To Germany in the Vito

[BTB 500]

Just got back from our annual visit to the wife's family in the south of Germany:

Virtually all of that was the round trip ... we were mostly chauffeured around in the in-laws R350L

The V6 Vito Dualiner is a great family vehicle

3 kids and 2 dogs on the outbound leg (the 3 oldest dogs stayed with friends)

Even managed to give it a quick wash before we left

My wife's parents and her grandmother have houses at each end of a shared garden. We stay in the upstairs flat of her grandmother's house

We went to a local tree adventure place ... been there before but the kids love it. BTB junior (4 years old) just went on the low 'circuit', supervised by grandma

The others kitted out (brother-in-law and his wife + oldest kid)

Just the 2 dogs on the way back - the kids are staying with their grandparents for a couple of weeks ... result :bannana:

Had a great day in the Alps while we were there ... part 2 to follow!

 

[Mr B.]

looks fun how was the drive

 

[BTB 500]

So on Wednesday we went to the Alps

Junior BTB covered the same distance as everyone else (my pedometer recorded 29,000 steps, mostly on pretty steep terrain - we were all knackered next day!)

Dunno what these were, but they were pretty

Ran into quite a few of these - you could hear them clonking/clanging from miles off!

Some of the paths were a bit hairy ... wouldn't want to try them in bad weather

Managed to find a nice mountaintop for a picnic though

BTB junior insisted on a ride in one of these

Finished the day off at a nearby ravine with a river at the bottom of it ... this was the beginning

Went back a long way into the mountain, where it got higher, narrower, and steeper!

You need to pick your time to visit though - there can be over 6 metres of water above the walkway

 

[BTB 500]

looks fun how was the drive

Not bad. Went out on Monday morning, lots of roadworks in Germany which held us up a bit at the end of the journey.

We had a great run home up to the Eurotunnel (train delayed - power failure I think), then the M25 was pretty slow

Interesting to see that 'middle lane hoggers' are everywhere in Europe now - locals, not tourists. Used to be almost unheard of.

 

[HB]

Fabulous bill.

 

[BTB 500]

We were based near Leonberg, went to Stuttgart one day when the weather was a bit grotty but ended up shopping rather than my suggestion of a repeat visit to the M-B Museum! Oh well, next time ...

 

[Dieselman]

You need to pick your time to visit though - there can be over 6 metres of water above the walkway

Did you notice the water gets deeper in chronological order.

Any idea why?

 

[BTB 500]

The other weird thing is that the high water levels are not when you'd really expect them to be (springtime, when the snow is melting). Perhaps they just result from sudden heavy rainfall, which I guess can happen anytime and may be getting more common due to climate change etc.?

The level was relatively low when we were there, but there were some huge tree trunks etc. wedged high up in the rocks so it was obvious how bad it can be sometimes. Also a few twisted and mangled steel girders visible!