Monday 26th September – Zell am Wiesental, Germany

Our route today was to take us over Kandel at 1242 metres with panoramic views over the area, recommended by the Michelin Guide. Jane did some 'out of the box' thinking yesterday and suggested we drove up to the viewpoint after we got up today and had breakfast there. I immediately agreed but was amazed that Jane suggested doing anything before breakfast – this is an extremely rare event! Unfortunately in our later conversation with our neighbours from Kent, we discovered that there is a 2.1 metre width restriction on that road and Henrietta is 2.3 metres wide. So we told the sat nav that it couldn't go on that road and headed for St. Peter, famous for its church, formerly that of an 18^th century Benedictine abbey. The church is Rococo style, only slightly less over-the-top than Baroque but was worth the visit and I was particularly impressed by the organ that incorporated a clock, something that I have not seen before.

A cross-country route took us over more high points before we arrived at the Todtnau waterfall. Although probably more impressive in the Spring when there would be more water, they were still very good and the walk around the falls was very pleasant. We were happy to trade the lack of volume of water for the very warm weather – it reached 26°C this afternoon.

We weren't keen on the Schonau stellplatz as it was next to a busy road so we continued to Zell in Wiesental where we stopped at the stellplatz alongside the textile museum.

Zell in Wiesental is a pleasant village that has associations with Mozart. Mozart's wife Constanze was born here, a fact that the local tourist board has taken to their heart. The short Constanze Mozart trail leads you around the centre past a series of plaques built into the pavement. A happy 30 minutes was spent following the trail and attempting to translate the plaques. The tourist information office provided a leaflet in English that told us a little about Constanze and this helped with the translation.

Photos: The organ of St. Peter's Rococo church; Two photographs of the Todtnau Falls – the main falls and the upper falls.

Sunday 25th September – Waldkirch, Germany

Returning to the main road up the Rench valley, we travel a few kilometres before turning south west on a minor road at Locherberg. This turned out to be very popular with people in cars and on motorbikes taking advantage of the lovely weather for a day out in the countryside. The road was very steep and Henrietta with only a 2 litre engine found it hard going, struggling in 2nd gear for long stretches. The views were lovely and a car park at the top was very popular and was, I suspect, the starting point for some good walks.


The road down was much easier on the engine but the narrowness of the road meant that it was still quite slow. Still, we were rewarded by lovely alpine-type scenery and it was obvious from the number of hotels and guest houses that we passed, especially in the surprisingly large town of Oberharmersbach, that this area was very popular with tourists.

The next town that came to was Zell am Harmersbach where we were diverted off the main road through small residential roads. At first, I thought that this was one of the many roadwork closures that we had come across but we noticed that many temporary car parks had been set up. We found a car park on the western edge of town and headed back towards the town to investigate. As we left the car park the German owners of another motorhome engaged us in conversation. Their English was very good and they explained that they had just returned from Sevenoaks in Kent. Their Rhineland town is twinned with Sevenoaks and they take it in turns to visit each other every year. Apparently the family that they stayed with didn't speak German (as bad as us!) and so they had lots of practice recently! They explained that the festival was a gastronomic one with a huge choice of food and drink. They even had a leaflet that listed the menus available at the many locations. When we arrived at the main street it was closed off by a huge stage with some very good jazz musicians performing. There was going to be a celebrity chef performing in a few minutes time but we decided that we wouldn't stand a chance of understanding him so we said goodbye to our new friend and set off down the street. There were thousands of people there and thousands of seats available at tables down the centre of the road. On one side large marquees acted as extensions to hotel and restaurant kitchens with or bars serving local beer and wine. Each food marquee was only serving a very limited menu, perhaps two starters and two main courses or a selection of scrummy-looking deserts, the idea being that you went to the marquee that was serving the food that fancied. It was like having a giant restaurant spread over a few hundred metres.

At the back of the main street were many stalls selling crafts or local produce, all of a high quality, there were no 'sausage in a bun' stalls here. We bought some plums and local cheese before returning to the van and continuing on our journey.

We didn't drive much further, arriving at the stellplatz in Waldkirch in the middle of the afternoon. This turned out to be a problem as it was next to a sports field where a number of matches were taking place and the car park was heaving with cars parked everywhere including in the areas reserved for motorhomes. It was obvious that there would be spaces available once the cars had gone so we parked in a nearby street and set off to investigate the town. Given that it was very warm, the first stop was an ice cream shop where we indulged in two cones filled with lovely home-made ice cream. The church and surrounding 18th century buildings were interesting but I was struggling to justify the Michelin one-star rating for them. We then walked up above the town towards the playing fields and discovered that there were walking trails and a boating lake beyond. The café at the lake was very popular and many families were in the area either walking or playing mini-golf, which seems to be very popular in Germany. This was obviously another reason why the car park was so busy but when we got there there were spaces so we retrieved Henrietta and parked her up. There were three other motorhomes in the stellplatz and the one that we were next to was another left-hand drive English motorhome. We chatted to the owners who turned out to be from Kent but not from Sevenoaks. They had tried to go through Freiburg today, not realising that the Pope was visiting! They hadn't been able to translate the signs that are everywhere, many miles from the city, that say that Freiburg was closed on Sunday 25th September!

Photos: The entrance to the Zell am Harmersbach festival – the thousands of people at the festival were all served their food on smaller versions of these plates; The tables in just a small part on the main street; Anyone for a pumkin?

Saturday 24th September – Oppenau, Germany

Up at 07:00 to put €1 in the electricity meter and tune in to ITV1 for the England v Romania Rugby World Cup match build-up. Kick off was at 08:00 German time and England were soon putting on their best performance of the World Cup so far. We thoroughly enjoyed watching England score 10 tries in a totally convincing display however we need to reduce our penalty count or we will be punished by better teams in later rounds. We then watched an awesome New Zealand team beat a disappointing France – the All Blacks are going to be very difficult to beat.

After lunch we set off on the walk that we intended to do yesterday. We found a marked footpath (there are many very well marked walks in the area) that took us alongside a stream up a quiet, pretty valley to the village of Maisach. Retracing our steps we took another path that passed above the stellplatz and found ourselves in a park overlooking the town. The weather was glorious, very warm and not a cloud in the sky and we decided to treat ourselves to a beer at the romantically named 'Mini Golf Bar'. We sat out in the sun looking down on the town and up the wooded valley. Continuing down through the town we arrived at the Rench river and the railway station. Here we found a small supermarket and were able to buy some local Neuewein (new wine, like Beaujolais Nouveau). Walking up the opposite side of the valley we were able to get a different view over the town before we descended to the stellplatz and Henrietta.

The Neuewein (we chose the red) was very good, slightly sweet and very fruity, best drunk without food in my humble opinion.

Photos: View on the walk, looking towards Maisach; On the way back looking down on the Stellplatz with the town to the right.

Friday 23rd September – Oppenau, Germany

We drove through vineyards to Oberkirch, a busy market town famous for its strawberry market and its cherry, plum and raspberry brandies – it has the highest number of distilleries in Germany. However it didn't look that attractive so we continued to Oppenau just up the Rench valley. This was not on the wine route, probably because it doesn't have any vineyards, but it does have a recommended stellplatz. With more than 20 motorhomes leaving Sasbachwalden, we thought that we might have a problem finding spaces to stay but there were places and we parked up and secured an electrical connection which was important for our plans for tomorrow morning.

We took a wander around Oppenau and called in at the very helpful tourist information office to get details of local walks. We had planned to walk after lunch but the weather was so good that we spent the afternoon relaxing in the sun and reading.

Photos: Oppenau centre; Relaxing in the Oppenau stellplatz with the latest best-seller, 'The Yeoman Story'.

Thursday 22nd September – Sasbachwalden, Germany

The France AA road atlas showed a Roman Villa just a short distance from Rhodes so we headed around the lake and soon found large signs that directed us to the site. Access to the site was through a convent and when we reached its gate we found a sign in French that told us about the villa. Slowly translating it we got to the bottom line – 'Open in July and August' and not the rest of the year! The convent was open and we could have visited it but it was modern and didn't look particularly interesting.

We headed to Germany, crossing the Rhine just north of Strasbourg and started to follow a drive detailed in the Germany Michelin guide. This took on the Baden Wine Route, starting close to Baden Baden and going down the Western edge of the Black Forest. The guide book promised us charming villages and many half-timbered houses however we were not that impressed. Parking was difficult or impossible to find and the villages were not that pretty although they all had lovely flowers on every street. We have certainly seen prettier villages, especially in Alsace Lorraine a few years ago.

Road closures and diversions took us high up into the hills with excellent views west over the Rhine valley. We descended to Sasbachwalden surrounded by vineyards and headed to the Stellplatz (aire) in the festival place behind the Alte Gott winery. A sign at the entrance to the motorhome area told us that the stellplatz would be closed from 12:00 tomorrow as a wine festival was being held. What a shame, it would have been great to go to it. There were at least 20 motorhomes in the stellplatz and all of the electricity points were in use but there was plenty of room for us.

We headed into pretty town and walked up through vineyards full of ripe red and white grapes. Some were being harvested and we were passed by small tractors towing trailers holding large tubs of grapes. Enjoying views over the town we walked down to the winery where we watched the tractors pulling onto a weighbridge where the tubs were lifted and disappeared into the winery. At the back, a loud noise like the burners of a hot air balloon accompanied the expulsion of stalks. At other times a conveyor dispensed large volumes of dehydrated squashed grape skins and pips onto a large pile that was then taken away in trailers. Fortunately, the noises stopped shortly after 22:00 and we had a peaceful night.

Photos: Sasbachwalden sculpture celebrating the twinning with Villie-Morgan (France); Tending the vines in Sasbachwalden.

Wednesday 21st September – Rhodes, France (not Greece!)

We spent a large part of today on the D946, an excellent road with pleasant scenery, many long straight sections and very little traffic. Like yesterday, the early part of the journey was through largely flat land with huge fields dedicated to growing cereals and potatoes. Later in the day the scenery became more interesting with hills and wooded areas.

At lunchtime we stopped at a picnic area next to a river and water mill in the small village of Rarecourt. After lunch we took a short stroll around the village and admired the traditional houses most of which had a huge door on one side that opened into the barn where the animals, hay and farm equipment were kept. Some of the barns were obviously still in use and it was obvious that agriculture was still very important in the area.

We saw a few World War I cemeteries yesterday but today there were far more, mostly American, French and German. The cemeteries and the residues of defensive lines in the countryside were very poignant.

We paid a brief visit to Lake Madine in one of the regional parks of Lorraine before heading for an aire at Rhodes. This is listed in our copy of 'All of the Aires of France' but without any details. It turned out to be in a lovely position on the edge of Lake Stock in another of Lorraine's region park in an area know as the 'Pays des Etangs' (Land of Lakes). It was a little more than an aire, having electricity and a toilet/shower block and a charge of €15 a night. Parking right next to the lake we immediately spotted a pair of grey herons swooping over the lake and a pair of great white egrets catching fish. I went onto the pontoons of the small marina next to us for a closer look and disturbed a kingfisher that rapidly flew to the reeds nearby. And the view across the lake was pretty good too!

Photos: The picnic area at Rarecourt; Intriguing architecture of Rarecourt houses; Lake Stock viewed from the motorhome.

Tuesday 20th September – Le Cateau, France

Leaving home on time at 08:30 we set off for Dover, arriving after an easy journey at 12:30. We were pulled in for a random check – a very cursory look at the interior, a few questions and a more detailed inspection of the Henrietta's underside. One of the questions was “Are you carrying any knives?”. Well the answer was obviously “Yes” but they excluded those used for cooking, so we were OK.

We were soon allowed to leave and joined the queue for the 13:25 P&O ferry. We had only just made a cup of coffee when we were called to drive onto the ferry. The coffee was hurriedly stacked in the sink and surprisingly survived the journey without a drop being spilt.

The Pride of Burgundy is quite an old ship without the lovely large bow lounge common in the more modern ferries such as the Sea France ferry that we travelled on in the Spring. In fact, there were no public areas with a view over the bow so we had to be content to watch the white cliffs of Dover, covered with lowering skies, slowly drifting astern. Despite the “moderate to rough” conditions, the crossing was very comfortable and P&O definitely have better shops than those on Sea France.

We were only one car away from the ships bow doors and were off within a minute of the doors being opened. Heading initially for St. Omer, we then joined the A25 motorway and made our way to Le Cateau. Arriving at 19:00 we found the 5 official pitches in the aire already taken but were able to find a space closer to the road. The aire has four free electric points, unsurprisingly all in use, but is next to a busy and noisy main road. This lead to a somewhat disturbed night but the official pitches would have been slightly better as they are further from the road.

Photos: Jane collects bread from the baker who calls at the Le Cateau aire.

Autumn 2011 Sojourn – Germany

Martin and Jane are starting their Autumn Sojourn in Henrietta their Hobby motorhome, this year exploring Germany by way of Switzerland.