Car Brakes & Theft

We got back to A.T.U. to find out that the car was still high and dry, minus wheels, and that the wrong brakes had been delivered.  Again the company had not telephoned us to update us.  They explained that the car would not be ready until tomorrow and, by Austrian law, they were not allowed to put the faulty brakes back on so that we could drive to the campsite. Also one of the tyres would have to be replaced at a cost of €380 because it had a bald patch.  Paul decided not to replace the tyre just yet, wanting to compare prices first. By now the company was seeing '€'s and Paul saw a rapidly disappearing bank balance. We had no choice but to hire a car to get to the campsite and return in the morning.  We were recommended a car rental place where we could hire a car for about €25/day.  The snag was that the place was a good 2½km walk.  We were not happy and of course it was a very hot day....

We got to the car rental place hot and bothered only to find that there were no cars available.  A few minutes later the lady finally 'found' a car which will have to be brought back before tomorrow afternoon because it has been booked out to someone else as from later tomorrow afternoon.  The car was a brand new Opal for €70/day.  Paul swallowed hard.  Ok....  Again Paul's bank balance was even lighter within a few minutes.  We made the most of the hire car, driving to a shop to pick up some groceries before heading back to the campsite.

When we got back to the tent we had a quick look around and discovered that some loose money in one of the tent pockets was missing (so about €250 in total has been stolen) and a huge blue swimming towel with the logo 'JAN' (Jonge Actieve Naturisten) on it was also missing.  We were not very happy and went to the camp's reception to report what had happened.  According to the chap at reception, this was the first theft that has been reported since he started working here 10 years ago.  He recommended we call or pay the police a visit, to report the theft, in case Paul's insurance would cover the missing cash.  We don't know if it was an opportunistic camper or someone from outside the campsite. And they must have been very very quiet when unzipping the tent's side door... We looked for the towel when we went for a swim, but it was no where to be seen.

A petting zoo was visiting the campsite so before going for a swim we went to see a hen and her chicks, goats, rabbits, sheep, a pot-bellied pig, hamsters and an alpaca.

All in all, the loss of a whole day due to car repairs plus the theft has put a bit of a damper on our nice holiday.