Friday 2nd May.
We are parked up this evening in the village of St Goarshausen in a campsite on the banks of the Rhine, a little downriver from the Loreley rock. This was not our first choice overnight stopping place. After a Lidl top up this morning, where we discovered that they don't take credit cards in German Lidl and held the queue up until they reluctantly agreed to take a UK debit card, we had a pleasant drive following the Rhine on the B42. We headed for a campsite high above the river in Loreley with magnificent views. The campsite was packed with beautifully restored Ford Consuls, Zodiacs and Zephyrs, there for a rally, lots of tents and Motorhomes too. The guy in reception directed us to a great pitch overlooking the river, next to the bar and restaurant and we levelled the van before walking over to enquire the rates. The sign said €7.50 which we thought was reasonable but he said €19.50 and wouldn't budge. We've never paid that much so we rolled the van off the chocks, checked the books and iPad locations and drove another fifteen minutes to arrive here. Park anywhere you like said the nice owner so we did and then walked back to check the facilities and prices. Great facilities, great location, nice bar and restaurant, free showers and all for..............€25!!!!!!!! By this time we couldn't be bothered to look for another site so here we are. Lesson learnt. After a bit more research we've realised that you can "park" just about anywhere in Germany where parking is permitted but not "camp", ie no chairs, tables, awnings etc.... We have another three or four nights before we reach Austria so some free parking will put us back on budget.
We are amazed by the number of barges travelling up and down the Rhine, it's non stop in both directions and the ferries transporting cars and pedestrians across in the smaller towns sometimes have to wait a while before they can safely cross the river. It's fascinating watching the ferries cross, they use the strong currents and powerful engines to nip across about 120metres and drop the ramps in the right spot first time, every time.
Tomorrow we are heading for Aschaffenburg for a night's, hopefully, free parking before heading off on Sunday to join the "Romantic Road" which will take us down almost to the Austrian border.
Saturday 3rd May
We are parked up this afternoon in the town of Aschaffenburg on the banks of the river Main, we could be wrong but we don't think the town has a lot to recommend it to us other than the river where we can again watch barges and pleasure boats going up and down (bobbing?) There is a small Motorhome parking area with electricity for €3 per night and although it is advertised as having fresh water and disposal facilities, what it doesn't say is that you have to cross the river and drive 500 metres on the opposite bank to find them which is a bit odd.
Germany is Motorhome central, we've lost count of the numbers we see on the road and every campsite, parking spot and stellplatz is full of them. Despite this we haven't seen another GB plate yet which is a shame as we enjoy swopping tales with other like minded folk. I've read that a lot of British motorhomers come to Germany but maybe we are a little early in the season yet. The weather hasn't been much to shout about so far, we had a warmish day on Thursday but since then it's been chilly and overcast, good job we're heading south eh?
Tomorrow we set off for Rothenburh ob der Tauber, described as a well polished gem from the Middle Ages (insert your own Mother-in-Law joke). It has a 14th Century church and museums, both of which we have been missing lately so tomorrow we will immerse ourselves in German history and culture
Pat
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