Back Into Europe

Our time back in the UK has flown by.  After a three-week gruelling romp through the peat bogs of the Pennine Way we decamped to North Wales and crashed out at a rural Airbnb.  What a contrast, to sit inside looking out at the beautiful but wet countryside, smug in the knowledge that our rucksacks had been demoted to the spare room.

There was still plenty to do though, as we had arrived with a job list for Bob that we were keen to get done in a country where we could speak the language.  We were surprised to find that most businesses we spoke to had a wait list that ran through until 2024 but sufficient pleading (and wallet opening) eventually resulted in Bob getting a service and new tyres.  He also had his body armour and rock sliders resprayed and is now looking quite spiffy.  The other niggle that we have had for nearly 12 months is our Pico system failing to read the water level of the two tanks that are mounted under the chassis.  Thanks to Adam at AW Van Conversions, we eventually got to the bottom of the problem, both compression senders were registering as an earth rather than a positive into the module, we think as a result of ice forming in the units causing the wires to touch.  Although we weren’t able to replace the units there and then as we are using Enerdrive sensors which are only available in Australia, we have been able to order some replacements and are hoping they will arrive in Portugal around the same time as us. 

Yes, the weather in the UK is definitely suggesting the fast approach of winter and therefore time for us to start thinking about getting back into Europe.

london eye

First though, we had some friends to catch up with, all of whom are conveniently located in the South of England making it easy to call in on our way down to the coast.  And, as we were so close to London we decided to pay a visit to our old stomping grounds and see what had changed since we left over 25 years ago.  Well.. the City is almost unrecognisable!  We could actually see London rather than peer at it through a gloomy smog.  The expensive low emissions and congestion charges have definitely deterred many vehicles from the centre and the result is a clean and accessible capital.  Two hours on Google eventually revealed perhaps the only uncovered parking lot within a 5 mile radius of Trafalgar Square which, if you are thinking of driving your own high vehicle into the centre, is at the back of the Ibis Styles, Bankside and there is also a nearby aparthotel which at less than half the price of some of the surrounding hotels is handy.  We were now ready to be tourists in one of the best Cities in the world. 

tricky to park outside harrods

When we lived and worked in London our preferred mode of transport was by bike and despite both of us having had near death experiences during that time we were worryingly keen to recreate the thrill of battling with the chaotic traffic.  Not a chance.  With cycle lanes everywhere, fewer vehicles on the road and recently introduced speed limits of 20 mph (30 kph) throughout, we cruised around the streets with surprisingly little effort.  We took in all the familiar sights as well as those that have sprouted up in our absence which included admiring the City over eye-wateringly expensive cocktails on the 32nd level of the Shard, the re-development of Borough Markets which has been done so well and the London Eye.  A bit of shopping on Oxford Street, a West End show and a quick visit to Buckingham Palace to congratulate the new King and we were done.

A friend once told me that unpleasant news is best served in a sandwich so…..

our best friend

….. Leroy is no longer with us.  He arrived into Adelaide airport, all the way from New Zealand when he was just 10 weeks old.  The nature of our lifestyle in Australia meant that I worked at home and Leroy enjoyed growing up in a spacious and sociable environment surrounded by our dog loving friends and lots of other animals.  Two and a half years on the road has meant that we have been a tight unit and I think it would be fair to say that there is not much about Leroy that we don’t know.  Being a bit gormless, he has brought much entertainment and hilarity to our adventures, but for a little while now, he has been showing some differences in character.  He had become more detached from us, increasingly reactive to noises and people around him and generally looked a bit confused.  All this resulted in volatile displays of explosive energy which when coming from a 50kg Rotti are difficult to manage at best and traumatic at worst.  Both of us have been aware of the changes and we thought that walking the Pennine Way would be a good opportunity to talk it out and see how we were both feeling.  Unfortunately, over the course of the walk, his behaviour continued to deteriorate and we acknowledged that he was bringing a lot of stress into our lives.  For us travelling, this is not what we want and so, as difficult as the decision was, we have had him put down.  What a loyal and valued member of our team he has been for a considerable time and we are so grateful to have been able to share some of our journey with him.  It is with heavy hearts that we close this chapter and he will not be forgotten.

portsmouth to st malo ferry

Rather than taking the Folkstone/Calais shuttle over to France, we opted for an overnight passage from Portsmouth to Saint Malo with Britannia Ferries.  The high standard of the dinner buffet left us in no doubt as to the ownership of the ferry line and after a good sleep in one of the many cabins we were once again on French soil.

Saint Malo is a port city in Brittany, the old town was once a stronghold for King approved pirates and is still surrounded by tall granite walls.  Arriving at 8am in half light, we went in search of pastries and coffee before a quick whiz round on the bikes and our long drive down to Portugal where we planned to meet some friends on holiday from Australia.

brittany coast

The Brittany coastline is dramatic with plenty of walking trails set high on the cliffs offering spectacular views of the numerous sandy coves and small bays dotted with bobbing fishing boats.  The areas along the coast were quite gentrified which made for easy travel despite the rain which rather dampened our nights of wild camping.  Many of the campsites had shut up shop for the season but the lack of tourists was no bad thing, particularly at Carnac where we were permitted to explore without the customary guide.

carnac megaliths

As embarrassing as it is to admit, neither of us had ever heard of Carnac before, let alone knew that it has the largest megalithic ensemble of its type in the world.  Mostly within the Breten municipality of Carnac, spread over an area of around 3km, are a collection of over 3,000 prehistoric standing stones dating back to between 3300-4500 BC.  Considerably older than Stonehenge, a relative newcomer on the scene between 3000-2000 BC, there is still no widely accepted theory as to their purpose.  Many of the stones are in alignment which might support the myth that a Roman legion had been turned to stone by Merlin the wizard, whose grave happens to be conveniently close by.  Needless to say, this isn’t the true origin of the stones, if only due to the fact that the stones pre-date the Roman Empire by at least 3,000 years.  The stones range in size from 0.5m tall to 6m, each weighing between 5-10 tonnes.  The superhuman effort of hauling and erecting them must surely mean they held enormous significance but, to date, their true purpose remains unknown.

san sebastian town hall

Moving ever south, it was inspiring to see so much support for breast cancer awareness, the colour pink appearing in many towns and villages heralding the arrival of Pink October.  A theme which continued all the way into Basque country and onto the steps of San Sebastian Town Hall.

From San Sebastian we climbed up and over the Cantabrian mountains, a range which extends over 300km, parallel to Spain’s north coast.  We were now in the region of Castilla y Leon, up on the central plateau, which is the northern half of a still-larger interior plateau the Meseta Central, an area that occupies almost all of central and northern Spain.  A land-locked, elevated plain, surrounded by mountains.  Castilla y Leon is the largest region of Spain and, according to Lonely Planet one of the least explored.  Driving through this mostly treeless and barren landscape, it wasn’t difficult to see why.  The towns and villages were few and far between and many seemed to have been abandoned leaving the buildings desolate and shuttered up.  Our surroundings were unchanging and we seemed to drive forever through torrential rain and bitterly cold wind with just the occasional tumbleweed for company.   We later learned that we had driven through during Storm Ciaran which caused widespread damage throughout the region.

salamanca university

It was a relief to reach the ‘Golden city’ of Salamanca, so called for its extensive use of sandstone in the construction of its elaborate buildings.  Something of an oasis amid its featureless surroundings, the city is renowned for its university which was founded by King Alfonso IX in 1218 and is one of the oldest institutions in the world in continuous operation.  A long list of celebrated alumni which includes Don Quixote author Miguel de Cervantes, Spanish conquistador Hernando Cortes and Christopher Columbus, together with its teaching of the purest form of Spanish, attracts foreign language students from over 70 countries. 

We enjoyed wandering around the cities compact centre despite the continuing rain but excited to progress south with the Portuguese border now only 120 km away.

France with a Quick Detour to Italy

andrea bocelli at the Teatro de silenzio, lajatico

We had a date in Italy!  About 12 months ago we purchased tickets to see Andrea Bocelli in concert at the Teatro de Silenzio, an open-air amphitheatre located in the city of Lajatico – the hometown of the man himself – in the region of Tuscany.  In 2006 Bocelli convinced the municipality of Lajatico to build this outdoor venue where he now performs an annual concert; the rest of the year the theatre lives up to its name and is silent.

To get from our location of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc to Italy we had a choice, over the Alps or through them, via the Mont Blanc tunnel.  Rather unwisely we chose the tunnel.  It took us 1½ hours to travel up the 3km twisting mountain road to the toll booth at the entrance to the tunnel.  Once there, the authorities were allowing one car through every 5 minutes after extracting the hefty toll of €52.30 per vehicle or, in our case €69.30 as we were recognised as a camping car.  So what do you get for your money??  A journey of 11.5km through a tunnel, which when opened in 1965 was the longest vehicular tunnel in the world.  At its deepest point, the tunnel lies 2,480 metres beneath the surface and is one of the major trans-Alpine transport routes, particularly for Italy which relies on the tunnel for transporting as much as one-third of its freight to northern Europe.  But having been thrilled by Norwegian tunnel building, Mont Blanc was a bit of an anti-climax, although there was one highlight.  As we popped out of the tunnel darkness and our eyes adjusted to the sunlight, the first vehicle we saw was a beautiful, gleaming, black Ferrari, which would suggest we were now in Italy.

volterra

The concert was 500km from Mont Blanc and as we only had a couple of days to get there, we opted to pay the tolls on the A26, Autostrada dei Trafori (Autostrada of the Tunnels), aptly named as we counted 93 tunnels in under 200km, which for the price of €25 was rather better value than the Mont Blanc Toll.  We had left the booking of accommodation for the concert until the last minute and we eventually ended up finding somewhere to stay in the walled mountaintop town of Volterra, the oldest continually inhabited town in Italy with over 3,000 years of history.  Perched on a ridge 1,770m above sea level, in the province of Pisa, the town is surrounded by two walls that house various archaeological findings as well as the oldest Town Hall in Tuscany.  It would be hard to imagine a more Italianate setting than that of the surrounding rolling hills and soft valleys with their rows of grapevines and olive groves outlined by centuries-old cypresses.    

The Teatro del Silenzio is quite intimate in that its full capacity is just 12,000, but with just a couple of entrances, the wait to get in took well over an hour and under the hot evening sun was a feat of endurance.  However, once past the ticket point and bag check, the amphitheatre afforded good views of the stage from all seated sections and the large screens were well utilised.  It was all a bit surreal, there we were in the middle of Tuscany, watching Andrea Bocelli perform alongside a full orchestra, a group of singers clothed and masked in shining gold, flag throwers and a troupe of ballet dancers.  The concert finished with the whole ampitheatre on its feet as Bocelli gave his all to Con te Partiro/Time to say Goodbye.

at the top of the great st bernard pass

The following day we were once again on the Autostrada, heading back to Chamonix-Mont-Blanc to do some trekking.  This time though we opted to give the tunnel a miss and drive over the top of the Alps via Switzerland and the Great St Bernard Pass.  At 2,469 m above sea level, the Great St. Bernard Pass is Switzerland's third highest pass, and is the most important link between Western Switzerland and Italy. Two very different heroes have made this pass famous: Barry the rescue dog, and Napoleon the military commander.

The pass links the Aosta Valley and the Piedmont region in Italy with Martigny in the Rhone Valley of Switzerland and has been one of the most important Alpine crossings since the days of the Roman Empire.  It takes its name from Saint Bernard of Aosta, who founded the Great St. Bernard Hospice at the top of the pass in 1050.  It was one of the first institutions dedicated to rescuing victims of mountain emergencies, and it achieved particular fame because of the St. Bernard species of dogs that were bred there by the monks.  From about 1750 onwards, these dogs were successfully used to search for avalanche victims and travellers who had lost their way while crossing the pass. The most famous St. Bernard dog was Barry (1800–1814), who is said to have saved more than 40 human lives.

A famous painting, ‘Bonaparte Crossing the Great St Bernard Pass’, commissioned by King Charles IV of Spain, commemorates Napoleon leading an army of 40,000 men and heavy arms across the Pass to confront the Austrian troops near the city of Alessandria in Italy.  The crossing was made in May 1800 at a time when the pass was reputed to be unnavigable due to heavy snow, thus being of considerable note at the time.  However, there seems to have been a bit of poetic licence as instead of being ‘calmly seated on a fiery horse’ as depicted in the painting, he actually made the crossing on a mule.

The drive over the pass was spectacular, hairpin turn after hairpin turn before arriving at the top, where a beautiful view over the lake opened up.  Considering the time of year and the fact that the road is only open between June and October, there were not too many people up there and the undoubted wear and tear on the brake pads was a small price to pay to experience this fantastic route.

mountain express that connects the towns of the chamonix valley, french alps

Back in the Chamonix Valley we were fortunate to get a spot on a campsite just outside Argentiere, one of five towns strung through the valley, all connected by road and the cute little red train the Mont Blanc Express.  Bordered by Switzerland and Italy and dominated by the incredible Aiguilles de Chamonix Mountain chain which peaks at the top of Mont Blanc, this area is the heart of the French Alps and a look in any direction is rewarded with breathtaking views of glaciers and snow-capped mountains.  The choice of hiking routes in the area seems endless with over 350km of maintained trails to choose from and we knocked off some of the more well-known which included a climb up to the Lac Blanc Refuge and the Grand Balcon Sud.  It would have been easy to stay longer but for now we have marked the Tour du Mont Blanc, a 170km trekking trail through France, Italy and Switzerland, on our bucket list so there is a good chance that we will be back.

grand balcon sud hike

With our sights now set on Callais with plans to spend more time back in the UK, we mapped a route through Lausanne, Switzerland, the French Jura and Epernay with a quick detour into Luxembourg so that we could stick another flag on Bob.  

epernay, champagne

Epernay, together with Reims, represents the heart of Champagne country and how remiss would it be to leave France without finding out more about a product whose exports during 2022 were worth 4.15 billion euros?  To further our education, we joined a group at one of the small-scale grower/producers where we were immersed into the obsessive business of producing this world-famous celebratory drink.  There are over 300 champagne houses (Moet & Chandon being the largest) and more than 16,000 growers in a region that is about 34,000 hectares and includes over 300 villages, also called “crus”.  The options for tasting, range from calling into one of the champagne houses, many of which line the Avenue de Champagne in Epernay, to sampling a flight at any of the champagne bars that jostle for space down each of the quaint, cobbled streets.  Not surprisingly, the business of quaffing this much sought after tipple is the reason most people are here and the sound of popping corks was a constant as we wandered around.  Despite dealing with the hazards of climate change which has seen a decrease in production over the last 10 years, the region still managed to produce over 300 million bottles during 2022 and had we arrived just a few weeks later we would have had the opportunity to get involved in the annual harvest.  It seemed that pickers were a bit thin on the ground and many of the growers were desperately attempting to persuade anyone that happened to be passing through to spend a couple of weeks bum up in the vineyards.  Hard work I’m sure but not a bad way to pass the time, particularly taking into account the traditional celebration to Bacchus once all the grapes are in the vats.

saint quentin, northern france

Getting ever closer to Calais, our last few nights in northern France turned out to be some of the best wild camping experiences that we have had so far.  With no parking restrictions, peaceful, countryside and an abundance of bird life, night after night we pitched up to a secluded spot right next to the water.  With walking and cycling trails all around, which we mostly had to ourselves, it was the perfect scenario that every overlander dreams about.    

Just before we said our final goodbye to France, we called in at one of the animal hospitals and managed to get a walk-in consultation for Leroy who was due his annual rabies top-up jab as well as the obligatory tape worm tablet and health certificate sign-off required to get into the UK.  With his documentation up to date we were good to go but a bit sad to be leaving France.  I think, out of all the countries we have been to so far, France is probably our favourite – along with everyone else, as it has been the most visited country in the world for the last 20 years. 

One delayed shuttle ride later and we were back in the UK.  Barely 5 miles out of Folkstone and parked up at Ollie’s Auto Electrics where we were relishing in being able to speak the language whilst hoping for some help to figure out why Bob’s water tank senders are not talking to the Pico Simarine system which, amongst other things, monitors our fresh water levels.  We have two tanks a 40lt and a 60lt which are fitted under the chassis.  We drained both tanks when we up in the Baltic States last winter over concerns about the water freezing and causing damage but when we eventually re-filled them the readings on the system were just sitting at 0% which is where they have been ever since, regardless of how much water we are carrying.   Nothing urgent, but something we did want fixed and our efforts up to now had got us nowhere.  Unfortunately, Ollie also came up short but suggested that we call in again on our way out of the UK and he would have another look.  Next on the list was trying to get to the bottom of our central locking and immobiliser failure.  We had previously visited a couple of garages in France as well as a LR Dealership in Italy trying to resolve the issue, again without success, and clutching at straws we contacted Matt at A55 Auto Locksmiths who fixed the issue in less than half an hour by replacing a blown fuse!!!!  How embarrassing, but why hadn’t the garages diagnosed the problem??  Over the next few days we replaced one of the broken air vent covers on the bonnet – broken by me standing on it to access the roof rack, and put a new external handle on one of the second row doors – broken by Ian sliding stuff down from the roof.  Pico system aside, all we need to get done now is new brake pads and gear box, but this is going to have to wait a few weeks as we are now heading north to walk the Pennine Way, a 270 mile (430km) national Trail along the central mountains of England.  We have two weeks to get organised and are hoping that the summer the UK has been waiting for is just around the corner.

NETHERLANDS

where are all the windmills?

The Netherlands is flat!  Really, really flat! The name literally means ‘lower countries’ an apt title given that 27% of the land is below sea level and only about 50% of the land exceeds 1m above sea level.  There is an old Dutch adage “God created earth but the Dutch created the Netherlands” which would seem to hold true as the Netherlands is twice the size it was 400 years ago, a result of centuries of painstaking land reclamation from the North Sea.

Early settlements in the area were built on earth mounds, the higher land along with the channelling of narrow dikes, providing safe(ish) ground from high tidal and river waters.  However, this protection proved futile against the North Sea and in 1287 one of the most catastrophic floods in history occurred, the St Lucia’s Flood, an event which no doubt highlighted the need for better water management, an expertise that the Dutch have developed over the ensuing centuries.  The first water-pumping windmill was invented in the late 1200’s by an unknown Dutch carpenter but it wasn’t until nearly three centuries later that a windmill with a rotatable top was developed, an important improvement that could take advantage of different wind directions.  The rotator power of the windmills was used to drain low-lying, waterlogged peatland, diverting the water up and away thereby exposing fertile soil for grazing and agriculture.  These reclaimed areas are mostly below sea level and known as polders, amazing to think that much of the flat fields we would soon be driving past were once at the bottom of the North Sea. 

kinderdijk

The only relief on the horizon are the many turbines that dominate the skyline but where are all the windmills?  It wasn’t until we reached Kinderdijk that the typical Dutch picture that we had in our minds finally presented itself.  The name Kinderdijk is Dutch for Children dike and there is quite a nice story behind it.  During yet more flooding in 1421 a villager noticed a wooden cradle floating on the water.  As the cradle came nearer, a cat was seen leaping back and forth across the cradle in order to keep it in balance.  Eventually, the cradle came close enough to show a baby quietly sleeping inside the dry vessel.  This story is Dutch folktale but you might recognise it as “The Cat and the Cradle”.  There are 19 magnificent windmills at Kinderdijk arranged on opposite sides of the water where they form what must be one of the most iconic of Dutch images.  Two of them are open to the public and inside you can make your way up through five floors that offer living and sleeping arrangements as well as a fish smoking floor and a grease attic where the windmill’s mechanism was housed.  The top floor has a thatched roof and rotates 360° providing great views of the surrounding areas.  On first appearance they are surprisingly roomy but when you learn that most milling families had an average of twelve children then maybe not.

thorn - the white town

The Dutch are renowned to be open and welcoming as well as careful with their money.  We visited the town of Thorn where, in an attempt to avoid taxes, based on the number of windows in the home, the residents had blocked up most of their windows and then painted the houses white in an attempt to hide the fact that alterations had been made.  In recent times the windows have been restored but the residents have opted to stick with the white theme thereby creating a picturesque stop for anyone who might be passing.

cube houses, rotterdam

Our main objective in the Netherlands was of course to spend some time in Amsterdam, and no different than many visitors before us there were a couple of things that needed to be ticked off*.  Firstly, however, we were keen to explore Rotterdam and the innovative architecture that the city is becoming renowned for.  Given that the day we arrived the temperature was over 35°C Leroy opted out and just Ian and I joined another free walking tour (tips at your own discretion) around this progressive city.  To cut a hot tour short, let’s jump to the final highlight – the cube houses.  Designed by Dutch architect Piet Blom, this residential development is a most unusual sight, a housing complex of 39 literal cubes each tilted over by 45 degrees.  An amazing display of modern architecture.  One particularly innovative Dutch chap had purchased a cube back when the city was trying to decide whether they were desirable or not and once they were given the nod of approval and prices soared, he opened his home up to the public.  As the only cube available for viewing we were not surprised to find the owner cheery and smiling outside his investment (now uninhabited as he had purchased an upmarket residence on the proceeds) as we all paid to troop through.  And, yes, you could absolutely live in one!

Going back to before the St Lucia’s flood, there had been a lake in the north-west of the Netherlands separated from the sea by sand dunes and clay ground.  These natural barriers were swept away by the huge storm surge resulting in the lake becoming a bay.  As the north sea swept inland it destroyed many small settlements situated around the lake stopping just short of a small fishing village.  This village, now in a prime position on the bay with direct access to the sea, grew into the Amsterdam as we know it today.

quirky & wonky - amsterdam

Obviously there were no tulips as we arrived into Amsterdam in July but wow what an incredibly vibrant place.  Ian had again identified the city as a low emission zone but had struggled to ascertain just how low the allowable emissions were and so we took a chance and drove straight into the centre.  We thought we were going quite well navigating the chaotic traffic which was mostly made up of kamikaze cyclists and so were a bit surprised to be pulled over by the police.  Oh no, we thought, Bob with his diesel emissions is probably not allowed to be here.  However, we needn’t have worried, it was simply the case that we were driving along a restricted tram line and had gone through a red light.  I suspect that after clocking our overseas registration and taking in our somewhat homeless appearance, the young cop was only too happy to send us on our way with a caution rather than deal with what would undoubtedly have involved some complex paperwork had he decided to take the matter further.

Rather than stay at a hotel – memories of Baden-Baden still fresh in our minds - we had booked an Airbnb 4km from the city centre and arranged to park Bob in the secure Hilton Hotel parking lot a couple of km away.  This is an extract of the communication we received from our Airbnb host just prior to arriving…..

‘Hi Sarah, the apartment is ready.  There’s a bottle of rose wine in the fridge for you to have.  Please don’t drink the wines outside the fridge, these belong to my business.  Also there’s a small box of truffle chocolates stored in the fridge, don’t eat those, they’ll make you trip.  I forgot to take them with me.  Furthermore, I would ask for a favour.  Could you please water the balcony plants in the evening.  The plants in the house will be fine.”

…. Okaaay, so the owner had moved out so that we could move in, which wasn’t a problem and actually made our visit all the more authentic.  The fact that we also had bicycles enabling us to hit the ground on two wheels took our integration to the next level.  A quick fact about bikes in Amsterdam – There are 800,000 people living in the city and 1.2 million bicycles,  60% of Amsterdammers use their bike everyday and 15,000 bikes are fished out of the canals each year.  It is therefore no surprise that there are few, if any, overweight people in Amsterdam!  Of course, everyone knows that the Dutch love cycling but it is not until you really experience it that you can comprehend the reality of this national obsession.  The bicycle is absolutely king of the road and takes precedence over trams, cars, motorbikes and pedestrians.  Everyone gives way to bicycles and the cyclists take full advantage – you are far more likely to fall victim to an oncoming two-wheeler than any other misadventure that one might befall in this tolerant city.

BEAUTIFUL GIETHO0RN

The image that most people have of Amsterdam would probably include beautiful canals, windmills, Dutch art and quirky, tall, narrow architecture, the latter being another example of tax avoidance at a time when property taxes were determined by the meterage of frontage alongside the canals.  When it proved too expensive to build sideways the response from the Dutch was to build upwards from a relatively small foundation base.  The crookedness of these tall buildings is caused by the supporting wooden poles deteriorating and sinking unevenly in the peaty ground below, cute to look at but tricky when your cup of tea is sliding along the table and probably a nightmare to rectify.  But, there is no denying that a huge drawcard for many visitors to Amsterdam would have to be its Red Light District and Coffee Houses.  Just to avoid any confusion, a café in the Netherlands is a pub, and a Coffee House is an establishment where one can purchase and enjoy many varieties of cannabis.  Although why you would purchase any is a bit of a mystery as you can enjoy a perfectly good high just cycling around in the fug that seems to be a permanent part of the city.

We arranged to join a tour of the RLD (yes, totally loving the tours!) and arrived at the designated meeting place 5 minutes before the start time.  We were part of a group of 9 and stood around chatting whilst waiting for our guide to show up.  The official start time of the tour came and went and we were all still waiting … and waiting…  Just when we were wondering whether we had all been given the wrong tour information there was a lazy shout from behind us and there was our 50ish, bushy haired guide leaning against a wall with his flies undone, a soaking wet tee-shirt on and completely stoned.  We were all a bit surprised, particularly the two immaculately dressed Chinese/Americans who looked at each other with more than a small amount of alarm on their faces.  Nevertheless, off we all went, a 100m walk from the busiest, touristy centre of the city straight into De Wallen the largest and best known RLD in the Netherlands.  To give him his due, our guide certainly knew the area extremely well and for the next couple of hours we followed him around as he called into cafes, coffee shops, sex shops and peep shows, a seemingly well-trodden route the main objective of which seemed to be to meet up with his motley assortment of acquaintances.  We struggled to understand him at times as his words were often slurred and he would drift off mid-sentence but it was apparent that he did have huge knowledge of the history of De Wallen and was undoubtedly entertaining.  At the end of the tour, rather than taking us back to the original meeting place which tends to be the norm, he took us to a café slap bang in the middle of the District, had a quick drink and just left.  By this stage none of us were really too surprised and we definitely marked it as our most memorable tour to date. 

There is, of course, an organised criminal underbelly within Amsterdam that sits very close to the surface.  It is a main destination for victims of human trafficking and has an official policy of tolerance that permits the use of illegal drugs to go unchallenged.  If you are interested to know more about the darker side of Amsterdam I would recommend Amsterdam Exposed: An American’s Journey into the Red Light District by David Weinir and Slave Girl by Sarah Forsyth.  Not the easiest of reads but very revealing with a lot of corresponding data which was much the same as we heard from our guide. 

We did enjoy the Airbnb which was in a great location right next to the beautiful Vonderpark, despite the fact that it didn’t have a kettle which was a bit odd.  Unfortunately, Leroy managed, once again, to blot his copy book when, left on his own one evening, he decided to bury his chew in the huge indoor plant pot that was home to some impressive Aloe Vera and other succulents.  We came back to find soil and plants all over the wooden floor and despite our best efforts to redeem the situation, the feature didn’t quite look the same as when we had arrived.  Let’s just hope that our host enjoyed some of his trippy chocolates before doing a full inspection of the flat!

LINNE, SOUTHERN NETHERLANDS

The Netherlands is consistently rated as one of the five most densely populated countries in the world and given their extensive agriculture which is everywhere you look, it is not surprising that opportunities for wild-camping are almost non-existent.  We got lucky on our first night and found a relatively quiet spot amongst a few fishermen on the bank of one of Netherland’s many waterways.  Unfortunately, this opportunity did not present itself again and so we made use of the many small (you might say boutique) campsites scattered around on private farms all of which provided excellent and clean facilities at half the price of the larger commercial sites.  Bob generated a lot of interest which might suggest that the country is not high up on the list for most overlanders.   

TEXEL ISLAND

There is however a unique natural spectacle that occurs from the northernmost tip of the Netherlands and extends up the coast past Germany and into Denmark.  It is the Wadden Sea, a UNESCO World Heritage site containing the largest unbroken system of intertidal sand and mud flats in the world.  One of the best ways to see and explore this ecological wonder is from the Dutch Wadden Islands, a string of five islands that are at the beginning of a chain of about fifty islands that protect this shallow sea.  The Wadden Sea is ruled in turn by ebb and flood, sand and water, the twice daily tides bringing new supplies of nutrients which form the basis of the complex ecosystem that exists within what is now regarded as the most important nature reserve of Western Europe.  We caught the 1 hr ferry from Den Helder over to the island of Texel, the largest of the Wadden Islands, where we spent a relaxing couple of days walking amongst the sand dunes and white-sand beaches of the national park.  We also visited Ecomare which was initially created as a refuge for injured seals and has since expanded into an impressive, very informative nature centre devoted to the preservation and understanding of the local wildlife.    

Once back on the mainland we meandered slowly back towards the German border enjoying many charming towns and villages and the laid-back, friendly attitude of the Dutch which, Amsterdam aside, seems to be fuelled by the pursuit of good company – actually this might apply to Amsterdam - and simple outdoor pleasures either on, under or alongside their numerous lakes, rivers and canals and of course cycling.

*Oh, almost forgot – ear clean and hair colour refresh – all done!

Strasbourg France & More of Germany

strasbourg cathedral

Visiting cities is not generally high up on our to do list and given the logistics involved in incorporating Leroy and finding open-air parking suitable for Bob (too high to get into any of the garages), we are generally relieved to give them a wide berth.  However, there are some attractions that we are keen to see and the gothic Notre Dame Cathedral in Strasbourg was one of them, as well as Strasbourg itself which is famous for its beautiful historical centre.  Originally part of the Holy Roman Empire, this capital of the Alsace region sits very close to the border with Germany and between 1870 and 1945 has changed nationality four times.  This makes for an interesting mix of culture and architecture most evidenced in the grey buildings of German construction sitting alongside the pink buildings of the French.  We tagged onto the end of a walking tour which was a first for all of us, Leroy included, which turned out to be a great way to learn some of the history and gain insight into an area from a local’s point of view.  The Cathedral is considered to be one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture and at 142m high was the world’s tallest building until 1874 when the accolade was snatched by St. Nikolai’s Church in Hamburg.  Perhaps the most impressive fact is the time it took to build – from 1015 until 1439! 

It is always amazing to see what man is capable of building and the Cathedral is a magnificent example but more memorable for us was Strasbourg itself.  Before leaving this lovely old city we stood on the cobblestone square at the front of the cathedral and listened to the most beautiful classical music played by possibly the cutest busker in Europe.  It was then that we noticed the piller de la minceur/Buchmesser, a belly-measuring pink sandstone column.  Built in 1567, the column stands a distance of 35cm away from what was once the oldest pharmacy in France, the name taken from an old tradition that signified that if a person could not squeeze between the column and the wall they should go on a diet. What an easy way to solve the question of “does my bum look big in this”.

elegant baden-baden

Cultural appetite appeased for the time being we crossed back over the Rhine to the lovely German town of Baden-Baden, the elegant queen of spa resorts.  Since leaving Bad Kissingen we had seen the Bad prefix used by many towns in the region and Google once again educated the uninformed and we learnt that it denoted a spa town with thermal water springs containing healing lithium and magnesium.  The prefix requires governmental authorisation and can be taken away if certain standards (set by the German health insurance funds) are not met.  Some of the criteria include easy access to nature and hiking trails as well as scientifically proven natural healing sources.  It would be near impossible to imagine that Baden-Baden scores anything less than 100% with its beautiful parklands, fountains, Roman baths and Belle Epoch architecture.  Add in a lavishly ornate casino and what more could you possibly want other than perhaps a jacket with which to gain entry to said casino – oh, no problem, hire options available. 

Both Bob and Leroy left a bit of an impression on this upmarket resort.  On arrival at the 5* hotel (yes, we do treat ourselves every now and then) we were greeted by the doorman who, once over his initial surprise at not only observing us pulling up but seeing that we intended to go into the hotel, agreed that we could park Bob on the tiny frontage right by the front door of the hotel.  We thought Bob looked quite good parked between a vintage Rolls Royce and a couple of other sporty cars, most of which were in town for the “old-timers” festival, a huge international vintage car fair which attracts over 350 vehicles and 20,000 people each year.  Given the car event, the town and hotel was packed and there was an infectious party atmosphere but we knew it was time to leave when, a couple of days later, on leaving the room through a very slowly closing door, we didn’t notice that Leroy had managed to squeeze through behind us and once we had taken the lift downstairs he was free to explore the 5th floor of the hotel.  We came back to quite a bit of excitement as the hotel staff seemed to be drawing straws as to who would be the one to go and deal with him!

the rhine

Each time we have crossed the border between Germany and France we crossed over the Rhine and as we now wanted to head further north we decided to follow the river for a while.  It is one of Europe’s major rivers, starting in the south-eastern Swiss Alps and snaking northward over 1200km through France and Germany before entering the Netherlands where it empties into the North Sea.  The river is an important part of the German economy as it provides cheap transport for around 30% of the country’s coal, iron ore and natural gas.  These commodities are transported on huge barges, some up to 110m long which are capable of carrying 2,500 tonnes, a weight that would require 110 trucks to shift.  In-keeping with all this industry, there are many factories situated close to the banks of the river and, for the most part, the river is highly industrialised.  However, there is a sweet spot.  The Upper Middle Rhine Valley between Bingen and Koblenz runs through a steep and narrow gorge flanked with forests and vineyards, overlooked by more castles than any other river in the world.  Charming villages are scattered along the narrow river bank providing plenty of opportunity to soak up the romantic scenery and sample the renowned Rieseling wines that are produced in the area.  This short section of the Rhine is just 70km but it is easy to see why this UNESCO World Heritage Site is considered to be one of the most beautiful landscapes in Europe and understand how it captured the imagination of many composers, writers and artists who were inspired to create great works.  

The Rhine has been the focus of much attention of late due the ongoing drought that has been sweeping across much of Europe.  There is a key waypoint not far from Frankfurt where the fairway is shallower than anywhere else on the river, and the water along this section has a critical depth of 40cm which is necessary for the heavy barges to come through.  Just this week, the levels dropped below this standard forcing many of the barges to substantially reduce their loads, a necessary move which could well result in many of the energy companies limiting their output.  Not great news amid a looming energy crisis

cologne cathedral

We left the Rhine at Koblenz and drove the short distance to Cologne which is home to another of Europe’s impressive Gothic cathedrals.  Cologne Cathedral stands at just under 158 metres, the cornerstone of which was laid in 1248 before completion a mere 632 years later in 1880.  Able to hold more than 20,000 people this is one spectacular building, but rather more interesting is the reason behind such an undertaking which revolved around just three people – the Three Wise Men.  The relics of the Magi were originally situated in Constantinople before being transported to Milan in an ox-cart by the City’s Bishop in 314.  Eight centuries later in 1164 the remains were handed to the Archbishop of Cologne and over the next 40 years an elaborate golden shrine was built to hold them.  The cathedral that was standing in Cologne at the time was not considered worthy to house such important relics and so the cathedral as we see it today was purpose built as a stone reliquary. 

different!

As we were making our way towards Cologne, Ian discovered that the City is within a low emission zone requiring all vehicles to sport a green environmental sticker.  Obviously we have no such sticker to display and so opted to park and ride on the train instead.  This was the first time on a train for Leroy and a good warm-up for what was to come later in the day.  We had been hoping to tag onto another walking tour but despite wandering around by the cathedral and the train station for some time were unable to find an English speaking person with either a flag or large umbrella.  What we did find though were a group of guys in motorised rickshaws.  After a bit of negotiation with one of the younger, more laid-back drivers, it was agreed that we could all pile into the back and off we went for yet another city tour.

The cathedral was amazing, huge stained glass windows and the most stunning architecture both inside and out but Cologne as a city didn’t charm us in the way that Strasbourg did as much of the old architecture had been destroyed during excessive bombing of the city during WII.

We had one more night in Germany before one again crossing the border and Park4Night directed us to a large open camping spot on the outskirts of a forest.  Just before dark another Land Rover arrived with a French couple who were making their way north to drive the Marguerite Route, a 3,600km route through Denmark.  Before we all departed the following morning a few beers were exchanged and it turned out that they were administrators for an overlanding FB group where a picture of Bob in Strasbourg had been posted a few days before.  Such a little thing but it goes a long way to making us feel connected and part of a far-reaching community as we travel around.  Nice to see social media working in a positive way!

Into Europe

arriving in calais, france

Delighted to be re-united with Bob and excited to be heading into Europe, we set about getting organised to leave the UK.  Our first objective on reaching Europe was to attend the annual Abenteur & Allrad show at Bad Kissingen, Germany and had Bob arrived as per schedule we would have had plenty of time to get sorted out and make the 750km drive from Calais to the exhibition.  As things turned out we collected Bob in Southampton on the Monday which left us with three days to get over to Germany and in time for the first day of the show which started on the Thursday.  Ordinarily this would have been relatively straightforward but as the UK is no longer part of the EU and is now dealing with the implementation of new border controls, the paperwork for Leroy was quite involved and necessitated an Animal Health Certificate before he could travel.  The AHC replaces the previously, easily available, pet passport and is a multi-page document issued for any dogs, cats and ferrets entering Europe from the UK.  The inclusion of ferrets is a bit of a mystery, especially considering that the sport of ferret-legging is no longer.  Ferret-legging??  I hear you ask.  Well….

In the same vein as the Gloucester Cheese Rolling event, the hardy men up in the north of England had their own noble sport to determine courage, willpower and mental fortitude.  A simple contest whereby live ferrets were shoved down the front of their pants, the winner being the man who could tolerate the ferrets’ teeth and claws the longest.  Unlike the cheese rolling however, there were a few rules to standardise the competition.  The pants had to be roomy enough for the ferret to move from ankle to ankle freely and tied at the ankle to prevent the ferret escaping.  The ferret was required to have all of it’s 34 teeth and a full set of claws and neither the ferret nor the contestant could be under the influence of alcohol or drugged in any way.  Lastly, and obviously, no underwear was to be worn.  The current record for ferret-legging stands at five and a half hours.  Want to know more?  “King of the Ferret Leggers” by Donald Katz 2001!

…..maybe the sport is still going strong in certain quarters and there are a host of willing contestants on both sides of the Channel eager to test their manhood in this strange manner and therefore requiring of an AHC.

The AHC is a relatively new bit of legislature and, as we discovered, there are not many vets qualified to offer the service and we were told it would take up to three weeks to secure an appointment and subsequent certificate.  We must have contacted over a dozen vets before we struck lucky, finding a very helpful female vet in Romsey, just 10 miles outside Southampton.  We left the docks and drove straight over to the practice where we produced Leroy’s rabies certificate and had his microchip number verified.  On our side of things, that was it – no animal inspection, nothing.  We were then asked to return in 1-2 hours as this is how long it would take to fill in the required paperwork in order to issue the certificate.  This was just one example of the difficulties that the UK is having to deal with after Brexit and whilst the whole import and export side of things seems to be driving everyone mad, there is a general optimism that this will all be sorted out despite the fact that the UK has still not totally implemented full import checks whereas Europe introduced full customs requirements at the beginning of 2021. 

With Leroy sorted that just left Bob.  We were keen to get a full service done given his 10 weeks of inaction and we also needed new brake pads (and disks as it turned out).  Trying to get the car into a mechanics at such short notice was near impossible but, leading with our story so far, we managed to persuade the guys at New Forest Garage Services to shuffle a few other people around and get us in.  Of course it helps that Bob is a little unusual and anyone with an interest in Landy’s is usually keen to have a closer look.  Bob is now running better than ever so a big thank you to ‘Muddy Bottom’ and the team. 

By Wednesday morning we were ready to leave Southampton and drive the two and a half hours to Felixstowe and the EuroShuttle.  When we left UK in 1995, the Channel tunnel had only been operating for a year and any visits to France prior had been via the overnight car ferry, which we both separately recall as an horrendous journey that started with the inevitable excitement of travelling abroad and ended with prostrate bodies on every available flat surface and the loos covered in sick and worse.  The choppy crossing is only 21 miles wide between Dover and Calais and has a history of numerous and innovative crossings.  The fastest verified swim across is held by an Australian with a time of 6 hours, 55 minutes, impressively faster than the two-man pedalo which took 8 hours, 6 minutes. 

Taking the slip road towards the shuttle terminus we were slightly daunted by the sight of hundreds of trucks lined up over a distance of a few kilometres waiting to gain access to the loading area – no doubt slowed down by all the checking of paperwork.  Our lane, however, was virtually empty and we were able to drive straight up to the entry barriers where we collected our tickets that had been paid for online on the drive over and from where we were guided to the pet section for document inspection.  20 minutes later we were called for departure and 35 minutes after that we were in France!!

Driving off the shuttle and out of the port was weird in that there were no vehicles around apart from the handful or so that had made the crossing with us but, like all things, this soon changed as we joined the motorways heading towards Brussels.  We were snapped out of any lazy driving as we jostled for position amongst the fastest and heaviest traffic that either of us had ever experienced.  Throw in a passenger side mirror (on a right-hand drive vehicle) that we hadn’t got around to fixing and was only capable of showing a horizontal view of the road and ‘Welcome to Europe!” 

We arrived at Bad Kissingen at midday on Thursday and were directed to Camp 3 where we drove around amongst a motley assortment of overlanding vehicles to find a suitable camping spot.  There were 4 camps in total providing basic facilities for the hordes of people attending this huge 4x4 and overlanding festival.  The atmosphere was great with everyone very much at ease and more than ready to talk about their vehicle kit-outs, equipment and travel experiences.  There were over 300 exhibitors at the event and it would have been difficult not to find your overlanding vehicle of choice from the most compact to the luxury houses on wheels and everything in-between, but by far the best represented vehicle amongst the attendees was, you guessed it, the great British Land Rover.  In 2017 a new world record was set at the exhibition for the longest unbroken line of Land Rovers, taking the previous title of 516 Landys that was set in Portugal in 2014.  The German parade stretched over 7.4 km with 632 vehicles ranging from 1940s Series 1 80s to Range Rover Evoque convertibles, but what was quite remarkable is that over 80% of the vehicles were Series or Defenders.  Over 1500 Land Rover enthusiasts came from all over Europe to participate in the parade which was certified by the Guinness Book of Records on the spot.  How cool would it have been to take part in such an amazing event?

rothenburg ob der tauber, romantistrasse

The Show finished on the Sunday with a mass exodus of vehicles from the various camping areas.  You can’t help but wonder where they all came from and where they were all going to?  We were heading towards the Austrian border via the Romantic Road / Romantistrasse, a popular route than runs 460km between Wurzburg (near Frankfurt) in the north and Fussen in the south.  The route wends its way through numerous picturesque medieval towns and villages typical of the Romanesque architecture that was utilised in the very early middle ages.  We saw many, many, many examples of original town walls, cobbled streets, half-timbered houses, castles and other impressive buildings that were unquestionably awesome given their age and state of preservation but rather sombre and a bit claustrophobic.   As we approached the border the atmosphere lightened and we were surrounded by the most beautiful alpine scenery complete with bell-ringing doey-eyed cows and, the icing on the cake, King Ludwig II ‘Disney’ castle!  Neuschwanstein Castle sits amid heavily forested sloping hills overlooking the beautiful Alpsee lake and it is easy to see how Walt Disney was inspired by its dream-like, fairy-tale qualities.  This castle is just one of Ludwig’s magnificent creations, an architectural and artistic legacy left by an introverted Bavarian king who succeeded to the throne, at the age of nineteen, in 1864.  Eccentric, mad and a dreamer are often words used to describe Ludwig who was known to be more than a little obsessed with Wagner, evidenced in the many nods to the composer contained within the castle, not least the grotto with coloured lighting, man-made waterfall and rocks, all straight out of a scene from the opera Taunhauser. 

neutschwanstein castle, near fussen

Germany is the 6th largest country in Europe, one and a half times the size of the UK, with one of the longest highway systems in the world.  Although our preference is for the slow, more scenic routes, there have been occasions when we have joined the faster paced Autobahn which is a German experience like no other.  Around 70% of the Autobahn has a recommended speed limit of 130 kph but the reality is that there is no speed too fast (provided you are under 3.5 t) and whilst we were occupied with encouraging Bob to maintain a top speed of 90/100 kph in amongst the trucks on the far-right lane, cars were often just a blur as they whizzed past in the left lanes.  The fastest measured speed on the Autobahn, under everyday conditions, was a Porsche in 2010 that achieved 380 kph (236 mph), although if everything on YouTube is true, in 2021 a Czech businessman in his Bugatti Chiron posted videos of a virtual speedo showing a speed of 417 kph (259m mph).  Fortunately, the German love of precision is evident in their driving and the system works as it was designed to do with rigid protocols in place.  Undertaking, changing lanes without indicating or staying in a left lane other than to overtake is just not done and unless you want to incur the wrath of an uptight BMW driver, best avoided. 

German couple of the Autobahn.  He drives, she wakes up after a nap and
asks him “Why are you going 180kph?” 
“Because the road looks slippery.”

typical forest camping

 In general we found the Germans to be super polite, law-abiding and tidy but maybe a little lacking in frivolity.  There is little or no rubbish strewn around and they are currently the best in the world at recycling, things tend to run on time and the quality of produce particularly charcuterie, bread and patisseries is excellent.  Weirdly, they still operate to a large extent with cash and many shops do not take credit cards, most of the supermarkets we went into only had one till open with an uncomplaining line of shoppers almost reaching to the back of the store.  They are friendly enough and do make eye contact but are sometimes a bit slow to smile or laugh – this, of course, may be due to their fall from 7th (2021) to 14th (2022) on the World Happiness ranking.   Many showed an interest in Bob which initiated exchanges that might otherwise not have taken place and we never felt uncomfortable even when camping in the middle of areas where people were walking their dogs. 

lake alpsee

One thing we hadn’t expected was for Germany to be so beautiful.  Much of the country is covered with vast swathes of lush green forests, crystal clear alpine lakes, imposing mountain ranges and centuries-old, enchanting architecture.  Given that wild camping is banned, we weren’t too optimistic about being able to find free camping spots but we couldn’t have been more wrong.  Parking spaces within the forests have no restriction on overnight stays and provide a great space to park up for the night with the bonus of being right next to a hiking trail ready to be explored after breakfast the following morning and it was a recurring theme that once the day walkers had departed we had the forest to ourselves.

colmar, france

alsace wine route

Having reached the Austrian border but not wanting to travel further south just yet, we drove to Lake Constance, the largest lake in Germany, and through the Black Forest. We were driving along a quiet alpine road, pretty much in the middle of nowhere, when we passed what appeared to be dozens of Landy’s parked at the side of the road, It took us a few moments to compute what we had seen before we stopped, turned around and went back for a closer look. As luck would have it we had happened upon Landypoint, Europe’s largest restorer of Land Rovers. There were Landy’s everywhere dating back to the 1940’s, some perfectly restored and others in various states of repair. What an excellent opportunity to sort out our wing mirrors once and for all, regardless of the fact that we now had quite an effective system for pulling out which involved Ian sticking his head out of the window to see what was coming before shouting instructions to me as to when to go and how fast to get on with it. Thirty minutes later we were back on the road with functioning mirrors, definitely safer but without the fun factor. We followed the River Danube for a short while along the most picturesque gorge road before crossing over the Rhine and over to Colmar in eastern France.  How amazing after 25 years living in Australia to be nipping from one country into another!  Colmar is at the southern end of the Alsace Wine Route and is a stunning part of France.  Being so close to the German border the Alsatians have spent considerable time under German rule over the years and, as such, are an unusual culture – not quite German but not quite French, although I did hear a mum say “Ooh La La to her small child so I’m thinking maybe more French?!  Colmar is at the southern end of the 170 km Alsace Wine Route that finishes close to Strasbourg.  The region sits between the west bank of the Rhine and the Vosges mountain range which is a stunning natural environment of waterfalls, mountain lakes, thick fir forests and castles (more than 500 in various states of disrepair) and forms a back-drop to the many vineyards, charming towns and villages that the area is famed for.  We dawdled through this lovely area enjoying the slightly softer and lighter atmosphere on the French side of the Rhine, culminating with a visit to Strasbourg before crossing back into Germany in order to follow the Rhine further north.

We hadn’t expected to enjoy Germany quite so much which was probably helped by the lack of tourists milling around.  Despite being the middle of summer, most of the people we saw on holiday were Germans with just a smattering of other nationalities.  Even the honeypot sites were uncrowded making parking and getting around really straight-forward.  What a great time to be exploring Europe as it would seem that international travel is still a long way away from getting back to a pre-pandemic normal.