George and Desnee

Page 5 of 5

Germany, Switzerland, Austria

We found a toy shop in Fussen and Desnée could not resist the donkey in the window!! During the journey back to Pilsensee we witnessed the most beautiful sunset which was mirrored in the lake.

After the castle we took a drive into the town of Fussen (left). Plenty of interesting, historic buildings and cafés to sit in and people watch.

We left them to go to the festival area and headed back on the train. If you are visiting this area of Germany then a ‘must visit’ place is the fairytale castle, Neuschwanstein, near Fussen, south west of Munich. Alexa wanted to visit and so Brian hired a car and we drove down to Fussen. It was around an hour and a half drive but well worth it on yet another beautiful sunny day. Desnée and George had been to the castle several times before but it is always worth a visit, summer or winter.

The following day Brian and Alexa flew off for a few days in Ibiza and we turned south west to our next rendezvous which was with the German Carthago owners club in AULENDORF [12]. Here we were meeting up with 23 other UK Carthagos, many of which had been in Austria and a further 150 German motorhomes. The event was hosted by Carthago at their factory. The large showroom had been cleared and set up with tables and chairs for the 346 guests. The despatch zone had been cleared to accomodate all the Carthagos. We are always made very welcome by the German club and as usual, we had a great time catching up with old friends and making new friends.

The party was over, it was now October and time to start the drive home. On the journey we stopped again at SINSHEIM [13] as it was a convenient stopping place and we knew what to expect. However, it was still a rainy day and when we arrived and so we just stayed in and chilled out after a rather hectic few days!

Next morning we were back on the road and heading northwards. Our destination today was a stellplatz in the small town of URMITZ [14] on the west bank of the Rhein, just north of Koblenz. We were surprised to discover how busy the stellplatz was. There was only one spare space when we arrived esrly afternoon. Later arrivals were disappointed. We have learned that to be sure of getting a place, on the popular locations, that you need to arrive before 3:00pm. The town of Urmitz was not particularly interesting but there was a supermarket within 500m so that was handy! Next to the stellplatz is a tennis club and in the summer season there is a beer garden and restaurant. Unfortunately, it closed at the end of September - so no beer garden this evening! (below) the Rhein as seen from the stellplatz. The far bank appeared to have a sandy beach. The barge traffic was quite busy and you often hearde the low rumble of their marine diesel engines as they trudged their way upstream, against the current. Added to this was the rattle of trains crossing the long girder bridge but overall a peaceful location. Good for a one night stopover. The railway/pedestrian bridge was rebuilt after being blown up by the retreating German army at the end of WWII. The previous bridge had an impressive arch, like Sydney harbour.

(right) On the riverbank was an early sailing barge. Considerably smaller than the huge barges of today. It was named St. Georg after the church in Urmitz.

Next day we travelled into Holland so that we were within easy reach of the Hook of Holland to catch the ferry. Our stopover was a small stellplatz at the harbour mouth of GORINCHEM [15], Netherlands. The approach was through the narrow streets of the old town - very quaint but a bit of a squeeze. The final approach to the harbour was through a park, on a raised road that was not much wider than our vehicle (below). It was a good job nothing was coming from the other direction!!

The stellplatz (above) had just enough space for 10. The views were lovely but you had about a 15 minute walk back into the town. You were on a thin peninsula with the river on one side, with lovely sandy beaches (below left) and the harbour on the other side. We were fascinated to watch the tight manouvres of the barges that came into the harbour to moor up for the night. Very clever boat handling by the skippers even if they do have bow thrusters these days! (below right)

We walked into town and were surprised at the number of shops, cafés and restaurants. The old town is typically Dutch and has a nice feel to it. The town is much larger than it appears when you first arrive. We were surprised when we left the next day to see how far it sprawled. An ideal stop for the ferry next day.

Just a couple of hours drive the next day to the Hook of Holland [16]. We left at 10:00 and arrived in good time for the 14:15 ferry. All very easy and relaxed. Six and a half hours passed quite quickly with a good book and a visit to the on-board cinema. Certainly a recommended crossing route. We were off the ship in Harwich by 8:00pm and a 3 hour drive back home. Overall an excellent trip! Plenty of sunshine, easy driving, good stop overs, met some lovely people. Good food, good beer. Will do it again. 38 days - 2600km (1615 miles)

(left) Cakes for 350 teas! (right) The party hat. The tip wiggled intermittantly by a battery driven motor. It caused great amusement particularly when Ray Hankey placed it on his trousers!! (below left) Carthago showroom converted into a Dining Hall for the weekend. (below right) A rather wet coffee morning on Sunday.