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!