Bottoms up!

Sat 24th November 2012

Well, here we are still in Germany and likely to stay here for some time yet. Going from country to country it's amazing how different the way of life is considering how close they all are and how the border controls have virtually disappeared.

We found Germany the most difficult country to come to terms with but there was something there that kept us from running off to another country. I think the biggest hurdle has been the language and yes we should learn it and we have tried but it is a really difficult language to learn. People have been really good and thankfully are willing to practice their English back to you but they like you to try a bit of German as well. The Germans like their home comforts and that extends to campsites where the facilities are super heated and of a very high standard. The campsite owners are very relaxed and over the last two weeks we have literally been the only people moving about in a motorhome and the exclusive use of the facilities makes us feel very important!. When another motorhome turns up we feel it's quite an intrusion!.

Germany also has some lovely parts to explore even in the depths of winter and we have really explored beyond where the average tourist would tread. We have found hidden Roman ruins, sleeping villages, local ferry crossings on the Rhein and even the odd cafe or restaurant to sample the fantastic beers on offer. Yes, they certainly can boast to have the best beers in Europe. The stuff you buy in the UK is so watered down and needs to be the way that binge drinking occurs. Drinking beer out here is more like having a cup of coffee as it's drunk more socially and slowly. We haven't seen one drunk or wino' with his bottle in the local park, that's not to say there may be some in the larger cities. 

Last week we decided to drive alongside two of the two largest rivers in Germany, the Mosel and the Rhein. Both spectacular with winding valleys shrouded in vineyards (Rhineland) and a very busy commercial shipping in the shape of massive barges chugging up and down all day to ease the strain of HGV's on the countries road network. One lunchtime we stopped for dinner beside the Rhein watching all this activity sail past us, it was fascinating. On going into the town we found one of Germany's top Stein producers so I am now the proud owner of my first original German Stein with which to sip the many locally made beers we come across so often. 

Passing through some small villages in Germany is like stepping back in time, we have noticed how much they look after things out here, you can see really old tractors and cars still in use that would have been thrown away a long time ago in other countries. The fashion is another thing as that doesn't seem to have caught up with the rest of Europe yet. What you get instead is just really good quality of everything. Everything is made really well using the best parts and produce and it's this that literally keeps things lasting so much longer.

We are loving it and even more now that it's nearly the first Advent which means the Christmas Markets open next week!. We have stumbled upon Rothenburg considered to be one of Europe's most beautiful medieval towns having one of Germany's oldest and best Christmas Market. So with some snow forecast its going to be an exciting December this year.

Auf Wiedersehen