We all know living in the UK the stigma and effect that even a light fall of snow will have on our roads and transport system. I always grew up thinking that it was always going to be like that coz 'thats how it was' until we came to Germany and saw the other side. They really do cope so well with ice and snow here and I would put it down to a simple thing like the Government like to invest properly and can see the importance of keeping things moving for all concerned.
We woke up this morning to really heavy snow and had planned to drive 35km into Konstanz for the day to visit the Christmas Markets. Seeing that amount of snow and driving a motorhome would have been a big NO in the UK but the faith and confidence you have here in the German road networks makes the day carry on as normal. The Germans really do manage their snow with fleets of snow ploughs gritting all day long!. Even in smaller villages there are
Short clip from our driving camera can be seen here.
A few have been asking how we are keeping warm especially with a weekend night low of minus -16 expected. The technology of motorhomes has thankfully changed with the times and we bought our Hymer as it was made in Germany and has one of the most advanced insulated body systems on the market. Linked to that dual fuel blown air central heating and we are as warm as toast. We can chose the source of fuel on a dial from electric if hooked up or gas if we are out and about. Also we can choose both gas and electric to work together and then it gets really hot!, we have only used that once but had to set the thermostat very low!.
Auf Wiedersehen
Sat 1st December 2012
(Dont forget to click the links of coloured text for more information)
We have stayed put for a few days now so that we could visit one of the most traditional German Christmas Markets at Rothenburg and the wait was all worth it! The opening was yesterday and the day before the big freeze suddenly arrived and with it the snow. It was touch and go in the morning but the snowing finally stopped and we edged out of the campsite to one of the special parking areas they have for visiting motorhomes right next to the old city walls. We all wrapped up and Bradley wore his new coat for the first time and didn't we need it with temperatures struggling to get above freezing.
It all added to the atmosphere and once inside the predominantly traffic free walls the feel of Christmas was soon about us. First thing was to try and fine a hairdresser for Lorraine as the locks were getting a little out of control and needed taming. We found a nice salon and the excited shriek of the stylist when Lorraine took her hat off said it all. I was shown a comfortable seat with a nice coffee whilst Bradley was treated to loads of treats and cuddles from the remaining staff. We keep forgetting that in most of Europe dogs can go virtually anywhere. Over an hour later Lorraine emerged with a satisfying grin and we said our goodbyes to the nice staff.
The next stop was lunch and there was so much to chose from. A very nice and traditional hotel with a traditional Franconian menu looked just the ticket and after another check that Bradley was allowed, in we went. The inside was all decked out with the most tasteful decorations and we were made to feel very welcome. Rothenburg is a bit too inland for the hoards of coaches that visit the German Markets from the West side of Europe so it was nice just mixing with the locals and a few Japanese tourists. We soon chose two traditional rustic recipes from the Frankonia (Franken) region and washed down with a half a litre of local beer was just the ticket. (I was soon going to regret that amount of beer when I hit the freezing temperatures outside!)
After a relaxed lunch out we went again taking in the beautiful old town which is like a movie film set and dates back over a 1000 years. Thankfully the excellent public loos were in abundance and thankfully I didn't have more than one beer. It was soon time for afternoon coffee and cakes and we found a 700yr old hotel and café which had the most wonderful seating area within an old library. They also had the most divine Franconian pastries and cakes to sample in the most relaxed and typical German laid back fashion.
It was almost dark when we emerged back outside again and more and more people were arriving. We could understand why as the Christmas lights were just wonderful. It was like stepping back in time, no flashing blue strobe effects or animated Santa's climbing an electric chimney stack out here, just hand made candle powered or tasteful white twinkling lights. It was the warm local welcome and costume that also made the day. Tradition is you go and hire your cup (Tasse) and then visit the numerous street stalls that serve the 'Gluhwein' (Glow Wine) and drink it stood around the many street tables provided.
5 o'clock arrived and we all met in the main market square (Marktplatz) for the opening ceremony. The choir singing familiar carols in German was lovely and the mayor officially opened the event to the sounds of the local brass band. Being a keen photographer I climbed up the back steps of the town hall and got an elevated position just behind the stage and who did I bump into hiding in the shadows?… none other than old St Nicolas himself. A young American couple with a small child had followed me up and I'll never forget the little boys 'WHAW" when Santa Claus turned around to him in the darkness and said hello in German. You didn't need to understand the language seeing the boys face and I managed to get a great shot as Santa bent down opened his huge sack and gave the boy a handful of small treats….priceless!.
I also managed to shoot a bit of video of the opening ceremony which can be seen by clicking here but my video skills aren't as good as my photography.
After another hour of walking about we had to return to the campsite after a brief visit to the local supermarket as we didn't want to be out and about too late in the motorhome. We had experienced a truly magical day and will never forget Rothenburg and its warm hospitality.
A brief day catching up and then its off down the Autobahn tomorrow (Sunday) to Lake Konstanz where we hope to visit some more lovely Christmas Markets. We have decided to stick to the main roads now as the weather is really wintery.
Frohes Fest (Merry Christmas) to you all!
German for night = nacht
German for naked = nackt
Both are vurtually pronounced the same way especially for two numpties trying to learn the basics...
Soo.. Lorraine has just learnt from a campsite owner that could speak good english that she has been asking for the last few weeks if she could "stay naked for 2 please" instead of "can we stay for 2 nights please"
Ooops!
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
Guess who managed to find one of these and stupidly try to chase it?.. Its the size of Bradley and once it turned and hissed at him he thankfully came running back to me!!. We are deep in the Forest regions now with lots of Wild Boar as well so its lead and harness from now on!
Tues 13th November 2012
Sorry for the delay but we haven't had very good internet recently. Campsite internet varies greatly from free and very fast to €3.50 per hour and slow!. You would think it should be the other way around but sometimes the cheaper is better. Being constantly connected is a service we take for granted and miss quite often but then seeing the next bit of breathtaking scenery on our wonderful trip more than makes up for lack of internet!.
So, what have we been up to in the last week?. We went into Luxembourg which was a small but quaint little country which can almost be summed up as not really knowing its identity. Firstly the language is really strange as their native language is made up of a bit of French, German and Dutch but they easily speak English which is good. Then there are the signs, one minute its all in German and then on the other side of the street its all in French. One sign I did see was Diesel at €1.27 euro, that translates to £1.04p per litre! We had heard how cheap it is in Luxembourg but unfortunately we can't spend our adventure driving around here. Mind you the average we are paying in the rest of Europe is £1.18p so we can't complain.
Then there are campsites!. The further west we have travelled away from Germany the more less winterised are the campsites. Considering most French campsites shut between the end of September and open again late March you know why there are less heated facilities!. You really miss this when having to visit the open air type loos when its nearly zero degrees outside!. One thing we have learnt quickly is that the Germans like their home comforts and quality so it's back into Germany where we can be assured of comfortable campsites which is very important to us. When the Christmas festivities are over it's then going to have to be a decision time as to where we head for next.
The Christmas markets all open on the first advent week (Around 26th November) so we are heading deeper into Germany and will probably end up at Lake Konstanz near the Swiss border at the end of the month.
Auf Wiedersehen
Wednesday 31st October 2012
We are in the Black Forest (Schwarzwald) region now and it is very cold with some snow around. We have had a great summer in this part of Europe so we can't complain. The efficient central heating system has now been used for the first time in the motorhome and we are as warm as toast, Winter clothes have now been brought out and Bradley has been wearing his pyjamas at night.
Today we visited Titisee, we didn't see any but plenty of Cuckoo Clocks in the shops by the lake. Some say this is the Cuckoo Clock capital of Germany and there were hundreds to choose from in the shops. We hadn't really thought about a Cuckoo Clock before but on speaking to the Senior Elf in one Christmas Grotto we soon started to fall in love with these magnificent but noisy hand crafted and fascinating mechanical timepieces (Yes no batteries!). After finding there was a lever that would silence the 'Cuckoo' bit we decided it would be lovely to have one at home so a small was carefully packaged and is stored in a warm cupboard for the journey back home.
Thursday we moved further north in the forest to Dornstetten, a higher altitude and very windy but as always lots of walks and a nice little town to visit. Shops close for a half day in the week, half day Saturday and all day Sunday so they know how to live here!. We walked to the local supermarket and as we have Bradley one of us has to wait outside. It was Lorraine's turn yesterday and after I emerged into the car park with the trolly Lorraine looked a little frustrated!. A German Jehovah's Witness had seen Lorraine and Bradley waiting and seized the opportunity for a 'chat'. Lorraine thought her inability to speak German was in her favour but the lady produced a language booklet and asked Lorraine to point to her country. You often ask yourself "why did I" but it was too late when pointing at the British Flag the Lady went off into pointing out what was right and wrong. After what seemed like an eternity Lorraine politely and firmly managed to walk away as she had no door to shut this time!.
We packed our bags with lots of goodies to snack on as it was 'Strictly Come Dancing' and 'The X Factor' tonight!.
Auf Wiedersehen
