Post It from Camping Lienzer Dolomiten, Tassenbach, Dolomite Alps, Austria. Tuesday 5th May, 2015.

For the first time in recent days we awoke to a warm morning with no rain for the past 24 hours. The sky was clear and by the time we left the sun was shining. Our planned drive along the old Brennerpass road rather than the motorway to Italy was a treat we were looking forward to. Commercial vehicles over 3.5 tonnes and anything drawing a trailer was not allowed to use this road but we saw many lorries using it, albeit they appeared to be connected with businesses along the route. Some on the camp site had said that they had been advised not to take the old road as it had gone into a state of disrepair and there were many overhanding rock faces that cars could clear but we may not. But as Peedee had said in one of his blogs it was a good road to take so we decided it would be the best one for us also.

We wanted to see more of the scenery and be able to stop, should we wish to. We certainly saw the scenery as we climber to Brenner on the Italian border but stopping places with the good views were scarce. The first photo is one of the views from the initial section of the road from Innsbruck followed by one showing the new motorway up above and finally the town of Brenner’s main street. All were taken as we were driving by Sharon so sorry if they appear out of focus a little.

I had wanted to stop in Brenner and have a coffee now that we were in Italy but the place was heaving with traffic and there was nowhere for us to park. There were lots of outlet shops along the main road and we soon discovered why it was so busy. On the south edge of the town along the main road were hundreds of parked cars and there was a large open air market by the road side.

I must say that the actual road was absolutely fine for our 8m/4 tonne size and I was surprised that the climbs were not steep or as bendy as I anticipated. There was no sign of disrepair on the Austrian side and the Italian side was only marginally worse road surfaces but a wider road. The real surprise for me was my fuel consumption. I had set the trip computer when we left home and had travelled about 1100 miles so far. Somewhere on day 2 it had said our average mpg was 29.0 miles and it had not really changed much either side and it remained at 29 at the start and end of crossing the Austrian Alps with a slight dip to 28.8 in the middle. That shows how sad I must be for checking these things but I get it from my late father and hopefully not any more of his idiosyncrasies’ Sharon says!

We kept off the Autostrader in Italy and eventually headed east again from Brixen back towards Austria along the E66 towards Lienz. This road was quite busy with cars and HGV’s and traced the valley between the Dolomite Alps. I had read that driving in Italy was a risk business but this was my first time doing so. True to form what I had read was correct with cars overtaking at really bad times and places along winding roads having blatant disregard for the rules of the road and speed limits. The biggest shock was when I glanced in my wing mirror to see an articulated fuel tanker overtaking me in the 30 mph zone of a town with a solid white central line causing me to brake to allow him safely back in as a car approached! There was no need I was doing the correct speed myself. A twin trailer SPAR deliver lorry also pulled out in front of me on a roundabout once he saw I was going in the same direction he was and I guess he did not want to follow me at the speeds I would be likely driving. I followed him instead.

We stopped for lunch at Perca in Italy and when I visited the supermarket, whose car park we were stopped on, I discovered they spoke German here. I had noticed many of the names on the guest houses appeared to my untrained eye to be similar to those in Austria so I asked why they spoke German and not Italian. The young lady at the baker counter, who spoke perfect English, said the area had been Austrian previously and only became a part of Italy after the war, I did not like to ask which war.

All along this valley there were ski resorts with the slopes evident as green strips between the forested mountain sides and the chair lifts rising to the tops. The campsite owner said there were too many really. We noticed there were quite a few paragliders circling the mountains today although there were still patches of snow on the ski slopes but then the mountains either side of the valley did rise as high as almost 3000m with the camp site being at 1100m itself.

The drive from Innsbruck to Villach, our intended destination in Austria was around 190 miles and as we would not be making fantastic time on the roads we chose to take we decided we would break the journey up half way with an overnight stop. I found this site from the ACSI App and it was along the route, promised spectacular views of the Dolomites, new showers and free Wi-Fi and was exactly half way.

It was such a beautiful day we thought we would arrive early afternoon and enjoy the sun. The camp site was basic but as promised all the toilet block facilities were new and immaculately cleaned by the owners themselves. The Wi-Fi was available but very slow so I shall see if it is possible to post this story and the photographs. The last two are the views from our pitch on the site. They really were worth seeing and the temperatures were still 27ºC in the late afternoon sun as we enjoyed it sat by the van, it was so pleasant and tranquil I got all the gear out of the ‘garage’ and cooked the evening meal outside. Even Smokee got outside for a while to bask in the sun, we have started something now he will want to be outside all the time again as on previous tours.

The area seemed very good not only for winter sports but paragliding etc. was apparent as was cycling. There was a train station close to the camp site and I saw that you could put your bikes in special carriages on the trains to get the most out of the area and services.

Regards, Roy