8th November
Today we were heading into Germany. We were going towards Munich to visit Pete's cousin, Daniel, but still had two nights to go. In Germany they have things called 'Stellplatz' which are areas for campers to stop for a night for a few, or no, euros. They usually have electricity and running water - although no loos - and we thought that they would just take the pain of searching for hours out of free camping. In the morning we had a hot shower and left the Czech Republic. The drive wasn't long across the border; we passed over very pretty mountains and in Germany the sun was even shining. We found a stellplatz in a small town called Grafling not too far from the border. It was already about three o'clock so we had some lunch and a beer and hung out and read. We were meant to pay eight euros to stay but we didn't have any change for the machine. At about six o'clock, when it was already completely dark, a car drove in and up to the machine. We went over to the man, thinking he would want some money, but he seemed confused when we started waving money at him so we got away with it for free. We had a nice warming dinner and a movie before bed.
9th November
We left reasonably early, just incase someone did come asking for money, and set off on the minor roads, in the direction of Munich, with our eyes peeled for another stellplatz sign. It didn't take too long to spot one (they are everywhere in Germany) and we made our way into the town of Dingolfing. This place was a bit more shabby and above a huge carpark but it was free which meant we could leave the van without worrying about getting a ticket. After some lunch we ventured out into the small town. It was quite pretty with nice coloured houses on the high street and we headed towards a cafe which had wifi. We ordered a coffee and then found out they didn't give out the wifi password which was annoying but we still got to sit inside and stay nice and warm. (We are very happy to not have had any rain yet but it is getting very chilly!) After sitting and people watching for a while we headed back to the van and were surprised to see another camper parked up next to us. Had another cosy night in and were kept up by the boy racers in the car park below.
10th November
We were only about two hours drive from Munich and planned to be there at midday. We got a bit lost on the way but the satnav saved us and we arrived at Daniels bang on twelve. He has a great little flat in southern Munich and welcomed us in with hot tea. Pete hadn't seen him for about five years so they had a catch up and we sat around and chatted for a while. I had spoken too soon about the rain and we had found some serious drizzle in Munich, but we still wanted to go out and explore. On Sundays all the art galleries are only 1 euro so we went out and got the Metro to The Pinakothek der Moderne. We spent a few hours taking in the modern art and when we'd all had enough we ventured outside to find a pub. Munich is a nice city; it's very low rise, with wide streets so doesn't have the claustrophoblic feel that big cities normally have. We found a lovely, warm pub - it smelt like English pubs! - and ordered a Guinness. The pub had been the hang out for the left wing satire newspaper (like a German 'Private Eye') before the war and had good posters on the walls. After a beer we went for ice-cream. Not an obvious choice when it's cold and wet, but Daniel wanted to show us an ice-cream bar that had a Willy Wonka style guy running it who made lots of wacky flavours. It was a cool place decorated with crazy Alice in Wonderland paintings. After our ice-creams Daniel gave us a short tour around some sights in Munich. We saw the university, some big churches, a few famous places involved in World War Two and, most importantly, the Micheal Jackson memorial - which is outside the balcony where he dangled his kid. It was dark by now and the city looked beautiful all lit up; it felt very christmassy, and we even saw the teddy bear shop christmas display which involved alot of moving toys. After all this walking we were getting hungry. We looked into the Hofbräuhaus (the most famous of all the beer halls) but it was over priced and touristy so we opted for a local German restaurant just near Daniel's flat. I had a massive schniztel and Pete got a plate of various sausages and we drank German beer. It was fantastic. When we'd finished eating we were joined by Vanessa, Daniel's girlfriend, and we all headed back home for some more drinking. We had a great night sitting up chatting, playing guitar, singing and drinking such things as Jagermeister and Strawberry liqeur. Oh! And Daniel got out some baby videos of him, Pete and John (Pete's brother) which were very cute and very funny.
The Pinakothek der Moderne. ^
Ice-cream! ^
Inside the university. ^
Hofbräuhaus. ^
Micheal Jackson memorial. ^
The restaurant was called Peter! ^
11th November
As you can imagine we had a bit of a lie-in today. We had a late brunch which Daniel and Vanessa made for us - a traditional Barvarian breakfast of weisswurst (white sausage), a soft pretzel and sweet mustard (normally served with a beer, which we passed on.) It was a delicious breakfast and a great day spent relaxing in the warmth of the flat. In the afternoon we decided we should stop being so lazy and me, Pete and Daniel ventured out into the cold to find the market. We got the bus along to the river and had a really nice sunset stroll along the river banks and into the city. The evening was lovely and there were lots of bike riders and dog walkers out too. By the time we got to the market it was already dark, feeling christmassy again, and we had worked up our appetite. It was a produce market selling lots of good looking fruit and veg and cheese and meat. But they also had little food stalls where we sampled all the German cuisine - currywurst, pork belly, leberkäse (yummy liver thing), pickled herring and Daniel - the German - got a falafel! It also happened to be Saint Martin's day so there was a parade with loads of kids carrying paper lanterns and a good band following a guy on a horse. We watched them for a while and then found a small cafe and had a hot chocolate to warm up. Feeling worn out we got the underground back to the flat and had another lovely evening in (less drinking this time.)
Barvarian breakfast and a day spent like this. ^
Sunset stroll. ^
The market and Saint Martin parade. ^
12th November
Daniel had to go to university at about midday so we packed up and left with him. We said goodbye and thanked him alot and then headed off on the motorway towards Rottweil, where Jo, Pete's aunty, lives. Daniel said the drive usually took about three hours, so we guessed that in WEX it would take about five. We were pretty much spot on and we arrived at Jo's at six o'clock. The drive was long and dull on the grey motorway. However, we were entertained by the fact that some areas of the motorways in Germany don't have speed limits, so we got to see some insanely fast cars zooming down the outside lane. Anyway, we got to Jo's at almost exactly the same time she got home from work and she welcomed us inside. She gave us pink fizz and we caught up with her in her lovely orange living room. For dinner she made us spätzle (a German noodle type thing) with cheese, which was great (we are loving German food by the way - they seem to have never heard of vegetables!) and stayed up a while chatting. Jo went to bed as she had work in the morning and after watching a bit of the news on TV, me and Pete went to bed too.
13th November
We woke up after Jo had gone to work and had a whole day of nothing. The weather isn't great and it is really tempting just to have a winters day inside! We ate food, watched The Office DVD and made the most of having good internet and a hot shower. When Jo came home in the evening we headed out into Rottweil for shopping and dinner. We went first to the big supermarket where Jo was lovely enough to buy us some warm socks and some food to take on our way, as well as wine and food for the three of us tomorrow. After shopping we went out for dinner at a Chinese restaurant. It was an all you can eat and my oh my we ate alot. They had everything! It was really great food and a very enjoyable evening with Jo! Feeling extremely full we went back to the flat and made delicious Caipirinhas to have as a night cap. Went to bed stuffed and happy.
Day spent like this. ^
14th November
Another lazy morning but today we decided to walk into Rottweil to see what was happening there. We followed a footpath into the town centre, which was about fifteen minutes away, and found the high street. Rottweil is a very pretty German town with multi-coloured houses; each with a very ornately decorated, usually gold, bay window on the first floor. We browsed the shops and got a coffee in a nice, lively cafe. We have been practicing our German but everyone still just answers in perfect English! After a couple of hours wandering we walked back to Jo's where we got cosy again and watched a movie on TV. After this we prepared dinner for when she came home - a yummy roast chicken with veg and salad (Pete is happy to have an oven.) Jo was very happy to come home to a house smelling of food with lots of candles lit and a beer ready for her! We had another really nice evening, sadly our last here, and said thankyous and goodbyes before bed as we wouldn't see her in the morning. We have had a great few days visiting the family!
Pretty Rottweil. ^
15th November
Sad to leave the comfort and heating of inside (and of course our lovely hostess) we postponed leaving until about midday. We had looked up a stellplatz to stay at in Loffingen, a town about half way between Rottweil and Freiburg, known for it's pretty gorge walks. It didn't take long to get there but we found that the actual stellplatz was closed. Luckily there was a big empty car park next to a horse stable right outside so we parked up there. The weather was abysmal so we didn't go walking in the end. Not much else to report today!
16th November
Set off pretty early towards Freiburg. We had read about a stellplatz in the city which you paid for 24 hours. Not wanting to have to leave too early tomorrow morning we decided to go to The Schauinsland for the day first. The Schauinsland is a mountain area a few kilometers away from Freiburg with lots of walking trails and good views of the surrounding area. The weather was grey and grim so we weren't expecting views but we thought it would be nice to go for a walk anyway. It was a short drive to the bottom of the mountain - where we decided not to take the cable car but to drive up instead. It was only an 11 kilometer drive but it was very steep and the higher we got the more fog and snow there was. Luckily Germany is very efficient so the roads were all clear of snow already. (Can you imagine this in England!?) There were a few other cars but still it was a bit scary. I was having visions of getting stranded in the snow so was quite glad to find the car park at the top. We pulled in and made some snow angels on the verge and ventured off into the fog to find a walk. After a little walk up hill the cloud blowed over and suddenly the sky was completely clear and bright blue! The snow was over a foot deep and the trees were covered in snow crystals and it was a real winter wonderland. We could see a few other mountain tops poking through the clouds in the distance but apart from that it was cloud all around - like being in an aeroplane. I was annoyed because our camera ran out of battery so there are no photos - but it was really, really beautiful! After a nice walk and a few thrown snowballs we drove back down the mountain into Freiburg (and the crap weather.) We found the stellplatz and were very surprised to find it almost full of campers and with a proper reception desk. Almost a campsite but much cheaper and without toilets. We had lunch and hung out for a while and then when it started getting dark we went for a walk into the city. We were only a fifteen minute walk away so it was really easy to find the centre. The town was another lovely, bustling German city with pretty buildings and lots of fairy lights. I am glad we are in Germany for the run up to christmas - can't wait until the Christmas markets start! We stopped for an Irish coffee to warm up and wandered around the high street and main square watching all the buskers (including a Yidish music band and some kids doing very cool dancing in the train station.) After a while we got hungry and as we had no food in the van we decided to find a cheap and cheerful meal out. We walked back in the direction of the stellplatz as we thought it would be cheaper out of town but came to nothing and had to turn around and go back. Finding that our version of cheap was too low for any restaurant we opted for a kebab, which was absolutely delicious anyway! After dinner we went back to WEX and went to bed.
Lovely drive through The Black Forest. ^
The Schauinsland. ^
Freiburg by night. ^
17th November
We had our place on the stellplatz until the afternoon so in the morning we got up and went for another walk into town. We found a nice little cafe and had a coffee and pastry for breakfast. Pete was feeling a bit poorly so we spent the rest of the day hanging out in the van before heading off towards our helpx in Bahlingen, about twenty minutes drive North from here. We got there in the evening and met Sebastian, Steffi and their three kids Liselotte (6), Baltasar (4) and Otillia (2). We had a lovely evening getting to know them and the lovely, and very lively, children!
Freiburg by day. ^
