J and P explore Europe with Reggie: 2023

Today we collected our breakfast buns at reception ( such a nice service, the camps order fresh rolls) then after talking to Shirl,Cherrie and the Rowes on Skype we went for a long walk in the forest. We walked for about an hour and were reay for  cafe but there was nothing in the countryside.... We found a Whiskey museum on the edge of a small town and it was a huge array of whiskeys from all over the world. They run tasting, auctions and a museum. They also ran a cafe so we ordered a chocolate whiskey cake and a raspberry mascapone cake and sat in their garden and ate them. Really good quality, large portion and excellent price I would recommend it if you are passing. a well last nights sunset

Photo link Slept a lot better at the new site and wandered out the front to watch the yachts go by. We then drove to see a railway bridge that goes over the Kiel canal. not only is it incredibly high but the trains have to do a big loop to get up to the height of the bridge. There used to be a ferry/gondola underneath that ferried cars across strung on the bridge... until a boat hit it one morning. We are now at a lovely camp in the forest and have a lakeside plot with our own jetty.

After our horrid 5am start the rest of the day was excellent. We rode our homes down along the promenade past all the stall for food and drink to the centre of town. Then we got a ferry to the top of the harbour where the Olympic sailing was held We had a local chat to us on the way there and tell us a bit about the area and his trip to NZ.. Perry managed to go inside another submarine the third in 6 days. I went to the beach and paddled in the sea. We got the ferry back and this time an ex soldier ( now 76) told us about serving in Germany in the cold war and then marrying a local woman.  He moved back to Huddersfield but only lasted 2 years and then headed back to Germany which he decided he liked more. Tomorrow there will be a grand sail past of all the wooden boats with the sail and rigging so we are going to watch that should be over 100 of them I’m having to write on my phone still hopefully tomorrow the WiFi will be back

We stopped the night next to the huge canal lock where the big boats enter to go to Hamburg.  Watched a couple of boats go through What we didn’t know was that we were in the route for large trucks collecting gravel  Starting at 5am a large truck and trailer unit went past every 10 minutes , so busy.  We were on a corner that they all had to turn so changing of gears and fear of collision..  at 8:00 I gave up hauled p up and we drove to another site  This one is in town and had been full last  night . My theory was that someone might have left ...  And they had so we are now sitting eating fresh made fruit salad and listening to the birds We will stay here tonight as it is the world biggest yacht festival this week and there are lots of activities and 3000 boats in including 100 big masted sailing boats who do a sail by  Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone

We spent the night in a tiny harbour with very old tatty ships. Lovely and Quiet . wischhafen. We had a big shop at Bremerhaven and the store Cupboards are now full. ( tonight we had sausages new potatoes mushrooms for dinner And fresh picked strawberries from a local farm and blueberries  for dessert. Just like being at home. We headed off to get the ferry across the Elbe arriving just as it Finished Loading and so we missed that one but were front  of the queue for the next one. By the time it arrived 15 mins later the queue was away round the corner I counted 15 motor homes plus cars and trucks . We got to the other side and after being plagued by a smell we stopped at a disposal point and emptied our used water tank .... realising it had been a while, it is the dishes and washing water but when it is sunny it got a bit stinky . So after we gave it a good flush out we moved to a picnic spot and made lunch . We then headed through lovely countryside and a nation...

We went To visit the Valentin submarine pens today. Look them up they are a huge huge concrete bunker that the Germans were going to make a new submarine every 56 hours. Sadly they used forced lablour to build it so it is now a memeorial to those who died. The allies bombed it, it was such a huge target and it never got to make a single u boat. It was 31 deg today so inside the bunker was a relief as it was really cold. They had an excellent audio visual guide of the construction. We then drove to Bremerhaven to a proper camp that we had to pay for! €27 so we swum in their lake Used their power Water Loos And did 15 days of washing in their laundry The sheets towels and lots of T-shirt’s and undies. We have it on make shift lines all round Reggie we look like a laundry van . Still it will keep us in pants for another 15 days .... We have run out of our own WiFi so the blogs might be a bit more sparse as we will have to stay in camps that have it rath...

This morning we went to a marine museum, no fish only war ships from the german navy. They had three that you could walk all through and a submarine. What a cramped life they lead down in the bowels of those ships. It was 31 deg today so actually a relief to be inside. We walked back along the sea front ( this is Germany's only south facing beach so very popular. The water though disappears with the tide and becomes a mud flat a bit like Weston super Mare The have little two person seats that you can hire to sit in and keep your stuff, they look very old fashioned. a jar of dried roast onion... who knew you could buy such things

By the time we got up the car park was nearly empty with the 17 or so motorhomes moving on. We only drove a couple of hours with a stop to make lunch. We are now in Wilhelmshaven a Navy port and tomorrow we are going to see the local navy museum where you can go inside the warships.  ( Guess who chose this stop). We are on the sea side in a very small camp with an incredibly gruff non english speaking manager. Getting the key off him for the loo was a mission of slow talking and repeating, I learn german for three years but obviously not well enough... still I got the loo door key and can keep it until tomorrow. While P had a nap for two hours I went for a walk along the seaside. A few folk out in the 30 degree heat only to swimming though. Tiny beach house, there were 47 of them says " decide... you" As I walked butterflies flew up out of the thistles on the path side quite an odd experience to have the fluttering by. There was a row of bachs ( tiny h...

Day 2 in Leer, We went to the concert in town last night ( and the night before) the first night they had three stages and we spent most of time at the old rockers stage. It is odd hearing the songs sung in english but with the emphasis wrong as they are native german speakers. Got in at midnight. Up into the sun we walked to Miniature world, two huge buildings full of model towns. They were incredibly extensive whole actual towns recreated down to the people in their backyards. They had buttons you could push and a scene would move, a fire engine, a ferris wheel, a car crash. They had one naked lady in a window and a couple in a forest, P says that is a "thing " that model town makers do, include a naked lady, not surprising, chances are they will be middle aged men in corduroy. The peiple are less than an inch high and there are thousands of them. It was a really big setup but very empty of people, I think it might be someones dream that hasnt been the succe...

Time to leave behind the Netherlands and the lovely camp by the lake. I have discovered that the wipers make a good towel drying rail. I drove and after about 30 mins I got to a closed road so we rerouted, another closed road, rerouted .... had to give up on the satnav as it couldn't cope. We passed some amazing homes there has been a lot of money about in the area. We swapped drivers and P drove while I google mapped the journey navigating our way to Leer.  The border crossing was a huge disappointment no border post, no signs not even a line on the road. Only sign was that  road became Strassers. Arrived in Leer and parked in a large car park, all the motorhome slots ( 5 ) were taken but there were other vans so we just pulled in. ( after a walk in town there are now 17 of them "illegally" parked like us). We wandered into town to find that it is the town's annual festival with three band stands and lots of food trucks so will go in at 8.oo and enjoy...