Berlin

Hello everyone

Technical difficulties last week, so here's the photos of Colditz and our overnight stop at Meissen.







Well the highlight of this week is most definitely Berlin. We are camped on an official campsite just on the outskirts, taking the efficient double decker train into the centre. We have experienced the well known sites both on our own and via a walking tour which offered extra info we hadn't gleaned from the guide books! Special mention goes to the magnificent Brandenburg Tor, the beautiful Berliner Dom (cathedral) and of course The Wall. Walking through the Holocaust Memorial was a moving experience, as was our trip to the Sachsenhausen Concentration camp a couple of days before.

Having walked for miles in the hot sunny weather, we walked for more in search of the recommended hausbrauerei (micro-brewery) where we sampled a well deserved couple of pints of weissbier (white beer) and cider. Whilst they weren't as good as his favourite Pint from Marble brewery, Peter gave them his seal of approval!

Belated Happy St George's Day - we put up our Union Jack bunting for the day (best we cold manage!)

Will post again next week - love to all

Germany -what a beautiful country

Hello everyone
We drove north from Iserlohn to Hamelin to see the rat catchers house,  museum and the town hall where a series of glockenspiel bells chime a tune twice a day - we were treat to the River Weser tune which was magical.  We continue to use the free or low cost stellplatze overnight which are often entertaining - we've had a drill by the local fire brigade next to the van, and the police marking out a route for a cycling proficiently course around the 5vans on there.
Eisenach with its beautiful Wartburg castle (tours in German only) was a lovely place,  then on to Colditz castle - by chance we arrived on the exact day 69 years after the Americans arrived to liberate the prisoners.  After an excellent tour learning about their escape plans and tunnels,  determination and ingenuity,  we escaped ourselves and headed to Meissen famous for its porcelain.  Overnight we parked overlooking the cathedral and castle for free!
Dresden was spectacular - the beautiful Frauenkirche which was destroyed in 1945 and rebuilt has the most exquisite interior , and Zwinger palace with its chiming Meissen porcelain bells. The sun shone and we dined on currywurst sausage and apple cake overlooking the River Elbe.

Wishing you all a Happy Easter

Will post again next week - love to all

We have arrived! !

Hello everyone
well here we are in Europe!! We want to thank you all for your many cards, gifts and good wishes for our trip - they made it a little harder to say farewell, but were very kind and thoughtful. We sailed from Hull on Tuesday - the weather was kind and the crossing calm, but that didn't stop us from hitting the bar to ensure a good nights sleep. Bottled beers but Peter did find a tasty Indian pale ale which did the trick. The band were better than expected and a Tuesday sailing meant the anticipated stag dos were thankfully missing. We were raring to go stepping into the van, but the battery was flat after leaving the fridge on.  P + O staff kindly jump started us and escorted us off ( last. ..Thank goodness it wasn't sailing back in a hurry! )
Once on the move, the sat nav refused to work ( still doesn't so relying on my map reading skills ) we headed for the bulb fields - a riot of colour and sweet smell of hundreds of thousands of tulips and hyacinths(pictured)
Yesterday, went to Amsterdam then on to the royal palace Het Loo (Pictured above -the Versailles of the Netherlands). Having blown the budget so far, we free camped at the border. Germany next.
Will post again soon - love to all

Well.... the house is sold and we're ready to go!
Perhaps see you in the snug for a farewell drink or 2 - we'll be there Friday 4th and Saturday 5th April.