European Holiday 2023

Our journey to a campsite just outside Bruges was uneventful until we stopped at a supermarket to restock with food. As we set off on the last mile of our journey the amber light for check engine again came on. We were hopeful that overnight it would resolve itself as it did last time however the next morning it was still there. After a conversation with our breakdown cover provider, we set off on a   morning sightseeing   trip, not as originally intended the historic walking tour of Bruges but   to two garages neither of which had capacity to run a diagnostic test but both said just carry on as long it is amber but stop if goes to red. We were back in time for a nice cycle ride that afternoon from the campsite into Bruges mainly along a canal towpath and our return journey through a forest. We spent a couple of hours wandering around this beautiful city with lovely scenic views everywhere you looked. I can’t believe I h...

  Our journey through France continued with a 2 night stop in Epernay. Probably not the dream destination for a tea totaller as Epernay and the nearest city Reims are at the heart of champagne producing country and everything is about champagne. Martin entered the spirt of things though with a champagne sauce on his chicken, whilst Lesley was left to taste the different types of champagne. There were far more brands than the local Asda at home stocks. After the drive, we enjoyed a chill out afternoon on the campsite ,again next to a river and then a meal out locally, not though at one of the 4 Michelin star restaurants as they were all closed on Tuesday evenings .  Wednesday started with Martin collecting fresh pastries for breakfast then we set off to walk into Epernay and then catch the train to Reims. Having convinced Martin that he’d be interested in the science of its production we nearly went on a tour at one of the c...

  We’re now starting to think about getting home so our route is taking us through the east side of France towards Belgium, putting us in position for our homeward ferry from Calais, next Wednesday. We had a slight panic on the drive, since towards the end, very close to the site, the engine management light came on and we didn’t think that a Bank Holiday weekend would be the best time to try and get assistance. We got onto site, allowed everything to cool down and by the time we tried the engine again, the warning had gone, so we’re hoping it was just some sort of transient problem! There was nothing particularly noteworthy about Marnay as a place to stay, it was just at the right distance from Switzerland and, also important, had a site with availability on a sunny, bank holiday weekend. I realise that in England you’ve been enjoying the sun for a while now, but for us its only really started since last Friday so Marnay was a fairly lazy two days, The campsite was...

We had plenty of time for a leisurely drive from Liechtenstein to Switzerland and the sun was shining so a few detours to look at the views seemed like a good idea. The first one to a viewing point went smoothly, just a few windy steep uphill roads, many single track, which didn't phase Martin . Emboldened by our progress we headed for sightseeing stop number 2, a scenic waterfall. Unfortunately this wasn't to be, as the road got steeper and narrower and with no more satnav signal we couldn't find it. Finally Martin found a slightly wider space for us to turn around in a 10 point turn ! The journey back down the mountain was still   nerve-wracking   but at least we weren't on the cliff edge side.   After that we headed off for our next campsite just outside Interlaken. Again another lovely campsite right next to a lake and on a cycle route straight into Interlaken. Martin planned another great bike ride to Spi...

  There is a rhythm to every holiday and ours is now established for our moving days –pack up motorhome in a leisurely fashion and leave site, find nearest Aldi/Lidl and petrol station if needed, stock up and fill up, drive to next site, check-in and set up motorhome and start planning bike rides as well as eating the biscuits, cake and chocolate bought at Aldi/Lidl. Our last journey was from Lake Konstanz to Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein which is one of the richest countries in the world as well as being the most difficult European country name to spell. There was palpable excitement as the first snow covered peaks came into view, which was pretty much the last we saw of them as the clouds descended today so we’ve seen very little, higher than the campsite, of the mountains around. The good news is that we managed to get out today for a 30+ mile ride. On the negative side, it wasn’t the most interesting of rides being a bit too flat and repetitive, but on the positive side...

Our journey to Lake Konstanz took us through more of the Black Forest ,the photo doesn't really do it justice .  We stopped off for a few hours at a popular tourist destination Lake Titisee. Titisee is to the Black Forest what Windermere is to the Lake District , but even better as it has lots of cuckoo clocks for sale . They are set to go off at different times so you get the full experience but all are expensive. After a walk along the lake , ice cream and part of a band concert we continued on our journey. Arriving at our next campsite just as reception was opening we had our speediest set up yet so that we could enjoy the rest of the afternoon cycling around the local area before getting back to our site to eat. It's great to see so many people of all ages out on their bikes using the trails and cycle paths everywhere. The next day we headed off for a long...