August 24

August 24th (sunny)
Both Georg and I did not sleep very well last night worrying about what might be.
First order of business was to find a VW dealership and have a mechanic give us a professional opinion. Fortunately, we found a dealership quickly and with help of Richard, the head serviceman, we left Susi in his hands. We arranged to have them investigate the oil pressure light problem and give us an oil and filter change and new speedo cable. They gave us two all-day tram passes so we took advantage of the time and tickets and spent four hours exploring old town of Graz. It is as beautiful as we remember it from 35 years ago.
Georg and the mechanic agreed to make contact by phone, which he did, and was pleasantly surprised to hear that Susi was ready to be picked up. Turns out that the oil and water dash lights have nothing to do with the motor. It is apparently an electrical malfunction which we can comfortably ignore. Oil was changed, speedo cable replaced and she was give a “clean bill of health”, so plans have changed and off towards Italy we go.
Now that we were back and committed to the rest of our tour, we had a more enjoyable drive. As we meandered our way through high mountain passes on the super highway and also on very small country roads, the scenery was absolutely breathtaking. Arrived at Klagenfurt around 3 pm, set up camp close to Worthersee. Before dinner we walked to the beach and checked out the local sights. Such a nice place, we have decided to stay two nights. After dinner, we walked to a concert of a popular German singer called Max Raabe. Turns out his style of music was not our “cup of tea”. My knee is a mess today – have been walking a little too much.
Went to bed with a lot less on our minds. Need to rearrange our itinerary tomorrow and get in touch with Bubi.