Ros: Hi there! It's been just over a week since we left the U.K and the weather on the Continent has been superb. We have been really lucky so far, and have found lots of amazing pull-inns and spoken to some really friendly people. After spending two nights by the Rowing lake in Ghent, we headed further south-east through Belgium and stayed overnight in a lovely lay-by, in a stunning limestone valley with some 'Grottes' (caves) nearby. We turned down a lay-by near the Grottes, but decided against it, as there was a dead Wild Boar in the ditch alongside it! Ed said "there's a dead black bear in the ditch", so I looked over his shoulder and it definately looked like a hog! Quite exciting none-the-less! You don't get road kill like that in Blighty. We didn't make it to the Grottes, but we hiked up the mountain and found a Hermitage built in the mid-1800's by one of Napolean's officers after the war. Even more wonderful up there, we stumbled upon a wild daffodil wood with small tete a tete flowers as far as the eye could see. Very pretty and a place to remember for the future. The town was called Han s/Lesse and was our last overnight stop in Belgium on Monday 7th April. By Tuesday we crossed the border into Luxembourg, and about an hour later, we were in Germany and heading for the Mosel Valley which promised wine (Riesling), magnificent views and oldie-worldy villages with hill-top castles. We weren't disappointed, and managed to find a brilliant lay-by in a small village called Bernkastel-Kues, where I finally got to practice my German, procuring Riesling and Apfel Strudel while Ed was snoozing in the truck. My pronunciation of 'Riesling' was corrected by an old German lady, which amused me greatly. I love zee Germans. Lots and lots of snoozing has been occurring this week by the way. Shameful. Neither of us have been up very early, as Germany is an extra hour ahead, and the start of British Summer Time not long before we left the U.K has confused our body clocks..... (this excuse is starting to wear thing, but we're sticking to it). The Mosel Valley is wonderful. The rocks look like north Wales (shale), which are dark brown, bronze, through to pink, but unlike North Wales, the slopes are literally covered in vines. There's not square-inch of free space, and some of the slopes are so steep, that there are chair lifts to aid the custodians of the grape. There are so many stunning villages along the River. Our second night was spent in a small town called Ediger-Eller, and our third in Hatzenport. A highlight so far was on Friday, where we walked 13 miles (round-trip) to an amazing castle (Burg-Eltz) in the Eltz Valley from Hatzenport (see picture attached). It was a beautiful walk and fantastic to finally stretch the old legs. That morning, a German cyclist stopped to speak to Ed. 'Do you need any help?' he enquired (Ed must have looked lost, or the German chap just wanted to chat). Ed asked him how far to the castle, and we were given perfect directions. We thought how nice zee Germans were. Also lots of truck compliments have been showered so far. It was so mild one evening that Ed got out his Ukranian Petrol Stove and he cooked sausages outside. Ed was very pleased with himself (see uploaded photos... coming soon). Now we are in Konigstein, and being wonderfully looked after by Christine and David, Ed's cousins. We have been treated to the first white asparagus of the season, and this morning I enjoyed some wine tasting (after breakfast)! So a sozzled welsh-girl was roaming Deutschland earlier today. All in all, the trip so far has been very pleasant, but we're holding on to these moments, to get us through the tough bits! The only hardship is lack of hot water! Tomorrow morning we head into central Germany enroute to Thurungia (land of the best German sausages) and then on to Dresden. We're hoping to cross the border into Poland for Easter. Also a special thank you to family for helping us to get late truck parts (and forgotten walking boots to Konigstein). Thank you. xxx Love to everyone back home. Ed & Ros xxx
3 Comments
Lucy
4/14/2014 12:59:57 am
Ahh, so lovely to hear what you've been up to.
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Jo
4/15/2014 07:46:13 am
Lol well done rotter. Snoozing and sausages sounds good x
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Dad
4/17/2014 07:17:19 pm
Sounds as if you are having fun and had a great time in Konigstein with the Dicksons. Amused to hear that Ros needed an extra hour or so in bed after falling into the clutches of "Mr Schnapps" via the hand of David. Following everything closely now that I am back from my op. Keep having fun.
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AuthorRos: Both Ed and I will be updating the diary blog as much as possible! WTS. Archives
September 2014
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