Category: Germany

Saturday 30th September

Now slowly heading north west back towards the UK as we are required to be back there before late November for our MOT, our vehicle annual inspection.

Our bike cover is now nearly in tatters and we have been looking for a new cover since we left Poland. 

There are not many motorhomes in Poland and it was very difficult to find any motorhome dealers there.

Austria had dealers but most only stocked the Fiamma bike cover which only lasted us a couple of months before the zip failed – very inferior zips and material.

Whilst driving we saw a massive motorhome dealership in the distance and hurrah found the cover we had been trying to find – and there was only one in stock.  

The staff could not speak English but assured us it was the one for our bike racks.  We were just so happy!!!

Our campsite for the night:  Brauhaus Ummendorff

Great little spot in a small town at the back of a boutique brewery and on a waterway with mother duck and the whole family eager to eat some of the bread we were offering.  Free campsite with no requirement to have a meal.

One of those rare magic days, so we happily discarded the old bike cover and put it in the bin.  The bikes came off and we set off through town to the bikeway and travelled about 16 klm through little villages and lots of farmland.  Dark clouds started to appear over the horizon so headed back. The couple of hours biking were wonderful with not too many hills to climb.

Attached to the brewery is the Brauhaus restaurant and bar.  Had to reward ourselves with a pint of the local stuff in the beer garden and were entertained by a group of young men (beginning part of a bucks party).  The rain made everyone in the beer garden duck for cover.

Finished the evening with their homemade goulash soup (mmm very tasty) before making a dash to Ziggy.  The christening of the new bike cover would have to wait till morning.

Sunday, Monday & Tuesday  1st – 3rd October

It didn’t take us long to work out that no way was this bike cover going to fit the bikes and the Fiamma bike racks.  We did not try to fit it at the shop as we were double parked and too eager to move away – our big mistake.  Cost around €50 and was too far to go back now – double ugh!!!  Lesson learned now.  Packed up the bike cover.  Typical problem now – how do you fold something large, neatly and have it fit back in the small box it came in?  Took about an hour and eventually looked like it had never been taken out of the box.

Campsite for 3 nights:  Waldsee-Therme, Bad Waldsee

 Arrived mid afternoon in the home town of Erwin Hymer of Hymer Motorhome fame . Hymers everywhere.  We had visited the Hymer showroom on the way in but couldn’t get a park anywhere near it.  Decided to visit it tomorrow.

Parked Ziggy in one of the largest pitches we had come across.  Enough room for two motorhomes.  There were 50 spots but sure you could double that number there was so much room.  Really well laid out and very popular.  Went off to pay at the parking machine and came back to a grinning, pointing Rob – almost directly across from us, Michael and Pam’s motorhome was parked.  Had no idea they were coming here and they were as surprised as we were when they returned from the Bad Waldsee Therme Resort.  Another big night ahead, we think.

It was unusual to see 2 Hymers next to each other both with GB plates and Aussie stickers – a little bit of home sickness crept in – just for a second.

Went for a walk into town as we had plans of leaving here in the morning and visiting the Hymer Museum and then the showroom to look at the latest Hymers on the market and then moving on.  The town is set between two waterways and again really interesting buildings.  

Arrived back and soon joined Michael and Pam for another great night. Discovered we had travelled to many of the same places, so never stopped to draw breath.

They had to leave early next morning, so we said our goodbyes.

Went to the Hymer Museum – really interesting, with three floors of vintage cars, caravans and motorhomes from all around the world.  Really well done and for only a few Euros.  Spent a couple of hours there and then headed back to the showroom.

We bought a new bike cover after taking about two hours and doing a degree in “brochure reading in German” to try to fit it.  We have now bought 3 bike covers in 7 months – 1 demolished, 1 that doesn’t fit and one that does fit!

Too late now to head out of town so we go back to the same Stellplatz in Bad Waldsee.  Being a long weekend in Germany, the Stellplatz was full as expected.  We decided to wait, it was late and we didn’t want to travel at night so we parked at the entry and ate our very, very, late lunch. Other motorhomes  came and parked behind us – all with the same thought.

Our angels in disguise, Rolf and Agnes (Germans from near Düsseldorf) came over and told us, that they and their neighbours would move and make room for us – three motorhomes in a space for two – what a lovely gesture.  When we settled, we took over a bottle of NZ Marlborough Sav Blanc and then sat and talked for hours.  We talked about both of our many adventures and the bike covers and long story short, they had been looking for a cover for their bikes, so we opened our repackaged box and fitted the cover.  A perfect fit!  They happily bought it and everyone was happy.

They are travelling to Spain early next year so we hope to catch up with them there.  Thank you so very much, Rolf and Agnes for helping us out.

It was raining next morning and as it was a public holiday, we decided to stay for another day.  So we said our goodbyes and moved Ziggy to another spot.  Weather began to clear so we spent another few hours walking and exploring and finishing in the town centre with an ice cream for me and a pint for Rob. 

 

GERMANY

Wednesday 27th and Thursday 28th September

We are planning to meet up with fellow Australian travellers, Michael and Pam who are currently in Austria on their fourth trip in their Hymer and so we are now headed towards Innsbruck to find a good overnight site.

Found a campsite in Innsbruck which was very busy but quickly decided we did not want to stay here – prefer the country so set off again after some lunch.

Had planned to get fuel in Innsbruck but forgot and soon we were on the motorway where prices are regularly .3 Euro (45 cents) a litre dearer.

We climbed higher and higher through some unbelievably magnificent scenery but were concerned when the Low Fuel light came on.

Got stuck behind a tractor going uphill for quite a few Kms and felt the pressure mounting as going uphill in Ziggy in second gear chews up fuel quickly.

Finally got to the top and breathed a sigh of relief as we headed downhill topped up with fuel and Ziggy happily continued on.

Our campsite for two nights:  Karwendel, Mittenwald – Germany

Crossed the border from Austria in to Germany, though you wouldn’t know it.

Had heard that Germany had stepped up border patrols and were no longer allowing refugees in.  No sign of a border patrol on this secondary road here though.

Wow, Mittenwald is the most amazing little village set at the bottom of a mountain with the second highest mountain cable car lift in Germany just a short walk away.  The Stellplatz allows for 20 Motorhomes and was quite full with only a couple of spots available.

We had passed through the village on the way to the Stellplatz and couldn’t wait to explore it.

The prettiest village we have come to so far.  Difficult to describe.  The facades of many of the village houses are decorated with murals dating back to the 18th century.  Most of the colourful and artistic frescoes are based on biblical themes.  Every house looked new, fresh and colourful.

Dropped into the tourist office and picked up some brochures.  There are some fabulous walks at the top of the mountains to explore – maybe tomorrow.

Did our favourite thing after a long walk – stopped in the village, had a beer and watched the passing tourist traffic before heading home for a well deserved rest.

Saved a spot next to Ziggy for Michael and Pam who were arriving lunchtime so took the time to catch up on emails, pay bills and upload some blog info.  Internet has been woeful in Austria – so slow – and chewing up the GBs as if they were MBs.  Think the Govt here must have shares (or own) the internet companies.  A short half hour on the web just sending emails and doing some research took up about 3GBs.  Think we might run out of our 10 GBs before the end of the month.

Michael and Pam arrived after lunch and the hours just rushed by with copious glasses of wine consumed, travelling stories exchanged with much laughter and finally a break to show them this most beautiful town.

Back for a BBQ and a bottle of well aged champagne (Pam had been waiting four years to drink this with someone – luckily me) and more wine, liqueurs and finishing with chocolates.  Just such a fabulous night with a parting promise to work off the calories tomorrow with some exercise.

No headaches, or hangovers next morning but not an early start!

Friday 29th September

We met with Michael and Pam again in the morning, donned some cold weather gear and hiking boots and headed towards the cable car.

Where we stayed overnight was only 930 metres above sea level with no snow at this time of the year, however, the top of the cable car is 2244 metres with snow and then on the hiking trails heights of over 2350 metres are reached.

The views from the top are great and get better the further up the hiking trails you climb.

Michael and Pam both had Nordic walking sticks and were able to manage the more difficult sections much better than Krys and I without the sticks so I think we may be purchasing some sticks before future walks.

 

We reluctantly descended back to our Hymers, said our goodbyes and headed off in different directions.

We headed off towards Blaichach to catch up with our Dutch friends whom we met at the Polish campsite “Bumerang” in the first four weeks of this trip – Marie-Louise and Robert.  They are also regular motorhome travellers and have been communicating regularly with us.

Again the motorways were smooth and easy driving and we look in awe at the colourful Autumn landscapes around every corner.  Leaves dropping by the thousands with each gust of wind.  The streets and paddocks covered with thousands of leaves of every colour and the trees now becoming barer each day as we head towards winter.

Our campsite for the night:  Alpen-Rundblick – Blaichach

Marie-Louise and Rob arrived late afternoon after visiting Oberstdorf nearby to get tickets for the German Ice Skating dance competitions on Saturday and Sunday.  Travelling with them were Kazik and Jola who are the co owners of “Bumerang”.  They were travelling in Spain when we visited Bumerang and it was great to meet with them this time.

Too much laughter and way too many vodkas (home brew moonshine with raspberries to make it healthy! ).  Didn’t realise how strong they were until we stood up and headed back on unsteady feet.

Very popular campsite with the locals but quite expensive as apart from the 17€ per night fee, everything was extra including WC, shower and of course electricity. Lovely views across to the mountains and takes around 50 motorhomes.

Don’t think we would have been very popular with our neighbours as we partied on till around midnight.

It was a very interesting conversation as Marie-Louise and Robert are Dutch but have been living in Poland for quite a few years and Kazik and Jola are Polish but we were all speaking in German with Marie-Louise and Robert helping out with the translations when our German let us down, which seemed to increase the more moonshine we had.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Monday 28th August– Germany

We were eager to get back to the countryside now after three fabulous energised days in Berlin though Rob was feeling a little worried there was something important he missed seeing here.  “I am worried that we will not have time to see everything in Europe that we want to see, we are running out of time” – were his comments as we drove out.  Only around 18 months to go!

The trip out of Berlin was trouble free.  Think our old Sat Nav heard it was due to be replaced soon. We had tried to upload the maps to the new Garmin Camper 770 (NAVIE) using our internet data and soaked up the lot only to have it crash twice in the process. Over 7.9 GB needed for this exercise. We will have to get a new SIM card or find a place with good internet to update NAVIE.

Again we travelled along miles of tree lined roads and when these stopped the tree lined streets were replaced with massive wind turbines.  Germany has certainly given these big monsters a big tick.

Campsite for tonight: Flair Hotel Reuner, Zossen

Only a short trip was planned for today to give the feet a chance to recover.  

The Hotel offered a great area for motorhomes at the rear of the building in a beautiful garden and grassed area. There is no cost to stay here as long as you spend some money in the hotel or alternatively the fee stated is €5 for the night and you get to use their facilities when open. They also supply electricity if need be.   NAVIE was excited to swallow up their free internet and soon was up and running.

Left the driver with his new toy and ventured into the village on foot. The village is only very small with only a couple of shops so returned in just over an hour. Strange though to see a traffic jam on the Main Street of this little village in the middle of nowhere.

Shame about the lawn mower and whipper snipper that happily munched grass and shrubs around us for the rest of the afternoon – not the peace and quiet (after Berlin) that we had hoped for. Noise all done for the day, we sat and enjoyed what was left of a beautiful sunny day in this colourful garden setting.

Tuesday 29th August – Torgau, Germany

Campsite for tonight: Elbeparkplatz, Torgau

€5.10 overnight or free up to 10 hours (some motorhomers arrived after 6pm and left before 8 – staff collected money at 5pm and then 9am – how sad!)

Rob’s birthday today and his choice for tonight had to be a small village with a great restaurant and some atmosphere.

The campsite is right on the Elbe River and only caters for 5 motorhomes (though by next morning there were 7 parked there). Some locals use this to park during the day as the village centre is only about a ten minute walk.

 Torgau is the place where during the Second World War, United States Army forces coming from the west met forces of the Soviet Union coming from the east during the invasion of Germany on 25 April 1945, which is now remembered as “Elbe Day”.

 We strolled up and down the quaint cobble stoned streets and checked out the restaurants – most were around the Castle perimeter and St Mary’s Cathedral and of course into Market Square – the centre of town (and of course with the regulatory fountain). Rose gardens were everywhere starting from our campsite though to the Market Square. We are still getting used to knowing whether places are open or closed and it is a matter of giving the door handle a go to see. Tried to buy a SIM card but at €15 for 1 GB – gave it a miss – WOW how expensive is that compared to Poland.

Sat and people watched – with a not so small black beer – for an hour or so before returning to Ziggy for a rest before dinner.

Choice for tonight was an Italian restaurant, Calabrese, just off the Market Square, which catered for about 20 outside and some inside. A perfect sunny day led to a balmy summers night. Italian food and funny and friendly staff were more than fantastic.

 Wednesday 30th August – Germany

 Colditz Castle and Escape Museum

First place of interest to visit was Colditz Castle and Museum.

We booked an extended tour with Steffi our English speaking guide for 2pm and with a couple of hours to soak up, headed into town (Castle was on the top of the hill overlooking town – so all down hill – think we are gluttons for punishment). Rewarded ourselves with an iced coffee before climbing the many stairs back up hill.

We were very lucky to have Steffi as our personal guide as her knowledge of the castle and its history was really great and with the extended tour you get access to all the escape tunnels and the famous glider etc.

There were many escape attempts, many executions of captured escapees and around 31 escapees made it to freedom.

There was a TV series with David McCallum and Robert Wagner made about the castle in the early 70’s.

Some of the notable prisoners included the Englishman Douglas “Tin Legs” Bader and Charles Upham, a Kiwi, who was the only person during World War 2 to be honoured with the Victoria Cross twice.

The castle is huge and is still under renovation – even now secret hiding spots, radios, cameras etc that the prisoners had for their escape plans are still being uncovered as work continues.

Campsite for tonight: Welcome Wellness & Sport, Dobeln, Germany

What a fantastic sports facility. Sports fields all round and a building that provides apart from a restaurant, climbing wall, bowling, badminton, tennis, gymnasium, solarium – just to name a few.

Only 3 spots available for motorhomes and again, we were first to arrive and were then joined by a Polish couple who spoke excellent German. Rob got on well with them and soon was happily jabbering away in his best German. Quite busy during the day, but after 6pm – just so quiet and peaceful – though one of the hottest days we have experienced with the evening not cooling below 25 degrees.

Rained during the night so hope this will cool things down for tomorrow.

Thursday 31st August – Germany

Travelled though rain squalls most of the day and were disappointed when the place we chose to stay at today, did not look anything like the picture in the “Parkings APP” – picture showed it overlooking water – not so. We moved on and though not planned, arrived at the Czech border – a new day, a new country, a new language, a new currency and new challenges – bring them on.

 

Friday 25th – Monday 28th August, Berlin, Germany

Campsite for three nights:  Wohnmobil Oase- Berlin

For the first time our Sat Nav behaved itself and did not do anything tricky on the way into Berlin.  We had a dream run and it wasn’t until the last 50 metres that we took a wrong turn. 

Not the fault of the Sat Nav. – just a case of missing the entry to the campsite. 

This is not going to save the Sat Nav though as we will be buying a new Garmin Camper 770 whilst in Berlin and committing the old unit to the scrap heap.

The Garmin will have the NKC, ACSI and Motorhome Facts databases preloaded so this will make it much easier to research and locate the sites we want to go to.

We had reservations about staying at this particular campsite, but even though the campsite is really old, it was so central and the staff were so great, we really enjoyed our stay here.

We didn’t use the WC or bathroom facilities as they were quite limited for the size of the park. 

Comments on the blog sites about sirens were correct. Such a big city kept police and other emergency services busy continually and only being 3kms out, sirens were heard day and night.

Noise from the nearby airport did not bother us at all as we were out all day and so tired at night, noting would keep us awake.

The restaurant area near the local S and UBahn stations (Gesundbrunnen) was full of Muslims – we went there to have dinner one evening but changed our minds as restaurant after restaurant was full of men only – not a female in sight – we did not feel comfortable so left the area.

Berlin is certainly a multicultural city – on the walk from Alexander Platz to Brandenberg Gate (a couple of kilometres) it was very rare to hear the German language spoken.

Day one, we went exploring without the aid of the SBahn, UBahn or buses and walked into Friederich Strasse – 3 km away and did some preliminary sightseeing. 

After that we walked to Alexanderplatz where we purchased our new Garmin Sat Nav system – we tried to buy it online whilst in Poland but for some reason the online agents would not mail it to Poland.

Went down as far as the Brandenbrerg Gate and then after a long drink and a short break tried to find our way home.

Long story short – we arrived home exhausted after over 7 hours of walking and just crashed after a wonderfully exhausting day.

This campsite closes its gates after 8pm to vehicular traffic but entry via pedestrian gate with key is permitted afterwards.

Took a while to get started next morning as we were keen to try out the new sat nav.

After a frustrating couple of hours trying to update the European map (7.9 GB) and with crashes every couple of minutes and each time sucking valuable data from our now limited supply of Sim card data, we closed everything down and hit the tourist trail.

We purchased a two day Berlin Welcome Card which entitled us to unlimited transport and up to 50% discount on entrance to museums and attractions and restaurants and then total confusion reigned for the next two days.

Won’t go into detail, but I think over the next two days, we spent more time, taking the wrong trams, going the wrong way and then trying to come back than we did on day one walking everywhere.

Each day we came home absolutely exhausted after 8- 9 hours of being out and about but we have to say that this city is absolutely amazing and the sights and places we visited over the three days were just unbelievable as the photos will show.

From the Berlin Dom Cathedral – the Brandenburg Gates – Reichstag (parliament House) – the Berlin Wall – Checkpoint Charlie and so many museums.

At the Berlin Dom we climbed the 271 steps to the top (and then back down again) – the view from the top was great.

The area around Checkpoint Charlie is really tacky and we encountered more American youngsters in that area than we have anywhere else on our tour.

It was interesting in that the younger generation seemed more interested in history surrounding the Berlin Wall rather than the second world war – maybe the war was too long ago whereas the Wall came down around 1989 and their parents memories of those events would still have been fairly fresh.

We could have stayed many more days and it really wasn’t until day three that we became familiar with the complicated but efficient transport system in this great city.

This campsite takes over 100 motorhomes and over the three days we met so many really great people.

Dirk and Petra Neumann from Oldenberg, Germany were our neighbours for a couple of days and invited us to visit their home after we leave Berlin.

When they left on day two, Petra left us with a basket full of tomatoes and the longest cucumber I have ever seen, grown in her garden and promised they would refill our vege stocks when we visit them in Oldenberg.

Our blog friends, Debbie and Mike Cohen from the Gold Coast, arrived on Sunday afternoon and we met them for a drink and exchanged travel stories over a cuppa. We hope to catch up again somewhere before they head back to Oz next April.

Got to say our feet gave up before the thirst to see more of Berlin and after day three and probably 27 hours on our feet during that time, we decided to have a couple of days rest away from the buzz, noise, sirens, sights, fantastic buildings, history and attractions of this great city.

Reluctantly we left on Monday morning.

We had a big decision to make when we exited the gate at the campsite – should we turn left or right?

Tuesday – Wednesday 22-23rd August – Lebus, Germany

Campsite for two nights: Ausflugsgastatte Anglerheim

Back into Germany now and decided to spend a few days in the countryside before going into the big smoke of Berlin.  Travelled south from the border to a little town called Lebus which is on the Oder River.  Passed along many tree lined roads on the way.

This free campsite is just magical and can accommodate many motorhomes and cars.  When we arrived, there were two German motorhomes there.  Located right on the Oder river with just a large green grassed area between Ziggy and the river.  The Anglerheim Restaurant fronts the car park and over the two days was really popular with the locals for both lunch and dinner.  It has a great outdoor area so we took advantage of this and enjoyed a couple of beers late afternoon and then ventured into the restaurant which was fitted out with German artefacts and waitresses wearing traditional outfits.  First time since our disastrous episode with the smoked fish, that we ordered fish for dinner.  Salmon and mackerel was just amazing – and no bones (plus sauerkraut of course).

Lebus is right smack in the middle of a bike track that goes north or south forever along the Oder River.  A kind of backpackers style Accommodation in this little town is focused on bikers who travel for days along this bikeway, most who also carry basic camping gear on their bikes.

Strange to watch anglers on our side of the Oder, (in Germany), casting their lines out in to the middle of the Oder and watching other anglers on the other side of the Oder (in Poland) casting their lines out in to the middle of the Oder – 2 different countries and currencies but maybe not languages, customs and cultures so much as the borders between these countries has changed so often over the years.

Decided to stay another night here and do our first big bike ride for a while.  Set off after breakfast – again my best friend opting to go by manpower alone while his navigator again taking battery power (just in case!!!).  The bike track was amazing – bitumen all the way and reasonably flat.  Through the countryside on one side and the river on the other we pedalled for over 20kms and though absolutely breathtaking scenery but did not come across that little village we wanted to stop at and have a pint or two and mix with the locals.  Mostly all farm land here.  Came back a little tired so stopped for a rest for a while and padlocked up the bikes and then ventured up into the little town by foot.

Robbed the bank of some euros and headed back to Ziggy for some well deserved R & R.  Sat and watched the multitudes of bikers come and go – most stopping at the restaurant for coffee and ice cream before heading on to wherever.

Next morning, we saw Milo and Otis going for a stroll. Tickled my fancy watching owner and dog going for a walk with the cat a couple of paces behind.  So unusual seeing cat and dog going together for a stroll.

Just loved this great camp and would highly recommend it.

Thursday 24th. August, – Muncheberg, Germany

Spent a few minutes speaking with Barbara and Ramsay – Ramsay’s 86th birthday today – happy Birthday Ramsay, so glad you had such a great day with friends – we then headed off after a slow and relaxing start to the day.

Didn’t travel very far today as we planned to spend another night outside of Berlin and then venture in tomorrow for the weekend.

Campsite for tonight: Parkplatz Muncheberg, Muncheberg, Germany

After a couple of bad choices for our overnight campsite and some not so forgiving cobble stone roads – (Ziggy just hates these and so does the driver), – we found Parkplatz Muncheberg.  Just outside of the CBD of this small town, there is a great Parkplatz which is away from the hustle and bustle of  town but only a few minutes walk to the centre. 

There are lots of spaces, but again we are the only ones here.  We needed to buy a new bike pump as the one we brought with us from Australia only succeeded in letting the air out of our bikes instead of the opposite.  Found a bike shop and invested in one that did the right thing.

Made friends with a little girl – 6 years old who was very intrigued with Ziggy and rode round and round us for ages before stopping to talk to us.   She only spoke German so our conversation was quite amusing but she was just delightful and we really enjoyed trying out our limited German with her.  She smiled many times and shrugged her shoulders when she couldn’t understand us.  So cute but we were concerned why she was out on her own on her bike talking to strangers.

Next morning she appeared with her whole family who ventured out on bikes together.

Another really lovely little town with some very unusual buildings.

 

Tuesday 4^th April – Dresden continued

Came home from a great day touring AldStadt (Old Town) Dresden.  The tram and bus system here is so good so was not hard to find our way back.  We came back full of the hope that our fridge would be working.

Ugh – after about an hour, we noticed the fridge was getting hotter again.   The service department was now closed so we took readings for a while and then put the fridge back on electricity.

Wednesday  & Thursday 5^th & 6^th April – Dresden

Dropped back into the service department first thing.  The receptionist saw us coming and alerted the troops that we were back again.  We could tell by the look on her face that they were getting a little tired of us now.  The service manager arrived promptly and we gave him our trusty piece of paper logging two hours of time with temperatures getting hotter in our fridge.  We did not have to say anymore and watched as he conferred with other service personnel. 

To cut a long story short, he eventually rang Dometic directly and ordered a part which he said would arrive on Friday (another two or so days here in Dresden was not a problem as it is such a great city).  We still could keep our deadline to be in Warsaw by the following week.  Spent the rest of the day catching up on paperwork, reading and walking,

The part arrived around lunchtime Thursday and was fitted.  It was a small piece of metal the size of a green pea but as soon as this was fitted to the burner, the flame which had been an orange colour changed to blue.  We sat for the next hour or so keeping a watch on the gauges – colder and colder it went so it was time to go out and celebrate.

Decided to find another local pub with some good German food and set off on foot.  About two hours later and with sore feet we gave up – who could ever dream that you could walk for two hours in Germany and not find a pub on a corner.

We ended up at our trusty local pub just around the corner (we had been there the night before for a drink only) and had a beautiful German dinner of Pork Schnitzel and of course sauerkraut for me and potatoes for Rob, downed this with a couple of local beers and then headed back for a well deserved rest.

Friday 7^th April – Bad Muskau, Germany (border of Germany and Poland).

Happily set off from Dresden with a fridge that was working better than ever (didn’t get our door fixed so will have to wait until we get back to UK to get this done at the end of the year.  Again a typical overcast cold day and drizzle but we are learning that if you don’t go out in this sort of weather then you wouldn’t do anything – kind of getting used to it now except when we hear from back home about the sunny warm days.

The countryside is so green and lush and it is really beautiful scenery with lots of farms everywhere.

Arrived in Bad Muskau and camped in a Stellplatz at the top of town.  Again we were the only ones there (though one motorhome did arrive during the night).  It was about 2 kms down to town so we put on our rain gear, took our trusty umbrella and headed down town to try to find a supermarket.  Had been running the cold food down because we were unsure about how the fridge would run but now – wow we could fill up the fridge – what a treat.

The German side was typical of what we had seen in other towns but once we crossed a bridge to the Polish side – things changed rapidly.  It was like a huge flea market set up with dozens and dozens of old run down shanty type buildings selling wares (mostly cigarettes and booze).  It appears cigarettes are considerably cheaper in Poland than Germany so people come over the border in droves to stock up on cigarettes and alcohol.  Shoes, coats, lace, fruit, vegetables – you could buy practically anything.  Even buses pulled up and people go out with shopping trolleys to stock up

We didn’t buy anything but really enjoyed the experience.

When we headed over the bridge back to the German side, police were stopping cars and checking their boots.  It appears that you are only permitted to bring one carton of cigarettes over the border when in a car and hefty fines are imposed for those that break the law.  Not sure what happens to the folk in buses as I am sure that had lots more.

Stopped in at a pub on the way back for an early dinner and headed back up the hill to Ziggy.

Saturday 8^th April – Olesnica (60kms north east of Wroclaw – Poland

Horror shock – we were heading into Poland and didn’t have any Polish Zloty only Euros and the banks were not open on a Saturday – had to get some money so asked the Stellplatz owner where the best place was to get cash.  He showed us on a map, the location of a couple of ATM locations on the Polish side.    Rob sat with Ziggy in case he was asked to move.  Here, every little spot that looked like a parking spot was policed by a local vendor who rushed out and asked you for money to park there.

Eventually I was able to get cash out at a Bankomat but felt very uncomfortable about getting cash from anywhere other than a bank.  Have been warned through several blog sites to be very selective about where you get your money out.

 

Thursday 30^th March, 2017 – Leipe, Lebbenau – East Germany

Rainy and overcast this morning.  Filled up with water, emptied grey water and black water and headed off.   Batteries are fully topped off and fridge has worked well on power.  Seems to work well on power and 12 volt but drops a lot when on gas.  Think there may be a problem so will monitor over the next few days.

We are now desperate to find a McDonalds so that we can update the blog site and send news home to family and friends.

Thank you to family and all our friends who have sent us messages and well wishes over the last three weeks.  Hope to be able to answer some emails when we are internet rich!!  Have ordered some new equipment from Adam and Sophie at MotorhomeWifi UK which should help considerably. 

Will pick this up in Poland at Easter time.  Whatever did we do before internet.  We rely on it so much these days and only now realise how important it is to us during our travels.  Thank you to our blog followers who have given us advice on internet options available.

A crazy day today, we seemed to go round and round and not find anything we were looking for.    The roads here are so narrow and with such a large machine as Ziggy,  we don’t know how we manage to get past cars let alone all the trucks that travel on these very narrow roads.  People are so used to this here and are very obliging (mostly) when they see us coming.

Finally after many hours and some unbelievable back roads we arrived at a Stellplatz in Leipe near Lebbenau.  It is a resort of sort with a restaurant and waterway at the back which during the summer months would be full of guests rowing and paddling through the waterways.   No one here right now and they are closed until 1^st April.  Fortunately the owner who was working on the restaurant took pity on us after we told him we were from Australia (he has a brother in Adelaide) and allowed us to stay the night.

We headed off around 5pm to a restaurant and resort about a km up the road and had a few well deserved beers and some Germany hospitality.  Really beautiful resort but again not many guests staying yet.  Lesson learned – never ask for an item not on a menu and on a blackboard without a price (German eye fillet with spicy red cabbage – had to have the cabbage to see if it was as good as mum used to make – was not disappointed) – cost us a pretty penny but we went home at twilight after a great evening.

Came home to a not so cold fridge and decided it was time to do something about it the next day.

Friday 31^st March – Senftenberg – Germany  (YES WE WERE THERE A FEW DAYS AGO).

After some research on internet, we found a place that should have been a repair and service place for our Dometic fridge in a large town nearby Cottbus.  Sadly they said they don’t do work like this and directed us to a town nearby – only a half an hour away !!    So we headed off again.  This time we again were told that they didn’t have anyone there to help us but as were about to walk out the door, a tradesman said he knew something about these fridges and took time out to have a look at Ziggy.  Appears we need a new part and he said to come back on Monday and he would be able to fit it.

We decided then and there that it was time to chill out in one of our favourite places that we have been to date  Senftenberg.

Passed by a Mcdonalds in Cottbus so in we went and spent an hour updating the blogsite (and having some unhealthy Maccas at the same time).  Think the next visit might be just coffee and maybe a muffin.

To our surprise when we arrived at Senftenberg the gates to the Stellplatz were open and already 8 out of the 12 spots were taken.  The Stellplatz was not due to open until the next day but we were so happy we got in early and found a safe and beautiful place for the night.

Saturday and Sunday 1^st and 2^nd April – Senftenberg – East Germany.

A beautiful sunny day today and for the first time in our travels we were in a site where there were a dozen motorhomes surrounding us.  All with German numberplates.  Still to find a fellow English speaking motorhomer.

We spoke with the manager of the Stellplatz who was so impressed that we were Australian she said she would take a picture  of our booking form as she had not had any Australians stay here ever.  Only 11 euros a night and that includes a waterfront site with power and water  We booked in for two nights and happily headed off to the bike way for a much needed ride.

We biked for hours and eventually headed into the centre of town.  We are so amazed that biking is a way of life here and cars are very respectful of bikers.  The markets in the town centre were still open so we spent time looking at the local wares.    Lots of interesting looking sausages and meats though not sure if Rob’s  Aussie stomach is ready  for some of these yet.

Headed back to the waterfront and stopped in at restaurant on the waterfront for a delightful lunch – salmon is so cheap here – thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon in the sunshine and then headed back to Ziggy for some reading and relaxation before the sun set for the evening – no dinner tonight – we are still both full to pussys bow from the beautiful lunch we had.

How the weather changes so rapidly here – woke up to a vastly different day – cold and overcast so sat indoors for a wee while reading until the sun tried to pop out and off we went again.  This time we almost did a complete lap of the lake, stopping regularly to take in the sights and lovely little villages along the way.  Even a sailing boat out on the lake today.  Appears here that people are not stopped by the weather.

Stopped in at a waterfront café and had a bratwurst roll and a cold beer.  Around 300 motor bikers rode past the square with probably 50 or so stopping in the square to join us for lunch.  Mostly grey hairs just like us out for a day on the motor bike.  The bikers outfits were just unbelievable – very trendy.

Met up with our neighbours at the Stellplatz who were again from Dresden – lovely people again and very keen to spend time with us – didn’t speak English but we got by and think they understood most of what we were talking about (we will never know but it was fun).  They told us about a great Stellplatz about 5kms out from Dresden Central.  It was also a Hymer dealer and repair place called SchafferMobil.  We decided to give it a go instead of going back to Cottbus.

Monday 1^st April, 2017 – Dresden, Germany

Found Schaffer-Mobil easily – like a small city with every conceivable type of motorhome in the front yard – mostly Hymers so we are very optimistic that they will be able to help us out.  The back was where the motorhome park was set among rows of hedges separating  each lane – very green and lush and they have wi-fi included – hurrah!!!    Guess what we will be doing this afternoon?  After a couple of hours of computer work it was time to stretch the legs.  We found a huge shopping centre called Elbe Park around 600 meters away.  It had every conceivable shop you could ask for.  Dropped into some internet shops to find out more about the types of SIM cards that are available and did a little food shopping. 

Came back and met with the service people who have assured us they can fix the fridge problem in the morning.  We have a repair to the driver’s door (that Rob broke) that needs doing as well so will probably be here for a couple of days.  The latch on the inside driver’s door gave way during week one (Rob pulled it way too hard) so we have had to wind down the electric window and open the door from the outside .  No problems with the outside mechanism though.  Our alarm system will not work properly until we get the door fixed so this will be a must while we are here.

Spent the evening enjoying the luxury of having some internet.

Tuesday 2^nd April 2017 – Dresden Germany

Bought a family transport pass for 9 Euros which allows both of us to travel by bus or train anywhere in Dresden for 24 hours.  Good value as the nearest stop is just down the road from where we are staying

We went to the historic part of the city – many of the building here were built in the 1500s and are just beautiful – they have either done a great restoration job and or were lucky because there were some massive bombing raids carried out by the RAF and the USAF in February 1945 – 1245 bombers attacked the city for 3 days and nights.

Our first real sign of Tourists – saw a couple of tour groups of Asians and Americans – they stood out so guess we do too.

We went to a McDonalds to get some Internet and I couldn’t believe it – there was a sign saying that it cost .50 Euro to go to the toilet – never seen a charge anywhere else to go to a McDonalds – that was just the first part as to get to the toilet you had to feed the money in to a machine and then hope that the turnstyles would open to let you through – then you needed to go through the turnstyles again to get out – knew there was a reason why I have never liked McDonalds.

Some of the Dresden sights were amazing – many great sights are grouped together in the historic part of town – the whole area is illuminated at night

In the afternoon we caught a tram to the Military Museum – a Museum spread over 4 floors with exhibits of the German army from 1300 to the current day

The main emphasis is on the two world wars and we thought there may not be any information about Hitler and the Jewish situation but to their credit there was – but not a whole lot

 

Friday 24^th March 2017 – Burgkunstadt – Germany

Woke up to the same, same and no different – overcast and cold (around 12degrees) in the morning so decided not to do the intended bike ride. 

What a shame as the bicycle track looked very interesting. 

Headed up town Hammelburg to talk to the guy at Vodafone about future options for internet (we are sorted for Germany – thank goodness but given the advice we have received from so many of our blog friends decided it was the best thing to do). 

The guy at Vodafone confirmed what everyone has told us to – i.e. to get a sim card in each country we visit – best and most economical thing to do.

Left Hammelburg and again travelled the motorways and back roads to our next destination. 

It is just so exciting as around every corner – there is something different.  First the rural backdrop – green fields and beautiful scenery, passing through towns along the waterways and as you reach each village, you are greeted by alpine houses with various pastel colours of render – pinks, blues, violet, green and gold. 

Nothing looks open here.  The doors are shut tight to keep the cold out and only when you stop and test the door, you find it open and locals there to greet you.  What a wonderful world it is.

Ziggy has not let us down.  We are so happy with the layout – the bed is just unbelievably comfortable and snug at night and the lounge/dining area so spacious.  The dinette area with café style seating is great for dinner and then to spend a few hours doing the homework and planning for the next day.  When all is done, the lounge is a full length 2 metres plus for the lucky person who nabs it first to lie in comfort and watch the TV (when we can get a satellite connection).

Our next village for the night was Burgkunstadt.  We are heading north now to make our way to Poland but want to stay in Germany as long as possible (to take advantage of our Aldi Internet for Germany).  We will try to avoid going through Czech Republic for now and cross the border far to the north east into Poland over the next few days.

We are camped again right on the border of town – with Aldi and our new found Edeka (another supermarket chain but with so many extra brands to choose from and lots more fresh food – though a little more expensive than Aldi) within a short walk. 

We have also found our first hardware store – a supermarket more designed to please the male in our family.!!!  

The sun had come out and it was time to hit the bike trail again.  Surprise, surprise, we found another Vodafone store – have been hunting for days to find one – now they are around every corner.

Packed up the bikes and then for our next task – how to fit the bike cover provided by our Friend Michael Steers in Stafford UK .  

You need a degree to fit one of these.  The packaging did not give you any real instructions on how to fit one of these, so for a frustrating hour we pulled and tugged and tried our best to put this around our E bikes. 

Think Fiamma should put out a “Dummies Guide to fitting a Bike Cover” on the web for people with grey hair!!!!   We did it – hurrah! – but then discovered we had not fitted the bike alarm-lock system before we did the final zip up.  !!…!!! ugh!!!

Saturday 25^th March, 2017 – Grunhain – Germany

Woke up to a beautiful morning – blue skies and sunshine – what a difference it makes to the way you feel for the day when you wake up to a morning like today.  Hope this the beginning of many days of similar weather.

We stocked up on wine and beer and meat at Aldi and headed off.

After a two hour trip again through some unbelievable scenery we arrived at our next destination – Grunhain.  One of those very small villages in the middle of nowhere.  

The Stellplatz was behind a restaurant and again on the outskirts of town.  No dedicated bikeways here so put on the walking shoes and headed for the town.  Most of the village shops in Germany seem to close around midday on Saturday so the only places open after lunch are the pubs – well guess where we spent an hour or two trying to speak to the locals in our very best German.  Had a lot of fun and after a few beers left for a shower and bed for the night.

They have a beautiful tradition here for Easter where they decorate small trees with coloured plastic easter eggs.  The trees are around 1 – 2 metres high and most with no leaves so all you can see is the beautiful coloured eggs hanging from bare branches.  Also the houses have little easter rabbits at the front doors.  What a lovely tradition.

Sunday 26^th March, 2017 – Pirna – Germany

Couldn’t find the first Stellplatz we were looking for – Schlosspark Pirna –   Seems like it had been replaced with a new building under construction.  Went round and round and found everything except it. 

There are apparently 4 in this town so on to the next one.  This one Elbaparkplatz, was right on the Elba river.  No services  at this one but the location was great.  Arrived here before lunch so off came the bikes and we were ready to explore.  I think every man and his dog was out enjoying the beautiful blue skies and sunshine.  We thought the whole German rowing team was out on the river, I think we counted around 20 x 8  man boats out there.  We sat and had a well deserved rest while watching them go through their routines.

Monday 27^th March, 2017 -Senftenberg – Germany

Wohnmobilstellplatz, Buchwalde – right on the Senftenberg Lake – another beautiful sunny spring day.  Arrived here only to find that this motorhome park does not open until this Saturday 1^st April.  We parked in the car park just outside of the gates and found someone who allowed us to stay outside in the car park for the night. 

Just absolutely beautiful here and would highly recommend this place to anyone.  The bike track runs along the waterfront and seems to be never ending.  We biked around 15kms and there was no end in sight.  This park is open from 1^st April to 1^st November only but it appears you can park in the car park outside of the gates for a night. 

They also have a grey water and chemical dump point outside which we were able to use – but water is not available.  We rode by a marina with many shops and where the locals were out in full force – biking, rollerblading and walking.  Found the ice cream shop irresistible and indulged in a double scoop –to share of course, as we did not want to undo all the calories burnt off on the ride.  We are not using the batteries on the bikes so the exercise has  been great.

Set up the BBQ for the first time and enjoyed a German rump steak (very expensive here) with a bottle of cheap French red. 

Can feel the muscles in the tops of the legs so must have done some good today.

Might try and stretch the friendship tomorrow with the locals and stay another night.  Feel we need time out of travel as we have not stayed anywhere for more than one night so far. 

Tuesday & Wednesday 28^th & 29^th – Lohsa – Germany

Thought we would head off mid morning to visit McDonalds which we sighted in town yesterday.  Though we have internet on Rob’s Ipad from the Aldi SIM, it is not compatible with our laptop so we have not been able to update the website. 

Tried to get the SIM out and put it in the phone and use hotspot but it was jammed in and there is no way we can get it out.  No luck with McDonalds – it has to be the only McDonalds we have ever seen that does not have a car park and is walk in only.  We went round and round trying to find a car park with no luck.  Time to move on.  Didn’t go back to Senftenberg and headed off again.

Only a short distance away we found Lohsa.  Right on a lake again with a bikeway all around the lake.  There are so many lakes and waterways in this part of Germany.   Met some great people from Dresden who spoke excellent English so spent the afternoon with them.  They have invited us to come stay with them in Dresden and they would show us around. –  How good is that – meeting someone for the first time and getting an offer like this.  We thanked them and said we might visit them on the way back – but we wont as we don’t like to intrude.  They left late afternoon to head back home so we were once again alone in a big camping area.

It will get busier come the weekend as that is when officially most things open here.

Shopping for food is an experience all by itself.  You can’t read everything on the label so you go on sight mostly.   Chicken, turkey and pork are the main meat items you can purchase (at a reasonable price).  Have not had a bad experience yet with choosing meats that are marinated (in what you might ask?) cook it and then you will know!!  Bought two bike helmets at Lidl for an amazing 9 euros would you believe.  They have to better than none we think.

Woke up Wednesday morning to an overcast day so took advantage of the day to find out more about what makes Ziggy work.  Time for some much needed washing and housekeeping to be done.  What a breeze.  First person to wake up in the morning gets up and turns on the heater – the smalls get put in front of the outlet to warm them up (still very cold in the mornings now – still in single digit numbers).  Had a very relaxing day not doing much of anything except enjoying the view and the day off travelling. 

We have free camped mostly to date, but here at Lohsa for ten euros a day, they provide everything including electricity.  Haven’t  needed electricity as Ziggy’s solar panels and batteries have worked very efficiently.  Had a wonderful night just listening to music.  Our Ipod has over 2000 songs to choose from.   Had a Pink Floyd night with a couple of bottles of wine – tried to dance but the dance floor was a little bit small.

Wednesday 21^st March – Klingenberg – Germany

Another typical European day – overcast, cold but not raining. 

Looking forward to some sunshine again soon as we have not had the pleasure of sunshine since we left Dunkirk. 

We remember meeting with two very lovely British ladies when we arrived in Dunkirk in beautiful sunshine. 

They said they travel the continent regularly and “when the sun is shining, you stay put and lap up the sunshine as it does not happen very often”.  We think now that we can understand what they meant.

This does not stop us from exploring and making the best of every day even when it is cold, overcast and no sun!!    The countryside is so beautiful.

Today we again travelled for approx. 100kms and arrived in Klingenberg Germany. 

Our campsite is on the river but not one of our favourite spots to date. 

We took off for a short walk to the town centre and again ventured into the trusty “tourist information centre” in the middle of town. 

They advised us that we could get the illusive internet in a town called Worth just a short km away.  We headed off and along the way we discovered an Aldi store so decided to venture in and see what was to offer. 

We found some throw overs for our lounge and dining chairs (3) and then continued on our merry way to find this internet store.    Sadly when we finally found the store, they had nothing to offer that was a reasonable price and suggested either Aldi or Norma’s as an alternative.  We headed back to Aldi and with much difficulty purchased a package (but had no idea what we purchased).

Four hours later and a little tired, we came back to our safe haven and decided to leave the hook up until we were fresh the next morning.

Some words of wisdom to new travellers – make sure you have absolutely everything sorted in England before you head to the continent.  It will save you a lot of time and heartache.  We have been told from friends following our blog that Vodaphone is the best option for internet. 

Strangely we have not found one in our travels on the continent to date.  Also anything you wish to buy for your motorhome should be purchased in England before you head over.  It may cost you a little more but will save you hours of time hunting it out in the continent.

Thursday 22^nd Match – Hammelburg – Germany

All too hard as when we found the help phone number and dialled the number, the operator spoke so quickly we had no way of understanding what she said. 

We decided to go back to the internet company we had visited the day before and ask for help.  They obviously spoke German fluently and knew all about the internet so this was our best chance.  A couple of hours later we were connected and headed off to Munster about 3kms outside of Dieburg where Krys’ parets were married and where Krys was born.

Beautiful little town, very modern and mostly very new.  Didn’t have an address where Krys was born nor did we have an address where her parents were married or lived so after a short visit we headed off again.

We are staying in a Stellplatz right in the centre of Hammelburg and did a walk through the town.  Strangely the first building we came to was an Irish Pub.  Was tempted to have a Guiness but decided to leave this until our visit to Ireland later on down the track.  We discovered a beautiful little town square and again because the sun was shining , the square was filled with chairs and tables ready for the local trade to soak up the sunshine.

Surprise, surprise – we found a Vodaphone store in the square – a little too late for us!!

Hope to take a ride on the bikes in the morning (if the sun is still shining) !!.

Monday 19^th March -Manderscheid – Germany

Armed with addresses given to us by our friend at Bastogne, we left our safe park in the centre of Bastogne and drove to the hardware store to purchase 4 items on our list that we needed for Ziggy.

First item was a water hose and tap fittings.

We used Mr Google on our iPhone to describe what we wanted and pointed this at a shop assistant.

He studied this very carefully with raised eye brows for a considerable amount of time.

We began to think Mr Google wasn’t giving us much help here.

It wasn’t until we spoke the word “hose” that the shop assistant smiled and directed us to the hose section – success at last – phew! 

Water taps (when you can find one that has a top on it here, they are usually very close to chemical toilet dump stations so we didn’t want to use these to fill up our fresh water tank without using our own hose. 

We decided to leave the other items for another day as we had just gone through our own “Battle” with the French. 

We smiled at our one triumph for the day and eagerly moved on to our next adventure.

We drove about 100km through lush green forests and quaint homes and villages. 

Took a wrong turn (not unusual) and discovered a new estate outside a village with unbelievably new modern homes – architecture though and building materials still in the old style.

Drove through Luxembourg into Germany. 

Wind farms and acres of solar panels are everywhere in France and Germany.  They certainly are embracing alternative energy sources.

We both now feel at home as the road signs are in German and we can actually read and understand (most or should I same some) of them. 

We spend the hours testing each other on German words – not sure who is leading the competition right now.

Heading off the motorway we take a sharp right and go down, down, down a very steep and windy road. 

We hoped our sat nav wasn’t heading us in the wrong direction as we had no way of turning around. 

Then with great relief, we saw three other motor homes parked and breathed a sigh of relief.

Our home for the night was beside the beautiful rural Hotel Heidsmuhle which is surrounded by forest, a lagoon with ducks, swans and fish jumping.

There are beautiful walks set up around the property and we ventured off for about an hour. 

The reward for the exercise of course was to spend a couple of hours on the deck of this beautiful Hotel and taste the local Bitberger (or two). 

We are now talking to the locals and enjoying a laugh as we speak our best German and people can actually understand us.

Tuesday 20^th March – Bingen on the Rhine – Germany

We reluctantly headed off from this beautiful place.  Would like to have stayed longer but if we haven’t already explained previously, we have one major commitment to get to Biala Podlaska in eastern Poland (right out near the border with Belarus) for Easter (13^th April) to visit  my relations – Barbara, Petr and their lovely daughter Kornelia. 

We don’t speak a word of Polish but thank goodness Kornelia and her partner Kamil speak excellent English so there will be many days of translating back and forth happening. 

Barbara (through Kornelia) has helped me with documentation for getting my Polish Citizenship.  We think we have now done everything and submitted everything we need to get this – fingers crossed.

Today we travelled through the beautiful Mosel Valley – with villages everywhere on the side of the river.  Acres and acres of grape vines coming right down to the waters edge.   The vines are not in bloom right now but I am sure we will taste many of the varieties grown here over the next couple of years.

Explored our first Lidl – very much like Aldi at home.  Beer and wine is so cheap here compared to back home so we stocked up with several bottles and headed off for our sleeping place for the night.

Not as exciting as the Hotel Heidsmuhle but they had free internet here so I am sure Rob will wile the hours away this evening using the facility.