The drive to Dover was a foggy experience with low clouds blocking most of the views. Conversation was rampant as pre-trip experiences were swapped and everyone realised they had been going through the same packing woes as the others. As usual, we have a great mix of people onboard, from all backgrounds and age groups. It was smiles all round!
The Dover to Calais ferry crossing is always an emotional moment. As the white cliffs disappeared into the fog bank, many folks took a quiet moment to reflect on the journey ahead, while others took advantage of the onboard bar.
Arriving in Calais, we rolled off the ferry and headed through France and just across the border into Belgium. Our first night of camping, and a warm welcome from the camp owners, saw nervous faces, as tent buddies paired up and the tent demonstration got under way. It’s never easy the first time you erect your tent, but luckily the weather gods were being kind and it was a pleasant evening. After a while the tents were sorted and we sat down to a meal together, quick and easy this time as cook group were fighting with tent pegs and poles, so Cher and I threw together a mushroom soup for starters, followed by salad and spaghetti bolognaise. Sitting around on our super comfy camp chairs, more stories were swapped and a few beers, teas and coffees enjoyed, with most people retiring early, exhausted after all the frantic organising over the past while that pre-empts any six month trip.
The following morning we made an early start, after worming the truck out of a well organised campsite, never meant for vehicles the size of our trusty truck “Calypso”. Calypso, our vehicle so named after Odysseus’s lover while he was exploring the world, proved a hit on the autobahns of Germany as we travelled for Cologne the next day.
En route we stopped for a lunch break: while in civilisation we stop at fuel stations with parking and toilet facilities. We normally rustle up a lunch of fresh bread, cold meats, salads, cheese and condiments, though we throw in the odd Pasta salad and the like to keep things interesting. Mid-way through preparing lunch, a large German Tour bus pulled in alongside of us and, feeling friendly, some of our guys gave a friendly wave and received a few back. Driving a vehicle so different from everything else on the road attracts a fair bit of attention and soon we had a few questions flying away from our fellow (if air-conditioned) travellers. Lunch went on as normal until the kind German lady arrived with a bucket of left over potato salad – no one was quite sure what to do but it seemed rude to send it away. Next a cabbage salad arrived, still polite, it was accepted... Then there was another salad, then a fresh loaf of rye bread and to top it all off an entire baked ham, with mustard, no less. Never to look a gift horse in the mouth (though this was a first for me on the road!) we gorged ourselves happily.
Koln (Cologne) is a wonderful old city and the campsite is only a short tram ride away from the magnificent Dom (cathedral), so after setting up camp, everybody headed off into town to explore. The Dom was the tallest building in Europe until the building of the Eiffel Tower, and it is quite a sight to behold.
Cologne Cathedral:
Meeting up in the evening for our first group meal in a restaurant, we headed down to a local German Brau house, small glasses of beer and large servings of sausage sauerkraut and pork knuckle were the order of the evening. Stories were swapped after the day exploring around the town; with the favourite attraction being the pay loos at the coffee shop across the road from the Dom with automatic frosting loo doors, this was going to be a tough crowd! The Sion Brau Haus Is a great place to judge peoples appetites as their signature dish is a 1.4kg pork knuckle. Watching four of the boys wolf them away was a bit of a worry as kitty would never stretch to a kilo of meat for each person each evening, but we would have to see what we could do!
From Koln we headed up to Bamberg one of the most beautiful cities in Europe and a Unesco world heritage site. Once more the loos were a hit but the more manageable size of the city with its stunning views and quaint streets and the Danube winding its way through the centre meant many a happy hour was spent wandering the streets and exploring the town. We had two nights here giving us plenty of time to explore and enjoy this picturesque little place.
Bamberg:
A fair day’s drive and we headed into the Czech Republic and arrived in Prague, another incredibly beautiful city with a full day to explore. The weather turned foul and a few braved the rain while others tucked up in a cosy Pub for the afternoon. Prague is a city you could spend a week in and enjoy every day but with it being such an easy weekend break from the UK (and very full of tour groups from all over Europe!) we only spend two nights here and everybody was happy to pack up and go and run away from the rain.
Prague:
From one big city to another: Budapest, the capital of Hungary, loomed in the distance after a full day on the truck. We stay in a lovely little campsite which operates as a ski lodge over the winter months. The campsite is terraced, shaded by trees and though it is hard work to hump your tent up the stairs you are rewarded with your own alcove with a pretty view. The next morning we headed down into town and were pushed around the streets by an informal bike race: the cyclists of Budapest had decided to reclaim the roads from the cars and turned out in their thousands, it was quite a spectacle as the city descended into chaos. Voted by the group as the best camp so far we celebrated Debbie’s birthday in style with a chicken stir fry on the truck and Birthday cake for dessert.
Budapest:
No comments:
Post a Comment