Au Paradis

We are in Beaumes de Venise, my favourite place in France. It is a beautiful little wine village, east of Orange and just 8km north of Carpentras. This area is the Ventoux-Comtat Venaissin region; a less well known part of Provence, but it is a hidden gem. There is a wealth of beauty and history here and it is not very busy.

Mont Ventoux dominates the area and it is surrounded by lots of little villages each with its own charm and character. The region has been described as a small French Tuscany and it certainly has that feeling. There is, of course, plenty of Roman history here and the Popes at Avignon continued that Italian influence in the region.

Beaumes de Venise is a working village. Yes, there are tourists here; cyclists following the classic Tour de France routes up and around Mont Ventoux; climbers, walkers and those of a certain age in their camping cars; but the holiday crowds and bustle of the Cote d'Azur is missing. The pace of life is tranquil and the vast majority of people are locals getting on with their everyday lives in the vineyards and fields.

Our everyday life here is simple. We get up late. I walk the 300m into the village and return with a paper and two baggettes. A leisurely breakfast is followed by a shower and a return to the viallage square. Morning prayers in the village church (Notre Dame des Dentelles) and then coffee as we watch the village go about its daily work. After lunch it is a combination of walking, sleeping and reading (sometimes all three if we are feeling energetic!) followed by afternoon tea back in the village square.

The Comtat Venaissin plain is rich in agriculture, but it is most famous for its wine. Beaumes de Venise is well known for its Muscat - a sweet white wine, but it has excellent reds with its own appellation. These are Cotes du Rhone; my favourite reds with a mixture of grenache, syrah and mourvedre.

This is our third visit here and we haven't really begun to explore the area properly. To do that you really need a car and that's the great disadvantage of a camping car. Some of these villages are tucked away, some perched on the rocky slopes of the Dentelles or on the sides of Ventoux.

This is the last blog of this trip. On Thursday we set off for Calais. We are looking forward to our stay in London and seeing Harry and Alice - not forgetting Marie and Dave.

Thanks for following us.
A bientot.

Storm in the Bay

We have had two electrical storms; one last weekend when we were in Cavalaire sur Mer and then one yesterday, just 5km further round the bay, here at La Croix Valmer. We thought the rain had passed after the morning so we went for a walk along the beach and got caught in the second instalment. We were walking in the med in the rain with thunder and lightening all around.

La Baie de Cavalaire is a large, sweeping bay from Cavalaire in the west to the beach here near La Croix where it ends with a rocky headland on the otherside of which is St. Tropez.

There was another storm in this bay on the night of the 14th to 15th August 1944. Off shore, 60 American and British battle ships pounded the coastal defenses and on the morning of the 15th the allied landing of American troops took place on this beach among others. It is the allied landing in France that isn't famous, but nonetheless was so important. It happened a couple of months after D Day and it is an event which led to Germany quickly giving up on southern France and retreating north. In this part of Vichy France the justice meted out by the French Resistance would have been swift and brutal.

To continue the second world war theme, and with apologies to Churchill, our holiday is at a critical point. It is not the end of the beginning but the beginning of the end. Tomorrow we set off for Beaumes de Venise and our final week before heading for Calais.

We have really enjoyed the holiday and especially the September sunshine of Provence. It has been lazy; we haven't done a lot; just read, walked, swam, slept and eaten. It is still very busy down here. There are a lot of us doing the same thing. Grey haired baby boomers from all over Europe with nothing better to do than drive around Provence in campervans or caravans.

Cavalaire was bustling and busy especially in the mornings. It was good to be located right in the town. It is unashamedly a holiday town and we enjoyed it. La Croix is about 2.5km inland from its beach and the campsite is located between to the two. There is a free bus which runs every half hour between the three and we have found it useful. We haven't depended on it as we have often walked the ten minutes from the site to the beach for an evening walk or a morning coffee on the beach side. For La Croix we do need the bus and unlike Cavalaire it is small town France; a cafe, a boulangerie, La Poste, a Spar and that's about it. Peaceful though.


As we head inland and north tomorrow to Beaumes de Venise what will we remember about our stay on the Cote D'Azur? Warm sunny weather and blue skies; a blue sea glimpsed from above on a twisty, rocky, headland road; pine and mimosa trees and cool, refreshing swims. Good memories to take back for long winter nights ahead.

Slummimg it near St Tropez

It's Tony's turn to write the blog, but he says it will be too boring. I agree that staying here in Cavalaire does not make for interesting reading, but it's great here for campers (and glampers). Cavalaire itself lacks the charm of other old Provencal towns, with their narrow streets and gorgeous little squares. The town here is very modern and bland, and completely dedicated to sun worshipping. The port is full of yachts that belong to the very rich; we are only a little way from St Tropez! However, many residents here are of a certain age. It's a bit like Cleveleys in the sun. They are more well heeleed, and very tanned, and it's fun to sit at a cafe and watch them all go by. They also stand stock still in the sea, with the water at waist height - a bit like living imitations of the Gormley statues at Crosby!

Our campsite is actually in the town, near to the harbour, which is so convenient for us! There are plenty of food shops, and there was a market the other day. However, it was seriously pricey! I don't suppose you can expect a bargain on the Cote d'Azure! The site itself is great, apart from the iffy wi-fi. Most people seem to come to sit and tan themselves at the pool, but Tony and I are past that. However, newly liberated by his Speedos, Tony goes for a swim at lunchtime every day, while the French people eat their long lunches and the pool is quiet. I haven't been in a pool for years, but it is so hot that I have caved in. I am afraid of the water once more, but it is fun bobbing about in the cool water. Also, the jacuzzi is wonderful! We are really living it up! We spend the afternoon reading in the shade, and go for a walk by the harbour in the evenings! A proper holiday.

However, we are moving on a little way up the coast, to La Croix, on Thursday, as we have camping cheques to use up. If we can't get in there, we are going to Avignon, and then on to Beaumes, Tony's favourite village. In the meantime we are enjoying our stay here. Love to all family and friends.

Mini Blog: Up Hill, Down Dale.

This is a mini blog, because there is no Wi Fi at the site, and it costs a lot to use this cyber cafe. Well, I'm not sure if it was being overrun by ants, or waiting for the bus in 30 degree heat, but we decided to move on from Sanary. A new friend on the site, who, insanely, liked biking about in the hills in the heat, said "Don't go to Presqu'il de Giens, it's too flat and windy". Sitting baking in the heat, I thought, sounds lovely! So we went. Indeed, it was flat as we drove along. We passed salt marshes full of flamingoes. It was lovely. But, wouldn't you know it, the minute we passed the campsite gates, hills appeared, and our pitch was at the top of a hill that even Tony found steep!

However, the pitch itself was nice, and we walked down to the beach. But this was so narrow and so crowded that it wasn't that great. However, I had a lovely long walk by the sea. That night, though, there was a beautiful moon shining on the water, and we sat there in the dark looking at it. I'd say it was worth the effort just for that evening.

The next day we set off for Cavalaire. The road was beautiful, but not good for driving. The Cote d'Azur has that lovely drop to the sea, which is so pretty, but driving along the twisty, hilly roads in the van is not too great. Now for a very French moment! At one point, the road was blocked off for the weekly market, and we had to go crawling down a steep, narrow road, take a very tight turn, and then back up again. Incredible!

We are now settled in a site in Cavalaire, which hopefully will be the subject of the next blog. We are having a very nice time.

Sanary sur Mer

I have been thinking that the mediterranean climate at this time of year is perfect; pleasantly warm and sunny and not too hot. However, today was hot - 30 degrees and too hot to do a lot of walking about. We took the bus into Sanary sur Mer and sat in the shade by the harbour watching the people and the boats.
We made the short journey of about 50 miles from Aix en Province last Wednesday but couldn't get into our intended campsite. It was full. The season obviously goes on much longer down here, and today we have watched them turning campervans away from the site we are on. We are in a place called Six Fours Les Plages which is next to Sanary sur Mer and we have been taking the bus each day into Sanary; just a ten minute ride away.

Sanary is a beautiful little fishing village but obviously now catering for the tourists. There are still fishing boats at the harbour and each boat has its own stall to sell their catch. We have not been in there early enough to watch, but they are there in the afternoon mending their nets. The harbour is lovely with lots of colourful boats and the quayside is dominated by a lovely church.
We had a little adventure on Friday. We took two local buses which go around the houses to get to La Seyne. When we had to make the connection to the second local bus, I asked the driver to tell me the stop. She said it was her first day on this route and didn't know. Then she gave us the wrong advice and insisted we get off there and we did even though I knew she was wrong! She was only one stop out and we soon walked to the correct stop for the connection. When we arrived at La Seyne we took a small ferry boat across the harbour into Toulon. It was a lovely little trip and a great way to arrive in Toulon. The French mediterranean fleet is based in Toulon and there were quite a few warships anchored in the bay and in the port as well as naval personnel walking around the town. It really felt like I was in Barrow! You can see the similarity in the picture.
The Rough Guide to France really slates Toulon but unjustly so. It was heavily bombed during the war but there are lots of beautiful little streets and small squares with their obligatory Provencal fountain. Some parts seem a little run down, but it is a port city and it had that feel. Less touristy than other places - more down to earth.
One of my passions is French rugby and the Top 14. Ever since Philppe St. Andre left Sale and took half of our team with him, I have followed the progress of Toulon. On TV the Stade Mayol seems to have a wonderful atmosphere. The Stade is next to the harbour and Chris was surprised when I said that I wanted to see it. Nothing was happening there, of course, but a gate was open and I sneaked up the steps to take a look. The stands rise steeply from the pitch and the ground is surrounded by apartment blocks and other buildings that give it the feeling of a cauldron. It would be great to be there on a match day. I am just sorry that I didn't take a photograph for the blog.
We took the cowardly way back home from Toulon. Rather than the boat and two changes on local country buses, we went to La Gare Routiere and took the big bus straight back to Sanary sur Mer with only one stop on the way.
We have to move on from here and we will probably go east along the coast to Cavalaire sur Mer. We are out of food so we have to find a supermarche first.
Just one more thing - my Kindle is brilliant. Each morning I switch it on and within two minutes, as soon as the 3G kicks in, there is today's Guardian. Wonderful!

Camping under the Motorway

Well, after a four day drive we are now in Aix en Provence. This campsite is so very strange! First of all, it's almost under the motorway. You can stand under the motorway bridge and nearly touch the campsite wall. When you get inside, it's like another world. It's full of trees, and a small river runs through the middle of the site. But it's only a small plot of land, and it's like a warren, with nooks and crannies which serve as camping pitches. If you arrive late, you never know where you might end up. The facilites are clean, but out of the ark. It's all very quaint.

Our part of the site is very interesting in a mad sort of way. In the far, rather dark and strange corner are two very friendly retired teachers from England who keep their caravan here permanently. They like wandering about in their red dressing gowns, and buying ripe figs. The man opposite is very eccentric. He spends a lot of time under his classic sports car, drinks beer for breakfast, and speaks to no-one. He harrumphs now and then when things are not going his way. As you can see, we don't need to go out for entertainment.

But of course, we do go out. Aix is such a pretty town. Our favourite part is the daily food market, where we have a favourite cafe.

Today, however, we went to a different one, as the British couple had recommended the special French breakfast there. The waiter just kept coming out with drinks, croissants, bread, fromage frais, and fruit salad. Oh and little dishes of jam. It was a novel experience, and we really enjoyed taking our time over it.











Afterwards, we went to the art gallery, as there was an exhibition on, which sounded really good. However, it was a bit uninspiring, although there were a few nice paintings, especially those by Cezanne, who lived here. A lot of men in Aix seem to be pretending to be Cezanne, sporting his trademark hat and beard. Maybe there's a look alike competition going on.

We have really enjoyed our few days here. We have a shady pitch, and Tony is enjoying getting his Guardian every

day on his Kindle. For those of you who know the swimsuit saga, he has actually bought a pair of French regulation, tight swimming trunks, so he has been able to go for a swim! As usual, I am enjoying my books and messing about with my photos.

However, we are moving on tomorrow to Sanary sur Mer. The next blog will hopefully be from there, and it will be Tony's turn to write it.
Bye for now!



Sorry I didn't manage to get any pics of Cezanne impostors.

Return to Provence

It is Monday August Bank Holiday and here in Manchester it is perhaps 15 degrees ( that's being generous) and, of course, raining. Luckily, we are off early on Wednesday morning for La Belle France and some warmer weather. Today we are loading up the van and we can't wait to get away again. Here is the cunning plan.

This trip will be a mixture of old and new. We will return to some favourite haunts and, for the new, we will explore the mediterranean coast around Toulon. We are not stopping in London on the way down this time, but going straight to Folkestone for the tunnel. Although the crossing is not untill 18.20, we will set off as soon as we can and hopefully get an earlier crossing. That usually happens. Then we will stay the night at La Bien Assise at Guines near Calais. They have wifi in the campsite bar there and we might be persuaded to have a drink. The next morning we will be at the Auchan Supermarche in Calais when it opens at 8.30am for cheap diesel and the odd bottle of wine. Then it is onto autoroute 26 heading for Chalons-en-Champagne where we will spend Thursday night. The next day we will drive as a far as Tournus, just north of Lyon, and rest for the night, before another day's drive to Aix-en-Provence. After four days driving from Manchester we will stay here for three or four nights. We have used the site a few times before and we like it. There is a bus stop just outside for a 10 minute ride in to the city. Aix is a beautiful place and we enjoy sitting in the cafes next to the market and watching life go by.

From Aix it is just a 50 mile drive to Toulon. We are heading for a place called Sanary sur Mer just west of Toulon. This will be new to us, but it sounds good. It describes itself as a small fishing port, but obviously now it is very touristy and commercial. I think we will stop here about a week or so, before heading east along the coast to Cavalaire sur Mer. If we find anything interesting on the way we will stop. Hyeres looks interesting and we may well go there. It is just east of Toulon where the airport for Toulon is located. I don't think we will go further east along the coast than Cavalaire; it depends on the time.

On the return we hope to visit Uzes again. This is a really beautiful town west of Avignon towards the mountains.

Then, finally I hope to spend a week in my favourite village of Beaumes de Venise (just north of Carpentras). The grape harvest should be in full swing and I will, of course, help out by drinking some they made earlier. It would be churlish not to. Then it will be a three day drive back to Calais. By this time in October, campsites will be shutting up for winter and we will have to find alternatives.

Hope you follow us again this time and the blogs will become more interesting when we get underway and Chris starts writing them.

Pictures: Our old van in the campsite at Beaumes, Aix en Provence, and the market at Beaumes de Venise.

Of old people and Tarte Flambee.

Well, this is it. The last town on our tour of Germany and France. We have really enjoyed our trip. We have seen such lovely places, and met so many kind and friendly people. However, it will be good to get home, too. I really miss everyone there, especially this year, with our power problems. The reason we have battery power now is because Tony asked a British man to top up the laptop. It's a good job he's got the cheek of the devil.

The village of Molsheim was nice, but I am not going to describe yet another pretty little place. I think my most humourous memory of the place will be when a Dutch lady asked Tony if he was a war veteran! I shouldn't laugh, as I was once asked if I was evacuated in the war! We must look very old!

Another nice memory will be the Tarte Flambee picnic. It sounds racy, but it was a lot more prosaic than that. The tarte is a speciality of Alsace, and we campers (in shorts and crocs), all sat eating it outside the "library" (and the loos). The tarte was bit like pizza gone wrong. It was tasty, and cream-based, but not quite as good as pizza. We washed it down with beer and coke, and it was a nice occasion. I wonder why Tony's blogs are learned and historical, and mine are usually about food. There's a message in there somewhere!



We finally decided to stop off at Nancy on the way to Calais, and that's where we are now. We went into town earlier, and I have to say I was impressed by Stanislaus Square. It's as good as anything in Paris, and better than Berlin. I think it's my fave place this trip. We ate our sandwiches in a lovely park (more food), and the sun kept coming out, so it was a great day out.

On Friday we will set off for Calais, with an overnight stop on the way. Then it's the wine buying session, before arriving in Dover on Sunday.

We have struggled with this blog a bit, and I hope you haven't all been bored to tears. We will let you know when the next one will be, when we go travelling again. Thanks for reading!

P.S. Thanks to Dolan Tours.com for this trip. When he was not taking shortcuts, or ignoring maps, the tour guide was very good!

Strasbourg

I am glad we went to Strasbourg because it turned out to be a gem. It really is a beautiful city, and if the cynical Rough Guide to France says that then it must be true. It has a bit of everything - old half-timbered, medieval buildings which are so predominant in Alsace, and in contrast it has the very modern architecture of the European Parliament and institutions. Both are impressive.

The cathedral, which is dedicated to Our Lady - Notre Dame de Strasbourg, must be one of the loveliest cathedrals in France. Its single and very ornate spire dominates the city. It rises straight up out of the medieval buildings which crowd round its feet.

The old city, which is quite compact, sits on an island formed by the River Ill and various canals. There is water everywhere. We took a lovely boat trip along various water courses to see the sights of the city. This included the old section full of medieval houses called La Petite France. The boat then took us out to the buildings of the European institutions - the Court of Human Rights and the European Parliament.



We had visited both of these areas the day before, just wandering through them quite slowly as we like to do. We had taken the tram out to the European Parliament for the city has an impressive tram system. The campsite was about 3km south of the city centre and we used the tram each day to get in and out.

We enjoyed just wandering around the city, stopping often, as we do, for coffee and icecream. To cap it all, I could get a Guardian each day.

We are now in Molsheim, a beautiful wine town about 25 km west of Strasbourg towards the Vosges Mountains. We are having a quiet, relaxing few days here really doing nothing. We read and walk into town for coffee. Sadly, we have just about run out of books. We need a Kindle each! We have to make up our minds in the next couple of days whether we should stop in Nancy on the way back and visit its famous square, or just stay here and go directly to Calais at the end of the week. It's a hard life.

Alsace.

Alsace is a part of France that is new to us and it is very pretty. It is also very Germanic, which is not surprising, as it borders Germany. Alsace has been fought over and swapped between France and Germany for hundreds of years. In Colmar, just 30 miles from the border, you could hear plenty of German being spoken as well as French. The German might not actually have beenGerman at all, but "Elsassisch" or Alsatian, which apparently comes from a high German dialect and is still spoken by the locals. We are on the "route du vin" which follows lots of small wine towns and villages along the eastern side of the Vosges mountains from Colmar to Strasbourg.
We have been very lucky to get places at the campsites at Colmar and Obernai during the busy holiday period. The site at Colmar was particularly nice as we had a view of the river. One evening we watched a heron catch a huge fish. On two evenings a stork flew in and came quite close to the van. It was fairly calm in the face of all the tourists taking pictures of it. There are a lot of storks here. They nest on chimney pots and spires in the towns.
The humans were interesting too. One evening six men paddled up in rubber dinghies. They wore baggy old clothes and berets. They got out, put up a tarpauline over a rope and settled in for the night, before setting off again the next day. It was like a scene from a gentle retro French film.
We really loved Colmar. You would think that by now we would be sick of medieval half-timbered buildings, but Colmar was exceptionally beautiful. By the canal the former homes of fishermen have been restored in bright colours. It was such a nice surprise when we came upon it. It's a tourist trap, but very picturesque.
We joined the locals in the market again, and bought fresh pasta and salad for tea, which was a treat, as cooking with the grill in the hot van has been a bit overwhelming.
One of the highlights of Colmar was the art gallery, where we saw the Issenheim Altarpiece. This is apparently quite famous. Anyway, it was very powerful in its depiction of the crucifixion. It was painted in the 15th century, but it looked quite modern in its realism.

Obernai.
When we moved to Obernai, I thought it would be very similar to Colmar, and it is. However, its charm lies in the fact that it is smaller annd quieter than the other towns. As we walked into town, we saw children on an old fashioned carousel. Then, when we came around the corner, we saw the old market place, which was beautiful in the sunshine. Yesterday we enjoyed walking around the town, and today we strolled around the ramparts which still surround the town. This little place remained unscathed by two world wars, which accounts for its authenticity and beauty.
We are hoping to post a last blog from Strasbourg, before we head for home. But this depends on the latop battery life. Love to all, family and friends.

Freiburg im Breisgau

We had a long hot journey here yesterday from Mesenich. There were two long traffic jams on the autobahn which added more than an hour to our journey. I got totally fed up in the second traffic jam and left the autobahn in frustration. Not a good idea when you don't know where you are going and the sat nav is having a fit and desperately trying to make you turn round and go back to the autobahn!
The site here is quite different. It is hilly and a little cramped for space but the owner is packing everyone in. There is a big holiday weekend coming up and he can only promise us two nights. Thursday is the feast of the Ascension; a public holiday, and everyone takes the Friday off to make it a long weekend. The redeeming feature of the site is a lovely biere garten open to the locals as well as the campers. We had a couple of beers in there last night and we are planning to eat there tonight. Curry wurst, pommes frites und biere for me I think! Can't wait.
We made an earlier than usual start today and walked into Freiburg. If you can imagine what you think a typical German town on the edge of the Black Forest looks like then you have imagined Freiburg. It is a very pretty; very picturesque and historical town. The old town is full of beautiful half timbered buildings, but it is dominated by it's cathedral and the cathedral square.
The cathedral platz was taken over by a busy market this morning.



First of all we had Kaffe watching the locals in the market and then we joined them to buy fresh fruit and veg. It really was a pleasant experience just wandering through the stalls. My day was made when I found today's Guardian. Cheap at 3.20 euros! Not much more than a cup of coffee but at least two days reading in it. I was surprised to see that England had beaten Sri Lanka - it looked certain to be a draw yesterday.



The cathedral is dedicated to Our Lady and it is a very impressive piece of Gothic architecture. This part of Germany, like Bavaria, seems to be very Catholic. Chris lit a candle there for Sylvia this morning on her birthday. It has become something of a tradition for her now as we are always away somewhere at this time of year.
The sunshine we enjoyed all morning disappeared and we walked back to the campsite late this afternoon in heavy rain. I hope it doesn't end our brtawurst and beer plans for this evening. It is our last night here and we are going to cross the Rhine tomorrow morning into France. We are heading for the town of Colmar in Alsace - just 30 miles from here. It is the start of the wine route through Alsace and we will finish up eventually at Strasbourg.

Mesenich: wine, cake and all good things.

We are still in the Mosel valley taking it very easy, but we have moved down river about 15K to a little wine village called Mesenich. We stayed on this site right by the river about 3 years ago. It is very pretty, set among the vines, and very quiet. It has a bar and there are lots of good walks along the river to different villages. Our favourite village is Mesenich itself.


It is so gorgeous, but so quiet. You hardly ever see a soul. Even today, when the wine festival is on, it is not busy. Some people have gone up into the vines, to taste wine, and there is a brass band up there, walking from stall to stall. I'm not sure what their music will be like when they reach the last one!
There is a nice hotel in the village where you can get coffee and cake, and we went there instead, and had rather delicious apple cake with ice cream. The people there are always delighted to welcome us, as English people, and they seem to appreciate Tony speaking some German.
When we walk the other way along the river, we can get our coffee and cake in a cafe in the vineyard (see photo).
Strangely the man who owns this vineyard where we staying is the one who provides all the mulled wine at the English Christmas markets, including Manchester. So now we can imagine the grapes growing here, as we sip at the wine next December.
Some of the things I love about these holidays are: fresh bread for breakfast, friendly people, birdsong, the cuckoos, being outdoors, seeing new things.
We hope to be able to post two more blogs yet. So watch this space! Love to all.

The Mosel Valley - Cochem

Our next visit, after a long drive from Berlin, was to a town called Cochem in the Mosel Valley - wine country. It is one of those German towns with a fairytale castle perched high above the river. Huge cruise boats park there, and the bridge is overtaken by Americans who can't get enough of the view.
The town itself has typical German half-timbered buildings which surround the small market square, where you can get coffee. Strangely, it also seems to be a mecca for Harley Davidson "boys". There were hundreds of Harleys there at the weekend, and all the old rockers, complete with droopy white moustaches, and ponytails. It was great fun.


One evening we went into town for a meal, and being in Germany, Tony had pizza and I had plaice and chips! Typical Brits! Well, we have been eating a lot of bratwurst too (The diets are not going too well).

Cochem - The Castle
Thankfully, the walk up to the castle could be avoided by taking the popular shuttle bus, and that is what we did. We got lovely views up there. The castle has a huge golden mosaic of St Christopher on its side, and the kind of turrets that you only exist in children's books. However, you could only see inside the castle if you took a rather pricey guided tour. Neither of us like guided tours, so we made do with the view, and a leisurely walk down back into the town. We finished with delicious ice-creams; we are becoming too fond of them!
Another lovely day. How lucky we are!

Catching up; East Berlin.

At last! We have wifi at this site. We are now in the lovely Mosel valley, in a traditional, quiet wine village called Mesenich. We stayed here two or three years ago, but more of that later. Now to catch up.
On Monday 16th May we decided to visit Prenzlauer Berg in the former East Berlin as the guide book said it was interesting and gave a feeling for the city at the time of reunification. We started our visit in Potsdamer Platz, which is now very modern, but which was the heart of the city before it was razed in WW2. There were bits of the Berlin Wall there, brought from various parts of the city and joined up by displays of historical information. There was also an "East German soldier" who was stamping tourists' passports with an East Berlin stamp. Oddly, there was also a man on a sledge (with wheels) driving a team of huskies along the street!
On the U-Bahn, Berlin's underground, heading for Prenzlauer, the infrastructure became older, and the people looked poorer. The whole of the Prenzlauer district consists of street upon street of tenement blocks used to house East Berlin workers. Happily, many are being renovated, but there are still some which remain untouched and these had an eery atmosphere of Eastern Bloc days. We had a pleasant walk, and found a lovely square with coffee shops and a park.
Alexanderplatz, however, was not as nice. It was huge, cold and windy, and was surrounded by huge eastern bloc style buildings, one of which is now a C and A. It was dismal, and not just because of the weather. It reminded us of Piccadilly Gardens on a bad day ie. groups of teenagers, fast food bars and cheap shops. This was the centre of old East Berlin.


However, we also visited two very old churches, which managed to survive, and Tony had his picture taken with the statue of Marx and Engels. He said that they were his heroes!
Although it was a cold, wet day, we did enjoy our visit Prenzlauer and the former East Berlin in a funny sort of way. It was interesting and we were glad that we had decided to get off the beaten track.
We ended the day by putting on the heating in the van, and suggling up with our books!

Welcome to Berlin

Well, here we are in Potsdam, near Berlin, where we can get into the city centre by public transport. The journey here was OK, once we found the correct way, and finished going circling roundabouts a few times. Two sat-navs, and four brains, and we stll get lost! The campsite is pricey but nice, with lovely facilities. It's by a picturesque lake, but sadly that also means viscious mossies! The first night here we made the mistake of going to the bar, and ended up paying 40.00 euros for three rounds each (four people). But we can't complain. We like it here.

Yesterday in Berlin the sun shone, and it was a delight to emerge from the U Bahn and see the Brandenburg Gate straight ahead of us. After taking the necessary shots, we headed for the Holocaust Memorial. It's controversial, consisting of hundreds of huge stone blocks. But Tony and I liked the feeling of desolation which it gave, which I expect is what the artist wanted us to feel. Tony and Peter went into the Holocaust Museum but I chose to sit in the sun with a tea and a muffin, although the sparrows attacked the muffin before I could get to it. We walked down the Unter Den Linden, under the Lime trees, but I found it disappointing after places like the Ramblas in Barcelona. But we also found a beautiful Italianate square, where we sat in the sun for a bit.
Tomorrow Tony and I are heading for the Art Gallery and a lively area in the Old East Berlin which looks interesting. Peter and Liz are staying here with the dog. So we will reporting on that in our next blog, which will be coming from Tony, the director of Dolan'sTours.com (he did make us wander up quite a few wrong streets yesterday, and Peter says he's losing confidence in our tour guide)! As Kathy says, never take one of his short - cuts!

Convoy Leader to Rubber Duck

Hello everyone. As you may know, our friends Peter and Liz have joined us on our trip this year. Yesterday we met in Calais, and Peter produced walky - talkies for us to use in our respective vans. I thought this great fun! But the men took it all rather seriously, and didn't join in with the Rubber Duck game. I was the only one who said "Copy that. 10 - 4," all day. However, it was funny when both Sat Navs gave different directions. It was the blind leading the blind. But we made it to Arnhem eventually.

Peter, Tony and I took the bus into Arnhem today, and went to see the bridge (too far). It was actually quite interesting, with a little visitor centre, which gave minimal information. This suited me, a bear of little brain. It was difficult to imagine the war-time scenes, but it felt sad all the same. I wanted Tony and Peter to do action shots near the bridge, but they were both reluctant. I think I need Kathy and Esther here to join in with my ideas!

We also went up the church tower. Now those who know me well will admire my courage here! It was a glass lift! Yes! And I kept my eyes open! Again, it was interesting, but scaffolding marred the view.

Arnhem is a pretty town, and we found a nice place to sit near the market, where we bought fresh fruit. For some reason shopping in European markets feels like fun. I'm not sure why.
The campsite is nice, too. It's in a forest, and the sun is shining. So, all in all, so far, so good.

The next post will be from Berlin in a few days' time. So watch this space!