We got an early start to my most exciting place, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang castle, I can’t explain how excited I was, not even slightly dented by the crappy head cold I woke up with. \u00a0The castle was only five minutes away from the campsite but when we got up there was a mist so thick you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. \u00a0R doesn’t really understand my obsession with that film but he indulged me without complaint. \u00a0As we approached the cloud cleared and there it was, absolutely like a fairy story and only a half an hour route march vertically up the mountain! \u00a0There was scaffolding and hundreds of Chinese tourists (taking photos of Sunny) but I didn’t care, I was there and it was perfect I only wish my Dad had been with me. \u00a0I didn’t cry quite as much as when I met the actual car but I’m a bit more grown up now!<\/p>\n
We left having stuffed our faces with German sausage and drove towards Austria because now I was on a mission to see where Heidi lived in Switzerland. \u00a0The drive through that part of Bavaria to the Austrian Tyrol was like being in an advert for perfection, the houses were white with wood and painted shutters, they all had flowers in their window boxes, there were no weeds anywhere, every blade of grass was the same length, there was no litter, the cows were beautiful, the leaves had fallen off the trees in perfect little piles, the mountains were superb and the sun was glinting on the peaks. \u00a0After one hour of this utter perfection our eyes were hurting, it was, and I am embarrassed to admit this, boring. Every turn was stunning but exactly the same, I imagine it must be on pain of death that you have a messy cow or your chickens escape.<\/p>\n
We arrived in Austria and it was deserted, we only crossed the very tip between Germany and Switzerland but nobody was there, it was eerie. \u00a0Apparently it was a bank holiday but it seemed that everyone had been confined to quarters and it was a relief to get to Switzerland which was open. \u00a0We stayed in Maienfeld which is the town in Heidi so that I could walk up the Alm and see where the whole thing was set. \u00a0The reception was closed when we arrived but a lovely rotund and shiny man welcomed us and said we should choose a spot and go back to reception at six o’clock which I did. \u00a0The Swiss people get points for being far friendlier than I expected, an actual gnome (bearded not banker) held the door open for me and then the fat man’s brother came over to say hello, I swear they were living tweedle dum and tweedle dee.<\/p>\n
Showers were hot temperature dropping.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We got an early start to my most exciting place, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang castle, I can’t explain how excited I was, not even slightly dented by the crappy head cold I woke up with. \u00a0The castle was only five minutes away from the campsite but when we got up there was a mist so … <\/p>\n