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European road trip
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European road trip

Finally... we are off again on European Road Trip!
This has always been our dream, so lets go for it! Read more
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    2

    27. Flueli Ranft

    March 2, 2024 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    Today we woke to beautiful sunshine, we left our funny farmyard campsite and decided to head up the mountain road to go for a walk. After climbing the van to 1380mtrs, we decided to stop as it was going to be a long way down and we could see the road disappeared up into snow... Erm no thank you 😂. The views were amazing and we enjoyed a walk in the sunshine.

    Afterwards, we headed to Aldi to do a food shop as we have an exciting plan for the next few days. We are back tracking abit and heading back to the same free park up as yesterday as Grangee has said to look at the Lauterbrunnen valley. Upon researching, we have found out that we can go on Europe's longest sledge run and looks unbelievably scenic. The sledge run is 11km in total, we will be getting a bus upto 1800mtrs and then climbing ourselves another 800 mtrs to the start of the sledge run.

    We have found a lovely but extremely expensive campsite at Lauterbrunnen to make base at 1300mtrs so we can explore these 2 snowy valleys. Jungfrau is a renowned skii resort and we are super stoked to do this sledge run. It can take anywhere between 30 mins and 1.1/2 so we may have time to do a couple of runs. This ticks 2 boxes for us, Climbing nearly to the top of an Alp mountain and also having the fun of sledging all the way down..

    We took Maddy on a long walk and then played basketball for a bit before planning tomorrows movements into the snow! The campsite we are heading to tomorrow is currently having heavy snow and is - 5 in the day, so I'm sure it will be an adventure!!    Read more

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    28. Launterbrunnen

    March 3, 2024 in Switzerland ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C

    Today we had a very scenic drive to Launterbrunnen via Interlaken, it was a nice sunny day so we loved the drive weaving between the mountains. We stopped at a few scenic points enroute and ended up taking a mountain road which definitely was not for vans. We had a good 1.1/2 mile reverse with a cliff to our side which was fun... 😬😬😂.
    We arrived in Launterbrunnen and were blown away with it's beauty, there are many waterfalls coming down the 300mtr cliffs, which is awesome to see.
    We stopped and walked down the glacier valley to another waterfall, which Maddy loved. Once we got back we checked into the campsite and made ourselves at home.
    We entertained ourselves in the shop looking at the prices, £10 for a small Toblerone, ouch...
    In the evening they light up the cliff with the waterfall and this was mesmerising. We enjoyed a night time walk with this in the background.
    After a nice chicken supper, we watched some TV before heading to bed as tomorrow is the day for the longest sledge run in Europe! Hopefully it is open!    Read more

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    29. Grindelwald

    March 4, 2024 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 1 °C

    Today we woke up very early to check the sledge report .We were very lucky that they were able to sort the sledge runs after the storm yesterday. The weather was cloudy, but the sledge runs were open ! We took Maddy on a walk and packed our lunch. We then got on the free bus from the campsite which takes you to the train station. Upon arriving we ordered the tickets and nearly had a heart attack when they annouced it was £40 return. Grindelwald was only a 25 minute drive away, but we bought the train tickets anyway as it was easier than going back to the van (and putting it into drive mode) and driving there.

    When we arrived, it felt like we were in Skiing heaven, not much snow on the lower slopes, but there was still a hive of activity of Skiiers and Snowboarders around the area. We rented 2 sledges and then headed to get the bus, enroute we double checked our plan of sledging the 'longest sledge run in Europe' and the lady explained that snow wasn't as much on lower slopes so we could only do 1 run before it got dark, after a quick discussion we came to conclusion this was probably a blessing as we didn't want to hike up a mountain in the clouds anyway.

    Instead we bought a hiking and sledge pass, which gave us unlimited rides up and down on the open sledge runs. We brought the tickets for £55 each and headed up. It took us about 25 mins to reach the top from the bottom and we had some nice views along the way, despite being cloudy. We got to the top and did our first run, it was seriously quick and pretty much uncontrollable, so we knew we had to get some skills to get a clean and fast run without becoming casualties. After 3 runs, we were getting the feel and how to lean into corners to accelerate down.

    This is when it became so much fun, we were drifting corners and blasting through the snow at lighting speed. I am convinced at times we were doing over 30mph, it went really fast. We were able to get over 10-15 runs in during the day and it became clearer as the day went on which was a bonus. It was so much fun.

    We managed to film alot on the Go Pro and the only downside was losing a hat (we think on the gondola). After all the buzz we got the gondola down and had some great views.

    We got back to the van and took Maddy out and then enjoyed a fondue (typically Swiss) and had a lovely chilli. It was funny finding the many bruises from the mad day.

    We were both exhausted so after watching about an hour of the sledge footage we went to bed as we had to be up and out of the campsite by 10.

    What a great day! Highlight of the trip so far!    Read more

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    30. Transit to Germany + Sledge Photos

    March 5, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    Both aching a little today after yesterday ! It was so worth it though. We had an early start this morning so we could leave the campsite for ten . The van was tidied and we topped up our water supply before setting off to Germany .
    It was a 5 hour drive to do 85 miles.... as we were being super stingey and avoiding all the toll roads (would have meant spending another 40 quid ) - we've already spent way too much in Switzerland !
    The journey was very pleasant ( well done James ) and we stopped off to give Maddy a walk about half way . It was nice to get some fresh air and stretch our legs too.
    Once in Germany , we bought some really nice food for the next few days before finding our next park up. It is lovely being back in Germany , the roads are so much nicer and we generally feel much more welcome here . Everyone is very nice and bubbly in Germany , often smiling and saying hello when you pass them.
    The first park up was at a really muddy woodland area , so we decided to move on to a really quaint town called Engen . James recieved some great news when we arrived , his boss from Hayley called and said that James has work for when we get home , which is fantastic ! I had a lovely catch up with Arnie too .
    Maddy had a walk around the park before we started cooking supper .    Read more

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    31. Engen

    March 6, 2024 in Germany ⋅ 🌧 5 °C

    After a very peaceful night at our free park up, we decided to have a chill today as we were both knackered from Switzerland. We suddenly feel so much more relaxed being in a camper friendly country.

    We had a few things to look into this morning, so James had a call with his mum. Sorting out a pitch in the field for when we return. After pricing a few bits up we decided to take Maddy on a rainy walk around the town. Engen was lovely and everything looked almost Lego like in many different colours. After a nice walk we chilled and planned our next movements!    Read more

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    32. Kempten

    March 7, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C

    Today we had a very scenic yet long drive to Kempten, it was quite rainy so we decided to plough on. We drove alongside the huge Lake Constance and enjoyed seeing all the German vineyards along the way.

    We realised that we had over shot where we meant to stay by about an hour.. How? Neither of us know, but we weren't miles away from where we could link into the German alpine route!

    Once we arrived Grace had a sleep as she wasn't feeling 100% and James took a walk into town to have an explore. This is the biggest city in Bavaria and was super scenic. James and Maddy did a big loop of the city before we settled down for the evening and cooked a lovely gyros dinner. Another good day!    Read more

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    33. German Alpine Route

    March 8, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    Today was the day we have both been so hyped for! Waking up to the best weather we have seen so far was a massive bonus. We headed off to the start of the Alpine Route. Enroute we stopped to do groceries and James gave the van a quick clean to get the salt off from the roads.

    We then headed south, edging around the Austrian border and through the mountains. We had a really cool mountain pass called Oberjoch, this has 108 turns within 4km and rises us upto 1230 mtrs! As you can imagine in a 3.5 tonne vehicle it wasn't ideal but we got up without anything coming out of the cupboards, clearly James' driving was very smooth 😂.

    Once at the top we stopped and enjoyed some snow and watching the skiiers, we then drove onto our next stop. When we were halfway there,we stopped and decided to go on a good mountain walk to embrace the gorgeous weather. We found a great park up close to the walk and headed off, it was a moderate (in alp standards) walk and still had a 450 mtr climb taking us up to the top. We got into deep snow and edged around the mountain next to a castle at the top. It was so cool to go and walk in the crisp snow with the sun shining.

    After a long and slippery walk back down, we headed to our campsite. We spent the evening washing clothes and sorting out the van. What a great day. Another beautiful day tomorrow, so we are heading to Neuschwanstein castle, which is the most impressive castle in the world, it features in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" and inspired Walt Disney when designing the Disney castle.

    We went to the local pub called 'Wirthaus Wiesele' for a lovely German dinner and beer. We had a pork loin which was delicious.    Read more

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    34. Neuschwanstein

    March 9, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Instead of driving to the car park closest to the castle and paying a hefty parking fee , we decided to park a couple of miles away and cycle to the start of the footpath up to the famous castle . James towed Maddy in her little dog trailer , which is always comical and good fun - James did very well towing Maddy up the hills , considering she is 23 kg !
    The walk up to the castle was very steep , but didn't take nearly as long as what we thought it would . Once at the entrance of the beautiful castle , we discovered that it was only 18 euros each to complete an audio guide of the castle . We were under the impression that it was going to be 50 euros each when researching the night before ! We were absolutely gutted we didn't know this sooner as we couldn't enter the castle with Maddy.
    None the less , we enjoyed walking around the grounds of the majestic castle and stopped off for a picnic before walking back down .
    After all that walking and cycling , we made the decision to drive back to the campsite we had stayed at the previous night so we could shower and chill .
    We spent the evening planning our next moves and decided that we were going to visit the romantic old town of Füssen before going back to Neuschwanstein castle to complete the tour . We had a chicken and veg sir fry in preparation for another active day tomorrow !    Read more

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    35. Füssen & Neuschwanstein Castle

    March 10, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    After stocking up on water , we drove for about 20 mins to the medieval town of Füssen. The town is famous for manufacturing violins and boasts impressive gothic architecture. We really enjoyed walking around the cobbled streets , the properties were beautiful and full of character . There was an impressive castle in the middle of the town called "Hohes Schloss" castle.
    Before leaving the pretty little town, we walked up to the "Lechfall" , an impressive man made waterfall. The water was crystal clear and appeared very welcoming- bit too cold for a dip, unfortunately.
    Once back at the van , we had a quick lunch before making tracks back to the car park for the castle . We cycled to the ticket office and discovered we only had 30 mins to walk the steep hill to the castle . We absolutely paced it up the hill and made it up to the castle in 7.5 minutes - it was quite a workout!
    Our efforts certainly weren't wasted, the inside of the 155 year old castle was just breathtaking. Words honestly can't describe how beautiful it was . King Ludwig certainly had fantastic taste when designing the castle . The walls were dripping with all shades of blue, green and gold , without looking gaudy . The chandeliers were just stunning , with colourful gems glistening in the light .
    We both are so pleased that we have managed to visit the fairytale castle featured in our favourite childhood film.
    After all that excitement , we walked to the nearby "Maria bridge" to gain a better view of the outside of the castle . The bridge wasn't very pleasant to walk over , the wooden floor moved with every step and poor James got a bit wobbly when looking at the waterfall below.
    After all that excitement, we drove to a lovely campsite in Rottenbuch . The owner was super cool and friendly. We parked up next to a pen of chickens and rabbits, how cute !
    James did the cooking tonight whilst I had a lovely chat with mum. We enjoyed a beer and a couple of gins throughout the evening.    Read more

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    36. Füssen - Munich Via Alpine Road

    March 11, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Today we enjoyed the morning at the campsite before carrying on down the Alpine road. We did all the services on the van before heading towards Bad Tölz, the road was super scenic and we passed some big lakes and Germany's highest mountain, called Zugspitze, which is just under 3000 mtrs high. En route we did a big food shop to stock us up for the next few days. We went over a lovely mountain pass again to nearly 1000mtrs which is screenshotted below, Gracie drove this one as I drove the last one and it all was successful, despite being so windy, Maddy joined us in the cab for this one 😂

    When we arrived at Bad Tölz, we decided to head to Munich as we wanted to visit the city as we haven't been to a big German city yet. There is also a concentration camp called Dachau which we want to visit. We headed to a park up just outside Munich, which is ideal as we can jump straight onto the train to Munich and then visit the camp the following day.

    It is a slightly dodgy car park so not too sure what to do with Maddy when we head to Munich, but still nice to finally find a cheap park up as south Bavaria has been very expensive!

    After updating penguins we are watching a film called One Life and then early night for big day tomorrow in Munich.    Read more

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    37. Munich

    March 12, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    Today we woke up and took Maddy on a good walk before heading into Munich. There are many rail and airport strikes in Germany so we didn't experience the usual efficient service. We both feel quite worried about leaving the van, especially Maddy being left inside. This is the roughest area we have left the van for the day.

    After landing in Marienplatz we were greeted with the amazing capital of Bavaria, it lived up to the rest of the stunning towns we have visited. We then took a long scenic walk around the old city and visited the Residenz Munich which has been home to many royal bavarian kings and Queens. Strolling through the city every part of Munich was stunning, we saw so many super cars, posh hotels and designer stores down the Maxmillianstrrate. To have our lunch we stopped at a man made wave called Eisbachwelle in the river. There were many surfers there catching the wave, it looked very technical! This was super cool and unusual for a normal city experience.

    After stopping for a coffee we decided to rent E scooters and head for a trip around the English Garden, the world's biggest inner city park! This was really fun zipping here there and everywhere.

    After all the fun we decided to carry on our WW2 tour as Munich is where Hitler first came to power. We visited the old town Hall which was used by Hitler at parts before the war broke out. Then we headed to Fhurerbau, next to Kongisplatz, which was Hitlers HQ during the early stages of the war and where he had his private study. Despite now being used by the university of Munich, it is one of the only remaining buildings purposefully built for the Nazis in 1934. We also took a look around Konigsplatz and looked at the old war photos, where huge swarms of Nazis stood in the ginormous square... It felt very surreal being here, I think mainly due to it being only 80/90 years ago.

    The next stop was Hofbräuhaus, a very old and famous traditional Munich pub. We stopped here not just for the beer but because this was where the Nazi Party was formulated, it is where Hitler made his first speeches to his following party and where he declared Anti Semitisum against the Jews. It was slightly daunting having a beer where they all once stood. Upstairs was the main room which had a anniversary party every year they were in power, unfortunately this was closed but we still had a good feel for the place. We enjoyed a lovely beer and it went straight to our heads after walking 10 miles 🍻. When I paid, the waiter tried asking me for a 5 euro tip, despite being only a 10 euro bill.. cheeky bugger, obviously I declined and he got a euro. After a nice walk back we got a very busy train back to the van, it's still there! We treated ourselves to a nice takeaway after a busy day on our feet.    Read more

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    38. Dachau Concentration Camp

    March 13, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    Today we both woke up aching a little from all the walking yesterday, so we decided to drive instead of bike to Dachau concentration Camp.

    We headed into the camp and firstly stopped at the prison, it was very detailed when explaining the crimes which the Nazi's made against these innocent people. If you made it into camp prison, you were in for a very rough time. Towards the end of the war they even filled the cells with partions so they couldn't lie nor sit down and they would keep prisoners in here for days at a time.

    We then headed into the main building of the camp , here it explained about how the camp was ran. Despite being only a small camp, they had 188,000 inmates. The living conditions were awful and disease spread quickly. It was already running by 1933 and ran up to being liberated by the US army.

    We visited the memorial and the mass grave outside the front of the building, still felt sickening that this ever happened, was a really emotional day reading the individual stories. Afterwards we headed into the only block left which the inmates shared. The last stop was the worse bit, it was a visit to a Gas chamber and crematorium. This was really sad and felt quite unnerving to visit. The Nazi's had destroyed all records before the camp was liberated and have declined any evidence of the gas chambers really being used, but this has always been testified by the survivors. It is estimated that 44,000 people died whilst the camp was running.

    Afterwards we started to head towards Bad Tolz, the van went into intermittent limp mode to add to the emotions, so we stopped and seeked advice with a garage, who managed to clear the fault and send us on our way. They did this for free despite being offered some money, was very kind of them.

    We gave the van a run and it seemed to run fine so we carried on our journey, after stopping for the van services we headed to a free park up by a sports complex. We had a nice evening in the end watching "The Gentleman" on Netflix, definitely worth a watch.    Read more

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    39. Bad Tölz - Oberaudorf

    March 14, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Today we had to wait until 2.00pm to use the showers at the swimming pool, so we had a lazy morning deciding on whether to take the van in to a local Citreon garage.. After seeking lots of advice (thanks, Leigh), we decided to leave it as the van is running fine now, with no fault codes showing. We therefore carried on driving the Alpine route after having our shower. The drive was very fun, we weaved in and out of Austria which was cool. We also passed some lovely lakes & towns whilst driving some awesome mountain roads.

    We did a big mountain pass and went over 1200mtrs again, mad that this is close to height of Ben Nevis. Enroute we stopped at a very scenic waterfall and walked down to a viewpoint to view it looking up. This was really nice but sketchy taking Maddy as she throws herself down the steps...

    Afterwards we headed along a small mountain road to our next parkup, probably the most scenic one yet, with huge mountains the one direction, surrounded by the foothills around us and a big fishing lake. We predict only 1 day left on our Alpine route- we recommend this as its been super scenic and at times has put the swiss alps to shame!    Read more

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    40. Oberaudorf - Hallian

    March 15, 2024 in Austria ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    First thing this morning we took Maddy out. We noticed that her movements were strange and have realised that she has had a vestibular attack. She has rapid eye movement and is struggling to walk and can barely keep her balance. She is fine in herself and still wagging as she does. After much concern, we carried on slowly along the Alpine road as Maddy needs to rest and be monitored over the next few days. The route was very scenic but we understandably struggled to enjoy it.

    We stopped at Lake Konigsee along the way and had some lunch and then crossed the border into Austria where we will be staying tonight.

    We took Maddy out again and she's got worse sadly and was sick 3 times, although still wagging all the time . We have decided to find a campsite and monitor her for the next couple of days and then decide on our next movements. If she doesn't improve, we will be heading towards home or somewhere near the port so we can get home if needed... Our poor Maddy!!    Read more

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    41. Hallain - Peiting

    March 16, 2024 in Germany ⋅ 🌬 11 °C

    Today we have decided to head back into Germany, so we can edge towards home just incase Maddy cannot manage anymore and we need to get home ASAP.

    Instead of sitting on a motorway for hours, we have decided to follow the Romantic Route up through Germany, followed by the Rhine Route afterwards taking us north. We had a fairly long drive today so we put some miles in and went via motorways and still was very scenic and nice seeing the Bavarian Alps from afar. We can do alot of these routes without even getting out so this suits us with Maddy since she is in the early stages of her vestibular attack and we don't want to leave her by herself at the moment .

    We found a nice park up which will do for the night before we head up the Romantic route tomorrow.

    Taking each day as it comes with Maddy, she still is eating and drinking and enjoying going out for short periods of time , so this can only be a bonus.    Read more

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    42. Pieting - Dinkelsbuhl

    March 17, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Today we headed up the Romantic route, we followed the route up and had a nice view of the multi coloured, medieval towns and cities en route.
    We stopped to do the van services so we can wild camp for the next few nights. It was very scenic crossing Germany and driving through the lovely towns.

    We drove through Landsberg am Lech, Ausburg, Rain, Donauworth, Hurburg, Nordlingen to our final stop of Dinkelsbuhl. Even though we didn't get out today we still had a very nice day seeing the towns and cities, both trying our hardest to keep the spirits high.

    We found a nice park up and went to the local swimming pool for a shower. We are hoping Maddy will be okay in the van tomorrow so we can explore the town for an hour or so. As this town is very special and one of the most scenic towns in Germany, it is all based within city walls and looked amazing when we drove by to our parkup- we are both looking forward to this.

    Had a nice curry in the van and an early night as we ideally want to stop at Rothenburg ob der Tauber aswell, which has one of the most viewed and identifiable squares in Germany, if not Europe. We will finish tomorrow in Wurzberg, before driving to Mainz to start our Rhine trip up to a campsite in either Belgium, Holland or north Germany.    Read more

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    43. Dinkelsbuhl - Ingelheim am Rhein

    March 18, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Today we woke to school children everywhere around us... we had realised that the so-called 'CampingPlatz' was in a school car park and we weren't sure we were allowed to be there. We quickly wipped of the windscreen cover and got the ramps in and headed off before we were told off... We headed down to the pool car park, which is close to the town centre of Dinkelsbuhl for us to leave Maddy for an hour or so.

    After sorting Maddy (who is making vast improvements) we had some breakfast and headed into the fortified town of Dinkelsbuhl; it was stunning with all the multicoloured , medieval houses. We had a nice walk around and went to the gate houses which was cool.

    Afterwards, we headed to our next stop, which was Rothenburg ob der Tauber, which was like Dinkelsbuhl's big brother. Very similar but on a much bigger scale. We can see why these 2 towns are so popular as they feel so traditionally German and very picturesque. We strolled around the old town for a while before stopping for a lovely coffee in the main square. We visited the famous german square which was beautiful and you can see why it is the face of German marketing.

    After a good while we headed onto our next stop, a 2 1/2 hour drive to just past Mainz. It was super sunny which made a pleasant drive, we passed some cool cars and a whole brigade of police officers in all types of vehicles.

    We arrived and made camp for the night & took Maddy out. We couldn't believe the difference in her, she seemed much more steady on her feet and her eyes have stopped twitching. We still feel it's the best decision coming north as we can still shoot home if she gets worse. Noodle stir fry for tea before we start our Rhine route up through Germany, the next section should be really beautiful.    Read more

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    44. Rhine- Heeze

    March 19, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Today , we decided to drive North along the Rhine River. The roads were practically empty , so we really enjoyed driving it slowly and taking in the beautiful landscape .
    We passed through a few pretty little towns and there were gothic castles dotted in the hills above us .
    We were in a dilemma about whether to stop off at Koblenz for a look around, but both of us were tired, we are sure Maddy needs a relax for a few days so decided to find a nice campsite. We therefore decided to buy some groceries to cover us for the next few days. After spending ages finding a reasonably priced campsite which isn't a car park, but on grass we finally found one about 40 mins over the Holland border , in a place called Heeze, for 20 a night, with all services included.

    We arrived at about 1800 , the owner was super relaxed and friendly and there was only one other camper there . Unfortunately, we couldn't park up on the big open meadow as the ground was still squishy from the weather , so we had to park at the front of the campsite, however still had a nice pitch next to trees and on grass to enjoy the weather tomorrow.
    We took maddy on her evening stroll and cooked some supper . We watched some more "shogun" and I downloaded some books for my kindle .    Read more

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    45. 46. Heeze

    March 21, 2024 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    45.
    Glorious weather today, so we finally put our picnic blanket and chairs outside. After a lazy morning soaking up the rays , we took Maddy on a walk around the public footpaths. The first part of the walk was through woodlands, then all around the field boundaries . There were loads of horses and even a pen with : goats , lambs, sheep and chickens on the way . They were so cute .
    Maddy got tired quite quickly , so we headed off back to the camper and sat outside until the sun went down . The owner's french bulldog, called Barko , provided us with great entertainment as he kept rolling around the field with his little ball making pig noises . It was so comical , until Barko got too close to Maddy ...
    After supper and a late shower , me made the decision to stay another night tomorrow, we had just discovered that they have a washing machine and tumble drier that we can use at pretty much no extra cost apart from the electricity used, so we want to take full advantage of that.

    46.
    Another relaxing day sat outside, in between taking clothes to and from the washing machine .
    We popped out to the nearest town to grab some cash for the owner and took Maddy out , walking the route we did yesterday . We sat down next to a stream and admired the surroundings for a while before heading back to camp .
    After having some supper , we sorted out all the washing and deep cleaned the van , ready for our journey tomorrow.    Read more

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    47. Duffel National Park

    March 22, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    We were so sad to leave our lovely campsite today. It has been super nice to sit outside in the sun and take a break from moving on every day. The bad weather today made it easier though.
    We headed to just over the German border to a national park with a free parking space. We enjoyed taking Maddy on a walk around the lake and forest area, dodging the rain, feels very much like April showers here! Blue sky contrasted with dark heavy rain.Read more

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    48. 49. Uddel

    March 24, 2024 in the Netherlands ⋅ 🌬 9 °C

    48. Today we headed into Germany to stock up on food, we are juggling back and forth a bit as Holland is cheaper to stay in campsites, but Germany has much cheaper food and fuel bills. After stocking up we have decided not to go into the depths of Germany again, as it would involve us doing another 1200 miles over the next 10 days, so we have decided to tour Holland, Belgium and France and slowly work our way back and enjoy calming the trip down a bit.
    We then decided to head to Arnhem to drive through the city, it was very busy so we didn't stay too long, as its tiring driving the van through towns with traffic everywhere and the weather wasn't worth us getting out unfortunately.
    We drove on to stay near Appeldoor but the park ups we went to just didn't sit well with us, so we drove onto a little campsite up the road. Enroute, the van went into limp mode again, it was quickly resolved but we were thinking we have made the right decision heading slowly towards Calais...

    The campsite was really cheap, on a farm with cows, goats and horses to go and see. Not long after we arrived , a rainbow had formed in the distance , the colours were so vivid . Therefore, we took Maddy on another walk. Maddy is doing great, almost 90% back to normal, which is great news.
    In the evening , we cooked a lovely spag bowl in the van before enjoying a few games of Rummikub. We had a lovely 1 ltr bottle of red wine for £1.70 which we enjoyed , we both slept really well afterwards.

    49. Today we have decided to stay on at the campsite for another night, its horrible weather today so we are going to plan the supplies once more for our Pitch back at home and watch a couple of films with the heating on & take Maddy on wet walk later if we can dodge the rain.    Read more

  • JG TRAVELSEuropean road tripJG TRAVELS
    1

    50. Uddel - Bourtange

    March 25, 2024 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    After walking Mads and doing the van services, we headed off towards our next stop which was Bourtange. We had a nice drive there which took us a couple of hours, but was very scenic driving through Germany enroute.

    We stopped at Bourtange as it was a old fort which is designed to look like a star from the sky. The fort which had a little village inside and a windmill was really pretty. All the little shops were shut for some reason which was a shame. The fort was rebuilt about 60 years ago to match what it looked like when built in 1850, they even have wooden toilets over the moat to show what the toilets were like.

    After having a look around we carried headed up towards our next park up. A free one tonight overlooking the canal, really nice and peaceful here with stalks in the distance.    Read more

  • JG TRAVELSEuropean road tripJG TRAVELS

    51. Winsum & Lutjegast

    March 26, 2024 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Today we decided to head further north to a pretty town called Winsum . It was only a short drive away , and there was a huge free car park on the outskirts .
    We took Maddy with us and headed towards the town centre , following the cobbled streets . There were lots of windmills and quirky looking shops along the way , but not many of them were open .
    We crossed the bridge and grabbed something quick to eat for lunch . We found a lovely place next to the canal where we could sit and plan where to stay for the night .
    After the short walk back to the van, we drove for about 45 minutes to a free carpark in Lutjegast. We took Maddy out on a walk into to the park just behind our park up . We were really glad we made the effort as there was a pen of deer and peacocks in the park. The deer seemed quite friendly and were walking towards us as we took some photos . It was funny on the way back as one of the peacocks had escaped and had caused quite a commotion with the locals.
    Very cold and rainy tonight , but we enjoyed the evening chilling with a few beers.    Read more

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