Vantastic Lukas: Here we go again

It was quiet on my blog. After a gearbox breakdown in the French Alps, I was back home for about 2.5 months. Some appointments and festivities were scheduled. I have also acquired a little companion: the dog Mara will now accompany me on my travels. There is hardly a better dog life. The time in Germany flew by and was marked by many beautiful moments. Nevertheless, the restlessness grew within me and I was looking forward to my planned departure at the end of September. I actually narrowly missed this target date in the last week of September, when I had the spontaneous idea to quickly install an auxiliary heater in the car... It could get cold sometimes - down in the south...

Across the Alps

On October 1st, 2019 the time had finally come and I left the German streets with my van. I spent the first night on a small river right on the French border in Alsace. From there the next day we went through Switzerland in typical autumn weather until I reached a nice parking space in the early evening with a view of a beautiful mountain lake on the edge of the French Alps. From there, after a cool night, we went to a nearby lake, on whose shore I was able to do some early morning exercise. I wondered whether there were any carp in these clear mountain lakes, but I didn't pursue the question any further because I had little intention of fishing at the time. I just wanted to drive through beautiful landscapes and stop when I felt like it – just let myself drift.

We continued through the French Alps, close to the place where my tour came to an abrupt end in July this year due to gearbox failure. I drove through beautiful Alpine passes and stopped at two long, turquoise reservoirs to admire them from a bird's eye view while hiking. The dog Mara did great and thoroughly enjoyed her new freedom on the mountain.

First attempt at fishing

After the short climb up the mountain, as is often the case, I couldn't be satisfied with the parking space I had chosen first. So I started the engine again and navigated to the shore of a nearby lake. When I reached it, I realized that I had already been there last year to look at another lake with a night fishing area right next door. Since it was already getting dark, I decided to drive to the spot I had found and fish there this time. I maneuvered my car directly to the lake shore and in the darkness I only made two rods, which I threw into a small bay where I parked. As I expected, absolutely nothing happened in this crystal clear lake and we continued straight away the next morning. The weather was far too cold for me in this region anyway, after all I wanted to go to the warm south.

Finally in the south

We then headed south as the day progressed and the pleasantly milder climate gradually became noticeable. Along the lavender fields, where I didn't miss the opportunity to cut off a few branches, I reached a lake at the foot of the Alps, where I had arranged to meet my friend Christoph the next day. He had just come from Corsica, where I actually wanted to join him. However, since the ferry prices had skyrocketed at the time, we rescheduled to fish together for Christoph's last week of vacation.

Lots of sun, little fish

We spent seven days together at the lake. We enjoyed the good weather, did sports, went swimming, played with the dogs, cooked good food with freshly collected herbs that bloomed everywhere next to us and spread a wonderful scent around us. We had a good time without catching a single carp. As long as the crabs still had some of the bait left on their hair, we caught chub regularly and every now and then a good tench would get hooked.

Christoph's friend Julian joined us during the week and kept us company. Admittedly, with the good food and drink, as well as the nice conversations, I didn't feel like sitting down alone somewhere on the lake to catch chubs. 😉

Unexpected ending

When we received an unexpected visit from rangers on the sixth day, who very kindly informed us that camping was not permitted, we shortened our fishing trip by one night. Just as we were about to start tearing down the camp, Christoph's rod spoke up. Unfortunately the fish swam tight and we could only guess whether it was a big chub or a carp...

When we finally finished packing up in the evening, we drove to a parking lot at the lake to spend the last night in the water in our vans without rods. After two or three coffees in the morning we said goodbye. It was time for me to move on. I didn't know where. I wanted to retire first and spend some time alone without fishing. Find beautiful places deep in nature to write something on your laptop. Up to this point I haven't had a real “angel drive” and I'm currently having more fun driving from place to place completely untethered.

Let's see how this develops...