In 1971, I went on a coach trip around the Alps. Only a few of my old photographs remain so I have taken the liberty of using some from Panoramio.
I thoroughly enjoyed the trip despite flight problems that were exacerbated by the holiday company not being able to contact me of the change of schedule. I had travelled from Brighton to London Victoria early and left my suitcase at 'left luggage' in order to spend a few hours sightseeing. Later, having retrieved my suitcase, I made my way to Victoria Coach Station and boarded the coach that was to transport me to Luton Airport. A short while later, I wondered why the road signs were indicating such places as Canterbury, Folkestone and Dover. I was a bit reserved in those days so I didn't want to ask other passengers why we were travelling in the direction of Kent. I did wonder if the travel company had arranged for our coach trip to start from Calais or Ostend instead of Basle. Eventually we did arrive at an airport - Manston Airport in Kent!
"Oh! There you are, Mr Bovington! We have been trying to contact you all day!"
It transpired that I wasn't the only passenger booked on the Luton to Basle flight that couldn't be contacted and so we passengers who had arrived at Manston had to wait a further passage of time for the others who had made their way to directly to Luton to be ferried to the Kent airport.
Eventually, we took off and a several hours later we were on our coach travelling from Basle to Vipiteno in Italy. It was a pleasant drive through delightful scenery and I am sure that I wasn't the only one who was a tad tired when we arrived in the Italian town some 36 hours after I had left Brighton.
Here is a photographic account of some of the places I visited:
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| Vipiteno, Italy photo joeri Goossens www.panoramio.com/user/5073534 |
I spent 3 nights in Vipiteno. Whilst there, I went on an excursion to Riva del Garda. The coach trip was exhilarating and I did nervously wonder how the driver could get such a large bus around some of the hairpin bends! I think the Dolomites are the most spectacular of the Alpine mountain ranges.
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| Dolomites photo Marco Vanzo www.panoramio.com/user/6033
Riva del Garda is located at the north-western corner of Lake Garda. It is an extremely attractive town located in the northern Italian province of Trentino.
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Riva del Garda photo rivaarryroby www.panoramio.com/user/5647830
The next place I stayed was in Zirl, a small town near Innsbruck, Austria.
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| the hotel in Zirl |
Another excursion to Obergurgl, Austria...
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| on the way to the cable car |
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| an old postcard of Obergurgl |
I also spent one night in the Black Forest, and one night in Vaduz in Leichtenstein...
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| an old postcard of Vaduz castle |
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| Rhine Falls |
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| The Rhine nr Shaffhausen |
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| Berne |
Whilst in Luzern, I took a boat trip...
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| Lake Luzern photo Jeff7500 www.panoramio.com/user/826806 |
other blogs by Robert Bovington:
"Photographs of
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"Spanish Impressions"
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"postcards from
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"you couldn't make it up!"
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"a grumpy old man in
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"Spanish Expressions"
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"Spanish Art"
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"Books About
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