URK – HOORN - 54 miles

Fri 13^th – Mon 16^th

Only a short trip today, the last main one of the journey, next time it will be back to the port and the ferry. However, it was not one of the easiest, firstly got detoured by roadworks, got it wrong and ended up in a building site trying to find our way out again. Then just as we were coming in to Hoorn we came to a bridge that was closed for painting would you believe. So once more did an about turn, Silly Emily had another one of her re-calculating moments telling us to go the way we couldn’t. Then we fell over a Lidl so parked up and went in to get 2 boxes of wine to take home (9.99 euros here £14.99 at home!!) We reverted to google maps on my phone and did a complete circuit around the town and arrived at the Jachthaven from a totally different direction. What a performance! After lunch and a snooze we went for a walk around part of the marina and had a look in a museum of old boats, a lot of which were in the process of being restored. Then back for a cuppa, a read, and watch the new arrivals.

Sat….

It was another lovely nice day so we opted to take the hop-on hop-off city tour. It was a sort of super-sized golf buggy, all electric with a lovely lady who spoke marvellous English. We had it all to ourselves for 1 hr 20mins whilst she pointed out all the sights and told us the history of Hoorn, as well as little nuggets of information. We had assumed all the older houses that were leaning over were basically falling down, but no, they were built like that because people had to pay taxes on the ground size so it was better to lean outwards and have more space upstairs. Later we had a mooch around the main square and had a pancake lunch, then we walked the length of an extremely long market, stalls selling everything you could think of. Back to Juliette in time for a cuppa and then sit in the sun until dinner time.

Sadly this is now more or less the end of our journey.  Tomorrow Lorna and Mike should arrive and we will have plenty to chat about. Then it is off to the Hook of Holland and the ferry on Tuesday.

We hope you have enjoyed reading about our travels, about 1200 miles in total. Bye until the next trip.

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ERICA – URK 80 miles

Tues 10^th – Thu 12^th

Rained overnight and was still raining when we got up. Packed up and left around 9.45 and drove 2 hours in the rain to Urk. We found a spot at the harbour, on the edge of the main car park, with power points as well as shower and toilet, for 15 euros pn. After we had some lunch and a snooze the sun came out so we went to explore a bit of the town to find a supermarket and see what restaurants were around. There appear to be a couple of nice ones at the harbour itself.

Wed…

A day of sun and cloud but dry at least. After a leisurely breakfast we headed off in to the old part of the town. What an interesting place Urk is, it once was an island and it’s industry was fishing. Then about 100 years ago a decision was made to build a dyke and drain the land so the fisherman were told they would have to become farmers. They weren’t having any of that, just built bigger boats so that they could go further out in to the North Sea to fish. Nowadays the fish-packing and smoking factories are flourishing even with salmon brought down from Norway by road. All the small fisherman’s cottages are still in use, brightly painted in different colours, up and down small alleys and cobbled lanes. We spent about 2 hours in the museum in the old town hall, very well laid out and informative, and even were given a cup of tea whilst watching a film! Onward to the end of the “island” to the lighthouse, now someone’s home. We stopped for a fish and chip lunch, the first we have had since being away, then meandered back along the harbour watching yachts and smaller boats coming in and out of the harbour. We sat for ages on a bench, it was better than any television programme. The harbour master is kept really busy back and forth all the time seeing to the boats, as well as coming round to us motorhomes to collect our money. When we got back to the van, there was quite a crowd gathered nearby and a bit of a commotion going on so seeing as we are nosey so-and-sos we went to have a look. One of the fishing boats that had been in the dockyard for the last 6 weeks for a refit was getting ready to set off again. Folk were shouting and waving and hooters were blasting, it was amazing. Later in the evening we went for a stroll around our end of the harbour and watched the sun go down.

Thurs….

Another beautiful morning so I commandeered the washing machine first of all and got up to date with all our tops and undies. At least now we have enough clean clothes to last us through the Debenham festival and until we get home. After lunch we did a bit more exploring of the old town’s lanes and alleys, admiring the gorgeous small cottages all the time. Dutch ladies are so clever at window decorations, everywhere there are pots, plants, decorative lace panels, coloured stones, things done with shells and flotsam (or is it jetsam?). The cottages had tiny front gardens, but all had chairs, tables, benches with cushions where they sit outside with drinks and speak to all the tourists who go past. We even found an ice-cream parlour so had to try one, it was huge so started melting before we could finish it…what a mess!

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WILDESHAUSEN – ERICA 94 miles

Sun 8^th – Mon 9^th

We had a very hot and sunny drive across country on national roads rather than motorways, with 2 detours, one due to a road closure and one due to Silly Emily taking us to the wrong place. We ended up in a golf course car park, with all these golfing folk looking on in amazement as we tried to turn ourselves around and quickly leave! We finally arrived at Camperplaats Acther op Erica around 1.00, settled ourselves on a spot and got the chairs out to sit in the sun. A very quiet pleasant little site with no facilities, nowhere around much to go and just a couple of other Dutch vans there.

Mon…did not do very much except tidy up and change bedding, then sat and read or went for a stroll to see how far it was there and back again.

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BUCHOLZ in der NORDHEIDE to WILDESHAUSEN – 82 miles

Fri 6^th – Sat 7th

It was a grey drizzly drive around Bremen at snail’s pace through all the roadworks and we arrived at the wohnmobilplatz in Wildeshausen by about 12.30. Luckily the sun came out soon after and it became quite warm again. We went for an explore later in the afternoon to get our bearings, next to a swimming pool and amusement park, with walks through the woods to the town. Sitting outside Juliette when we got back was better than tv any day, watching all the different types of motorhomes arriving and getting settled. We have 2 Norwegian couples alongside us and a big yellow old army truck type thing plastered with stickers opposite us. They needed a 6 rung ladder to get in and out of it! Quite entertaining.

Sat….Again another nice sunny morning so we headed off on to the town to have a look around. Wildeshausen is a strange mix of very old buildings including a town hall and new modern ones including another town hall. We found a lovely park to sit in and contemplate life for a while, then had a nose in the church which was being readied for a wedding in the afternoon. Lovely flower decorations on all the pews as well as round the altar and pulpit. We would have liked to see the actual wedding but thought it better not to gate-crash, so carried on up the pedestrianised area window shopping. We chilled out for the rest of the afternoon then went to a Greek restaurant just up the road for dinner, excellent food for 31 euros. When we got back to Juliette, all the spaces had been filled, Dutch, Belgian, Swedish and just us Brits. A Dutch lady came to talk to us, she used to live in Bexleyheath when her father worked at the Dutch embassy in London. Sadly they had had to cut their trip short in Norway as her brother had died whilst on holiday in Spain, so they were racing homewards.

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PARCHIM – BUCHHOLZ in der NORDHEIDE - 107 miles

Tues 3^rd – Thur 5^th

It was very hot already when we left around 10.00am, so it was drive along with all windows open. Typical M25 type drive around Hamburg at snail’s pace in amongst all the lorries, not pleasant. As it was so hot and we are not really city folk we had decided to give Hamburg a miss especially as the only place we could stop outside the environmental zone would be a 45 minute bus ride in to the city. We opted to go back to the campsite at Bucholz in der Nordheide a bit further on where we had stayed on the outbound journey. It is a lovely site set in amongst pine trees by a lake and with all facilities including a washing machine! They were closed for lunch when we arrived so we had to wait outside until 2.30, then drove in and settled Juliette in the shade underneath a pine tree – now she is happy for a while. We parked our chairs and a cold drink underneath another pine tree and did not move for a couple of hours. Eventually we gathered ourselves sufficiently to cook some dinner and eat outside, then showers and fairly early to bed. It had reached 29’C today!!

Weds…at least we were cool when we got up, but it was certainly going to be another hot one. I put one load of washing in the machine (1.50) and did a few other bits of hand-washing, should all dry outside OK.  There is a small supermarket about a 10 minute walk up the road so we wandered along with our cold bag to get some meat that I can cook and freeze ready for a few more meals. We also came across a strawberry stall, so guess what we are having tonight for afters! Again up to 29'C

Thurs… As it was still warm and sunny, I once more commandeered the washing machine early and managed to get bedding and towels etc. all done, so we are up to date once more. We draped everything over the chairs out in the sun and then set off for a 10 minute walk to the bus stop.  It was a 15 minute ride in to the town of Buchholz in der Nordheide itself, a more modern place with lots of new apartment buildings going up. We browsed the little shops around the paved area and then went in to a shopping mall, one of the few we have seen. Lunch was a sandwich and cold drink in a nice café. Then it was back towards the bus stop, calling in to Deichmann (Woolworth) on the way to pick up some cushions for our outside chairs. We got back to Juliette around 3.00pm, now with neighbours all around us. Campsites here are unlike ours at home, no marked out spaces, no 3 metre rule, people just pitch up willy-nilly any which way with metres of cables running all over the place to a hook-up point. There are tents, caravans, motorhomes and residential mobile homes all mixed in together. Last night we had a couple next to us who arrived just with a box trailer on the back of their car. They hung a curtain at the back and crawled inside to sleep! 

NEUBRANDENBURG to PARCHIM - 78 miles

Sun 1^st – Mon 2^nd July  

  

We had to wait until 10.00am for the harbourmaster’s mother to come along and open up in order to get our 50euro deposit back. She used to be a teacher of Russian and German and wanted to practise her English so I had a bit of trouble getting away. The drive took us about 2 hours across country roads again, but luckily quite quiet as it was Sunday, a very pretty landscape of fields and woods mainly.  All the villages we went through were deserted. We found the wohnmobilplatz near the canal/river in Parchim fairly easily and got ourselves parked up on what is basically a car park with space for 12 motorhomes along one side with power points @ .50c per kwh. Another 50c gets you in to the toilet/shower, another 50c gives you a shower and another 50c gives you 50litres of water to fill up the motorhome. Still the basic price was only 6 euros so we can’t complain. After lunch and a snooze we meandered along the canal a bit looking at the boats moored up, some were literally houses afloat. Some children were swimming in the water but it looked somewhat murky to us, we wouldn’t fancy it. It has been sunny and cloudy all day today, but not so hot, let’s hope it stays like this.

Mon…

Once again it dawned sunny and hot, we have been so lucky with the weather on this trip. We went for a meander around the rather pretty town of Parchim, with it’s old and new buildings mingled together, but we found many of the shops were closed and boarded up. A coffee and cake beckoned around elevenses time when we came across a lovely little café  around the old market square. We bought a couple of useful kitchen gadgets in a kind of euro shop and then some foodie bits in Netto. Back at the van it was sweltering, so after lunch we just chilled out for the afternoon. After dinner we went for a walk alongside the river/canal and found quite a few more big boats moored up, all very interesting.

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FREEST to NEUBRANDENBURG - 66 miles

Thurs 28^th – Sat 30^th  

We left Freest on a very hot sunny morning and drove across country on mainly smaller roads, stopping for diesel on the way. We had a young lady fill our tank and wash our windscreen, all part of the service she said! It was a bit of a struggle driving around Neubrandenburg as it is a very pretty town with 4 towers and a ring road right the way around the outside.  Eventually we found the correct way out of town towards the water-sports centre where we had established the stellplatz was. It was a most uninspiring place, through part of an industrial area with a hedge along one side and a tall boat storage building on the other, no view of the lake anywhere. As we were hot and frazzled we decided to stop put. Later in the afternoon we wandered along a bit and came across the lake, slipway and harbour kiosk where we could pay 10 euros for a night plus “50 euros deposit” for a key to access the building for the showers and toilets. According to the lady, “it is a very special key, don’t lose it”.

Fri - Again very hot and sunny. After a couple of days of both having sore throats, Brian has woken up with a cold, sneezing everywhere and going through tissues like no-ones business. We opted to walk in to the town through a lovely park all along the edge of the lake. It was cool and peaceful under the trees, but much further than it appeared on the map. We arrived at the outer ring road to find a load of road-works and no way of crossing over in to the town! We were hot and fed up, so cheered ourselves up with an ice-cream sitting outside a small café/kiosk, then headed back again. About 3 miles in total! We have not been able to get the bikes out, bad shoulders won’t reach up to lift them down and bad knees won’t cycle, so they have been a silly disastrous idea. In the afternoon we sat outside in the little bit of shade alongside the van and watched the stellplatz steadily fill up. We now have a caravan and 2 tents as well as about 14 motorhomes with barely room to swing a cat.

Sat - A bit cooler and cloudier today, so we walked along the road a bit to find Netto and do a bit of essential shopping, then back to the van for a rest day and hope Brian feels better tomorrow.

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