Beer and Castles Tour, The End

And so we awoke, once again, in the car park at the Cité Europe.  As soon as we'd had breakfast, I rushed into Carrefour for some last-minute shopping, and while I was there went to get a second token for the trolley - they turned out to be free!  Imagine that, Tesco's!  And so while I was there I asked about the loyalty card you need to use the Scan 'n' Shop facility there, and the extremely nice woman set me up for it then and there, so I was able to use it for my shopping!  Of course, it was checked (mine always is, largely because our local Tesco doesn't have the facility so I don't use it very often).

Anyway, once that was done, we finished packing up and went to the check-in at the terminal, rather hoping for an earlier crossing, but we have never seen so many motor homes waiting to cross, so no chance of that.  There were 4 crossings that hour, though, so we didn't have to wait - they said our crossing had been "rescheduled" by 15 minutes, but in fact it did actually set off on time.

And then a long, slow drive up the M20 and across London, until we finally got home.  And then the endless hard work in unpacking the van and putting things away, but it got done at last.  And look - after five years, we nearly have a garden again:

Beer and Castles Route, 31 May

We have been in four countries today. We started off in Germany, where they were having yet another public holiday, but we found a petrol station with attached bakery to get both diesel and rolls for lunch. Then we set off on the long, long trail back to Calais, across Holland and Belgium, with endless road works and delays. We ended up in Ostende, where we stopped for a cup of tea and to stretch our legs, and then asked the Sat-nav to take us the rest of the way not on the motorway. It was a delightful drive alongside one of the many canals, and then through Dunkerque, a town where we've been many times before but we couldn't recognise anywhere, for some reason. Neither of us could, it wasn't just me being feeble.

Then we stopped at the big Auchan outside Dunkerque where we ate supper in. Flunch (not too gruesome!) and did a bit of shopping before heading back to the motorway for the final, quick and easy, run to Calais.

Beer and Castles Route, 30 May

Today was All About Wuppertal. And there is one thing which defines Wuppertal and that is the Schwebebahn, or suspended railway, which runs about 25 km through the town and serves the function of a metro or tram.

Citymapper works here, which is always a plus,and we discovered we could buy a day ticket that covered all the public transport in the area for €10.30 for both of us. They were available from the bus driver, too, so we didn't have the boring thing of having to pay for a single ticket to the station!

We found the right bus stop which was not far from the aire, and the bus came in about 5 minutes. It dropped us off at the Oberbarmen station which is one end of the line.

 

It really is an amazing feat of engineering, but what we didn't expect was that the cars would sway about - most disconcerting, and slightly sick-making. On subsequent rides we learnt that sitting as near the front of the train as possible minimised this.

We went to the far end of the line and, after stretching our legs round Woolworths and DM, came back to what we thought was the main town hall but it wasn't, so we got a bus to the central station and then the Schwebebahn again to the station called Alter Markt, where there was a brewery and a town hall, and a cafe where I used the loo and we ordered lunch, which was a big mistake as it took over an hour to arrive and was nothing special when it did. How long does it take to put salad and chicken on a flatbread?

Anyway, it came at last, and we decided to get a bus back to the aire that went a different way and that stopped just outside it. This was very pleasant, but we felt we had done Wuppertal by then, so after a cup of tea and using the services we headed on. First port of call was a supermarket as tomorrow is yet another bank holiday in this part of Germany (how many holidays in one month do you need?), so we had to get the last German things plus milk and yoghurt and so on. And then a rather slow drive to Düren and the aire we have stayed at twice before. We are definitely homeward bound.

Beer and Castles Route, 29 May

Today started off hot, and I decided to walk to the bakery to get rolls for lunch, and after using the services, we set sail for Wuppertal. The SW wanted to go across country through one or two marked scenic routes although, as he said, everywhere is scenic at this time of year. So we put various way points into the Sat-nav and eventually ended up at Stockum, on the Möhnesee, for lunch. There was a kiosk so we went to buy sausages, only to find that this was all they were, just on a plate by themselves, so we were glad of our rolls!

It was a long drive in the afternoon, too, and by the time we arrived at the camp site it was pouring with rain, so we haven't been out. Tomorrow will probably be nice, though.

Beer and Castles Route, 28 May

It was going to be a hot morning, so when the Swan Whisperer went for his run, I walked up to the Netto supermarket to do the day's shopping before breakfast. Of course he got back before I did and didn't have a key, so texted to find out where I was and then arrived to demand to borrow my key just as I was trying to pack and pay. So I made him walk back with me to cool down.

We had breakfast outside, and then headed on, only to find that the car wash place where you were supposed to pay and there were services had closed down, so we got our night for free.

We made a wrong turning, not believing the Sat-nav when it said that this very minor road was the B85, but we backtracked when we realised we were wrong and followed it around some serious hairpin bends until it ended at a town called Berka. And so we have travelled most of it (barring the odd detour) all the way from Passau!

So now along the A38 to Göttingen. We had originally planned to go to Fritzlar, but changed our minds. We are parked in an aire in the car park of a spa complex, with services, etc. The SW went in to see the town but said it wasn't very pretty.

It is very hot, and I think it will storm soon. We ate supper outside, but I don't think we'll leave the chairs and picnic table out tonight, nor have the skylights open!

Beer and Castles Route, 27 May

It was a hot, hot morning. We had vaguely thought of going swimming, but I wasn't feeling  quite 100% so we didn't. The Swan Whisperer did go for a walk round the town, mainly to get rolls for lunch, but once that had happened we set off.

The German summer seems to be very like the British one - three fine days and then a thunderstorm, and the thunderstorm caught up with us when we stopped for lunch at Bad Blankenburg so I really didn't want to go and look at the castle. So we drove on, out of the rain, via the Goethebrunnen at Bad Berka (which we couldn't see as there was nowhere to park), and then via the outskirts of Weimar, dominated by the Buchenwald memorial, to her at Bad Frankenhausen, the end of the route. We still have the inside of a week left, though, and a couple of adventures planned, so watch this space....

Beer and Castles Route, 26 May

Today's drive was mostly through deep valleys with hills covered with pine trees. Our day started with a trip to the supermarket, and then we headed towards B85 again. Our first port of call was a Border museum at Heinersdorf, but, sadly it was closed - I think you need to ring up and book in advance to see it. However, we saw a fraction of the old wall, and the notice that explains that this was where Germany, and Europe, were divided until 1989.

It wasn't quite lunch time, so we drove on for another 20 minutes or so, rejoining the B85 at Pressig, and stopping at a random lay-by for lunch. It has been a hot day and we were glad of the picnic tables provided.

After lunch, our first port of call was Ludwigsstadt, where there is a rather spectacular railway bridge, but its wasn't very easy to see. However, it turned out that back in the day, Ludwigsstadt had been the last (or first) railway station in West Germany. And, indeed, before that, on the border between Bavaria and Thuringia. The next town along, Probstzella, had been the first in East Germany and the old station building is now used as a museum of that time.

Fortunately for us it was open on Saturday and Sunday afternoons (the first time I have ever seen Sonnabend used instead of Samstag for Saturday), and although the man on the desk had such a strong regional accent we couldn't understand a word he said, we got in all right and spent a very happy hour seeing all the hoops people had had to jump through to visit their relatives, even from West to East.

When we finished there, we drove up to a village called Leutenberg where there was a castle that is now a hospital. The SW went to see it, but I was too sleepy.

And so we went on to Saalfeld, passing another couple of castles on the way, and are parked up here for the night. A free car park, but no services here; however, as we used them this morning, we don't need them today, and I believe there are some at the local garage in an emergency.