Into Europe with the Bongo

This is the first time on the trip - Karlstadt -  I’ve had the opportunity to sit, reflect & write, as we
travel West across Europe heading back home.

Moving East we were on a mission to reach some good old friends across Europe on specific days and times, unlike us they have work and other commitments to meet so early arrival or late departure wasn’t on the agenda.

Now almost two thirds the way into our first sortie into Europe, time to reflect. Surprised how easy it is driving on the right, the ferry, the traffic, the camping all very easy.

The weather has been really kind to us so far, as have all the drivers both car and lorry - haven’t been tooted once! Have to keep reminding myself to drive in gutter,on turning left  aim for the gutter, keep in the gutter then its no problem. I’m happy on the gutter.

Oh yes, I forgot the Sat Navs - Tom Tom & Google - they have been brilliant couldn’t have done it so painlessly without them. Even when they went mad resetting themselves while demanding that we ’turn around when possible’ we simply retraced our steps to where it went mad, once there invariably it recovered its sanity and took us on our way.

Loved shopping at Lidl especially loved & enjoyed the prices of the Wine and Beer - like being back home but paying 50% less. Oddly my favourite brand of German sausage I buy in the UK is not sold here.

Hirschau stop over on the road to Nuremberg

Campsites have been universally good, some even brilliant , particularly the German ones huge spralwing sites in great settings with heated pools and man made lakes with sandy beaches.
Some had restaurants and all had WiFi (of varying quality - some bad, mostly very bad )

As usual met some great people including Karl Debrick en route, on his own, on a push bike to the Munich Beer Festival - outstanding bloke and character true Brit!

                           

Talking on bikes saw some very odd two/three wheeled transport like things on the journey:

Europe's Highlights so far....

After visiting our friends the highlights , for me , so far have been:

Magdeburg where I visited the 13th Century statue St Maurice in his eponymous Cathedral,  I've written and spoken  about him and this statue , I plan to write more about my visit.

Nuremberg visiting Albrecht Durer House, Nürnberg, Germany to have some sense of how the great man lived. Delighted to spot his coat of arms as a stained glass window , plan to write about this image, only taken me almost five years since I first saw his coat arms.

Zeppelin Fields in Nuremberg where Hitler and his National Socialists held rallies for 200,000 in an arena designed by Hitler’s architect Albert Speer - extraordinary, awesome space - theatrical state management on a monumental scale, absolutely monumental.