What we have learnt along the way to make traveling easier.

 Italy

• For public transport you should get the tpl fvg app 

Austria 

• For the Danube in Austria, a must have is the DoRIS App, has all the up todate information on everything to do with the river and locks, including the contact details for the Lock operators.

Home Page of the DoRIS app

This page shows the lock status, the information a glances shows if they are available, select the lock you are approaching to see more information.  

I have selected the Altenwörth lock, it shows a green and amber status. They explain why a lock has a Partially Available status. 

• For public transport in Vienna you should get the WienMobil App, you purchase your ticket via the app, it also shows you where the stops near you are and what time the next Bus, Tram or Train is.

Germany

• they don't have an app for the waterways, they do have a webpage called Elwis (https://www.elwis.de) not as easy to use an an app but at least it's something.

• A fellow boaty has made a card for the shipping locks on the main. The information on it includes VHF channel for each lock and most importantly if they are concrete walls or what looks like corrugated iron. With the steel walls it's really easy to lose a fender in there and then you have fibreglass on steel:(

• And for public transport RMV there are two to choose from RMV. Deutschland and RMV Rhein-Main-Verehrsverbund GmbH, this one is the new version. Didn't try to buy a ticket on this app, as Germany had a summer deal, 9 euros for the month where we could travel throughout Germany on Local or regional trains, bus or trams and we purchased at the station.

• I know this next one has nothing to do with travel, but lets not dwell on that.

If you are in the Franconian region and you see this little booklet, grab one, not sure if other regions have the same. The wineries are only allowed to serve a meal with their self-produced wines for a limited time, usually for two to four weeks a year. Between the wineries they can select what times they would like, there are no overlaps, so the wineries are not competing with each other. They have a basic menu and selected wines made by the winery your are visiting.

We visited Weingut-Hofmann-Herkert, yes it looks like any suburban house.

In this photo, I was trying to show the terrain they grow their grapes on. They grow their grapes on steep hills with no help of tractor or machinery, to catch as much sun as they can. The terraced areas have the advantage that they can still catch enough sunbeams in autumn, when the sun is no longer in full force.