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Where's Mike? Section Ten: Heading home...or not?
Click here to see Section Nine: Italy
Tuesday November 1st
Freiburg, Germany: It was definitely time to move on this morning. The weather, although similarly warm, cloud covered, and dew-less, was more threatening, than yesterday.
After the family next door did the typical 06:00 wake up call/cry/scream/play/etc., I wandered down to the showers, and then started lazily packing up my gear, frying up left over tomatoes & onions, and wondering where I was off to.
There was still no rain, but it was starting to look like it could happen at any time. When I heard the first quiet roll of thunder from a distance, I kicked into high gear. I had hoped to dry out the ground tarp, but that would have to wait. I closed the last of the car doors, and rocket box, just as the first drops hit. The only thing left out was my power cord charging my spare camera battery.
By the time I get home, I am soaked to the bone regardless of my Gortex. I snag a photo of Sam and Kristy taking cover in The Donster, and actually have to use the flash after ten am because of the storm induced darkness.
I collect my cord and charger, toss them in my rig, pay my bill, and then stand there in the rain for a while. I am wet to the bone, and it is coming down VERY hard. As soon as I open the door, everything is instantly soaked in the car. Finally I have to make a move, so I strip to my underwear, toss everything in a plastic bag, jump in the car, and spend the next ten minutes drying thangs off, donning some dry shorts, and getting ready to go.
I start backing out and some guy, comfortably under the cover of
his camper awning, starts waving me down. Something is wrong, but I
can't hear what he is
I jump out wearing my last dry pair of shorts that are handy to the front seat, get the hat, get soaked, strip again, cover up with a tee shirt (is driving nude legal in Italy?), and start to drive out of camp...wipers blasting, and I still cant see. Stop to snag one last photo of the Aussies in the rain. They were talking about leaving today as well, but may not get up the courage to do it in this rain. Wolf, on the other had, would love to leave! When I last saw him, there was about two centimeters of water flowing around his tent, and he was just getting hammered. Happy the kids got me up early this morning to pack.
Flash floods throughout town, and on the drive up the mountains to the autostrada, were flowing in full force. No washed out roads though, and no rock slides. Hope that lasted for the whole storm, or at least until the Aussies made it out of the valley.
So, as I moved west toward Genovo, France, and/or Espana, I was still pondering where I would wind up for the evening. I could hang in the south of France for a while, blast to Madrid for the weekend, or head into Germany to check out Dettlebach, Berlin, and anything else I may have missed. Decisions, decisions...
My departure day is November 9th out of Munchen.
A part of me, the part that looked at the Seattle weather forecast, does not really want to catch that plane out of Europe at all, and Kristy has told me time and time again the decision (for me to stay a couple more months) is made, and I just haven't realized it yet.
I hang a north in Genova, thinking I may be able to head up to Dusseldorf and Frankfurt to do some more recon on used vans for a future trip, then check out some more of Germany, and be closer to the airport for the 9th.
After some slow traffic in Italy, I flash Switzerland, and roll into Frieburg late. It is dark, and threatening to rain, so I wind up renting a caravan (trailer) for about 23e, which is about 8e more than my average camping fee. It is heated, has lights, a three burner stove, WiFi, and a great bed that I don't have to inflate. It will also give me a feel for checking out vans in the next few days.
Friday November 4th
Hohensyburg, Germany: My first night of recon in a caravan was absolutely terrific! It was nice to be warm, and have a bit more material insulating me from the noise, as well. I liked it so much I decided to spend another night so I could get some laundry done. It turned out to be a good day for chores since it rained continuously. Strung the laundry inside the caravan, cranked the heat, and everything was dry in no time.
None of this really mattered, since I was just tire-kicking to get an idea of what I may expect if I came back next year.
I then headed up to Frankfurt for the afternoon, stopped by one last dealership as it was getting dark, and then headed off to find a campground, which turned out to be pretty disgusting, so I just drove on toward Amsterdam, where I've decided to ck out more moho's in the classifieds, and their big Sunday car mall. Took a cheap (50e) motel, just outside/SE of Dortmund, for the night.
After wandering around their showroom for a couple hours, lusting over these beauties, and wishing I didn't have to fly home in a few days, I went to say hello to Frank, the guy who showed me around this summer when I visited. I mentioned I was on my way to Amsterdam to ck out some used moho's for next year and he said he had a few on his lot, and I would be able to look at them as well, if I was interested. I am here, so why not?
He had three pretty nice ones, but one smallish Hymer Camp-55 was really nice for my needs. Good storage, not too long, a bike rack on back, an upstairs bed that would not need to be made up each night, sleeps six (but one or two without having to "make" a bed), has a shower, toilet, two burner stove, three way fridge, a large storage box on top, only 90.3K clicks on the diesel engine, a one year mechanical warrantee, a fresh (good for two years) German government safety inspection and emissions test. It was fairly dirty, since they had just taken it on trade and simply parked it in the back of the lot to store for a while.
At some point in my looking it over, I decided I wanted to buy it. Hmmm. Sort of a quick decision, being as I have not even test driven it yet, I already have a Volvo that needs to be dealt with, and I am supposed to be catching a plane home in a few days. Perhaps knowing about all the rain Seattle is experiencing, or maybe the warm, dry, (still in shorts and tee shirt) day we are having here, or perhaps the fact that Frank knocked 2K off the price, in order to move this old rig ('92) off his lot, all combined to make the decision easier. Of course the other possibility is that Kristy was right all along, and the decision to winter over was already made long ago.
What ever the reason, I am going to buy it...assuming the test drive works out, and everything in the rig is functional. Oh, and they do at least a bit of cleaning in order to remove the last owners toothpaste and hair balls.
Since they did not have any dealer plates that day, I headed off to the internet cafe, in the hopes of getting some money wired (process started) before the weekend hits. Thanks to the help of my brother, Fred, and CFX they should have it in their account by Tuesday or Wednesday of next week.
I went to the same ol' campground I used the last time I was in town, and found it fairly deserted. Convinced the woman there that, yes, I really did want to set up my tent despite the wet grass and cold night. As the owners, and the few permanent resident campers remaining, were questioning my sanity, I threw them another curve ball by starting up the BBQ.
Saturday November 5th
Hohensyburg, Germany: Since Dürrwang-Morlein did not open till noon on Saturdays, I took my time this morning. Also they were not 100% sure that the red numbers (dealer plates) were going to be there in order for me to test drive the rig. They weren't, but Frank managed to borrow some from the Mazda dealer next door. Things are different here in Europe...in the US it would have been no question to test drive the rig as much as I wanted...the first day!
The rig seemed to work ok. Slow, but strong. Looks like it is getting more, and more official.
Back at the campground, I decided to do a Pub Crawl to the three smoky places nearby. Some soccer game was on, which added excitement to everyone's day.
Sunday November 6th
Hohensyburg, Germany: Typically everything is closed on Sunday, but this is a special holiday shopping day, so the stores are allowed (by the Germany government) to open for a half day. So many things are different than in the US....
Anyway, I was in the mood to buy some supplies for my new moho, and needed an electric heater (to save the cost of propane, when I am plugged into 220), more plates, a nice pot, a fitted sheet, etc..
It was nice to just wander around town, look at the worlds largest Christmas tree, ok, at least the worlds largest monstrosity constructed of stacked trees, and also dozens of rhinos. I have decided that Dortmund has a few reasons to visit even if you are not buying a camper.
Monday November 7th
Bremerhaven, Germany: Today I dumped all of my paragliding and camping gear off at Dürrwang-Morlein, stuffed the rocket box in the back of the V-50, and headed out to drop the car in Bremerhaven.
Without the box, the gas mileage was much better, in addition to all the handling characteristics. Speed mostly! Unfortunately, all this added performance got me a ticket for 70e while doing 150 in 100 zone. I had just been at 160 prior to passing the police wo/men, but they only got me for 150. Also gave the standard 15% off the speed as a cushion. They were both really nice, and we wound up chatting for a bit after business was taken care of.
Arriving late in Bremerhaven, I grabbed a hotel (expensive for me, at ~109e, now that I am planning on extending my trip) with a steam room, pool, WiFi, and a big firm bed. I then headed out for a bowl of soup, and glass of red wine, to take the chill off. As I was heading home, I wandered into a local bar and met up with Karen, from WI--now living in Germany, Tanya the bartender, and a couple of other locals (at least for a while), and joined them for some good times. The survivors finally closed the place down at four am, and decided that heading back for a morning swim was the smartest move. In hindsight, I can confirm it was a smart move...and brought back some fond memories of Antofagasta.
Tuesday November 8th
They called me a cab, I grabbed my daypack, and headed to the train station. I was in luck, the next train to Dortmund, via Bremen, left in about 45 minutes. Just enough time to grab a Turkish kebob with the works, and hit the platform.
Made it into Dortmund just before 18:00 and grabbed a 30e room right in the middle of town, and very close to the train station. Walked around town a bit, thought about heading over to the local strip with live Jazz, lively bars, and interesting cafes to pique the interest...but soon realized that, after last night, I would be better off getting a good nights rest. Was in bed by 20:00! :-)
Wednesday November 9th
Hohensyburg, Germany: With my impeccable German, I managed to buy a one way ticket FOR FIVE PEOPLE on the Metro. Waste of 5e, but how was I to complain, and who would listen anyway?
At least the ticket got me to Romberg Park, where I had a nice 15 minute walk to Dürrwang-Morlein to see about my rig. When I left on Monday, I was waiting for them to give it a quick clean, and also for the wire transfer to arrive. Frank greeted me with smiles (the transfer arrived!) and turned me over to Uwe, the shop chief, who took me through the cleaned rig, explaining how to work a moho. It was quite informative, and, never having used a moho in the past, I was grateful for the tour.
Another big difference I am getting used to is the idea of an oil change. With how, and where, I drove my rigs back home, I got into the habit of changing the oil every 3-4K. On my Volvo, it is only recommended every 7500 miles, and they are all included in the price of the car! Both Uwe and Frank said that on this diesel rig, I should go about 20K clicks before needing to worry about it!!! Said it would be hard to put that many clicks on a rig like this in one year. Wow, the power of advertising...good on ya Jiffy Lube!
I decided to head back to my favorite local campsite in Hohensyburg to camp for the night. I figured I would try everything tonight, and get any questions I had, addressed in the morning.
The three way fridge really works! It even freezes water! The hot water heater works great as well, but takes about 20 minutes to bring it up to steam. The water pump is fairly weak, but I still managed a shower in the cramped space...there is a small crack on the bathroom floor though, and a soft spot (maybe the foam below has broken down after years of use?) under it. The heater could bake a pizza. The light in the dinning room needs some work, and the bathroom has a slight "chemical toilet" smell...I guess something that is common. If everything works out, I will have taken my last shit/shower in my rig, and will just use the campground facilities from here on out, so that should not be an issue.
Anyway, I am pretty darn pleased with my Hymer so far! _____ Camp Fee from prior night/s:-- (30e for a two star hotel room in Dortmund) Fuel: 0 Tolls: 0 Food/Drink: 130e Supplies: 198e for propane tanks, light etc. 9.9ke for the mo. 40 for 220volt heater Misc: 7e for metro Odometer: ~90376 (rig safety cked 11/8/05 at this reading)
Thursday November 10th
Near Stuttgart, Germany: So I had a few questions about my moho from the past night of camping. Stopped by Dürrwang-Morlein and Uwe addressed them all. It took a bit of time for them to fix the speaker system (well, not really fix is, but at least get another speaker working), to fix the trim that was starting to come off, and do a bit of work on the shower floor crack. Hope it all makes it for a while longer... I then hit the road for Stuttgart, not really being sure if I would make the whole distance.
On the way, I realized I have always wanted to do Dettlebach, so eased a bit to the east of Frankfurt. It's already warm, and I near, moisture sets in as well.
Arriving in the dark, I take my time enjoying the intricacies, and back alleys, of Dettlebach, and then, as I was exploring, stumbled upon one of the juiciest burgers I have ever had! That, combined with a great side of fries, and terrific shake, created an incredible treat I would enjoy soon repeating.
Initially, I had every intention of spending the night, but, as often happens, after poking around the neighborhood for a while, I was spent, and ready to sneak out of town...so did.
I would highly recommend Dettelbach for anyone who gets a chance. Beautiful, interesting, fresh, fun, and very welcoming for any visitor.
Free camped on the Autobahn just outside of Stuttgart. _____ Camp Fee from prior night/s: 15e Fuel: 137e Tolls: 0 Food/Drink: 3 Supplies: 0 Misc: 0 Odometer: ???
Friday November 11th
Titisee, Germany: I slept surprisingly well at the rest area...not waking up till around 08:00. Packed away anything that may bounce around the moho and started my drive around Stuttgart to meet up with Matthias and Christl in Leinfelder Ecterdingin.
After all that was done, I headed south for Freiburg and the Black Forrest in the late afternoon. South on 27 then 31 west. Never made it all the way to Freiburg, but did find a nice little spot in Titisee. Just sounded too comfortable to pass up...
I set up the awning, did a bbq, mingled with the locals, curious about the American mohoinit on his own as the German winter is setting in. It was a great place, friendly, free hot showers, free power...which I made full use of, and generally a clean and quiet location. _____ Camp Fee from prior night/s: 0 Fuel: 0 Tolls: 0 Food/Drink: 0 Supplies: 0 Misc: 48e for plates, etc.. Odometer: ???
Saturday November 12th
I also hit an Ikea for some supplies and that sort of had me running late to find another campground for the evening. Oh well, I decided I would try another "free camp" and pulled into a rest area. The sign at the entrance mentioned something about a three hour limit (???), but as I pulled farther into the lot, I actually found another moho plugged into some sort of island, apparently specifically for moho's overnighting. Hmmm. I pulled in, knocked on their door, and I think they said it was ok for me to just plug in and crash. I double checked with the gas station, and they too gave me the green light.
I hook up, crank the 220v heater, cook some dinner, and sleeeeeept! _____ Camp Fee from prior night/s: 9 Fuel: Tolls: 30 for Swiss Road tax Food/Drink: .5 Supplies: 84 in plates, pillows, rugs, hangers, camp chairs, etc.. Misc: 0 Odometer: ???
Sunday November 13th
Don't worry. The messy/wet looking pavement was caused by me filling a few water bottles with fresh water. The area was surprisingly clean, and quiet, for a rest area, and it was interesting to note that three other mohos pulled in after me last night.
This little island, in the middle of a large parking lot, is really quite amazing. It has power hookups for four rigs, two black water dumps, four grey water dumps and eight fresh water hookups...well, I mean points, since nothing in Europe actually hooks up.
So, I know I was complaining about the damn Swiss charging me 30e for tolls to cross their country, but today I paid 47e on road tolls and barely touched France on my way to Spain, and, hopefully, some warmth and dryness for a few days. In retrospect, the 30e per year Swiss charge is reasonable...I just wish I did not have to buy it in November, and miss out on 11 months of use.
As I grew weary, I pulled into an open campground (not so easy to find at this time of year) and, after getting stuck, and unstuck, in the mud, I fill my fresh water tank from the fire hose, burned up some grub, and crashed. From the looks of it, there has been some serious rain here in the not-to-distant past. _____ Camp Fee from prior night/s: 0 Fuel: 76e for 66l at 92077km (??) for 520km traveled. Tolls: 46.55 for French tolls!!! Food/Drink: Supplies: 0 Misc: 0 Odometer: 92112
Monday November 14th
Agde, France: I certainly did not make much distance today. Just out of Sete, I ran into an interesting beach for lunch, and then an area, apparently flooded from the recent rain, that looked as if it should have been washed away long ago.
When I finally made it to Agde, the stores were open, and had at least a few things I could use. So, after grabbing some additional staples I headed off for a campground that was closed, but had some (supposedly) secure and patrolled spaces just outside their normal site. Guard dog, guy with a big stick, etc.., but I never saw a soul. Rain and thunderstorms prevailed. I now realize why there was so much mud last night.
No guard ever showed up to collect any fee, nor, I presume, guard anything, by the time I went to bed. _____ Camp Fee (paid today from night prior): 13e Fuel: 0 Tolls: 0 Food/Drink: 65e Supplies: 30 Misc: 0 Odometer: ???
Tuesday November 15th
Sant Pere Pescador, Espana: I woke up in France and am now in Espana. I realize they share a border, but I am still always amazed by how fast I cross them. I guess I am also taking into account that I was in Germany just a couple days ago, and I have been traveling slowly! It would be much more of a push to nail the US, and three other North American countries, in the same time-frame. Darn near impossible!
As the camp workers arrived to continue their year-end bookkeeping, I wandered in and gave them the 9e...for what I got (nothing) I should have just skipped the payment portion of my stay...the 9e I paid for, essentially, free-camping was a waste, and I was eager to head out early, so did. However, shortly after my departure, I began seeing more and more flooded fields and washed out roads. Agde and Beizers were bad, but once I got to Coursan, where the Aude river flows through town, there was some stress in the air.
Of course, I decided to stop, and take measure, and photos, of the situation.
The river level was clearly above street level, but, due to a protective wall/dyke system, and an up-river diversion stream for high water, things were ok for now. As some residents casually strolled through town, below water level, hands in pockets, and others worried not about their supped up sports cars, clearly below water level, and surely a loss if the water gained another 20cm, there were the serious few who gathered at waters edge to discuss what could be done to stop the flow, if the need should arise.
The food is better, the tolls are worse, but at least some things are the same as in the US of A...including lookieloos, of course consisting of exclusively men, offering advice to the town officials, who are no more able to control the forces of mother nature now, than prior to the input of said townsmen.
I headed south, while I still could, and stopped again, with a tear in my eye, and surveyed a flooded, and getting worse,
Farther south, in Narbonne, I came across a bit of a flooded section under a small overpass. Luckily, the signs in the middle of the road said it was still open for Hymers (Route Barree, Route Inondee), so I washed the bottom of my rig of the road dirt collected the past few days, stopped to make sure all was ok, being as things got a little "floaty" in that last section, and continued out of town.
Still hugging the coast, and avoiding the tolls, on
roads I can't flash anyway, I enjoy the coastal views of highway 9, as
it turns into 114,
A few minutes later, and I am in Espana, and looking
SW, into the lowering sun, over coastal Portbou...another beautiful
This section of road is incredibly beautiful, slow, and twisted as it hugs the outline of the rugged coast. Most definitely a must-see for any visitor wishing to see Espana.
Ultimately I wound up just south of Figueres at Aquarius Camping boasting very clean and modern facilities, beach-side sites, a restaurant, bar, and camp store that are still open in this off season, and, in addition to other entertainment options, movies in English at least a couple times a week...subtitled in German, French, or Italian, depending on the crowd that particular night. It had been a long time since I have escaped into some mindless recreation, so, after dinner, I enjoyed The Mexican with a couple of Brits and a Dutch bicyclist. _____ Camp Fee (paid today from night prior): 9 Fuel: 55e at 51l and 92174km with 418 driven Tolls: 0 Food/Drink: 1 Supplies: 10 Misc: 0 Odometer: 92317
Click here to see Section 11: Espana
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I
tossed on my rain coat, walked into town, stopped by the internet buffet
for a quick check of email and the weather. Duh! It is raining, pouring
in fact, with thunder and lighting every few seconds. The weather maps
confirm this fact with various shades of purple and indigo centered
around the entire Italian Rivera. Looks really bad, and the rain
forecast is for it to continue here, but Southern France and Spain are
looking dry. Was going to check some other things when the storm blew
out the power and internet.
saying
over the rain. Finally figure out that I left my hat on the roof of my
car.
On
Thursday I packed up and headed out. Stopped at three local moho
dealerships to check out the goods. There was a bit of a range in
prices, and everyone had lots of specials going on as the cold, wet,
winter sets in. I saw one that was pretty nice for 20K, and I saw
another for about 7K that was fairly beat up, but still functional. My
favorite was a three year old VW camper/bus, but they are looking for
35.5K!!! Typical...before making it to Europe, I did some research, and
all of the VW's were very expensive for the amount of use they had. It
was actually cheaper to buy one in the US and ship it over.
This morning (Friday) I stopped in Dortmund
Dortmund, Germany:
Got up late this morning, showered, and went to drop the rig. A bit hard
finding it, but once there, they made it very easy. The car had 9734
miles on it, averaged 21.4 mpg and 36 mph, over those miles.
After
giving it a good bath, prior to drop-off, I found one small scratch
(hopefully just in the outer paint layer) near the right, rear handle.
Other than that one inch mark, and the nearly invisible ding Rich put in
the bumper, the car is perfect. A part of me is going to miss the ol'
V-50. Sporty...and not just sporty for a Volvo.
Some
things are not obvious, and not all things work in the same way you
would expect it to work in the US. For instance, US rigs have large
black water tanks for the toilet waste and to empty them, you just hook
a hose up to dump site and open a valve. Here in Europe, you instead
fill about a 10 liter portable tank and then have to physically haul
that away to a special toilet, in the campground, to dump it. Also,
Another obvious difference is that all the plugs are 220 verses 110, and
the 12 volt power points in the back are half the diameter of normal.
Normal as in every 12 volt car outlet in the US you've seen, AND size of
the cigarette lighter in the front of my cab. Why they thought having
two different sizes in the same rig was a good idea is beyond me! Did I
mention that no water nozzle attachment in Europe is of a standard size?
Want to fill your fresh water tank? Well then, the best way is to buy a
ten liter jug and make ten trips (for mine) back and forth from the camp
fresh water supply to your rig. Damn Europeans! :-)
I
didn't.
Neuchatel,
Switzerland:
After taking down my, mostly dry, ground tarp, washed last night, and
packing up the barbie, I took a leisurely drive through the rest of the
Black Forest this morning, stopped in Freiburg to mail the red plates
back to Frank at
Sete,
France:
After waking up at a high class Swiss rest stop, I dumped my tanks and
then hit the road...making good
time.
vineyard.
At least the harvest is done at this stage, and, awe, they are mostly
whites anyway.
and
then 260 at the border to Espana. My last village in France, Cerbere,
had the best views I have ever seen from a cemetery. If I have to die,
and someone insists on not letting me just rot, or letting a tiger eat
me, then this is the place I would enjoy wasting space. Hard to
believe some US developer has not come in with the big bucks, and
transplanted
it, yet.
village,
still unspoiled. by tourists like me.