25 July ’05, Monday.
Wouldn’t you know it, but I’ve got some catching up to do again… On Saturday, we decided to take a trip through a portion of the Black Forest. Baden Baden is just about where it starts, so we headed south from there. Our first stop was high up on a hill where there is the ruins of the Windeck castle, a hotel, and a restaurant that originally was a large stable. The castle was built in the 11th century and the Windeck family had it until the 14th century. After they left it, it just fell to ruins and is just as you see it today. Lunch sounded real good about the time we arrived at the castle, so we found ourselves a seat at the front of the stable and enjoyed some of the local foods. In continuing our drive, our next stop was at Mummelsee. There we found a large lake (that is where the “see” comes from) that sits up about 4000 feet in the Black Forest. There are hundreds of walking and hiking trails up there as well and during the winter, it becomes a popular ski resort. We really don’t know just what everyone is finding about this place that makes it so popular, but we could hardly find a parking place. After a quick tour, we headed back to the van completely puzzled as to the draw of this place… We were told that on Sunday there was going to be a large pork barbeque at the campground. Now that sounded good, so when Sunday arrived we made a point of staying close to home. About 11am and we started seeing things being put together…the barbeque arrived, the souvenir store opened, and the brass band started setting up. Oops, drinking beer at 11:00 on Sunday morning!! By noon, the band was playing and the people from the campground started heading for the food and drink…I thought I would be quicker, but I still got my share of all the goodies… Actually, it was wonderful and the pork with German potato salad more than filled our plate. We had so much, that Louise and I had to share a plate so that it wouldn’t go to waste. Needless to say it was time for a nap. After the nap we had some noodles for dinner and as the rain had started again, we decided to watch a movie.
Well, this morning we pulled up stakes in the rain, and headed across the border and once more into France. Our trip today took us from Baden Baden down to Offenburg Germany and then east to Strasbourg France. From there we just found the most comfortable road to travel and headed northwest toward Metz and then onto Verdun for the night. When we awoke this morning it was raining and it continued pretty much off and on throughout the rest of the day. Tomorrow looks much better, so we are planning to make a day trip up to Luxembourg. Hopefully when we get there, we will also find a internet available to post.

22 July ’05, Friday. I just thought you might like to see this again...
Yesterday we un-hooked Bumble Bee and headed into Baden Baden on an exploratory visit. As we pulled into town, we were surprised to find a parking space at curbside and right across the street to the entrance of the town. This is too good… what we found was, the longest we could stay was only one hour. This wouldn’t do, but we also didn’t want to over-stay the hour and pick up a parking ticket with it. We headed over to the Information Center and asked about a parking lot that we could fit into, but all she could come up with was one that was back out of town about a mile. After visiting with her and having a bite to eat, we pulled up stakes and headed out to find the “camper parking” lot. After a couple of “turn arounds”, we finally found what we were looking for. Now we know and tomorrow we will use… Heading back to the campground, we stopped by a Walmart store and grabbed something to barbeque. This store was a mess, but it still was doing a business. Back at the campground we set up again and started the barbecue to cook our pork loin. We had a new neighbor and they were from The Netherlands. I kid you not, I would guess that over 40 percent of the people at the campgrounds are from The Netherlands…they love to travel and camp !!! We had a nice visit and they have invited us to come by and stay with them next time we are in Holland… It is really nice of them and the other couples that we have met since we have been on the road…if we had the chance, we could stay with enough families to start another 2 year tour and not stay with the same family twice.
This morning we un-plugged “Bumble Bee” again, and headed into Baden Baden. Our parking location was already set and our first destination was also set. Today was the day for our excursion into the Roman-Irish Baths of Friedrichsbad. We had been reading about the different baths that are available here, and Friedrichsbad is the one we chose. This bath has been operating for over 125 years. It is not bathing suit optional. No clothing allowed... We experienced the “ultimate in Roman Bathing culture combined with Irish Hot-Air-Baths”. We had the bathing pleasure of 16 different stages, and water and steam temperatures from 48 degrees C to 18 degrees C. We also had all our tension ebbed away as we had a rub down with soap and then massaged with a brush. This exfoliates the skin and was a great start for the rest of the 3 hours we spent there. The first 6 areas we were separated, and then we were brought together for the next 4. What a great way to while away the afternoon !!! In getting back to camp, we decided to have dinner at the restaurant here on the grounds. Louise had Snitzel and I had a fish dinner…both were real good and more than enough to fill us. Arriving back at “Bumble Bee”, we again found new neighbors, but this time it is a young couple from Canada. Aaron, was originally from the Tacoma area and now they live in Edmonton. They are making a 3 month trip in Europe and have already been through Spain, Portugal, and Switzerland. We are the beneficiaries of 2, 2005 Rick Steves travel books from them…Spain and Portugal…Thanks, and we will use them !!!

20 July ’05, Wednesday.
We spent 4 nights in Tubingen and it was well worth the time. We really only walked in to town twice. I know there was a lot we didn’t see, but every once in a while all you really want to do is just “pass’… This morning we put everything in “Bumble Bee” and headed out. Our destination was Baden Baden, which was about a 3 hour ride, with lunch and a stop for groceries included. Fact is, we by-passed Baden Baden and headed up the road to the campground which is about 5 miles further down the highway. Baden Baden is known for it’s “Curative Baths” and has the same type of ambiance that you might find in Palm Springs. The books say that there are more multi-millionaires in Baden Baden per square mile than there is in Palm Springs…isn’t that nice ??? Anyway, we pulled into this campground about 3. We weren’t aware that it was situated on a lake, and it looks like a very nice one at that. As I sit here in the van, it looks like I may have pulled right onto the grass at Green Lake and found a location to park about 30 feet back from the shore. There are lots of trees situated on the park like grounds, that circle the lake. It is a nice gradual slope down to the water all the way around, and it has either very small gravel or sand beach. Out in the lake are two small islands, with one of them having a waterfall spewing out into the lake, and both are fully covered with trees. About 30 percent of the lake is for swimmers only and then on the other side of the islands you can have boats and windsurfers. We had a “partial cloudy” day to travel, which was nice for that, but when we got here, it would have been nice to have some of that hot sunny weather, we have had. Unfortunately, it is raining right now, so our hope is for it to rain it’s self out tonight and sun for tomorrow. There are no buses or tram to get us into town, so we will have to take “Bumble Bee” in for the day. As long as we can find parking, it will be ok. We have traveled almost due west of where we were in Tubingen, and are at the start of the “Black Forest” of Germany. The Black Forest runs from here south and a little north of Switzerland. We may see some of it, but our thoughts are to head into France pretty soon. Gad, have you had one of those little pesky flies lately ? I just killed one and I’ve got another that is driving me crazy…I’m off to the “kill”…

19 July ’05, Tuesday.
Yesterday was mostly tied up with laundry, re-packing our “closets” (suit-cases), and just over-all cleaning and picking up. Today, well we woke up from a nights thunderstorm and heavy rain, and found that we were practically sitting in a lake. That was alright because the outlook looked much better (for a little while anyway), because the sun was shining and the sky was a bright blue. After having bacon and eggs on the patio (just outside of our sliding door), I washed the dishes and we headed into town. Now, I didn’t see all the clouds that were forming when we were leaving, but thank god we had taken our rain gear…it poured (for a short while anyway). We were just about at the internet café, so we didn’t get too wet. After spending just over an hour there, we took a walk through town. With this being a college town, there are lots of inexpensive restaurants to choose from, so we made our choice and enjoyed a Turkish meal. In looking for tonights dinner, which is always a challenge, we found some fresh fish to barbeque. Later in the campground, I had a chance to visit with a fellow traveler from The Netherlands. We had met about a year ago in Amsterdam…so we think anyway ( we know we’ve met, but where we aren’t sure). We had a long talk, and as Louise has gone through some of our traveling books and maps, we offered some of them for his collection. He must have liked them, as a little later he came by with a nice gift of fresh blueberries for us…one of the perks from being on the road. Louise and I have both been getting a lot of reading time since we’ve been here. Right now I believe it’s her 3rd book she’s in. It has been a long time since either of us has just sat down and enjoyed a long read… Tomorrow, we head out…to Baden-Baden and the “Black Forest” of Hansel and Gretel fame

17 July ’05, Sunday. Tubingen Germany
80 degrees, mostly SHADDY CAMPSITE, quiet, and we’ve already had a morning walk into this beautiful riverside town of Tubingen. You might even say “we are very comfortable”… we look it and we feel it…lounge chairs in their place and filled, table holding a nice cool drink, umbrella up (although it isn’t needed), and we are watching and listening to the birds…jealous ??? On our walk this morning, we found a very pretty town that was still sleeping…it could have something to do with it being Sunday. As we walked the streets, we saw more and more people arriving and the small restaurant/coffee houses putting out their tables getting ready for the days tourists. We also found out that this is a college town and that they have a number of concerts here as well. Fact is, they just finished one last night and are setting up for another round to start tonight. These are pretty much open concerts that take place in the streets of the old town, and will continue through the summer. I’m glad we have this “slow down” time so that I can catch up with this journal. I wont blame anyone or anyplace, but I did get behind. This morning we did find one of the internet cafes and I will get there this evening or tomorrow morning to finish all the up-loading to get caught up. Well, it’s 5pm and it’s time to have a nice cool beer… Tomorrow…ha-ha, hell, I don’t know

27 June ’05, Monday.
I wish all we did today was celebrate “Leslee’s 40th Birthday” !!!!
We would have done it up Big !!! We could have even had a cake, yes, an ice cream cake, with 40 Big Candles on it !!! But, unfortunately, it was way too hot, and we weren’t having one of our best days. It was going great throughout the morning and afternoon, and then after we pulled into the campground in Lindau, we found the campground just about totally full. Now remember, it is HOT, (did I say HOT ???) and we needed some shade…. After personally going over all the choices of spots to camp, we decided to move on. We no sooner got ourselves just across a main street, “Bumble Bee” decided she had had enough of that heat. Now I know you have no idea of how much “stuff” we are carrying, and if we have to get back into the engine compartment, it means EVERYTHING has to be moved out and stored somewhere. First of all, I put out the Safety Triangle, and then gathered Louise and we walked across the street (trying not to look like the people who own that VW Van stuck halfway out into the street of a main street in town, on a HOT day …) We went across the street to get a drink !!! Of water of course… After a few futile attempts and the car is still not going to go, I asked Lou if she would go back to the campground and phone for a tow truck…well, what else can you do ??? While she was gone, I went back across the street, and started moving everything to the center of the van (it looked like a bomb had gone off in there when I had finished). Then a thought crossed my mind, (yep, it does happen every once in a while), we probably have a vapor lock… I opened up the hatch and found some water, started pouring it all over the pipes around the fuel pump and the carburetor. I then made a dash to the front and tried again to start her…SHE STARTED !!! I turned her off after I was sure she had been cured, and waited for Lou to come back. When she arrived, she told me the tow truck would be there in 45 minutes, so I made a snap decision …”go back and tell them not to come”… I don’t think she was too happy with that “snap decision”, but off she went, but telling me that “Bumble Bee had better run !!!”
Well, we did find a new campground, and we did have a few trees for some shade, but it was still HOT. The campground before was on a lake, and this one has a large swimming pool, so we are now “happy campers” again.
Sorry Les, we didn’t have a cake, but we did toast you with a glass of “fine imported” wine… Happy Birthday

26 June “05, Sunday. Neuschwansgtein Castle
Breakfast finished by 9am and we were heading on our way by 10. Today the “Romantic Road” wasn’t as striking as it was yesterday, but that was ok. It was the end of the roadway that we were looking forward to, and we weren’t disappointed. As we approached Schwangau, we were looking up into the Alps, and I do mean looking up. This is just the beginning, and we are looking forward to the rest. After passing a large lake on our right, we saw on the left the most beautiful castle of all…the stunning Neuschwanstein Castle. This is the castle that Disney used at a model for building his castle at Disneyland around the world. After finding a parking lot (for $6 Euros, we purchased our tickets ($8 Euros) for a tour of the castle. We had to wait about 2 hours for our tour to start, and even in the heat of the day (about 90+ degrees) it was worth the wait. After Ludwig II, lived most of his early life here in the hills of Germany”, and being raised in the “other” castle (Hohenschwangau), he chose to build this magnificent Neuschwansgtein Castle where it is today. Right across a small valley, a real easy walk from one to the other. Our tour through the interior showed the “German chivalric legends and the operas of Richard Wagner”. Every room was dramatic and well done, and showed like it should for a king. On the 13th of June 1886, the king drowned in Lake Starnberg, which was near the Berg Palace. This death has been and still remains a mystery. As they tell us now, it just doesn’t make sense, as he was an accomplished swimmer and again, he probably wouldn’t have been swimming at that time anyway. They are offering a $2 million dollar reward for a lead that substantiates who killed him and how he died. (Just kidding…) Because the day was so hot, and the climb to the castle was steep, we bought a ride on a bus for $1.20 Euro each, and then walked back. We are still feeling the steep downhill, 30 minute walk back to the van. Our campground was just about a mile away, and sits on the bank of a medium sized lake. We enjoyed a nice dinner, cooled off by sitting beside the van looking out over the lake, and made it to bed by 11. Tomorrow….Lindau, on the shores of Lake Constantine (Bodensee).

25 June ’05 Saturday
Before leaving the Boppard area, we had to have the oil changed in “Bumble Bee”. I have always heard that if you have any problems, they happen in 3’s. Well, who’s been counting ??? When they put “Bumble Bee” on the lift, they came to find us…”you have a drain plug that is no good and if we change the oil, it may just drop out and you will lose all of your oil”. Trying to have courage, and stay calm, I asked them just what that meant… They wouldn’t change the oil, unless they could replace the plug and, to do that, they must “order” a new plug and, they must “fuse a bolt onto the old drain plug”…OK, how much ??? To make this a little shorter…changing the oil and filter, with a new plug…$85. Euros…. What is a person to do ??? About noon, we were on the way, following the Rhein River further south. Fact is, we followed it until Wertheim, which is just before Wurzburg. We found a campsite that had lots of trees, and we needed lots of shade…the weather has changed, and it has turned hot and stickey with a capital “S”… In the morning, as we were looking for the internet café we had been told about, we found the town market was in progress. One of our stops was at a display of Turkish Olives, and I just couldn’t pass. Fact is, we not only bought the olives, we bought some of the finest loaves of bread (round Turkish) we had ever had…I should have bought twice as much of both as I did buy. We then turned down the beginning of the “Romantic Road”. We passed such towns and villages as Tauberbishchofsheim, and Bad Mergenthelm, and a few others, until we stopped just outside of Dinkelsbûhl. The drive down to this point was like driving through the back roads of eastern Washington, with the exceptions of the villages….they were old, and all had their own character to tell their stories. Last night we walked into the village of Dinkelsbûhl, just before 9pm, and we wanted to follow the “Night Watch (man)” through the village. Dinkelsbûhl is a walled village with cobbled streets, pastel colored multi-storied buildings, and an sidewalk café about every 50 feet. Our tour with the “Night Watch”, was fun, although he only spoke German and we couldn’t understand a thing he said. One thing we did understand, is when he approached one of the restaurants, he blew his horn, sang a little ditty, and a young lady showed up with a glass or 2 of wine. He would then sample the glass and then pass it around so we could all taste the pleasure of this restaurant. This went on for about an hour and then we had to find our way back to the campground. Tomorrow….More Romantic Road…

23 June ’05,Thursday
Village of Boppard on the Rhine
This covers from the 19th to 23rd of June…
An additional day was spent in Harlow, but all and all, it wasn’t a bad stay. Now, over to Harwich and catch our ferry, back to the Netherlands. I must say, it was just a little bit nerve racking to hit the road…you know, after having these “little” problems lately, and now listening to every little squeak, bump, grind, and just knowing everything is going to be alright…right? Our drive to Harwich should have only taken us about an hour or less, but we detoured along the coast for more than half a day, and then headed over to the ferry dock. Our plan was to see if we could camp right at the loading pier for the night. After pulling up to the dock and asking if we could stay, there was no problem. We just had to pull over to this out of the way area, and we would be fine for the night. We got there about 5pm and our ferry wasn’t to leave until 10:40am the next morning. Now here we were, sitting in our van, on a black topped parking lot with huge trucks moving around all day and night long, and it was HOT !!! There was a line of cars and campers lining up for the next ferry, but we didn’t know where they were going and we didn’t have tickets anyway. After taking a walk and thinking about this, I went to the gates and asked it this ferry could take us to Holland, and could we use our tickets that we have for the next day? Finding out that it was in fact going to the same port in Holland was encouraging, but there would be a cost… nothing is a wash or free… But, it was reasonable enough, so we drove aboard and headed out a night ahead. There was a small negative, we didn’t get to Holland until midnight, and we didn’t have a campground to go too. That was a small problem and we handled it beautifully…we camped in the city parking lot in Hoek van Holland, and that was within 100 yards of the terminal. A quick nights sleep, and we were under way again by 8am. Out route was to take us due east from Hoek van Holland, to Utrecht, and then on to Winterswijk. Now that we had crossed Netherlands, we pulled into a campground that we had stayed in just over a year ago in Winterswijk. Our next stop was at Obelink, which is a supply house for all camping needs…in other words…”A Candy Store” for the camping crowd…Ok, for me… The next morning we were underway for Germany and heading south. This will be our direction for a while, and ending up in Switzerland by the first of July. After leaving Winterswijk, and heading south, we passed Köln (Cologne), and then followed the Rhein River past Koblenz and ended up for a couple of nights, just outside of Boppard. We are camped right on the banks of the Rhein, the weather is in the range of 80-90 degrees, there is a great swimming pool on the grounds, a wonderful restaurant, enjoyable barge and riverboat traffic to watch and Roy and Jeanette (from West Sussex in GB) whom we are very happy to have met and call friends… We have been here for 2 days and will be back on the road again tomorrow and making our was through the “Romantic Road”…Hell, I thought it was all romantic !!! I guess I had better go back and read that chapter again…

16 June ’04, Wednesday. Today is “Cooolllddd” !!! A lot of the campers are pulling up camp and moving out to find warmer weather if they can. For us, we are going to do laundry, grocery shopping and then put the van in gear and head further East toward Prague. We hope that the weather will be warmer there but we kind of doubt it. This is just a traveling day and will try to make it close to the border with Czech Republic.
Well, catching us off guard, we found ourselves approaching the Czech/German border before we were physically and mentally ready for it. We know we were getting close but we were looking for one more night in Germany to get ready for the crossing. As we pulled off to the side of the road about 100 yards from the guard house we started digging for all the paper work that we thought we would need. Well, as you might have already guessed, they just asked us where we were from and they waved us through…..”Hey, here’s my passport and papers !!! to which we got no response. Up the road beyond the border we found a gas station to pull into. We had heard that we must have a pass for our vehicle. These passes are good for from 10 days, 30 days, or 1 year. The stickers are a must and have to be posted in the window. It cost us 150 KC (koruna) or about $5.30 EU. I expected much more to tell you the truth. A short 20 minute drive in to Cheb and we found our next campground. It was after a 5km drive down a narrow road, that reminded both Louise and myself a lot of Mexico, that we made a turn and there at the end of the road was a beautiful lake and our camp for the night right on the beach. It didn’t take us very long to set the barbecue up and get dinner started because we wanted to explore everything around us after dishes (yes, I dry…). After a walk down to the beach we met a couple who are expat’s from the Netherlands and now live in France. Now talk about travelers, Adrian and Gerda should write “books” on the subject.
Night has come and it is COLD, COLD, COLD. We should be looking for extra blankets tonight. Tomorrow…more of Cheb.