Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis

Last night we slept really well in our little picnic spot. I actually woke up at 4am and couldn’t get back to sleep so just lay there until 6:30an but I was fine with that. I’d had a good 5 hours straight sleep which is the longest I’ve had since the bike crash so I that was a blessing.
The weather has started to turn here in Germany and although it’s not raining yet it is forecast in the next few days but autumn is definitely here already and temperatures have plummeted to low double figures during the day and low single figures at night. It’s getting cold and the fire is now getting used alot and that’s the first thing I put on this morning.
Once the fire was lit we had teas and coffees and then we made a plan for the rest of the day.
I was still desperate to get a decent shot of Elitz Castle and we needed shopping and water so my plan was to go back to Polche, where we could get everything.
At 10am we left the picnic spot and just as we got to the main road we saw a garage that did LPG gas. It was self service and this was our first LPG fill up of this trip and our first in Germany. The tank took 16.6 litres and would have taken more but I stopped the pump. I’d never put that much in before and was convinced I was doing something wrong or we had got a major gas leak. Once we had paid for it Ellie reminded me that the fuel prices have doubled and last year we were putting in €10 a time which probably meant I could have put €20 in so now we’ve only got 3/4 in one tank. But that’s not a big deal.
Moving again we had a 20 mile trip to Polche and TomTom took me the scenic route up and down some big hills with some lovely switchbacks which did my ribs absolutely no favours and I was in constant pain.
We got to the Moho park up we had used a few nights ago and filled up with fresh water and tipped the grey and toilet off. Then we went to Aldi and Lidl and stocked up in supplies for the next few days. Then we went back to the park up and made lunch.
It was now after 1pm and we filled up with diesel and then headed back to Elitz Castle Motorhome area which was just a 10 mile drive. Once we had parked up at 2:30pm we both had a snooze on the back seats. We must have needed it because we both went out like a light for an hour and when we woke up at 3:30pm we still had 2 hours to kill before we set off back down the hill to the castle for sunset so we had a cup of tea and watched a crappy documentary on Netflix and at 5:10pm we gathered our stuff together and set off back down the hill on the 14% gradient.
Ellie didn’t particularly fancy the long walk with steep hills and I did say I could do it on my own but she wasn’t convinced I could do it atall so she came along reluctantly at first thinking it would be a waist of time.
I had checked the closing time of the castle and it was 5:30pm. There’s no car park nearby so everyone is shuttled in so I figured the last pick up would be 6pm at the latest and I was right.
We reached the castle and it was pretty much empty except for less than a handful of people milling around taking selfies. Then the last shuttle bus arrived, they all got in and Ellie and I had the whole place to ourselves except for an elderly couple who were also taking pictures. I got the shots I wanted and I am pleased. I have only planned a handful of things to photograph on this trip and this was one of them and I don’t think we’ll be coming back anytime soon.
Shots in the bag we started making our way back to Wanda and now as the sun was dropping so was the temperature.
The walk back, like the other day, was twice as long but not quite as steep as the way there and this time we didn’t get lost and made it back to Wanda just as the last of the light disappeared. It was now just 7°c outside and we were glad to get back in Wanda and start making dinner. Tonight we had Schnitzel in some marinade. It was really tasty.
By the time dinner was done and the washing up it was 8:30pm and we settled in for the night.
We’ve refuelled, restocked and are now ready to resume our journey and boldly go where lots of other Motorhome have gone before, but Wanda Style.Read more