyard and five outer courtyards along a crest, with the river Salzach on one side and a lake on the other side.
The castle houses 3 museums: the Photography museum showed historic pictures of the castle and town but also had an interesting temporary exhibition on water. The two other museums were at the main castle and showcased historic art.
Next we want to cross the Alps on some magnificent mountain passes before they are closed for winter – more soon.