Moselle Valley, 14 February

"Extra for the mice, extra for the lice,

Two per cent for looking in the mirror twice!"

I really think the aire at Trier must have been taking lessons from the Master of the House, as on top of the not insubstantial overnight fees, we had to pay for electricity and for using the services and had we wanted a shower (which we could not have had anyway as they were out of use for the winter), that would have been extra, too. They did say at the entrance that you could use the loos for free.....

So anyway, the Swan Whisperer went for a run and after breakfast we went to a Kaufman where I did a shopping, and then we drove on here through some very pretty villages - it is lovely  now and will be really lovely in a month or two - to a village called  Schleich where we have parked up by the Moselle. 

Moselle Valley, 12-13 February

I don't quite know why I didn't blog yesterday - I meant to! I didn't do very much, although I felt a lot better than the previous day. We went to a supermarket - another E Leclerc, if memory serves me right, and then drove the relatively short distance to Sierck-les-Bains, where we parked up by the river, but with a railway line in between.

However, passenger services only seem to run at weekends and on bank Holidays, so only a couple of freight trains went past. The Swan Whisperer went on a long walk through three different countries, France, Germany and Luxembourg! I stayed in the van knitting, and finished my poncho at long last. It is lovely and warm. I can't quite decide whether to give it proper armholes, or not bother.

Today I went up to the Norma supermarket a couple of hundred yards away from the parking, but couldn't get fresh milk there and couldn't see the eggs, so we went to a Carrefour Market a little way out of town and rectified that. Then we drove along the banks of the Moselle to Trier, in Germany, passing through Schengen in Luxembourg, home of the infamous agreement. It would have been a lovelier drive if it hadn't been pouring with rain!

We used to park in the big park & ride car park, but they don't like you spending the night there, so we have goodly gone to the official motorhome site, which is expensive and electricity on top. Nice view of the Moselle though. After lunch the Swan Whisperer went for another walk (he did one before breakfast too), and I am relaxing on the bed as it is cold and I don't like to have the heating on if the SW isn't there. Seems a waste of good gas. 

Moselle Valley, 11 February

Not a good day for me; I really didn't want to get up, and it took me most of the morning to find the energy to have a shower. The Swan Whisperer went for a walk and found a bakery, so came back with a baguette and some croissants.

Once I was finally able to get dressed, we had lunch and then drive cross-country to Pont-a-Mousson, where we are parked up in the aire.  It was a seriously lovely drive!  France is beautiful, even at this time of year. 

It's the first time there have been other motor homes; we originally parked by the river, but the man in the office said to park up with the others as they were expecting more bad weather (which I don't think happened} and it was more sheltered up here, plus the electricity was stronger. So we moved, and have had a very comfortable night. 

WWMG Innsbruck - the homeward journey

The Games officially finished on the Sunday, and those who had to be at work next morning left at once, or even earlier.  The mountains reappeared, briefly, on Monday morning to bid us goodbye. 

but soon went back to bed again!

There were still plenty of us around on the Monday morning, and a fair few of us on the 10:40 to Munich!  The Aussies, and Sue from NZ, were going to spend the day sightseeing before catching their various planes in the evening; Phil and Bettina were rushing straight to catch a train out to the airport.  We had just under an hour between trains so didn't leave the station, but bought a sandwich and ate that and then went and stood on the platform, where the train was, until boarding started.  I was annoyed, because the DB site had warned that the train might be very full, so I had obediently gone to the ticket office in Innsbruck and reserved us two seats - only to find that the train didn't really fill up until Stuttgart, and meanwhile our seats didn't have a window!  So it was an unnecessary €7 wasted, and we could have sat in much better seats.  Oh well....

We arrived in Köln in good time, and of course the Ibis hotel is in the station itself, so no distance to walk.  Like all Ibises, it was clean, comfortable and soulless!  We went back to Schweinske's, in the station, to eat - I chose a schnitzel and the Swan Whisperer had lasagne.

This morning, we went back to Schweinske's, yet again, for breakfast which was marginally cheaper than in the hotel.  And very good it was, too.

 I recommend Schweinske's - it is very pork-heavy, but there are vegetarian options, too (I had the jacket potato with mushrooms on our way). 

After breakfast, we put our bags in the hotel's left luggage, and went out.  First port of call was the Cathedral, which we have seen so many times, but had never been in. 

Then the Swan Whisperer wanted to visit the Altmarkt, and it's not my fault we went slightly the wrong way through the shopping streets, is it.... We had a brief look round the Swarovski shop (not a patch on the ones in Innsbruck) and the 4711 shop (expensive - you can get the shower gel for half that in Müllers!).  Then we did find the Altmarkt, and walked back to the hotel, with just over an hour to wait.  We were a little worried, as rail traffic had been being badly disrupted due to an unexploded wartime bomb that had been found on the other side of the river; however, the nice man in the station information booth had assured us that our train would run, although it might be diverted, and, in fact, by the time it was due, the bomb had been safely dealt with and the bridge reopened. 

We sat in the hotel lounge until 20 minutes before our train was due, then reclaimed our luggage and went up to the platform.  The train was ten minutes late, but arrived at last, and we enjoyed a picnic lunch with the end of our food from Austria.  In Brussels, we had two hours to wait, and check in for the Eurostar doesn't open until an hour before departure, so we went to the nearest Prets and the SW had coffee and I had orange juice and we sat there until we could go through.  And then an uneventful journey to London, and the Tube home.  I was tired, and would have liked to have taken a taxi, but the SW pointed out that the Tube would be quicker (he's right, of course), and we cleverly managed to find the short way to the Victoria Line and not have to navigate all those tunnels.  And as we came out of the station at Brixton, a 35 bus came past!

Then it was just a matter of unpacking, putting on a load of washing, and sorting out things for tomorrow.

WWMG Innsbruck, 19 January

Today was the last day of skating, but we had friends in every class, so spent the entire time at the rink, watching some very memorable routines, particularly in the pairs.  It was snowing quite hard, so this wasn't actually a penance!

Midori Ito, partnered by Leigh Yip, did a very beautiful  and moving routine to Music of the Night from Phantom of the Opera. Diana and Geoff did a routine based on a baseball song (why can't they play cricket like the other ex-colonies?) and Karen and John did a very amusing "Bear necessities". Our Aussies friends, among others, were in the singles earlier and did very well.

After it was all over, we came back to the hotel and I spent my usual quiet afternoon, while the Swan Whisperer went out for a walk. We had supper, as the first night of the holiday, at Frankies, just across the main road. I had a grilled chicken burger and wedges, and the SW had spare ribs. 

WWMG Innsbruck, 18 January

We woke up, as the forecast had suggested we would, to a white world of snow.

No more mountains gradually revealing themselved as the sun rose! We were glad we had done our sightseeing and were planning on watching skating most of the day. We had many friends in Silver Ladies II (so large it had to be split into two classes), and a fair few in III. As it happened, I got a bit of a headache - often happens when watching skating for any length of time, I think it's the whiteness of the ice, so after the second Silver Ladies II the Swan Whisperer and I went over the road to look at the Chinese restaurant he'd eaten in a couple of days ago, but it was a buffet and I hate those and I really wasn't hungry, so lunch was bought in the nearby supermarket. We bought - well, not quite Pot Noodles, but very nearly - and far those with an orange for lunch, and then supper tonight was egg and salad, and I know I shall feel the better for it! Didn't do anything much the rest of the day - the SW went for a run and I gather fell over in the snow. More fool him for going for a run this weather, I did suggest it might not be a plan!

WWMG Innsbruck, 17 January 2020

There was very little skating we actually wanted to see today, so we decided to take another morning off and go out exploring. The J bus is a real blessing, as it goes from Igls, on one side of Innsbruck, to Nordkette, on the other. We caught it from the Sillpark stop, where it interchanges with the no 3 tram, although we could have caught it near the rink.

Our plan had been to get off in Igls and take the no 6 tram, which goes on a scenic route to Bergisel, where the ski jump is. Unfortunately, when we got to the station, we discovered that at this time of year, apart from an early school run, it only runs on weekends and public holidays.

So we decided we would walk down the path alongside the tram line to the next stop, where we could get the J, and take it all the way to Nordkette and then take the Hungerbergbahn back down to the city.

It was a really lovely walk, with wonderful views of Alpine scenery all round.

When we got to Nordkette, we went to see how much the Hungerbergbahn cost - not a great deal, compared with the Nordkettebahn - and then had lunch in the same cafe that I lunched in yesterday. Today I did have the noodle soup with sausages, which was OK, and the Swan Whisperer had käsespätzle like I had yesterday, only he managed to eat a great deal more of it than I had! We were both full when we had finished, so headed on to the Hungerbergbahn. I bought the tickets and was delighted to find that contactless now works here! I do usually pay cash when I can, when I'm abroad, as it is cheaper (in the UK there is, of course, no surcharge), but it is useful to be able to pay be card or contactless when necessary.

The journey was very quick and not particularly scenic, as a lot of it was in tunnel. Fun, though.

Then we walked along the river to the market, where we got apfelstrudel for supper pudding, and then a team back to the hotel. The Swan Whisperer went up to the rink after we'd had a cup of tea, but I had a nap! 

WWMG Innsbruck, 16 January

Today I decided to take the day off from skating, and from people in general. The Swan Whisperer wanted to go to Seefeld to skate so after breakfast he set off, and when I had finished tidyng the room I went off to catch the tram into town. Noticed that there was an MPreis supermarket by the tram stop,so determined to visit it on my way back.

However, the first port of call was a huge shopping mall called Sillpark, and I got off the tram there and had a look round. There was a C&A, which reminded me of my grandmother who was so clever at finding bargains there (and an H&M, which  my daughter is good at). Didn't see anything really worth trying on, though. Enjoyed wandering round DM as usual, although the prices seemed slightly higher than in Germany. There was a big Spar as the anchor store, but I didn't go in there.

When I had had enough I went and caught the J bus up to Nordkette.

I had no idea of taking the cable car up the mountain, and as I was very thirsty I went to the nearest cafe and had a beer as well as a plate of käsespätzle, which was delicious but far too much and I could only eat half of it.

With hindsight, I should have taken the Hungerbergbahn down to the town centre, but I had wanted to go to Igls, which the J bus would have taken me to. However, the tram that took you back to town only runs once an hour, and I would have just missed it, so in the end I got off at the Inn,

and wandered round the old town, visiting the Swarovski shops and goodly not buying anything although there was a crystal wolf that badly wanted to follow me home! 

I did buy some rather lovely shopping bags, which will be great for knitting projects.

And so back to the main road and the tram, MPreis and the hotel, and we are watching skating on the livestream. 

WWMG Innsbruck, 15 January

Not a good day, alas. When you go up to the rink, which isn't far, you have to go down into an underpass to cross the road, and the quickest way up is to go up some steps. I have been finding it necessary to stop for breath half-way up as my lungs are not brilliant at the best of times, and with the aftermath of this cold they are really bad just now. But the Swan Whisperer encouraged me to keep going, and I was badly out of breath when I reached the top. This wouldn't have mattered, but when we got to the rink, some jobsworth wouldn't let me use the lift, and by the time I got to the spectators' level, I was breathless to the point of feeling really unwell. I ended up sleeping through the free dance, and didn't want to do anything once we'd watched our friends skate except go to bed and sleep. I hope I'll be better tomorrow - I want to go round the shops!

No photos today, so here is the rink again. 

WWMG Innsbruck, 14 January

We had an early start this morning as the ice dancing was due to start at 09:00, rather than at 09:30 as it did  yesterday and will tomorrow.  We got down there in good time, and enjoyed watching the Masters' Elite and Masters Rhythm Dances.  

I'd got confused and thought it was to be Silver Ladies I, where we don't know anybody, this morning, so we went for a walk in Innsbruck,

stopping at the Stiftskeller for lunch. 

I had sausages with sauerkraut, and the Swan Whisperer went for the day's meal deal, which was meat and potatoes in some kind of sauce followed by cake with cream.  I drank Almdudler, which I hadn't tried before; it was okay, I suppose, and I had no trouble finishing my glassful, but I'm not sure I'd buy it again. 

That is not the Stiftskeller, by the way....  We did not look in the Swarovski shop - maybe I'll go back without the Swan Whisperer!

We did, however, look round the market where we had had lunch at least once last time we were here. It has, I think, been poshed up a bit, and there is certainly a wider choice of places to eat than there was then.  

After lunch I was tired, so went back to the hotel on the tram, while the Swan Whisperer went back to the rink.  I did go out again, but only to the supermarket.  I know I've missed some lovely artistic programmes, and missed cheering on my friends, but in many ways I prefer watching free to artistic.  Tomorrow sees the last of the ice dances, the free dance, and also the last of the artistic, including our Aussie friends in Bronze V, which we will definitely watch. 

Christmas Markets trip., 16 December 2019

Today was the last full day of our holiday, and the weather has been spectacularly vile, peeing it down most of the day. 

We left our hosts of the previous night at about 10:00, and our first port of call was an Intermarché in Guise for diesel and gas; I popped into the supermarket and spent all of €2. 10 on half a baguette and some reduced-for-quick-sale apple tarts. 

We drove on to the far side of Lille before stopping for lunch  - we had thought to stop in Landrecies, where we have parked up before, but it was too early for lunch and the Swan Whisperer had had his coffee, so we headed on.  

Got to Coquelles mid-afternoon, and I did a massive shop for last-minute Christmas goodies, and also coffee and the nice tea that I like as we are unlikely to be back  here before next May. 

After a cup of the aforementioned tea, we drove up to the new aire at Sangatte, near the cemetery there, and rather stupidly settled down for the evening - had we thought, we could have driven round Calais and seen their Christmas lights, which are always spectacular.  But we didn't, and spent the evening reading and playing games or listening to music on our various devices. 

Christmas Markets trip, 15 December

Today is the Swan Whisperer's 69th birthday, and it was pouring with rain for a lot of it.  He went for a run when he got up, and while he was doing that, I got his presents out from their hiding place and later got breakfast while he was showering and dressing. 

I was quite tired today after two fairly strenuous days in Strasbourg and Kehl, and the weather was not conducive to doing much.  The Swan Whisperer went for a walk before lunch, and then we went to use the services, forgetting that we were still attached to the electricity!  Oops!  Fortunately no harm done except it reset the circuit breaker in the aire, but we suspect that can be easily fixed.  The head came off our cable, but the SW was able to get it back on and it is working, so that's all right. 

After lunch, we set off and drove to this place not too far from Laon where we are spending the night.  It is a farm, and I expect they will want to sell us some of their produce in the morning, but that's okay!  It's a France Passion place, and they seem very nice and welcoming. 

We have just had a nice cup of tea, and it will be sausages and mash for supper as we didn't have them yesterday. 

Christmas Markets trip, 14 December

We really got up at a reasonable hour this morning and caught the bus into town to wander up the main shopping drag, calling at DM, Muller and Woolworth's on the way. Then we went into what's called the City Centre shopping mall to go to Edeka and a German grocery shop, including, but not limited to, red cabbage for our Christmas dinner (which will be magret de canard), coloured hard-boiled eggs, sausages for tomorrow night, and a pineapple!

We had had trouble finding the mall, and when we came out we headed towards what we thought would be a tram stop, but then found we were at the Town Hall already! And there was our bus - they are only one an hour on Saturdays - about to go, so we had to run for it. I was delighted to find I recovered very quickly!

Once back at the van, we had coffee and then got ready to head on. We had already decided to get diesel in Germany, as it is a good 20 cents a litre cheaper than in France, and were very amused to find that this is obviously what the French do on Saturdays, as there were huge queues (and at the Esso garage on the other side of the road).

However, we got our diesel at long last and headed on back to Toul for the night. Google have is a lot more restaurant options once we were here, and the one we have chosen is all of 5 minutes away from the aire! 

The Swan Whisperer is eating tartiflette with local sausage, and I have ham hock! Both very delicious! 

Christmas Markets trip, 13 December

It was a horrible morning, cold, wet and dreary  Even the Swan Whisperer didn't want t go for a run!  So we didn't hurry and it was late morning before we set off for Strasbourg and the Christmas markets.  

The bus arrived on time and met the tram at the Rathaus, as scheduled, and it was a quick and easy run into Strasbourg and the stop for the Christmas markets. 

I bought various presents for various people and we had lunch in our favourite restaurant in the place Broglié.  

The drink is a "bière de Noël", which was lovely, with a very faint hint of gluehwein spices.  The Swan Whisperer had more red wine than was really wise, but he enjoyed it, too.

We then walked round the rest of the markets, and when we got tired, we went back to the Cathedral and sat down for half an hour, until we were rather chilled, at which point we went to see their huge Nativity display, which was wonderful.  

More photos will be posted on Facebook. By then, we were ready for a drink, so we bought some mulled orange juice which was delicious, and then headed back to the motor home.  

Stupidly, we let the first bus go off without us - we were both sure it had said K5 on the front, not K3 - so instead of standing for 30 minutes in the cold, we took the tram back to the station and walked down the main shopping drag (doing this properly tomorrow when I won't have to rush), and got back to the bus station just in time!  Now back in the motor home and it will be lentil curry for supper as it is quick and easy!

Christmas Markets trip, 12 December

Today has been all driving; we were able to empty our grey water tank at our overnight stop, but the water was locked out of use.  I'm sure they would have opened it for us had we asked, but they were both out when we left. 

We stopped in Chalons-en-Champagne for diesel, and tried to stop at another services for lunch and motorhome services, but couldn't find the place.  And the next stop, we couldn't see the entrance to the car park, and where we did park turned out to be lorries only and a rather officious person tried to move us on.  We ate rather fast!

We finally found services at Toul, near Nancy - the Swan Whisperer had been harping on about them all day, so I kept referring to "Your tool", which made us laugh.

And then I went to sleep, and when I woke up we were on the outskirts of Strasbourg, in the rush hour.  Oh well.  We are now in Kehl, and are hoping that the trams are running to Strasbourg tomorrow (there are strikes in France and I am not sure what the state of play is) as we want to visit the Christmas markets. 

The wine went really well with the choucroute we have just eaten!

Christmas Markets trip, 11 December 2019

It is December and thus time for what has become our annual trip to the Christmas markets, and, because we enjoyed it so much last year, we have decided to go to Strasbourg again. 

We couldn't set off before 10:30 last night, as the Swan Whisperer had a meeting, so we booked on the 01:26 crossing, as we have done in the past.  The M20 was closed not once but twice, and we had to divert via lesser roads.  Fortunately the diversions were all well-signposted, so we didn't get lost, nor even badly delayed, and we were brought back to the motorway on the second one using the new junction they have been building at Ashford.  

We didn't have long to wait for our crossing, and it was uneventful, but when we got to the Cité de l'Europe, we found that they have stopped overnight parking there.  A quick check on Campercontact showed that increasingly during November people were being plagued by would-be migrants trying to hide in their motorhome, and then from 30 November the comments all warned that overnight parking had been stopped.  I suppose it is for the best, but at 03:00, not what you want to find out!

We had seen another motorhome parked up in Lidl's car park (but how long before they put a stop to that?) so went and joined them for what was left of the night. 

By the time we were up and dressed it was 10:30 past, so we didn't have a proper breakfast, just a croissant (from Lidl) and coffee, and then we drove back up to the car park so I could do a shop in Carrefour.  I do love French supermarkets at Christmas, they are full of foie gras and smoked salmon, and wonderful collections of dried fruits in hampers and so on.  However, that sort of shopping can wait until we are on the homeward track, so I just bought a few groceries, and wanted a slightly bigger small handbag (I have a perfectly good large bag but it gets heavy !  Anyway, I found one I liked (the shop had some lovely Desigual ones, but I didn't like the clasp, which felt awkward to use) and bought it. 

And then we set off for a long, long drive across northern France.  Chaméry, where we have stayed several times before, is about half way, but since we have been there so often, and since the availability of services is always  a bit of an issue in the winter, I did a bit of research and found this rather lovely place which is a champagne growers with a dedicated, all-year-round aire.  The owners are out at the moment, but I expect they will offer us a tasting if and when they come in.  And there are services. Tomorrow we head to Strasbourg and Kehl for two nights.  

October holiday, 1 November

Cité de l'Europe

Today, being All Saints' Day, is a public holiday through much of Europe. So, in true Bank Holiday spirit, it rained all day!

We drove to the Strépy-Thieux boat lift, but sadly I was too asleep to really be aware of it. Then we stopped for lunch at a services - just a sandwich, but very nice.

Then we were stopped by French Customs - I don't know whether they were unaware that Brexit hadn't happened, or what - but they  kept asking where we had been, and why, and what we did for a living, and what was the retirement age in the UK, etc, while one of them with his dirty great feet peered all round the motor home and looked into all our cupboards and so on. Not nice, and I feel violated. This van is as much my home as my flat is, and I don't want customs officials all over the flat, either!

Haven't taken any photos today, so here is one from a happier border crossing! 

October holiday, 31 October

Blégny-Mine, Belgium.

If you count Vatican City and San Marino as separate countries, which we most definitely do, this is the 7th new country this holiday!

The day started with the Swan Whisperer going for a run. It was a bitterly cold morning, and we were glad I had a pair of knitted gloves with me that he could borrow. After breakfast I went for a walk down to the Rhine,

rather glad I'd tucked a woolly hat into my bag. How many holidays do you need both a sunhat and a woolly hat?

It was a simply glorious morning for a walk, though. I was interested to read the plaques about Lord Byron - apparently the romantic poetry he wrote after visiting the area made Rhine tourism a thing and they pulled down the city walls and built hotels instead!

Sadly the local folk museum was only open in the afternoons, or I'd have visited it.

I wanted to do a Last Shop in Germany, as tomorrow is All Saints Day so the shops will be shut everywhere. Its just possible the Carrefour at Cité Europe will be open, but I'm not relying on it.

So we drove down to Niederdollendorf, the next commune along, and I went to Kik (knitting cotton), ReWe (groceries) and DM (drugstore) in that order.

By then it was lunch time, so we crossed the Rhine on the nearest ferry and then stopped for lunch before driving to Blégny for the penultimate night of the holiday. 

October holiday, 30 October

Königswinter, Germany.

A long drive today; too long, really, as we won't have so far to go tomorrow, but Germany, even from the motorways, is so lovely at this time of year. The autumn colours are spectacular, but I keep never managing to take photos of them, so today's only photo is from my bed.

We've been to this site in Königswinter a couple of times before, but this time, to our surprise, it is full of British cars and caravans!  Don't know who whey are or what they are doing here, but it is rare to see other British tourists in Germany!

It is bitterly cold - only last week it was blissful in Southern Italy, and now there is a frost! 

October holiday, 29 October

Ochsenfurt, Germany

The Swan Whisperer went for a run this morning, and then after breakfast we both went for a walk round Ingoldstadt,

calling in at a DM and an Edeka, and then on our way back there was a wool shop so I sent the SW back to the van to get his coffee while I investigated. There was nothing I wanted in the actual wool shop, except possibly some cotton, but I found some acrylic in the colours I wanted in the shop next door. So a win.  The SW said these flowers, in the main square, looked more like cabbages than flowers! I have to agree! 

After coffee and the services, we headed off towards Würzburg, this aire being on the Main a few kilometres short of it. Smooth journey, except we almost didn't find somewhere to stop for lunch and had to come off the road into some random village! Don't know where, but it was near Emskirchen.