Time: 10:05 – 16:00 – Distance travelled: 255 miles – Cumulative: 6,070 miles

The  renowned Mozart Kugeln chocolates 

Our mission now reverted back to focusing on ‘the drive’. Our pit stops from now on were exactly that. We had to cover the planned distances over the next two days so that we could meet up with our family who were waiting for us at the family house in northern France. It was the half term holiday for Max and Charlotte and both sides of the family had dug out to ensure the children were looked after during half term until our arrival. We were both feeling quietly tense and full of anticipation at meeting them on time and without incident for these last several hundred miles.

The Austrian roads were predictably good and fast. The countryside was beautiful as it crumpled from the lush green hills into the eastern Alps. Murray was rather annoyed and disappointed that I had navigated us on to the autobahn rather than through the meandering hill roads at a point where the roads were under repair. To mitigate this sense of being cheated of the Austrian country once we had popped out of endless tunnels (I had to admit it was a very dull albeit rapid way to travel through Austria) we headed off the motorway and down to Lake Attersee to have a lunch break. What a charming and pretty place this proved to be.

We pressed on to Salzburg and arrived at the edge of the pedestrian area of the city at Hotel Aldstadt Hofwirt, (with great underground parking, where I dropped my phone – a very bad moment as the LCD failed and I had the black screen of doom. No more Maps.me, photos or emails on the move – I was quietly in a sizzling fume) just before dark. Zara had visited Salzburg during a school skiing trip and was wowed by its prettiness. With this in mind we were keen to see the city. It was indeed a beautiful city, especially at dusk. Murray was satisfied with his purchase of not one but three Salzburg fridge magnates, depicting the home city of Mozart. It had become his second mission, to secure where possible, a fridge magnate from each of our stopovers – his souvenirs of the trip . . . frequently stating that all he got was a lousy fridge magnate . . .

Feeling very miffed having dropped my phone

We knew if we returned to the hotel before supper we would not venture out again so we had a reassuringly expensive Aperol spritz in the main plaza before chancing upon a terrific traditional beer house called Zipfer Bierhaus. Eating good solid Austrian dishes with lashings of local beer in a very congenial setting, and hearing Mozart played on a violin by a busker, we were replete and felt we had done just enough justice to Salzburg.