22nd June 2011

Caught the train into Stuttgart, about 30 mins and a family ticket was only 14 euros! Having bought a route map we walked around the historical buildings only getting lost a couple of times! Stuttgart started off as a humble stud farm, before becoming the royal capital of Wurttemberg. This has given it two impressive palaces, the old one resembling a castle with a wonderful courtyard and the newer one (the Neues Schloss) built in 1746 being much grander. King Wilhelm I resided here and has an impressive statue in a square near the palaces, with him sitting astride his charger. On either side of him are obelisk pillars with dates and place names, mostly French, which we wondered were towns he had conquered? If so he was very good at it.

The locals obviously like shopping as the town centre is one huge shopping complex, dotted with wonderful old buildings. The local men also like their beer as we saw a few sleeping it off lying on the grass in the park!



On the way home it began to rain and then tipped it down, mixed with a little thunder and lightning. When we left this morning it was clear blue skies and very hot, so we’d not brought any waterproof jackets! We are learning that the weather here can change very quickly!

20th & 21st June 2011

Checked out and used the aire facilities to empty and refill Bella. Easily found our way back onto the dual carriageway and out of Freidburg. Set off towards the hills and the forests, before long we were winding our way up them through some stunning scenery, hairpin bends that were over 180 degrees and high bridges were exciting as we entered the Black Forest. At one point just passed Tittisee, we saw two ski jumps on a hill, they looked very high and scary even at this distance.

Came off the motorway and found the Stellplatz on the outskirts of Rottwiel, only 5 euros per night, 8 hrs electricity one euro, Lynn found my attempts to ask for a pitch in German hilarious, as did the young guy in the office! After lunch the drizzle stopped, so we walked into town and did a quick shop at Lidle, before hunting a cash machine. Most wanted to charge 5 or 6 euros, which for a prepaid card sort of defeats the object, so we moved on. We eventually found one in a small bank in the pretty town centre which was full of traditionally decorated buildings, old churches and pedestrian areas. 

21^st June 2011

A quick run down the motorway took us to a town Filderstadt on the outskirts of Stuttgart and a stellplatz in a large carpark. No other motorhomes here as yet but there are a couple of caravans that look lived in as well as an old coach conversion. Only 5 euros for the night, which is just as well as we filled up today and it was 1.47 a litre, the most expensive yet. Had a walk into the town centre and easily found the train station, which we can use to go into the city tomorrow and take Sarah to the airport on Thursday. Had lunch in town before returning to the van and enjoying some sun!

19th June 2011

Woke up a little late after a rainy night had kept us awake, to find Sarah already up and having laid the table for breakfast complete with card wishing me happy father’s day, a complete surprise! The weather cleared a little so we walked back into town and began our tour of the old part. The place was very quiet, most shops were shut, only the restaurants were open. The old town was lovely, very Germanic old buildings some dating back to the 1300s, including the square with the cathedral (under renovation), cardinal’s palais and a very impressive merchant’s house, small back streets, some with a small canal running through them and a lot of art galleries, bars and restaurants. The town has a university and the campus is right on the edge of the old town, a great place to be! Sarah treated us to lunch back at the same café, this time it was very busy mostly with students eating breakfast! Afterwards we continued our walk, where we bought some delicious looking cakes for later, before making our way back to the van.

By the time we got back the sun had come out and Lynn and I sat outside having a coffee and enjoyed some sun. Internet ok but skype was very poor, no real signal at all.

18th June 2011

Left Cernay and joined the motorway, it wasn’t long before we had crossed the Rhine and the canal next to it and had entered Germany-not that you’d know as the sign was disappointingly small! A quick stop at a services to buy a more detailed map book and we were soon leaving the motorway on the outskirts of Freidburg, the gateway to the Black Forest. The satnav was working well and the signage for the “Stellplatz” was easy to follow, so we quickly found it. It was fairly busy but we found a parking place which was big enough and easy to get out of. The Stellplatz are like the French aires, just parking areas with water and waste disposal. This one had a small reception where we paid for two nights, 8 euro’s a night and were given an electric meter to record what we use, you pay for it when you leave.

After a coffee we walked into town, about 10 – 15 mins, and had lunch at a café. The town is covered with tram tracks and has a major railway station, so getting about would be easy but the trams are fairly quiet, so you have to be careful as they go through the pedestrianized part as well! Found a tourist info where we obtained a map/walk around the old town which we will use tomorrow. Outside was a square with the town hall on one side and a grand old church covering two others, in the centre was a fountain. Every street seems to have a deep water gutter about a foot wide & deep going down it, sometimes in the middle sometimes on one side, I bet that’s fun after a couple of beers! As we came out of the info shop there was a wedding reception being held in the square, bride, groom and guests all drinking bubbly and eating snacks whilst mixing with the shoppers! I’m not even going to ask Em!

On the way back Lynn walked into a hairdressers called “ Killer hair” and had her hair done, wash, cut and blow dry all for 13 euros, Germany does seem a little cheaper than France. Now she can say she has had her hair done in each country!

16th – 17th June 2011

Said our goodbyes to Claire and set off in the direction of Dole, mostly on really good A roads, along rivers and canals, through valleys and great looking towns. We stopped for lunch overlooking the river, this is a really picturesque area. Had to take the toll road for a short distance around a city and got hit for 11.40 euros, when we only did 2 to 3 miles on the toll section the rest is meant to be free! Looking forward to Germany and no more tolls!

After a little searching we found the municipal campsite in Cernay just northwest of Mulhouse and close to the German border. The town is famous for its storks, which come into the campsite and forage around for nesting materials. We’ve never been so close to one before, they are quite large and seem to be looking down their beaks at you! After a lovely hot sunny day, we are now getting some rain, hopefully it will clear by morning!

Friday was a sunny day, so we walked into the town centre which was very clean and tidy and had a large church in its centre. There was a local market set up so we had a look but didn’t buy anything, some of the clothes were great if you wanted to look like Gypsy Rose Lee! No comments please Lisa! Sarah and I did suggest buying some just for the first day back at school! Stopped off at the local supermarket and bought a few things, the local wine was expensive, most around the 9-12 euro mark!

After lunch we got the bikes down and set off along a cycle route to the nearby town of Thann, just a few kilometres away. As we got nearer we were cycling past vines set onto the steep hillside to our right, it was so steep everything must have to be done by hand! The town was picturesque, set each side of the river and with lots of old buildings. The look and feel of the place was more German than French, especially with some of the locals talking German! There were war memorials commemorating those lost in both world wars, it was interesting to note that most of the surnames were the same for both wars. One also had a plaque, I think explaining how when the Nazis invaded France, thousands of Alsace men went off and fought on their side against the Allies. Sarah believes those that survived the war, were killed when they returned home. It made me wonder who the locals considered themselves to be nowadays?

We stopped at a bar overlooking the river and had a glass of local wine sitting in the sun, it’s a hard life! The wine wasn’t cheap but it was very very good!

13 – 15th June 2011

Left the camp in good time and stopped at the Carrefour just up the road which was open despite it being a Bank Holiday. This made it easier for us as we couldn’t get into the Carrefour car park so parked by a DIY store which was closed. Stocked up again and treated ourselves to a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape as it’s not far from here. Made our way further north towards Dole through some lovely countryside and found the campsite right by a river in the middle of farming country.

All the pitches by the river were taken or too small, ok for tents or small caravans but not for Bella. So we took a pitch on the other side looking out over the fields these pitches were nice and large and there were only a couple of vans using them. When we booked in the woman in reception was English and recognised Bicknacre, it turned out she has cousins who live there and whose son is the same age as Emma and were part of the same group of friends, small world!

Tuesday we spent around the camp doing some chores and enjoying the sun! Wednesday we picked up a cycle route from reception and set off on the bikes. This time we only did 25k but it was very hilly! It took us through some local villages and the second biggest deciduous forest in France! It seems a big deal for the locals! Returned having had a good day out but hot and tired, so we stopped at the camp restaurant for an ice cream then dumped the bikes back at the van before hitting the pool, very refreshing! In the evening we went back to the restaurant for a meal and sat on the veranda looking out at the river splashing over a weir, a really great spot!

10 - 12th June 2011

Had a good run northwards to our next camp by a lake in Comoranche sur Saone, and whilst the pitches were smaller and mostly occupied, the camp owned the lake so we could at least get to it. As Monday is a bank holiday the camp was very busy with lots of French holidaymakers as well as tourers like ourselves.

Over the next couple of days we cycled to the nearest town with a supermarket where we did some shopping and explored a little of the area on the way back. The river Rhone runs through here and there are lots of streams and canals with small rowing boats on it and water lilies, very picturesque. Then Sunday we followed a cycle route off a map from the camp and spent the day cycling around the local villages, which were very pretty and well kept. Outside these were some wonderful old buildings and farm houses, it seems very prosperous and farming here is still obviously very profitable! Whilst having lunch sitting by the entrance to the local château we saw a convoy of Ferrari’s go past, at least 12 or more, very impressive. Equally impressive was the local tandem cycling club that past us, around twenty or more couples all on tandems wearing their professional cycling gear and having a good chat as they cruised along!

We returned to the camp around 5pm, fairly tired having covered 35k a lot of which was on tracks through woods or across fields, so we felt pretty chuffed with ourselves! The routes could have taken us almost to Switzerland, if we’d been so inclined, they really do put the effort and money into providing well marked cycle routes here.