Return to Germany

Today we left our rather remote overnight stop in France to continue across the mighty River Rhine and back into Germany to the Spa town of Baden Baden, first settled by the Romans and we all know how the Romans like a Spa.

It is a prosperous town on the edge of the Black Forest.

Ed the motorhome is parked up on the free town Stellplatz at Gaggenau GPS (48.80832 8.30292) Just a few miles from Baden Baden. It is on the edge of an attractive park and Rotherma Thermalbad Spa and Saunapark.

We first drove to the Baden Baden Park and Ride and caught a bus into town for a wander around. It`s an interesting town with a reputation for being a hang out for the rich and it was clear from some of the high end shops that indeed there must be some big spenders in this town.

Whilst it was an enjoyable town to visit and quite attractive, it didn`t have much of the architecture I had anticipated. With the odd exception the buildings were fairly non-descript, modern and not that interesting.

Two café Lattes and a ham and cheese toastie later and we were heading back to the bus stop in the hope we could remember where the P&R was.

The barbeque was lit for tea and a couple of bottles of beer were sunk.

I got talking to a Swiss / Italian chap in a very impressive Niesmann Bischoff motorhome parked next to us – it is HUGE and has a very well stocked beer and wine store that was revealed when he opened one of the lockers. I`m afraid I was gushing a bit, hoping for an invite for a conducted tour of the gin palace on wheels, but sadly that never came.

Tomorrow we will continue further into the Black Forest to a location yet to be decided…..

Trinkhalle (Drinking Hall) Baden Baden

Trinkhalle (Drinking Hall) Baden Baden

Gaggenau Town Stellplatz

Baden Baden Town 

Baden Baden Gardens

Trier ~ What a surprise !

Today we traveled further South down the Mosel River to the City of Trier (pronounced Tree).

What a surprise Trier turned out to be. I wanted to visit to see Porta Nigra, (Black Gate) the Roman gate into the important Roman city of Trier and I wasn`t expecting much else to be there. Research had not shown up not a great deal else there and the suburbs were very un-inspiring. However the city centre turned out to be a very charming surprise with lots of interesting architecture, parks and the Cathedral Square which contained a number of churches, Konstantinbasilika, Church of Our lady and Trier Dom Cathedral first build during the Roman Empire by Emperor Constantine. All were stunning in their own way.

After a wander around, lots of photos and a couple of Café Lattes in the shadow of Porta Nigra where Roman Infantry once paraded, we said a sad goodbye to the Mosel region, but I am certain that I will be back again one day to see more of this beautiful area.

Karl Marx (1818-1883) is probably Trier`s most famous son, he is a very prominent character around here, his name seems to crop up all over the place, he was even having a life size sculpture carved out of a tree stump.
I don`t like his politics but he`s certainly a big cheese in these parts.

Next it was a pit-stop Luxembourg, about a 20 minute drive for cheap diesel, 1.08 euro a litre !

After a stop for lunch we headed South towards the Black Forest and are tonight in a Campsite in France ! Parc Naturel Region des Vosges du Nord, a small village called Baerenthal. Not much here but a Pizza for tea was enjoyed in the Campsite Restaurant.

The weather is still warn and sunny.

Tomorrow we will enter the Black Forest, not sure where yet.

Enjoy the Bank Holiday tomorrow !

Konstantinbasilika

Charming Trier City Centre

Charming Trier City Centre

Ponta Nigra (Black Gate)

Ponta Nigra (Black Gate)

Trier Dom Cathedral

Karl Marx, Triers most famous son having a sculpture made 

Another Lazy Day

Louis in his Doggyhut Trailer

Nothing much of any note to report today except that the sun has shone from 7am and is still shining at 7.30 pm. A beautiful day in the Mosel River Valley.

The Stellplatz has filled up steadily throughout the day and is now pretty much full with mostly German, Dutch and Belgium motorhomes.

I had a cycle along the nearby cycle path and took Louis in the Doggyhut Trailer. I cycled for about four miles to a nearby village and Louis ran most of the way back whilst I cycled alongside, (trying to keep up).

The barbeque was lit for tea and we enjoyed it sitting out in the afternoon sunshine.

The birds I spoke of yesterday are Mistle Thrust I think, so not very rare. They kept me entertained this morning though. The adults were collecting grubs for a youngster who refused to stay where he should and kept hopping off.

When the adults returned, there was severe reprimanding going on !

What is it with birds though ? watch them for hours then go get a camera and you don`t see them again for the rest of the day.

Tomorrow we move on from here to the once important Roman city of Trier.

View from the cycle path

Kesten Village from across the river

Mistle Thrush looking for grubs

Lazy Days

We have done very little today, after leaving Cochem we drove to a town called Zell where I`d found there was a retail park so we stocked up on groceries.

After driving for an hour and following the meandering path of the Mosel River, passing mile after mile of grape vines, we arrived at Wintrich.

Some of the sloping sides of the banks the vines are grown on up a really steep gradient and we wondered how they were tended.

Then we noticed a small rail running up the slope and at the bottom a cart with a seat. It seems this little “train” carries the worker up the gradient to his work place and I assume it carries the grapes down at harvest time. It looks just about the most unsafe method of getting to work you could imagine ! Unfortunately I didn`t get a photo but will try and get one tomorrow.

Wintrich is a sleepy town with not too much going on. All the locals seem very laid back, no doubt happy it is Friday and the weather is fine and the sun shining and the grape vines shooting their foliage in preparation for another harvest later in the year.

We parked up on the village Stellplatz (GPS 49.88363 6.94837) and a very good one it is too. 9 euro per night including electric and water and an exceptional location on the banks of the river.

This afternoon we sat in the sun and did nothing of any note except admired our view of the river and watched the birds busy doing what birds do. I`ll try and identify them and report further.

Enjoy your Bank Holiday weekend folks, looks like were all getting some decent sunshine to enjoy :o)

Our view for this evening

Mosel River Meadow

Village Square fountain, had to be a wine grower !

Moselle or Mosel ?

I had become aware of different spellings for the same river so looked into it.

It seems that as the river flows through three countries, Germany, Luxemburg and France they all have their own spelling as follows…

Germany : Mosel

Luxemburg : Musel

France : Moselle

So there we have it, something learnt today.

For a wine update, it seems that Reisling is predominantly the main grape used in local wine and the tourist shops are full of it. Light fruity and tasty.

Me ? I`m going looking for an Aldi or Lidl tomorrow for my supplies.

Today we left Alken and drove about ten miles to Eltz Castle.

Eltz Castle is a medieval castle nestled in the hills above the Mosel River between Koblenz and Trier, Germany. It is still owned by a branch of the same family (the Eltz family) that lived there in the 12th century, 33 generations ago.

It is one of only a few castles on the left bank of the Rhine in Rhineland-Palatinate which have never been destroyed.

The castle is surrounded on three sides by the Elzbach River, a tributary on the north side of the Mosel. It is on a 70-metre (230 ft) rock spur, on an important Roman trade route between rich farmlands and their markets.

Platteltz, a Romanesque keep, is the oldest part of the castle, having begun in the 9th century as a simple manor with an earthen palisade. By 1157 the fortress was an important part of the empire under Frederick Barbarossa, standing astride the trade route from the Mosel Valley and the Eifel region. 

In 1472 the Rübenach house, built in the Late Gothic style, was completed. Remarkable are the Rübenach Lower Hall, a living room, and the Rübenach bedchamber with its opulently decorated walls.

Between 1490 and 1540, the Rodendorf house was constructed, also in Late Gothic style

Sadly no photos were allowed inside but it was very impressive.

Probably the setting is the most spectacular feature of the castle. Remarkable that it was built a private residence.

After lunch we set off and drove for about forty minutes to the town of Cochem on the banks of the Mosel River. Yet again a fortified castle stands in a commanding position above the town below.

It`s quite an interesting town but very much aimed at the tourist market.

We are parked up on the Stellplatz between the river and the town and have lovely views of the river for the princely sum of 1 euro for overnight parking ! What a bargain. I`m beginning to love Germany. No services but who cares with a view like that ?

After a walk along the river and through the town, we had dinner “en van” pork chop, butternut squash and spinach crocquets and baked beans – delicious.

Eltz Castle

Door of the Day - Eltz Castle (It`s about 3`6" tall !)

Eltz Castle View through the Ramparts

Cochem Castle

Our view for this evening

A journey Along the Moselle

Firstly apologies for Google Maps not updating properly. I always put a pin marker on stops but for some reason the map on the right is firmly stuck on the UK. You can still drag the map to see where we are. 
Also, I get an email alert to comments left, but for some comments they don`t then appear in Blogger.com. So I`m not ignoring you and I will endeavour to sort this out.

Today we left Koblenz and had a detour to a store in the town to get a broken bathroom tap fixed and then onto a small town on the River Moselle about ten miles away so just a short drive.

It is a very pretty small town called Alken (GPS 50.25093 7.44573) with a free Stellplatz ( German name for overnight motorhome parking ) There are no facilities but it is right next to the town with the river just across the road so we have a very picturesque view for this evening.

We are nestled against a backdrop of vineyards to the side and behind us. I had assumed they were Chardonnay vines but when I asked in the restaurant for a local wine, the waitress suggested a Reisling, so maybe some more research needed there. Either way, it was very tasty.

The weather has been warm and sunny today so we sat out a bit before having lunch then a wander around town. After that I took Louis for a walk up to a castle, Burg Thurant  that sits on a rocky outcrop high above the town.

The views from the top were amazing. They didn`t allow dogs in the castle so we just had a mooch about and took some photos.

This evening we had dinner out at a nearby restaurant and the food was very good.

We have to decide this evening what were doing tomorrow, there is another castle nearby I would like to go to, or maybe we will just stay here another night………

Burg Thurant Castle

Alken Vineyards

Door of the Day - Burg Thurant Castle

Alken Town

Alken Town and Moselle River

Into Germany

After a rather stormy and rain drenched night we woke to a distinct chill in the air and so left our free site at Lac de la Gileppe and headed off into nearby Germany and the historic town of Monschau. What should have been a thirty minute journey turned into more like sixty minutes due to a road closure.

The detour took us through the Parc Naturel Hautes Fagnes – Eifel, which was a very senic detour.

The town of Monschau is very quaint and has changed little since the 1700`s.

The rain stayed off and weak sunshine did it`s best to warm us but it was distinctly chilly so a walk through the town was completed then back to Ed to move on.

Next stop was on the River Roer which together with the nearby town of Schmidt, was very significant in WW2

Schmidt was almost completely destroyed in WW2 as it holds a strategic position overlooking the Schwammenauel Dam. In 1944 as the Allied army was advancing through Germany, the Germans still controlled the Dam and the Allies were desperate to capture it to stop it being blown up, flooding the Rur valley and killing large numbers of Allied troops. There was prolonged heavy fighting and severe casualties on both sides.

Lunch was enjoyed here before moving on to Koblenz.

Koblenz sits at a point where the mighty Rhine River meets the Moselle River. There is a spit of land called Deutsches Eck (German Corner) that juts out into the river with a very grand monument atop. Our campsite for the night overlooks this impressive monument and there is a foot ferry crosses the river to the old town which we took advantage off today. A cable car also goes up the the second largest preserved Fortress in Europe called Ehrenbreitstein Fortress.

Tomorrow I think we will head off down the Moselle River.

The weather picked up considerably in Koblenz and the forecast for the next few days is good.

Monschau Town

Door of the Day, Monschau

Monschau Town square

Monschau River

Dammed River Roer near Schmidt

Wild flowers (weeds ?) River Roer near Schmidt

Deutsches Eck (German Corner) 

A view of Ehrenbreitstein Fortress from our campsite for the night

Across the fields of Flanders

The rain in Bruges was relentless last night and we slept to the constant sound of rain on the roof. Sadly our view of the town was therefore rather limited as neither of us fancied a drenching.

The rain had stopped by morning although the skies looked angry, so we decided that we would go to Ypres today to visit the memorial at the Menin Gate where one of Sue`s relatives name in inscribed.

Charles Bishop Rose died on the 7^th June 1917 fighting for a ridge on the front line just outside Ypres. His body was never found.

Another of the thousands of lives sadly wasted in a futile assault to gain a few yards of land in a war that nobody believed in. So sad.

The rain held off so we walked around the town and the Cloth Hall and looked in a few shops.

Ypres host’s a whole industry dedicated to the Great War with souvenir shops selling every kind of tat, Battlefield tours and Cemetery tours. If there`s a euro to be earned then someone is doing it. The commercialisation of death doesn`t sit comfortably, but I suppose people are sufficiently interested and it`s the world we live in.

We didn`t dwell too much on the details of the various Battles in the area although for those interested there is lots of information in the Tourist Office.

Parking in Ypres was very easy, we were about 200 yards from the Menin Gate by the canal.

After lunch we decided to head East towards the border with Germany where the Weather app tells us the sun will soon be shining.

After crossing the fields of Flanders we settled on Lac de la Gileppe as a stopover. GPS 50.586854  5.969171

The Gileppe Dam is an arch-gravity dam on the Gileppe river in Jalhay, Liège province, Wallonia, Belgium. It was built in the 1870s to supply water for the wool industry in nearby Verviers. The monumental structure with its unusually thick profile played an important role in establishing an international standard for masonry gravity dams as a technology for major water supply systems. It was considered one of the strongest dams in Europe at the time, and it was the first dam built in modern Belgium. 

Today there is a modern visitor centre, a tower with a panoramic view restaurant at the top with lifts and every kind of outdoor activity. Think Carsington Water Derbyshire and you`ll get the picture.

The Belgium authorities have kindly provided free overnight parking close to the dam for four motorhomes with, get this, free electricity !

Tomorrow we will head for Koblenz and hope to find some sun.

Menin Gate through which all troops paraded through on their way to battle

Sue at Menin Gate War Memorial

Lac de la Gileppe Dam

Three Countries in one day

Stopover Name	Kanaaeiland Bruges
GPS	N051.196016    E003.225546
Weather	Rain       High :  12       Low :  9
Cost	25  Euro for 24 hours

This evening we are parked up in the Bruges Motorhome Aire Kanaaleiland, next to the Marina and just a short walk across the canal to the town. The beautiful medieval town of Bruges is unlike most in this part of the World in that it is largely original, having escaped the raveges of two World Wars that went on around it over the last hundred years.  It is regarded as one of the best preserved pre motorised towns in Europe with narrow streets and quaint buildings. A proper tourist magnet and for good reason.

Today we drove 320 miles across England, France and Belgium and had an uneventful journey despite leaving home later then planned.

Unfortunately it started raining on the way here and has only just relented slightly. The outlook for the next couple of days is also wet and cool.
It`s very disappointing as I had planned a full day here tomorrow having a wander around but given the weather, we may press on on search of something drier. Not sure where yet but the maps will be out later.

On the up side, the Satellite system has a signal so Sue`s happily watching Morse.

Ed safely parked up for the night

Our Neighbours for the night

Bruges Marina next to the Aire

All packed up and ready to go

Well, were just about ready to depart on our motorhome adventure “Wheels Around Europe”

Final checks made, lists have been compiled, checked and checked again, Ed has been fueled, oiled and serviced, packed to the max with everything we think we might need and a good deal of stuff we will probably never need.

Louis has been vaccinated, wormed, washed, trimmed and groomed.

The house has been vac`ed, dusted and polished for the benefit of …. er, not sure.

Goodbyes have been said to friends, colleagues, neighbours and family and I think I have come to terms with the idea of stepping off the merry-go-round of a normal work / life existence, at least for a brief period.

After years of dreaming of a tour around Europe, the reality has arrived at last and we set of early tomorrow morning for the Channel Tunnel terminal at Folkstone.

We have never done anything like this before and to be honest, the nerves are setting in a little bit. It all seems rather daunting at the moment and this is definitely a step outside of the comfort zone.

It actually feels like were doing something a little reckless which is rather a good feeling as life so far has seen us always play on the safe side of the fence. A little bit of risk is quite exciting !

For years and years there has been a comforting routine to life of work Monday to Friday, weekend stuff to enjoy and the annual foreign holiday.

All very safe and secure.

It`s only when you step outside that routine that you realise how much you have come to depend on that familiarity, however much we may moan about it at the time, work, traffic jams, road works, pot holes, domestic chores, the hassles and stresses of life in general that irritate us all at times, the list is endless.

But it is always good to set a challenge and I`m sure that once we get on the road and start to experience the fantastic sights of Europe, all those nerves will fade to a distant memory, the days and weeks will fly by I have no doubt.

Family and friends are probably the hardest part of leaving for this trip so we thank the gods of 21^st century technology for the means of keeping in touch and I know we will enjoy the contact with everyone at home.

I should state at this stage that the dream I speak of, has actually been my dream, Sue doesn`t really see the attraction of leaving a perfectly good, spacious and comfortably home with all conveniences and facilities, unlimited gas, electricity and water, to live in a 20` x  7` aluminium biscuit tin on wheels ! 

Well I hope that as the journey progresses she will see that this way of life offers the opportunity to experience the many wonderful sights of Europe and that the small sacrifices made will deliver some unforgettably memories that we can treasure for ever.

So I`ll say goodbye for now and report in from the other side of the water tomorrow.

PS. Thanks to all the guys and girls at SOCOTEC for their good wishes and Bon Voyage card.

Our chariot has a name.....

After three years of ownership, I decided to give the motorhome a name, I always used to wonder about people giving vehicles a name, but it seems quite common amongst motorhomers, maybe it`s a result of getting to 60 years or something ...dunno, but seems like a good idea.

Anyway, he is now called Ed, Ed the Hymer !

I hope now Ed has a name he will look after us us and together we will enjoy many trouble free miles around Europe. 

Meet ...... Ed The Hymer

Planning Update

Well, here we are, into the second week of March and the planning is well underway for our up-coming European adventure.

However, two things have cropped up out of the blue though that were definately not expected.

The first was a letter in a brown envelope containing a Summons and requesting my presence at the Crown Court !!! ........ for Jury Duty. Phew, that was a close call, bit worried for a moment. Fortunately it is well before our planned departure date so it should be an interesting interlude.

The second was rather a rather more painful event. I took Louis for a walk and removed my walking boots in the garage. Later in the day, without looking I stepped off the step and yep, you guessed it, my foot landed on the boots, my ankle turned over and I went tumbling....ouch. Not only that, I somehow managed to sprain both ankles at the same time, no idea how I did that, but I did, so I`m hobbling around like an old codger at the moment. Anyway, I have a few weeks to recover and from reading the NHS website, I`ll be needing all of them.

I`ve bought a few things for the trip, a 24gb data sim for the mifi, a spare water pump, a couple of storage boxes and a booking for the Channel Tunnel. That`s a one way ticket, I`ll not book the return until I know when we will need it.

I`ve also got the motorhome booked in at the garage next week for a service / check up to make sure all the mechanics are in order before I tackle those Alpine passes, otherwise known as brake busters.

I`ve also organised garden maintenance whilst were away, ie grass cutting. I don`t want to come back to a jungle !