Departure Campsite: Alisehof, Bad Rippoldsau-Schapbach, Germany (N 48.38381 E 8.30202)
Destination Campsite: Ourtal-Idyll, Gentingen, Germany (N 49.89885 E 6.23687)
Distance: 205 miles/330 km (today) 2460 miles/3959 km (total)
Got out of bed around 07:30 and had beans and mushrooms on toast before packing away. The Quechua tent was now looking a little worse for wear, with the yellow binding strap torn off. I washed up while Ali sorted the bags and boxes out. Zoe seemed to take forever in the shower. The site fee was a little higher than I thought it would be at €29.90, but not too bad compared to UK prices I guess. We collected the bread rolls we ordered the night before and left the site at around 10:30, with Ali taking the first stint at driving.
The journey to our next site, until we got to the motorway, was very tedious, despite the magnificent scenery in the Black Forest. We got stuck behind a lorry with a load of logs for a long time, and no sooner had we got past that than we were stuck behind another slow moving vehicle.
We managed to make up a little time on the motorway and stopped for our usual lunch of baguettes at an aire. I took over driving from there and Ali sat in the back with Zoe while James came up front for a change. We drove over the border into Luxembourg and the first thing we noticed was a queue of lorries at a petrol station, because fuel is about 30 cents a litre cheaper in Luxembourg. We were surprised by the scenery, very rural, almost English countryside, but obviously not as picturesque as the Black Forest. we continued the journey back across the German border and found our campsite, having only stopped in Luxembourg to buy diesel.
The campsite was very green and grassy, which was welcome as didn't see much off it at our previous sites in France. There was nobody in reception, but I spoke to someone on a phone which was by the door, arranged a pitch and also ordered bread for tomorrow.
We found a nice pitch and had a cup of tea and an apple before driving back into Luxembourg to go to a Lidl supermarket. Back at the campsite Ali heated up some garlic bread while I played Frisbee and rounders with the kids.
After tea we went for a walk around the little village and found some interesting houses, some in very good condition with flowers around the door and others in ruin. There was a nice church with very tidy graves all planted with flowers. A bridge across the river linked Germany to Luxembourg and had originally been built during the war by Germans. There were many other historic landmarks from the 2nd World War around the area including a bunker, but unfortunately we did not have the time to get to see them.
We went back to the van and a cat came over to join us as we washed up (using a kettle as there was a charge for hot water). Zoe and Ali, though, were particularly taken by a lovely retriever pup on site.
Destination Campsite: Ourtal-Idyll, Gentingen, Germany (N 49.89885 E 6.23687)
Distance: 205 miles/330 km (today) 2460 miles/3959 km (total)
Got out of bed around 07:30 and had beans and mushrooms on toast before packing away. The Quechua tent was now looking a little worse for wear, with the yellow binding strap torn off. I washed up while Ali sorted the bags and boxes out. Zoe seemed to take forever in the shower. The site fee was a little higher than I thought it would be at €29.90, but not too bad compared to UK prices I guess. We collected the bread rolls we ordered the night before and left the site at around 10:30, with Ali taking the first stint at driving.
The journey to our next site, until we got to the motorway, was very tedious, despite the magnificent scenery in the Black Forest. We got stuck behind a lorry with a load of logs for a long time, and no sooner had we got past that than we were stuck behind another slow moving vehicle.
We managed to make up a little time on the motorway and stopped for our usual lunch of baguettes at an aire. I took over driving from there and Ali sat in the back with Zoe while James came up front for a change. We drove over the border into Luxembourg and the first thing we noticed was a queue of lorries at a petrol station, because fuel is about 30 cents a litre cheaper in Luxembourg. We were surprised by the scenery, very rural, almost English countryside, but obviously not as picturesque as the Black Forest. we continued the journey back across the German border and found our campsite, having only stopped in Luxembourg to buy diesel.
The campsite was very green and grassy, which was welcome as didn't see much off it at our previous sites in France. There was nobody in reception, but I spoke to someone on a phone which was by the door, arranged a pitch and also ordered bread for tomorrow.
We found a nice pitch and had a cup of tea and an apple before driving back into Luxembourg to go to a Lidl supermarket. Back at the campsite Ali heated up some garlic bread while I played Frisbee and rounders with the kids.
After tea we went for a walk around the little village and found some interesting houses, some in very good condition with flowers around the door and others in ruin. There was a nice church with very tidy graves all planted with flowers. A bridge across the river linked Germany to Luxembourg and had originally been built during the war by Germans. There were many other historic landmarks from the 2nd World War around the area including a bunker, but unfortunately we did not have the time to get to see them.
We went back to the van and a cat came over to join us as we washed up (using a kettle as there was a charge for hot water). Zoe and Ali, though, were particularly taken by a lovely retriever pup on site.
