Mega Blog catch up.
1
The weather this morning was gorgeous, again the heat inside the van forced us from our beds and we were soon sitting outside the van eating our breakfast beside all the sailing boats and cruisers in the little marina at Albaek. The plan for the day was to visit Skagen and then head further south so after breakfast we (well I should really say Joyce) got the dishes done and the van all tidied and almost ready for the off, but, it was a scorcher and we were in a lovely place so why on earth move? We chatted to our neighbours and wiled away an hour or 2 and then decided to stay, we moved the van to a slightly better place where there boys and our immediate neighbours had a little more room. We shut the van up and took a wander into the town and bought some supplies including some nice (cheap) Danish beer. The same goods in Norway would have cost at least double.
Back to the van and it was lunch time so Joyce made up a lovely salad with prawns and we all sat down on a bench to eat, where upon Logan dropped his whole plate upside down on the gravel floor, cue....a few less prawns for us all. After lunch we packed our rucksack and grabbed the beach towels and mats and headed onto the stunning stretch of sand to spend the afternoon swimming in the lovely warm seas and lazing about. We had a great afternoon and it was really roasting. The boys loved it in the water although Callum is definitely not too keen on the taste of salt water. There were a few compass jelly fish in the water and I got a sting across the back of both my legs, nothing worse than a nettle sting however. It was the back of 5 when we left the beach, Joyce and Logan went for a shower, then Callum and myself and when we were coming back to the van Jochim (in the van we were parked beside yesterday) invited us over after dinner to catch crabs from the jetty with his son. So, as soon as Callum's bowl was emptied he wanted to go over, I was ready once I had my coffee. The crab fishing was fun, a clothes peg weighted with a stone and a piece of string and baited with a piece of salami is all that required, apparently the best bait for these local crabs. In total 7 large green crabs were caught and released unharmed afterwards. It was a late night for the boys but they were soon asleep after all todays fresh air.
Jochim and I had a fair bit in common, we is also a keen climber and member of the German Mountaineering club and we had climbed quite a few of the same peaks in the Alps over the years. Family commitments had made mountaineering more difficult for him but he missed it.
2
The forecast today was not so good so it was decided we would move, Joachim came over to our van quite early to say goodbye as they were leaving too and heading to the Oceanarium at Hirtsals. It wasn't our plan to go back in that direction but given the forecast it seemed a reasonable plan. So after breakfast we drove the 40km back and went to visit also.
The Oceanarium is billed as northern Europes largest aquarium and it was quite good, but not as good as the one in Alesund. Its main attraction is the huge and weird looking sun fish, these can grow to over 3 meters long, and with in excess of 300kg and certainly one of the 2 in the massive tank is enormous, dwarfing the person feeding it. Callum enjoyed a huge interactive panel where by using a joystick you can control a fish, steering it about and trying to catch a fish at the same time trying to evade predators, 2 visits were required here. The boys also got a certificate for finding certain things and getting a stamp in their (aquarium) passports. We had a good day here but decided it was time to leave.
But where to go, we could head south towards Alberg and new territory or head west to Klitmoler, it wasn't too far off route and was one of the best sites we had been at all trip, the boys loved the 4 wheeled carts they had there. So, that was it sealed, west it was. It was quite late when we arrived and also a total contrast, the site had been almost empty all those weeks ago, but now was almost full, there were only 3 pitches left and fortunately we secured one very close to the play park which was great for the boys, they also managed to acquire a couple of the bikes so we had a great play driving about the campsite.
The campsite was also making and selling pizza's this time and at a cost of 6 euro's each was a cheap tea and saved Joyce a job. They were very good but 2 rather than the 3 would have been sufficient, lunch was however covered for tomorrow.
Our neighbours were form Kiel, they were keen to chat when they heard our accents. They were surfers and had considered a trip to Scotland, but Klitmoler is 4 hours away for them, where as Scotland is at least 3 days so I understand their decision.
3....heading south
Today we were leaving Klitmoler and headed south eventually reaching Husum. It was a total driving day. The boys had a good play again on the 4 wheel carts and we had a fair chat to the family beside us. there was a steady stream of vans and cars leaving as it was Monday and people were obviously leaving after the weekend here. It was just after 11am when we left. This allows us to drive for a couple of hours before stopping for lunch and then about a further 3 hours afterwards. That about the maximum for the boys, much more than that and the arguing and fighting begins-to be honest they have been good most of the time.
We intentionally chose not to use the motorways. Bessies fuel economy suffers when driven faster and the motorways are brain dead driving so we took the smaller A class roads down the west coast of Denmark, but a bit inland compared to the ones we used on the upward route. This was a good shout, we passed through many interesting little towns but in between the roads were nice and quick and probably not much slower than the motorways.
We arrived at Husum and we had a few options for places to stay but its a bit of a lottery and not wanting to trawl round sites we just chose one and went to it. There was a bobil parking area outside and we could use the facilities of the site, but for the boys being in the site and closer to the swings would be a better option so we chose to pay a little more and get closer for them. It was an interesting place, check in was easy but after that we had to wait on a work colleague giving us an allotted space, very regimented. We couldn't see the play area from his chosen place so we asked to move a small distance and this was fine.
Again we managed to eat dinner outside as the weather was nice, then the boys went back to burn off a few more calories. Callum was taking things too far and then arguing so found the quick road to his bed. Logan and I took a wander up and over the big sea defence dyke to see what was there and watch the sunset. There was a huge play area with zip slides and swings and we had some fun there. There was also a cool sculpture made of trousers which acted like a wind vane, it was built a a symbol of wind related renewable energy's in there, there certainly are plenty of wind turbines about northern Germany.
4........battlefield repairs
Husum campsite was a strange place, it had nothing particularly special about it but nothing bad either. We were up quite sharp and had breakfast outside again. A lady came over to speak to us and when she heard our accents explained she had a good friend in Dundee and hoped to come back to Scotland sometime in their camper van. her husband appeared over also and we had a blether. turned out their van had developed an issues, all the auxiliary electrics had failed last night, and we had actually seen people outside the van with headtorches on so that was them trying to fix the problem. he asked if I knew anything about van electrics and I went over for a wee look, soon we had tracked the problem down, one of the main supply cable had become detached from its connector so the tools had to come out and a repair was made and everything was now working again, they were very grateful for our help.
So, we were slightly later than expected getting on the road
5.........south to Sande
We also chose to try and use a ferry across the Elbe, the Cuxhaven ferry is shut but there is another running from Gluckstatd to Wischhafen which from what we could make out was still running. we had a little fun finding it a a slip road to find it was shut, but eventually we were in the big queue, this could take a while!! There was a van selling delicious looking rolls with fish in them for 3euro's each and I nipped out to take a look but we had no euro's and the lady had no card machine so back to the van empty handed and hungry......Joyce had a rummage and came up with 11 euro's 90 cents and I figured I could do a deal but by now the queue was moving and we were beyond the van....so still hungry. Joyce quickly made up some rolls which we moved our way forward much quicker than we expected- there are actually 4 ferry's operation over this stretch of river and every one is full.
Soon we were shoehorned in between cars, lorries and other vans, this would save us some time as the Hamburg motorways are further east than we wanted to be. The man came round and I got my card out to pay, but, no card machine and it was 21 euros for our van and the boys...Hmmm, not good we had just shy of 12euro's. He gave me a form to fill in and we would be billed later, after I filled it out I went back to find him and explained we only had 12 euro's. He said it was cool and accepted the 12...probably less hassle for him in the end. Still, a wee lesson learned there. To be honest, we have managed almost all our time without needing cash, its always been in our pockets but hardly needed everywhere has a machine and here we were on probably the busiest ferry crossing of our trip with no cash and they have no machine.
across the elbe, a power station and 7000 mile mark.
6..............
It was a lovely morning again but the forecast was a little dodgy for the afternoon, but we rolled the dice and unloaded the bike from the van. We would cycle along the canal and into Wilhelmshaven, it looked like a nice place and the cycle ways looked good. It was hot and breakfast was eaten outside again, although any shade that could be found was very welcome.
Eventually we were good to go and cycled along the canal. the cycleway is good but its a little annoying that so many cars also use it, there are some houses which are accessed by it but there seemed more cars than houses. There were also a few roads to cross which at times were busy, but there was no way to stop the traffic so it was tricky getting the boys over safely. It was an interesting cycle in however, there's a lot going on. This is a very industrious area so there were plenty boasts and other industries along the way. the sun was beating down and it was hot, we crossed the Keiser Wilhelm Bridge and found a lovely place right on the seafront to sit on fancy bean bag things and chill with a beer and wile away an hour or so.
The foot has been taken off the gas, the Norway part of the holiday is over and it is now time to relax a little. I can relax (and be lazy) like anyone else when there is no real focus.
ycle to Wilhelmshaven, museum trip. cycle, callum fell off bike.
7............
east to ens, lovely new and basic little site on a farm.
8.........leaving Europe behind.
The weather this morning was gorgeous, again the heat inside the van forced us from our beds and we were soon sitting outside the van eating our breakfast beside all the sailing boats and cruisers in the little marina at Albaek. The plan for the day was to visit Skagen and then head further south so after breakfast we (well I should really say Joyce) got the dishes done and the van all tidied and almost ready for the off, but, it was a scorcher and we were in a lovely place so why on earth move? We chatted to our neighbours and wiled away an hour or 2 and then decided to stay, we moved the van to a slightly better place where there boys and our immediate neighbours had a little more room. We shut the van up and took a wander into the town and bought some supplies including some nice (cheap) Danish beer. The same goods in Norway would have cost at least double.
Back to the van and it was lunch time so Joyce made up a lovely salad with prawns and we all sat down on a bench to eat, where upon Logan dropped his whole plate upside down on the gravel floor, cue....a few less prawns for us all. After lunch we packed our rucksack and grabbed the beach towels and mats and headed onto the stunning stretch of sand to spend the afternoon swimming in the lovely warm seas and lazing about. We had a great afternoon and it was really roasting. The boys loved it in the water although Callum is definitely not too keen on the taste of salt water. There were a few compass jelly fish in the water and I got a sting across the back of both my legs, nothing worse than a nettle sting however. It was the back of 5 when we left the beach, Joyce and Logan went for a shower, then Callum and myself and when we were coming back to the van Jochim (in the van we were parked beside yesterday) invited us over after dinner to catch crabs from the jetty with his son. So, as soon as Callum's bowl was emptied he wanted to go over, I was ready once I had my coffee. The crab fishing was fun, a clothes peg weighted with a stone and a piece of string and baited with a piece of salami is all that required, apparently the best bait for these local crabs. In total 7 large green crabs were caught and released unharmed afterwards. It was a late night for the boys but they were soon asleep after all todays fresh air.
Jochim and I had a fair bit in common, we is also a keen climber and member of the German Mountaineering club and we had climbed quite a few of the same peaks in the Alps over the years. Family commitments had made mountaineering more difficult for him but he missed it.
2
The forecast today was not so good so it was decided we would move, Joachim came over to our van quite early to say goodbye as they were leaving too and heading to the Oceanarium at Hirtsals. It wasn't our plan to go back in that direction but given the forecast it seemed a reasonable plan. So after breakfast we drove the 40km back and went to visit also.
The Oceanarium is billed as northern Europes largest aquarium and it was quite good, but not as good as the one in Alesund. Its main attraction is the huge and weird looking sun fish, these can grow to over 3 meters long, and with in excess of 300kg and certainly one of the 2 in the massive tank is enormous, dwarfing the person feeding it. Callum enjoyed a huge interactive panel where by using a joystick you can control a fish, steering it about and trying to catch a fish at the same time trying to evade predators, 2 visits were required here. The boys also got a certificate for finding certain things and getting a stamp in their (aquarium) passports. We had a good day here but decided it was time to leave.
But where to go, we could head south towards Alberg and new territory or head west to Klitmoler, it wasn't too far off route and was one of the best sites we had been at all trip, the boys loved the 4 wheeled carts they had there. So, that was it sealed, west it was. It was quite late when we arrived and also a total contrast, the site had been almost empty all those weeks ago, but now was almost full, there were only 3 pitches left and fortunately we secured one very close to the play park which was great for the boys, they also managed to acquire a couple of the bikes so we had a great play driving about the campsite.
The campsite was also making and selling pizza's this time and at a cost of 6 euro's each was a cheap tea and saved Joyce a job. They were very good but 2 rather than the 3 would have been sufficient, lunch was however covered for tomorrow.
Our neighbours were form Kiel, they were keen to chat when they heard our accents. They were surfers and had considered a trip to Scotland, but Klitmoler is 4 hours away for them, where as Scotland is at least 3 days so I understand their decision.
3....heading south
Today we were leaving Klitmoler and headed south eventually reaching Husum. It was a total driving day. The boys had a good play again on the 4 wheel carts and we had a fair chat to the family beside us. there was a steady stream of vans and cars leaving as it was Monday and people were obviously leaving after the weekend here. It was just after 11am when we left. This allows us to drive for a couple of hours before stopping for lunch and then about a further 3 hours afterwards. That about the maximum for the boys, much more than that and the arguing and fighting begins-to be honest they have been good most of the time.
We intentionally chose not to use the motorways. Bessies fuel economy suffers when driven faster and the motorways are brain dead driving so we took the smaller A class roads down the west coast of Denmark, but a bit inland compared to the ones we used on the upward route. This was a good shout, we passed through many interesting little towns but in between the roads were nice and quick and probably not much slower than the motorways.
We arrived at Husum and we had a few options for places to stay but its a bit of a lottery and not wanting to trawl round sites we just chose one and went to it. There was a bobil parking area outside and we could use the facilities of the site, but for the boys being in the site and closer to the swings would be a better option so we chose to pay a little more and get closer for them. It was an interesting place, check in was easy but after that we had to wait on a work colleague giving us an allotted space, very regimented. We couldn't see the play area from his chosen place so we asked to move a small distance and this was fine.
Again we managed to eat dinner outside as the weather was nice, then the boys went back to burn off a few more calories. Callum was taking things too far and then arguing so found the quick road to his bed. Logan and I took a wander up and over the big sea defence dyke to see what was there and watch the sunset. There was a huge play area with zip slides and swings and we had some fun there. There was also a cool sculpture made of trousers which acted like a wind vane, it was built a a symbol of wind related renewable energy's in there, there certainly are plenty of wind turbines about northern Germany.
4........battlefield repairs
Husum campsite was a strange place, it had nothing particularly special about it but nothing bad either. We were up quite sharp and had breakfast outside again. A lady came over to speak to us and when she heard our accents explained she had a good friend in Dundee and hoped to come back to Scotland sometime in their camper van. her husband appeared over also and we had a blether. turned out their van had developed an issues, all the auxiliary electrics had failed last night, and we had actually seen people outside the van with headtorches on so that was them trying to fix the problem. he asked if I knew anything about van electrics and I went over for a wee look, soon we had tracked the problem down, one of the main supply cable had become detached from its connector so the tools had to come out and a repair was made and everything was now working again, they were very grateful for our help.
So, we were slightly later than expected getting on the road
5.........south to Sande
We also chose to try and use a ferry across the Elbe, the Cuxhaven ferry is shut but there is another running from Gluckstatd to Wischhafen which from what we could make out was still running. we had a little fun finding it a a slip road to find it was shut, but eventually we were in the big queue, this could take a while!! There was a van selling delicious looking rolls with fish in them for 3euro's each and I nipped out to take a look but we had no euro's and the lady had no card machine so back to the van empty handed and hungry......Joyce had a rummage and came up with 11 euro's 90 cents and I figured I could do a deal but by now the queue was moving and we were beyond the van....so still hungry. Joyce quickly made up some rolls which we moved our way forward much quicker than we expected- there are actually 4 ferry's operation over this stretch of river and every one is full.
Soon we were shoehorned in between cars, lorries and other vans, this would save us some time as the Hamburg motorways are further east than we wanted to be. The man came round and I got my card out to pay, but, no card machine and it was 21 euros for our van and the boys...Hmmm, not good we had just shy of 12euro's. He gave me a form to fill in and we would be billed later, after I filled it out I went back to find him and explained we only had 12 euro's. He said it was cool and accepted the 12...probably less hassle for him in the end. Still, a wee lesson learned there. To be honest, we have managed almost all our time without needing cash, its always been in our pockets but hardly needed everywhere has a machine and here we were on probably the busiest ferry crossing of our trip with no cash and they have no machine.
across the elbe, a power station and 7000 mile mark.
6..............
It was a lovely morning again but the forecast was a little dodgy for the afternoon, but we rolled the dice and unloaded the bike from the van. We would cycle along the canal and into Wilhelmshaven, it looked like a nice place and the cycle ways looked good. It was hot and breakfast was eaten outside again, although any shade that could be found was very welcome.
Eventually we were good to go and cycled along the canal. the cycleway is good but its a little annoying that so many cars also use it, there are some houses which are accessed by it but there seemed more cars than houses. There were also a few roads to cross which at times were busy, but there was no way to stop the traffic so it was tricky getting the boys over safely. It was an interesting cycle in however, there's a lot going on. This is a very industrious area so there were plenty boasts and other industries along the way. the sun was beating down and it was hot, we crossed the Keiser Wilhelm Bridge and found a lovely place right on the seafront to sit on fancy bean bag things and chill with a beer and wile away an hour or so.
The foot has been taken off the gas, the Norway part of the holiday is over and it is now time to relax a little. I can relax (and be lazy) like anyone else when there is no real focus.
ycle to Wilhelmshaven, museum trip. cycle, callum fell off bike.
7............
east to ens, lovely new and basic little site on a farm.
8.........leaving Europe behind.
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