Tuesday 18th April
We managed two nights at Lauchringen without paying site fees (the Town Hall was closed). Saturday we went for a walk but the only shop we could find open was Lidl which was packed. Got the beer that I urgently needed, that’s the main thing.
Sunday morning we moved onto Schlusee, one of Germanies major tourist resorts. The road was steeper than any other that we have travelled on and the hairpins seemed to be sharper as well.
It was a bit hard to see why this early in the season. It was wet and cold, the shops (fashionable boutiques) were mainly closed, the guesthouses were empty and just a couple (of the many bars) were open.
On our travels through Germany and Alsace, we keep seeing decorated eggs in the trees.
Beer of the day was bought to us courtesy of the railway station bar where we also managed to score a Black Forest Gateaux each. Not quite as soaked in cherry brandy as my mothers were but with far more cream inside.
For the very first time this trip we have had to pay site fees, €10 per night, although we didn’t see anyone coming round to check. Electricity was a reasonable €3 per day and since everywhere was closed and it was wet and windy we stayed in Frankie and had a Kindle day. We had planned a scenic journey for our next days travelling and really wanted to do it in sunshine, not rain.
The weather forecast kept saying schneesturm, we know know exactly what that means. Tuesday morning and we have a healthy dose of the white stuff. (Clive Brooker, are you still coming to track us down?).
Snow isn’t one of my favourite travel companions so we rerouted to Frieburg, along what we hoped were decent roads. I don’t think we really needed to worry, the Germans know how to clear snow and despite being very twisty we made good time and arrived at a huge stellplatz holding 75 vans (only 3 Brits as far as I can see).
It’s €9 a night here, we haven’t decided how long we are staying but being nearly 1000m lower in altitude was bound to be warmer than where we were. Downside is electric is €0.50 per kWh – Frankie has a 2kWh fire (like most motorhomes, I think) so could get through €24 per day. We’ll stick to gas and solar power.
The walk into town is 15 minutes or we could take one of the very frequent trams. Nice church on the way.
Frieberg is a university town, there are very few cars in the city itself, it’s all cycle paths, trams and pedestrianised areas.
We managed to find the shops, lots of them and all open.
Crocodile in the river. There is a plaque next to it and expecting it to be commemorating a significant event in history was a tad dismayed to find out it was just a bit of art.
More Easter decorations above one of the shops. I was surprised to see so many cook shops. The weather started to catch up with us, brilliant sunshine and then rain, so we hurried around looking for a bar.
The Cathedral was completed in 1513 although it looks to me that they haven’t finished to top bit yet.
Today’s beer of the day. I have to say that Germany is renowned for it’s beer, and it is good, but you seem to be a bit limited in beer styles. Pils, Hefe-weizzen and dunkels seem to be the only ones available. Here we have a variation on a theme, hefe-weizzen dunkels. Lucy likes dunkels but wasn’t keen with the mix.
The last time I went into C&A was in (about) 1974 when my dad took me to buy a pair of dark grey long trousers for school. The next day at school I was called into the office and asked to explain why I was wearing green trousers, obviously I said that my dad had bought them for me. The following day my dad was called into the school and he told them what was what (and that we were both colour blind) and I was allowed to wear them for the next two years (against school uniform policy of course).
Lucy managed to find me two t-shirts (guess what colour stripes they have Emma) and five pairs of socks. Very good prices as well, unlike the cost of shoes.
More of the weather has caught us up, back at Frankie it is either too hot with the sun coming through the front window, or freezing cold as hail stones bounce off the roof.
Where are you heading to Mark? We are in Lake Annecy in France which is absolutely beautiful – Have you been? If not it is one for your list it’s stunning. Next we are heading to Lake Constance, Hungery, and Croatia again which is our favourite. Wish it was a bit warmer though. Lorraine & Fred are in Spain and having lovely hot sunshine but we feel we want to see more places. It’s tempting to detour off though lol.
We’re only out for 6 weeks and about to head back slowly. Annecy is on our list, Lucy was saying that we could pop into Spain on our way back only this morning. I couldn’t cope with all the driving you two do, my knee plays up after 100 miles driving. Hope you both have a great time, might see you when you get back.