European Trip - Day 28

We left the site this morning, and made sure we filled up the diesel tank as it's cheaper in Luxemburg than any of the other countries we're going to. We drove into Belgium to the town of Gavere, which has a free aire next to a big canal. Remarkably it also has free toilets and showers, though no other services.

We went for a walk through the town and some countryside, then back along the canal.

We watched the first half of the England match, then went for a takeaway from the local, highly recommended, chip shop Frituur Wilfriet. Scott had the Wilfrietje (chips with sauce, pepper mayo, onions, and chopped bacon) and Shirley had burger and fries. Both were very good.

European Trip - Day 27

We've decided to stay another night here, so arranged that at reception. We walked from the site along the river to the next village, Bettendorf. We soon found out that in Luxemburg, everyone greets each other by saying "Moien". Different from the "Servus" or "Grüß Gott" you get in Germany.

We then went uphill along country lanes and tracks to an old stone quarry, where we stopped for a sandwich. There's a natural spring there where Oscar could have a drink.

We continued walking along the ridge past Diekirch. It was one of the hottest days today, about 32 degrees, so when there was no tree cover it was quite punishing.

Eventually we went back down to the riverside, and found a field of the town's famous donkeys.

The walk was about 20km with 380m of ascent.

We had planned to go into to town for dinner in the evening, but decided it was too hot to leave Oscar in the van. Instead we had a barbecue of haloumi and bratwurst, with pepper, courgette, tomato, coleslaw and kartoffelsalat.

Later there was a storm with a huge amount of thunder and lightning, so perhaps it was just as well we didn't go out.

European Trip - Day 26

We decided to go via Luxemburg on the route north, for no other reason than because we hadn't been there before. After stopping for shopping, then a service station for lunch, we bypassed Luxemburg city and found a campsite called Camping de Sûre in Diekirch. It is 20 euros per night if you use the stellplatz near the gate, and that includes electric and use of all services.

We went for a walk along the River Sûre, then up a hill before circling back into town.

We had a drink in one of the squares, and noted that the beer is more expensive than Germany and comes in smaller glasses.

The donkey is the emblem of the town, and the square has a statue of one with money coming out of its behind, so presumably they're a sign of good fortune.

Back at the van we had a barbecue of chicken skewers, pepper, courgette, tomatoes and kartoffelsalat.

European Trip - Day 25

We woke in the morning to a big thunder and lightning storm. Once the rain eased off we walked down into town to use the public toilets, then went in to see the castle on the way back up.

We then left the stellplatz and drove to Rothenburg ob Der Tauber, again losing the Romantic Road at a set of roadworks with a diversion.

Rothenburg is one of the main tourist attractions, with intact city walls surrounding the whole town which you can walk in a covered passageway.

There are loads of interesting medieval buildings, streets and squares.

We walked outside the walls for a bit, then back to the main square before returning to the van.

We left the Romantic Road and headed north towards the Rhine. We aimed for a campsite that was shown on Google maps, but when we got there it didn't seem to exist. Eventually we found one not too far away called Blue Adria, which is near a small lake. It's 15 euros per night without electric, and showers are 1.5 euros.

After checking in we walked to the beach at the lake, which has a bar and snack kiosk. We had a beer there then went back to the van.

For dinner we had a barbecue of beefburgers, pepper, courgette, onion, coleslaw and kartoffelsalat.

There were a lot of mosquitos about, we had to give the van a good spraying before going to bed.

European Trip - Day 24

We left the van in the stellplatz and walked to the station about a kilometre away. We bought return tickets to Augsburg and caught the next train.

In Augsburg, which is the 3rd largest city in Bavaria, we found the tourist information office and got a map with a walking tour. We walked around the market and the old town.

In some places there are a lot of running water channels or rivers between the pavements and the houses.

We visited the Fuggerei, which is a walled social housing complex that was founded in 1516 and is still in use today. Residents who need accommodation can apply and pay a tiny rent as long as they follow its rules. It was very interesting to walk round the streets and into the museums and displays.

We bought cheese and spinach Börek (pastries) for lunch.

The city has a huge cathedral.

We had an ice cream then caught the train to Friedburg and walked back to the van.

We joined the Romantic Road again and headed north, though we still lost it on the way. However we did reach Harburg Castle which has a stellplatz in the car park where you can stay for 8 euros including electric. We were parked next to another British van, one of the few we've seen around recently.

We went for a walk, past the castle and down the hill into the village, which is quite a nice little place. There are a lot of carvings and art and craft things spread about everywhere.

We went into a beer garden for a drink, but the rain came on shortly afterwards. We were able to find shelter and later a break in the rain allowed us to walk up the hill back to the van.

For dinner we had pasta with pesto, bacon and tomato.