April 2026 – RV Travels in Europe and North America

April 22, 2026 Banska Bystrica SK

Slovakia is not a large country in size so our drives have been relatively short. Today we took our longest drive of our visit at about 2 hours. But the drive was really beautiful crossing thru two national parks in the Tatra Mountains. While the drive was in the mountains, the roads were generally good and we made decent time.

This was a little road we took on a side visit to Spania Dolina.

We visited two places that were very different in size though they both exist because of mining. Banska Bystrica is a thriving town of 80,000 in a river valley, and Spania Dolina is a rural village of 200 people tucked away in the hills.

A T-34 tank at the Museum of the Slovak Uprising.

The first place we stumbled across was the Museum of the Slovak Uprising. Banska Bystrica was the center of anti-Nazi resistance in Slovakia during WWII and rebelled against the Nazi’s in late August 1944. They managed to hold the town for nearly 2 months before losing it to the Germans and fading into the countryside to fight as partisans.

German WWII armored vehicles on display at the Museum of the Slovak Uprising.

The museum had a nice display of Soviet and German WWII vehicles that I enjoyed walking thru while Ton took pictures. They even had an armored train on display which was a first for me.

The town had a nice square that we spent about 45 minutes exploring. About half way thru Ton proposed lunch. We have discovered the Slovak set lunch of Soup, and a main dish. Today our lunch with the addition of a beer cost only €20 for the two of us.

The second stop was the small village of Spania Dolina. Copper has been mined near the village since 1254, though there is evidence of mining activities around 2000 bc.

The covered stairway of 160 steps from the town center to the church on the hill.

The town has a church built on a hill above the main square that served not only as a church, but as a fortification when needed. The church was built of stone, but the spire was wood and was beautiful.

The wooden spire was quite intricate and beautiful.

After we visited the church we climbed back down and went to visit the mines. One of the shafts was opened up for about 50 feet and we walked down to see it.

The village is full of pretty stone and wooden roofed houses, and while the permanent residents are now less than 200 there were more homes there than that. We guess that a lot of the homes are vacation homes as the town is now a center for hiking and cross country skiing in the Tatra Mountains.

After Spania Dolina we doubled back about an hour to a place that had good reviews on Park4Night. Every trip we run into a place that is “interesting”. Our campsite tonight is that place. It is behind a large restaurant situated in a newly constructed village of very large and expensive looking homes that we think are for rent, but that is not certain. There are about 20 of these homes, and none of them are occupied. The shower is located in the basement of the restaurant in a weight room. The lady who helped us was very nice though we did not share a common language, so she decided I would understand German better than Slovak and spoke to me in German. Despite that we managed to communicate. No one showed up for dinner either so the kitchen staff all left at 6:30, so as near as I can tell we are the only ones now occupying this huge complex.

The church and castle spires at Banska Bystrica.

April 21, 2026 Trencin SK

Tonight we are camped in the Tatra mountains near the Polish border. It is not the place we planed on being but sometimes things happen.

Trencin with its castle watching over the town and the river.

We had a good time getting here. We have a plan for the rest of Slovakia and the first stop on our itinerary was Trencin. It is a nice little town with a castle overlooking it- like many other towns in Europe.

The guard gates as you enter the castle.

Trencin was about 90 minutes north of Bratislava on a pretty good freeway. We were rolling along when there was a sign saying to slow down for police. As we got near a rest area the police were directing about 70% of the traffic from the freeway into the rest area. In the rest area another set of police were splitting the incoming traffic into two lines. We were directed into the longer line which we were grateful for as we noticed the cars in the other line were getting searched. We were finally approached by a police officer who asked me “No Alcohol?”. I wanted to reply; not at 10:30 in the morning, but just said no. He then said he was going to have me blow into a breathalyzer. He handed me a bag with a plastic tube in it and told me to open it. I then performed my first breathalyzer test and after blowing for a few seconds he said “You passed” and waived me on my way. Ton and I were wondering how many people fail at 10:30 in the morning.

Trencin and the surrounding hills from the castle walls.

We again ended up interacting with the police again when we parked in Trencin. I wasn’t sure if our parking place was pay or not, when Ton noticed a barcode on one of the signs. I scanned it with my phone and it redirected me to a parking app to pay for parking. Interestingly I already had the app downloaded on my phone so I must of used it somewhere else in Europe. I bought 4 hours worth of parking and we were on our way just as two parking cops walked up. Just to be safe I showed him the app and he noodled and said good.

Having finished our interactions with Slovakian police we climbed the hill to the castle. It was a nice castle with great views of the surrounding countryside. It also commanded the river that runs thru the valley.

Trencin’s tower gate similar to the one in Bratislava.

After the castle we walked thru the main square of the castle to the main site Ton wanted to see which was the Spitting Man Fountain. Nix was a local who couldn’t impress a girl until her house caught fire. He then lowered himself into a well and puts out the fire by spitting water from the well onto it. In the story he succeeds in putting out the fire, but dies doing it, and then the girl falls in love with him. In the fountain commemorating the story he is wearing a Top Hat while he is doing the spitting.

While it was bright blue, the high today was only 50 and there was a brisk breeze. So we decided to duck into a coffee shop to warm up. We were the only customers, but had a great time talking to the owner and the barista about coffee and traveling. We ended up ordering a second cup and sitting in there for 45 minutes because we were enjoying the conversation with the two guys so much. But our allotted parking time was coming to an end and we knew they are enforcing it so we were on our way to a planned overnight stop in Zilina about an hour up the road.

The Coffee Shop was called the Coffee Lab, so our pour over coffee was served in a laboratory beaker.

After another hour drive we arrived at the campground in Zilina but it looked closed. The gate was open but there was not a soul in sight. I walked around a bit and noticed a sign on the reception saying that if the reception was closed to find a spot and pay in the morning. So we drove in and I found a place to plug in François. But it still didn’t feel right. Just then a couple walked by with a cute dog and I asked them if they knew if the campground was open. We ended up having another nice 15 minute conversation about our travels in Slovakia, before we both remembered my question about whether the campground was open. He said he would call the owner for me, and after a brief conversation it turns out it wasn’t. But he said there was a campground about 10 kilometers away that was definitely open, so we thanked them and were on our way. Slovaks are quickly working their way up our nice and fun people list.

We had a little scare when we arrived at the recommended campground when the reception was closed, and the barrier was down. But there were a few teenagers using the basketball court so there was hope. After a call to the phone number on the reception we were told to just pick a spot and come pay them in the morning, and she opened the gate remotely. So we are settled in for the night with lows forecast in the mid-30’s, so the heater will be running again.

April 20, Modra SK

Some days when you travel like we do the day is about chores and not experiences. That is what we expected today, but it ended up being one of the best days of this trip.

A small church in the median of the road in Modra.

The water on our toilet has not worked since we arrived. For readers who are non-RV’ers it is not as big of a problem as it sounds, especially if you use a cassette toilet like we do, but something you do want to get fixed. I have been doing google searches of shops, and sending emails to try to get an appointment at each city we have visited. At each destination we either didn’t get a reply, or we were told they were too busy. I didn’t have much hope when I sent an email before heading to Bratislava, but was pleasantly surprised to get a quick reply saying if we came in on Monday they could do it. So we were up bright and early and made a short run to a family run business. They took us right in offered us a seat and coffee, and an hour later we left with running water in our toilet. The family running the shop were charming we mentioned we had been down into the city the day before and saw the race. They went and got the two employees who had run the race and brought them to meet us. It was a much nicer experience than you usually have in a repair shop. The price was also great.

This fellow is supposed to be the codifier of the Slovak language.

We decided to head out into the wine country near here and picked the village of Modra as a target. After a short drive we were in the center of Modra and walking down the main street. It is a very small town and as I walked thru it I was thinking that we have driven thru hundreds of small towns like this over the years without stopping.

We noticed several small cafes advertising coffee in the morning and wine in the afternoon. One ally way caught Tons attention, it was lined with tables and there was a worker hanging things on the wall. He greeted us and said come on in this is my winery.

We thanked him and while Ton took a couple of pictures, he and I chatted. Before we knew it he spontaneously gave us a tour of the winery telling us about not only his own wine but some background on the region and grape varietals in Slovakia. He walked us thru his entire facility from the crushing area to the barrel room. It was one of the best wine tours I have ever had. Early on he handed Ton and I glasses and would periodically stop at a tank and pour us a hefty sample while he explained the grape and the technique he used to produce the wine.

The cave where he is producing sparkling wine.

At the end of the tour we met an older gentleman and Fedor introduced his father also called Fedor. His father was a professor of enology at the University in Bratislava for decades. He has toured the world studying wine making techniques and varietals, and has even been recognized by the French government for his research. He has written over 30 books. It was a joy to talk to him also. I asked him his favorite wine and he said he loved wine from Uruguay which was a surprise to us as we did not know Uruguay even produced wine.

Some of Fedor the elders books, and Fedor the youngers wine.

At the end we asked Fedor for a lunch recommendation and he told us to try the hotel around the corner if we wanted Slovak food. They had 5 lunch specials but the descriptions were only written in Slovak, the waiter brought us the dinner menu which they had in English but we were fascinated by the Slovak meal. I got out google translate and was able to figure out what the dish was made of. When the waiter came back I ordered the chicken dish, and Ton ordered the mushroom dish. The first thing that arrived was a huge tureen of soup made of smoked sausage, potatoes, and shredded dumpling.

This alone would have been a meal and it was delicious. We then received our main courses which were also delicious, and at the end we received a custard desert. We did not expect a three course meal when we sat down, and each of our meals cost €8.50. We were amazed.

Tulips and the two protestant churches in town.

A day we had absolutely no expectations for turned into the most memorable of this trip, and one of our most memorable ever. Slovakia is exceeding our expectations because we keep running into friendly amazing people.

April 19, 2026 Bratislava SK

We were expecting rain when we got up but to our surprise it was quite nice out. Ton did a quick check and the rain had gotten delayed overnight and was not not expected to hit until around 5 pm.

Today was the National Devin Run the oldest sporting event in Slovakia.

We had to sort out the logistics of getting into town as today was the National Devin Run which is a big deal in Slovakia. The race starts at a castle about 12 kilometers outside of town and ends in the center of Bratislava. We could tell that the tram route was shortened to accommodate the run but couldn’t tell by how much. The young lady at the front desk determined that the tram ran to the center of the city so we were good to go.

We needed a purpose for the day so walking to the tram we decided to seek out a street sculpture called the sewer worker. It is a cute sculpture showing a guy climbing out of a sewer hole. Ton also had discovered a restaurant that she was interested in trying the food and seeing the building. So with a purpose in mind we struck out into Bratislava.

The main square was packed with post race activities and we stopped and watched a traditional Slovak dance group perform a few songs. Right after the main square we found our first target the sewer hole cover dude. It was a well executed and quirky piece of art that seemed to fit the vibe we felt for Bratislava.

The Sewer Worker. My favorite Sculpture so far on this trip.

Ton and I have discovered we have a type of city we really enjoy and Bratislava is one of those cities. We admire sophisticated big cities with lots of culture and many things going on like Vienna. But we enjoy cities like Bratislava, and that is different than big and sophisticated.

It is a medium sized city with plenty to do, with people out and about doing things and enjoying themselves. It is more practical than pretentious and people seem to have time to interact with each other. Bratislava has been a great introduction to Slovakia for us and will join a short list of cities that have surprised us.

This tree lined street had the US embassy among others on it.

We had been quick to find the Sewer Worker so we decided we need something else to do before heading to lunch. I suggested we walk across the Danube to the base of the UFO bridge.

It was a nice walk, but the base of the UFO restaurant didn’t offer much, so Ton mentioned the Blue Church. We doubled back across the river to a new part of town and found a beautiful church which is very appropriately called the Blue Church.

There were a few people there, and though it was Sunday you could not enter, but only look thru a locked gate. There was one large tour group who were getting an extended briefing on the church in Spanish.

We had now walked enough to have lunch. The restaurant Ton had picked was located in an old theater that had been converted to a restaurant and brewery. The exterior of the building was nearly swallowed up by a construction zone, but the interior was spectacular. The building has a complicated history. For several hundred years it was a hospital run by an order of priests supported by nuns. Like many church run hospitals they had a side business making beer to help pay for the upkeep of the building. Shortly after the communists took over Bratislava in 1950 the priests and nuns were imprisoned or exiled. The hospital was maintained as a medical clinic but the chapel of the hospital was converted into a theater.

My lunch, a Slovak macaroni and cheese, and cabbage soup.

After the communists fell the building was returned to the order of priests. They didn’t know what to do with the theater so they leased it out, and it became the restaurant that exists today. The restaurant also got the right to brew beer using the old formula of the priests. A priest still consecrates the beer periodically. We really enjoyed the meal, the beer, and the atmosphere.

Some left over Socialist Realism art from the communist era.

After lunch we hustled back to François just in time to beat the rain. We settled in for a relaxing evening and listened to rain beat on the roof of François.

April 18, 2026 Bratislava SK

Slovakia is a country that Ton has been excited about visiting since we began planning this trip. For me it is a bit of a mystery. Our first stop is Bratislava which is the capitol, but is only located about 60 kilometers (as the crow flies) from Vienna. This makes Bratislava and Vienna the two national capitols that are closest to each other.

The UFO on top of the main bridge over the Danube is a restaurant.

Bratislava also like Vienna is located on the Danube river, and historically has always been a crossroads of civilizations, at different time in the last 200 years it has been dominated by Hungarian, Austrian Germans, and Slovaks. The population today is more heterogenous than it has been historically with Slovaks making up 86% of the population.

The Danube River runs at the foot of the old town.

We really needed food so our first stop in Bratislava was a Lidl. After about an hour we were well stocked for the next few days and headed over to our campground.

We were debating whether to take the afternoon off, but a quick check of the weather showed a 65% chance of rain tomorrow. It was beautiful today so we hustled into the city to take advantage of the sunny and warm day.

The center of the city was hopping due to the good weather.

The tram ride in was thru the commercial and industrial part of town, and it was kind of dead. I was worried that we would not find much to do in the center of town. I was very wrong. The center was bustling with lots of people out enjoying the beautiful weather on a Saturday.

Outside of the center of town a lot of the buildings are graffitied pretty heavily. Ton really liked this building and the bricked in door.

I was enjoying looking at all of the people sitting in cafes with beers and glasses of wine. I was jealous and informed Ton that I wanted a beer. She agreed but I had to first earn it by climbing up to the castle above town.

Bratislava Castle commands the Danube from a very high hill overlooking the river and the city.

This was our first hill climb of the trip, it has been nice hanging out in the Netherlands, and even Vienna was surprisingly flat. The climb was pretty steep but in the end it was worth it for the views of the Danube, the city, and the countryside.

St. Michaels gate dominates the old town of the city.

Ton rewarded me for our hill climb by allowing me to pick a place to have a beer. I immediately settled on a Black Lager, and Ton had a sampler of local beers. We originally ordered onion rings to snack on, and were disappointed when they arrived in both the quality and quantity, but we noticed an older couple with a bread bowl full of soup. When we asked our waitress about it she explained it was a garlic soup. We ordered it and it was delicious, and when we got the bill we laughed because it cost less than the 8 small onion rings.

Enjoying my large beer, and plotting to steal some of Tons small beers.

As we were eating the fellow at the next table asked why Ton had four different small beers, he had never seen a sampler before. We ended up striking up a conversation and he and his wife were a delight. He was originally from Istanbul and his wife is from Croatia, and they now live in Vienna.

The soup was almost done, so we also devoured the bowl.

Our late start had us on the streets much later than usual, some of the lights were even coming on so we decided we better head back to François for the evening.

Heading back to the Tram for our ride to François.

April 17, 2026 Vienna AU

Today was the highlight of our trips to museums in Vienna. As I said yesterday Ton is a great fan of Klimt and “The Kiss” is probably his most painting. We were on our way just after rush hour to check out the Belvedere Museum.

The Belvedere Palace was built in the early 1700’s by Prince Eugene of Savoy. Prince Eugene is considered to be the greatest Austrian General but the catch is he was French. He was unhappy with his lot in France and immigrated here where he ended up in command of the Hapsburg Army and was instrumental in securing the empire from the Ottomans. For that he was rewarded with the funds to build the Belvedere Palace on what was then the outskirts of the city.

Didn’t get a picture of Prince Eugene but here is a picture of his countryman Napoleon.

We walked the grounds for a while as we had to wait for 45 minutes for our entrance time. The day was beautiful and the grounds were very stylized and pretty to look at for a few minutes, but didn’t entice us to wander.

As soon as we entered the museum Ton wanted to see the Kiss so we made a bee line for it. The space it occupied was crowded but with patience you could get a good look at it We spent 10 minutes taking in the painting before moving on to the rest of the exhibit.

Klimt did not actually name it the Kiss. He had given it another name, but the museum renamed it after they came into possesion of it and the name has stuck.

Another painting by Klimt in a completely different style.

The Belvedere had an extensive collection of art by Klimt, and between the Leopold yesterday and today I have gained an appreciation for him as an artist. He is quite versatile and like many great painters his genius is evident in all the styles of painting he does.

Another Klimt portrait, more conventional but still arresting.

He lived for 55 years and fortunately his genius was recognized early in his career. From this trip I think I will always associate Vienna with Gustav Klimt.

This unfinished painting was found in Klimts studio after his death.

The museum had a large collection of Austrian art spanning multiple eras and we spent the next 90 minutes wandering thru the different room. Part of the interest of the museum though was also taking in the palatial rooms that the art is presented in.

The collection contained everything from cubist art of the mid-20th century to church art from the 12th century.

As someone with no talent I was awed by the amount of talent on display at the Belvedere. Because of the way we structured our stay in Vienna there are two things I will remember about the city. The museums, and the coffee shops.

Part of an altar board from the 12th century. Painted carved wood done by a team of artists all lost to time, but geniuses also.

After the Belvedere we headed over to try one last coffee shop before our departure. Ton picked a good one the Demel. This one was in the old city and close to one of the main squares so it was much busier (and more expensive) than the others we had tried. The shop was originally opened in the 1780’s and I enjoyed my pancakes which were close to a bread pudding. Ton had a pastry that she really enjoyed.

After our lunch Ton said she wouldn’t be able to eat any more whipped cream for a while. Every pastry and often coffee comes with a big dollop of whipped cream on the side.

Two of the riders for the Lipizzaner Stallions.

We tried to walk off some of our desert by strolling thru the center of the city for a while. It did help and we enjoyed just taking in the sites and looking at the crowds of people also taking in the sites. It was a good way to finish up our Vienna experience.

Vienna is an amazing city that offers so much that it kind of overwhelmed me. Five days is not enough time to even think you have seen what it offers. I think by narrowing our visit down to art and coffee we helped take one small bite out of the giant apple that Vienna is. Next time we can tackle one of the other things that Vienna excels at such as music, dance, or architecture.

April 16, 2026 Vienna AU

Vienna has at least 112 museums which is for me why it is such a intimidating place to visit. Today we focused on one of the most famous ones the Leopold Museum which is in the Museum Quarter that contains several other large and small museums.

One of the archways between courtyards that contain dozens of small museums and art organizations located in the old imperial stables.

Before heading to the museum for the afternoon we spent the morning on a driving tour of Vienna. We wanted to get a look at other parts of Vienna to determine where to spend tomorrow. The drive was interesting and we saw both the old and new parts of Vienna.

These high rises have to be on the opposite bank of the Danube from the old town, as no building can be taller than the spire of St Stephens church on the other bank.

After our driving tour we headed to another cafe to try to break our streak of ok food. Today was much better, our coffee was delicious, and the pastries we ordered- the restaurants specialty cake, and a cheese strudel were also excellent. Happy with our choice we headed to the Leopold Museum.

Ton is a big fan of the Austrian artist Gustav Klimt and this museum has several of his works on display. The museum focuses on Austrian art from the late 1880’s to the beginning of WWII.

Gustav Klimt and the gown he used for painting.

Ton is a huge fan of the Kiss which is displayed at a museum we will be visiting tomorrow. But the Leopold had a lot of information about Klimt and the Kiss including some stills of the model he used for the painting that we studied in preparation for visiting it tomorrow.

Emily Flogh the model Klimt used for the Kiss, his most famous work.

I ended up falling under the spell of an architect and industrial designer named Joseph Hoffman. They had several rooms highlighting furniture and other household goods that were designed and produced in Vienna around 1900. In each of the rooms we entered there was always one piece that caught my eye and pulled me to it, and while there were several designers on display, in each case the piece I was drawn to (and Ton also) was designed by Joseph Hoffman.

Hoffman designs were both beautiful and utilitarian, a perfect combination in industrial design.

The period from 1900 until WWI was particular striking for me. The artists were quite daring for their time. They were ahead of popular tastes for the era, and in the 1930’s many of them were branded as degenerate by the Nazi’s.

Egon Schiele, “Self Portrait with Physalis”.

It was a wonderful collection of art, and we thoroughly enjoyed wandering thru the well laid out presentations. We had planned on going to another museum but when we were done with the Leopold it was too late, so the Albertina will be on tomorrows agenda.

A study of the death scene of Juliet by Gustav Klimt.

We have our commute from the campground to the center of the city down now. After a quick trip back to the campsite Ton prepared another great meal and we settled in for the evening on a warm(ish) night.

April 15, 2026 Vienna AU

In our quest to investigate every “Versailles of” we decided to visit the Versailles of Austria Schonbrunn palace. This one came close to matching Versailles in size and splendor.

Schonbrunn palace was the summer residence of the Hapsburg dynasty, and was used for 170 years until the fall of the Hapsburgs in 1918. The Hapsburgs as a dynasty were not slouches ruling Austria, and varying other parts of Europe for over 600 years.

A family portrait of the Empress Maria Theresa with 11 of her 16 children.

The palace has over 1200 rooms and a gigantic garden. Our tour today was limited to 25 rooms that were the sleeping quarters and work space of King Franz Joseph who was King of Austria for 70 years, as well as the main public rooms of the palace.

Queen Elisabeth of Austria, affectionately known in Vienna as Sissi was Franz Josephs wife. This room was her sitting room.

As you walk up to the palace we were struck by the amount of commercial activity taking place in front of the palace on the grounds. There were many food and souvenir stands, and even carnival rides. It felt more like a fair grounds than the entrance to a great palace. Ton was a little taken aback, but I thought it was kind of fun. The grounds are free to visit and they are immense and I imagine that on nice days and summer they are buzzing with tourists and locals alike.

Part of the food cart pod at the palace with a carousel in the background.

The palace itself was beautiful and as ostentatious as you would expect for a place that was meant to compete with Versailles. The working rooms were meant by Franz Joseph to be modest, but modest for an Emperor is quite different than modest for most people.

The woodwork and the inlays were beautiful.

The main ball room was spectacular, but not as spectacular as the hall of mirrors in Versailles. But it came a close second.

It took us about two hours to go thru all 25 rooms. We had planned on spending some time in the gardens, but while they are immense and pretty they did not grab our attention. We sat on a bench for 15 or 20 minutes taking it in and then decided to head back to the center.

Part of the Gardens of the Schonbrunn Palace.

By the time we returned to the center of the city it was nearly 2pm and we were ready for a late lunch. We headed to a place that was recommended yesterday. It is supposed to be a bit of a hidden gem. To keep up with our Vienna experience we ordered two of the dishes Vienna is famous for Schnitzel and Goulash. The food was fine. So far our verdict on Austrian food is… fine. We have yet to have anything that has wowed us.

One thing Vienna does spectacularly is the streets. They are built for walking, and pedestrians are definitely king here. There are multiple wide boulevards lined with interesting shops to wander down and almost no vehicle traffic. Of the large cities we have visited in Europe I think Vienna is the best for just strolling around.

On one of the streets we came across St. Peters Church and popped inside to check it out. It was ornate and beautiful. Ton really liked it and spent 30 minutes exploring. I spent a lot of that time sitting in a chair and taking in the place, it is built to overwhelm the senses and it succeeds. It also features concerts in the evening, and it looks like it would be a great place to take in some of the music that Vienna is famous for.

After St. Peters we decided to head back to François for the evening. I think the problem with Vienna is going to be managing what to see, as the options for concerts, museums, and just walking the streets are so diverse and tempting that it would take weeks to do the city justice.

April 14, 2026 Vienna AU

Vienna is really the beginning of our planned trip. Everything up to now was fun but it was positioning to get us to the heart of trip.

Part of the Imperial Palace of the Hapsburg’s.

Ton has visited this area before on tours, and as we have been traveling the last few years she has kept saying I need to see Vienna and Budapest. Last night we were having a discussion about how to do our visit to Vienna. In the end it seemed very complex so we decided to begin the visit by doing a walking tour of the city and see what it inspired in us.

We arrived downtown a couple of hours before our tour was due to begin so we visited the Nacht Market. The Nacht Market is a permanent market that has been in place for 150 years or so in the median of a major road.

We gave it a pass thru with an eye towards finding a coffee shop. Ton said there was a special pastry we needed to try called a Sacher Torte, since I never need encouragement to try a piece of cake I was all in. Nowhere in the market grabbed us, but just up the street we saw a place. We also ordered the special coffee of Vienna called Melange. They were both good, but neither struck as special, the Melange was a mild form of Latte with coffee instead of espresso, and the Sacher Torte was well… chocolate cake a little on the dry side. We were wondering if we had picked a bad place, but on the tour later the guide who was a native of Vienna, but had lived in France for 28 years gave the exact review of the cake I just gave including the little dry part. He said it was good marketing by the Sacher Cafe. So we felt vindicated.

The walking tour was very well done and the guide was exceptionally knowledgeable and just opinionated enough to give it authenticity. We enjoyed it a great deal.

Our guide called this statue of Mozart an Instagram shot. It is a beautiful statue though.

The tour hit all of the highlights of the center of the city, but he pointed out several museums that he highly recommended. My first impressions of the city had been that it was a typical European city, but the further we walked the more I realized that it was indeed special.

St. Stephen Church. According to our guide until three months ago there had been scaffolding on some part of the church for the previous 30 years.

The tour ended with some recommendations for places to visit away from the center of the city and some restaurants and coffee shops to try. By the end I was sold on a longer stop for Vienna.

We took a quick dive into St. Stephens to check out the interior but it was really crowded so the stop was quick. At the end we took a slow stroll down one of the main streets to the Opera House where we caught a subway back to the campground.

The stables that are home to the famous Lipizzaner stallions of Vienna.

April 13, 2026 Vienna AU

It’s going to be a short one today. Our intent today was to stop near Linz Austria which was about 2 and a half hours from Regensburg. There was only one campsite in Linz and when we arrived about 12:30 it had a sign that registration was closed until 5pm. The barrier was down, but there was a place to punch in a code and a phone number. I tried to call the phone number but no one answered. After about 15 minutes of wandering around we decided to press on to Vienna.

Washing machines at the campground in Vienna.

A new trend we are noticing this trip is a sharp reduction in the hours that the reception is open at campground. Campgrounds are now moving towards an expectation that you will make a reservation on line, and receive all of the information you need to access the campground by email, there is not necessarily someone there to meet you and check you in. We are not great planners, and are not happy about this trend as it does not match our spontaneous planning or our computer skills. When we arrived in Vienna at 3:30 there was someone in reception, but when I went back to ask someone a question at 4:15 the office was closed. This reception is only open from 8 to 4. Late arrivals are on their own.

There are no pictures today as the photographer was uninspired, and I think I will sign off as I am tired from my unexpected 6 hour drive including an hour in Vienna’s rush hour.

April 12, 2026 Regensburg GE

We had a debate yesterday, do we take advantage of the lack of trucks on Sunday and make a big jump of 400 kilometers to Vienna, or do we take it easy sleep in a little and make a short jump of 95 kilometers to Regensburg. After a lot of back and forth, we decided to take it easy today .

I walked right by this old stone wall without noticing it. Ton saw it and caught it on camera.

Also, what a difference a day makes for the weather. Yesterday was glorious, and everyone was enjoying the 70 degree day. This morning we woke to rain, cold, and fog. The rain ended about noon, but it was gray cold and windy today.

The 800 year old bridge Regensburg is famous for.

Today was a day for old things. We visited an 800 year old bridge that in its day was an engineering marvel. The oldest continuous operating restaurant in the world, specializing in sausage. The oldest coffee shop in Europe operating since the 1600’s. Finally a brewery that dates back to 1050.

Advertised as the oldest continuously operating restaurant in the world. They specialize in a local sausage. It is located next to the Danube, and have a dock so boats can pull in and order a meal.

We started out by visiting the cathedral. When we first arrived mass had just ended and the interior was well lit. After a few minutes the lights went out and the interior was quite dark, but it highlighted the stain glass windows that the cathedral is famous for.

The cathedral had very intricate stain glass windows that were the highlight for me.

After the cathedral we walked down to the bridge which was built in the 12th century. It is cleverly named the Steinerne Brucke which means Stone Bridge in German. The bridge has gone thru many changes and modifications over the 800 years in use, but has been in continuous operation since 1146. Until the 1930’s it was the only bridge at Regensburg that crossed the Danube. It is now a pedestrian only bridge.

The gate at the end of the bridge is a modern recreation of the old city gate.

We enjoyed our walk across and lingered a bit as our son Dylan called us from Bangalore in India to chat. Cell phones have made the world a lot smaller than it used to be. When Ton and I were first married the idea of having a telephone conversation with someone in India while standing on a bridge in Germany would have been science fiction.

At this point we were cold so we decided to head to the Beer Hall for a local Benedictine Brewery. The monastery has been producing beer since 1050. I was only planning on having a beer and warming up, but Ton surprised me by suggesting we split a lunch special. The beer was excellent, and the roasted pork was good, but the salad and dumplings were excellent.

Street seen in Regensburg, puffy jackets were the dress of choice and instead of sitting on the cobblestones enjoying the sun like yesterday, everyone had their head down and were walking with a purpose.

Our last stop of the day was the Princess Coffee shop which is advertised as the oldest coffee shop in Europe. We entered a bright and modern shop, and again Ton surprised me by picking out two pastries. They were both delicious, my black coffee cost almost a Euro more than my beer.

Ton liked this street art on a building next to the Rathouse.

After our beer and coffee (and meal and dessert), it was time to head back to François. I was having a hard time with the bus when two people jumped into help us. One looked like a student who spoke English fluently and one was a middle aged lady who looked like a long term native. She had the detailed knowledge of the system and he translated her advice and added some of his own.

The outside seating was abandoned today.

This trip we have had a lot of very fun and friendly interactions with random Germans. Every night at the campground dish washing sink I have ended up in nice conversations about traveling with various Germans. The folks on the bus were charming today, and the young lady who checked me in at the campground today told me proudly that her husband was American also.

November 11, 2026 Nuremberg GE

Today I made some small mistakes that annoyed me, and I hope didn’t annoy Ton too much. We discussed our options for where to go today, and one of the options was Nuremberg, I checked the distance and told Ton it was 278 kilometers. So we decided to head to Nuremberg. The problem was I checked it on Apple maps instead of Google maps, and Apple maps is still set on miles. There is a big difference between 278 kilometers and 278 miles, so out trip today took about an hour and a half longer than I expected. Small mistake number 1. A little irritating.

I have a routine when I pack up the car. Ton takes care of the inside and I do the outside. I usually do things in a certain order so I don’t forget anything. Today I broke my routine and most importantly didn’t do the final walk around to double check everything that is part of the routine. We leave our shower shoes outside François when we park to save room and to keep the wet shoes out. Today I forgot to put them inside before we left and drove away and left them in Koblenz. Mistake number 2 irritating to me and this time to Ton also.

The campground we are staying at in Nuremberg is next to the soccer stadium here, and today they were playing their rival Dresden. The chants were incredibly loud. As we were driving in there was a very heavy police presence. The check in guy said there had been a pretty severe riot at a rivalry game last week in another city so the police weren’t taking any chances today.

Our plan was to take it easy the rest of the afternoon, and head into Nuremberg tomorrow. But while I was checking in Ton checked the weather app and it said there was a 100% chance of rain tomorrow. Since it is beautiful today we decided to hustle into town. We quickly set up and headed by the stadium on our way to the train station. The fans there were in full voice and we could tell it was approaching half time as the beer gardens outside the stadium were filling.

Part of the imperial palace of Nuremberg.

The weather today was beautiful and the people of Nuremberg were out in force. The main pedestrian streets in town were packed with everyone out enjoying a sunny spring day.

When we walked up to this square I told Ton there must be a concert or something as everyone was sitting on the ground facing the same way. There was no concert, just a bunch of people sitting on the cobblestones enjoying sun and a beer.

Nuremberg was much larger than I imagined. When I told Ton this she told me it was the second largest city in Bavaria. I had envisioned a small city like Koblenz, and instead found myself in a city nearly the size of Portland. (Probably small mistake number 3.)

Since we had not planned to come downtown until tomorrow, Ton did not have her usual plan for the visit. Today we winged it, just walking down the main street, and drifting off when we saw something interesting.

This house was behind the brewery we ate in. We wondered about the significance of the Star of David on the home.

We did find some time for some German food, fried pork shoulder, Nuremberg sausages which are much smaller and leaner than the typical German Brautwurst, potato dumplings, and sauerkraut. We chased that down with a couple of beers.

The city from the wall of the imperial palace.

It was a quick visit to Nuremberg and it is a city that probably deserves more than we gave it today, but this trip is supposed to be about Hungary and Slovakia so we made the decision to move on to the east tomorrow.

April 10, 2026 Koblenz GE

We had a relaxing day in Koblenz. We weren’t in a big hurry to get going and enjoyed our breakfast and coffee before heading into town this morning. The weather turned overnight and our coats and warm hats came back out for today.

There were several river cruise boats in town this morning.

Koblenz is a nice compact town that is easy to walk. We walked down to the big monument that the town is known for. It is a giant statue of Kaiser Wilhelm I that is at the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle. It is known as the German Corner. The monument is huge, and black from pollution, and didn’t appeal to either of us as a monument or art.

We liked this fountain better than the Kaiser Wilhelm monument.

Around 80% of Koblenz was destroyed during WWII. The town was rebuilt to replicate what was there before the war. We hit all of the usual spots. The churches were nice, the squares had the normal array of nice cafes and restaurants, and the churches were pretty.

This fountain is called the spitting boy, it is the unofficial symbol of the town. Unfortunately he wasn’t spitting today.

After covering the town we headed to a bakery that Ton had identified. She wanted a Baumkuchen cake. The cake is famous in this area, but her experience eating the cake was in Japan where it is very popular. She wanted to compare the original with the copy.

The bakery was in the commercial center away from the tourist quarter. We sat down and of course the menu was in German. Luckily our waitress made things simple by explaining that if we wanted a pastry we went up to the display and told them what we wanted and it would be delivered. The person at the counter was bemused by my pronunciation of Baumkuchen but figured out what I wanted after my second try. I didn’t even try to pronounce the strawberry pastry I wanted but just pointed at it. Ton really enjoyed her Baumkuchen, but ultimately liked the Japanese version she had better.

These four buildings are another of the main attractions in Koblenz.

After our delicious lunch we were walking thru the town when we came to a sandwich place that had a long line of locals waiting patiently. We were looking at it and trying to figure out what the attraction was. While we were standing in the road a nice lady came up and very enthusiastically explained to us in German what the attraction was. The place is famous for its very inexpensive and hearty sandwiches. I regretted that we had just finished our pastries as I really wanted to try the €2.20 Schnitzel sandwich.

We walked around a little while longer before heading back to the campground. Towards the end of the day the sun tried to peek through which was nice. As we were sitting in François Ton asked me what the highlight of Koblenz was and I told her it was our pastries, and she said it was the same for her.

On our way back to the campground we saw this beautiful portrait on the side of a building.

Ton made me a delicious dinner. After dinner I happened to look out the window and saw a hot air balloon over the river. It turns out there were six hot air balloons doing a fly by (drift by?) of a Koblenz. They drew a lot of people out of their campers to watch them slowly go by.

Since we were out Ton went on a little photo walk before we headed into François to warm up before bed. The days are getting longer here and sunset now is near 9pm which is nice.

April 9, 2026 Koblenz GE

We moved about 200 kilometers today to Koblenz. Ton and I have spent the last couple of days trying to remember whether we had already been here. The name sounded vaguely familiar to both of us, but neither of us could remember any details. After researching the blog and Tons photos we determined we had not been to Koblenz so it became today destination.

Giant castle overlooking the confluence of the Rhine and the Moselle, and our campground.

When we arrived at about 1 pm we were surprised how full the campground looked, we ended up in overflow, which isn’t so bad as we have all of the amenities of the campground, but overflow costs €20 less, so we consider it a win.

We debated whether to stay one or two nights, but quickly decided on two so we can have a full day to explore the town. We spent the rest of today at a Lidl restocking our refrigerator and chilling in François. The views from François are quite nice, and even though we are about 100 yards as the crow flies from the center of town, we will have to walk about 3/4 of a mile tomorrow to get there as the Moselle River is on the crows route.

After our shopping trip we settled in for a nice dinner and a relaxing evening watching the river and drinking Belgian and Dutch beer.

April 8, 2026 Maastricht NE

Maastricht is a town on a small handle of land that sticks down between Germany and Belgium. If you travel 20 kilometers east you are in Germany if you travel to the western city limits you are in Belgium and if you travel 20 kilometers south you are also in Belgium.

The Market Square actually had a market going on it today. Good for shopping, bad for pictures of pretty buildings.

We had stopped near Maastricht on our third visit to Europe way back before Covid. We did not go into town, but had bookmarked it for a future trip. A quick bus ride from the campground deposited us on the riverfront in the center of town. The Maas River (in Belgium and France it is called the Meuse River) cuts thru the center of the city.

Most of the town is located on the west bank of the river which is where we were headed. It is an old town that dates back to the Celts around 500 BC. The Romans had a small town here. It became a major city in the middle ages and was a prosperous river trading city.

This church is called Onze-Lieve Vrouwebasilik. Built in the 1200’s

Today the town is a shopping destination for all three countries in the area. So we weren’t that surprised to find a bustling town. The weather was almost perfect with clear skies and temperatures in the low 70’s.

We started at the market and as usual enjoyed window shopping (or is it table shopping when there are no windows), but the market blocked all of the pretty photos, so after a while we moved on.

St. Johns Church on the left, and St.Servatius Basilica on the right.

Maastricht was on the “border” between Catholic Europe and Protestant Europe during the reformation. As a result as you approach the main church in town it looks like one gigantic church. When you get closer you notice there is a small road splitting the building. It turns out there are two churches side by side, one with an interesting red tower is Protestant, and the larger one is Catholic.

The kids section of the Dominican Church Book Store.

Ton and I are both big fans of libraries and bookstores and today we found our most memorable one. The Dominican Church Book Store is in a repurposed 13th century church. It is spectacular, and we were both thrilled when we entered it.

The main floor shows its origins as a church.

We spent quite a while walking thru and exploring all of the corners of the store. We both thought that this was a wonderful use of a deconsecrated church.

The arches really gave this section a special airy feel. The light was brighter and the stones shined differently than in the rest of the bookstore.

The place was full of other people who were just as impressed and awed as we were. We could have spent the whole day there but I was getting hungry so we reluctantly left to find some local food. Finding places like this in small cities is one of the reasons I love traveling like we do.

One last picture of one of my new favorite places.

On the way to lunch we saw the entrance for a church that did not look that special from the outside. We were glad we entered though as the magic of this church was on the inside. The Onze-Lieve Vrouwebasilik was much larger on the inside than it looked from the street. Not only did you get to visit the main church but you are allowed to visit the nice garden in the living area for the nuns who used to be here. It was another unexpected surprise delivered to us today.

Part of the interior of Onze-Lieve Vrouwebasilik.

We set out to find lunch and specifically a dish called Zuurvlees a stew that traditionally was made from horse meat but today is done in beef. The stew has a tangy sour taste and is quite dark. It is usually served with fried potatoes that you dip into the stew. We found a place serving it and ordered one for the two of us. It was delicious and just the right size for us to share.

Our Zuurvlees that we shared along with a Dutch and a Belgian beer.

After lunch we strolled around for a while people watching, and despite it being a Wednesday the people were out in force. As I said the sunshine and warm temperatures seemed to have everyone’s spirits up so it was a jolly crowd walking around town. After a while we crossed the Maas and walked to our bus stop for a trip back to François.

A nice street of homes on the way to the train station.

April 7, 2026 Maastricht NE

Today we completed our trip to Tilburg by visiting the site that put the city on our map. Just outside Tilburg is another Abbey brewery. The Brouwerij de Koningshoeven brews beer under the trademark La Trappe. When we were looking for a place to settle for Easter we picked Tilburg because of the Abbey brewery.

The brewery is relatively young. The Abbey was founded by French Monks who moved to the Netherlands in the 1880’s. They took over an abandoned royal hunting lodge. To help sustain the Abbey they began brewing beer. The beer caught on and turned into the major source of income for the monastery.

A picture of 3 monks and one decidedly unholy man.

To be designated as an Abbey beer the production must meet three criteria. The beer must be produced on the ground of the Abbey. The beer must be produced by or supervised by a monk. And any profits from the beer must be given to charity.

The problem is that the number of monks is dwindling every year. At Konigshoeven there were 180 monks in the 1950’s. Today there are 18, and the average age is 66. The youngest monk is 35. Several other abbey breweries have lost their designation because they no longer had a monk on site due to death and retirement.

The church and the dormitory for the monks. Part of the dormitory is now run as a hotel as there are many more rooms than monks.

They produce 1 million liters of La Trappe beer per year which is a lot of beers for 18 monks. Today most of the work is done by non-monks. They also have a tie in with a corporation that causes some discomfort for purists.

At the end we were treated to a taste of the beer and it was delicious. Later in the day we did a comparison of the beer from here with a bottle we had from the Abbey we visited in Belgium. They were both delicious, and unique.

Our motivation for 4 nights in Tilburg Netherlands. It was worth it.

After the tour we finally started heading east and ended our day in Maastricht Netherlands, near the German (and Belgian) border. The afternoon was spent taking care of laundry which always makes us happy.

April 6, 2026 Turnhout BE

Today we decided to take a quick trip into Belgium from Tilburg. The primary reason is to buy fuel for François. The diesel in Belgium is 30 t0 50 cents per liter less than the Netherlands. In fact in the morning I ran into one of the campground workers and he asked our plans for the day. When I told him we were going to pop into Belgium for fuel- he laughed and said that we were now officially Tilburgers, as they all did that, he also mentioned we should get some beer while we were there.

The sun was out and the temperatures reached the 60’s.

We took a walk around Turnhout the town in Belgium and it is a nice market city that looks quite prosperous. Ton and I were talking and I mentioned that I liked Belgium better than the Netherlands. Ton agreed, the differences are minor (Flemish and Dutch are virtually the same language), but we have had more fun interactions with Belgians than with Dutch, we love Belgian beer, and the towns seem a little warmer and pedestrian friendly.

Our selection of Belgian Beers. The interior of the bar also had a great vibe.

To follow thru on the advice of the campground guy we stopped in a really cool pub to try a couple of the local brews. The highlight was from a brewery called Corsendonk. This is a former Trappist Brewery founded in the 1400’s that is now not affiliated with the church, but still brewing great beer. We really enjoyed the beer, and Ton put it to a test by ordering her go to Belgian beer to compare, the Corsendonk beat it convincingly. Unfortunately, like our other favorite Belgian beer, very little of this beer gets out of Belgium.

Another pub we were tempted by. The bicycle team was enjoying a post ride hydration session.

We visited a couple of other historic sites that every medium to large city has, including a small castle, and the church. But, we were drawn to the pubs. There were several, but we had to stick to the one or I wouldn’t have been able to drive back to Tilburg.

Turnhout was a pleasant surprise for us, and “turned out” to be more than just a place to get cheap gas. It is a great little town with good vibes and world class beer. Just perfect for us. Belgium continues to surprise and delight us.

The old castle, which is now the city court.

On the way out of town we got our “cheap” diesel. It was still more than $10 per gallon. However, the beer was half the price of Dutch beer, and less than we would pay in Oregon.

When we returned to the campground, the good weather and holiday had brought a big crowd in the park. We got to enjoy a lot of people watching while we enjoyed an excellent dinner Ton prepared. Also, Happy Birthday Ton.

April 5, 2026 Tilburg NE

We mostly took Easter Sunday off. The wind was blowing a gale with occasional squalls of rain. We took the opportunity to sleep in, and then had a slow go at the morning.

The campground is located in reclaimed industrial land that was once a switch yard for the rail road. The park is large and wide open. It has been well used since we have been here. We spent most of the day watching hearty souls trying to have family picnics in a gale. It was pretty entertaining for us, maybe less so for the picnickers.

One of the groups trying to have a picnic in a gale.

Yesterday when we walked by a big Albert Heijn they had a sign saying they were open 365 days per year which is unusual in Europe. Early in the afternoon we decided to test that statement and took a quick walk there. Even though we didn’t think that we needed anything we somehow ended up coming back with two full bags of groceries. That was the highlight of our Easter.

April 4, 2026 Tilburg NE

We checked out Tilburg today. It is the 5th largest city in the Netherlands. When the textile industry collapsed in the 1960’s the city went thru a period of modernization and one mayor in particular oversaw the razing of many of the older buildings in the city to replace them with “modern” buildings. His decision to tear down the historic city hall and replace it with a nine story black rectangle is particularly lamented now.

The old roundhouse at the railroad station has been converted into a food hall.

The skyline is filled with typical office towers and high rise apartments. We tend to like Dutch modern architecture a little better than what we see in the US, but it is still mostly tall rectangles.

Lately the city has been trying to repurpose the older buildings rather than tear them down. The best example is the city library which was built in an old locomotive repair building.

They have done a fantastic job of converting the interior of this industrial space into a modern and airy library. It retains some of the details from the old use including a 30 ton crane that was used to lift the locomotives. But the library space is well done and quite airy. Both Ton and I really enjoyed walking around the building and admiring the details that went into the conversion. This building is really unique. Ton really enjoys libraries and book shops and they are unfortunately becoming fewer and fewer in this digital age. This library is one of her favorites.

After we left the library we headed into the city center. Yesterday the town seemed kind of quiet, but Saturday brought out the local people and the town was much more vibrant. We were enjoying the town when we saw the main church and headed in. In a country that is mostly Protestant this part of the country is Catholic so we were curious to see the church.

As we entered a gentleman hit us with a quick blast of Dutch and as soon as he could tell it did not register he switched to English. Ton and I were talking about how spoiled we are in the Netherlands. Very few Dutch do not speak English well, and as a result we have learned almost no Dutch. Also, some of the common words are the same such Hello, and Sorry, words you usually learn in other languages.

The spontaneous for us afternoon cello concert.

To get back to the story, he told us there was a concert getting ready to start at the front of the church and we were welcome to sit in. A young cellist gave a very nice 45 minute concert that I really enjoyed. He was a very talented young man and did a terrific job. We were glad we walked in when we did.

Our next stop was the port in Tilburg. It is a river port as we are quite a way inland. It was a nice walk and they had a few interesting old canal boats docked there.

Walking back we came upon the Saturday market and Tons day was made. We spent a lot of time going from stand to stand and ended up with some rotisserie chicken, and white asparagus. We also indulged in what the Dutch call kibble, which is fried cod. The markets never disappoint over here.

After the market we decided to head back to François to enjoy our chicken and relax for the rest of the day.

April 3, 2026 Tilburg NE

We made our first move of the trip about 120 kilometers south to the college town of Tilburg. We are going to spend a few days in this area as our primary motivation is to visit the only Trappist Abby brewery outside of Belgium which is in Tilburg.

This intersection had this very interesting wait figure. It really looks like a guy peeing into a bucket. The green figure is a guy carrying a bucket. Whimsical?

But because Easter is one of the major holidays in Europe we were nervous and pre-booked ourselves into a campground for the whole weekend. We have run into problems finding places to stay on Easter in Greece, Poland, and Spain so we didn’t want to take any chances. I thought I was booking us into a major campground, but it turns out to be a small but well appointed municipal aire. When we pulled up we were a little taken aback, as it is a single row of parking spaces that only holds about 10 RV’s wedged between a large apartment building and a very nice park.

This observation tower is in the park next to our “campground”. Ton has challenged me to climb it tomorrow.

The good news it is almost in the city center, and near the train station so we can use Tilburg as a base to go to a couple of near by towns. We may also take a day trip to Belgium to get cheaper Belgian fuel. The Netherlands has the highest fuel prices in Europe and the price has exploded since the Iran war. Today we saw fuel between €2.50 and 2.80 per liter, which is well north of $10 per gallon.