Heading North Through Belgium, Holland & Germany - Week 1

We arrived in Belgium quite late after travelling the 240 miles from home. We stopped the night in the free car park near the canal with quite a few other Motorhome’s. We had everything we needed on board so we didn’t need to pay for a campsite. I even managed our first tea in our new kitchen. Salmon, veggies and cheese sauce yum!

The next day was spent with an old school friend. Sarah and her husband live in Gent so spent the day and evening with them, what a wonderful way to start our big adventure.

Wednesday we left Belgium behind and drove to Giethoorn in Holland. I love Holland, it’s so clean and tidy. Giethoorn is no exception. The Dutch are very friendly and their English puts us to shame. Even the 2 people sat on the other side of the canal waved to us as we walked by. It was still sunny and warm at 8:30pm and we were glad of the breeze. The Aire (camping spot) cost €11 for 1 night with toilets, showers, water, grey & black waste and free WiFi, with a view & a price like that, what’s not to love.

Our aim is to try and get to Denmark by the end of the weekend as June, July & August are good months to travel around Scandinavia. We had wanted to see more of Belgium & Holland but we set off later than planned and we know we can explore more when we get our annual leave from work. From where we live it’s quicker to get there than Scotland!

Thursday, still travelling north, we found a great little place to park in a public square in the centre of a lovely town in north Germany called Leer. There was no charge for parking and it had a machine for anyone to use that for €1 gives fresh water one side and a place the other side to empty your toilet. How amazing is that! We found it using the app ‘park4night’. Motorhoming is so easy in Germany! We loved the walk around the town and along the river and even managed to dodge the showers.

Friday was spent in Bremen. Another great place to visit in Germany. Parked just around the corner from a stellplatz (Campsite/Aire for Motorhome’s). We had enough water on board and the waste was only 50% full so we didn’t want to fork out €15 just to park on a piece of hard ground. The reviews on ‘park4night’ said the place where we decided to stay was safe and quiet. Which it was.It was only a 30 minute walk into the old square. Some of the beautiful buildings are part of UNESCO. Had to visit the Cathedral as we hadn’t been in one this month lol. The statue of animals is called Bremen Town Musicians - A fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. It’s been used all over the town in one way or another.

So yesterday, as the weather wasn’t great, we trucked on to Friedrichstadt in the north. We didn’t want to drive through Hamburg so instead chose a route on google maps through the countryside and crossed the river Elbe by Ferry from Wischhafen to Gluckstadt. We followed the signs to the boat, joined the queue, drove on and sat in the Motorhome the whole journey. The guy came round and speaking perfect English told us (in his German way) it was cash only and even guessed the correct length of the van. €20 later we were crossing the river.

We needed to fill up with fresh water and empty the toilet so typed ‘stellplatz’ into google maps and found one in Brokdorf. Most places you can do your ablutions and pay the odd Euro at the machine without having to stop and pay for the night. We’re not tight, we’re trying to keep to a budget.

Now we’re in Friedrichstadt, it looks like a little version of Venice, so we’re off to explore in a moment ...

Harriet’s Hints

We found the fuel prices got cheaper the further north you travel in Germany.Delhaize is a lovely Belgium supermarket. Rewe is a nice German supermarket. You can pay by card but it’s closed on a Sunday. Edeka is another decent German shop, open for a few hours on a Sunday but they don’t accept card payments. (We found out the hard way). All much better (in our opinion) to Lidl.

No More Wobbly Sea Journeys

If you're anything like me and don't like sailing on wobbly sea's, there is an easy answer ... Le Shuttle (AKA Eurotunnel) from Ashford in Kent to Calais in France.

It's easy to book the Tunnel online or over the phone. We used Tesco club card points the first time we travelled that way but this time we chose the 10% discount with our Camping & Caravan Club membership. We rang the club to book, very easy. Just bear in mind though, if you do use them, they charge a £15 admin fee (2018) for any alterations.

When you get to the Channel Tunnel, check in is done by number plate recognition.

If the details on the screen match your booking (ie lead name), tap the digital confirm button. It won't always do it first time so keep tapping confirm until it accepts it. It then shows the time you're booked on and maybe an alternative time to choose.

We booked the 17:10 train today and as we got there earlier than expected it offered us an earlier one at 15:50 at no extra charge. If it gives you a choice, just follow the simple instructions.
The machine then prints out a 'hanger' with your letter on it. Tear along the perforations at the top until it resembles something you can hang on your rear view mirror.

Follow the signs to the parking area and look at the big screens.

Keep an eye on the same letter printed on your 'hanger'. It will tell you when it's time to proceed. First you go through English Passport Control showing your passports. They may call you over to check your gas bottles are turned off. After that, it's French Passport Control. Follow the signs for high vehicles to the train. and drive through the gap.

A member of staff will direct you to your parking spot.

Easy Peasy!! Ooo la la, 35 minutes later, you're in France.

Harriet's Hints:

If you are parked up in the parking area, and before you have to turn off your gas supply, boil the kettle and put the water in a flask. That way you can make yourself a cuppa for the train journey. If you've already made one, at least you have hot water to wash up with lol.

Meet Harriet The Hymer

We are super excited to tell everyone, we're embarking on an adventure of a lifetime!! Just over a week ago, we picked up Harriet the Hymer from our friends at Erwin Hymer Group UK and drove the 400 miles home.

We realised, when parking up, the fridge wouldn't work on gas. So after a quick phone call to the lovely people at Tyne Valley Motorhome's (who did the handover), it was sorted. Just a little teething problem. All we had to do was press the reset button (flashing red triangle enclosing an exclamation mark). Brilliant, we were up and running.

We have been motorhoming previously so had a rough idea of what we needed to take with us. It's a little bit different travelling for a year than a fortnights holiday. For example, Andy takes Metformin tablets for Diabetes so we needed to do some research for that. Luckily we have an amazing Doctors Surgery who have supplied enough to last us at least 6 months. We've packed our EHIC cards and a repeat prescription for when he needs some more. We'll let you know how he gets on.

Another obstacle we've managed to get over is travel insurance. Most companies don't want to insure you for 12 months away. However, if you're 55 or under on the day you apply to Alpha Insurance, you can get covered for a whole year for not too much money (thanks to the guys that do the 'Our Tour' blog for the tip).

So we've spent the last week packing up Harriet the Hymer and sorting out the house. Saying goodbye to family and friends and shopping for England. 

We're looking forward to blogging about our adventures.