Late Spring Holiday, 5 June

Up at 06:45 this morning - well, not really up, but awake enough to put the hot water on and make tea - and we were away by 08:15.  First stop was the petrol station where we could empty the grey water, although I think we did make a little more during the homeward journey.  Then straight to the check-in, where they offered us a place on the 09:20 crossing - 08:20, UK time, which we must get used to again.

This was great, as it meant we could drive the van straight to Sussex, arriving there about 11:15, just in nice time for coffee. We had lunch with my mother and sister, and then my mother went to her WI  meeting and we finished unloading the van and packing the car, and then the SW did all the bits for the van that wanted doing, like emptying the loo, sweeping it out, double-checking everything and packing it away until next time.  We left for London at about 14:45, the car feeling very strange after so long in the van, and got home about 16:30; we have unpacked, put things away and started the first of many, many loads of washing!  I have gone through my blog and added photos, where I had some nice ones, and corrected such typos as I noticed - if you see any particularly egregious ones, let me know!

Late Spring Holiday, 4 June

I didn't feel great when I got up this morning - nothing serious, just headachey, and feeling as though I hadn't slept, which was not at all true. So I was thankful that the morning required nothing more of me than to sit quietly in my seat and sleep while the SW drove! I woke up when we reached Gent and felt a lot better.

After lunch we drove on to Calais, and parked up in the Cité Europe while we had a cup of tea and then drove over to the Auchan garage to get diesel and gas. Then we drove through Calais and waved at the Bourgeois, and then back to the aire.

I then went into Carrefour to do some last-minute shopping, and was rather startled when I came out to find that it had got dark and all the car park lights were on. As I was not expecting the sun to set before 10:00 pm, I wondered how on earth long is been in there! 

The darkness, needles to say, was the prelude to a huge storm, which lasted a good hour, but eventually cleared off and the sun has reappeared. I was glad if got back to the van before the storm started in earnest - one poor man wasn't so lucky and was soaked to the skin before he got his shopping put away! I have just seen him walking past in a quite different pair of shorts! I am really watching the wind turbines, not the people, but...

Late Spring Holiday, 3 June

I wanted to do a Last Shop in Germany this morning, so after breakfast I headed up into the Old Town to find an ATM, and then up outside the walls to the supermarket, which was a Tegut. There was also a Kik, and I'd thought I'd go in there if I couldn't get ice packs in the supermarket, but as it turned out, they had exactly what I wanted.

So I took my time over the shopping, as the SW was coming to get beer from the off-licence across the car park, and to return dead bottles. By the time I'd got back to the van, he had programmed the Sat-nav for the day's drive.

Well, neither of us has any real idea where we went; basically it was south of Kassel and east  of Dortmund, but full of places we'd never heard of. And it was lovely, despite a massive thunderstorm! Next holiday we will head straight for the area and explore it properly - there were hills and rivers, pretty little towns, most with a factory, mine or quarry to account for their existence, lakes, woods, all sorts. Really lovely and just waiting to be explored.

Why don't the British go to Germany more? In the camp site outside Brno we were the majority, and there were loads in Prague, too, but I don't think we've seen another British vehicle, never mind motor home, since we left Czechia! And it has been the same on most of our recent holidays here. Yet it really is the most beautiful country, with loads of varied scenery. I love the South of France, especially the Pyrenees and points west, and I love the Alps no matter which country I'm in, but Germany just has so much to explore.

However, it will have to wait for another time, as we must head home. We eventually hit the motorway and now we are in a camp site in the south of Holland which seems to be about half way between Fritzlar and Cité Europe, and which I chose primarily because it is on the edge of a nature reserve and I thought it would be nice for the SW to have his run there in the morning. He has gone out to explore. It's not nearly so hot this evening; the earlier storm seems to have cooled everywhere down.

Late Spring Holiday, 2 June

It being Sunday, we wondered about going to the English church in Leipzig but, alas, the church was in the Umweltzone and we do not have, nor should we, a green sticker. We could have undoubtedly gone there on public transport, but that would have taken time and we had a long drive today, so we sadly  abandoned the idea and set off shortly after 10:00 am.

It was all motorway, very dull, but we listened to From our Own Correspondent and The News Quiz and random music, stopping once for coffee and then again for lunch. We arrived in Fritzlar about 3, only to discover that our favourite aire only had emptying facilities, no refilling, and although we could have got water this morning, we didn't. So we went to the other aire, seeing far more of the town than we had done before, and got water. The other aire  was very nice, but we do rather love this one by the city walls, so came back to it and then had a drink before flaking out for a couple of hours.

I decided it made more sense to get supper up and running before we went out for a walk, so I did that and then we went out for our walk round the old town, and then back to the van where we had supper sitting outside - it has been very, very hot - and are now sitting and relaxing which I suppose we shall do until dark. We have finished the wine, which was probably unwise of us, but I hope it means we shall sleep well.

Late Spring Holiday, 1 June

Having exhausted myself in Prague on Thursday, and further depleted my resources in Terezin yesterday, today has, of necessity, been a rest day.

We were delighted to discover there was a parkrun less than a mile from where we spent the night, but, alas, a prolonged search did not turn up the Swan Whisperer's barcode, and he is 99% certain it's in his skate bag, in the middle of our living-room floor. We didn't think he ought to use mine, so no parkrun today.  The SW compensated by going for a walk to visit the Old Town and the Frauenkirche instead, before we headed off. 

First stop was a supermarket where I did a massive shop - we were out of almost everything except milk, eggs and fruit juice, which I had bought in Prague. I could have cobbled together a delicious meal with lentils, but had no fresh fruit or veg. And tomorrow is Sunday and German supermarkets will not be open, although we can probably get bread for lunch.

Anyway, we drove up the B6 - and very much up the Elbe - to Meißen, where we stopped on the banks of the river for lunch,

and then drove on to Leipzig, where I thought we were going to a car park but turns out to be, like Prague, an aire in someone's back yard and very nice, too. The SW has gone to explore and will be back soon. And tomorrow we seriously start home.

Late Spring Holiday, 31 May

I was overtired last night and didn't sleep too well, which was annoying as I knew we would have to do quite a lot of walking today. However, paracetamol settled the worst of my aches and pains, and I did sleep in the motor home!

After using the services, we headed off towards Terezin, where the infamous ghetto was situated. Most of the town seems to be a museum, and you'd have needed a great deal more energy than I had available to see it all, so we walked into the town and decided to visit the ghetto museum, detailing the history of, and life in, the ghetto, and how towards the end of the war it was used as a transit camp to the extermination camps and so on. I wish I could think that nothing so ghastly could ever happen again, but....

When we had finished in the museum it was lunch time and we had a traditional Czech meal of pork and dumplings, mine in a bed of cabbage with caraway seeds which was lush. The dumplings were interesting - they looked and tasted like ordinary slices of white bread, and a quick Google confirmed that this is more or less what they are, only boiled rather than baked. I must try this at home.

After lunch, and an ice cream from a stall in the car park, we headed on and stopped somewhere for the Swan Whisperer to go somewhere and do something that I expect he did tell me but I was asleep. I do know it involved a ferry across the Elbe, and there was a very busy train line where we were parked, but he has taken some pictures which I hope he will post.

When he came back we had a cup of tea and then drove on to Dresden, where we grabbed almost the last space in the aire! The SW is getting supper.

Late Spring Holiday, 30 May

So, Prague. We set off around 10:00 and caught the tram to the Old Town. It was a lovely day, bright blue skies, such a contrast to recent ones.

We walked across the Karlovy Most, or Charles Bridge, full of statues and tourists, and on the other side found where we could catch a tram up to the Castle. It was quite funny as the tram was, of course, packed full of tourists and every time we came to a stop someone  would think we had arrived and people would pile out, only to pile back in again when a local said it wasn't. However, we finally did arrive at the correct stop and the tram promptly emptied.

They have had to introduce security at the various entrances to the Castle grounds, so we duly queued up to have our bags searched and to walk through a metal detector, as at an airport. Then we were free to explore.

First, we explored the Gardens, which were very beautiful,

and led down to the Summer Palace where there was an exhibition of photographs documenting the events  of 1989 in the various countries affected, which was amazing and really interesting.

Then we walked down past the Cathedral and the various other buildings in the complex and down and down and down until we came out at the bottom.

Citymapper doesn't work here, alas, but it wasn't difficult to find a tram to take us back across the river from where we walked up to Old Town Square, which we looked round briefly. Last time we were here, it had been full of stalls selling pashminas - this was before the days when cheap viscose ones were ubiquitous - pretty glass bottles, and bread necklaces. I remembered that the SW had bought me such a pretty blue glass necklace that I wore and wore until it broke.

No stalls there now, though; just a throng of tourists. We made our way to the Mozart Café, where we met our friend J and her husband and had lunch and watched the Astronomical Clock chime, with its procession of apostles. 

After that, we said goodbye to our friends and headed a few streets on to meet another friend for coffee and cake - delicious cake, but I rather wished I'd had an ice cream instead as it gave me indigestion. But worth it! 

And then, exhausted, back to the camp site to collapse. We didn't want more than a token supper!