Back in Germany - Part I & Holland!

So before Bremen and Hamburg we were in Berlin for almost a week staying with friends who were kind enough to share their one bedroom apartment with us. It was Zac’s first time in Berlin so we did some of the touristy stuff like going to see the Brandenburg gate etc. The weekend we spent at different markets including one at Mauer park on Sunday which is absolutely massive and sells everything and anything. We went to the Sony Centre in Berlin to watch a movie as Zac googled that they show English language movies there, and it was nice to do something that we would normally do at home after 2 (?) months of traveling. We ate Kepabs (apparently invented by Berlin’s Turkish community) almost every day as they are SO delicious and fresh tasting in Berlin and for less than 3 Euro!

Boys, Beers & Trains in Berlin

Sony Centre

We spent 2 nights in Heidelberg, Germany, after having driven through the Blackforest with a stop in Baden-Baden to check out the Roman bath ruins and enjoy a slice of blackforest cake - yum! I showed Zac the spot where my mum’s families’ house used to be in Heidelberg, it was in an area that is now new apartments so sadly the house no longer remains, but I still love going back there, it’s such an absolutely beautiful city.

Little cutie!

The day before driving through the Blackforest we stumbled across Germany's largest themepark, Europa Park, which is just how I imagine Disneyland to be - it was awesome! At the end of the day we both felt pretty sick from all the sweets and having spent so much time on roller-coasters. There must’ve been almost ten different roller-coasters there and they were all so cool, one of them went backwards and one of them was in the dark with strobe lighting- total puke material but super awesome!

…Yes I know I’m blogging about Germany in reverse and it’s confusing but that’s because I’ve been unorganized this week, but it’s my blog and I can do what I want basically, so my apologies as this may not be the last time this happens….

After Bremen we headed to Amsterdam and stayed there 2 nights in a caravan park only a 15min tram ride outside of the centre. Our first night we went into the city and got so stoned we couldn’t work out how to get the tram back again. I remember staring at the map at central station of the tram lines, squinting at it in the hope that that would put it in focus, after what felt like 20 minutes of squinting I said to Zac “what the f*%! is this anyway?”.  After some time spent in this manner we realized we were going to have to get a cab home so it turned out to not be a cheap night out but pretty darn funny. Walking around Amsterdam where bikes have right of way and scooters and motorbikes often use the footpath was pretty freaky and even moreso when you’re bent.

Our camp spot on the water in Amsterdam

Cute Skinny-Minnie Buildings

 

The dude next to me looks totally jealous

Just the other day we fell into some luck and we’ve managed to find ourselves staying in a mate’s bosses holiday home an hour north of Amsterdam in northern Holland on the beach. It’s actually a really nice cozy place too that has absolutely everything you’d need (except the internet). 

Our Dutch beach house!

The Netherlands is so beautiful at the moment with all the tulip fields in bloom it's just a rainbow of colour everywhere - just impossible to be sad!

Back in Germany -Part II

We spent the last few days in and around Bremen and up at the North Sea in a town called Bremerhaven. 

The musicians of Bremen

The coast in that part of the country is like what I imagine the 'beaches' are like in the UK all overcast windy and cold, no sand and mainly mud-flats due to a tide that seems to be permanently out. It's impossible to swim as you'd first have to walk almost a kilometer out on the mud flats to find the water but at least the kids loved playing in the mud. The caravan park we stayed at on the North Sea was super busy because this week in Germany is 'family week' as Thursday was Father's day and Sunday is mother's day. Lots of families are cycling along the ocean, others are flying kites and some people are just relaxing and drinking.

Our camping spot on the north sea

We arrived in Bremerhaven after having spent two nights in Hamburg. When we first arrived in Hamburg we parked the car on the outskirts and walked into the city exploring the centre and Zac was on a mission to find a wee train shop he saw on the internet. We ended up walking around for four hours which was fine until it started absolutely pouring and my rain jacket soaked through so I got cold. Then it wasn't fun anymore. That night we drove around the city looking for somewhere to sleep the night and seeing as we planned a visit to 'Miniatur Wunderland' (the largest miniature train layout in the world!) the next day we thought we'd suss out that area for parking. We knew we were in luck when we saw another van and a motor home already parked up in the carpark for Miniature Wonderland. We pulled up next to the other van and thought we'd ask them to double check it was ok for us to stay there overnight, the guy didn't speak English and when I told him I spoke a little German he was off like a rocket of excitement speaking at a hundred miles an hour about how awesome miniature wonderland is (he had been before). Usually when I tell people my German's not the best they speak slower and clearer to me but this dude was way too excited to bother. I managed to understand when he was explaining how big the place is, and about the different themes the place has and about the calendar he bought at the gift shop on special for 9 Euros when it was advertised on the internet for 15. Zac asked me to ask him if he collects trains and he told me only 'Feuerwehr' which I thought I must've misheard because that means he collects only fire engines but Zac told me a lot of people in Germany seem to do the same. 

Our camping spot outside Miniature Wonderland

Miniature Wonderland was pretty darn awesome, there was just so much to look at and all so teeny-tiny. At one point one of the teeny villages had a fire start in it so the teeny-tiny fire brigade was deployed and drove to the scene of the fire with teeny lights flashing and sirens blaring. Super cute.

Even the cafe was train themed

After Miniatur Wunderland we went to Hamburg's port and walked around because it was 'HafenGerburtstag', a five day festival in Hamburg, so the waterfront was full of stalls. 

That's 1 big sausage and out of proportion bun

There was a Russian submarine parked up so we had a look inside it which was pretty awesome. All those American movies I've seen where the crew run around like mad inside a sub during an emergency is a crock, there's no way anybody's running inside a sub without hitting their head or arms on something.

peek-a-boo

see - no room for running

Part 1 I will have to write about in the next couple of days pending when we again have internet. Unfortunately I can't finish it all now like i had hoped as uploading all these photos has taken sometime (hours!) and Zac's getting impatient and is now waiting in the car :-)
I might take him a piece of cake from this cafe I'm sitting in to keep him quiet.

We're now heading to Amsterdam for a few days which will no doubt be fun. Will keep you posted...

Oui - Finally an Update!

Blergh! The power inverter we were using to charge my laptop in the van died, so now I can only  charge my laptop when we pay for camping, and then the battery is so crap it doesn't last long so I have to ration my laptop usage! Luckily Zac has his ipad but he hogs it and I can't do my blog on it - grrrr.... we'll have to sort something out but basically this is my excuse for not having updated my blog for some time...

Our first night in Switzerland we spent in a camp ground in Zurich on the lake. This was also our first introduction to some of the prices in Switzerland that we had been warned about, when the campground employees told us that 1 night sleeping in our van was going to cost around 45 Swiss Francs, more than double what we’ve been used to paying. Luckily when they saw the looks on our faces they said we could have a “bad weather” discount  and pay 30 Swiss Francs for the night instead.

Zurich city we drove in circles for ages trying to fnd a park and eventually gave up and drove to a mall on the outskirts instead, but on the way back we stumbled across one of the most awesome flea markets either of us have seen, hidden away behind an old service station, they sold anything and everything you could think of and I could’ve stayed there all day.

We then drove from Zurich to Lucerne which is such a beautiful little town where we wandered through the old cobbled streets and had two coffees that cost $5 Aussie each (!) although they were some of the yummiest creamy coffees we've ever had.

Our coffee spot in Lucerne

 We stayed in a camping place just outside of Zermat Switzerland which is home of the famous ski- resort which includes Switzerland’s highest peak, Matterhorn . The one thing we unfortunately overlooked though is that it appears to be a ski-resort tailored to the rich and famous, and we have a modest budget this trip, which doesn’t include 90 Swiss Francs for entry into an ice-bar full of beautiful ice-sculptures. The town of Zermat itself is car free, which is a great idea, but it means that we have to pay 30 Swiss Francs just to get there. Zac was frantically looking on the internet for another ski-field we could use in Switzerland that was still open this late in the season and that won’t cost us an arm and a leg, which included one which was actually back in Liechtenstein.

The drive to Zermat was through some of the most beautiful country I’ve ever seen, sadly the weather was a bit drizzly and there was low cloud over much of the mountains marring the views.

Our camping spot near Zermat

 During our night camping we heard bell klanging noises and after investigating we discovered that in the small barn next to the house that was in the grounds, a family of sheep were keeping out of the cold...cute!

Peek-a-boo

Swiss sheep with bells around their necks keeping warm

We decided the best place for snowboarding that wasn't heading back where we'd already come from would be France - yay! So the next couple of nights we spent in the French Alps free-camping in the carpark of the ski-resort. The drive from Switzerland to France included a section where our car had to be put onto a train to be taken through a tunnel for 15 minutes and on the other side of the tunnel where we came out the weather was perfect - score!

The drive through France was beautiful and with clear blue skies and perfect views as far as the eye could see - very lucky...

Our 1st night camping in the French Alps

A baguette so big it came with its' own box

It was so much fun being in France and saying 'Bonjour' & 'Merci' to everybody, it's just such a beautiful language I love hearing it spoken. Zac has a 'thing' against French people which I was hoping a visit to France would help him see beyond, and luckily all the French people we met were super friendly and helpful, all except one French lady in Switzerland who dobbed us into the caravan park owners after we tried to use their laundry facilities for free and was telling us off in French even though we clearly didn't understand what she was saying. Was quite funny actually. I think because this lady was technically Swiss and not French, and because it's only one 'bad' French experience out of many, that this trip has definately helped open zacs mind - at least a little...



Our last night camping in France by a river