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Taking The Long Way
  • Misadventures Of Wanda
Oct – Nov 2023

Taking The Long Way

This is our journey across Eastern Europe as we try to tick off more countries in one trip than we’ve ever done before. Read more
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  • Trip start
    October 3, 2023
    Misadventures Of WandaTaking The Long WayMisadventures Of Wanda

    First stop Gravelines, France

    October 3, 2023 in England ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    We finally left home 30 minutes later than we wanted because we had to do a quick shopping run to Stalham to get a small fold up step from the factory shop so it would be easier to reattach the bike cover when we have been cycling. All set, we departed at 10am and much to our surprise the run to Folkestone from Norfolk was plain sailing, although rather tedious.
    We finally got to Folkestone at 1.45pm and were given the option of boarding early which we took and drove straight through customs and joined the queue for the train.
    It was another 35mins before the barrier lifted and we were allowed to board, and once we were on I set the handbrake, opened the windows, put it in first gear and turned the engine off. Then we both went straight to the back seats to lay down.
    Within 10 minutes we were moving and I dropped straight off to sleep for 20 minutes with the gentle bouncing of Wanda’s suspension as the train rushed us to France.
    Just before we came out of the tunnel I woke up, put my shoes back on and returned to the drivers seat just as we came out of darkness and into the sunlight.
    We had arrived in France, and we were 2 hours earlier than we had thought.
    Once the doors of the train opened we followed a ream of other cars out of the port and onto the A16. We had just a 16 miles until our first stop.
    After 13 miles of 90kph we left the A16 and drove 3 miles along tight, windy roads following the coastline towards Dunkirk, crossing over various canals and water filled ditches until we came to a large sports park in the small town of Gravelines and Parking lot 6 is dedicated to motor homes and it’s free.
    When we arrived there were 5 other motor homes already here and we chose a spot at the very end of the aire. Nobody can park next to our passenger side and we have a Motorhome already on our drivers side. We had only been here 5 minutes before their dog, a black and white spaniel, started barking at me. He’s quiet aslong as we stay out of his eyesight. It was now 4:30pm and we were set up and comfortable.
    Ellie put the kettle on straight away whilst I checked my biking app for local rides and after we had both had a cup of tea I got changed into my biking gear and as I put my shorts on I heard a loud buzzing. I figured out it was coming from my shorts I had just put on and promptly whipped them back off and as I did the biggest hornet we had ever seen climbed out of the left pocket. We had brought a stowaway with us from England and quickly flicked him off the shorts out of the door hoping that he could speak french, then I took my bike off and set off down the road into a hideous head wind.
    I had only chosen a 16km ride as I wasn’t sure how much tarmac and roads I would be on and as it was now rush hour I didn’t want to get on any major roads. Unbeknown to me Gravelines is the home of the French Olympic rowing team and this sports park has a huge 1600 meter straight lake for them to train on and it is surrounded by a huge tarmac track for road cycling and that is surrounded by a huge gravel track for mountain bikers.
    Except for the 30mph wind I was in my element as I headed off from our parking spot, down a gravel track before picking up the beautiful flat tarmac running down the side of Olympic rowers training grounds. Then I was onto more gravel before leaving the grounds of the sports park and picking up some quiet country lanes and through 2 small villages. Just 40 mins later I was back onto gravel and heading back to Wanda. It was a lovely first ride.
    Back at Wanda, Ellie was making dinner of Southern Fried Chicken steak burgers. Not very French but we didn’t think we would get a chance to go shopping and brought dinner for a few nights with us. Then at 7:30pm we settled in for the night ready for our first full day tomorrow.    Read more

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    Gravelines to Chem Du Fort

    October 4, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    This morning we were up relatively early at 7:30am. There didn’t seem to be much point in rushing around as our first stop of the day didn’t open until 10am, so we just chilled in Wanda watching the Herons fly by and landing in the trees. Herons just don’t look like they belong in trees.
    At 9:45am, we set the sat nav and it was just a short 15 mile drive up the coast to our first real stop in France. Passing Dunkirk on the motorway the traffic was really heavy with lots of lorries. Dunkirk is nothing like the movies and now it has a huge port for container ships. It’s comparable to Harwich back in England.
    It took us just 30 minutes to drive to Chem du Fort, a former world war 2 fort built into the sand dunes which is now a museum.
    It was originally built in the early 1800’s and gradually over the years it has been built up and modified until the 1940’s where it was occupied by the Germans until the allied forces seized it back during operation dynamo.
    Ellie and I chose the guided audio tour for €7 each and it was a fascinating incite into the history of the place, aswell as the harrowing stories of resistance fighters during world war 2.
    There was also a large section of the museum dedicated to private exhibitions and the current exhibition was a display of push bikes and jerseys from French bike races including the Tour de France. I was in my element looking at the old bikes and photos of legends in the yellow and polka dot jerseys.
    The whole fort took about 90 minutes to get around and it was like a maze.
    After the tour we decided to follow the beach path down to towards the sea to see the remains of the old battlements. It was a proper slog, trudging over the sand dunes and although we could see the remains they didn’t seem to be getting closer very quickly.
    30 minutes later we arrived at the concrete remains, most of which are covered in graffiti and what hasn’t been claimed by artists, has been claimed by the sea.
    After having a good look around we headed back to Wanda. It was now 1 o clock in the afternoon and we were both hungry and had Wanda toasties for lunch before moving on.    Read more

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    Deûlèmont

    October 4, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Our next stop was a 50 mile drive right on the border of Belgium and our original plan was to cycle a remembrance circuit of war graves from world war 1 but that changed once I saw how busy the local roads were.
    I had already plotted a parking spot to sleep at in a small village called Deûlèmont before we left home and it was on a river bank and we arrived just after 2:30pm. Fortunately for me there is also a veloroute that runs the length of the canals along eastern France and into Belgium spanning a total of 365km so I twisted Ellie’s arm into cycling some of that with me instead.
    Just before 3pm we set off at a slow pace and rode 15km down to the city of Lillè before turning around and heading back. It was a beautiful gravel route, with runners, other cyclists, and completely traffic free. The whole route ran alongside the canal and there were massive barges hauling stuff up and down the entire route. This part of France does seem quite industrial but on the cycle paths you would never know.
    We got back to Wanda at 5:30pm and Ellie’s backside was grateful we had stopped. The sun had also disappeared behind clouds so it was also getting a little chilly.
    Back at our parking spot there is just one other Motorhome and a few parked cars. We’re well away from any main roads and it is very quiet so hopefully we’ll have a peaceful nights sleep.    Read more

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    Sanctuary wood Museum & Ypres

    October 5, 2023 in Belgium ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    This morning we didn’t get up until 8:30am. I was laying in bed just watching the clock and suddenly I realised I hadn’t changed the clocks and it wasn’t really 7:30 it was 8:30.
    Ofcourse it didn’t really matter, we weren’t in any particular hurry and were still debating whether or not to even go to our first destination as we hadn’t found ticket prices.
    Just after 10am we left our parking spot and headed for the town of Leper. This was our first real border crossing of this trip and had we not known we were going to Belgium we would never have known as there was no signs to say welcome. Infact we only knew because the signs changed language from just French and English to French, English and Flemish, which I think is the European equivalent of welsh.
    Our first visit of the day was the Sanctuary Wood Museum and the original trenches of the British military in World War One. The museum was full of artefacts found in the trenches including guns,knifes, bayonets, buttons and various tools. Grenades, mortar shells and various items of clothing had also been retrieved. All of these items were displayed in glass cabinets around all of the walls. In the Center of the museum were two large tables with 12 chairs around each table and at every chair, on the table was a big wooden box with what looked like the viewfinder for binoculars on the outside.
    Both Ellie and I sat on separate chairs and we looked through the viewfinder.
    The pictures we saw were from 1914-1919, all in black and white or sepia, and they started off quite mild, showing family life, Farming, people getting married and just general life. The pictures in each box progressively got worse as the war started and finally ended up showing the trenches, dead bodies strewn everywhere, soldiers that had horrific injuries and even dead animals.
    Neither of us particularly enjoyed the boxes, but we do appreciate the cost of the war and the sacrifices made.
    From the museum we headed outside to the trenches. They were amazing to see and the fact that we could walk through the trenches and original tunnels with no lights in the pitch black really gave us a sense of the horror that took place here. Whoever was here in that time period must have been terrified.
    We left Sanctuary wood museum both feeling a little depressed and decided that even though we had the flanders fields museum on the list we would skip it. We had seen enough death and destruction for this trip.
    Our next stop of the day was Ypres, and almost all the way there we passed war graves of British and Canadian soldiers. Once you pass one of these cemetery’s you start to realise how many people were sacrificed. Once you pass 20 that cost of life is really unfathomable.
    We arrived in Ypres just after midday and found a great parking spot right in the edge of the city. We walked in and headed straight for the cloth hall. This is the home of the In Flanders Field museum but we had already decided we weren’t going to pay for entry as we didn’t need to read or see any more about the war, but the building itself is amazing and so was Ypres.
    Most of the shops were closed for lunch between 12 & 2pm except for the cafes which were bustling with people. We noticed lots of independent shops selling clothes, Food, or housewares. The town itself is a mixture of modern and old architecture with the focal point being on the main town square where the cafes and churches have been rebuilt to there original design pre war. Ypres was all but totally destroyed in the war and every single night at 8pm the last post is played. There are also bronze keys placed on the floor outside civilian homes that were killed in the war. It really is a remarkable city and we enjoyed it.    Read more

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    Deerlijk, Our first night in Belgium

    October 5, 2023 in Belgium ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    We left Ypres just before 2pm and instead of heading straight to Gent, which is our next visit we decided to look for somewhere on route to park up for the night for free.
    I found a nice little place at a Motorhome dealership where we can sleep, get rid of our grey and black waste water and refill with fresh water and even have electric if we wanted and it is free. So far all our sleeps have been for free.
    It was just a 30 minute drive to Deerlijk and we found one of four Motorhome spaces and parked up for the rest of the day. There was one Motorhome here already and another has since joined.
    It seemed a little early just to sit and do nothing and is Ellie’s bum is still in recovery after yesterdays bike ride I decided to head out on my own, so I pulled a route off of my cycling app and downloaded it to my head unit, got changed and headed out.
    I’d chosen a 53km mountain biking route hoping this would steer me away from traffic but it didn’t really and I ended up getting lost twice before I’d even gotten to the start of the route adding another 10km to my 53km trip. Finally, through no fault of my own I eventually found the route and started.
    It took me right through the town Center to start with and I was a little concerned but there are cycle paths everywhere in Belgium and even though I had heavy traffic next to me I was in my own lane.
    The route stayed alongside heavy traffic for about 10km before finally entering a park and nature reserve which is where I thought I’d be staying but this part only lasted about 5km before I left it and entered into small country lanes, also with bike lanes. Eventually I found the famous hills of flanders and started climbing. This section is obviously in the tour of flanders as cyclists names were sprayed all over the floor and I managed to fly up it over taking 2 other cyclists on the way over the top. Once on the other side and into the descent I was on the drops travelling at 60kph with the wind whistling by.
    Back on the flat section I then came to a field full of reindeer which didn’t seem that out of place next to the field of mini alpacas. Then I was off the road completely and onto mud and then deep sand. I was grateful to get back onto the tarmac.
    Once my head unit hit 40km I wanted to head back to Wanda. Doing the extra 10km had cost me a lot of time and it had now gone 6pm and the light was fading and temperature was dropping. I was glad I’d put on my arm warmers before leaving.
    I had no choice but to complete the route as I didn’t have a clue where I was or where Wanda was and finally at 6:30pm I got back to Wanda. I’d enjoyed the ride but not the route. But Belgium is a great place for bikes.    Read more

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    Graffiti Street, Ghent

    October 6, 2023 in Belgium ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    We continued on foot through the winding alleyways of Ghent, admiring the mix of modern and old architecture, until we came to a tiny little alleyway covered in Graffiti. This was our next stop and the alley has been aptly named Graffiti Street and every night graffiti artists come out and produce some amazing pieces of art.
    The Alley is probably just under a hundred meters long, much shorter than we thought it would be, but in that 100 hundred meters is an array of artwork. Some are really colourful, some are black and white and some are just weird. The detail in some was so intricate that on our return journey we were still noticing things that we had missed before. It was quite the spectacle, and the alley was crammed with people trying to get photos.
    From Graffiti street we took a slow walk back to Wanda stopping for a fresh strawberry milkshake on the way, which was nearly €10. I thought I was going to have to carry Ellie after they told her the price but after I said she could have half she soon recovered.    Read more

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    Gravensteen Castle, Ghent

    October 6, 2023 in Belgium ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    This morning we were awake at our normal time of 7:30am. I made tea and coffee and we both drank them in bed while I plotted a route to Ghent trying to avoid the low emissions zones. It was a total nightmare trying to look for a route on my phone, compare where the low emissions was and then try to plot it in to the sat nav. The problem being that TomTom doesn’t currently recognise low emissions zones. I eventually worked it out by plotting a course that involved 2 fake stops on the motorway so TomTom would guide us around the ring road rather than through the city center.
    We arrived in Ghent just after 11am, I’d already found a huge car park on the edge of the city before leaving England and getting there was easy enough. Once parked Ellie fed me up with Wanda toasties before we left. Probably so I wasn’t begging for food like a dog every time we passed a restaurant.
    Our original plan was to cycle in on the cycle paths but in the end we decided to walk in and it was about a mile and a half in an arrow straight line right to the city center and our first stop of the day. Gravensteen Castle.
    The castle itself is right in the historic part of the city centre, right on the canal with a moat around the outside. Even the local buildings matched the era of the castle and it almost felt like we were back in Disney, walking down diagon alley and visiting hogwarts. There was even a little bar called the troll bar that had hundreds of different trolls in the bay windows, it was an amazing city.
    The Current Castle was built in 1180 and was the residence of the counts of flanders until 1353. It was then re- purposed as a court, prison, mint and even a cotton factory. It was restored to its current condition over 1893 -1903 and is now a museum.
    I was only here for outside pictures which I managed to get, mostly with no people in them. Then we continued on our tour of Ghent and to our next stop here.    Read more

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    Temse, our final stop of the day

    October 6, 2023 in Belgium ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Back at Wanda it was now 2pm, it was 50 miles to our next visiting place so we decided to look for a place en-route to spend the night.
    I found a great little park up on park4night and it was a 30 mile drive and we set off down the motorway and before to long we came to a turning off of the motorway that led to a recreational area in the small village of Temse. It was quiet, there was a restaurant nearby lots of hiking and biking trails and it’s free.
    After a cup of tea I took the bike off the back and I headed out alone to check out the area.
    I rode on gravel tracks, purpose built cycleways through some woods, round some fields on cycleways, back on to small country lanes with red cycle paths on them and finally around a lake before completing the 20km loop and arriving back at Wanda.
    Back at the parking area we had been joined by another Motorhome from Belgium, we had a chat and he told me lots about the local area. Apparently the river that we are parked near runs into a series of what the British would probably call locks. In Belgium it’s called the SAS and hundreds of years ago they would open the gates and flood the dykes and people could come and collect the river water for their animals and for bathing. All of the original loch gates are still there although they are not used for that anymore.
    In Wanda, Ellie had made tea with our Belgian Sausages and potato Rostis. It was a bit of a junk food dinner but it’s what I needed after a sprint on the bike. Then we settled in for the night watching Netflix before heading to bed.    Read more

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    Going on a Troll Hunt

    October 7, 2023 in Belgium ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    This morning we were up and raring to go at 7:30am. I made the coffees and we drank them in bed as usual and then we put the bed away and got dressed. Today was going to be a big day………….We were going on a troll hunt!
    We had a short drive of just 10 miles to get to the town of Boom. Here there is huge sports and recreational area covering a massive 20 acres. There are numerous car parks dotted around the outskirts and I had picked one before we left home that I thought was convenient for our search.
    The grounds of the recreational area are full of trails for hiking, biking and even climbing. There’s also fenced in football, tennis and hockey pitches and at the Center of it all is a huge amphitheatre where they hold events. The Spartan games was held here recently, that’s the Belgium equivalent of ninja warrior.
    We left Wanda in car park 2 and began our troll hunt at 9:45am. The visitors Centre doesn’t open until 10am so we thought we would have to wait to get in but we didn’t even find the visitors Center and as there were already cars here we set off.
    We wanted to be early to avoid crowds. It’s a Saturday and we both thought that this place would be full of kids so we both wanted to get photos of everything without Ellie having to rugby tackle any children.
    Leaving the car park we headed into the grounds of the recreational area and picked up the first trail and turned right and soon we came to a sign that said “ Welcome to Trollen Bos”. We entered into the woods crossing over a large wooden bridge and within a hundred meters we had found our first troll sitting in a brick building. He was huge and made out of wood and looked amazing and we had him all to ourselves. This was Troll Hannes.
    Pictures taken we set off through the woods and came to a huge lake. We started crossing another bridge and as we looked to our right we spotted another Troll on the other side of the lake with a bucket, so we turned around and headed for him.
    We clambered through trees and down a short embankment of troll steps and down to the waters edge. Here was our next Troll and his name is Mikil.
    More pictures taken we set off back the way we had just come to the bridge and crossed over it onto a boardwalk that led through a very boggy forest and halfway down the boardwalk we found our third Troll just sitting on the edge of the boardwalk chilling out. Again we had him all to ourselves. This was Troll Aruid.
    We continued along the boardwalk in the woods for around 500 meters, then climbed some steps and came to a T junction of trails and in front of us was a field. Here we were looking for the 2 biggest trolls but we couldn’t see them. Ellie was looking around everywhere and checking here crappy map she had screen shot yesterday and then I shouted “ There they are!”.
    They were right in front of us but so big we had just look passed them.
    To our amazement the field was empty and I knew the best way to see these 2 was from the air so I got the drone out and got the pictures.
    The size of these two Trolls is unbelievable, so much so that I told Ellie to go and sit on one for scale. I had to keep checking the drone camera because I just couldn’t see her.
    The Trolls are Una a Joures.
    Pictures taken again we headed for the amphitheater. Hear there were a set of steps made of mosaics and entirely by hand. These are called the Unity steps and from the bottom looking up it looks like 2 people. From the air it looks like an angel. Again we were lucky to have no people and got the pictures we wanted. We didn’t even know it was an angel on the steps until I sent the drone up.
    We still had 2 more Trolls to find and the chief of Trolls is at the Troll tower so we turned around and back to the T junction we had just come to and this time we continued straight down it passing the trail we had come down on our left.
    Another 500 meters of walking and we spotted the troll tower right at the edge of the woods. It was a magnificent looking structure with sculptures hanging from it towering 3 stories up in the air and just sitting next to it is the chief of Trolls, This is Troll kamiel.
    We found a local man here climbing the tower on his own, he was easily my age and told us that every weekend he rides to the shops for little bits but his wife knows he’ll be ages because he always stops and visits the magic troll tower.
    We still had one more troll to find so we headed back the exact route we had come walking the 2 miles back through the woods, passing all of the Trolls and saying goodbye until we came to the footbridge at the edge of the woods. Here on our right hand side was a sensory area and a big wooden shoe rack made from the branches of the forest, so we both took our shoes and socks off and put our shoes into one of holes of the rack, rolled our trousers up to our knees and set off.
    I should point out at this point that I wasn’t really up for walking through the woods barefoot with 6 year olds but Ellie was desperate to do it so I entertained her.
    We walked through sawdust, over round pebbles, through water troughs, over astroturf and on tyres. Then we came to the rungs where we had to monkey walk across or go through squelchy mud. I made it even with my 20kg camera bag on. Ellie put her bags down and just made it across.
    Next came the really muddy bit and I decided to walk around this bit but Ellie was in her Element and then she was up to her knees in thick, clay like mud. It was so thick it was sucking her down with every step and she had to use a tree branch to pull herself out. I was pissing myself laughing because now she looked like a hobbit and to top it off the next thing we had to walk through was loose straw.
    Walking through the straw and out the other side, Ellie now looked like a cross between a rough Lara Croft and Bilbo Baggins and I could hardly contain myself. Especially when little kids were passing us pointing at her feet.
    Finally we got back to our shoes and here there was a water fountain to wash our feet. It took Ellie ages and then we had to sit on the bench and wait for our feet to dry as we hadn’t taken towels.
    Moving on from the Shrek experience we crossed over the bridge and turned right back into the woods along another trail and then we finally found our last troll.
    Even though the place was now getting busy we still had this troll all to ourselves and got our pictures just before the kids turned up. This was Troll Nora.
    We wandered the mile back to Wanda where she had been making plenty of power just sitting there soaking up the sun with her solar panels and then we made Wanda French Brie and ham toasties before heading to our last stop of the day.    Read more

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    Cycling through Water

    October 7, 2023 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    A few months back I ordered a brochure from the Wallonia tourist office about cycle routes in the area so our final stop of the day would be Genk, so we set off on a terrifying 50 mile journey down the local A12 and A13. I say terrifying because the traffic was unbelievably heavy and it was just like being on the A12 or A12 back at home.
    Finally at 3pm we arrived in Hasselt, this is the main town and Genk is a part of it and it’s where one of my cycle routes starts. I found a huge car park on park4night that is part of a scientific research Center but at weekends it’s empty and open to Motorhomes free of charge. We are the only ones here.
    After a quick cup of tea I set off on a 20km trek on my own. Ellie still didn’t fancy coming but she knows how much I wanted to do this ride because there’s something special at the end.
    I left the car park cutting through an alleyway and taking the cycle lane into the town off Genk and out the other side. I still can’t get used to having right of way over traffic and feel like I should stop at junctions but drivers just wave me through. Coming out of Genk I joined another cycle path that runs alongside the river. It’s beautiful tarmac and I was pushing some serious speed when I was joined by a girl on a road bike. I was already doing 32kph when she joined me and next to me she was pushing harder trying for the over take. I upped my cadence and matched her speed and we were level pegging so I changed up a gear and stood on the pedals. She did the same but I edged away and just kept pushing power through the pedals, I was now travelling at just over 50kph on flat ground. Coming to a bridge where I had to turn and cross the river I looked over my shoulder, she wasn’t following me so I waved and she gave me the thumbs up and I continued on my own.
    Crossing the bridge I had the wind at my back so I took it easy and let the wind do most of the work travelling at 30kph to the end of this cycle path and then turning left onto yer another cycle path cutting through housing estates and coming out into some woods.
    I continued through the woods until I realised I had water both sides of the trees and knew I must be close to the reason for this bike ride and then I came to it.
    A cycle path dug down into the lake so as you ride through it, your at eye level with the lake. It’s called cycling through water and even the Belgian people were amazed at it as they were cycling through. At one point I was eye to eye with Swans and Cygnets. It was definitely worth the ride.
    Out the other side I was back into the woods and then I rode through an animal park with Llamas, goats, sheep and donkeys. It was very weird.
    Finally I was back on tarmac and as I rejoined the cycle path I kept my eyes open for signs to the scientific research Center.
    It didn’t take long for me to pick them up and after a few twists and turns I was back at Wanda. It had been a great ride.
    Ellie made a great dinner of chicken and rice which I was grateful for after my thrash on the bike and then we settled in for the night.    Read more

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    Fort Eben-Emael

    October 8, 2023 in Belgium ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    We woke up at 8am this morning and after tea and coffee in bed we put the bed stuff away and got dressed and got Wanda ready for a short drive to the first of today’s stops.
    It was further away than we thought thanks to google maps working everything out as the crow flies until you ask for directions and then it plots a route and tells us it’s actually twice as far as we thought.
    At 10:30am we arrived at Fort Eban-Emael and it was packed and we found the only parking spot left in the whole car park. We couldn’t work out if everyone was here for the fort or for the hiking and biking trails.
    We locked Wanda up, leaving the top vent open as it was getting pretty warm outside already and then wandered the short distance to the entrance.
    It looks an imposing sight with its steel doors and 3ft reinforced concrete walls and as we went through the entrance we were into an unbelievably long tunnel of at least 100 meters and on a downwards slope straight away.
    Various doorways were on our left and right, most of the doors were locked but we did have access to the transformer room and the officers quarters. All of this was before we even got to the ticket office.
    Once we had bought tickets we were given a map and guided ourselves around the underground fort.
    Fort Eben-Emael was built between 1932 and 1935 as one of the largest subterranean fortifications in Europe.
    In may 1940 as the Germans advanced the Belgian soldiers had to the hold the forts at Eban-Emael and Liege for just 7 days whilst allied forces made their way across France and into Belgium. Unbeknown to anyone Hitler had been training German paratroopers in secret for 6 months previously and had assigned a special forces detachment to seize both forts at the same time.
    The forts were heavily guarded with Canons and even anti tank walls and anti aircraft guns. Nobody expected what happened next.
    On the 10th May 1940 undercover of darkness, 10 junkers bombers took off from Germany towing 10 gliders each with 10 paratroopers inside. They climbed to an altitude of 2500ft and were guided by lights over Holland and then the Gliders were released to glide 25km on their own to the destination of the forts.
    Nobody had ever seen gliders before so even though the Belgians saw them coming they just thought they were aircraft in trouble because they made no sounds.
    The gliders landed right in the centre of the forts and the Germans poured out.
    The Germans also had new 50kg hollow explosives and destroyed most of the forts outer canons within minutes and in less than an hour the fort was taken by Germans.
    The spectacular and innovative attack on the fort by an elite unit of German paratroopers on 10 May 1940 was the first airborne assault of it’s kind and marked the tragic start of World War II in Western Europe.
    Inside the fort it iextends over 45 hectares on 2 subterranean levels, with 17 above-ground bunkers and associated field fortifications. It could accommodate a garrison of 1200 soldiers and has a vast network of 5Km of underground galleries
    During the German raid 27 Belgian solders and 6 Germans were killed but there were hundreds of casualties. In the parts of the fort where soldiers had died there were photos of them on the walls the oldest was just 24.
    We were amazed at the scale of the fort and we wandered around the underground tunnels for 90 minutes before resurfacing.
    Back in to daylight we decided to walk along the top of the fort. Here you can see the real scale because all of the turrets and battlements are at ground level, we could even see the bullet holes and blast holes from the 50kg hollow explosives the Germans used. The outside walk was over 2 miles just to give you a scale of big the fort is.
    We spent 3 hours looking around the Fort and we were really pleased we went.    Read more

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    Maastricht

    October 8, 2023 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Back it Wanda, it had just gone 1pm but I knew it wasn’t far to get to our sleeping spot for the night so we decided to go there and then have lunch.
    It was just 6 miles to get us over the Belgian border and into The Netherlands and the city of Maastricht.
    Our original plan was to do the local Fort and caves but we have to book well in advance for the caves which we didn’t know so we’ve decided to check out the city instead.
    After a quick lunch in Wanda of Belgian pizza breads we set off at 2:30pm on foot into the city centre.
    It only took us about 20 minutes and as we got closer the traffic got busier and busier and the car parks fuller and fuller. We thought something must be going on and as we rounded a corner and entered the pedestrianised zone there were just thousands of people and it was just shoulder to shoulder.
    Our first stop was the City Square and we there were lots of what we thought were market stalls out. As it turns out it seemed like more of a cross between a crap antiques fair and a bootsale.
    From the City square we headed into the city Center and to our surprise all of the shops were open and it was full of people. Every single cafe we could see was rammed with people and some of the cafes and restaurants were huge and all of there outside seating areas were full. The shops were heaving and they weren’t cheap shops either. We’re talking designer shops like Superdry, Nike and Pandora, not to mention the independent boutique stores selling handmade stuff. It really was crazy.
    In the centre of all this we found an open cathedral, and as we love a European church we popped in.
    This cathedral wasn’t anywhere near as Gordy as some of the ones in France and Spain. There wasn’t the insatiable amounts of gold leaf which we were expecting, in fact this cathedral was quite modest by European standards just boasting a huge hand painted Muriel on the rear wall.
    From the cathedral we continued on pushing the gaggle of people and turning off down ally and walking through an open archway we found ourselves in a working water mill making flour for the bakery next door. Walking out the other side we saw the wheel being forced around by the rivers current so we decided to follow that river to the edge of the city where we had a great view of Maastricht.
    We had now walked 4 miles so we decided to turn around and head back to Wanda and on the way back we found a church that has been converted into a bookstore. We popped in to take some cheeky photos and again this store was packed, but the bookshop itself looked amazing.
    About 1/2 a mile to go we passed through a local car park and it’s still completely full, and it’s now 5pm, this is definitely the busiest city we’ve ever been to and until recently we’d never heard of it.
    Back at Wanda we had a late dinner at 7:30pm of Belgian chicken schnitzel, tonight we are camped on a piece of waste ground just outside the city centre with a few other campers and motorhomes free of charge.    Read more

  • Misadventures Of WandaTaking The Long WayMisadventures Of Wanda

    The Road to Dinant

    October 9, 2023 in Belgium ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    We had a pretty good nights sleep considering we were on the edge of the city in a run down car park. Most of the cars left by 11pm and we were left with 4 camper vans and one other Moho.
    At 8am we were drinking tea and coffee in bed waiting for the traffic in and out of the city to calm down, it was horrendous and considering it was so quiet last night the traffic never really let up.
    Just after 9am we set off back to Belgium, it took us just 10 minutes to cross the border and then another 10 miles to reach a Motorhome aire to empty our grey and black waste and fill up with fresh water. It was a nightmare to reach the aire as they were doing roadworks and the route we wanted was closed. With no diversion in place we followed a van and TomTom was trying to re-route us, then the van did a U-turn and as we went on, the roads got tighter and tighter.
    I was looking for escape route out of this tiny town and then we found the aire. Fortunately after filling up with water getting back onto the main road was easier.
    Our next stop was Lidl just outside Liège to get some fruit, nuts and milk. We also stopped here for lunch at the bakery.
    Our first stop of the day was The Invisible Church, a sculpture made of Iron and see through just outside the village of Boson, replicating the towns church. It was an amazing looking piece of artwork that was a 1 mile hike from our parking spot in the middle of nowhere off a hiking and biking path.
    Back at Wanda we set the Sat Nav and then set off leaving the Invisible Church behind us for an 85 mile trek, our longest drive since getting off of the euro tunnel. We were heading to Dinant at the bottom of Belgium in Wallonia. I had seen this place on the TV watching the bike racing during the tour of Wallonia and it looked amazing.
    Unfortunately for us, on route we realised that the free parking spot I had found just outside of the city was being closed for overnight parking so we had to find somewhere else and we found the perfect spot a few miles away next to a little chateau, but it’s still about 6 miles away from the city so we won’t be able to walk in.
    We decided to head straight to the chateau and skip Dinant for today and drive in tomorrow and find a day parking spot and we arrived just after 3pm, it is a beautiful spot with a great view but no internet so we’ll have to be on DVD’s tonight.
    At 4pm I decided to go for a bike ride and I already had a looped circuit in my head unit so I set that, got changed and then set off. Within 500 meters I came to my first climb of 3 and it was a brutal 10% gradient, lasting just 700 meters then I was on to flat ground for 1km and just as I had got my breath back the second climb came. This one was a real leg zapper starting at 3% and rising to 8% but last 1.5 kilometres. I was just under 3km in and I was already feeling exhausted.
    I started to head into some small but very beautiful villages, and that was what this route was all about, the churches in these villages.
    I passed some amazing churches, some dating back to the 16th century. I also passed some amazing Chateaus before descending out of the villages doing 60kph and then picking up the cycle path into Dinant.
    Cycling along the river I had the most amazing view of the city before passing over the saxophone bridge and along the river the opposite side. Dinant was the birthplace Of Adolf Sax, the inventor of the saxophone and there are sculptures of saxophones everywhere.
    Leaving the city I turned left and headed back into the wooded back lanes this is where I found the 3rd climb but luckily I had almost fully recovered. This climb was a brute starting at 7% and topping out at 13% over a 1km distance. It might not seem like it but from the bike it looked like a wall.
    Over the climb I was onto hilly terrain and kept a steady speed of 25kph all the way back until descending the final hill, the final kilometre was all downhill at 8% and with nothing behind and an open clear road ahead of me I took the racing line around the last 2 bends topping out at 64kph before coming back to Wanda. I had travelled 32.5km and done 510 meters of climbing in 90 minutes. I was pretty knackered but it was a great ride and luckily for me Ellie had already made dinner of meatballs and pasta and I was starving. Then we watched the sunset behind the chateau before heading in for the night and putting on a DVD.    Read more

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    Dinant to koerich

    October 10, 2023 in Luxembourg ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    We had a great nights sleep at the Chateau and it was unbelievably dark with an incredible amount of stars out.
    We woke up at 7am and I didn’t want to push my luck or upset here so by 8am the bed was away, we were dressed and ready to move.
    At 9am we left the Chateau and headed just six miles down the road to the Royal Dinant football club, here there was a huge empty car park and we thought we’d be staying here the night after walking around the medieval city.
    We stayed in Wanda until 10:30am having cups of tea and toasties before setting off on foot into the city. It was all downhill for the 1.5 mile hike which meant it would be uphill all the way back.
    We entered the city from the south heading straight for the river that I rode past yesterday but on the opposite side, then we turned left and came to the huge and rather imposing town hall. From here we turned right and headed for the high street which for a very touristy city seemed quite like any small town high street. We popped into an oxfam shop to look for a jacket for Ellie but couldn’t find one and then went into another shop that was a little bit like Superdrug in the UK and brought some sweets to take home for Ben. Then we mooched around looking through shop windows until we turned down an alley and came across a guy making sculptures and selling them from his garage. He had some weird and wacky things he’d made like lights from chair legs and he was currently drilling through a plate when we spoke to him.
    From there we turned right and back down to the river front and here we started our hunt for real Belgian Waffles.
    Even though it was now midday most shops and restaurants were still closed but a little further up the river we found a patisserie and struck gold. They had Belgian Waffles to go so we bought one each and sat by the river eating them. They were delicious.
    From here we headed back the way we came and crossed the saxophone bridge that has a saxophone for every European country on it. Besides the Citadel itself I think this is the biggest draw to the whole city.
    Just around the corner we found the house of Adolfe Sax, the creator of the saxophone and it’s now a free museum telling the story of how the saxophone came to be with some amazing photos from the 1800’s.
    Here we learnt that Dinant plays host to the world saxophonist contest and it’s a very prestigious event for the under 30’s.
    Besides the Citadel which we weren’t going to, and the saxophone bridge Dinant had very little to offer except for how beautiful it is from the river so we started back to Wanda.
    It was all uphill on the way back and then sun was now fully out and cooking us at 22° and we had a hard 1.5 mile slog up an 8% gradient all the way back to Wanda. I couldn’t wait to get my shorts on once we got inside.
    It was now just 1:30pm but as we’d had a bit of a rush this morning we both had a little nap and then at 3pm I thought we could probably make it half way to our next destination in Luxembourg before dinner time so I started looking for a camp spot on park4night.
    Luxembourg isn’t as friendly to wild camping as a lot of other European countries but I found an aire that is free with electric, water and dump station 80 miles away in the town of Koerich so we got Wanda travel ready and set off.
    It was pretty much a straight run on a single motorway most of the way but half way along we both spotted what looked like a dead raccoon at the side of the motorway. We couldn’t believe it was actually a raccoon, but we both saw it clearly and started thinking what looks like a raccoon? It definitely wasn’t a badger.
    Ellie googled it, and we couldn’t believe it when the answer came back that this part of Belgium and Luxembourg has over a million raccoons.
    Apparently they were shipped in, in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s and were released for there fur. Now with no fur trade they are thriving and are everywhere.
    Now we definitely going to be keeping a look out for raccoons.
    At 5:30pm we made it to koerich and found a Motorhome aire free of charge with just 4 spaces and we got the last one. The aire is lovely and the town itself is beautiful but we are next to quite a busy road but beggars can’t be choosers and we’re more than half way to our next stop.
    By 6:45pm we had,had dinner and I had a shower as we have access to water then we settled in for the night.    Read more

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    Schéissendëmpel Waterfall

    October 11, 2023 in Luxembourg ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    This morning we were up bright and early not with the birds but with the Bin men emptying the bins at our little aire at 5am. We’ve now realised this is probably the busiest road in the whole of Luxembourg and it did let up for a few hours over night but not by much and having been woken up at 5am we didn’t get much sleep.
    Rush hour seems to be a constant here with the traffic passing heavily until well gone 10pm and starting to get heavy again at 5am. I don’t know what time the working day starts here but it seems really early.
    We couldn’t get back to sleep so I made coffees, put the hot water on for Ellie to have a shower and then put the fire on for the first time on this trip. It was just 9°c outside and 11°c inside. We weren’t cold but it’s nice to have a warm room to sit in after a shower.
    By 9am we were on the dump station, emptying the grey water and toilet and filling with fresh. We didn’t particularly need to but we don’t know when our next water and dump stations will be so we played it careful. Then after a chat with our neighbours who were also English and from Cornwall we left the noisiest place in Luxembourg and went straight to the gas station to fill up with cheap diesel and then on to Lidl for supplies.
    Stocked up with gas and food we had a 1 hour, 38 mile drive to our next location. Little Switzerland.
    We arrived at the car park for our first stop at roughly 11:30am. I grabbed my camera bag and tripod and we set off to photograph the Schéissendëmpel Waterfall and the trap stairway. It was just a 600 meter hike up a step stone gorge stairway until we got to the wooden steps of the trap stairway.
    It’s an amazing looking staircase made of wood but jutting out from the side of the gorge decending to the Schéissendëmpel Waterfall at the bottom, here I set up my camera and got some great shots of the waterfall and then we walked back along the road to Wanda to drop my camera stuff off and have some lunch.
    We deliberately rushed this first part just to get the photos I wanted with all my camera gear and back at Wanda I emptied my camera and one other lens into a lightweight rucksack ready for a proper adventure. Then we had lunch of Lidl bakery food, stocked up on sweet stuff for energy and then we set off on a hike to who knows where.
    Actually, I knew where we were going but I daren’t tell Ellie how far it is so I just said we would go out and see where we ended up. It was a very long way.
    At 2pm we set off from the car park back towards the waterfall via the road we had just walked up and instead of going back to the falls we crossed over and went up stone steps set into the side of the gorge. It gradually got steeper and steeper almost ladder like until we reached a plateau and came to some woods. It was a beautiful hike gradually going uphill but we didn’t really notice until we started to get to more stone steps ascending up into the gorge and as we were climbing the walls started closing in making a passage way. Before we knew it we were deep into a network of canyons, with stone steps leading us up and down and round corners. It was a labyrinth straight from the pages of one of Tolkien’s books and every turn led to an even more amazing view. The gorge sides of granite and limestone were dotted with green and orange moss and with the fall leaves on the ground it was like a multicoloured carpet leading to some faraway land that you read about in a fairytale. We were so lucky to see it like this and had perfect weather.
    Leaving the labyrinth we were now deep in the woods on top of the gorges with the river running far below us, but the views didn’t stop. We crossed wooden bridges, climbed hills and then more stone steps and then walked through more gorges that were so dark we couldn’t see each other at each end.
    Then we started to head down and out of the second labyrinth and as we emerged from its darkness back onto the technicoloured world we could see the walls of it towering hundreds of feet above us.
    At this point we were 5km in to our hike, and we continued on through the woods climbing more hills until we reached a sheltered picnic area where we stopped and had our drinks and took 10 minutes to catch our breath.
    We debated walking back the way we came, which wouldn’t have bothered me because it was amazing but I really wanted to do the whole loop I had planned, but hadn’t mentioned to Ellie. And I also pointed out that she really likes walking……apparently. So I gave her the choice of turning back or continuing on and she chose the latter.
    We continued through more woods and for the next kilometre or so it was all uphill until finally it levelled off and as we rounded a bend in the trail it started going down. We crossed more bridges, some over rivers and some of gaps in the gorges but all were incredible. At 10km in we both wished we brought more to drink but I knew it couldn’t be to much further and now we were almost back at ground level with the river next to us. Our final hurdle to leave the trail was to cross a bridge of stones running through the river. Ellie told me to film her crossing incase she fell in which I did but that also left me with 2 phones in my hand so I hoped I didn’t fall in because that would have been seriously expensive.
    Safely across the otherside we had just a 600 meter walk to Wanda and we were grateful to get a cold drink and sit down. We hiked 11.8km in total. That’s 7.3 miles in English with 200 meters of climbing, we were both pretty knackered.
    Back in Wanda I reset the sat nav for our camping spot which luckily for us was only a mile away and 10 minutes later we were parked in a lovely free aire on some grass that is a designated area for Motorhomes for 1 night. The sign actually says 12 hours, but we will be leaving it tomorrow during the day and maybe coming back to it tomorrow. It’s a great park up, and although there’s other campers here it’s so much quieter than last nights spot so hopefully we’ll get more sleep.    Read more

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    Hohllay Cave & Washing

    October 12, 2023 in Luxembourg ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

    We had a great nights sleep compared to the night before and I felt refreshed and ready for the day when I woke up but Ellie had a tummy ache and a headache and felt like crap. Fortunately for us there are public toilets near the aire and we walked to them at 8:30am but even after using the toilets Ellie didn’t feel much better and then it started to rain.
    We had a mega hike planned for today starting at Hohllay cave and walking to the Gorge de Loup and we left our parking spot just after 9am to locate the car park which was 6 miles away.
    By the time we got there at 9:30am it was teeming down with rain so we just thought we’d sit it out, have a cup of tea and some breakfast in Wanda and let Ellie have a snooze and sleep her headache off.
    At 11am it was still raining so we wrote our mega hike off for today and started looking for laundrettes near by so we could do our first washing of the trip.
    We found a decent self service laundrette 15 miles away just off the motorway at a truck stop and services and just as we finished plotting the sat nav it stopped raining.
    Not wanting to be stuck in doors all day we decided just to walk to Hohllay cave which was about 800 meters away through the woods and we set off, it was another beautiful walk and we saw a Fire Salamander walking across the path in front of us as well as hundreds of nuthatches in the trees and red squirrels.
    It felt like we were in a dreamscape again as all of the forest had thick green moss on the floor and deadfall and even the mushrooms and fungi looked magical with the funny shapes and colours. As the trail went down thick walls of granite, covered in green moss towered either side of us reaching hundreds of feet up and then we came to a stone stairway and climbed up. There in front of us was Hohllay cave, a man made cave where you can still see the marks from the picks used to create it. On the floor were thousands of standing stones people had left from there visit. As we wandered its cavernous depths and intricate passage ways it started to rain again and this time it was real heavy rain.
    We gave up on going any further and started our way back to Wanda and then the heavens really opened and we got drenched. Thinking it was just a short walk we didn’t even think about taking coats and before long we were soaked to the skin power walking through the mud of the forest back to Wanda. The 20 minute walk seemed like hours.
    Back at Wanda we put dry clothes on and then headed straight for the services where the laundrette was to do our washing.
    The Bonjour services was heaving with people and cars and people were coming out of the services with supermarket trolleys over flowing with cigarettes. Ellie originally thought it was some black market dealership but we worked out that cigarettes are a few euros cheaper here than Germany and people are buying them here to take back. Almost every car or Motorhome was German and everyone was leaving the supermarket with cigarettes and alcohol. It was like a duty free shop.
    The washing machines and dryer were right in front of the services entrance so we loaded our stuff up, paid the €12 to wash our stuff and then went inside for some hot food. Ellie had a Giant Cheese covered pretzel and some bread thing with a crumble topping and I had a spicy sausage, with cheese and tomato heated baguette.
    Once the washing was done we then paid €6 to use the dryer for 30 minutes. That’s double the price washing anything cost us last year.
    With the washing done it was now 2:30pm and it might not have felt like we had done much but in reality we had a productive day getting all our washing done while it was raining.
    We set off back to the car park where the waterfall was yesterday and we arrived at 3:30pm. It was still raining and pretty grey and miserable and our plan was to just sit here and chill for 2 hours before heading back to the same sleep spot as last night.
    The thing is with last nights sleeping spot is the maximum of 12 hours stay even though it’s a camper place, and at 5pm someone drives around and takes photos to make sure you don’t out stay your welcome. It’s out of season so I don’t think going back is going to be a problem but I don’t want the confrontation so we’re leaving it as long as possible so they know we’ve been away all day and we’re just sleeping there. I think we’ll have to do the same tomorrow.
    At 5:20pm we’d had enough of just sitting around, Ellie had,had another snooze so we set off back to our camp spot and we arrived just before 6pm just as the van taking pictures turned up. Luckily for us he wasn’t taking pictures tonight and didn’t even give us a second look.
    Once settled it was time for dinner of Luxembourg schnitzel and they were pretty good and then we settled in for the night. This is our 10th free camping night so we have been lucky with our park ups so far, the rain has stopped so we’re hoping to get our hike in tomorrow so it will be an early night ready for a day of exploring tomorrow.    Read more

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    Gorges de Loup & Germany

    October 13, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    This morning we didn’t wake up until 8:10am. I wanted to be at the Hohllay Cave car park asap as it’s tiny and as it’s not raining I thought it would fill up quick.
    We quickly downed our teas and coffees and put the bed away, I said don’t worry about anything else yet let’s just get there and get parked up then we can have breakfast.
    Just before 9am we left our free park up and drove the 6 miles to the car park where we would begin our hike. We were the first ones there and reversed in to the first of 8 bays so we could just drive out when we left. Then we sat in the back for an hour drinking teas and coffees and I made a picnic ready to go on our hike. This time we would be going prepared.
    At 10:30am we left Wanda loaded up with food, camera gear and a bladder bag full of water and set off through the forest towards Hohllay Cave where we went yesterday. The temperature was perfect for a long hike, around 20°c, not too hot but not cold.
    We did visit the cave again just to get some pictures in the dry but didn’t hang around too long as we had a fair bit of walking to do. An hour later we came to what is known as the Labyrinth a steep set of gorges with a narrow passage way leading between them, the colours were amazing and because of the rain yesterday and it being so deep the air felt cold, sticky and clammy. Once again we had a multicoloured carpet of leaves lining our way and to leave the labyrinth we had to ascend a stone staircase.
    These were the steepest steps we had done so far and just as we thought we were coming to the top some more would appear. Then we started going back down on more steps and it was pretty treacherous after yesterday’s rain with the damp leaves making one wrong step possibly fatal. There’s no hand rails here, no caution signs and no health and safety gone mad. This is nature as it was intended.
    Once back at ground level we followed the stream to the entrance to the Gorge de Loup.
    I imagined this place to be a network of caves and passageways like we went through the other day but unfortunately it wasn’t. Our first task after descending a few steps to get into the gorge was climb the biggest stone stairway we had ever seen going almost vertically up the side of the cliff face, it seriously made our legs burn. Once at the top we were on a plateau with an amazing view of the valley below and there was a picnic area so as we were almost half way through we stopped here for some food.
    We had now walked 5.5km and most of it had been uphill so we knew a lot of it would be downhill on the way back even though we were going a different way.
    Leaving the picnic area we walked across the top of the plateau and then down a steep stairway that was just like the one we had come up on the other side. This took us back into the gorge and after walking around a few bends and up some more steps we found ourselves back at the beginning of the Gorges de Loup. It didn’t seem all it was hyped up to be on google so I was really glad we did the 12km hike the other day.
    From the Gorge we turned right away from the way we came and this way would take us around in a big loop back to Hohllay Cave through the forest. It was a beautiful walk with the autumnal colours and the little stream running next to us and before long we were back at Hohllay Cave and then it was just another 800 meters back to Wanda.
    It was now 3pm and we had just walked 14.1km. That’s 8.76 miles in English with 225 meters of climbing. We were pretty tired but not tired enough to go back to our camp spot we’d had for the last 2 nights so we thought we’d try our luck and try to get to another free place and get some water so we could both have showers tonight. Yesterday I had found somewhere on park4night and as the crow flies it was 35 miles away. As we’re not flying we had to use the roads and 85 miles later we were in country number 5, Germany, at a town called Polche that seems to be one huge Motorhome dealership and there is a free dump station and it’s €0.10 per litre of water.
    This is also another free place snd we got the last Motorhome spot when we arrived at 4:30pm. Wanda looks incredibly small next to most of the motorhomes here. The small ones are the size of a coach back home, the big ones are just immense.
    By 7pm we had, had dinner and we were both struggling to keep our eyes open watching TV, so I set the bed up to watch it in bed instead and then we just fell asleep.    Read more

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    Elitz Castle

    October 14, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    This morning we didn’t wake up until gone 8am. It was a noisy night again as just before we went to bed the wind really got up and it was also really hot. 23°c outside and 27°c inside. We tried leaving the roof hatch open but the gusty wind just kept blowing the mosquito screens inside so we settled for having the fan on. Then the rain started and we were also peppered with sycamore seeds flying out of the trees. It was very noisy.
    As we were parked up at a Motorhome dealers we decided to get some extra toilet cleaner as it’s hard to come by and popped into the shop. It was an amazing store selling absolutely everything for camping, motorhoming and rooftenting and they had all sorts of spares and repair stuff. Unfortunately anything Wanda needed I’ve already replaced but otherwise this is definitely the place to come.
    We left the park up at 10:30am and drove 11 miles to our next location, a Motorhome car park about 1 miles walk from Elitz Castle and we arrived just after 11am.
    The first thing we did was have a cup of tea while I plotted the cross country hike to the castle. I knew it was going to be hilly so the plan was to walk down the steepest slopes on the way there, take some photos and come back up the not so steep slopes on the way back.
    We left Wanda at midday and took the path through the woods, it had an incredibly steep gradient of 16% but we were going down and the only thing that hurt were our toes stabbing the end of our shoes.
    Once we got to the castle it was packed. This is the castle that was the inspiration for the Walt Disney castle and I wasn’t going to get any good photos now and the sun was directly behind the castle. I would have to come back when it was closed.
    We did the circuit of the castle and then started the ascent back to Wanda. It was only a 5% gradient but 3km longer and then we got lost in the woods before finally finding the right path out and back to Wanda.
    Back at Wanda Ellie was tired and this is a great place to go mountain biking apparently so I changed my bike wheels from the 40mm to the 50mm tyres reset the gears and got changed. Then I found a route on my app and set off. It was now 2pm and I had picked a 42km route which would probably take me 2 hours with all the climbing loaded at the back end of the ride.
    I set off from Wanda through the nearby field and across a quiet back lane and then onto a wooded track. Here there was steep decent of 20% and it was on slate so I was glad I put my big tyres on and I had my hand on the brakes the whole way down. The decent was Almost 2km long with a few hair pins and it was very technical and was super pleased with myself for keeping the bike upright and making it which makes what happened next even worse.
    I left the slate trail and came out onto a main road with a bike path running next to it. The bike path was separated from the main road with big fat white posts and the path and road ran alongside a beautiful lake. I was travelling along at a gentle pace not pushing it and enjoying the view at 27kph and I looked at the look lake rushing by thinking what a great view it was. As I looked back I had one of the white posts rushing straight at me and I didn’t even have time to think about pulling the brakes before I clipped it with my handlebars sending me soaring through the air with the bike.
    I remember hitting the floor on my right hand side and smacking my head on the floor and as I was sliding I was thinking “I’m so lucky I had a helmet on”. Then I stopped sliding and the bike continued on its own.
    A car swerved and stopped and as I was getting to my feet a lady got out and asked if I was ok and I said yes because I felt like a prat. I picked my bike up, turned around and then realised my gears didn’t work. I looked down at the rear derailleur and it was just hanging there completely out of alignment and as I bent down my ribs went crack and couldn’t breathe. Apparently I wasn’t alright.
    I walked the bike over the other side of the road and let it against the wall. And then I realised my right knee was bleeding and my right arm and shoulder were also killing me and breathing was now becoming a problem. I had to sort myself out because there was no way Ellie could come and get me so I took my helmet off, inspected it for damage and there was none. I had no holes in any of my clothes so I thought I couldn’t be that bad and maybe I have just cracked a rib so now I had to get the bike working.
    I rechecked the derailleur and realised I had completely ripped the gear cable out but it was still there so I got out my Allen keys and leatherman knife with the pliers and retreaded the gear cable. I thought if I could just get there derailleur back in line with one gear and limp home I would be doing ok but miraculously once I retreaded the cable I had all my gears back, albeit a little jumpy and Grindy.
    I set off back the way I came but pretty soon realised I had done major damage to my ribs so going back up the same hill was now impossible.
    Once I got to the track I had come down I got off the bike and checked the map. Half way up there was a road. If I could get to that road I could cycle the rest of the way on tarmac. So I started to push the bike up a 20% gradient. It was a nightmare and I’ve never struggled with anything so much. I had to go slow because if I started breathing hard my ribs would hurt and I felt like I would pass out so I had to keep stopping. It took me 45 mins to do 700 meters and all the way up I had my finger hovering over I need emergency assistance button on my GPS.
    I was so grateful to reach tarmac and more grateful of the bench at the top of the hill. I sat down. Put my hand on my ribs and as I breathed in I could feel a crunch. This was not good. Once my breathing had calmed I set the bike in its lowest gear before getting back on it and then started cycling up the 15% gradient on the road. Normally this would have been a challenge but having the bigger cog now on my back wheel I just peddled slowly knowing I just had to take my time. Finally after 15 minutes I reached the top and there was the road to Wanda. I limped along at a snails pace until I got there, shut the gps off pulled my phone and lights off and then went and told Ellie what had happened.
    Ellie helped lift the bike back on the back and then we both went inside. Ellie helped get my shoes off because I couldn’t bend down then she got some antiseptic wipes for my knee but then I told her that was the least of my worries.
    Ellie pretty much stripped me down and then we could see the damage. I had a big cut on my right knee and it’s swollen. Underneath my arm warmers which remained intact my right elbow was cut and heavily bruised and my back is covered in road rash.
    After an hour of not being able to breath properly Ellie started googling hospitals and then I nearly passed out but 10 minutes later I felt ok so I said I think I’ll be fine.
    I managed to have a little dinner, but leaning against the seats hurts and breathing hurts but I can lay on my left hand side.
    3 hours later the bruising was really coming out, it only hurts now when I breathe. Fortunately we have a nice quiet park up because I think we’re going to be stuck here for the next few days until I can properly move my right hand side. We’ll see the real damage in the morning.    Read more

  • Misadventures Of WandaTaking The Long WayMisadventures Of Wanda

    Healing Day

    October 15, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    Obviously after yesterdays accident on the bike I didn’t sleep well. I tried sleeping on my back where I was most comfortable but couldn’t drop off so in the end I slept on my left side with a pillow to rest my knees on to take the weight off my body.
    I woke up at 8am feeling like I had been run over and it took me five minutes to sit up and get on the edge of the bed. This morning Ellie was on Coffee duties and after the first coffee Ellie did a bodge job of putting the bed away so I could sit up on the sofa.
    No sooner was I upright I had to lay down again as I thought I was going to pass out. I put this down to low blood pressure from not breathing properly and not moving. After a 30 minute nap I felt ok and managed some breakfast then I started feeling more with it.
    We had already decided we were stuck here so we settled in for the day and put the TV on and watched the Maxine Carr series on Netflix. Then we went for a short walk and except for my ribs which are probably broken along with my pride, I felt pretty good. My knees are ok, my cut arm and shoulder don’t hurt to much even though the bruising is coming out and I can walk normally albeit a lot slower so it doesn’t change my breathing. On the walk we spotted a Motorhome with some huge black numbers down the side. NCC-1701. I chuckled but Ellie didn’t get it.
    These are the numbers for the starship enterprise from Star Trek and if you look at the side profile of these types of motorhomes they do resemble it. Wanda is the same so future journeys will now be missions and we will boldly go where no Motorhome has gone before.
    Late after came and we went for another short walk and noticed the temperatures dropping rapidly. By 6pm it was just 7°c outside. It’s 18°c inside but does feel cooler so we lit the fire for a little while and then lit our candles in the glass holders so it looks like there’s a fire on. It already feels warmer.
    I’m hoping to be mobile again tomorrow and be able to move on to somewherelse. I’m already bored with being broken and want to go exploring again and try and get my bike fixed somewhere.    Read more

  • Misadventures Of WandaTaking The Long WayMisadventures Of Wanda

    Cochem

    October 16, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    We were awake at 8:15am this morning and I’d had another rough night of sleep not being able to get comfortable atall. I’m currently not enjoying the trip as much as I should, and in all honesty I have considered just heading for home but I think I’m probably just feeling sorry for myself and my bike.
    My first thoughts this morning were to head back to Polche where we stayed a few nights ago and got water. I was feeling crap and knew that we had all services there and we can stay there for 3 nights for free so I set the sat nav and at 10:30am we left the park up at Elitz Castle.
    I was only 2 miles down the road and now not feeling too bad and suggested we head into Cochem which Ellie had found on Facebook last night. It has a beautiful view across the river to the old town and ancient castle on the hill and there is designated Motorhome parking where we can pay by the hour. I think if I can just keep going maybe my head will get back into travel mode and if I find a bike shop that can repair my bike I’ll probably be happy even if I can’t ride it. The back end of this trip is tailored towards the bike so it seems pointless heading there now, but we’ll see how I’m feeling as the trip progresses.
    We turned Wanda around and headed 10 miles down the road, down the 20% gradients and along the road where I had my accident and 30 minutes later we had found the Motorhome bays in Cochem.
    It was a euro an hour so we popped €2 in and thought that should give us enough time to get a few pictures and have a look around and then we set off along the footpath down the side of the river.
    Once at the town square we crossed the bridge and continued down abit further until we had a magnificent view of the old town and the castle in the background. We were lucky with the light as any later the sun would have blown the pictures out like they did at Elitz castle.
    Pictures taken, we then headed into the town Center and it was a proper medieval old town that looked like a cross between Diagon alley from Harry Potter and something from King Arthur. Most of the shops were catered for tourists so we managed to get our collectors mug here to go on our travel shelf back home then we wandered the streets and alleyways looking like tourists until our time was up on our parking ticket.
    Back at Wanda I’d already found a picnic area about 3 miles up the hill behind the castle that lots of people have stayed at for a night before and as it was now 3pm we set off. There’s only room for 2 campers here and it’s an awesome spot to spend the night aslong as we don’t get moved on. We have fantastic views across fields with hiking trails either side of us and another camper with a stupid sliding door has already joined us so this is it for the night.
    Once we had parked we went for a little stroll down one of the hiking trails and had a great view of the Mosul valley we had just driven through, then we went back to Wanda, battened down all the hatches and settled in for night.    Read more

  • Misadventures Of WandaTaking The Long WayMisadventures Of Wanda

    Back To Burg Elitz

    October 17, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    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

  • Misadventures Of WandaTaking The Long WayMisadventures Of Wanda

    Frankenstein & Snow white

    October 18, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    This morning we were awake at 7:30am and I felt a lot better having slept nearly all the way through the night.
    I knew we had a long drive ahead of us today and for breakfast we both had a couple of bananas so we didn’t have to wait for anything on the cooker to cool down and at 9am we were ready to leave.
    Our first stop of the day was a 130 mile drive which I didn’t realise until I set the sat nav but it was on the way to where we would be ending up so we went there anyway.
    We were both looking forward to this place, not just because it was somewhere different to look at having been stuck in the same area since my crash, but because of it’s history and a 2 hours later we arrived in a gravel parking lot at the edge of Frankensteins Castle in Mühltal. Infact the castle has absolutely nothing to do with Dr Frankenstein who haled from Switzerland or the Shelley Family but it is rumoured that Mary Shelley past through the Rhine region of Germany and thus took inspiration from the castle for her book.
    Personally I think that is one of the weakest links I’ve ever read but a castle is a castle and even though this one is just remains with a cafe we would have a look.
    I grabbed my camera stuff and we left Wanda and took a short walk down the road to the castle entrance only to find that it was roped off because the cafe is closing down permanently and we couldn’t get access. We were gutted.
    We went back to Wanda, made a sandwich and then reset the sat nav for our next destination which was another 85 miles away.
    Fortunately for us, because we had fueled up yesterday we didn’t have to make any stops and as soon as we had eaten we left and took another 90 minute drive to our next destination Lohr am Main.
    Lohr am Main is said to be the inspirational town for Disneys Snow White and it is quite beautiful with its colourful houses and shops.
    It even has a castle and that castle has 113 rooms dedicated to the fairytale. But we all know fairy tales start somewhere and in 1991 a scientist and historian delved into the legend of Snow White to see what was true and what was myth and it was interesting what he discovered.

    The magic mirror? Clearly, there was a mirror factory in Lohr, founded in 1698 by Elector Lothar Franz von Schönborn of Mainz. Mirrors decorated with sayings – “talking mirrors” – were particularly popular during the Baroque period.
    The King and Queen? Master of the city at this time and director of the mirror factory was the Mainz mayor Philipp Christoph von Erthal (1689 -1748). He lived in Lohr Castle with his wife Maria Eva, née von Bettendorf (died 1738).
    Snow White and the Stepmother? Maria Sophia Margaretha Catharina, Baroness von Erthal, baptized on June 19, 1729, and her six siblings had a stepmother in 1741: Claudia Elisabeth Margarethe, née von Reichenstein, widowed von Venningen.
    The seven dwarves over the seven mountains? In the north of the Spessart, in Biebergrund, which was part of the territory of the County of Hanau, silver, copper and lead have been mined since the 15th century. Mining there experienced an upswing around the middle of the 18th century.
    Many miners were short in stature and wore smocks and hoods to work - a model of the classic dwarven costume.
    There are 7 mountain ridges to cross on the way from Lohr to Biebergrund - assuming you count correctly.
    The glass coffin and the iron slippers? Glassmaking and iron processing have a centuries-long tradition in the Spessart,
    wild boars still roam the wild forest today, and the handsome king's son remains anonymous.
    We arrived in Lohr am Main just after 2pm and after wandering the pretty streets and visiting several shops and then finding the castle it was now 3:30pm so we decided we would come back to visit the castle and museum tomorrow when we had more time so we took a slow walk back to Wanda.
    Back at Wanda Ellie said she was tired and put her headphones on and laid on the bench seats while I was checking distances and things to see for our next few destinations. Then randomly while I was checking google maps a bike repair shop popped up.
    I checked the reviews and it had 20 5 star reviews all saying the shop was really helpful.
    I checked the times and it said it closed at 6pm and it was now 5:30pm.
    I told Ellie and at the same time I was already putting my coat on shoes on. Then I took my bike off the back and by then Ellie was ready.
    It was just a 5 minute walk down a side street and Ellie thought that they wouldn’t be open given that it was low season but I was more worried that that would either be closed or just turn me away because we didn’t speak any German.
    At 5:40pm we arrived at the bike shop and it was a tiny independent place that look closed but I tried the door and it was unlocked. U started pushing my bike in and at the same time an elderly gentleman walked across the road and said something in German and I apologised and said sorry were English. And then he said “how can I help you?”. I told him about the bike and he asked if I’d crashed and I told him the story and he had a few laughs with Ellie at my expense but said he’d look at it and asked when I wanted it back?
    We said we would wait however long it took and then he said when did we want to leave and I told him our parking runs out tomorrow at 2pm but we can come back.
    He then looked at the bike and said I only do work with a hammer but if you come back between 11 & 12 tomorrow I’ll show you what I can do. I said great have you got magic hands? And he said “ will you be able to sleep without you bike?” I laughed and Ellie agreed with him that I probably wouldn’t sleep without the bike. This guy seems like my kind of mechanic. Let’s hope.
    From the bike shop we then went back into town as the shops were now closed and the lights were coming on and it was looking twinkly. Just right for taking photos.
    We finally got back to Wanda at 7:30pm and then settled in for the night as it started to rain outside.    Read more

  • Misadventures Of WandaTaking The Long WayMisadventures Of Wanda

    Lohr am Main

    October 19, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    We were up at 7:30am this morning. Obviously I was desperate for midday to come around so I could go and get my bike but before then we had a lot to pack in.
    After a few coffees we left Wanda at 9:30am and took a slow walk back through the town. I had been looking at google maps last night and found a statue of Snow White sitting in a bench and some street art, so we headed to the town church and sitting in a bench was Snow White. It looked nothing like the Disney Snow White were all used too but Snow White was actually a nun.
    From the statue it was just a short walk down an ally and through a park to find the street art that is also meant to be Snow White. Ok, this looked a little more like Snow White but she was handing out fish to children. Weird!
    From the weird graffiti we headed to the castle that has been fully restored and is now a museum. It cost us just €3 each to get in and that included a free audio guide in English. Speaking to the lady at the till she told us that she used to live in Cambridge, near six mile bottom and she’s visited Norwich lots. It’s a small world.
    The castle is filled with all sorts of things and we started the tour in the basement looking at old pottery that had been made in the area. Then it went into a blacksmiths and the iron work that was made in the area.
    From the basement we went up a spiral staircase to where glass from the area was displayed, then a wood working section. All of the tools, bench’s and chairs were original. Then we went into mechanical things and they had a bike from 1860 with wooden wheels, no brakes and a metal seat.
    From the mechanical things we went up another level and here’s where we started getting into the myth of Snow White with a room full of mirrors including the real mirror she used and her real shoes.
    The museum was fantastically laid out and really interactive, I don’t know how many switches, buttons and knobs I pressed. Ellie said I was a nightmare and it has been beautifully restored with sections of the original artwork on walls left on display but behind glass.
    We were in the museum for about 90 minutes and when we came out it had just gone 11:30am so it was time to head to the bike shop.
    Opening the door of the bike shop there was my bike leaning against the wall. The owner came out and said he’d straightened the derailleur and sorted the gears out and at first I was pleased and he insisted I gave it a test ride. As I was getting on the bike he asked me how I changed gears, which obviously surprised me so I showed him the lever which he hadn’t noticed before. I then wondered how did he fix the gears if he didn’t know how to change gear?
    Then as I got on the bike he said I didn’t have all gears but most and did I really need all of them?
    This was turning into abit of a nightmare, I’d gone from thinking this guy was really competent to realising he’s obviously never even seen a gravel bike or mountain bike let alone worked on one. Then he asked me if it was electric?
    I ignored that and set off up the road testing the gears. As I got out of sight I got off, had a look and the gear cable hadn’t been replaced. Infact I wasn’t sure what he’d actually done but u can fine tune the gears which is all it needs I think.
    Now we’re €54 lighter.
    To be honest he asked if I was happy and I said yes but walking back to Wanda I said to Ellie I think I’ve just been ripped off.
    No I couldn’t straighten the derailleur but I could buy a new one for that price.
    Anyway, I’m pleased I have a semi working bike back and I strapped it to the back of Wanda covered it up and then we refilled with fresh water before leaving and taking the 26 mile journey to our next destination.    Read more

  • Misadventures Of WandaTaking The Long WayMisadventures Of Wanda

    Wurzburg

    October 19, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    We arrived in Wurzburg just after 2pm after stopping at Lidl on the way to get some fresh bread and bakery bits. Ellie had found us a parking spot at a sports Center car park for the night, so far we’ve been lucky and still haven’t paid for any overnight stops.
    Getting to the sports Centre was a nightmare as it was right in the city centre, and neither of us really understand the right of way system here so in the end I drove through the city, Turned around and then parked so I didn’t have to cross the flow of traffic. You might think that a little bit of a cop out but the traffic here consists of cars, trams, buses, people and bikes. I do feel as though I need eyes in the back of my head.
    As soon as we parked we ate the bakery bits we had just brought and I checked the city on google maps and then we locked Wanda up with a chain through the front doors and the security lock on the outside and set off to see what was about.
    During WW2 a large majority of Wurzburg was destroyed but famous land marks have been re-built to the exact medieval specification they were previously, including churches and cathedrals and some streets.
    It took us about 45 minutes to walk to what is now called the old town because it looks old with its new buildings and new shops, and then it started raining. We walked through the market square looking around the very small market and made our way to one of the churches which was free entry and although the outside was amazing the inside was abit of a let down.
    Then we went to the cathedral that has been fully rebuilt and it is magnificent. We could even get into the cloisters underneath. There were lots of rooms, all with different altars in and it seemed like 5 or 6 smaller churches with a big one in the middle. It’s a strange but magnificent building.
    From there we walked back the way we had come until we got to the old bridge which is now foot traffic only and there were hundreds of people dotted along it drinking wine. It seemed to be the thing to do.
    Crossing the bridge we then took the very steep walk up to the old city fortress and to walk the grounds was also free but to go inside the museum was €5 each.
    We didn’t go inside and if we wanted to see inside the fortress that was even more money and by guided tour only, but what we did see was amazing and once we got to the top we had a magnificent view of the whole of Wurzburg.
    It’s an unbelievably busy city and does remind me of London. Infact considering it’s out of season all of Germany has been incredibly busy and it’s mainly been Germans travelling.
    From the fortress we walked back to Wanda and when we arrived it was 5:45pm and we had walked 6 miles. Not bad for someone with a cracked rib, but I have found out today that sneezing is excruciatingly painful.
    Back in Wanda Ellie made a dinner of Lasagne with fresh bread from the bakery and then it was time to settle in for the night. Tomorrow we start heading south following the route of the romantic road.    Read more

  • Misadventures Of WandaTaking The Long WayMisadventures Of Wanda

    The Romantic Road Part 1

    October 20, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    We were both awake at 7am this morning. Considering we spent the night in a car park it was very quiet and even though I’d chained all the doors for security, I did feel quite safe. My biggest concern staying in cities isn’t actually getting robbed in Wanda. It’s more having an accident or someone spraying the side of Wanda in graffiti while we’re sleeping.
    Luckily none of that happened and we got dressed, drank teas and coffees until just gone 9am and then I programmed in the saved route of the romantic road and we left.
    Our first proper stop was going to be Rothenburg Au De Tabor, or Christmas town as it’s known and we could have just driven straight there and it would have taken about an hour but I stuck to the route which took us 2 hours and we passed through little towns and a few villages none of which were very inspiring and then it started raining again.
    We’re in no hurry so we decided rather than wander around Rothenburg in the rain we’ll park outside the town today and go in tomorrow when the weather is supposed to be better and we found a beautiful park up free of charge in the village of Tauberzell.
    It’s in a lovely green space, right on the river Tabor with lots of hiking and cycling paths and as it was still only 1pm I decided to get my bike off and go for my first ride since my accident.
    I knew I had to adjust the gears which took me the best part of an hour and I’ll never get them right because the cable wasn’t replaced. I’m going to look for a proper bike shop or Decathlon service centre as we head down but I can make do with what I have.
    Just after 2pm I set off on my bike leaving Ellie watching YouTube videos in Wanda and I turned right and up a huge hill on a cycle path . My ribs did hurt but I as I went on they hurt less and for the most part I could control my breathing quite well.
    The cycle path mainly followed the river Tabor until I came to a Y junction and there were just 2 green arrows telling me both ways are a cycle path but not where to.
    I turned right and ended up having to cross a main road and then ended up in a town following the green signs until I picked up another cycle way.
    On route I found a huge caterpillar the size of my index finger crawling over the cycle path, I took a few pictures of him and then used google lens to identify him as a fox moth. He was fascinating to watch.
    A little further on I found 2 buzzards one on the floor right in front of me and another looking the part in a dead tree but as soon I got my phone out to take a photo the flew off.
    I ended up in a pretty little village where there were 3 churches and at the top of a big hill after 20km I turned around and started heading back.
    I don’t know what it is but I’m just not feeling it for Germany. It’s definitely the busiest of any European country we’ve been too, even out here in the sticks it’s crazy busy. Obviously the language barrier is a problem but Germans just don’t seem that friendly and welcoming like other countries. It feels very like England where everyone is in a rush and there’s no sense of freedom.
    I can say that for free aires and water and dump stations Germany is far better than England but in all honesty I can’t wait to leave.
    I took a slow pedal back to Wanda and ended up doing just under 40km with 300 meters of climbing. Not too bad considering my cracked ribs so I’m still hopeful I’ll be able to do at least one mountain pass in Italy.
    It was now 4pm and we sat in Wanda people watching as more motorhomes decided to join us in this great little spot. One has come in that is the size of a coach. He’d never be able to take that where we go, so bigger isn’t always better.
    At 5:30pm Ellie cooked us Chicken Schnitzel with the German potato pasta things that we like then it was time for a shower as we can get fresh water here in the morning and then we settled in for the evening.    Read more

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