Oh dear. It rained. And it rained. And it rained. Not always, but sometimes, so heavily that you could barely see the lorry in front of you. And there were contra-flows, and more contra-flows. I swear that in Central Europe, more of the motorway is contraflow than isn't - or if that's not the case, it certainly feels like it! At one stage, the inside lane was full of virtually stationary lorries, which we were able to pass in the middle or outside lane at a reasonable speed, but this must have gone on for 20 kilometres or more. I felt sorry for the lorry drivers - and all the rest areas were so full no more lorries could get in there.
However, we made steady, if slow progress, and lunchtime found us at Sindsheim, home of one of the twin museums at Sindsheim and Speyer.
We went to Speyer last year, but haven't been to Sindsheim since about 2011. There is a lot more museum there now, and it is a lot more expensive! We spent a very happy 90 minutes or so wandering round - separately, as we are not good at visiting museums together. The Swan Whisperer did go up on the roof to look at the Concorde and Tupolev planes, but I stayed firmly at ground level enjoying exhibitions about the Nurburgring and the Tour de France, as well as lots of different cars and trains and steamrollers and so on. But it was very wet outside. I'm glad I brought my more waterproof trainers - I just wish I'd worn them! As it was, I had to take my shoes off as soon as we were back in the WoMo, and have been wearing my slippers ever since.
We went to Speyer last year, but haven't been to Sindsheim since about 2011. There is a lot more museum there now, and it is a lot more expensive! We spent a very happy 90 minutes or so wandering round - separately, as we are not good at visiting museums together. The Swan Whisperer did go up on the roof to look at the Concorde and Tupolev planes, but I stayed firmly at ground level enjoying exhibitions about the Nurburgring and the Tour de France, as well as lots of different cars and trains and steamrollers and so on. But it was very wet outside. I'm glad I brought my more waterproof trainers - I just wish I'd worn them! As it was, I had to take my shoes off as soon as we were back in the WoMo, and have been wearing my slippers ever since. Then we drove on and on, in the pouring rain, heavy traffic, at least one long tailback. But when we crossed the Rhine, the rain disappeared and so did most of the traffic, and the drive from then on wasn't too bad. Only, when we got to where we had planned to spend the night, there it wasn't! It was full of builders and their equipment, so maybe they are making it nicer. Then again, maybe they aren't!
The only alternative seemed to be an aire that only got one or at most two stars from reviewers, but honestly, there is very little wrong with it. The services appear to be out of use, but we weren't expecting services anyway, and being able to park for free is always nice. But we were both exhausted when we finally parked up!
