Month: October 2019

19th October (Interlaken)

Today, Saturday, we are staying in Interlaken. It is Hayley’s birthday and the choice of residence was either the Black Forest, Germany or Interlaken, Switzerland. What a choice…

Interlaken won… and there just happens to be one of those tree-climbing parks here, a good one. 39 swiss francs (35 of your Great Britsh pounds). Sounds a lot but you can spend as long as you like there swinging about the trees, walking between them, bungee jumping, and zip wiring.

Del drops the birthday girl off to tree climb and he sets off into town to get some birthday goodies for her later.

A great time is had in the tree park but now what to do about dinner. It’s between a traditional local wood hut type, stew, and dumplings place or a 64-degree incline, 1.5km uphill train to the top of a place called Harder Kulm. Now if you don’t do anything else here in this post at least look at some of our Instagram pics in the links above. It was a truly brilliant experience. and one that we thoroughly enjoyed.

A great train trip, dinner some folklore music, and the best views EVER!

What a great birthday Hayley had…

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAYLEY

12th October (La Ciotat)

We like it here so elect to stay another day. The weather has taken a little bit of a turn, grey skies a bit of a wind but it’s still warm and bright and the view is amazing, so yes why not…

We don’t do much at all today, in fact we don’t do anything at all. We take a short walk to the local supermarket for a restock and spend the rest of the day with “Jess” just admiring the view, reading and talking. It’s a nice day, nice to be just sitting about spending time doing what you want.

Dinner was homemade pizza with a view of the bay. Smashing. Tomorrow we will move on. Two days is a good amount of time to spend in a place. We are happy with our lot. Besides the wind has built and we are not sure how this is going to go.

13th October (La Ciotat to Cuges les Pins)

We are greeted with a blue sky with a few grey small clouds bobbing about, nothing too threatening. Breakfast is outside before packing up and spending 5 or so minutes trying to maneuver out of our space. It was big enough but requires quite a few three-point turns to get out to avoid sudden drops, walls and the odd sticking out tree. Hayley does the business on this occasion and deals with it no trouble.

Today she wants to do one of these tree-climbing adventure things. Each to their own. We set the Google Maps for the location and after a while, we are lead up a garden path, quite literally. The roads have become very narrow, twisty and generally tricky. The entrance road to the park is a hairpin bend of only a couple of metres wide and we decide that there is no way that we are going to be able to get round out and decide to cancel the whole thing.

This is the third attempt Hayley has had to go on one of these things and three times unable to for various reasons. Maybe someone somewhere is trying to tell her something…

Whatever happens we are going inland, only a little to an aire that is 4.50 euros for the night. It is located in a forest and has goats wandering around. Sounds good. After another half an hour of twisty roads we are finally on a motorway, then two then three. By the time we had finished this short journey has probably cost 10 euros in tolls. French tolls can be expensive.

We finally arrive at the aire in Cuges les Pins, again after being sent up a local narrow road around the back of the town. Once there we pick our spot. Yes. It’s lovely. A contrast from yesterday. Dead quiet.

All you can hear is bird song and bees. We sit enjoying the warm sun and it’s not too long before we are joined by Mr & Mrs. Goat. A male and a female are wandering around chewing the grass and visiting the vans to see what else they can get their horns into. They are no trouble at all and soon wander off. They are local as they are soon spotted sniffing around other vans.

14th October (Cuges les Pins to Carro)

It’s a lovely morning, not particularly warm and bright, but fresh and clean. Once we have breakfast we take our time and clean up. While this is going on we are visited by our two friendly goats who are curious as to what is going on. They keep their distance though, once they know you have nothing for them they move off until you rustle a bag or something and their curiosity is too much and they come back for another look.

They are very sweet, very tame and good-natured. Like most goats.

Today we are setting off to an aire that is about 9 euros to get into. It’s in a small town called Carro not far from Marseille, very popular with windsurfers and kiteboarders. If you are lucky you can get a great view of the sea which is only a 5-metre walk from the front of your van.

We set off after a quick attempted fuss of the goats. The day improves and gets sunnier and warmer as we head further west. We arrive at Carro, pay our fee, and Hayley finds the last beachfront view… Wow! amazing. The sea is turbulent and frothy but it’s sunny and hot and sure enough, the windsurfers and kiteboarders are out in force, loads of them… There must be 50 – 60 of them buzzing about like flies. Great to watch.

The chairs are out and we spectate for a while before taking a walk to see what the town has to offer.

It’s closed. It’s Monday. Stuff is always closed on a Monday in France. We want ice-cream. There are a few places open but despite the good warm weather, we couldn’t get any ice cream, nothing. What we did notice is that the town restaurants are very expensive. We find a lovely beach but it’s one of those views that looks great from afar and a bit ordinary close up.

Back at the van, we watch the water-sports carrying on. We have made friends with our German neighbours, they are very nice people indeed, very friendly and good-humored. Earlier in the day on arrival, they were insistent on showing Del their Whiskey collection. We toast them with a glass of wine watching the kiteboarders right up until dust.

We settle in and get comfortable when suddenly there is a knock at the door and we find it’s our friendly German neighbour with a bottle of schnapps and three glasses.

What a nice chap. We sit chatting for a while and sample his fine offering of 45 percent proof, proper schnapps. Excellent. It’s getting colder but even as the sun disappears there are at least two or three hardy boarders still at it. In the dark? Mad.

It’s a rough evening. The wind has built, but really built. So much that the van is rocking in the wind, force 8? Feels like it. Just to add to the wind the rain starts to fall, it’s the heaviest and most prolonged that we have ever experienced in the van. It goes on forever and ever. It’s not long before we have plenty of thunder and lighting added into the mix. A thoroughly wicked night… with little or no sleep.

15th October (Carro to Tain l’ Hermitage)

So it was a lovely(ish) day yesterday but the evening was without a doubt the worst we have ever had in the van. We woke up to a cloudy, windy day, no rain and feeling very tired and groggy. The noise and the movement of the van kept us up all night. Rough…

Today we are moving on, northeast to a place right on the Rhone called Tain l’ Hermitage and to a municipal campsite called Camping Le Lucs. It’s a longish drive, a couple of hours. We arrive just after 2 pm and get a nice spot right next to the Rhone river.

It’s a lovely day, sunny, clean and fresh. We are a bit worn out after our stay in stormy Carro so we spend the rest of the day just taking it easy. Later in the day, we do a large shop – provisions are running low, and Hayley goes for a 5-mile cycle ride along the river.

Dinner was the most amazing rare steak, french fries, and pepper sauce accompanied by a Cotes du Rhone red and finished off with an excellent brie… What a dinner…! We eat well in the van but for some special unknown reason, tonight’s dinner was just amazing. Top marks.

16th October (Tain l’ Hermitage)

We like here so we will stay another day. It’s a nice place right by the river, the site is peaceful and pleasant. We get up this morning to fog. Thick fog. It’s spooky as there is a layer of the fog moving slowly along the river, the large barges loom out of it as the sun tries in vain to push through. It’s cold but not biting cold, enough to get a hoody on. Very picturesque and a sign that autumn is fast upon us. We are reminded by the leaves that are starting to fall quicker off the orange and red trees. Quite beautiful really.

Busy day today. There is a chocolate factory here. Valrhona is supposed to be in the top 10 of chocolate companies in the world, a bit of research confirms this rumour – in some cases, it’s in the top three. We have a pile of laundry to do and we would like to do a few miles of cycling along the Rhone. You can’t say that very often…

Confident that the fog will lift we get some laundry on the go and hang it out between the van and a tree. Nice. Then we set off for the Valrhona City of Chocolate museum which is right next to the camp.

It was brilliant, for 9 euros the museum is great. You get the full tour of how chocolate is made right from the plantation to the shop with lots of samples, but lots, there are so many sample points to try their different types of luxury chocolate. After two hours in there, we were sick of chocolate and promised ourselves that we wouldn’t eat chocolate for a week. Very interesting place but heavy on the stomach. However on leaving we notice that they have a restaurant with chocolate in every dish, H has duck with dark chocolate and Del has a beef stew with 46% cocoa chocolate.

Back at the camp, we stick on some more washing. The weather has cleared up as promised. It’s warm and sunny with a nice breeze so we get the bikes off the back of the van once we had hung the next batch of washing out and set off for a cycle ride along the Rhone. In all, we do about 7 miles. Not a great deal but it helps work the chocolate off!.

All in all a smashing day, we got lots done today and the weather was great. How long can it last? Tomorrow we are heading further northeast towards Switzerland and staying at a Lake in France just before the border.

We might see a change in the weather then…

17th October (Tain l’ Hermitage – Lac du Bourget)

Today we are slowly pushing northeast ish. We only have slightly over a week left and we have decided how the remaining time will be spent. Today it’s the French Alps to a place next to the Lac du Bourget (the Bourget Lake) which, by all accounts is the biggest natural lake in France, a glacial lake so the water is cold and clean.

We set off but today it all seems a bit ‘laboured‘, maybe we didn’t sleep well last night but we are tired and everything seems difficult and trying. So much so we get lost, only briefly. We turn off at a junction a bit early and end up in the outskirts of Grenoble, yuk. Grim. Also our mobile phone provider 3, have had network difficulties so both phones are on and off data wise so we keep loosing google maps. Tricky…

Eventually, we navigate our way out of Grenoble and get back on the right road. It’s raining on and off but by the time we arrive at the Lake it has cleared up and it’s a lovely bright afternoon.

We go for walks around the lake, not the whole thing, it’s probably a 30km walk all the way around it. There are some lovely clear views of the French Alps. Quite a sight across the lake.

A quiet night in tonight and an early night. Tomorrow we leave France and head for two days in Switzerland. We liked it there…

18th October (Lac du Bourget – Interlaken, Switzerland)

We wake up to a bit of a grey drizzly day, not what we expected. It seems that this wet miserable weather has been all over Europe, indeed friends and family are reporting some very heavy rain back home in the UK.

Today we are on a “two days per country” run. 2 days in Switzerland first, then two in Germany, France and finishing with two days in Belgium before heading home. Today we are making our way to Interlaken (between lakes) in Switzerland. We really enjoyed our last visit there a couple of weeks ago and it’s only a short divert so why not, we have the time. In all, it’s about a three-hour drive. It’s still raining when we set off but as the day goes along it gets brighter until we cross the Swiss border and although cloudy it’s a lovely bright dry day.

We are heading for a site called Camping Alpenblick. Switzerland is very expensive and this site is no exception however we are out of season and we can use a discount card called ACSI. Very useful and you can get some excellent rates if you present the card. The staff are very friendly here and we are given a small but lovely pitch close to the amenities complete with a wonderful view of the surrounding hills and mountains. We are also given a card which allows us free travel into Interlaken town. Very handy.

We settle in and set off for the bus stop into Interlaken. The town is very clean and tidy and quite busy. The tourists, us included, are out in full. Above us, there is paragliding where they land right in the middle of town on a grass field. It’s very popular and they are floating above us all afternoon. We look around all the shops, mainly made up of watch shops and chocolate shops. The back streets are the best. Very clean, pretty houses and cobbled streets.

Chocolate? We have had enough of it for now so we just stroll around the streets watching the, mainly Chinese, tourists spend their money. They are the only ones who seem to be spending here really.

A good day and in a beautiful place. We head back to the van as it’s getting a little chilly and we have no intention of spending any money, not here anyway. Switzerland is without a doubt the most expensive place we have visited. Watch out…!

The 19th is Hayley’s birthday and she has found one of these tree climbing, adventure things. We shall see.

Week 4. In conclusion.

A closer look at our map will show that we haven’t really touched the champagne region as we thought we might… On the contrary, we have been o where near it yet. We have just basked in the late summer sun of the south of France and loved every minute of it.

Also, a continued closer look will show how hap-hazard and inefficient we have been by looping into France and out again to go back into Switzerland. We are not quite sure what happened there but whatever forces made us do that it was well worth it. We will probably, money permitting do Switzerland for longer another time. We shall see

Saturday 5th October (Varazze to St. Stefano de Mare)

We wake up to our first day in Italy. It is a beautiful sunny day… At last… What a great way to start our third week. Today we shall have breakfast outside. It’s brilliant but after a while we are pestered by flies and mosquitos which beat us so we pack up breakfast and discuss our plan for the day. We decide to move on to an aire about an hour down the coast in a town called S. Stefano al Mare (Saint Stefan by the sea!)

It’s another twisty drive along the Italian coast which we take turns with. Finally we arrive at what is basically a public car park which for 10 euros you can park over night but with a great view of the sea. It’s busy here today, but very busy and we find the last suitable space. We say suitable, there were another two possible spaces but because of the inability of people to park their vans properly the space is unusable. Maybe they do it on purpose…?

Today we will get the bikes finally off the back of the van and get some cycling done, we manage 9 miles, not a lot but good enough for us to reward ourselves with an Aperol Spritz and a Prosecco! Well when in Rome, etc.

We take it easy going back to the van with an ice cream and a bit of wittering and planning about the next few weeks. It’s surprising how quick the time goes. We are undecided, again. Do we stay in Italy a bit more or do we start making our way across the southern French coast.

Dinner out tonight at a pizza house that in 2011 won the world championship pizza making contest. As if… Sure enough we get there and the accolade is on the menu along with what must be 70+ ways to have your pizza. We wait for an age for anything to happen, ordering, pizza arriving etc. The wait is forever. It was worth it though as the pizza was amazing along with a great view of the bay. Smashing.

So where to tomorrow?

Sunday 6th October (St Stefano al Mare to Frejus)

Another lovely sunny morning. Should we stay or should we go? Hmm….

We go. Today we are going back into France, 2 and a bit hours of driving. It’s a fine hot lovely day, most of the journey is on motorway and the French motorway tolls, which if you are doing many miles can be expensive. We probably spent about 15 euros in two hours and the toll booths seemed to appear every 15 minutes.

Today we are off to a campsite which has a massive pool and a sauna. We are just coming out of season so sites are not yet closed for the year but you do get the pick of the pitches which is nice and the place isn’tt crawling with kids! The site is Domaine de la Bergerie. The staff are friendly and sure enough we can pick our place. Hayley goes scouting and finds a nice one that will give us sunlight for the rest of the day.

Hayley goes for a swim leaving Del at the van to read and mess about on his computer. Peace!!

Dinner was a fine paella. Hayley is quite an expert at these. It goes down well with a glass of cold white, however as night is falling the mosquitoes are rising and Hayley is rather susceptible to them, getting bitten almost anywhere. No matter it’s getting on so we go inside to finish the bottle off.

All in all not a bad weekend…

Monday 7th October ( Frejus to Port Grimaud)

We are on a run now, for now. Another beautiful day is forecast right along the south coast of France. Good. We do a full van service, fill up with fresh water, get rid of the grey water and sort out the chemical toilet. Nice.

We set off and it is the best Monday you could have. The scenery is stunning and it’s hot, proper hot. Today we are making for a place that is basically a full resort but they have a large beach front area for camper vans with a full view of the bay that takes in Port Grimaud right round to St. Tropez. On the way we do look at another site but elect to continue to Camping Les Mures. The arrival is dead easy, but all the “on the beach” places are taken however we do get a good halfway position that when you open your door it’s a 10 metre walk and you are right on the beach with the full view…

Needs must however, the laundry needs doing, normally a weekend job, and Jess gets her weekly full clean inside. Once all the jobs are done then we are on the beach soaking up the Monday afternoon sun… Stunning. We make friends with our British neighbours, from Wales. They are in a campervan, with their springer dog Millie. A nice couple with a nice dog.

A short walk is required before we go back to the beach in the 5pm sun with a glass of fizz, listening to the waves lapping on the shore. We love Mondays!!!

8th October (Port Grimaud)

We are staying here another day. It’s lovely. Clear blue sky, 25 degrees+ heat and with a fabulous view of the bay with St. Tropez just across it why would we move on. Besides the forecast for tomorrow is some cloud so we will enjoy the sun here today and move on tomorrow.

The plan is to cycle the 9 kms around the bay to St Tropez for lunch and back via Port Grimaud. Soon we are ready and off. It’s great for cycling here with a cycle track almost all of the way.

We reach St. Tropez 45 mins later. It’s busy but not mad busy, people are milling around looking at the beautiful boats that come here or having lunch on the open fronted restaurants in the marina. There a lots of shops here, expensive shops. It’s nice though to walk around all the lovely little streets with their small houses dripping in colourful flowers.

After a good walk around the place we decide to by some sandwiches and a local speciality – pissaladiere. A pizza base with some onions, olives and anchovies. We also get a small box of Tropezienne Tart which is a custard cream cake. Sweet but ace… They make them in different sizes from small take away boxes of three to 12 in a box up to a large 12 inch thing that makes your pancreas work overtime just looking at.

We take our purchase to the sea front with a view of the bay with some very expensive boats that are anchored and no doubt enjoying their view.

After lunch we set off for the van on the other side of the bay. 10 minutes in we find a beach bar so of course needs must, we take a seat at the water’s edge and enjoy a small very cold beer. Delicious.

Time to move on as we would like to stop at Port Grimaud, France’s Venice. It doesn’t disappoint, it is very pretty. To appreciate it you have to take a boat so we pay 6 euros for a 20 minute trip around the watery streets. Lots of money here. Nice houses that look out onto very expensive boats directly moored right outside their front door.

After the trip we get back on the bikes and head for “home”. It’s still a bright warm sunny afternoon so we make for the beach for an hour in the late afternoon sun.

Dinner was Mexican style – fajitas, a winner after which we invited the Welsh couple that we met yesterday over to our place for a drink. 12:30am this goes on until. Lovely couple, Tim and Fiona and their dog Millie. We exchange some of our life stories all night. Smashing. We’ll be sad to part from them tomorrow, we enjoyed their company but we are all doing different things and going different places adding more to our life stories.

Tomorrow we are moving slowly along the French coast, we are halfway through our trip and soon we will need to start thinking about moving north.

9th October (Port Grimaud to Cavalaire sur Mer)

Today we are moving on. We start our pack-away and meet up with Tim and Fiona, who makes a mean cup of coffee. Fantastic. We get a show and tell around their lovely van “Ruby” and end up chatting until well after checkout time. We say our goodbyes, sad to be leaving them and off we go. We do a quick van service and trundle off along the coast heading west…

We remember this coastline fondly but our view was from the sea. It’s a beautiful part of France, it’s a little on the grey side today but on a Wednesday morning it’s well worth it. We go to one site and rule it out as being a bit cramped and not as welcoming as we hoped. Hayley finds us another one, Camping Bonporteau. It is a lovely place, in a forest. lots of tall trees and different levels, lots of room and dead dead quiet. Great.

By now it’s about 3pm so we just settle in and decide to do two nights here. Tomorrow we will go in to the town of Cavalaire sur Mer and sit by the campsites heated pool in the afternoon, who knows what will happen come the evening.

In the meantime we sit basking in the afternoon warmth and light and continue to get bitten by mosquitoes. Hayley gets it the worse, always has done. Even in October they are still around biting and causing havoc.

10th October (Cavalaire sur Mer)

We do like these two hour breakfasts. Up at around 8, it’s gone 10 before we actually start thinking about doing anything. Well it’s not all about flashing lights and tweaking your gamma is it? It’s a glorious day today, clear sky with a slight gentle breeze. We are staying for the day today for sure.

We sort ourselves out and take a stroll into the town of Cavalaire sur Mer. We remember it fondly when we were on the boat down here so we know more or less where we are going. We walk around the marina in the sun and reminisce but if we are not mistaken the wind is starting to build, as well we remember from the 16 years ago we were last here, it’s either too windy or not enough…

While walking around the town and crossing the road who should we see coming down the street, but Fiona, Tim and Millie in “Ruby” the van. A smashing bunch who we meet in St.Tropez, what a lovely surprise. We give them a wave and shout out to them where we are camped.

We get back to the site after a 5 euro coffee (5 euros for a small cappucino… Really?) to find “Ruby” with her passengers are already ensconced in the same site. Excellent. We like their company so we are pleased to see them there. We all make for the heated pool at the site and catch up on what has happened over the last 24 hours, not much probably which is a good thing.

We are all still being bitten, that much hasn’t changed. We’ll move off tomorrow, maybe we will get a break from the mozzies.

11th October (Cavalaire sur Mer to La Ciotat)

Check out in these sites is normally anywhere between 11:00am and midday, so our usual lengthy breakfast is as normal. We do a bit of a pack up and go looking for “Ruby”. Fiona and Tim do the best coffee on the trip so far so we are intent on ‘coffee burgling’. We find them and their wonderful hospitality provides us with copious amounts of coffee and a lot of wittering which we enjoy. Before we know where we are it’s gone midday so we say our goodbyes for a second time and get cracking. As we leave we note the site manager checking his watch but he’s ok. We are off….

Today we will continue along the southern French coast. The views of the seaside towns to the south and the house covered hills to the north all spectacular in the sun. A beautiful place indeed.

Today we are heading to a site called Camping Santa Gusta near the town of La Ciotat, 50 km or so west of Toulon. We stop and look at other options but continue in the direction of La Ciotat.

We arrive at the site. Hmm. Not sure about this. The front is a closed down petrol station and the office looks like a run down and probably closed hotel. The reception for the site is closed until 2:30 so we have about 10 minutes to kill before they open so we start to have a look around. Before we could get any further a lady calls us. Hayley, in her best French asks about staying and we gather that the reply was yes, we can go in have a look and choose our place.

We go into the grounds of the site. Well what can we say… It is amazing…. For small vans like us there are terrace views right at the front with a full uninterrupted view of the bay, high up. Stunning. The site itself looks like it is stuck in the 1960s/70s but it’s popular. We are out of season but some pitches are already taken but we are lucky to find the best one!. The highest one as well. Brilliant. We set up with all the garb, chairs, table and all that when Hayley spots a kayak place right under us. She can’t resist so off she goes for an hours punting on the Med while Del cleans up the van and prepares cold beer for her return.

What a lovely afternoon. Clear blue skies and great views. Amazing.

Dinner was a Hayley special paella and with the sun setting we sit back having enjoyed a great day out.

That was Friday.

Week 3. In conclusion.

At last we finally escaped the wet weather in week 2 and have at last found some warm temperatures and sunshine. The south coast of France is a beautiful place with its rough rocky coast line, gorgeous sandy beaches and steep hills with some beautiful and expensive houses stuck on the side. We have an affection for this part of France as it was 16 years ago as relatively inexperienced sailors, we sold up, bought a brand new sailing boat and decided to sail the Med… Some said we were mad but it was without a doubt one of the best life experiences we have ever had.

We have had good warm weather all week, we know it can’t last. We have to go north soon so the weather will change but we are, after all, in the middle of October. We have had a good run and after all it’s really not all about the weather. This week we met a lovely couple and their dog. From Wales Fiona, Tim and Millie the dog were good company, very interesting and funny. We are not sure if we will meet them again but if they are reading this we wish them safe travels and good health.

Have a look at our Instagram feeds (above) for more photos of our trip. “Jess” now has a feed, just started so not much there but it will grow.

Saturday 28th September (Forbach day 2)

It’s week 2 and we wake up to a cool morning this morning, not cold, just cool. Autumn is in the air. It’s a lovely day and the trees in the valley below are changing colour. It’s a great view to wake up to.
We will use our free travel pass today and take the local train to Baden Baden, a spa town in the heart of the Black Forest. Very expensive.

The train journey is short with a change at Rastatt which is twinned with Woking. Nice. We are confused a bit on arrival to Baden Baden as we discover that the train station is 5km out from the centre of Baden Baden so we hop on a local bus and it’s just a short drive to the centre and all the hustle and bustle.

Germany is in Oktoberfest beer festival time so we stumble on a place doing Lowenbrau beer from Munich. Lowenbrau is one of only six breweries that can serve officially at the Oktoberfest. The waiting staff are all dressed in traditional garb so we order some beer and discuss the rest of the day. As usual we end up looking a the menu and decide to order some lunch. This always happens. We go for a drink in a bar or restaurant and before you can say “Vorsprung durch teknik” we are ordering food and more beer.

It was worth it though, the food was great all served in a nice courtyard where the outside temperature was bearable. Time for a walk and to work off this lunch. Baden Baden is a nice place but we feel that we have not done it justice and should spend more time here. Maybe next time. We get the bus back to the station and take the train back to the van where the sun is out, the sky is blue so we get our chairs out with a beer as the sun sets casting long orange shadows over the trees of the Black Forest while we have a chin wag with our traveling neighbours. The sun has set and the chill of an autumn evening closes in. It’s time we were in now.

All in all a great day and in a lovely part of Germany. Top marks.

Sunday 29th September (Forbach to Freudenstadt)

We wake up to another clean, clear sunny morning. Today we are going to drive further into the black forest to campsite called Camping Langenwald near the town of Freudenstadt. Before that though we thought that we would have a look at the local church here in Forbach which by church standards is quite young built in 1956. We read in a review of the area that it had some OK stained glass windows. Well OK is an understatement, they are amazing. Very colourful and they stretch in a panorama the full width of the building. Very blue!

We take advantage of the good weather and slowly stroll back through the town and back to Jess. Our neighbors have left, we said our goodbyes before our walk. Their spaces have already started to fill up with some Dutch campers who will no doubt enjoy this lovely place.

Time to move on. It’s a short 40 minute drive to Camping Langenwald so no rush. On the way we fill up with diesel and LPG for the heating and cooking. Oh and Jess gets a scrub…

We arrive at the site just after 2. What a beautiful place. Set in a valley just off the main road and surrounded by the tallest pine trees ever. We choose a pitch and decide to have two nights here. All the facilities are here and they are all immaculate (the best showers ever!) The staff are friendly and welcoming. Does it get any better. We set off on a walk, something we have not been able to do in a week because of the bad weather. We get the walking boots on and do a gentle 4km walk, doesn’t sound much but it’s the first proper walk we have done in the open.

Another great day and quiet dinner at the site restaurant which is very basic but nice enough. We meet another English couple who have just come up from Italy and on their way home in their 1999 motorhome who they called Gino de Camper. Well why not. Apparently the weather in Italy was fabulous…

We get back to the van and settle in for the night when the rain comes down. But really comes down and all night. Heavy, heavy rain and strong winds as well batter us for an hour on at a time through the night with a 10 minute reprieve in between. Did we sleep?

Monday 30th September (Freudenstadt day 2)

The night was bad. Very bad. Strong winds and rain led to a poor night’s sleep. We wake up to a still day. No rain , no wind. Whew, what a relief. Breakfast was a solemn quiet affair while we discuss what we should do. Should we carry on or drop south into France and along to Spain. We had the same conversation the night before and arrived at no decision. The same this morning. We don’t really know.

To make up for our indecision we get a local bus and take the half hour journey to a Bear Park. Yes they have a fantastic park here where they have taken in 10 to 12 bears that have been badly treated and allow them to roam free, secure of course from the public with sophisticated fencing. There are also some wolves and lynxs to see. We pay the 8 euro entrance fee and off we go. It’s not long before we spot some bears. They are quite something to see in their semi wild surroundings. Each bear has a sad story of mistreatment in the past so it is a pleasure to see them happy now. Wolves?

Didn’t see any. Probably asleep somewhere and will pop out for a walk after dark. We did see a lynx cat sunning herself in the cool afternoon sunlight which was also a pleasure to see. We liked it so much we just carried on and went around for one more look.

The bus trip back took us to the town of Freudenstadt, nice town, very clean and tidy so we thought that it was a good place to partake in the German tradition of Kaffe und kucken again. Very nice. It’s getting cooler so we head back on the bus to the van for a nice warming dinner.

Tomorrow we are moving on. The weather is holding so we will probably stick to the plan and head for Switzerland although Hayley’s research shows that they have snow on the forecast there and sub zero temperatures already at night. We don’t have the right clothes for that!

Tuesday 1st October (ERNIE Day!) (Freudenstadt to Todtnau)

It’s a beautiful cool fresh morning. The sun is rising and the light and the shadows on the tall pine trees is quite something to see. Amazing. Here at the Langenwald Campsite we are preparing a traditional German breakfast of fresh rolls, cheese, ham and some salmon. It’s a lovely start to the day. Once breakfast is over we take our time to pack up and we are off to Titisee, further south to a site right on the lake Camping Bankenhof. The weather is glorious, for a change.

The weather is lovely all the way, it’s short drive and as usual in these parts the scenery is amazing. We have fallen in love with the Black Forest, it’s a truly beautiful place for a visit.

We arrive at Camping Bankenhof but decided to go into the aire which is next door, it costs less and you can still use the facilities of the main camp. The plan today is to get the bikes off the back, at last, and cycle the few kilometers in to the local town of Titisee which looked worth a visit on the way in. Del get the bikes off the back and is just about to give them a wipe down when suddenly… Yep, the heavens opened up and down comes the rain. Heavy, heavy rain…It’s almost like the rain is following us, we have not had a clear 24 hours without rain. Slightly angry and annoyed Del humps the bikes back on the van and feeling slightly miffed and fed up the decision is made to move south and get a move on and maybe, just maybe find some sun. Just a dry few days would be enough.

We set off and make for the town of Todtnau. We have been there before, it’s a lovely little traditional German town but it has the “Hasenhorn-Rodelbahn For 10 euros you go up on a very long, very high ski lift and come down on one of the world’s longest toboggan runs. The view from the top is quite something of the town below. In the winter snow it must be very picturesque.

Once down we have a short walk. Oh it’s that time of day again… kaffee und kucken, coffee and cake. Sure enough as is usual in any decent German town a coffee and cake shop is not far. Del goes goes for the traditional Black Forest Gateau, not something he would normally choose and Hayley settles for a raspberry, jelly, chocolate thing. Both very nice and by far the best Black Forest Gateau EVER!!

Satisfied with our lot we head back to the van, it’s only a 15 minute walk away. Sure enough it’s not long before the rain is falling again and again it is heavy and again it is relentless. Hayley knocks up a very pleasant pasta dish which makes us feel better but the rain is still heavy. She even managed to fix the oven at the same time…

Time for bed. But will we sleep in the rain…? Ahhh! And now a six lorry team of road layers has turned up to resurface the road next to the Aire!

Wednesday 2nd October (Todtnau to Tasch, Switzerland)

THAT’S IT WE’VE HAD IT… The rain fell all night, heavy, bouncing off the roof like golf balls. We have had enough. We love Germany but this rain, which is all over Europe has beaten us. Today we will do a four and half hour drive and make our way further south to Switzerland, cut through Italy and into the south of France. Enough is a enough. We take two hour blocks of driving through fantastic countryside, sun then rain , then sun…

We are heading for Tasch a small town in Switzerland, near Zermatt, close to the Italian border. The scenery has changed dramatically. We thought that the German Black Forest was stunning but this is something else. The mountains, not hills, the mountains are high and imposing. They get stuff done here though, tunnels are just cut through the mountains all with mobile phone reception, power cables and pylons cut through the trees on the mountain side delivering power to someone somewhere high up. Stuff just works…

We suddenly appear at a toll booth and get 27 Swiss francs taken form us, why? We are ushered onto an roofed and open sided train, Hayley just about squeezes Jess onto the train with inches to spare all around and before we know anything else we are off. The train is speeding through a 14km tunnel. What an experience, in your van, on a train, in a tunnel in Switzerland and still we have mobile phone reception. Amazing.

Once we embark it’s another 30 minutes of winding, twisting steep roads to Tasch where the campsite is based. We are welcomed by a very pleasant French lady who tells us that we can pitch wherever we like. Once settled we go for a walk around the town. There is not much here really, a hotel, couple of restaurants and a supermarket. The main thing here is the train station to Zermatt (a car free town) where we intend to go tomorrow.

It’s dry and pleasant as we take a 1 hour walk with the most stunning views before making our way back to the site for a shower and dinner in a local restaurant.

It’s cold, we are expecting 0 degrees tonight but it’s dry and we feel quite warmed after dinner and the short walk back to a heated van. Mega.

That was our mid week… Not bad.

Thursday 3rd October (Tasch day 2)

It’s going to be a long day today. Lots to see and do.

We are up quite early and as usual the long breakfast is long, but by 11 we are off and making our way to the station here in Tasch to get the train for the 20 minute trip to Zermatt. The weather is lovely. Clear blue sky, not a cloud in sight and just on the verge of being cold but pleasant. The trains here are immaculate. Not a spot of dirt or graffiti to be seen, nobody sits with their feet up on the seats, it leaves bang on time and is very smooth even the bit where it has to climb the hill and change to a cog system, you’d never know it had happened until you look out the window and the horizon is at 12 degrees.

We get to Zermatt and decide that yes we will spend the 80 quid each on the three cable cars that haul you up to Little Matterhorn. It’s a short walk so we have a look at the shops in Zermatt. The prices are eye watering, 20 quid for a pizza, 40 quid for a Schnitzel and on it goes. Despite the extortion the place is full of tourists. We feel quite poor on our relatively small daily budget. It’s crazy how many people are spending so much money on simple things like food and drink and even more or what some might think is just tat. Takes all sorts.

We finally get in the first cable car. The views are just fantastic. We get a cabin to ourselves. Hayley is a little nervous but maybe by the time we are finished she will conquer her apprehension.

After 10 or 15 minutes we have to change to another car. This one is full, about 40 to 50 people are in the car as it slowly moves off and starts its slow ascent to the next level and to the last car. The final car is loaded up with people and off we go to the top, the highest cable car station in Europe, but with it comes the most spectacular views, breathtaking. The Matterhorn is looming high on our right as we go up and the slopes are slowly getting covered with more ice. It just looks amazing and difficult to describe the beauty of the place.

We disembark and we are allowed to wander freely. It’s cold, -6 but we are just about making it in the clothing we have – we set out two weeks ago not expecting to come here, we are supposed to be in France and Germany but the wet weather brought us here instead. Odd. The air and light here cannot be described except to say that it’s clean, clear and fresh like you have never experienced. We take short lift to a panoramic view point which is totally exposed and out in the open with a 360 degree unrestricted view of the Alps. A truly unforgettable place.

At the top is an exhibition called the Glacier Paradise which is basically a glacier that has been tunneled into and turned into an exhibition of ice carvings. Interesting and unusual. The high altitude is now affecting us as we are having to stop more frequently to catch our breath. After a quick drink outside on our way down sitting in the sun staring in awe at the Matterhorn we get back on the cable cars back down to Zermatt via a hanging bridge which is a short walk away before the last cable car to the bottom.

A short walk around the car less town of Zermatt, that’s right no cars allowed in Zermatt, only electric cars, that includes the “old Bill”. We find a local restaurant and have a go at a cheese fondue and some rosti and a couple of local beers. Brilliant.

Time to get the train back after a long and enjoyable day in the sun, it’s stating to cool off a bit now. Tomorrow we are off to Italy…!

Friday 4th October (Tasch to Varazze, Italy)

It’s a cold morning, not as bright as yesterday but pleasant all the same. Today we are setting off for Italy and hopefully some sun and warm weather. The route will take us over the Simplon Pass which includes the Swiss Alps and the Italian Alps then south down to the coast.

We stop for some diesel and set off on the drive. It’s steep and very windy. A challenging drive for Hayley but she gets through it no problem. It’s a long drive so we swap over after two and a bit hours. What we noticed straight away is the condition of the roads in Italy. Shocking. In Switzerland they are smooth and well laid, the tunnels are bright and well maintained. As soon as we crossed the border the change was incredible. Full of potholes, rough, bouncy. The tunnels are dark and look like they need some TLC. What have they been doing with all that EU money…. Hmmm!

Anyway, the motorways are a little better, should be as the have a heavy toll. After 5 and a bit hours we arrive at Varazze. The last time we were here was 16 years ago in a boat. We take a walk into town trying to remember what was what and where but of course over the years much has changed. It’s a nice town, the weather is warmish and most of all dry. No heating tonight….

A good walk back to the van, dinner and shower ends a long driving day but with a smile on hour faces at what we have achieved. One day you are at the Matterhorn the next you right next to the Med, which is the view from our window at breakfast tomorrow.

Week 2. In conclusion.

A wet week indeed. Never stopped raining. We loved Germany and the black forest. The people there were very friendly and kind to us. We like the mix of the old traditional dark wood, net curtains mixed with the high tech efficiency which the Germans are famous for. The Black Forest is truly wonderful place and somewhere we intend to visit again. Weather permitting.

We couldn’t stand the rain any longer however so we had to get out of Germany and go south to find some dry and hopefully warm weather. We thought that we would try out Switzerland on the way a decision we did not regret. It was brilliant. Very very expensive but very clean and tidy and incredibly efficient. Of course it was much colder but dry and sunny. We dropped to -3 overnight on the first night which ended up damaging our hose reel which is stored in the back of the van. It had residue water in the pipe which froze and cracked the skin of the hose! There you go!

Finally…. We are up to date…. Here is the second part of week 1. We will attempt to publish successive weeks on Saturday or Sunday. Thanks for following.

Wednesday 25th September

We have been away since Saturday and all we have had weather wise is rain, rain and more rain. So much so that we have abandoned a plan to visit the Champagne region at the beginning of the trip and instead are continuing east and a bit southish towards Switzerland, maybe. We decide to go to a campsite in Luxembourg.

This involves a bit of weaving in and out of Belgium and into France then back into Belgium. Whilst in Belgium we had to have a pile of frites with ketchup and mayo and some other strange spice sauce that Hayley had. As we move from country to country in a small amount of time we pass the old customs checkpoint which have been left as they are but caricatured somewhat. Maybe they are thinking of opening them up again. Well anything is possible these days…

we have been there before and found it very pleasant, however the weather is not great which can always make a place look different. H finds a site and it’s a good one, big with plenty of space and all the facilities we need. We get in line to get an entry token and find our spot at Camping Kockelscheuer.

It’s not clear why or how but Del is feeling not too great. Too much uncooked beef? Too much Belgian beer? Whichever he is going downhill fast, stomach ache, headache and a rising temperature. Half a packet of paracetamols and a lie down helps but bed is crying out as a wave of tiredness descends over him. By 9 he is in bed and out for the count…

That was Luxembourg…

Thursday 26th September

It’s still raining. The noise of falling rain on the roof of the van can become tiresome, it’s like a form of torture. Del is up and about and feeling a lot better. We have a good long breakfast and decide to continue with our plan. Hayley finds a nice free aire at a place called Bitche in France. Located high above a town and in the shadow of a citadel it looks like it could be an interesting place to visit. The rain eases off but it’s still grey and everything is soaking wet. It’s all a bit miserable really but we set off with a hope that the weather will improve.

The weather holds and we arrive at the aire. It is very nice. After a small wait we bag one of the five spaces that have beautifully manicured hedges around each space and settle in. We take a walk around the citadel which is quite spectacular with an equally spectacular view of the town below. We navigate our way through the roaming sheep and down into the town. Like Belgium it’s closed. Everything is closed!

Once back at the van the rain starts again. Can’t get away from it. Oh well. H rustles up a very nice comforting paella which goes down we and we sit with a glass of wine and watch some Black Mirror after dinner. There are worse ways to spend your Thursday night.

Friday 27th September

Today we are going into Germany and the Black Forest. We woke up again to the sound of rain on the roof, it’s heavy. Breakfast is the usual long affair discussing what we should do, where to go, the usual morning conversation. We need to do some laundry so we need a campsite with a washing machine and a dryer, always tricky to find.

We set off towards Baden Baden, the drive in the rain is horrendous, it’s just relentless this rain. We find a campsite but sadly no washing facilities. Maybe we should give up and try another day. So we head for Gaggenau which is on the way to Baden Baden and has a free aire next to a spa/swimming pool. Could be good. We get there only to find that its full. No matter, we have the traditional “kaffe und kucken” (coffee and cake to you and me). All very nice but we decide to move on and head to a paid aire, cost 7 euros in place called Forbach. The rain is starting to ease off and there could be some stuff appearing called blue sky.

We arrive at the aire in Forbach. Wow!!! It is amazing, it’s empty, we are it, why? Why is such a stunning place empty. There is space for 6 vans all with an amazing view of the valley and the Black Forest. Fantastic. We hook up the power and make ourselves at home before setting off for a walk into the lovely town of Forbach and a visit to the covered wooden bridge. Well worth a look.

A walk through the town and beer and back to the van with our fantastic view. We have some more visitors, two British vans who are heading north west back to the UK. The host of this aire we are at is a lovely, helpful, friendly guy. Free internet, free water and a free travel pass on the local trains and buses in the Black Forest area. Suddenly the sun is peeking through the clouds… We’ll have two nights here please.

Week 1. In conclusion.

Well week 1 was ok. Well actually that’s not quite right. It was great, varied and interesting despite the most appalling rain. We were not alone though, the heavy rain was a curse on most of Europe with some getting more than others. Not sure where we were on the league table of rain but we did have our fair share of heavy, noisy rain.

We learnt a bit about Belgian beers, who, where and how. There are only 14 trappist beers worldwide and six of them are from Belgium.

We never thought that Belgium was a place of engineering prowess. How wrong we were. They have contributed in an unimaginable way to canal transport with their own collection of boat lifts. Big ones though – real heavy lifters. We also found the people to be very nice and friendly.

The same goes for Germany. So far the people are lovely, helpful and welcoming wherever we went. The Black Forest is beautiful, the scenery is quite stunning. The local council provide a free bus and train pass for tourists which is so good and useful. Germany gets a big tick from us. Well worth a visit.