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  Germany 2008 - Homebound through Southern Germany

 

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Homebound through Southern Germany
Once in the Baden-Württemberg state we travelled fairly quickly passing through Bad Waldsee, home of Hymer, and after a long "umleitung" (diversion) due to roadworks continued through the busy town of Aulendorf with the amazing "Walter's warehouse" a huge junkyard in the middle of the town. Bypassing Sigmaringen with its massive schloss on a hill we followed the brown signs to the Donautal, the infant River Danube along a pleasant valley with rocky gorges in places and many well signposted cycling tracks. 

Rottweil town centre
Rottweil town centre

Rottweil window detail
Rottweil window detail

After calling in to the stellplatz at a carpark in Balingen, free but occupied by long term residents who stared at us in a rather unwelcoming way, we drove further west to Rottweil where there was a free stellplatz next to the sports complex (with signs that it was to be relocated later in the year). Apart from a few cars parked almost blocking access to the borne it was a reasonable place to stay overnight. The next morning we walked into the centre of Rottweil a pleasant town with many old buildings and lots of apothekes (pharmacies) for some reason. Apart from a Rottweiler statue at the entrance to the helpful tourist office we weren't bothered by any live dogs!
 

We headed further west into the Schwarzwald stopping at Triberg with its many cuckoo clock shops including several claiming to have the world's largest etc., and groups of British schoolkids the first English voices we had heard for a while. We continued through the forest driving through small villages with traditional large farmhouses to Hausach where we found the stellplatz on the edge of the town next to the sports complex - we noticed that many towns seemed to have excellent modern sports facilities. We walked into the town centre, a workaday place with a small Woolworths and statues and a stream along the pavement


Triberg Cuckoo Clock shop
Triberg Cuckoo Clock shop

Hausach - statue and stream on pavement
Hausach - statue and stream on pavement

Hausach modern art
Hausach modern art

The next morning was cloudy and misty with no views over the forest as we drove north to Freudenstadt and over the Schwarzwaldhochstraße, no doubt picturesque in fine weather, then down into the sunnier Rhine valley. The map showed a car ferry across the Rhine at Greffern so we headed there and crossed the river on a small free ferry which ran every few minutes but with a weight limit of 3.5 tonnes. Now in France we parked up for the night in a large parking area by the ferry in Drusenheim together with another British motorhome. The next day we took advantage of the prospect of shopping in a large hypermarket instead of Aldi and Lidl stores so drove to Haguenau where we eventually found the Auchan in the centre commercial on the ring road, unusually for France not well signposted from the town centre. After a top up of provisions and fuel which was a lot cheaper than in Germany (several Germans were filling up large plastic jerrycans) we headed north to Wissembourg taking the bypass although the old town centre looked interesting, but we had a fair distance to go so will save an exploration for another trip. Back in Germany we reached Annweiler am Trifels in the Pfälzerwald with a stellplatz by a large park. The town centre had many timbered buildings and although the shops were mostly shut for lunch and early closing we were amazed at how much stock was left on display outside; obviously more trustworthy folk around here. Nearby were signposted walks to the Trifels, three castles on the hill overlooking the town. 

Greffern free ferry across the Rhine
Greffern free ferry across the Rhine

Annweiler am Trifels
Annweiler am Trifels

The next morning we continued towards the industrial town of Pirmasens then on an almost empty autobahn to Birkenfeld. Missing a turning to Morbach we cut down a country lane and at Winzenburg came across one of those amazing incidental sights of a house with a garden full of gnomes and kitsch statues we had seen for sale in the Czech Republic. Crossing the Hunsrück hills we reached Bernkastel - Kues on the Moselle river where we parked at the (daytime only) motorhome parking area and strolled around the old town. We then drove along the northern river bank and stopped overnight at a grassy riverside stellplatz at Kinheim, not busy as there were no electric hookups but €6 a night and an honesty box to pay €2 for the water tap and waste point.


Gnomes in Winzenberg
Gnomes in Winzenberg


Another wet day followed as we headed northwest towards more industrial towns trying to avoid town centres but ending up in commuter belt villages with slow chicanes and speed bumps. After driving straight through Düren we reached Jülich and the stellplatz at Brückenkopf Park which cost €4 each to enter the park but we couldn't decide if it was a children's theme park or a show garden and it looked deserted in the steady drizzle so we didn't bother. There were two stellplatz listed there, one €6 by the main carpark and a free one around the back with warning signs about car thieves so we decided to continue westwards towards the Netherlands and found a small but busy free stellplatz at Waldfeucht just by the border. Strange how these places vary but we didn't get a nod or smile from any of the other vans staying there, just the occasional stare.



Bernkastel old house
Bernkastel old house

Now in the Netherlands on straight flat roads with lots of traffic lights and speed cameras, we drove through several small neat towns hoping to get some provisions but didn't see a single sign for a food shop. After a brief stop at the De Groote Peel national park, an area of flat heathland and peat bogs apparently famous for the variety of birds although they must have been hiding when we visited, we drove alongside canals and on ever busier roads to 'S-Hertogenbosch and around the ring road to the ACSI listed campsite at Le Rotonde which was by a motorway service area so we continued to Leerdam and spotted a sign to a small campsite, Camping de Grienduil at Nieuwland. As it had been so wet the friendly owner put us on a small gravel area beside his house together with three other motorhomes -very cosy for the night!

Nieuwland large mobile baker
Nieuwland large mobile baker's stall
We took a short walk into the village where a massive lorry and trailer selling bread turned up in the afternoon - a sort of mobile market - glad we didn't meet him along the narrow lanes with ditches either side.


Windmills at Kinderdijk

Windmills large and small
Windmills large and small


Our final day abroad we didn't have too far to drive so headed for the windmills at Kinderdijk where we found a free on street parking place a few hundred metres away. We then had to tackle the Rotterdam ring road motorway which wasn't too busy being a Sunday. At one point there were eight lanes in each direction but the signposting was good so drove around the east and north of the city until we found the route to the Hook of Holland ok. We thought we would top up with diesel before leaving Europe but only found one expensive filling station open about a kilometre from the ferry terminal, the rest of the town being deserted on a Sunday. After lunch parked up by the railway crossing and watching the hoards of cyclists heading for the nearby beaches,  we boarded the ferry and had a slow journey back to Harwich and home

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