Day 19

Friday 5 June 2009

It was very tempting to move on today but we are tired so decided to stay the two nights as planned. We discovered that there was a beach near the campsite which we were told was a sandy beach. We got all set with buckets and spades and walked down to the beach only to discover it was tiny and stony not sandy! No matter to the boys... they had a great time in the rollers and then building a sea defence. I did venture in for a bit but the small stones were like razors on your feet when the water went out! We then went back to the campsite via Aldi had lunch and waited for the pool to open after the afternoon siesta time. As soon as it opened we were there and had a lovely time cooling off in the pool, playing tennis and relaxing. The campsite didn't seem quite as bad when in the pool! What was quite cool was watching the swallows dive down to the pool for a drink.

Day 18

Thursday 4 June 2009

"We are on the road again" in the words of donkey from Shrek! We spent a while yesterday evening looking at possible routes and have decided to dip our toes into Italy on the way back up north and home again. At this point we have 10 days left and we didn't want to travel too far afield and end up having to rush majorly to get back to the ferry. We have worked it out that we should have 2 nights in each campsite from here on in with an extra night spare for a campsite we really like. We have also decided not to put the awning up to allow us more time in the areas we are visiting. As we drove the landscape changed again and it became much more arid with rocky hills spreading out in front of us. We then drove past Cannes and Nice which were impressive towns rising up from the sea like amphitheaters. And then the tunnels began... because the coast is mountainous with the mountains running perpendicular to the coast in order for a road to pass through they have built tunnels through the mountains and bridges with the most amazing vistas to span the gaps. Unfortunately the photos are all naff because there were barriers on the edge of the roads and bridges to stop you driving off the edge! We did drive past some interesting sites en route such as Mornas, an 11th century fortress atop a cliffand a hilltop church which we were later to discover is very typical for Italy with every town and Hamlet having one which chimes out the hour from it's belltower. After an amazing drive we were extremely dissapointed to arrive at our campsite which was at the edge of a town center, in a particularly run down area. To add insult to injury it was a noisy campsite with lots of road noise and the most expensive campsite so far charging 7 euros for each of the kids! We were however too tired and too far from another campsite to move on. We did however meet a very charming local Italian lady called Maria who lived on the site. She came up to us whilst we were having our dinner and started chattering away in Italian. I told her we didn't speak Italian but it didn't make a blind bit of difference she carried on chattering away! I managed to pick up some of what she was saying which I was really pleased about even if I couldn't say much back!

Day 17

Wednesday 3 June 2009

Today has been the sort of day that doesn't have a lot to report home about... but a lovely day all the same. The boys woke up late (after 9am) so the day started at a somewhat leisurely pace. We had a cooked brunch of bacon and eggs (mmh) and did a few chores (washing and washing up and putting the lunch in the cookpot) and then we settled in for a swim and a day by the pool. It has been around 30 degrees here today so it was lovely to relax by the pool and dip our feet in or go for another swim if it was getting too hot. We don't normally do sunbathing but the breeze and a good book for Dave meant we lasted out a few hours before we felt suitably baked (Dave had retreated to the shade well before the kids and I had enough) and returned for dinner and showers. After dinner Jez, Ben and I had a game of boules with the set they bought yesterday at the supermarket. The big dilema for us tonight is do we move on tomorrow or do we stay here another night... we will see what the morning brings.

Day 16

Tuesday 2 June 2009

The big two boys are off playing boules, Alex is just in bed at 8:55pm (an earlyish night) so I am finally catching up with the activities of the past few days although the wifi is not working on this site at the moment so I will have to wait to upload to the blog itself. Today we have been canoing on the Drome river. We had picked up the leaflet at the reception and decided it might be fun. Thankfully Alex was old enough being able to do it from the age of 6. We had to drive about 45 mins to get to the site and after a missed turn at the beginning of the journey and an impromptu motorway toll we set the satnav to avoid the tolls and sped through beautiful French towns and villages. We arrived at Saillon which was a beautiful town but there was no sign of the canoing. After asking directions we found one canoe place who then gave us directions to their competitors!! We arrived on site and after deciding how far we wanted to go were togged up with life jackets, helmets for the kids and individual oars that were just the right size for each of us. We had a waterproof barrel to put our lunch, camera an an other valuables in. We had chosen the 9km route so we were driven by mini bus upstream with the canoes in tow. We arrived at our departure point and were secretly relieved when the chauffeur didn't stay to see us off as the river was quite fast flowing and we didn't want to capsize before we had even got going (he had told us it was 50/50 as to weather we would capsize or not!!). Before we set off all nice and dry! We put the adults at the back of the canoes, Jez and Ben at the fronts and Alex went in the middle on one. Not long after setting off Ben and I got caught on the side of the boat and before we knew it were heading downstream backwards!! We just managed to right oursleves when we got completely stuck on a massive submerged rock. After lots of pushing off with oars and rocking of the boat we managed to get off the rock and we were off again. We soon had a great system going for steering the boat and Ben was a great watchout for submerged rocks. Once we had got ourselves sorted in between rapids I braved getting the camera out for a quick few shots. We then pulled in and managed to find a bit of shade to have our lunch. The photo is of the boys pointing at their soggy botties!! We saw a Heron several times en route who would fly off when we got too close, only to land further down stream for us to disturb him again. We also saw an unidentified bird with a bright yellow chest. It was amazing how quickly we were moving as soon after lunch we saw a 6km sign which meant we had done 3km already (I thought we might have done 1 at this point!) The scenery was beautiful as we passed under several bridges, past ruins and campers. We did have one close shave where I thought Ben and I were going to capsize as the boat tipped at a 45 degree angle and started filling with water rapidly. Thankfully we managed to right it and the water drained out. Phew! I for one was a little sad when the finishing point came into view and the general concensus was that we had a brill time. We realised on returning that we should have brought a change of clothes as we were all soaked so we ended up going home in our undies!!! We had planned to stop at various fruit and veg producers on the way home but decided that we were too scarey a sight. We popped back to the caravan for some dry clothes and then set off to find the supermarket that had been closed yesterday. We took the scenic route and saw lots of different fields with various produce in them including cherry trees with the fruit being picked. We stocked up on some of our favourates croissants, barre patissiere, baguette as well as stocking up on the essentials to have enough food for 4 days. When we got back Dave and the boys went to cool off in the pool whils Katie got the dinner on.

Day 15

Monday 1 June 2009

We woke and Alex came in to us asking for a drink. He helped himself to some water, came over to snuggle on Dave and promptly threw up! Eugh! What made it worse was Dave tried to put his hands over Alex's mouth and it sprayed out through his fingers to go everywhere! Thankfully it was only the water that came up so it didn't smell! Phew. My first job of the day was to wash Dave's sleeping bag! As I washed it I got chatting to a couple of dutch ladies who helped me wring it out. There are a couple of observations to make at this point. Firstly the fact that campers in general are a very friendly sociable and helpful bunch. We have been given chocolate for the kids in Germany, lent a strap to stop us blowing away in France and met all sorts of lovely people in every site we have been on. The second observation is about this particular capsite. We could be in Holland rather than the south of France. 90% of the people on the site here are Dutch and this is obviously the norm as the receptionist is Dutch too and prefered to speak to me in English rather than French! Because Alex had been ill we decided to spend the day relaxing and had fun swimming, sunbathing and reading. The pool with the hills in the distance. As you can see we had the pool to ourselves most of the time.We had planned to do some shopping today but it is a Bank Holiday so no shops are open so we ate at the restaurant on the campsite which was very nice. I will leave you with a picture of a fruit that is growing on a tree next to our caravan. We didn't know what it was but the couple in the caravan next to ours have a tree book and were able to identify it. 2 clues... first it tastes delicious and secondly there is a childrens rhyme about it!!

Day 14

Sunday 31 May 2009

We had decided despite having a calmer night last night that we would move on today. It was our intention to go into Italy and had our route planned and were all set to go. We did the usual packing up and the children went off for one last play in the park before the off. We were just about to go when one of the locals (a group of 4 French families had permanent holiday homes (chalets) on the campsite) stopped us to say goodbye. When we told him we were going to Italy he asked us about our route. He then advised us on the best route to go and told us about the tolls on the tunnels. The Mont Blanc tunnel cost 50 euros for a car and the caravan would probably be the same so 100 euros to get into Italy. Eek! We got in the car, looked at eachother and decided that staying in France suddenly seemed very attractive! We had discussed staying in France anyway so we knew which direction we wanted to head. We put Valence into the Sat Nav and were off. As we drove Katie chose a campsite with a swimming pool (yay!) It is a while since we have driven in France and we were rather shocked at the price of the autoroute. It cost us 32 euros for around 60 miles... it could be expensive to get back home at that rate as we have done over 1500 miles already!! We arrived at what the Sat Nav thought was our destination and it was telling us to drive down a dirt track. We decided that this couldn't be right and carried on along the road a little further to find that the campsite was signposted. The campsite is set off the main road a long way in the middle of several fields of trees where olives, apricots and other fruits are grown. As we drove onto the campsite it was really peaceful and we were able to choose our own pitch so we set up between the toilet block and the swimming pool and reception with apricot trees abounding with fruit for a vista one side and the hills as our view the other. Lovely. Bless him, Dave set too putting up the awning whilst I took the children swimming. The water still wasn't warm but good enough for the boys to get in and have some fun for more than 5 mins. After our swim we came back to dinner which had been cooked in the cook pot the night before and just needed heating through. Lovely not to have to cook after being in the car for a few hours.

Day 13

Saturday 30 May 2009

What a night!! We had thought the night before was bad... last night was even worse and we were very glad that we had the strap to hold the awning down. Where in the UK the wind gusts here it was a constant wind blowing around force 7 all through the night. The awning flapped, billowed and shook, the caravan rocked and the children slept through it all (unlike Dave and I who kept waking to check everyone was still ok!) Our trip for the day was to a medieval village just 4km from the campsite. We decided to cycle the route and were extremely impressed with Alex who managed to cycle up all the hills. It was a lovely ride with views over lake Geneva. The village Yvoire was totally pedestrian and very pitoresque with flowers everywhere and it was very pretty to walk around. The best bit for the kids was the ice cream before we cycled home. Lots of lovely flavours like white chocolate, caramel, cookie, tiramisu. Between us we had 8 flavours mmmmmh!

Day 12

Friday 29th May 2009

When we arrived yesterday it was scorchingly hot and the lake was flat calm. As the evening came on the wind began to pick up and by the time we went to bed it was very blowy indeed. This meant that we had a restless night waking up several times just to check that the boys hadn't blown away!! In the morning our neighbour a dutch couple lent us a strap to hold the awning down! We had a lazy day chatting to the locals and watching them play boules in the road outside our caravan, food shopping (oh we love French food!) and the kids and Katie played on the beach while Dave cooked dinner... that was until Alex got sand in his eye because of the wind which was blowing even stronger now.The wind blowing the sand from the beach.
Ben hole digger extrodinaire!

Day 11

Thursday 28 May 2009

We had decided to move on today but were undecided if our destination would be Italy or France. We also wanted to go up the cable car to the Schilthorn mountain but after a promising outlook on the live webcam first thing in the morning as we made sandwiches and packed up the caravan ready to go the clouds had crept in and although the resaurant was clear the view all around was white. Katie was very dissapointed but there is no accounting for the weather. Again we said goodbye to some people we had got to know on the site and set off for our next destination Lake Geneva or Lac Leman as the locals call it in France. The journey was clear apart from the last 15 miles which took us alongside the lake and through lakeside villages including Evian and the bottling factory.
Apologies for the bad photo it was taken through Dave's arms whilst driving alongside the lake!! Lake Geneva is the second largest freshwater lake in central europe and is 60% Suiss and 40% French. We drove through the border through a little village very close to the lake itself and then drove for a further 45 mins as we went most of the 45 mile length of the lake. We had chosed one of the two campsites in a book we have got that gives us discounted rates. We discovered on talking to the locals that we had chosen well with our pitch looking out directly over the lake through the only sandy beach there is around the whole lake!!! The kids as you can imagine were very pleased and were keen to explore straight away. As you can see from the photos the para surfers (is that what they are called?) were out in force.

Day 10

Wednesday 27th May

The morning started out wet but the weather gradually cleared during the morning so we set out just before lunch to find Lauterbrunnen and the the Trimmelbach falls. We drove to Lauterbrunnen and parked right next to a stunning waterfall which we later discovered was falling over a 1800ft cliff, it was being caught by the wind too which produced some impressive spray. We had a lovely walk through the valley with paragliders regularly appearing from the mountain tops. As we carried on walking we saw a new kind of paraglider... base jumping paragliders. For any of you who don't know what this is it is when some very brave (or stupid!) people jump off a cliff and freefall for a certain distance before opening their chute at what seems to be the last minute. These guys were doing up to 6 jumps a day. While we were having our lunch one jumped right above us and as he fell lost something which fell in the tree right above us. His friend climbed the tree to get whatever it was for him...it turned out to be just his socks! We walked back up the valley next to a fast flowing river which was carrying all the melted snow and ice down from the mountains. We got back and dinner was ready for us in the cookpot so we were able to eat straight away and then go out for a bike ride afer dinner. We had hoped to cycle a little of the way around the lake but after half a mile or so it was apparent that it was going to be too difficult for Alex who doesn't have gears on his bike. Dave and the older two carried on and Alex and I turned back. We went for a little explore but after finding several dead ends we headed back to the caravan. The others arrived back a few minutes after us. We had seen that there was a fire in one of the TePees on site so we decided to go in and have a look. The owner came in and told us all about them. He has built several of them on site, most for sleeping in but this one was a small bar and restaurant. Very cosy and I can imagine in the winter it must be very snug.

Day 9

Tuesday 26th May

After a busy day yesterday a day of rest was definately in order. It was a good job we had done the mountains the day before as there was heavy cloud and we wouldn't have seen a thing today. After a bit of rain in the morning the weather cleared so the boys donned their wet suits and we headed down to the lake. The plan was that the boys could have a swim but they were rather wussey and only got in up to their chests. The dam!

We headed back to the caravan, had lunch and were just chatting to some newly arrived Brits when it started to rain again. We got everything inside the awning and it was a good job too as a major storm blew in which before our eyes destroyed the awnings of several of the people on our campsite and we later discovered had affected parts of Holland, Germany and Switzerland! It also blew a baby bird from it's nest in the tree above our caravan. We put it under the caravan to shelter from the rain and wind and it was gone later so hopefully it got back to it's mum. Following the worst of the storm we had heavy rain all through the night. We did feel sorry for the two young Americans sleeping in a tiny tent!

Day 8

Monday 25th May 2009

Before going to bed last night we talked about what would do today. We had planned to have a lazy day around the caravan depending on the weather but when we got up and found that today was possibly going to be the last day with clear blue skies for a while we made the decision to go up the Eiger and Jungfrau (one of the tallest mountains in Europe at 4158m) We quickly threw together some sarnies, grabbed some jumpers and water and set off for the day.The drive to Grindelwald was impressive enough as we drew closer to the mountains. We did have to bite the bullet when it came to the price but it's not every day you get to go to the top of europe!! (It is the highest point a person can commute in europe!) The journey starts with a couple of train rides which gradually climb higher and higher into the mountains. At each stage we were blown away by the views and though it can't get any better than this... only to go on a bit further and be even more blown away! This photo is of the North face of the Eiger! The ride took us through a few tunnels that had been build to protect the track from the snowfall and then we changed trains for a third time for the final ascent through a tunnel for perhaps 3/4 of an hour. Total journey time approx. 2 1/2 hours. We were a little concerned that we had come underdressed as the large family next to us donned many layers, wolly hats and gloves and we were the only people in shorts too! We arrived at the top and emerging from the train immediately got a lift to the ice caves. We have debated since as to weather the caves were carved out of the glacier or if the ice was in the rock, but whichever it was a chilly experience being surrounded entirely by ice. There were ice sculptures too which were cool too (get the pun!!) We then made our way outside onto the viewing platform... wow! It was an awesome sight to be looking down on many mountains, at the same level as a couple of others with just the Jeungfrau and the Monch above us. By this time we were rather peckish and managed to find a quiet corner to sit down and have our lunch. Revived somewhat although still feeling a little lightheaded from the altitude we set off for the Sphynx viewing point which was more impressive again if that is possible being even higher. The Aletsch glacier.Jeugfrau

Unfortunatley by this point the altitude was getting to Ben and Alex and where we could have stayed a bit longer for their sake we made a quick visit outside again to actually walk on the glacier and then we made our way back down from the mountains, ears popping all the way and the children becoming more their normal selves as we descended. Mind you here at the campsite we are at around 1000m above sea level so we aren't exactly low here! On getting back to the campsite the boys dissapeared to continue their dam building whilst we threw together some dinner. A second night in the awning for the boys tonight as it is cooler out there for them. This is a day that will certainly remain with us as one of the most amazing experiences ever... or should I say yet!?!

Day 7

Sunday 24th May 2009

Dave woke up before everyone else so decided to go for an early morning cycle. We then took our time showering, packing up and saying goodbye to the other campers in our corner that we had got to know. There was an retired English couple, a Swiss couple who spoke French and a German couple who spoke excellent English and understood the English sense of humour! Once packed up we set off for the 2.5 hr drive to our next chosen site in Switzerland! The temperature by this point was 27.5C and we were glad of the air conditioning. Having been taxed (for the car AND the caravan) going over the border some 60 euros we cautiously entered this new country, which to be honest was pretty much the same as the German scenery we had just left (not sure if I was expecting the sound of music to kick off and people to suddenly start prancing around in the mountain grass) and actually it became quite industrialised as we headed further south. But then suddenly as we came within 20 miles of our destination we started to see several peaks appear out of the clouds. They became more apparent, until suddenly coming out of one of the numerous tunnels we saw the lake Thunersee before us in a beautiful aqua blue colour strtching for several miles in front of us and to be honest were stunned! We arrived shortly after at our campsite, at which the temperature was 34 in the shade, a bit of a shock after the cars 18. We got a great spot under two big trees which provided much needed shade and the view from the caravan was just out of this world with mountains rising up all around us. Talking to the site owner we discovered the lake is at 14 C and there are streams feeding into it, one of which runs next to the campsite and we used to cool our coke. That evening after tea we went on a bike ride up to the crystal clear lake despite the looming clouds and rumbles of thunder. We managed to have a good explore before the rain started and we headed back. One of the funniest thing we saw was some students on strange bikes... a quadcycle (so 4 wheels and three passengers) and a tricycle with both passengers facing opposite directions - the person facing backwards must have been very trusting! As you can imagine we have loads of amazing photos, but one last one to whet your apetites... the view from the caravan.

Day 6

Saturday 23 May 2009

Having discovered that there was a lot to do in the area we had to decide what we would do and what we would miss out. In the end we decided that we would venture into the Black Forest and visit Germany's tallest waterfall at Triberg. It was a beautiful drive through German villages and then a climb into the forest with panoramic views of the valleys below. We had just put Triberg into the SatNav and drove past a sign for the falls so a quick turnaround and we managed to find a parking space as someone pulled out. The entrance to the falls was through an arch and down an extremely steep slope (which meant we would have to climb back up it at the end!) We were a bit confused how we were going to get to the waterfall if we were going down a hill as we assumed that we must climb to see the falls. As we walked down the river and what turned out to be the top end of the falls rambled along beside us. We then arrived at a booth and had to pay to get in to see the 'proper' falls. As we descended we had a choice of routes but the kids chose the one that went past the play area. We went past one section of waterfall and took some photos and then the walk went away from the falls as we descended into the valley and to the play area for a pit stop to top up with water and have a play. We then carried on the route which took us through Triberg and through the main entrance to the falls. We then were faced with the climb back to the top and to the car park. They estimated 45mins to the kiosk and then we had to climb as far again to get to the top car park and the car. As we climbed we passed more of the waterfall and then we carried on to the top and the top car park. We did the whole climb in 45mins so half the time they suggested and I was very proud of the boys for their determination to reach the top. Even little Alex did it without moaning. By the time we reached the top we were roasting as it was a hot day anyway (25 degrees at a guess) and the exhertion made us all red hot! We desperately needed fuel and some ice creams were in order too so we plumbed in the nearest garage for a little detour on the way home. Once back at home after tea we decided Alex needed an early night (relatively 8pm rather than 10pm!) so put him to bed and settled down to the next round of cards.

Day 5

Friday 22 May 2009

After an awful nights sleep (thunder, lightning) we finally made it through to Day 5! So after a hearty breakfast of bacon, eggs and fresh rolls and a morning snooze for Dave we set out to explore the delights of Freiburg on our bikes. The cycle paths here are very good and high priority there were bikes everywhere. It was also Alex's first ride anywhere and we thought that as there was a cycle path it might be a good first journey. He did really well although Katie had kittens for the second time this holiday as we rode alongside the river with a sheer drop off to the right. Because of the constant stream of bikes Alex had to ride on the right and avoid falling off the edge. Freiburg is a lovely town. Loads of character to the buildings with all sorts of amazing architecture, cobbled streets, trams, street entertainers and more. We just strolled around the town soaking up the atmosphere and the only thing we bought was a cucumber!! On the way back we had a quick stop at the park for the kids and then it was home again for tea. No dishwasher here so the boys are getting very used to drying up.

Day 4

Thursday 21 May 2009

Clouds over the hills in the morning.
We spent a leisurely morning packing up and the boys played with a couple of English lads who had taken the pitch next to ours the night before. They live and were born in Germany but their parents are English. The boys were pleased to have other children they could communicate with to play with and Ben took Josh's e-mail so they can keep in touch. Another 4 hour stint on the road and another 200 miles on the road and we arrived at our next stop Freiburg. Arrived late (17ish) to find that due to the German holiday the place was fully booked but the owner walked around checking thinking, scratching his head and eventually managed to stuff us in the corner next the toilet block. Sounds awful but actually was ok. We had our own little play area and verrandah with table and chairs. We weren't the only ones he managed to squeeze in. He fitted in some more Brits in a traailer tent later in the evening and since then whenever anyone leaves someone else is squeezed into their spot. In the evening we had the most amazing lightening displays followed by torrential rain most of the night.

Day 3

We had decided that after a couple of days on the road that a day of rest was called for. It was lovely to spend the day relaxing enjoying the beautiful scenery and weather. We visited a localsupermarket (cheaper than Belgium) which was fine apart from both Dave and I put our shopping in someone else's trolley - we might not speak German but we understood in no uncertain terms when the owner came back! I have found it quite a challenge not neing able to communicate here in Germany. I am so used to being to find out information wherever we are. Another lifetime goal for me to pick up enough German at least to get by. We went for a dip in the pool too although I can't say the boys loved it as it was rather nippy!! We didn't see anyone else in the pool the whole time and now we know why. In the evening we went for a drive (nice not to have the caravan on tow) and for a bit of an explore. The river was actually quite narrow near our site and widened out as we drove.

Day 2 (Part 2)

Again I am writing on the road as we head for our next stop. I am writing this on Thursday as we head to Freiburg but I need to catch up first with what we have done since our last entry.

Tuesday 19 May 2009

200 miles more and our fourth country, Germany. We arrived on campsite and were blown away by the views. We had been trying to find the campsite recommended by the Brits but after Katie had kittens going down 15% gradients and the GPS not taking us to the right place we went for the nearest campsite. The location was amazing. In a valley with the Mosel flowing alongside us and on the extremely steep sides of the valley were thousands of vines , each section marked up with wine they would produce. We must be getting better at setting up as we managed to be all set up and have dinner ready in 50 mins! Mind you the sudden storm did encourage us to get the awning up quickly before it blew away!! The weather in the valley was strange. We couldn't see the weather coming in and on a couple of occasions we had a short lived storm only to have bright sunshine again 5 mins later. The campsite was interesting with lots of caravans that people had located on site permanently and so they had small gardens and all the home comforts. Lots of people were out mowing their small square of lawn. The Mosel offered lots of interest with all sorts of craft going up and down including massive barges often loaded to the gunnels with some unseen cargo. On the other side of the Mosel was another road which ran parallel to the river and alongside that a train track which Alex loved, especially counting the number of carriages on the freight trains... I think the highest was over 40 trucks with 3 engines to push the load along.

Day 2 (Part 1)

We are sitting on the side of the Mosel at the moment enjoying the sunshine and getting ready to set off for our next stop.. so a quick snapshot of the first part of day 2. Hopefully more to follow later if we have WiFi.

Tuesday 19th May 2009

We were unsure weather to stay put for today just to recover but having heard about some of the delights that await us we decided to take our time packing up and to set off for another site, get a few more miles under our belts and add another country to the itinerary. So I am typing this in the car as we head for GermanyKoblenz on the Mosel river. The scenery is changing slightly and we have crossed several interesting bridges, seen viaducts next to the road and some lovely scenery. One thing that doesn’t change is the constant stream of lorrys. and

Some comments from the boys…

Ben… getting bored of sitting in the car

Jez… do you want another game of cards

Alex… what about me, Alex? We are driving off to… what is the country we are driving to? We are driving off to Germany.

Guess the game they are playing…

Stick… twist… bust!

DAY 1

Well I have finally worked out how to log in to blogger... it's not easy when everything is in German!

Here is our account of our first day with a few photos to wet your appetite...

Monday 18th May 2009

Three countries, 260 miles, a 2 hour ferry crossing and 5 tired Savages!! We set off bright and early at 6am and arrived at the ferry port with just enough time to do a loo stop and no hanging around before being loaded onto the ferry. The crossing was uneventful… time enough to grab some lunch and for Alex to practice his French in the play area!! On to the continent and a 2 ½ hour drive to our first stop. There were only a couple of sites to choose from on the path we wanted to take and both were urban campsites… I didn’t tell Dave this in advance!. It was very strange driving through a large Belgium town centre (Mons) to turn right off the ring road only to arrive at a wooded campsite which could have been in the middle of a forest for all we knew! Ok there was a little bit of road noise. We were greeted by a red squirrel, a tree creeper and some ducks as we looked around the site (the site next to a public pond and garden area). We set up in an hour and then made our way into Mons for a look around and to buy some food for tea. The most interesting shop the boys found was one that sold air guns and knives. After dinner Dave put he boys to bed whilst I chatted with some other Brits who are experienced campers and gave us some info on good campsites and good places to visit. There is nothing like insider info! We were in bed by 10pm which was just as well as we had a bit of a restless night including a visit from a friendly mosquito who obviously found one of us very tasty as he was full of blood when we splatted him…nice!