B45: My In-TENTS 1990 European Camping Trip (Part 2)

9/2/2021

My Tent 1990

So if you read Part 1 you will remember that in 1990 I did a seventeen day camping trip during which we visited 6 countries (France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy), slept in canvas tents and were bussed around Europe by coach. This blog is Part 2 covering days 5 to 11. I include extracts in italics from the little diary I kept from that holiday, and this week’s blog covers the second leg of that trip- - which includes:

Cologne & Heidelberg (Germany then West Germany only re-unified later that year!),
Berne, Brienz, Lauterbrunnen & Mürren/Schilthorn (Switzerland),
St Gotthard Tunnel & Milan (Italy), and
Nice & Cannes (South of France).

Barges on the Rhine, Cologne - 5 Sept 1990

Wednesday Sept 5th 1990
Left Amsterdam for Heidelberg early this morning by coach. Stopped off en-route in Cologne (West Germany). Saw the beautiful and busy river Rhine with freight barges on their way to Rotterdam. Ate in McDonalds. T-shirts for sale on a stall for the 49ers which we all bought. Then visited majestic Cologne Cathedral where we lit some candles.

Cologne Cathedral - 5th Sept 1990

Drove drowsily to Camp Haide in Heidelberg. Arrived in the evening. We stayed in a loft together on mattresses. Heidelberg is stunning overlooking River Necker. It’s a buzzing student town. We went 10-pin bowling – broke all my nails but had a laugh!! Then back to the campsite for the “boot” beer drinking competition. Lots of laughs and a good sing-song.

Gerry Winning The Beer Boot Drinking Competition, Heidelberg - 5 Sept 1990

Thursday Sept 6th 1990
Toured the enormous Heidelberg Castle, made famous in the 1954 film “The Student Prince”. Breathtaking scenery of the river Necker.

Stunning Heidelberg & the River Necker

Got a group photo taken at the Heidelberg Castle.

Our Group Photo, Heidelberg Castle - 6 Sept 1990 (I'm front row 3rd from left)

Day spent in Heidelberg shopping for souvenirs. The pedestrianised streets allowed us to explore at a relaxed pace. Dinner at the campsite before heading into the student beerkellers and then the Hard Rock Café. Atmosphere electric at night. Back to the camp site late.

Hard Rock Cafe - Heidelberg 6 Sept 1990

Friday Sept 7th 1990
Drove down the Rhine Valley heading to Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland. Stopped off in Berne to see the bear pits – three poor misfortunate bears who get carrots thrown at them! Shocking! (Glad to note that since 2009 the bears have a spacious bearpark, a bit of an improvement on the old pit. Hopefully one day they’ll be replaced by virtual bears.)

Bear Pit - Berne, Switzerland 7 Sept 1990

There were beautiful souvenirs but very expensive. Bought Swiss army knives for Daddy & Martin. Switzerland is dear! Stopped off at Brienz in the afternoon. Exquisite carved animals, cuckoo clocks etc.

Shop we visited in Brienz - 7 Sept 1990

Raining as we drove through Interlacken. Very wet in Lauterbrunnen when we arrived but luckily we were able to stay for one night in some vacant cabins (after we threatened a mutiny!!) Yay!! A real bed at last! Went to the local disco which sold beer & cokes at £3 a glass. The locals were a bit distant – very serious types. Slept well in the cabin which I shared with Catherine and Bernie (nurses from Dublin). Annette lost her handbag – poor thing.

Lauterbrunnen is amazing - the valley of 72 waterfalls as this YouTube video by traveldotearth shows:

Saturday Sept 8th 1990
A tram then a train ride to Mŭrren. Breathtaking scenery, gorgeous waterfalls – the highlight of the trip. Real chocolate box stuff – Swiss chocolate of course. The houses are like chalets straight out of "Heidi".

Me in Murren, Switzerland - 8 Sept 1990

Cable car ride to Schilthorn. We could see Jungfrau. My first time on a cable car – Exhilarating

Our Cable Car up to Schilthorn - 8 Sept 1990

Lunchtime was spent in the revolving restaurant, Piz Gloria 360 on the top of Schilthorn. I was starving and had a salad from the buffet, a small bowl of soup and a “zurcher geschnetzeltes” (slices of veal in a white wine and mushroom sauce). I then had an Iced Tea. It came to over 35 pounds but was a treat and I enjoyed it.

(Above) The Revolving Restaurant & My Bills/Ticket - Schilthorn - 8 Sept 1990

When we came back out a freezing fog had descended; how quickly the weather changes in the Swiss Alps!!….but we took more photos:

Freezing Fog - Schilthorn 8 Sept 1990

The cablecar ride down to Mŭrren was scary on the way down as the wind had started to blow. Back down in Lauterbrunnen, many went swimming. Andrea and I went shopping. Beautiful wooden houses with window-boxes full of red geraniums and busy lizzies. Spotlessly clean. The disco later was quiet. We then played on a football table. Good craic. Freezing cold in the tent tonight.

Scene from our Cable Car (Left) Bernie in the Alps (Right) 8 Sept 1990

Sunday Sept 9th 1990
Awoke to the sound of the church bells ringing in the valley. Fresh morning. Snow-capped mountains. Switzerland is the business! Drove then through beautiful countryside and through St. Gottard tunnel.

Entering the St. Gothard Tunnel through the Alps from Switzerland to Italy - 9 Sept 1990

Stopped in Milan at an AutoGrill. Wasn’t expecting much from motorway stop food ….but it was fabulous. Ate the best lasagne and salad ever!!

Lasagne at the AutoGrill, Milan - 9 Sept 1990

Weather roasting. Drove on to the French Riviera….saw Monte Carlo (Monaco) and Nice from the bus. Campsite at Le Mistral outside of Biot. Not a great first impression. One guy bitten by a dog. Ants everywhere. Good campsite pub though run by a Dubliner!

Biot, South of France - 9 Sept 1990

Monday Sept 10th 1990
Not a normal Monday! Waking up in the South of France. How bad?? Got up around 9am. Very few people around. Headed for the beach with Andrea, Bernie & Annette. Most people had no money as the banks were closed. Bought food at a local supermarket – rolls, ham, fruit, drinks and biscuits. Then to the beach.

On the Biot Beach - Annette (top)...Andrea, Bernie and Me (Bottom) 10 Sept 1990

Lay in the sun. Many English and Italians around. Helen went paragliding. Had lunch on the beach which was a pebbly one. After dinner and a shower back at the campsite, we bussed into Nice. The Promenade des Anglais very beautiful – fantastic fountains. Headed for an ice-cream parlour. Many people eating outside on the pavement. Luscious ice-creams. Explored Nice on foot. Then back to campsite bar. The fellas taught me how to play pool.

Promenade de Anglais Fountains, Nice, France - 10 Sept 1990

Tuesday Sept 11 1990
Trip to the Fragonard perfume factory at Grasse. Beautiful old building. Received the tour from a Belgian lady with quite good English. The bases for all the famous perfumes are produced here e.g. Chanel No. 5. Bought some perfume for Mam.

(Above) Visit to Fragonard Perfume Factory & Shop, Grasse, France - 11 Sept 1990

Very hot. Headed for Cannes. Ooh La La! Big yachts in the marina. Lovely lunch on the quayside in the sun under the sunshades. Bought a short black dress in a boutique called Sasha’s. Delighted they could understand my pidgin French!!

Heading to the beach at Cannes - 11 Sept 1990

Spent the afternoon on the beach at Cannes which was sandy. Many topless beauties. Saw the beautiful Hotel Carlton from the outside.

Hotel Carlton, Cannes, France - 11 Sept 1990

Back to the campsite by bus. After dinner, we headed for a game of mini-golf near Biot. Lovely floodlit course. I teamed up with Brian, Tony and Gerry. Good fun. Then had a lovely pizza at the on-site pizza-parlour. Alsatian waiting for us when we got back but owner had him under control so no one bitten this time!!