# PJ German Xmas Market Tour, Yo Ho Ho...



## peejay

*The diary of Peejays German Xmas market trip (aged 50 + a bit)*

Apologies to you if you're all Christmassed out and if you get bored half way (or earlier) through, then go and have anoter turkey sarnie :roll: , or just have a look at the piccies at the link below each entry.

Tues 12th Dec.

Its 6pm and Judy will have just finished work so its off to pick her up, then rooty toot down to Dover. The ferry was originally booked for Thursday afternoon but we both managed to get extra time off work. We haven't changed the ferry booking, thought we would risk it and just turn up early and blag an earlier ship, we've done this many times before with P&O with no extra charge (but see later).

All loaded, ¾ tank of diesel - full tank of water - a few subtle Christmas deccies in the van (Rubber santa on the aerial and a 12v tree on the dashboard - subtle?) to get into the mood and we're all ready for the off.

Hassle free journey down to Dover, up to the nice lady at the P&O kiosk, hello we're a bit early (like 2 days) "any chance of jumping on the next crossing?". No problem sir, but that will be £57 extra! I've always had an affinity for P&O, we've turned up early in the past and they've just waved us on at no extra cost, perhaps 2 days early is pushing it but £57 extra is taking the 'P'. Anyway, after much deliberating and cogitating we decided to bite the bullet and pay up, at least we're getting 2 extra days abroad! Judy has decided she will write a carefully worded letter to P&O when we get back to try and get a partial refund, I'm not so optimistic.

Anyway, boat slipped its Dover moorings about 2245 and we docked in Calais 0115 French time on the nail. Straight round to the Terminal car park for a much needed kip.

Couldn't sleep because of the constant drone of trucks leaving the complex, too late to move now so we both put earplugs in and attempted to get back to sleep. Next time - its back to the Marina parking at Calais, much better.

>Link To Photo's<

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The 12 days of Christmas start on 25th Dec, Christmas day - and finish on 5th January, the Eve of Epiphany.

The Peejay alternate 12 days before Christmas start today, the 13th Dec, the day we catch the ferry - and finish on 24th December, the Eve of Christmas, neat huh.










Wed 13th Dec,

Oops, seems we had an unscheduled lie in due to noisy bloody trucks last night, didn't get up till 10 o/c, still never mind, it is supposed to be a holiday.

Off to Auchan for some necessities, then to the checkout and the girl asked if we'd like to pay in euros or sterling. This isn't the first time we've been asked this at the Calais supermarkets but we were still a bit undecided as usual, this time though the girl recommended paying in sterling and said that's the cheapest way, how she knows this I don't know but we trusted her and went for the good old £. Does anyone know if this is correct, is it really best to pay in sterling if given the option? If not then Judy has another letter to write to Auchan. We also got €5 off the bill with a money off voucher from our last journey (every little helps).

Across to the Pumps and topped up with diesel (99.9c ltr) and another €5 voucher for the next time we shop with them as long as you spend €70 or more which Judy is more than capable of doing.

As it was now 1 o/clock we wondered whether to spend another night in Calais but decided to crack on and try and make Aachen.

Arrived at the >stellplatz< at ¼ to 5, no hold ups on the way and the sat nav took us straight to the door no probs. The stellplatz was unmanned, but you just find yourself a pitch and pay when the man arrives the next day. If he misses you then they ask that you put €10 in a provided envelope in the honesty box, can you see this happening at a city campsite in UK?

€10 per night might seem quite expensive compared to many other aires and stellplatze but this price includes electrics, (hot shower €1 extra), full motor home dump facilities and loads of tourist leaflets and is about a ½ hour walk from the city so I'd highly recommend it.

We had a quickish walk into the city. The Xmas market stalls are dotted all around the cathedral and ablaze with lights and made for a wonderful scene. The place was absolutely mobbed, we were heady with the aroma of bratwurst and gluhwein. One thing we've never seen before was a mushroom stall selling huge bowls of cooked mushrooms smothered in various creamy sauces, looked a bit sickly for our tastebuds though, but perhaps I'll give it a try another day. Managed a quick look around but decided to come back tomorrow, hopefully when there are less crowds. Glad we saw it at night though, absolutely beautiful.

Back to the van and hopefully a quiet nights kip.

>Link to Photo's<

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On the eleventh day 'fore Christmas….










Thu 14th Dec.

Did I say quiet nights kip? No such luck, very windy night and was what sounded in my mind like an aquaroll on the loose and rolling about outside, it turned out to be a length of warning tape tying off a pitch vibrating in the wind, tempted to go outside and cut it off but it was nice and cosy in bed - no contest.

Next morning, woke up and it was decidedly chilly so hopped out of bed to put on the gas heating - lots of clicks - but nothing. The water was working ok on gas, but the room heating bit wouldn't start. Well, we were going to need the gas heating for the rest of the hols as not all the places we are going have electric, off to look for the Hymer dealer book - couldn't find it anywhere, must have left it at home, Judy getting more and more impressed by the moment. As luck would have it there was a Hymer dumping his waste just across the way and he gave me the address of the nearest Hymer dealer, some 50kms north of Aachen at Heinsberg.

We had to get it fixed so plans for a day exploring Aachen were abandoned and off we went to Heinsberg.

This place could have been a right bugger to find but due to the wonders of technology the sat nav took us right there with no dramas, today is the time I have found it most valuable so far, located right in the middle of an industrial estate, it would have taken me ages to find the place otherwise.

Nice friendly staff here, but most unusually for Germany not one person spoke a word of English. Between the 2 of us we managed to get across what the problem was. To cut a long story short, they didn't really know what the problem was but contacted Truma who advised us to go back to Aachen, as there is a Truma agent there! Hey Ho, 50 kms back to Aachen again, to what turned out to be a newly registered Hymer dealer, not in the service book yet!

Almost immediately a techie was on the case, drained the boiler and produced a knackered circuit board. All the Hymers they had there were gas only boilers so he couldn't swop boards with one of his stock, Truma could get a new board to them by Monday. We agreed to come back on Monday to get the new board fitted.

New schedule - back to the >stellplatz< at Aachen for the night, then off to have a look around the Eifel region tomorrow, then returning back to Aachen on Monday to get the board fitted.

Rest of the day (what was left of it) spent wandering round the huge Christmas market. Finally succumbed to the lure of currywurst and chips before retiring to the van. This time, gonna have a few (big) glasses of red, then hopefully, a good nights kip.

>Link to Photo's<

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On the tenth day 'fore Christmas…










Fri 15th Dec

Excellent nights kip. Temp down to freezing overnight, low wattage electricity but enough to keep the water warm and the heating on very low.

Off to have a look at the Monschau Christmas market today. On the way down we branched off to have a look at the Rur stausee and the Urft stausee, Rurberg is a small village nestled between these 2 lakes, we headed there first. On the way, topped up with diesel (€1.07 ltr). Got to the lake, very nice but totally deserted, there were a load of stalls set up by the lakeside but they were all empty, perhaps the market is only on certain days, still, never mind, we also saw a m/home parking sign and followed it to a lovely >stellplatz<overlooking the edge of the lake, €5 p/n and there is a sani station there if req'd and lovely and quiet. This one isn't in the bordatlas but would make a good stop for anyone into boating or water sports, no chance of us getting into our canoe at this time of year though, far too cold!

After a cup of coffee and a cake we headed on down to Monschau. There is a >stellplatz< there (€5 p/n) but its right by the side of the main road and very noisy. A friendly German woman gave us her ticket which didn't run out until 1130 the following day so we had a freebie if req'd.

From the stellplatz it's a 5 min downhill stroll to the Christmas maket, and what a cracker it is too. In a beautiful setting, Monschau is a charming little village set at the bottom of a deep valley, the market had been very tastefully done and was a delight. Had some of those mushroom things smothered in creamy sauce we saw at Aachen and a glass of gluhwein each.

On the walk back we also passed a huge indoor market and glass factory as well, where you could watch the glass blowers at work.

A very pleasant day, back to the van (10 min uphill stroll this time!). We decided not to stop here, mainly because it was a bit noisy for us, there were quite a few settling down for the night though. As we were about to leave a Dutch van pulled in, we gave them the ticket we had inherited and decided to head back to the Rurberg >stellplatz< for a night by the lake.

The place was still deserted but it was lovely and peaceful. We spent the night there and were joined by 1 other motor home later in the evening. No electricity here and the only thing that works on gas is the water heater, so I put that on high and hoped that would keep everything warm enough to stop the dump valve opening. This was ok, but it was a bloody cold night and we both sat there with double layers and wrapped in fleece blankets to keep warm. Copious amounts of wine helped us endure the night though and we both slept like logs.

>Link to Photo's<

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On the ninth day 'fore Christmas…










Sat 16th Dec.

Up about half nine, a leisurely breakfast, then off again, this time I had orders that it was time we did a bit of shopping as stocks were apparently low.

No particular plan today we just headed off as the fancy took us.

First stop was a little town called Gemund. There was a little Christmas market here so we had a quick look around, very nice, but not in as good a location as the others we have seen so far, perhaps we are getting a bit choosy, or spoilt by the previous markets at Aachen and Monschau. There is also a nice quiet stellplatz here, no facilities and free but it was too early to stop and we wanted to get to Nettersheim.

On to Schleiden and Hellenthal, nothing much to write home about here, so, the next mission was to find a supermarket and we spotted an Aldi and an Extra next to each other, seemed as good a place as any so we pulled in and we did the usual stock up, and also had a good meal at the Schnell Imbiss (German snack bar) across the way. I had currywurst and chips, Judy had Jagerschnitzel, note to self, must go on diet after Christmas.

Next stop was Blankenheim, followed the signs to a pleasant looking stellplatz in the park on the outskirts of the town, we were sorely tempted to stay here for the night but on returning from the town we noticed that the sports hall next to the stellplatz was getting ready for what looked like a big party. Nice place to stop but we reckon it might have got a bit noisy if the party got into full swing later on so we moved on.

Finally arrived at Nettersheim, the >stellplatz< is clearly signposted on entering the village and is a lovely spot nestled in a clearing surrounded by tall pine trees, €7 p/n including electrics, there were about 6 other vans there.

It was raining hard, but we had a quick walk into Nettersheim to have a look round, not a lot there really but a nice little village nonetheless.

Had a quiet evening in the van and listened to an audio book while supping some of Germanys finest.

Drifted off to a fine nights kip listening to the sound of rain of the roof of the van.

>Link to Photo's<

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On the eighth day 'fore Christmas…










Sun 17th Dec.

The rain had obviously stopped overnight, as we woke and looked out of the widow to a hard frost, everything was white outside. Inside, the low electric (500w) setting just about managing to keep the inside tolerably warm. Had a quick breakfast, then off to Bad Munstereifel where rumour has it that there is a nice Christmas market there.

When we arrived, the place was absolutely mobbed, it appears that the whole of Germany comes out on a Sunday afternoon to have a walk round little towns in their Sunday best.

Bad Munstereifel was lovely, the whole of the town centre was given over to the Christmas market. Once again, the smell of German sausage was just too much to resist and I just had to have another bratwurst with senf (sausage with mustard); note to self, sod the diet, I'm on holiday. The Germans also love their fish and we noticed lots of 'backfisch' in batter being consumed in great quantities, this looks very similar to our cod in batter and is only €3 a piece, looks loverly, might try a bit of that at the next market;

Spent a leisurely couple of hours wandering about the town and market before heading up towards Julich, according to the bordatlas there is a stellplatz there within the confines of a park alongside the River Rur. The plan was to stop here for the night, then we were only a few kms away from the Truma dealers where we needed to be tomorrow for the new circuit board to be fitted.

Appearances can be very deceptive and what looked very nice in the book wasn't quite as nice in the flesh. There were 2 areas to park, one by the entrance to the park where the service point was - a bit grim looking, and another area on a large bit of grass which looked like it had been taken over by gypsies. We decided to give it a miss and to head back to the Aachen stellplatz and stay there again, at least we know what to expect there and it would be even closer to the dealer for tomorrow.

Arrived back at the Aachen >stellplatz< about 5 o/c and settled in for the night. We took this opportunity to catch up on some clothes washing and both had a long hot shower. We also tidied up the garage so that the Truma man could get in easily to sort out the heater tomorrow.

We sat and watched nearly all the motor homes leave in the early evening, as it was Sunday they must all have to get back home ready for work on the Monday. Shame that.

Stuffed full of German sausage from the market, we both had a light tea along with a bit of wine to help wash it down.

>Link to Photo's<

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On the seventh day 'fore Christmas…










Mon 18th Dec.

Awoke to another sharp frost. A quick breakfast then off to Wurselen to get the Heater fixed.

Arrived as requested at just after 10 o/clock. The man came out proudly producing a new circuit board and set to work straight away.

We had a look around all the shiney new Hymers to kill some time and fell in love with a particular one, the latest B504 in silver, very nice at €67,000 with all the extras.

An hour later the heater was all sorted and working like it should, truly excellent and typically efficient German service, I wonder if Brownhills would have been as helpful (?).

It was still only mid morning, so we made tracks for Koln, about 60kms of Autobahn all the way. Spotted a huge Real supermarket, so orders were given to pull off and have a quick look around. Bought loads more goodies that we didn't really need (as you do) and as it was lunchtime we had a bite to eat at the imbiss.

Next stop Koln and the sat nav was set for a stellplatz on the outskirts of the city at Riehl.

Just getting to a crucial part of the route when the sat nav started to try and reroute itself and got its knickers in a right twist, this couldn't have happened at a worse time, bang in the middle of the city. Pulled over and asked for directions and found we needed to do a u turn and be back where we had just come, anyway, after 2 circuits of Koln, we eventually spotted a small motor home parking sign (sat nav switched off as it was in danger of an unscheduled journey into the skip) and followed that, leading us to the >stellplatz< First impressions weren't too good as it seemed to be in a roughish area, but when we arrived it was in a clearing with views directly over the Rhine, quite pleasant. €6 p/n and an extra €1 for electrics if req'd, but they were all taken. You'd need pretty long lead to reach as well. Also worth noting that there are no facilities here to empty toilet or waste water although there are plans to sort this in the future, if you do plan to visit, make sure you're fully serviced before you arrive. Late note, there is now a service point at the entrance to the stellplatz.

It is a good spot nonetheless, and very quiet considering you're only about 4kms from the city centre.

Quick cup of tea then off to have a quick look round. It was a fair old walk to the city, but the majority is along the banks of the Rhine and quite pleasant, just wish we had the bikes with us, it would have been a lot easier.

According to the blurb, there are 6 Christmas markets in the city, one was enough for today though. We visited the one in the backdrop to the cathedral, once again, a wonderful location, especially as it was getting dark and all the Christmas lights were on and the cathedral was also lit up, took a few photo's, but because of the light they haven't come out too good. Spent a few hours wandering round the market and the cathedral before the trek back to the van and retiring for the night.

>Link to Photo's<

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On the sixth day 'fore Christmas…










Tue 19th Dec.

Up at about 9 ish, kettle on, then decided to treat ourselves and turn on the heating, there was that horrible click click noise again and the sodding thing wouldn't light. After muttering the occasional obscenities about the abilities of German Truma engineers I found out a possible cause of the problem, if the hob is lit at the same time as you turn on the heater, the gas pressure drops really low and it won't light, if you turn the hob off, it seems to light ok, so, that's the way it will have to be for the rest of the holiday, turn off hob before lighting heater, surely this ain't right, and it will be booked in for a proper check up on return to UK.
After breakfast, it was time for a full day in Koln. A good ¾ hour walk to the city and spent most of the day exploring, managed to see 5 of the 6 markets. By then, we were just about xmas marketed out!
The six markets are - Cathedralmarkt, Altermarkt, Neumarkt, Medievalmarkt, MS Wappenmarkt (a market on a ship!) and Rudolfplatzmarkt.
We didn't manage to get to Rudolfplatz but in our opinion, by far the best was the one by the cathedral. The floating market and the medieval markets all charged €2 entry and weren't particulary brilliant, all the others were very nice but obviously not in as spectacular settings.
If you do visit next year, make sure you put on a good pair of walking shoes as you walk a few miles throughout the day and bikes would have come in very handy as well for the journey to and from the stellplatz (or you could get the tram) and take lots of euro's, it's a dead cert you will give in and have loads of food and gluhwein!
This time we saw huge ½ meter long bratwurst on sale, so just had to have one (1 between us of course, we're not pigs!), they are so big they have to be cut in half to fit in the bread roll.
On the way back we had a walk around the cathedral which is absolutely jaw dropping inside, the place is truly amazing from the outside and more so inside, even if you're not religious, you can't help but be impressed.
Another amazing place worth a look is the train station (Bahnhof), once inside its just like an underground mini city with loads of shops selling everything the travellers could wish for, the place was mobbed, never seen so many people coming and going from trains for years (British Rail eat your heart out).
Another long bracing stroll back to the van for the night, breath was held and the heating turned on, sigh of relief, it worked!
Slept like logs again after all those miles on foot.

>Link to Photo's<

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On the fifth day 'fore Christmas…










Wed 20th Dec.

Woke up, a bit chilly, so switched on the heating only to hear that lovely clicking noise again, only this time it only clicked a few times and then the red light came on. Another theory, perhaps the gaslow changeover valve was playing up and not enough gas was getting through? Removed the valve and resorted to a direct connection to the bottle instead (we had a changeover valve fail on us last year and did the same). Switched on heating and it lit first time - have I finally cracked the problem? We'll see.
Today was spent touring around the Eifel region and we then headed off to Remagen, the sat nav appeared to be doing its job in getting us there and I blindly followed its directions, "turn right" - duly turned right - "continue straight, and take the ferry". Yes, it had taken us down the wrong side of the Rhine and now wanted us to get over to the other side where Remagen was. Had a quick look at the map and that was some strange route it had taken as there was a dual carriageway about 5 miles back that took you over the river, my fault really, should have paid more attention, still, never mind, never been on a Rhine ferry before and it was only a few euros so we got the ferry. We eventually got to Remagen and found it a bit of a let down, considering all the fighting that went on there during the war, there doesn't appear to be anything there to commemorate it and the Remagen bridge doesn't appear to be there anymore, at least we couldn't see it (very foggy), perhaps it was destroyed in the fighting. WW2 history ain't my strong point and it was too bloody cold to wander around any longer so we pressed on.
We then went on and looked around Ahrweiler and looked for the stellplatz there, once again, the sat nav was playing up so we switched it off again. Found the stellplatz, but wasn't very inspiring, just a car park on the outskirts of town, we didn't stop.
After wandering around the region we eventually holed up at a delightful little >stellplatz< at Kronenburg, just before the Belgian border and spent the night there. Corking little place, €6 p/n including elec and just at the foot of the 'Kronenburgersee. We spent the night alone, but never felt unsafe.

>Link to Photo's<

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On the forth day 'fore Christmas…










Thu 21st Dec.

Had a lie in this morning, then we decided we'd seen enough of Germany for this visit (If I have another German sausage I will surely pop!) and the plan was to head back to Calais and stock up ready for the return. Bit of a nightmare journey back through Belgium though but at least the sat nav was behaving itself again, so I couldn't moan at that. The traffic was terrible, must be all the people heading off on their holidays. There were hold-ups all through Belgium, particularly around Liege, and things weren't any better in France either and going round Lille was awful. Never mind, we eventually arrived at Calais about 6pm and decided to stay at the aire by the ferries for a change, there were about 10 vans there already
Spent the evening sorting out the garage and making room ready for tomorrows stock up.
Switched on the heating, yep, you guessed correct, it wouldn't light. No red light this time, just that poxy clicking noise, so it wasn't the change over valve either, at least something has been ruled out, its got to be either another fault somewhere in the truma, or maybe it's the regulator? Who knows, similar to the markets, I'm now truma'd out.
Spent the evening consuming vast quantities of liquid red stuff, that cheered me up, and later on tried the heater and it lit!

>Link to Photo's<

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On the third day 'fore Christmas…










Fri 22nd Dec.

Excellent nights kip helped no doubt by all that red wine, tried the heater again, no go, getting used to the dissapointment now, if it lights, it's a bonus. The municipal campsite next door obviously don't bother coming round to take fees out of season, therefore it was a free night for all.
Today is big shopping day, stocking up at Auchan on all the goodies we can't possibly do without in UK, you know, the usual - red wine, toilet roll, white wine, washing powder, more red wine (just in case), pastis, bit more white and a few pressies for friends back home, followed by a bit more red to top off the trolley and a case of beer for good measure, we're not alcoholics, honest. 
Off then to Cite Europe for a look round there, surprisingly, it was very quiet here compared to Auchan, I'm sure it will hot up later though, when all the tour busses arrive, but we'll be long gone by then.
A bit of fresh air was now needed and we went up to Cap Blanc Nez, the place was deserted, I'm sure it would be ok to spent the night here at this time of year, there's a little spot for a couple of vans in front of the coach parking slots where you could stay, doubt if it would be tolerated in season though.
We did toy with the idea of heading across to Brugges tonight and staying there but no guarantees the aire would be open, so we spent another night at Calais along with about another 12 vans.
Spoke to one couple and they were staying on the aire until Boxing day, before meeting up with their son for a belated christmas, now, I do like the aire, but I don't think I'd fancy spending christmas day there, but having said that, at least there would be no ferry noise.
The chip van was open, but resisted the temptation and had a healthy salad instead.
The boiler lit ok this time as I threatened it this time before hitting the switch (perhaps verbal violence is the answer) and we had a nice cosy evening watching the ferries coming and going.
Some people say the noise of the ferries here disturbs them, it has the opposite effect on us and we always sleep well there.

>Link to Photo's<

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On the second day 'fore Christmas…










Sat 23rd Dec.

Off across to the flot bleu to empty the loo, then it was a leisurely drive across to Brugges. On the way we stopped off at De Panne, no real reason, just thought we'd go and have a look. As we entered to town we saw an aire on the right, so made a note to stop there on the way out, first we followed the road into town and the seafront. Quite a nice place really, the seafront is totally pedestrianised, so we parked next to a bakers and had a stroll along the prom, returned to the shop and got a filled roll (€3.50!) then made our way back to the aire for a brew and the roll. There were clear signs here saying no overnight parking but it was obvious they had been ignored, 6 vans had stayed the night.
After the tea and pricey roll were consumed, we carried on to Brugge and made straight for the aire. It was still open, but was filled mainly with showmans caravans, obviously from the xmas fair, we managed to squeeze in at the end though.
A 15 min walk through the park to the city and had a walk around the market, well, there were 2 actually, one on the outskirts near the park and one in the main square complete with skating rink All very lovely and tastefully done. One more junk food hit before heading back to the ferry, we had a large chicken pitta with curried mayonnaise, sounds disgusting but it was yummy, no doubt there were about 50 million calories in there though, still, soon be time for new years resolutions, but not just yet. 
Off up the road to the ferry and a quick top up of diesel at the last garage before the ferry.
Stopped for a random check of the van for drugs, then straight on board.
We thought that we had hit a bit of luck with our cabin as it was right at the end of the corridor with only 1 neighbour, however, it wasn't as great as first expected as we were also next to the kiddies play area and a special kiddies disco had been arranged, never knew kids could make so much noise, deep joy! It was all wrapped up by 9pm though, and peace was then restored. The thing I couldn't understand was, they had this disco right next door to the quiet room, good planning that, perhaps they should have had it in another reception area away from there.
Had a lovely quiet nights sleep, drifting off to the drone of the ships engines.

>Link to Photo's<

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On the last day 'fore Christmas…










Sun 24th Dec.

Awoken this morning by the usual tannoys and also a message from the captain that there would be a ¾ hr delay as there was heavy traffic through the lock at Hull. No worries, an extra ½ hour in bed.
The ship arrived after its usual traverse through the sea lock. This bit always amazes me, this huge ship only just fits in the lock with literally a few inches to spare either side, followed by a tight turn to get on the berth, an excellent bit of driving, I can tell you.
Off the ship, a quick check at customs, then out to a horrible foggy mornings journey back home. All in all a very enjoyable holiday, and I'd definitely recommend you visit at least one German market if you get a chance next year.
First thing after Christmas, I'll be straight on the blower to Brownhills to hopefully get the |Truma heater sorted properly once and for all.

>Link to Photo's<

More handy links.....

http://www.weihnachtsmarkt-deutschland.de/

http://www.germany-christmas-market.org.uk/index1.htm

http://www.aachen-camping.de/index-gb.html

http://www.aachen.de/EN/ts/90_festivals_events/90_30/index.html

http://www.reisemobilhafen-koeln.de/

http://www.stadt-koeln.de/en/koelntourismus/christmas/index.html

http://www.monschau.de/tourist-information/index.php

http://www.spotlightgermany.com/articles/monschau.htm

http://reisemobil.re.funpic.de/Monschau.html

http://www.wohnmobilstellplatz.de/

http://reisemobil.re.funpic.de/Nettersheim.html

http://www.nettersheim.de/Seiten/Tourismus/Wohnmobilhafen.php

http://www.caravaning.de/fm/13/1001_Nettersheim_Infothek.pdf

Merry Christmas / Frohe Weinachten everyone :x-mas: .

Pete


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## solentviews

Hi Peejay, Lovely to read your adventure. Pleased its not only my satnav that drops me in it at the most inappropriate time . I loved the market with the skating rink at Brugge but do not think I would like to be away in sub zero temperatures.
Take care and seasons greetings.
Ian


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## DABurleigh

Pete,

You do keep on tempting me with trying a few Stellplatz and the German motorhoming experience. They do know how to do hot dogs, don't they? I could comment on the photos of Judy and you but had better not. Betcha you think that one salad makes things even and no diet is necessary...... 

Shame about the Truma or gas intermittent traumas; keep us posted with what the trouble is.

And sat navs appear so clever it is easy to forget they are really stupid and not above the old garbage in, garbage out computer syndrome. It's all down to the imperfect mapping database, and why I always prefer seeing where I am on an electronic map; pity TomTom's version of this is limited.

Dave


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## sheringham

Thanks Peejay

Really, really enjoyed reading your Christmas journey and experiences...

German markets are great and although we go to Germany often I cannot get Margaret to agree to a MH visit in "mid winter". As I have yet to overcome the numerous objections about winter tyres, adequate and guaranteed heat, hot water and her natural tendency to gravitate to Westfalia to see grand children.....

Instead we flew out from Manchester to Paderborn with Air Berlin, hired a car...without winter tyres!!!!!for 3 days and based ourselves at Detmold so that we could visit Bielefeld, Herford, Hameln markets.
How sad when without a MH we still ckecked out stellplatz in Detmold and Schwalenberg and passed others in the cities and towns we passed through     

Have made a note of all of the Stellplatz you mentioned for future usage as we will be there again second week in April to visit family and we usually take our time from Dover upto Westfalia. Then until mid June we will go down the Rhine, Neckar valley, Bodensee and then points ENE and N upto Lubeck before turning west back to home in the UK.

Thanks again

Ron & Margaret


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## SidT

Hi Pete. Great writeup and photos, haven't had time to read it all yet, but will. We are off to Hot Water Beach and the Coromandel after calling in at cousins for a couple of days at Lake Taupo
By the way I saw the sign "Geoffnet" a few times in Germany, could you translate please?
Cheers Sid


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## Boff

Hi Pete,

nice to read your writeup. And thanks very much for the Stellplatz at Rurberg, we are still looking for a place to spend New Year's Eve, maybe this is it.

BTW, the Stellplatz in Köln-Riehl already has a dumping station for some months now. It is right at the entrance, just when you turn right from the main road into the car park (which belongs to the youth hostel), instead of going straight on to the stellplatz just turn left immediately and you can't miss it. (Except if it is blocked by illegally parked cars, which is quite likely in the moment as the larger part of the car park is currently a construction site due to flood protection works.)

And, we almost have met there, I was there on the weekend 15th to 17th December!

The stellplatz in Kronenbourg I know from my very second trip in a (hired at that time) motorhome, it was free of charge then, but glad to hear that it still exists.



SidT said:


> By the way I saw the sign "Geoffnet" a few times in Germany, could you translate please?


Simple: "Geöffnet" means "Open"! :wink:

Best Regards,
Gerhard


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## xgx

Great read Pete... 

as you know, we were considering the same trip but opted instead to go to the Lincoln Xmas market... very disappointing...

guess where we're going next year :lol:


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## Enodreven

Great read, we stayed at the Stelplatz in Aachen and when i asked the lady who collected the fee what the ampage was on the electric hookup she said 16 amp, we used our microwave, part electic cooker and electic oil filled radiator and the truma electic water heating with no problems 

hope this helps for the future if you have any heating problems, our oil filled radiator works on 3 settings which i think are 500, 1000 and 2000 watts ?


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## 88927

Nice write up Pete, really enjoyed reading it all and seeing the pics mate :lol: :lol: 
Good luck with the Truma, hopefully it'll get sorted quickly.
Thanks again

Keith


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## peejay

Thanks for the replies, makes all that typing worthwhile.

Ian; It seems to be behaving itself again, perhaps it was that strong talking to I gave it :roll: 

Dave; We'll get you on a stellplatz eventually, but don't ask for hot dogs in Germany or you'll never increase your waist size :lol: you need to ask for bockwurst (boiled) or bratwurst (grilled or roasted).

Sheringham; thanks for your nice words, we lived near Bielefeld for 4 years way back in the 70/80's

Sid; Thanks, hope you're having a wicked time down under.

Gerhard; If you like a nice quiet place to stay then Rurberg is the place, nice to be able to return all the help you have given me in the past.

Graham; You were right about Remagen, not much to write home about.

Enodreven; Wish i'd known that, didn't want to trip the site supply

Keith; The van is booked into Brownhills next Tuesday, this is where we find out what their aftersales service is like.

Pete


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## geraldandannie

Hi, PJ

Great write up. No fear of getting bored halfway through. Sorry to hear about the heating problems. And the satnav? I used mine to navigate through the centre of London to Victoria coach station today - it was fine, until I got in the middle of tall buildings, when it lost sight of some / most / all of the satellites, and it started trying to send me in all sorts of directions. Luckily, I had a lo-tech method as standby - streetsigns!

I enjoyed the read.

Gerald


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## 88781

Great report once again PJ,  Sorrt to hear of your heating woes :roll: 
Best of luck with repairs,.. 

Dave  


p.s. vent clip arrived safely and now installed, thanks again!


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## ruthiebabe

Hi Peejay

really enjoyed your write up and lots of good travel tips in there too. It sounds like a perfect pre-Christmas jolly. We were in Bruges a few weeks before you so it was interesting to see the ice rink offering a different seasonal feel.

Sorry to hear about the Truma problems. Your new van was new the same time as ours and while all seems ok with our heating it's got me thinking about fitting in another quick night away before we leave for the Alps next week. It would be sods law for it to have its teething troubles then. The summer was so hot that we've only really used it overnight here and there and in Belgium in November. 

What satnav have you got? Our first one very nearly ended up in a skip, it was a gift and pretty crap really but here's hoping for better things from the one Santa brought.

Happy New Year, Ruth.


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## peejay

Gerald;
Strange really, most of the nav problems have been when in Germany, I remember it went belly up as soon as we crossed from France to Germany around the Vosges last year as well.

Dave;
Glad you got the 'widget' ok, glad to have been of assistance.

Ruth;
I'm glad we had the heating problems when we did really as we're off back down to Alpine regions in Feb in search (hopefully) of a bit of snow, it would be a bit grimm if it failed there. I think it would be very good practice to give yours a thorough checkout before you go next week.
We've got a navman icn520, overall, apart from the odd glitch I've moaned about here its been generally ok, always have a map open just in case tho :roll: 
Have a great time in the Alps. Would love to hear about your travels when you get back.

pete


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## JockandRita

Hi Peejay,

Although it has all been said already, it was a great read, as usual, and thanks for taking the time.

I am hoping that it will go someway to convincing the "boss", that we really should do the European touring thing! :? 

Jock.


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## DubPaul

i don't have a clue, but perhaps the gas problems were temperature related?

did it generally only fail after being stationary for some time... including frosty mornings and being stationary all night?


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## LPDrifter

What can I say? I'm a slow reader and I have printed it off to read later
Hope you guys had a good time

Drifter


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## peejay

Thanks again for the replies,

Dubpaul; Don't think the problem is temperature related, as we had some cold and some temperate nights - sometimes it wouldn't light after being sat all night, sometimes straight after a journey so thats been discounted.
The strange thing is, I've been out to check it many times since returning and every time it has fired up first time :? . 
Hopefully I'll find out the cause by the weekend as its going in for a full check up on Friday.

pete


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## Grizzly

PJ- many thanks for this. A pleasure to read and very useful as a stellplatz guide.

Hope your gas problems are sorted at the check up.

G


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## blackbirdbiker

Looking for information for our trip this December to Germany I have only just read this post. 
What an eventful trip PJ had, I've taken onboard loads of info and this will help me with what we plan to do this Christmas.

Many thanks Pete.

Keith


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## billym

I agree . Peejays information is fantastic and has been a big help to us planning a similar trip.

It is such postings that make this site so worthwhile.


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## Telbell

Hear Hear! Duno how but I missed this last year. Hope it brought back memories for you too Peejay


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