Read this blog: The one where we pass through the Rhine Gorge Thursday 13th to Saturday15th July After returning to the boat in Rüdesheimer, where we had lunch, the boat set off for its journey further north up through the most picturesque part of the River Rhine. Here we are travelling through an area with many beautiful castles on both sides of the river. The Rhine Gorge is the name given to the 65km stretch of the river between Rüdesheim and Koblenz where it runs between steep rock faces up to 200m high. Historically many boats have capsized here on a dangerous curve in the river. The rational explanation is that the rocky riverbed coupled with unusual currents make this section difficult to navigate safely but locals have woven legends to explain the frequent tragedies. The Rhine Gorge still presents a hazard and the most recent shipwreck was in 2011 when a tanker carrying 2,400 tons of sulfuric acid capsized. One feature of the gorge is the Lorelei, a 132 m high steep slate rock formation which has had an amphitheatre perched on the top since the 1930s. There is a bronze statue called the Lorelei Statue which marks the […]
Germany
Read this blog: The one where we cycle through a vineyard. Wednesday 12th July to Thursday [morning] 13th July 2023 Having travelled overnight again, we awoke in Speyer and started the day watching a local man fishing while we were eating our breakfast. But we failed to see him catch a single fish, only some seaweed as he gradually got further and further into the water. [His partner did not look as though they were going to go to save him if he fell.] We started by heading into Speyer on foot, to go to the Technik Museum, which has many different vehicles on display ranging from bikes, cars, planes as well as mock ups of Apollo 11. Jaime has commented that there are too many photos of the Technik Museum, but Robert insisted that he wants to show the vast array of vehicles. Be warned: the Technik Museum Speyer was opened in 1991 and contains more than 2,000 exhibits in a total exhibition area, both inside and outdoors, of over 150,000 m². So get ready! There was a row of Rolls Royce cars through the years. Jaime couldn’t really tell much of a difference between them but enjoyed the BMW […]
Read this blog: The one where we start our Rhine cruise Sunday 9th to Tuesday 11th July 2023 Earlier in the year Robert planned to accompany his mother on a river cruise along the Rhine in preparation for them taking a much longer trip in 2024. However, in May this year, his mother decided that, due to various health issues she would not be able to travel. So close to the departure date there was no chance of getting a full refund and she kindly thought to give her place to a deserving cause. Although Matilda felt she could have been a serious contender in this category, she had been allocated tickets in the public ballot for the Men’s Singles Final at Wimbledon. Such an opportunity might never come her way again and it was something she definitely wanted to tick off her bucket list. At the start of the year when she was offered the tickets she had agreed to go with our elder daughter, Ruth, who [unlike Robert] enjoys Pimms, tennis and strawberries and cream and was willing to pay for her own ticket. With two members of The Herd therefore already committed, the obvious candidate was our […]
Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th March 2023 This trip has a complicated history. We originally planned a three day trip to Bruges in December 2021 with our friends Liz and Martin. However, just as we were about to depart, an incomprehensible rule was introduced which prevented people from staying for more than 48 hours in Belgium without taking a Covid test. We were never entirely sure how this was meant to restrict the spread of the virus but we did not want to break the rules and risk having to pay for our own accommodation to isolate. Our Eurostar tickets were non-transferable so we could change neither the names of the passengers nor the route travelled. We therefore decided to leave Belgium early, spend one night in Lille, in France, and book new tickets to travel home from there to circumvent the rule. This left us with two return tickets from Brussels. Robert has been repeatedly deferring these tickets ever since but our time has run out and it was a case of ‘use them or lose them’. So here we are, on a trip planned to take in Düsseldorf, Bonn and Maastricht, returning via Brussels. As will become apparent in […]
Monday 27th March 2023 Yesterday, just as the tram we were waiting for arrived, Robert spotted a message on the rolling digital notice board saying that there would be a national transport strike in Germany on 28th March. Robert mentioned this to Matilda. We were booked on a train to Bonn that day, so this obviously caused us some consternation. Having already boarded the tram, we discussed the ramifications and decided to get off at the next stop and walk back to the Hauptbahnhof to see how the situation could be resolved. As we walked, Robert called our hotel to ask if we could stay an extra night. Once this was agreed in principle we went to the ticket office to see what our options were. We were told that our tickets would be valid for several days after the designated strike day and we were given a printout of the train times for the following days. We returned to the hotel to confirm we would be staying for an extra day and find out whether we would need to change rooms. We would not. The woman on reception told us she had amended our booking and gave us new keycards […]
Berlin – Thursday 13th December 2018 After an early, though slightly delayed flight to Berlin, we checked in to an appropriately cat-themed hotel, with cat flaps painted on the outside of the room doors and cats eyes on the key cards. From here it was a short walk to see the site of Check Point Charlie and Trabiworld… …the remaining section of the Wall on Niederkirchnerstraße… …the Sony Center… …the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe… …the site of Hitler’s bunker… …the Brandenberg Gate and the Reichstag… …to finish in the Gendarmen Christmas Market… … for beer and snacks. Berlin – Friday 14th December 2018 After a late breakfast, Jaime wanted to make progress on one of her university assignments so returned to the warmth of the hotel to work whilst the rest of Travelling Herd went to the Jewish Museum which included a special exhibition entitled Welcome to Jerusalem. From there we went to the Topology of Terror Museum which focuses on the institutions of the police and the SS in the Third Reich and the crimes they committed throughout Europe. German museums do not shy away from the atrocities of the second world war and whilst this […]
Wednesday, 24th October 2018 As the aire was spacious and flat Robert demanded that Matilda try out the e-bike, which she has been studiously avoiding ever since he bought it. She is, as you can see, not a confident cyclist and is particularly concerned about her safety on the “wrong side of the road.” The journey started with a short diversion into Luxembourg to top up with cheap fuel and then on to Aachen. It was a longer drive than usual today across bridges passing high over valleys and through hills covered with conifers laden with cones and deciduous trees turning the warm shades of autumn. The mist low enough to conceal the blades of the wind turbines at the top of their rotation and a fine drizzle. It is reassuring, if reassuring is the right word, that the UK does not have a monopoly on roadworks which stretch for miles with little apparent activity. The Dom [cathedral] was the first World Heritage Site in Germany and the oldest part, Charlemagne’s Palace, was built between AD 794 and AD 810. Charlemagne himself is buried here in the town he made capital of his Frankish empire in 794. The Dom is […]
Tuesday, 23rd October 2018 Trier lays claim to being the oldest city in Germany having been capital of the Western Roman Empire in the third century. Several of its buildings have been designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites and it is also the birthplace of Karl Marx. We left our aire on the banks of the Moselle and made our way into town, past the remains of an ancient synagogue, . . . . . . .the Kaiserthermen [Roman Imperial Baths – dogs not allowed] and the ornate eighteenth century Rococo Kurfürstliches Palais [Palace of the Electors]. . . . . . to the Konstantin Basilika [Imperial Throne Room]. The Basilika was originally built about AD 310 as the Aula Palatina or audience hall of the Roman Imperial Residence of Constantine the Great. Modified many times since Rome fell, it has subsequently been used by the Frankish counts of this district and then by local archbishops. Latterly it was restored to its original size and has been a Protestant Church since 1856. It was burnt out in 1944 during WWII but it was rededicated as a place of worship in 1956. We alternated going inside with staying outside in the comparative […]
Monday, 22nd October 2018 When we embarked on this trip we knew that we had a maximum of eight weeks in which to travel before we needed to return home for our long-awaited trip to Iceland in search of the Northern Lights. We were also aware of a couple of things which might make us head home sooner than planned. Fortunately motorhoming gives us this flexibility and as one of these has materialised, over the next week we will be heading north and retracing our steps, albeit via different cities, to return to England. Sorting out the rubbish as we left Saverne we found that the sound of a bottle falling into the large municipal recycling bin frightened Ralf. He also didn’t like being put back in Alan in case Matilda went somewhere without him. We have also found that the Navigon sat nav system can be a little unpredictable. The pronunciation of some of the place names is almost incomprehensible, being a combination of the English pronunciation of letters and that of the local country. It also sometimes chooses a very questionable route for us to follow. Today, it tried to get us to join the motorway via the back […]
Tuesday, 7th August 2018 Today we set out on our main train journey of the year. We are travelling over two weeks through the middle of Europe, ending up in the town of Tulcea [Romania], where the River Danube joins the Black Sea at the Danube Delta. This is handy as this is where we will pick up a river cruise back along the Danube to Linz [Austria]. From Linz we will fly back home to the UK. Along the way we will be joined by Ruth and Jaime, who will be flying to Bucharest and then joining us at Constanta for the river cruise. We started with a bus from home in Downe at 06:44 this morning, followed by a train to King`s Cross St Pancras [#1 of 15]. At 09:22 we caught the train to Paris [#2 of 15]. This allowed us to have a nice leisurely lunch of salad in Paris. Obviously we had to have our first chilled beers of the tour as well. Cheers. At 15:55 we caught the train from Paris to Munich [#3 of 15]. This is a five hour event so Robert made himself quite at home surrounded by technology and beer […]