2017 Europe Christmas Market Tour

[kurienp]

2000 miles, three Christmas markets, three countries later the family is in love with the Cali. This was my second trip in a rented Cali and the objective (in addition to the christmas markets), was to get my wife interested in the Cali ... and happy to say: have definitely achieved all objectives.

A 204 ps 2017 Cali in Red. Seemed like an earlier 17 reg as it did not have the split kitchen top, which I frankly missed. The first hire earlier in 2017 had that and it was a convenience.

Adaptive Cruise and DSG combined made the drive an absolute pleasure and the rest is a wonderful story that all of you are so familiar with.

Loaded her up in the morning of the 19th and started from home (Newbury, Berkshire) .


Loading in Progress

A final check

The first stop at Reading Services East (remember the two primary objectives), was to give the wife some time to experience the space in the Cali. Within a few miles, she was in love "Ooh! this seat is so comfortable" "Ooh!, I am sitting so high up, it affords a good view", "Ooh! this table is so good", Ooh! I can stop and brew a cuppa tea when I want!" ... and lots of other Oohs and aah's later, a quick stop at Reading Services.


Reading Services

The breakfast stop was at Cobham Services.



... and all these stops were to get my wife to enjoy the Cali and the flexibility that it provides.

After Cobham, it was pretty much straight onto the Ferry at Dover


Approach to Dover

2.5 hrs later it was onto the French Autoroutes and the aires for a break or a rest. 19th night was at a French aire and slept very comfortably with the heater on. Was not very cold and at setting of 2, the heating kept us warm and comfortable.

After refreshing ourselves in the morning at the aire, afternoon saw us driving into Strasbourg.


Driving into Strasbourg

The first camping ground was at Indigo Strasbourg. Very conveniently located at a 5 min tram ride into town, we parked up at a good spot and took the tram into town.


Parked at Campground at Indigo Strasbourg

By this time we had fine-tuned our travel routine. See the towns in about 1.5 to 2 days. Late evening try and ride 2 or 3 hours away from the next destination. Sleep at an Aire or a services and then hit the campground by morning and then repeat.

The second stop was at Innsbruck, Austria. Another fantastic campground near a village named Natters - Ferienparadies Natterer See. 15 minutes by bus into town. Got a really good pitch and with the roof out and heater set to 6, all was nice and warm in the Cali.


Ferienparadies Natterer See

A different perspective view of the Cali at the campground.


After a great time at Innsbruck, the next stop was Prague, Czech Republic. En route, the Cali came into its own and guided us to park next to a lake and have a lesuirely breakfast. Very relaxing and the times when you think - what would we have done without a Cali?



Contd ....

 

[kurienp]

Another great campground in Prague - Autocamp Trojska. 10 minutes by tram into town.


The Cali was parked up comfortably and had a great time just sitting around in the Cali when time permitted and chatting away. The DVD player also helped to watch a few movies that were long pending.

The return was a 12 hour 900 mile drive from Prague to Belgium. May people have asked me if that was tiring. My reply - not at all. The Cali hit 100 mph on the Autobahm without any issues. The DSG and ACC ensured that the Cali was a pleasure to drive and at the same time keeping safe distance from traffic. It ate up miles very easily and comfortably and the occassional short stops helped to have a cuppa tea and recharge. My wife having a mild headache also helped as she slept through the drive and I was able to drive without any distractions


With another night break at an Aire/Services, the next day saw us parked at Calais to board the return ferry. Of course, that gave us another opportunity for a warm cuppa and some breakfast, while others were sitting inside their 'ordinary' vehicles

A fantastic holiday, made all the more special by the Cali and my wife's first fantastic experience in the Cali. Another step closer to owning one

 

[CampervanTime]

Sounds brilliant, can't wait to have my own experiences like this.

How did you go about finding the sites you stayed at? I presume you felt safe at the Aires?

 

[kurienp]

Sounds brilliant, can't wait to have my own experiences like this.

How did you go about finding the sites you stayed at? I presume you felt safe at the Aires?

@itguy, it was all Google.
- Google searches to determine best Christmas markets
- Google maps to plan draft routes (with a Cali, you turn where the wind takes you)
- Google maps to zoom in and check out the location details
- Google sheets to document the most likely daily plan
- Google photos to store all memories

On finding the sites, it was again Google maps search with "campsites near xyz location" and then searching for one that has good connections into town. Worst case you can always drive the Cali in.

At the Aires, yes felt absolutely safe. Just took the usual precautions of keeping the roof down, and keeping the drivers seat facing forward in case we felt unsafe and wanted to move quickly.

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[Verity]

Looks fantastic. That was brave to have first trip out in a Cali in such circumstances, but I'm glad it was a success. We LOVE our Cali, but have friends who are still in a caravan and they really would NOT cope with the tent-style minimalistic process. They still wash their cups up in hot soapy water after every brew, and balked at the idea of drinking tea from the same cups we had just had our mulled wine in (ok, that was a bit lazy, I could have at least swilled them out but it was like the Somme on our campsite and I cba!!!).