July 2017 Denmark

We leave our stop at Plon and head north of course, soon we are in Denmark and the landscape starts to change, becoming flat and open. We are heading to Romo, a small islet on the west coast. Its popular with wind surfers, and land sailors. We do see many trailers with the land carriages they use for the land sailing, plus wind surfers and of course plenty of camper vans. Our camp stop is the new age of camper stops. Designed especially for camper vans by camper van users, you can just tell they knew what temporary campers in vans want and with the explosion of vans on the road they are catering for them. Great spot, its a shame we coundnt see the land sailors in action, we went to the beach area, but the weather was bad and our timing might have been out. If you google Romo Denmark and see the images you can imaging what it would be like on a good day on the beach. We leave Romo and cross the long man made road back to the mainland, heading again north to the town of Ribe

We park along with many other vans in a designated camper van parking spot just on the outskirts of Ribe. Amazing place Ribe, its 1300 plus years old and supposedly the oldest town in Scandinavia. Established in the eighth century with the Vikings and also Christians and was a centre of medieval history in this area of Europe. The church is amazing from the outside and has a number of additions with different architecture added to it. Inside is typical of we have seen so far in Denmark, not so much gold and marble, just a place to pray.

Cathedral of Ribe

This weekend they have a jazz festival, and they are setting up the square as we tour around the village. Later we head back and meet up with a German couple we met in the last park, I had spoken to him as he knew we where Aussies and his son is travelling from Darwin around Aus. Had a great chat, the bands where playing and the rain held off. It was a good jazz band playing, very professional and would have fitted in anywhere, even NZ ( just for you Warren). Our new mates where heading back for the jam session at 11pm, we just couldn’t make it, soft I know.

View of Ribe

 

Its a shame but its pouring with rain again this morning, and most of the night which is always loud on a tin roof just above your head. So we pack up and head off towards Jelling and apparently the site of a large stone ship, and 2 large burial mounds from the Viking age. The weather isnt doing us any favours, I manage to get out and have a quick look around, parking is bad so we dont really get to see much, shame but that happens some time ,especially in a motor home. Off again and we end up parked in the back of a farmyard with 2 other vans, hooked up with power, full bathrooms etc for 10 euro, bargain.

Classic doorway at Ribe Town Hall

Tomorrow we are off to Aarhus…..

JULY 2017 Germany

It’s another wet and cool morning as we head off from Raesfeld and attempt to get our fridge repaired. It’s a Dometic model so we make our way to the main German Dometic outlet, a nice guy helps us out but they don’t do servicing here so he send us down the road to a service centre that he recommends. Good thing was he spoke English, unfortunately when we get to the service centre its a matter of using translator on the iPad and that’s not always good in a conversation. A lot of pointing and bits of Anglo/German slang get us over the line and they replace the burner for the gas igniter on the fridge and we are all OK, minus 100 euro of course. I must admit that after the initial stress of a problem,  I enjoy the interaction with the people and the problem that need to be fixed, it seems that you meet all sorts of people, most just want to help and you always seem to get it sorted, plus you learn a bit more which always helps. To go back to yesterday, when we parked at Raesfeld we noticed that the fridge wasn’t automatically connecting to the gas supply as we where not on power at that time. I had the outside panel off and attempting to look like I knew what I was doing, a guy that had just parked came over and asked if we needed any help, and did assist checking everything, with fuses , gas supply and even our level, he couldn’t fix it but spent a lot of time helping. Thanks Mate.

We leave our German service team and head north, not far though as the rain is persisting and the roads are busy so we pull off the motorway and head towards a camp spot on “camper contact” which is nearby. It wasn’t much good, looked run down and ordinary so we head off to the next spot, a car park next to the swimming pool, all on our own, nice and peaceful. Shame about the rain, its non stop and not much good for swimming. Vics always a bit “toey” when we stop and no one else is around so I always have the keys ready, don’t have the van up on the ramps and everything stowed away, just in case.

Next morning it’s still raining, but we had an uneventful night so that was good. We head off early and make some supermarket stops to find the right stock before hitting the motorway and our destination is Bremen and motor home stop near the centre.

It doesn’t take us that long about 2 hours and we are parked with about 30 vans near the centre of Bremen. It’s just spitting a bit so we off load the bikes, make some lunch and head off. We are keen to get out of the van and be outside, so hopefully no thunderstorms.

Bremen City Hall listed on UNESCO

The old centre of Bremen is beautiful, and not packed with bus loads of tourists which is nice. The photos will tell most of the story, and the architecture is a sight for those like me that can’t keep staring upwards. And the brickwork, dont the Germans know how to lay a brick, could have done with some of them back in the day, it’s just perfect. We spend a couple of hours walking the centre area, have our lunch like a couple of hobo’s sitting on the steps, buy some fruit and veges from the market and the make our way back to our camp. Very nice town Bremen, I do think it was heavily bombed in WW2 and they have resurrected the main old town beautifully.

Classic Brick Gothic Architecture

 

Ancient doorway in Bottcherstrasse

More gorgeous brickwork and Architecture

Great view across the river Weser of Bremen spires

Nice market in the centre

 

Next Morning we leave Bremen and head north, our destination Plon, or near there and a camper spot. Its located an a large inland sea and popular with vacationers. We manage to secure the last spot in the dedicated motor home parking area and set up camp. The weather has improved some so we unhook the bikes and head off on dedicated pathways around the lake and spend a few hours riding through the forests and along the lake. Or really a small part of the lake/sea as its huge and has a number of towns around its perimeter. They love a walk here and we pass numbers of groups and couples walking the miles around the lake.

Small view of the lake at Plon

 

 

 

July 2017 UK and Belgium

Well we made it to the UK on our Ryan Air flight without too much hassle, no frills flying that’s for sure.  Its grey and overcast, the temperature is cool and seems all is normal for this part of the UK, I think our tan just faded a bit. We grab a cheap hire car, about 10 pounds a day with a 95 mile limit per day, but that suits us, it’s a little red Fiat 500 and we manage to cram all our luggage in and head off to find our new camper van.

As always it takes a while to get your bearings and we eventually make our way to a camp site at Wythall and meet up with Bob and Sue from Bundesvan who have delivered our van from Germany. After a quick handover we get to know what will be our new home for a few months.  So we now have an island bed, separate shower and refillable permanent LPG bottled gas for cooking, heating and running the fridge when we are “off grid”. Also we now have a power inverter for running lights and power. Overall we are pretty pleased with this unit.

We stay camped in Wythall for a week waiting on the new registration plates that will set us free, and eventually head off on Thursday after picking up our paperwork from our friends in Addleston, Surrey, on the Wednesday then getting the plates made early Thursday at Halfords before returning the hire car back to the airport and a Uber back to the campsite. It’s a long drive to Dover and we eventually camp outside Canterbury at the bus stop with our ferry booked for 8.30am tomorrow, Friday. I’m knackered that was a big couple of days on the English motorways.

It’s an early start and we head off to Dover for the ferry crossing with plenty of time, and eventually board. France here we come again….

A crazy hour and half with a boat load of screaming kids on school holidays, lucky we are on the front and quickly drive off as we land in Calais. No sign of the huge refugee camp we saw last year, just huge earth movers.

We make our way north with Belgium appearing before too long, Brugge is our destination and a camp near the city centre.

It’s packed as you would expect at this time of the year but we do manage to squeeze into a spot, hook up, unload the bikes and head into Brugge historical centre. Of course with every historical area there are the bus loads of tourists and you have to be prepared to accept that and mow them down, no just joking, just ding the bike bell and wait. Its a beautiful town, classic architecture, cobblestone roads, canals with boats perfect for living on and cruising. We loved it, has a great feel, wish we can stay longer but we are on our way north so will venture back another time as it’s not far from Calais or Dunkirk.

 

Next morning we did walk the canals and around the centre, no one around it was really nice and peaceful, some dogs(on leads) ducks and geese or swans not sure different from ours that’s for sure, we basically followed the original old fortified walls and the entrance gates with some massive windmills set high above the town. Really enjoyed that, thanks Brugge.

We are off now and heading north into Holland, then Germany. We end up camping at a small farm with parking and power hook up and are joined by 2 other motor homers, both Dutch. Its nice and peaceful, the sun is out and we make the most of it with the awning out and the new camp chairs, not long before I’m in the land of nod, perfect.

I don’t have a real plan from here, just heading north until we get to Denmark, then Sweden and onto Norway, so its north we go and today we arrive in Raesfeld, Germany. I must admit I knew this place had a nice castle and there was a camping stop available so it’s not just by chance. The weather is on and off rain but we manage to get a tour around the castle and its grounds, plus a unique museum that detailed the period of WW2 for this town, quite fascinating and included remains of an allied bomber that crashed nearby and just happened to be piloted by an Australian. He survived, wrote a memoir and lived to 96 I think? It was a nice stopover, tomorrow we need to get our fridge looked at, the gas igniter doesn’t appear to be working, so off to find a service technician who hopefully speaks English.

 

 

Malta July 2017

We have really enjoyed our time in Sliema, Malta. It seems a spot that is between full on tourist mecca and a student hang out. The swimming spots are amazing and we loved them. The call of the “worlds best pastizzi” is calling and we decide to catch the bus to the Medina, about 1/2 and hour by car. Well about 3 hours later we get there, with one bus not  arriving and the next one over flowing we eventually make it to the Medina. Its really hot, but the Medina is a great view and you can compare to other places similar. We are not sure where the famous pastizzi place is, all we have is the English name. “the crystal palace” Well its bloody hot and I don’t fancy walking all aver the place to find it. Lucky for me we spot the sign and its just the other side of the square.

For the perfect pastizzi try Crystal Palace

We are welcomed and select a range of the pastizzi then head to the square to indulge. Thumbs up from Vic, she is an expert although Liam would probably be a better judge as eats a lot of pastizzi.

Next day we catch the ferry from Sliema and cross over to Valetta. A really typical European place, some old dilapidated buildings,  plus many renovated and of course plenty of squares, Palazzi and churches. We did a good walk around the central area, enjoyed the atmosphere and views from the top. Looks like plenty of restaurants for the evening, unfortunately we didn’t come back for that but looks good. The heat caused us to retreat back to Sliema and head for the water and a cool dip, loved it.

 

Nice work if you can get it

Outside the palace in Valetta

Next day we are off to Gozo, small island to the west of Malta, another bus ride but works out OK. The Ferry is short about 30 minutes, then another bus to the village of Xaghra. Quick tip, never take too much luggage when you have to cart it bloody miles. Using a great little app Maps Me we find our AirBNB, its nice and has a small pool. Xaghra is nice, great cafes and restaurants, more of that later. We grab some lunch is a very nice cafe and catch the bus to Marsalforn on the coast. Nice bay, very hot if you don’t have some shade, but we manage and enjoy the really nice Mediterranean water and the local atmosphere.

Magic Mediterranean

 

Next day we headed to another beach, San Blas bay, took us a while with a few bus changes plus we got off at the wrong stop, as you do. The descent was very very steep and there is an offer of a jeep but we ventured down to a small crescent of beach in a small bay, complete with cafe/bar and seats for rent. Beautiful water again, just perfect temperature, calm and great for swimming. We forked out for the sun chairs and umbrella and had a nice time just on the edge with a bite to eat from the cafe/bar. The thought of the trek back up was to much so we grabbed the transport at 3 euro each and enjoyed every minute of it.

San Blas Bay, not easy to get to but worth it

Its only a small 10-15 minute walk from our AirBnB to the square of Xagrha and we had 3 great dinners there, 2 at Oleander which where fantastic. They where always full and I’m sure people, tourists like us, came from miles away for the food. Really enjoyed it and recommend this spot for any future travels.

Magic square at Xaghra

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Perfect evening out

 

After 3 days we headed back to the main island of Malta, via many buses, ferries and taxi’s and readied ourselves for the trip to Birmingham, where hopefully our van awaits us………………..

July 2017 Madrid and Malta

Its Blog Time….

Its the 7th of July 2017, Vietnam was great, it was hot, there was no rain and the food  is incredible as always. Apart from that there is  not much else to report and I  don’t want to rehash previous posts, so we will just say, Vietnam is incredible, if you haven’t been go, you wont be disappointed.

Madrid is over the top, fantastic and full on, just one of the best cities we have visited. It was a little hot, about 35 deg but not humid and the days just go on and on as sunset is about 10.30pm. We just loved the food, tapas are everywhere and cheap plus the old calamari sandwich is not too bad either at 2.90 euro. Our AirBnB apartment was in the center so we where able to walk to most places, plus we had a bike tour which we always recommend in a new city so you can get your bearings quickly. The city is full of young people, well compared to me anyway, and parties are happening everywhere. We loved the parks, the architecture is great,  and the food which is really good, better than Barcelona we think. In fact I think we would recommend Madrid over Barcelona, and we loved Barcelona when we went there, so that says a lot. It does get pretty hot here so a visit in the off season would be a great idea.

Madrid

Madrid

Madrid architecture

Crystal Palace Madrid

We leave Madrid at 4.45am and head off to Malta. Our flight is about 2.5 hours and we cross the Mediterranean, with a view of a crisp blue sky and sea.

We had been warned (thanks Ray), the traffic is crazy, and our taxi tries every back road he knows, doesn’t really make any difference, only helps us decide we probably wont hire a car here, they are a bit nuts on the road.

Our hotel is in Sliema, opposite the capital of Valetta and only a 10 minute ferry ride across. The view from our room is amazing and ever changing with the boat traffic and sunlight. I always find it amazing that you go somewhere that seems to be small and insignificant but really is no different than anywhere else but just happens to be on a small island in the Mediterranean. So far we really love Malta.

Classic Malta tour boat

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View of Valleta from the yacht

Well its pretty hot at about 11am, our room is not ready yet so we tour around Sliema for a while, it really is dominated by the tour boats and buses and the touts are everywhere, the heat does make it a bit hard to walk too far, so we find shade and shelter and revert to our favorite pastime, people watching. Not being big on tourist ventures we do take the unusual path of booking a day tour on a yacht for the next day. Malta is about the water and so we figure the best way to see it is by yacht.

Cliffs of the island of Malta

It was a big day, we left about 9am and sailed around Malta following the cliffs to the south, the views are amazing and its calm waters as we take about 3 hours before we stop at an isolated bay about half way around Malta. Time for a dip in the Mediterranean as we dive off the boat into the clear water, the have lunch on the boat. Vics not so keen on the swimming, she cant touch the bottom, so hangs on to the side, and she is not alone. The water is magnificent, crystal clear and cold, with hardly a soul in sight. We ventured all the way around including a stop at the “Blue Lagoon”, very nice but over crowded as these spots always are. We enjoyed it and recommend the trip around.

The Blue Lagoon….its popular!