GERMANY
Tuesday 25th & Wednesday 26th September
Across the border again with no border checks.
Our campsite for 2 Nights: An Der Pirminiushalle, Hornbach – N49.183819. E7.365600
We rate this little CP with a 10. It is just so well organised and designed by a Moho owner – very obvious as everything you need is here and is so well done. A really beautiful treed setting and peaceful and quiet. There is a small sports ground beside the CP which provides several boules lanes, a mini golf course, table tennis, snooker and a small soccer field – all equipment is supplied to play these games and is gratis and included in the tariff (though you can make a donation). We spent a few really enjoyable hours in there and sad to say the driver outshone the navigator in every game we played.
The CP hut includes a big covered area with tables and chairs and loads of tourist information. Beside the hut is a fire pit with seats around it. Timber can be purchased from the supermarket. Wifi was great on one day but a bit iffy on day two.
There are several great walks in the area and the first was to explore the historic town only 15 minutes walk away. The old church was built in 1573 and is currently being refurbished while the monastery’s (Kloster) interior has been converted to a five star + hotel where we enjoyed a pint served in their own beer stein, in the sunny beer garden.
Thursday & Friday 27th & 28th September
Reluctantly we left here, could definitely have stayed on longer as there are so many walks here and it was so beautiful.
Our campsite for two nights: Freizeitpark Zweibrucken Wohnmobil, Zweibrucken – GPS N49.253639. E7.376230
This small town (town of roses and horses) has a proud history despite its nearly complete destruction in 1945 during WW2. The town was declared derelict by the Americans and plans were to abandon any consideration of rebuilding.
The locals got together and held a compulsory lottery, the funds went to the rebuilding of the town and some old buildings were rebuilt to the original specifications including Alexander church, Karlskirche and the Castle.
From the CP you walk along tree lined pedestrian avenues to the Rosegarten – beautiful gardens that are open all year round, though sadly the rose season ends in September, but still a few there now and lots of other blooms and gardens.
The town’s sporting facilities are fantastic and we passed by many sporting fields and equestrian centres where horses were being groomed and put through their paces.
The CP again is really well done with excellent bathroom facilities and showers included in the tariff that have no time limit and loads of hot water. Washer and dryer at €2 a load – took advantage of that and excellent wifi to boot. Beside the CP was a beer garden and restaurant where we spent both afternoons in the sunshine with the locals. A great Stellplatz though the €50 deposit for the bathrooms was a bit daunting (key was well looked after).
Saturday 29th September
Our campsite for tonight: Wohnmobil-Oase Schwarzindersee, Weiskirchen – GPS N49.527168. E6.831630
Unusual place this which is nowhere near a town but included as part of a hotel and resort. The CP setting was natural bushland bordering a small lake where there were lots of beautiful nature walks. Wifi excellent and you could use the facilities of the hotel when it was open.
One section included the most unusual cabins looking like large oak wine barrels. Separate barrels for each room i.e. one barrel on its side was the bedroom and beside it, the bathroom – all on a small deck with a couple of deck chairs. If you wanted a two bedroom, then you got another barrel. The setting was in a vineyard with the grape vines separating the units.
Sunday – Friday 30th September – 4th October
Hohenblick, Oberbrombach – GPS N49.694721. E7.259440
This place is just magic. Very private on the outskirts of a small village. It is high on a hill with views forever with several grassed terraces and large pitches. Wifi again is excellent so taking advantage of this whenever we can. The property has several rustic timber huts where tables and chairs, a fireplace (with timber) and the most unusual western artefacts create a wonderful ranch style atmosphere.
Again there are so many nature walks from here where great tracks take you through forests where quite often the tree canopy is so dense you cannot see the sky. No sounds of life in any direction with just us, the trees and the birds – thank goodness it is well signposted. Something we soon realised is that being on top of the hill, all walks go downhill first and then the inevitable – the walk back is all uphill. Took a few of these walks with the smallest being 5.5kms and each time, the uphill took a lot longer 😅.
The days have been very cool with overnights at around 3 degrees so walking has been a real joy. Nights are spent around the fire pit where the owner puts on a great fire where the conversation becomes more lively once the moonshine comes out. It amazes us that everyone seems to have that bottle of clear liquid in their alcohol stocks and are really keen for novices like us to share it.
The owner puts on the occasional BBQ grill where he cooks outside for the campers – only does this when there are enough numbers, and produces the biggest, fattest and juiciest piece of meat we have had since leaving home. This comes with cooked potato and you bring your plates and cutlery, bread, salad etc. Total cost €5 each and the rustic beer garden is large enough to house a large group. Had a real hoot on one evening but as the Germans began speaking faster and faster and with different dialects, we lost some of the communication.
So many times in our travels we have come across people who really would love to come to Australia but think it is really dangerous with the number of deadly animals and sea life we have here. Evidently several documentaries shown overseas portray this. The tourism bureau really needs to lift its game here as our image to overseas travellers is really scary.
A really special peaceful place for those that enjoy a rural, rustic, unique and interesting environment. All services here including wifi with electricity and water at a small cost and camping with the panoramic views only €7 per night.
Loved the meat so much have organised the butcher for some of the same to take with us.
Well done Hohenblick – your property and staff have been 10 star plus.
The CP setting was really special so we sat and watched the most glorious sunset across the lake.
The Gothic Eglise Saint Martin built at the beginning of the 16th century is the main attraction in the town and stands tall at the end of the bridge that leads to town. Major refurbishments of the internal statues were underway but we were lucky enough to gain entrance. Great town to explore with bikeways running along both sides of the Moselle. Too cold for this little duck to bike it, so we walked forever.
Saturday mornings, there is a local produce market in town until midday.
Inside, beer barrels of all kinds made up walls, bar areas and even the light fittings were glass beer barrels – so much interest and charm.
It amazes us that in any one street one finds it hard to see any three storey building that look similar. All different shapes and roof lines make for some wonderful pictures.
Almost directly behind the Town Hall stands the magnificent Sint Janskerk originally built in 1552. It is the longest church at 123 metres and is really worth a visit.
After an hour or two our exploring was cut short again with rain sending us scampering back home.
These can be reached by foot, bike or boats and are the largest number of working windmills in any one place in this country. 
We have now seen many of the things Holland is most famous for – clogs, cheese, windmills and ceramics.
