Sunday
7th January 2007

After a pleasant afternoon spent at a Affined in Panormo we said our goodbyes set off on the uneventful drive into Heraklion for the evening ferry to Piraeus. The ferry journey was smooth and the service as usual was exceptional. The only unpleasant feature of the trip, which was not unique to the boat was the cigarette smoke. Greeks smoke everywhere without any consideration whatsoever for non-smokers. Theoretically there are non-smoking tables in the restaurant on board but the tables are right next to tables where smoking is permitted and so it it is impossible to escape the smoke. The vast majority of people seem to have a cigarette on the go most of the time. However balanced against this is the rule on board which prevent passengers using the comfortable lounges as sleeping areas. It is nice to be able to sit in comfort without feeling you are in a youth hostel dormitory. - P&O and Sea France please take note!

Monday

By 6 am we were off the boat and working our way out of the docks towards the Patras road. The return journey was easier as we had some idea where we were going but for insurance purposes we followed one of many Patras bound coaches until we were on the national road. The traffic in Piraeus is just as bad at 6 am as it is as 5 pm!

We left the National highway a couple of hundred meters before the Corinth canal so that we could take a couple of photographs. Although the sun had not yet risen we managed to park adjacent to a bridge over the canal and managed to photograph (hand-held) a ship being towed through the canal from north to south.

With over ten hours to make the trip to Patras we decided not to rejoin the National road but instead we drove the coast road most of the way to Patras. The first 30 miles or so past Corinth were not overly inspiring but the further west we drove the better the beaches and towns became. We made many stops before eventually taking a drive over the mountains before descending to take a photograph of the car by the bridge outside Patras.

The overnight Minoan ferry trip was without incident - the sea was as smooth as a mill pond for the whole journey and we had a good night's sleep. We did make one observation regarding the pricing of the restaurants on the International (Patras/Ancona)ferry compared to the domestic (Heraklion/Piraeus) ferry. Although both boats are very similar there is a noticeable difference between the food and drink charges on the two routes. For example a mixed grill for two people costs 15 euros on the domestic route (7.50 each) whereas the same meal on the Italian route cost 24 Euros (12.00 each). The cover charge on the domestic routes is 1.50 whereas it is 2 Euros on the international boat. A half bottle of Minoan red wine on the domestic boat is 7.50 and on the international boat it is 8.50 and so on. There was no perceivable difference in food quality. Even with the price difference the food is good value for money.

Tuesday

Most of the day was spent at sea. After a mainly sunny journey we arrived in fog at Ancona and had to wait for about 45 minutes whilst other ferries ahead of us navigated the port entrance - we were on the road by about 1600 hours - about 2 hours after the boat was scheduled to arrive in port. Minoan literature does state quite clearly that there can be a considerable delay between the scheduled arrival time in the port entrance and actual docking; out of our four journeys this was the only delay we encountered and we did not find the delay unacceptable.

We were due to visit my brother in Munich the following day and so we drove on the motorway to cover mileage quickly as far as Affi near Lake Garda where we stayed for the night in the Hotel Garda adjacent to the motorway exit.

Wednesday

After a good breakfast we paid the bill and departed from the hotel We do not normally bother keeping hotel receipts but for some reason we chose to do so on this occasion - this was a bit of luck which would be important later in the week. After a day on the motorway we decided to cover the remaining distance to Munich on normal roads and started by driving into the town of Garda where we refuelled. We then followed the road alongside the west edge of Lake Garda before taking the old Brenner Pass road across into Austria.

The old road was easy to drive and almost traffic free and afforded spectacular views of the new motorway including the Europa bridge.

Brenner village itself can only be best described as uninspiring although the railways station was interesting. Compared to the other mountain passes the road was very easy to drive. The top of the pass is an anti-climax, and despite the brilliant sunshine and some lying snow it did not provide the spectacular views we have come to expect in the Alps. The approach to Innsbruck, at the northern end of the pass is an exception and is a view that will always be remembered by anyone who has seen it. Once past Innsbruch our route took us alongside some beautiful scenery including the Walchensee (see below).

In late afternoon we arrived in Gilchen, Munich where we planned to spend two nights with my brother and his wife. As it happened we stayed three nights - the third under slightly unusual circumstances.

Thursday

Today we visited the centre of Munich travelling by train and tram. As expected the transport system was efficient and relatively clean. I was last in Munich 25 - 30 years ago and to be honest I did not recognise anything! Perhaps my memory is worse than I thought. Having spent the majority of the day eating and drinking we returned home late in the evening ready for a good nights sleep.

Friday

Today we set off for the return journey to Calais. We intended not to touch any motorways and had allowed ourselves three days to meander our way across country. We eventually ended up on the 'Romantic road' and followed it North to Bad Mergentheim which is on a level with Luxembourg and some 260 Kilometres from Munich. Around 6.15 in the evening we decided to book into a hotel - it was then we realised that the receptionist at the Garda Hotel in Italy had not given us our passports back when we had paid the bill a few days earlier. A few calculations told us that to drive to Affi to pick up the passports and then to drive to Calais would be in the region of 2100 kilometres and we had two full days to do the journey; also we would have to cross the Alps twice, in winter and in the dark. We had already been driving all day and knew that the journey would not be possible without severe risk of falling asleep at the wheel. Cathy has never driven on the continent and although we considered sharing the driving we know that I have never been able to sleep as a passenger in a moving car. Thus operation 'passport' was devised by my brother.

Operation 'passport' involved him setting off at 6.45 pm from Munich for Affi (return trip 800 kilometres) to collect the passports whilst Cathy and myself turned around and drove via the autobahns the 260 kilometres back to his house at Munich. We arrived in Munich about 11.30 pm in the evening, having stopped for something to eat on the way, and went to bed until my brother arrived back from Affi, with passports at about 5 am.

Saturday

Sunday

Monday