We left Lake Chiemsee today for a journey to Lake Bled in Slovenia. This meant driving across Austria and its Alps.

Theoretically Basil, because he weighs in excess of 3.5 tonnes, requires a special electronic “Go” tag to use Austrian motorways. From my online research the Go box is extremely expensive and it is difficult to calculate how much credit must be bought for the amount of motorways used. One online calculation suggested 80 Euros to travel just over 100 miles!!

The equivalent for a motorhome just 500kg lighter is a vignette costing 8.8 Euros for 10 days unlimited use of Austria’s precious motorways!!

Now we are not in the habit of breaking the law but the temptation of saving 72 Euros was too much. We chanced our arm and bought Basil a vignette and hoped no one would notice – they didn’t. We had a smooth journey through the Austrian Alps. The views were a times dramatic as we drove around and under their snow capped peaks, but mostly the views were obscured by drizzly rain, which is ubiquitous in mountains worldwide.

After a brief stop at a Slovenian Lidl, we arrived at Lake Bled and pulled into Camping Bled (19 Euros a night ACSI) (43.360698 14.076945). It seems a pleasant enough campsite with decent sized pitches and only a road separates it from the lake. A first glimpse of Lake Bled hints, through the rain, at a beautiful little lake. With luck we will see it in better conditions tomorrow.