We had the alarm set for 7am, but I wasn't ready to get up, and neither was Christian, as he reset it for 8am and we dozed off again until then.
The campsite was unbelievably quiet, even up until 9am, which impressed me no end. We got our swimmers on, ate our breakfast from the flight the day before, and went to get tea/coffee at the kiosk. They didn't speak English, so we muddled through, with coffee for Christian, tea for me, and a pastry as well for Christian (bad!). I asked for milk, and the woman indicated that there was milk in there. Turns out the milk was in the coffee, and my tea was black Earl Grey. Urgh. I drank it, and then we ventured down to the lake. Christian got in, but it was too cold for me, and time was getting away anyway.
We showered and changed (I discovered that my dress no longer fit me properly), and rearranged the world, checked our routes/addresses, and set off in the car. The people in a caravan opposite us were packing up, and they had to move their car to let us out.
We drove into Villach, following Andy's directions, and used the parking ticket to get into the nearest car park to Bamberg Hall. We got out, and met Ivo and Michael, and made our way to a lovely shady park, where we met Andy and Geddy, and all the other guests. There was a lovely combination of traditional Scottish dress, and traditional Austrian dress - sometimes in the same outfit. There just happened to be a vintage car show happening as well, so there was plenty to look at.
The ceremony began at 11am, and while it was conducted completely in German, we could sort of follow. The room was lovely, and the occasion was lovely, and the bride and groom looked amazing in their matching tartan. Afterwards, we all got the means with which to blow bubbles, which were used for photos, and which were very fun.
Everyone set off for the reception venue, in Godersdorf, but Christian and I tried to have a bit of a driving tour of Villach, because we knew we wouldn't have another chance. It was a very short tour, but we saw enough to know that, like Graz, Villach was clean, expansive, and beautiful by turns. Definitely a place to explore again in the future. The river was particularly interesting because of its azure blue. Really beautiful.
We drove on to Godersdorf (only taking one wrong turn), and after a few circuits trying to find a car park, stopped on the grass next to Andy and Fritzi (last to arrive) under an apple tree. We gathered with the other guests at the front of the Hotel Zollner, and were given a lovely tall glass of beer. Here we met Trevor, Megan, and Mary. Mary was a colleague of Fritzi's in Birmingham. The hotel was traditional in style, with flowers at the eaves, and fringed by mountains. Beautiful.
Before long, the group moved to the outdoor tables in the sun on the garden/pool side. We were aware of a large group of people in traditional Austrian dress occupying a table on the front of the building, There was bubbly, and lovely mini-burgers for us. The kitchen garden, full of herbs and vegetables, was begging to be explored, and so we went to have a look at all the interesting plants.
Back on the deck, we became aware of music from an accordion inside. The people from the table at the front were dancing around Andy and Fritzi. The dancers came outside to us, and a pretty girl grabbed Christian and started dancing with him (I held his drink, and Ivo took a photo). It was fun. Fritzi explained later that it was a festival day, and these people went from door to door helping people celebrate. It was totally unplanned.
It was finally time to sit down, and we'd been placed next to the other English speakers. It was very much an Austrian menu rather than a Scottish one, but that was fine: it sounded delicious. And it was. The wine was good - I had 'weiss', and it was very much in the Gewurz style. It was a very drawn-out meal, and it was unfortunately very hot in the room. I escaped a couple of times to stand in the only cool place - under the trees near the pool. The sun was relentless.
At around 6pm, we decided to head back to the campsite for a swim, but as we said goodbye to Andy, he said that the cake would be arriving in about 20 minutes. We felt we should stay for that, and so we did. We sat on the grass, watching some bad weather gathering after the hot day. The wonderful cake came out, and we had a piece, and finally managed to get away after another hour.
We drove a circuitous way, a bit further up into the mountains, and finally back to the lake. As we went past the campsite next door, I saw what might be a good place for dinner. We drove back to our tent, and found we had new neighbours (who said 'hallo'). We got changed, and had a wander to the lake. By now, a storm was threatening, and the water didn't look at all inviting. Given the rain starting, we decided to eat in the restaurant in our own campsite.
We managed to get a table again (inside, but were soon moved outside), and sat down. This time, I chose iced tea (Christian had another beer), and he had the schnitzel I'd had the night before, and I had a four seasons pizza. It was bloody enormous. I ate about half of it, and we took the rest with us - the woman serving us was very friendly.
We headed back to the tent, performed our ablutions, and turned in for the night. The rain continued, and got quite heavy. We were snug inside, though.
The campsite was unbelievably quiet, even up until 9am, which impressed me no end. We got our swimmers on, ate our breakfast from the flight the day before, and went to get tea/coffee at the kiosk. They didn't speak English, so we muddled through, with coffee for Christian, tea for me, and a pastry as well for Christian (bad!). I asked for milk, and the woman indicated that there was milk in there. Turns out the milk was in the coffee, and my tea was black Earl Grey. Urgh. I drank it, and then we ventured down to the lake. Christian got in, but it was too cold for me, and time was getting away anyway.
We showered and changed (I discovered that my dress no longer fit me properly), and rearranged the world, checked our routes/addresses, and set off in the car. The people in a caravan opposite us were packing up, and they had to move their car to let us out.
We drove into Villach, following Andy's directions, and used the parking ticket to get into the nearest car park to Bamberg Hall. We got out, and met Ivo and Michael, and made our way to a lovely shady park, where we met Andy and Geddy, and all the other guests. There was a lovely combination of traditional Scottish dress, and traditional Austrian dress - sometimes in the same outfit. There just happened to be a vintage car show happening as well, so there was plenty to look at.
The ceremony began at 11am, and while it was conducted completely in German, we could sort of follow. The room was lovely, and the occasion was lovely, and the bride and groom looked amazing in their matching tartan. Afterwards, we all got the means with which to blow bubbles, which were used for photos, and which were very fun.
Everyone set off for the reception venue, in Godersdorf, but Christian and I tried to have a bit of a driving tour of Villach, because we knew we wouldn't have another chance. It was a very short tour, but we saw enough to know that, like Graz, Villach was clean, expansive, and beautiful by turns. Definitely a place to explore again in the future. The river was particularly interesting because of its azure blue. Really beautiful.
We drove on to Godersdorf (only taking one wrong turn), and after a few circuits trying to find a car park, stopped on the grass next to Andy and Fritzi (last to arrive) under an apple tree. We gathered with the other guests at the front of the Hotel Zollner, and were given a lovely tall glass of beer. Here we met Trevor, Megan, and Mary. Mary was a colleague of Fritzi's in Birmingham. The hotel was traditional in style, with flowers at the eaves, and fringed by mountains. Beautiful.
Before long, the group moved to the outdoor tables in the sun on the garden/pool side. We were aware of a large group of people in traditional Austrian dress occupying a table on the front of the building, There was bubbly, and lovely mini-burgers for us. The kitchen garden, full of herbs and vegetables, was begging to be explored, and so we went to have a look at all the interesting plants.
Back on the deck, we became aware of music from an accordion inside. The people from the table at the front were dancing around Andy and Fritzi. The dancers came outside to us, and a pretty girl grabbed Christian and started dancing with him (I held his drink, and Ivo took a photo). It was fun. Fritzi explained later that it was a festival day, and these people went from door to door helping people celebrate. It was totally unplanned.
It was finally time to sit down, and we'd been placed next to the other English speakers. It was very much an Austrian menu rather than a Scottish one, but that was fine: it sounded delicious. And it was. The wine was good - I had 'weiss', and it was very much in the Gewurz style. It was a very drawn-out meal, and it was unfortunately very hot in the room. I escaped a couple of times to stand in the only cool place - under the trees near the pool. The sun was relentless.
At around 6pm, we decided to head back to the campsite for a swim, but as we said goodbye to Andy, he said that the cake would be arriving in about 20 minutes. We felt we should stay for that, and so we did. We sat on the grass, watching some bad weather gathering after the hot day. The wonderful cake came out, and we had a piece, and finally managed to get away after another hour.
We drove a circuitous way, a bit further up into the mountains, and finally back to the lake. As we went past the campsite next door, I saw what might be a good place for dinner. We drove back to our tent, and found we had new neighbours (who said 'hallo'). We got changed, and had a wander to the lake. By now, a storm was threatening, and the water didn't look at all inviting. Given the rain starting, we decided to eat in the restaurant in our own campsite.
We managed to get a table again (inside, but were soon moved outside), and sat down. This time, I chose iced tea (Christian had another beer), and he had the schnitzel I'd had the night before, and I had a four seasons pizza. It was bloody enormous. I ate about half of it, and we took the rest with us - the woman serving us was very friendly.
We headed back to the tent, performed our ablutions, and turned in for the night. The rain continued, and got quite heavy. We were snug inside, though.
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