Just a few random road pics….

Is that the London eye falling down?

Helicopter on a roof – and more soccer!

Baby blanket nbr1 in chenille yarn from Wilko.

Sun through the clouds in Oxfordshire

When the traffic is at a standstill and the driver has to have a fag!

I don’t think a trailer works like this!

Mirrored building in Birmingham

1 1/2 hour delay and we’ve arrived in Dudley street.

It’s the sun again – just lower in the sky at 8.05pm as we approach Warrington where I leave the coach after a longer than anticipated trip.

Hot but happy to be back with hubby. Added bonus is that my Trekinetic K2 wheelchair survived another trip – Lancashire to London and back – entirely on public transport 😁🥰

Advertisement

Read Full Post »

Homeward bound….

Waiting for the 3pm FlixBus to Warrington via Birmingham. Getting through this virus shawl at a really good rate with all the waiting for transport 😁

The madwoman in the mask again!

Safely aboard the northward bound coach. Wish me luck because it is Friday afternoon all the way up the M1 and then the M6 😱

Read Full Post »

Finally arrived…

Bus 139 across London was long but enjoyable. Sadly the English football fans have zero respect for the environment and the poor council that has to clean up their mess after the game!

• 

• 

I had to wait 29 minutes but my Uber driver from Monday’s trip picked me up and it took just 15 minutes to Colindale. The journey consisted of a huge number of pubs with fans spilling onto the pavement. I’m happy that the pubs are doing very well from the match, but I can assume that in three weeks the Covid rates will spike as a result of zero social distancing!

Altogether a good trip from SE London to NW London. It took 4.5 hours but didn’t feel like it (in fact, the same time it took our coach from Warrington to London). All accomplished on my own and with no stress because I had set my expectations quite low beforehand.

My wheelchair and my prototype tray/coffee holder were absolutely fabulous and it is going to see a lot more action from now on. I have a spot on the back crossbar where I can store it together with my umbrella. I LOVE a successful project. 😁

Read Full Post »

Bus 139 to Golders Green….

A successful train journey into London Charring Cross where I was met with a wheelchair ramp – excellent so far 😁

A few pictures along the way.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

After trying to book an Uber four times without success, I decided to hop on the next northerly bound bus outside the station. This would get me closer to Colindale and hopefully more chance of an Uber as it is a much quicker journey.

The difference is of course that from CharringX to Golders Green is about a 1.5 hour trip not counting in home-time traffic 😱.

I will definitely be late for dinner

• 

• 

• 

• 

Read Full Post »

Charring X by train….

Second stage of my trip to the capital is taking a train from New Eltham in SE London to Charring Cross on the train and then I will probably get an Uber to Colindale to save time and energy.

I have NO idea how easy it is to get on a SE train???

Report to follow.

A bit of crochet on the siding whilst I wait for my carriage.

Read Full Post »

I’ve arrived!

Not at my destination of Sidcup yet, but having a quick break at TomTom Coffee house on the corner of zenith and Elizabeth streets near Victoria bus station.

The tea shop across from me is incredible….

Now to enjoy my coffee and order an Uber.

Read Full Post »

First stop Birmingham….

A stop in Dudley street to pick up passengers and change coach drivers and we are off again. Started another Virus shawl because I know the pattern out of my head and it travels very easily when it is made in just 3ply – a perfect travel project.

Next stop is Finchley Road in London.

Read Full Post »

Londinium bound on a coach….

And so the adventure begins…..

Five days away from home on my own. Taking a coach from Warrington to London Victoria and from there I have to get to Sidcup somehow – maybe a train, a bus or an Uber.

First coach trip and they have managed to stow my wheelchair without any problems – a good start 😄👍 Front row seats mean I can’t miss any of the trip and the knitting and crochet will keep me entertained.

#OnTheRoadAgain #HaveWheelchairWillTravel #MeAndMyTrustyK2 #TravelsWithTrekinetic #heskethemporium #wp @trekinetic @flixbus

Read Full Post »

When she was up she was up…

But when she was down she was down!

What’s the quickest way down a mountain?

Me and my K2 of course 😁. Getting up a mountain is never easy and especially in a wheelchair, but no other chair helps as much as the Trekinetic K2! Using the brakes allows you to control the descent and do some cool spins too 🤣

This is the Todtnau mountains in the Black Forest in Germany and follows a visit to the Todtnau Falls. Not something an average wheelchair could master!

Getting up the mountain would be impossible without my ‘power’ – hubby 💖💖

Read Full Post »

Trains – new and old…

Two days of trains. Firstly, off to Villengen in the Black Forest on Deutshe Bahn in a brand new commuter train with fabulous and easy wheelchair access.

Compulsory face coverings on all trains and everyone listens too – amazing.

Then today, Thursday 23rd September 2020 we drove over to Weizen in the Black Forest and right in the Swiss border for an amazing ride on a museum steam train. The smell of the engine took me straight back to the 1960s as a very small child (around age 6) with my brother and sister, riding the train home to Durban, on our own overnight without adults! We each sported a card tag with our parents names and addresses pinned to our coats just like Paddington Bear, and a little cardboard suitcase. We slept in a train carriage with bunk beds and were summoned to dinner by a uniformed waiter playing a xylophone and served in the dining car on white linen, porcelain plates and silver cutlery. In the morning we hung out the train windows to smell the smoke and try to catch twigs along the route. On arrival we all had black sooty faces and the romance of steam train travel firmly instilled in our hearts.

The great German railway heist?

Hubby having a great time en route home

Read Full Post »

Coffee & COVID….

The reality of a holiday outing during a pandemic is that everywhere you stop for a coffee you have to provide your details to ensure you can be contacted in case you come into contact with anyone with symptoms.

Admin on holiday

For us this means a LOT of forms as we stop for coffee a LOT! 😁

Read Full Post »

Holidays in the COVID Season….Day 0

COVID Chronicles On Tour….

Sunrise in France as we arrived this morning. Stopped for a coffee at an Aire where we can’t interact with the people in the red zone 🤣😷

Sunrise as we arrived in Dunkirk

Stopped at an Aire for a much needed caffeine boost. Red travel corridors meant we couldn’t stop in France, Belgium or Luxembourg on the drive to Germany.

A nice picnic spot to brew up a cafetière before heading off through Belgium – also in the red!

Read Full Post »

Wheelchair user review of Bluestone resort…..

I wanted to write a review from the viewpoint of a wheelchair user because unless you are in a wheelchair others cannot fully grasp the sometimes minor and sometimes major challenges we face.

The resort can be booked for 2, 4 or 7 nights and our 4 night stay started on the Monday night.  I am so grateful for @marvellousmrsp for giving us the spare room in their lodge because it was such a wonderful experience going away with a few friends to such a gorgeous place.  The resort is divided in different areas like little suburbs around the main Bluestone village.  I can still manage to push myself much of the time but if I was booking a lodge for myself I would request one with an entrance more level to the road.  This wouldn’t be any issue if you had one of these amazing chairs from @trekinetic and they tell me that I can upgrade my Trekinetic K2 if necessary – 🎉

The lodges are spread out so you don’t feel as if you are on top of each other like in most static caravan parks and the forest and trees all over the place make for a truly beautiful site with wonderful views of the lake and the Preseli Mountains.

I had plenty of space to store my wheelchair and walker in the entrance hall without cluttering up the lodge and the carpet in the entrance was designed for cleaning plenty of muddy boots and wheels.

The space was bright, open and airy and we immediately felt at home….

I had the downstairs bedroom which was next to a very spacious bathroom with a wet room shower and a full bath.  I was able to wheel myself around without any issues and right up to the basin.  Our bathroom didn’t have any grab bars or aids so you would need to enquire if any lodges have them if you needed them.

The kitchen cupboards were all on the low level and open-plan and accessible with everything you need to make meals if you don’t want to eat out.  The resort has a great selection of restaurants and small eateries to choose from if you prefer to not cook at all.

As a wheelchair user I was allowed to keep my bus outside the lodge and use it to get around.  All other guests are required to remove their cars to the car park for the duration of their stay.  Golf buggies are available to hire and are everywhere and looked like so much fun.  Remember to consider this when saving for your holiday as the site is in the hills and quite extensive so anyone who struggles to walk any distance would need one – or just want one for the sheer fun of it! There is an on site bus and train that is free to use as well – after all, at the end of a day swimming and playing it is nice to be driven home.

Bicycles with trailers are also invaluable as well as the wheeled and collapsible cart I took with.  @tootsiestalesuk loved it so much that she immediately added one to her shopping cart.

 

The many and varied willow withy artwork around the resort are gorgeous and add to the whole magical forest theme.

I definitely built up a bit of extra muscle and got a fair bit of exercise during our stay. The surroundings are so lovely that you want to get out and explore / which is what this place is all about. There is also a beach and many other activities nearby if you want to explore further afield, but we found that there was so much on site we didn’t need to or want to go anywhere else.

The swimming arena isn’t just for swimming, but has a river, slides, obstacle course and waves. We spent a very happy afternoon poolside and although the main lift was broken on the day we went, there was an alternate lift we could use to gain access to the change rooms and the pool. I was asked if I needed the pool hoist, which I don’t, but it was good to know one is available.

There are plenty of great coffee houses and kiosks around the resort and we made good and frequent use of them for our daily coconut latte fix 😁.

Everywhere we went we were met with the friendliest staff imaginable. They went out of their way to help and provide assistance. One lovely lady even offered to push me up the hill from the Village to our lodge before they realised I didn’t know I could use my car – great customer service is invaluable, and it abounds at Bluestone resort.

A well deserved award for a resort that is beautifully maintained and is thoughtful to the environment.

If I could sum up our stay in only one photograph, it would be this one which I’ve titled ‘Free Range Kids’, as per @bluestonewales manifesto….

After our four nights stay, we had made new friends, seen wonderful things, been on wheelchair adventures, enjoyed lots of great coffee and generally had a fantastic time.

Would I come here again? Would I recommend it?

Absolutely, definitely, 100%!

Read Full Post »

Day 2 in Bluestone Resort, Wales….

We woke to the most glorious, crisp winter day. Having arrived at around 5pm the evening before it was our first opportunity for a bit of exploration….and to find a coffee shop – coffee is extremely high on my priority list and we needed to see if by some remote chance a coconut milk latte was possible in the Welsh wilderness.

Our walk down from the cabin was stunning and we had plenty of opportunities to get some great pictures.

Who doesn’t need a picture of themselves taking a selfie of themselves…

The head….

And the tail of the Welsh dragon…

We arrived in the village and had a quick wander around….

I found it….Ty Coffi….the village has a coffee shop (jumps for joy)…

The best bit? They served a very fine latte with coconut milk so our week here is going to be just fine. Lovely place and even lovelier people serving us. We got our ‘free with your first drink’ reusable cups which we will most definitely make use of each day with a 10% reusable cup discount – better and better.

Next we headed further downhill through the forest trail to see the festive lights. They did not disappoint – even in the daytime. Here are a few of our favourite pictures….

My trusty steed never disappoints and got me down and back up the green route – the easy option, but not for anyone of faint heart and weak pushing arms!

A lovely lady gave me a push over one of the uphills and between my pushing the wheels and Maryam pushing from behind with her walker, we managed the slow ascent eventually collapsing onto a bench at the lake. What’s the saying about the blind leading the blind?

A short bus trip back up the hill was definitely required because no way was I able to wheel myself that distance and elevation. Free bus or train trips run every half an hour and it was no time at all before we arrived back in Preseli View ready for a cuppa and a rest.

Read Full Post »

Be there gold in them their Preseli Mountains?

Take 4 ladies of varying nationalities, each with their own unique cultures and origins,

2 children,

2 cars,

1 wheelchair,

1 walking frame,

3 walking sticks,

and a smattering of health and disability issues.

Put them together in a log cabin in the wilds of Pembrokeshire, Wales and you are bound to have an interesting holiday!

Day 1 and after a drive from Lancashire for one car and another from Milton Keynes we were so happy to be greeted by the friendliest staff at the reception gates.

In no time we were checked in and directed to our cabin at 43 Preseli View.

We’re in a lovely four bedroom cabin with 3 big bathrooms, open plan living, dining and kitchen and a nice big entrance that acts as a mud room where we can store all the shoes, coats and mobility equipment.

After unloading all our stuff Using our trolley to help with the load and fewer trips, I headed off to find out how I could move my car off site and then get back to the cabin. When I was told that because I’m disabled and have a blue badge I could keep and use my car on the site I was overjoyed because you should see the hill we are staying on!

The choice of bedrooms was between a twin downstairs and 3 bedrooms upstairs so that was an easy one because the South African wheelchair lady and the Iranian knee replacement lady both don’t do stairs, AND there is a lovely big bathroom next door; one that I can get my wheelchair or my walker into.

An early night was definitely in order and the impeccably clean white linen was calling very loudly by this point.

Read Full Post »

Wandering in Wales…..

A good story needs a good opening lines doesn’t it? So,….

An Englishwoman, an Irishwoman, an Iranianwoman and a South African woman descend on a resort in Wales.

What could possibly happen? Keep coming back over the next few days and you may find a few stories to entertain and inform.

Read Full Post »

Posh Loo’s …..

Only those of you forced to use disabled toilets will really understand and appreciate the importance of a good, clean disabled toilet. Often we are faced with something more like a dumping ground for overflow cleaning equipment and other junk, a really smelly baby changing facility or simply so filthy you worry about catching something horrific  and lingering. 

Every good and great disabled toilet needs to be applauded and today it is the beautiful, clean and generally lovely ablutions provided at The Lakes Distillery in The Lake District in Cumbria. This is a very new Distillery and the only one in England. I can absolutely highly recommend this as a trip out – not just for the loo’s!

5* for cleanliness, design (you can actually turn your wheelchair around) and smell. 

Thank you 😊 

Read Full Post »

Trekinetic mucking about on boat….

On those rare occasions that my human leaves me to sit in another location, there is nothing nicer than mucking about on boats!  I thoroughly enjoyed the views across the Saar river in Saarland, Germany on my latest boat trip…..

Trekinetic wheelchairs are all about adventure!

Read Full Post »

One year older, but am I wiser?

I woke up this morning to a new year…in fact, my 53rd year, therefore a birthday outing was in order.  Hubby and I had planned a trip to Saarbrucken for the day but for whatever reason whilst I couldn’t sleep properly last night I had plenty of opportunity to think about what I have enjoyed this holiday, and therefore would love to do for my birthday.  I realised that a large number of my best memories have been wine tours and vineyards, so surely that was the better option for my day out – hubby probably wouldn’t mind either! 🙂

I planned a return trip to the Bad Durkheim region which was a couple of hours away, but during my route planning the points of interest on my satnav showed a huge tract of land a much shorter distance north of us which also has a wine region – who knew!  Exciting new vineyards to explore on the Moselweinstrasse.

When hubby woke, I posed the question about whether he would mind skipping our original plan for a wine tour – guess what his answer was?

We headed north towards Trier and hoped to find somewhere nice for breakfast on the way.  Not 20km later we noticed signs for Villeroy & Boch…and then some more….they were following us, and it would appear rude not to follow the call of the famous pottery works.  It turned out to be a great decision because the town of Mertzig is on the Saar river, and has Villeroy & Boch, and boat trips, AND great places to eat – what’s not to love.

Breakfast consisted of all sorts of beautiful and fresh continental goodies – a real treat….

We decided to go on the boat trip tomorrow as I had my heart set on the wine route today.  It was a lovely drive through valleys along the Saar and Mosel rivers and into more vineyards than I have EVER seen in my life – and that’s saying a lot from a girl who has lived in South African wine country.

The scenery was magnificent….

Then we stopped at the gorgeous village of Trittenheim on the Mosel river.  Here we met a third generation wine farmer who has scaled down his operation to a mere 10,000 bottles of wine per year in his later years.  What wonderful stories he had for us, and what wonderful wine hubby tasted.  Needless to say, we came away with another 8 bottles of wine; but more importantly, with wonderful memories….

Happy and satisfied with another wonderful day in Germany, we headed back to Campingplatz Siersburg…..

…and the question of whether I’m any wiser now that I’m a year older? Perhaps not nearly as wise as I would like to be, but definitely wise enough to know that spending a glorious day with my amazing hubby is priceless!

Read Full Post »

The ugliest phone holder?

Sometimes you simply have no choice but to make something on the fly.  Such was the case on our holiday last week when I had exhausted all my efforts in finding a phone holder for my car – I was absolutely sure that I would pick one up in any shop in Britain, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland or even Luxembourg – think again!

Travelling all over Europe you need somewhere for your phone with the SatNav, and my first rig was a cup with a bungee attached to the air vents and was fine until it started to bend the cable coming out of the base of my new phone.

What to do?  Crochet one of course!  I had a tiny bit of yarn left over from the tea cosy the night before and I simply started stitching and this useful, if rather ugly, holder emerged…..

It does the job.  It holds the phone in a position so you can see the screen and allows it to be charged on the go.  As useful as it has been over the last week or so, when I get home a new and more permanent version is on the top of my shopping list.

Read Full Post »

When in Switzerland…..

….eat chocolate – LOTS of chocolate!

Our second day in Switzerland was dedicated to more eating – this time of the sweet variety.  Switzerland started the eating chocolate craze and continue it in style to this day.

We were on the doorstep of the oldest chocolate factory in Bros – the Cailler chocolate paradise.  We absolutely had to go on the tour, and it was one of the best tour experiences we have ever been on.  It was a bit like a theme park through the history, the manufacture and then the tasting of chocolate – WOW!

You get to try all sorts of chocolates and as long as you don’t take any out of the factory tour, you can eat as much as you like…

…and I for one definitely had my fill – hubby on the other hand had to be dragged away with the promise of a cup of coffee in the restaurant.  They obviously specialise in great hot chocolate, but by this point I had admitted chocolate defeat and settled for a Latte and an amazing Frappelatte…

Now fully sweetened up, we went for a wonderful drive down to Lake Geneva and the town of Montreux – made famous by Deep Purple’s, ‘Smoke on the water’ – or so, hubby informed me because although I had been singing it for years, I had not made this association.

The drive back was a bit of a hair-raising affair as we traversed rather high mountains in search of the more scenic route!  Boy, we certainly got that in buckets….and did I forget to mention that we encountered MORE vineyards? They are following us around on this holiday 🙂

Wow, the skills of these tree fella’s (get it….tree fellers?, oh never mind!)…

Read Full Post »

Trekinetic in the wild….

When left to its own devices, the Trekinetic K2 loves to be out in the wild camping. Here we see how well prepared and organised it’s campsite is. Enjoying a bit of German sunshine without human interference….

…..those precious moments when you’re not being pushed around!

Read Full Post »

The loveliest campsite in Germany surely?

2nd Oct 2015

After one night in the previous campsite we moved onto Alte Saghmuhle in Sulzburg; only a couple of miles away in distance, but a million miles away in beauty and tranquility!  Saghmuhle means sawmill and this area is clearly BIG on timber.  The old sawmill wheels have been re-invented as water features on the site next to the main house….

Our type of campsite is rural and we got this in spades….

Amongst the magnificent trees and scenery of the South Black Forest, this campsite is deceptively large because so much of the terraced camping is hidden amongst a very old and established forest on terraces which are hidden from each other by vegetation.  This is our idea of paradise, and despite it being beautiful, remote and picturesque it still has all the facilities that we need with bathrooms, washrooms, laundry and electricity.  

Across the road, and where the majority of the sites are situated, is a very old Jewish cemetery set against the hillside in the forest.  I wasn’t able to go up these stairs, even my hubby puts his foot down at certain inclines, but hubby got some lovely pictures for me…

Next let’s talk about wood piles.  Not something many of you will get too excited by, but when your home has 3 working fireplaces (and 5 others to uncover) then you may begin to understand my wood pile envy!  Obviously in The Black Forest there is no shortage of wood for fires and wood piles are equally aplenty in back yards as well as farms, but here at Alte Saghmhule we have a pretty impressive woodpile by anyones standards…

For me, forget all those other 5 star campsites with their swimming pools and restaurants, I would happily spend a few weeks here and tour the region, visit the vineyards, or sometimes just sit around the campsite.

Read Full Post »

Switzerland, on schedule this time….

4th October 2015

We headed off through Basel and down towards Gruyere.  An easy couple of hours on really good roads so we arrived in plenty of time to do a bit of sightseeing, and what better place to start than at Castle Gruyere.  A stunning town set on a mountain top with a castle at the peak.  We watch a short film on the history of the castle before going off to get some beautiful pictures of the building and surrounding countryside.  This place is wonderful, but a REAL challenge in a wheelchair!  My Trekinetic was a lifesaver and without it I wouldn’t have even got to the gates of the castle.  I wasnt able to go inside the castle but they didnt charge me an entrance fee but I still managed, only just, to get around the grounds and outer yards.

Next on the agenda was the factory visit to the Gruyere cheese board.  Very nice, but very commercial, so we didn’t stay too long before heading off to find Camping Haute Gruyere in Enney.

Dinner was an obvious choice because our campsite cafe offered cheese fondue on the menu.  Hubby is definitely a happy camper….

Read Full Post »

Hubby’s guest post…..

Today’s blog post is a review of our final camp site in Germany by my hubby….

The river Nied runs gently through Campingplatz Siersburg and the river front pitches are large and spacious with lovely views; all very picturesque.

 

We decided to choose a pitch with a great view of the river, but this did mean we were at the furthest point from the ablutions. The ablutions are very clean and have all the facilities you need when out camping.  Access for toilets and showers for wheelchair users is in a separate space at the main restaurant and office complex and I did not make use of these am unable to make any comment, but the brochure does say they have heated shower and toilet facilities for the disabled.  

Our camper was on one of the larger pitches which had a hard standing which was level – rather nice as we have not yet had the chance to buy chocks for the wheels to level the van.

We arrived in the first week of October and by then the site was entirely empty of families as they had returned for the new school year.  The only other campers were touring couples and a few semi-static caravans which had not yet departed for the end of season.

Generally the campsite is neat but as with all German campsites we have been to so far, there is a large number of semi-permanent caravans left on site all year and these were sometimes a little untidy as they were filled with a years worth of camping and holiday paraphernalia, but this did not detract in any way from our enjoyment of the site.  

Internet access on the site is excellent and available all round the site for a very reasonable cost per day.  A real bonus when you are attempting to blog about your travels.

The restaurant and bar served us an excellent takeaway meal last night and the owners are very helpful and friendly.

We were very happy to have stopped here for the three nights at the end of our holiday as it is quiet and comfortable with great access to the wine routes in the Rheinland.  We are also within a 4 – 5 hour drive of the ferry in Calais which makes it a good alternative to the other great camping site we stayed at previously in Luxembourg.

Read Full Post »

Britzinger Weinwandertag & Herbstfest….

3rd Oct 2015

Today was unification day, and an official holiday in Germany so we were not entirely sure what to expect apart from being told that all the shops would be closed.  When we set out on our tour of the countryside, we never expected too much, but we got WAY more than we could have hoped for.

Firstly a lovely drive through the Black Forest.  Then off to Staufen for a walk about followed by a pitstop for cake and coffee whilst we watched the local races around the town.  Different distances and age groups participated, but generally most people got involved and we notice that the Germans are a very active nation and they start them very young which is admirable.

From Staufen we headed off to the wine route near our campsite because they were having a Weinwandertag, or wine-route-meander today.  We had expected to amble into the village and see what was going on, but we were immediately caught up in the local excitement of wine, food and a bit of fun in the sun, and decided to join in.  Firstly hubby had a glass for the road accompanied by the local German band in full swing, and then we grabbed our map of the route and struck out for the vineyards.  

I will admit that it was very hard work, especially for hubby, as these vines like to grow on hilly ground and therefore the route was up and down and all around!  Thank goodness for my trusty Trekinetic K2 because otherwise this amazing activity would have been beyond us.  This may well be the first time any of these folks have seen the route completed by someone in a wheelchair…and almost definitely a first for Trekinetic….Thank you K2!

   (a little horsey one just for RM) 🙂

This Weinwandertag is brilliantly organised each year by the Britzinger winery with very well stocked food and drinks stations along the way.  We opted for Rosenberg route 2 because it is apparently not quite as taxing as route 1 – I cannot compare them but boy am I glad we didn’t do more difficult one!!!

After a kilometre or so we stopped at the first station with tents, table and chairs and plenty of food and drink to be enjoyed before the next stage.  We forged on without stopping and after a wonderful walk through the vines we eventually arrived at the next station where we thoroughly enjoyed our refreshments.  We decided to skip out a number of the stations because we had started so late in the day and really wanted to be back to enjoy some of the food, wine and music on offer at the Britzinger winery.  The next stage was a bit of a killer, and hubby and I huffed and puffed up a number of very steep tracks and roads before getting back to the starting point.  Oh boy, that was a workout and after 6kms we definitely deserved that fat port roast roll and new wine.

 

Seriously, this has to be one of the best days out you will ever enjoy.  If you are ever in Germany during early October, I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Satiated and tired we headed home to pack up our campsite ready to leave for the next stop on our journey…

Switzerland, you have a LOT to live up to!

Read Full Post »

Freiberg – historic and beautiful….

1st Oct 2015

A quick 60km north and we arrive in the city of Freiberg, and the old historical part of the city definitely doesn’t disappoint.

The Munster is set in a very large square and despite some scaffolding covering parts of the spire, it is magnificent….

Outside on the square and in the surrounding small streets are the most exquisite buildings which are grandly painted…..

…and the most historic looking McDonalds I may have ever seen….

In this city, even the gutter covers are beautiful…

This is definitely a city that should be visited because it isn’t just the Munster and town centre that are lovely, but the bridges along the waterways are each a work of art as well.  

My trusty steed, the Trekinetic K2, did an incredible job once again, and made short work of all the cobbled streets.

Back to Sulzburg for a bite of dinner.  The village has an Espetata restaurant which is amazing!  The food was simply superb and we may have to visit here again.

Read Full Post »

To Switzerland – by accident – and back…..

1st Oct 2015

Today was meant to be our shopping in a big city day.  We don’t usually do this on our holidays as I detest shopping so much, but we did need a few bits and pieces and therefore agreed that we should head off towards the Rhine and do a bit of sightseeing, a boat trip and then a quick shopping trip.  

The plan was to go into Basel which is at the junction of three countries – Germany, Switzerland and France – and therefore should be of significant interest.  For whatever reason we had assumed Basel was in Germany – WRONG!  It is in Switzerland and we realised this as soon as the border crossing appeared on the motorway and a guard demanded 40 Euros for road taxes!  We had expected this as we were heading off to Gruyère in Switzerland in a few days anyway, but this was not the plan for today.  Luckily the road tax is for the entire year and we wouldn’t have to pay it again, but this place is huge, and industrial, and not what I had in mind so we turned around and headed back into Germany.

Fortune was on our side because the route back was via Wein am Rhein just inside the German border and this is when we stumbled across this….

…the VitraHaus showrooms, factory and museum.  This site is an architect and designers heaven because it is full of iconic and famous architectural buildings and design pieces.  The current exhibit has just opened for Bauhaus and it seemed appropriate that whilst in Germany we should experience a bit of German design culture.  

My favourite building was completed in 2013 and designed by a famous Japanese architect firm that escapes me.  This is one of the VitraHaus production facilities and is housed in a round building beautifully clad in white glass fibre with 400mm internal concrete walls.  All of which reminds me of a super-charged water reservoir.  (and yes, that bunch of crazies rubbing up and touching the outside of the building are a group of architects and students 🙂 )

Inside the VitraHaus showrooms Mark thoroughly enjoyed testing out all of the Eames, Bauhaus and VitraHaus furniture….

….I know a certain Dave B who would be very envious of this place and all these designs!

…and then one of the amazing sales team offered to make us a Nespresso coffee….it would have been rude not to!

A tour around the facility and the museum was a real treat, and we are very happy we stumbled across this little gem.

A 1950s French gas station…a first in ready assembled roadside gas stations that would lead to what we all see today on the motorways…

and a 1950s Detroit motor showroom in the brand new geodesic design.  A few of the interesting buildings around the site …

Next we needed something a little older and set our sights on Freiburg a little further north; perhaps here we will find some nice tourist sights and a bit of shopping too.

Read Full Post »

The camping tea cosy……

30th September 2015…..

The mornings have been rather chilly on our holiday and there is nothing quite as nice as that first hot cup of tea.  We have an adorable little pewter tea set in our camper van but it was missing a tea cosy to keep the tea lovely and warm while it brewed.  Luckily I had brought a small bag of yarn and my trusty crochet hooks with me – mostly in the hope that I would come across some beautiful German wool to buy and turn into a blanket.  

The only yarn I had were a few odds and ends left over from various projects, and those would have to do.  This particular purple was once created into a Minion hat for my granddaughters and it was doubled up with a few other bits to create a nice double, double yarn to ensure maximum warmth for the brewing process.

A very worthwhile endeavour on a quiet camping night, and an hour later here it is….

…it most definitely not going to win the prettiest tea cosy prize, but it certainly does the job…and it will hold many fond memories of our trip to Germany.

Read Full Post »

A day out in the vineyards….

We packed up fairly early this morning and headed out on the hunt for some castles, or schloss in German.

First we drove through our new village to see if it had a tourist information centre..it didn’t, but it does have quite a few pop-up wine bars during grape harvest, and everywhere are the loveliest Autumn displays (I definitely need to bring some of these pumpkins home!) 

Our route took us through the heart of the German winelands, and along the way we stopped to admire the grapes and the skill of the grapes pickers…

An added bonus was that this region is full of fruit trees as well! I could live here very, very happily!  On the road opposite the grapevines was a huge espaliered apple tree orchard….two of my favourite things next to each other. 

Heading back on the road we stumbled across a beautiful ruined castles and then the town of Badenweiler. To me, this is the German equivalent of Bath in England. Very wealthy and you come here to the spa and recuperate from whatever ails you. Apparently a great treatment is the imbibing of much Neue Wein…probably because after a few glasses of this new wine, you don’t remember what was wrong with you in the first place! 

Time to head back to our new campsite in Sulzburg.  Kamping Alte Sägemühle is a beautiful little place with a water wheel, forests and camping under apple trees…

Read Full Post »