Good Old England

The white cliffs of Dover

As we approached Dover we could see the white cliffs ahead. Land ahoy! Driving off into the UK was an interesting exercise, driving a left hand van on the left hand side took a little getting used to, particularly around roundabouts and bends. We often repeat the phrase “left is best” to ensure we do not drive into oncoming traffic. It was nice to see that we weren’t the only people struggling – there are lots of mainlanders driving erratically around the Dover area!

Our first stop in the UK was a campsite in a town just next to Dover called Kingsdown, while we were parked on quite a slope (felt like 45 degrees) it was certainly worth it for the view. We opened the double doors at the back of our van as it was getting dark and from our bed we had views across the English Channel, the twinkling lights of Calais reminding us from where we had just crossed. We took a stroll along the beach, where the weather was still and sunny. Annie adorably got excited about the stones on the beach in particular the flint, picking up and examining pieces of flint as we walked along. Something about Clan of the Cavebear.

France, for the third time… j’adore

After crossing over the border from Germany back into France it seemed only right that our first stop would be to stay at a winery. For this we chose a free winery stay in a small town called Wintzenheim. Despite being back in the land of friendly people we couldn’t help feeling like the owner wasn’t our biggest fan, two English speaking and manless ladies in a camper doesn’t always sit well with all. Luckily the other two campervans were filled with cheerful people who were all very friendly with us and each other – no yelling in the car park here! We attended a wine tasting entirely in French and German, understanding maybe one of every 20 words but still enjoyed the wine and bought a couple bottles to take with us. We used this lovely spot to visit the nearby town of Colmar.

Colmar is a town in the northeastern part of France, right near the German border and this lovely old town with its cobblestone streets shows itself to have lots of German architecture. The streets were lined with half timbered buildings much like those we saw while in the Black Forest. This town is also on the Alsace Wine route, which was evident by the huge amount of wine being grown. We cycled through the vines from Wintzenheim to Colmar taking a very scenic route (otherwise known as ‘being completely lost’) visiting other beautiful old villages along the way such as Eguisheim.

Germany

Dachau

Coming up through Bavaria, our first stop in Dachau was a very moving one. Dachau concentration camp stands now as a memorial, and Annie and I spent the most part of the day here as there was so much to learn and take in. Dachau was the first and one of the longest running camps and served as a prototype and model for which all other Nazi camps followed. It was hard to wrap our head around the scale of the extreme terror and brutality that occurred between 1933-1945. The exhibitions were extremely well curated, the audio guide informative which gave us much to reflect and contemplate. To imagine humans treating others in such a way is beyond what words alone can express.

Furstenfeldbruck served as a place which we could park Fran and train in rather then try and navigate our way around Munich. The camper stop was awesome, electricity, toilet and water and the town was cute as can be and only a 30 minute train ride into the centre of Munich. We got up earlyish to train in so that we could make another free walking tour, which had the added bonus of meaning we were on the morning train with everyone else from Furstenfeldbruck and got to have a lovely chat with one of the locals. Once we arrived in Munich we met up with our tour and while the tour group was massive, the tour guide was engaging and interesting. We toured around the town starting at Marienplatz where we saw the Glockenspiel in the tower of the new city hall. During the tour we made friends with another couple from America who offered a place for us to stay in Washington DC.

Surprise visit to Austria

When we were roughly planning our trip around Europe at no point did Annie and I talk about or even consider going to Austria. When we wanted to leave the expensive land of Liechtenstein asap we made a run for the nearest border which happened to be… Austria! 30 minutes drive and a world away from the expense of Liechtenstein, we found a campsite in a town called Feldkirch. The campsite had the added bonus of a large joining pool complex, which we dipped into on the second day. We took this time to do a bit of laundry and hung our laundry all around our awning, completely surrounding Fran with pretty much every item of clothing we own, this sight amused some of our fellow campers and there were a few laughs here and there at our makeshift laundry camp.

The costly lands of Switzerland and Liechtenstein

I always had this idea that Switzerland belonged to a magical far far away part of Europe that we would never see, but turns out that was not true at all! As we climbed out of the Ardeche towards Switzerland, we spent out last night in France at a camper stop in the little village of Serrieres-en-Chautague. While still in France, the town looked and felt very different and rather Swiss, with its alpine chalets and views of the mountains which rose higher and higher as we drove. The camper stop was nestled between the town and a crystal clear man made lake, that shimmered blue green in the bright sunshine and was full of the locals having a Friday afternoon swim. Walking around the little village we stumbled across a little microbrewery offering free tastings, so we tried a couple of delicious beers, bought a couple for dinner and then the owner gave us the open bottle as a roadie and a lovely gift of a bottle opener. We had a restful night and then drove an hour into Geneva to a campsite next to the lake.

One thing to be noted about Switzerland is that it is expensive and I mean SERIOUSLY expeno. To stay at the campsite we paid 4x the amount we would elsewhere, a shame really because we would have stayed longer had it not been so ridiculously costly. As the campsite was a bit out of the way we took a bus into Geneva and had a wonderful day exploring this rich city. We became engrossed and deeply moved in the International Red Cross and Crescent museum, spending hours in there without noticing the passage of time. We listened to personal stories from refugees and those displaced because of natural disasters. The museum also displayed fascinating artefacts and really well thought out interactive displays. A great museum experience and also a reminder that the Red Cross/Crescent has and continues to do some absolutely amazing humanitarian work around the world.