If you decide to cross the
whole Europe on your car/van, for whatever reason, these are a few things you
can do and visit, on a wild mood and outside the big cities.
I had to cross Europe from the
Iberian Peninsula to Scandinavia a couple of times, both south-north and
north-south directions, being my reasons not important for the purpose of this
report. On my last crossing of the continent (July 2020) me and my partner,
accompanied by two dogs, decided to take some extra time to add a bit of
excitement and make this long trip worth and less tiring. We’ve connected
Granada, in the south of Spain (a city with surroundings worth an experience by
itself), to Värnamo, in the Swedish province of Småland, where one can find
enough lakes, wild forests and bicycle trails that could justify a visit for some
active holidays. If the shortest distance between those starting and arrival
points is, normally, 3.500 kilometers, possible to cover in 3 days, this time,
with a few detours and a 10 days trip, we have covered around 4.600 km.
Here is how we did it…
From Granada, via Teruel and
Zaragoza, we drove to/stopped for a few days at Val d’Aran, in the Pyrenees,
bordering Aragon and Cataluña provinces with the south of France. There, we camped
in the small village of Arties, took a few hiking trails near the ski resort of
Baqueira-Beret, and jumped in the cold waters of the little lake d’Aiguamòg. If
you are fit for climbing, you can start straight from Arties and test yourself
on the iconic peak of Montado, 2833 meters high, or hike the trails to Salardú
behind which you’ll find a challenging via ferrata. The touristic town of Viella
was quite busy (despite the Covid19 crises) so we avoided it. Alternatively you
can also drive the panoramic road to Sort; or choose the valley of Ainsa-Bielsa
for wonderful hikes and mountain climbs; or even the Benasque valley – only take
into account that the last one has no connection to France and the Bielsa one
has it but the road on the French side gets pretty steep downhill and leads to
no major road right away. Recommended in Arties: the pizzeria ‘La Oca’; as a
curiosity, there are two very small spring pools, on the other side of the
river from the camping site (a 10 minute walk and a cost of 3 Euros pp).
Passing the Pyrenees, we used some side roads to get to the highway of Toulouse and, passing the medieval town (UNESCO site) of Carcassone, we got to Narbone and use the highways of the whole south coast of France to reach Italy. Remember never to drive in the south of France near the 15th and 31st of July (or 1st, 15th and 31st of August), because that is where all the French will go! We only found very busy roads near to Nice-Monaco. Arriving at the Ligurian province of Italy we found the first traffic jams due to road works and just had time to look for the first camping in Ventimiglia, by the beach. Camping sites by the beach are absolutely not recommended in the summer, especially in Italy (they are crowded and even the prices are higher than in France or Spain). Having overcome the slight inconvenience we crossed Italy from west to east, direction Rimini (highways A21, A1, A14, to Alessandria, Parma, Modena, Bologna, Imola), on the Adriatic Sea. Close to it there was a special rendez-vouz awaiting for me: the Gran Titano hill, a cliff 739 meters high, in the mini Republic of San Marino, on the top of which there is a three tower fortress which original core is older than the year 1253. This detour to the curiously announced as the ‘terra dela libertá’, forced us to drive around some extra 900 km, totally not worthwhile if you don’t have to. At the RSM they have only one camping, with a very good location (away from noise) and facilities (dog friendly), but quite expensive compared to others. Gasoline, though, is cheaper in RSM. After this quick stop-over we’ve continued north, to the Alps. That night we found a camping on a lido somewhere between Rimini and Ravena, but then again camp sites by the beach are not recommended in the summer!
The Dolomites were the
second highlight of this trip, and there we went passing by Venezia and
Belluno. In Cortina d’Ampezzo we found the most worth camp site (Camping
Dolomiti) and stayed for 3 nights using it as the base for our daily hikes. One
of them took us to the Aial lake and further up to the Federà lake (2050
meters), on a very interesting circular route of 6 hours (we only found people
by the rifugio Croda da Lago, coming
from other directions). The possibilities are infinite and you can dare to walk
down to other valleys and get a bus back. On the other days we strolled around
Cortina, tried their ice-creams and pizzas (these were not better than the ones
of the Pyrenees!), and hiked on the east mountain blocks (from the river Boite)
where you can reach the plateau of the Faloria gondola, or dare on the via
ferrata ‘Club ski 18’. You can also drive to many other trail heads and start hiking
from there. If you come here, plan your hikes in advance otherwise you will
feel overwhelmed with so many choices. We regretted having to leave and will
want to come back in the future.
Back on our way to the
north, we admired the views of the Tre Cima di Lavaredo and other peaks, and the
lakes of Landro and Dobbiaco, as we saw many bikers along the smooth trails of
the Rienza river. We could’ve taken the road to Innsbruck, straighter and
shorter, but instead, reaching the town of Dobbiaco, we went east, admiring the
whole valley of the river Drava (or Drau), stretching all the way across the
Austrian border and into the town of Lienz, surprised and excited by its
innumerous possibilities of trails, peaks, and mountain resorts. We wanted to
drive the Grossglockner road!
The iconic road starts to go
uphill short after you pass the bucolic village of Heiligenblut, where you get
the first views of the highest peak in Austria (Grossglockner, almost 4.000
meters high), hiding right behind the pointy church tower as you enter the
village. The simple camping site on a smooth green lawn is inviting but the
weather is good and we keep going up. The toll to drive on the road reaching a
pass at more than 2.500 meters high (closed from November to May) is not cheap:
37 Euros! As the last bit of the road to the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe viewpoint
(2.370m) is packed, we decide to park by the Alpinvereinhaus Restaurant (at
2.131m) and walk down the hill, cross the dam that holds the Speicher
Margaritze lake, walk up on the other side until you have the magnificent views
of the Pasterze glacier. There we had our pic-nic before heading to the pass…
The traffic was intense, a lot cabriolets showing off, many cyclists
challenging themselves… and then there was an accident (apparently one
motorcycle and one road bicycle collided) and it took us some time down the
curvy road, to arrive at Zell am See.
There are 3 main camping
sites around the lake Zeller, and alternatives by Kaprun (access to the ski
resort opened in the summer). The first one was full and we ended at the
Panoramic Camping. After settling in we ran to the almost crowded beach on the
lake side for a deserved swim. That evening, a sudden summer storm came down on
the camping but it went away as fast as it came. The weather was unstable so we
skipped the hikes to the top of the Hundstein (2.117m, the highest around the
lake) and the Imbachhorn (2.470m, by the entrance of the Kaprun valley). Zell
am See was once a highlight but this time it was bit too full for our taste, so
we did not stay longer. Instead, we continued north, looking for surprises on the
German Alps. Several possibilities were presented to us right around the corner,
among which: river rafting in Lofer, just before the border; or hiking/climbing
the second highest of Germany (Watzmann, 2.713m), in the Berchtesgaden National
Park. Don’t forget to fill your gas tank before leaving Austria: the price is
the cheapest we’ve seen (cheaper than in Spain). Again we had intense traffic
across the border, due to road works, but we arrived at the Chiemsee lake on
time for a nice swim and lunch. Passing Munich we finished the day on a camping
site (Azzur campingpark) in Ingoldstadt, on time for a beer and another last swim
on the Auwaldsee little lake, right next to our tent.
To arrive in Sweden you can
either drive straight north through Leipzig, Berlin and Rostock and take a 6
hours ferry to Trelleborg (or 8-10 to Malmö), in which case you should stop at
the white sand beaches of the Peninsula Skanör Falsterbo, where you might be
lucky enough to spot some seals; or drive through Magdeburg, Hannover, Hamburg,
Lübeck and Fehman island, where the ferry from Puttgarten takes you to Denmark in
only 45 minutes (costs some 115 Euros for car + 2 persons, but the Öresund bridge,
connecting Copenhagen-Malmö, will cost some extra 60 Euros). If you have some
time left, you might want to drive from Munich to Frankfurt, cross to Belgium (back
to the Ruhr area through Aachen) and visit the Signal du Botrange, the highest
point of the country, on a 694 meters high plateau, around which you will find
nice trails both for hiking or mountain biking. To get there, coming from Luxemburg
(south), you will drive on bucolic roads between St. Vith and Malmédy, and find
small lakes (like the Lac Robertville) and hided castles.
Once in Värnamo (after
crossing the Ostsee, the Danish islands, and driving 2 hours north from the
city of Malmö) you might want to visit Store Mosse, the largest bog area south
of Lapland and one of the most significant National Parks (there are 30 in
Sweden). Store Mosse is rich in bird life and, not just there but through the whole
province, you might be lucky to find and pick big and juicy raspberries, blueberries,
lingonberries, and also kantareller (eatable mushrooms that cost
fortunes in the markets).
See more photos and a short video bellow, and… enjoy the ride!
Previous articles & photos of adventures on this blog: Aventuras literárias de José Tavares; Balkans: several in one…; Climb Mount Fuji; Short video of the Paraguaçu’s Atlantic crossing; The Annapurna circuit is moribund!; From the Baltic to the Kattergatt sea, by kayak; Around Menorca by kayak; Inverno duro, viagens de meia estação!; Next Challenges, 2019; Europa summits – ‘The highest peak of every European country’; Arctic summits – ‘Scandi Peaks 2017’; Greenland crossing 2017 (and Iceland); Iran – Caucasus 2016 – What they don’t tell you on blogs about Iran and the Caucasus; South America trails 2015 – part 1/2; South America trails 2015 – my route – part 2/2; From Ararat to Athos: 3.000 km across Turkey on a bicycle; Crónicas viageiras… nos Balcãs; ‘Ensaio sobre a Solidão’; Esquiar a 8 mil metros e remar no Atlântico…; Os novos exploradores e a aventura dos sentidos; Crónicas de glaciares - ‘Noruega II’; Preparação para a grande Travessia; Crónicas da Noruega I; 3 Peaks Challenge; Novas; Liquidação Total; Périplo maltês; Voltas ao Mundo; Novos livros a caminho…; Horizonte branco II; Horizonte branco – passagens do meu diário de expedição no Alasca…; Ambientes monótonos para escapar … da monotonía!?!; Fim do projecto Ice Care… ; Boa, João!; Pausa nas aventuras…; Mulheres Aventureiras I; Mulheres Aventureiras II; Viajantes e protagonistas…; Ice Care #2, a Partida…; No capítulo ‘Desporto de intervenção’…; Hora de responsabilidade…; 350 …; Aventura ao Máximo – errata; Alterações climáticas e eficiência energética; Viajar e encontrar-se…; Vulcões de Auvergne; Glaciares em agonia; Ice Care in Switzerland; Portugal Bike Tour 09; Trecho do novo livro ‘Os Novos Exploradores e a Aventura dos Sentidos’; A publicação de ‘Aventura ao Máximo’; …
Östersund bridge Denmark-Sweden