# Our First German Trip, August 2007 - Part One



## JockandRita (Jun 1, 2005)

Hi all,

The idea of this "diary" is not to bore the pants off of you, nor is it for the culture vulture type of traveller, but is more for others who may be a bit sceptical about doing such a trip at all. We hope that you enjoy reading it.

*Day One *

After spending the night at the Golden Lion, Luddesdown, courtesy of Scotjimland, (Jim, Jan & family), Rita and I headed off for Dover. Unlike on our French trip in March, we didn't experience the wrath's of customs this time, and joined the queue to check in.
Having arrived three and a quarter hours before our sailing, and on a bank holiday weekend too, I was convinced that we would be turned around, and would have to park up on Marine Parade for a couple of hours.
Wrong.
The very helpful lady at the check in kiosk, informed us that there were spaces available on the next sailing, and that we would incurr a charge if we wished to amend our booking. (Having already learned that others had been charged around the thirty quid mark, we weren't looking forward to this bit.)
"Thank you, how much will that be please", says I. " Four pounds, seventy five pence please sir," said the lady. Well, you could have knocked us both over with a feather. We were taken totally by surprise, and immediately coughed up the extra, before she realised that she might have made a mistake.

After a very smooth sailing we disembarked at Calais, and headed along the A16 for Belgium. The Robsons (Wendy & Robbie), whom we met at the Fireworks meet, suggested that we stop overnight at Veurne, which was only about an hour away. They told us about parking near the canal, and the Autoroute confirmed the exact location as "Kaaiplatz". However, the TT 700, indicated that the parkingplatz was right in the town centre. Not being too happy with this, we decided to stick with the canal location. The parking area on one side of the canal was full, so we just popped over to the other side. No problem.
We took a short walk into the town centre, only to discover that the parkingplatz was cordoned off with metal barriers, and lighting gantries were in place. This was to be the venue for the town's annual, musical extravaganza. It's just as well that we parked where we did then!
Having eaten and spruced up, back at the MH, we wandered into the town centre again, which was packed by now, and managed to find a couple of empty chairs outside a "Trappist Beer Cellar". Now I was in heaven.
I had several beers, which included "Affligem", "Chimay", and "Kastel" at 11%. Wow. We had a great evening, sat in the company of total strangers, who soon became friends, with Rita looking after one couple's eleven week old Labrador pup, whilst having her photo taken with Joris, Belgium's champion town crier. The music was excellent, with bands from Belgium and Holland and Germany, which included a pipe band. Brilliant. The evening's entertainment finished with a wee Scottish number, played by the mass bands. Highland Cathedral

A fine end, to what was our 28th wedding anniversary. Magic. 
The extremely friendly people that we were sat next to were drinking Gouden Carolus Triple at 9%. I tried to buy a bottle of the stuff, but was told that I had to buy it by the glass on draught, and get a card stamped upon each purchase. Once I had ten stamps, I would get the bottle free. Knowing that we were only there for one night, Edrich, the male member of our Flemish friends had his card stamped for the last time, and presented the bottle to me, insisting that I take it back to the "camper van" for another day. An extremely kind gesture indeed. Aren't some people really nice?

The weather was glorious, on both sides of the channel. 
According to the French chap moored directly behind me on the canal, for a couple of Euros, there are toilets and shower facilities for boaters, and MH'ers alike, just next to the bridge. If you need 240/220v hook up, you have to buy a card from the water authority office round the corner, and insert it into the meter. In all, there were twenty MH's here.

*Day Two*

A very grey and overcast start to the day.
The morning sees us heading for Dortmund to visit Duerrwang's, which is a Hymer agent that we have contacted, to hopefully collect some spares from. According to the TT 700, it should be about 3.5 hours away. Probably at 70mph plus, but not at the maximum of 100kph (62mph) that we were doing. After 2.5 hours, we pulled in for a brew, whilst I looked for a campsite, knowing that, in Holland there are no Aire/Stellplatz type places to overnight in, other than on the Autoroute services. 
As we were just outside Eindoven, I picked the nearest site to the town known as "t'witven recreatiecentrum." www.witven.nl

They had vacant MH pitches, with all the amenities, for €19.50, or €15.00 with the ACSI card. WiFi is €5.00 a day for those interested. The site is quite pleasant and clean, with eating facilities if required.
We would go as far as to say that this site *is not* ARV friendly due to the narrow entry to the pitches. At 8 metres (26ft), we found it to be a little tight. We also found the approach roads to the site, to be on the narrow side, with us having to straddle the white line, in order to keep off the grass verge. Having said all that, it was a very popular site, judging by the amount of pitches occupied by outfits, and rabbits too.
According to the site receptionist, they haven't had very many good days weather wise, this summer. They are certainly not on their own, in that respect.

*Day Three*

Back on the Autoroute for Dortmund, and it's looking like a nice sunny start to the day.
As soon as I had crossed the German border, I made contact by phone to the dealer, Duerrwang's, and it's not looking very good at this stage, however, they said that they would do their best to help. An hour later sees us at their premises. It is quite an impressive set up, with excellent customer facilities. It's just a shame that the senior management that I had emailed, and spoken to by phone prior to leaving the UK, did not communicate with staff on the shop floor, before departing for the Dusseldorf show.
Fortunately, we had the laptop with us, and were able to communicate our needs via images. 2.5hrs later, and we only have five items from our list, and we still have to get to the Dusseldorf camping park, before it gets full. Having paid for our items, we left feeling a bit disheartened, especially after receiving enthusiastic encouragement from management, which had led to nothing short of wasting our time, efforts and fuel. Grrrrr. 
By the time we reached the camping park at the Dusseldorf Messe, it was absolutely packed, and with being turned away at each entry point, it wasn't looking good. We found ourselves travelling away form the area, and along by the riverside, (Rhine) where we could see the waterfront Stellplatz in the distance, which also looked to be full. We then decided to follow two other MH's which appeared to know their way around, and found ourselves heading back towards the camping park. We joined a small queue, which soon had us directed to a vacant pitch, after having paid for two nights. It turns out, that as we arrived very close to 16.00hrs, we weren't charged camping for the night, so now we are here for three nights, but you must leave by 08.00, on the day of departure.
We arrived with "all systems go", which was just as well, as we didn't observe any service areas on our travels around the camping park, although they will be there, somewhere.
After a bite to eat, we jumped on the free shuttle bus to the subway, and then picked up the "Metro" for Dusseldorf. We had a wander round, but really we were just checking it out for our next visit, so we didn't do too much of it. I cunningly spied an old alehouse, which appeared to be dispensing "Alt", an old style dark beer brewed in Dusseldorf. I shall definitely be having some of that on my next trip into town. By now though, we were both "cream crackered", and made our back on the free bus, all the way back to the camping park. Extremely efficient, and very civilised indeed.
Early bed.

*Day Four*

Being close to the airport, it can be noisy on the camping park, as you are right under the flight path, however, flights appear to be kept to a minimum, if not curtailed altogether, between the hours of 23.00 - 05.00……………………..but they don't half make up for it from 05.05 onwards. Lol

I go and have a scout around while Rita sorts out "the boss's breakfast", (hers, not mine!). It is about 08.00 and the place is buzzing with campers, commuters, and some very smartly dressed business folks, and there are buses everywhere. I follow some chap carrying a toilet cassette, to suss out where I need to be, when needs must. It turns out to be a fair old trek, to the only service point for the whole camping park. Now then, having printed and studied a plan of the Messe service area before we left home, we honestly expected to find small service points dotted around, on what has to be one of the largest camping parks in Europe. There are Mh's, ARV's and caravans as far as the eye can see, in all directions. But more on the facilities later.

Back at the MH, I sit down to "the (pretend) boss's big breakfast" of bacon, eggs, tomatoes, etc. At about 10.15, we make our way to catch the bus to the exhibition halls, having purchased our tickets earlier. Within just a few minutes, we are entering the "Messe", which is absolutely huge. We wander through each hall, but only stopping at the ones that interest us, they being Hymer, other A class Reismobile/Motorhomes, and Technical, as that's as far as we got, (5 halls in total). In the Technical hall, we spoke to UK rep at the Reich stand, explaining that we needed the plastic lever for our kitchen tap, and that everybody want's to sell us a tap at £90, but no one want's to sell us the lever. "Not a problem", says he, giving us a name and number to contact at the factory in the UK, whereupon, one will be in the post. Brilliant. We then procured some spares from Smev, arranged awning maintenance to be carried out at the Omnistor factory in Belgium on the way home, and we called into the Truma stand. 
We communicated to a member of the staff, that we were concerned about a particular smell, which we get from our combi boiler each time it is fired up from cold. They contacted the site engineer, and asked us to return in 15 minutes.
We returned in 12 minutes, to find the engineer Klaus waiting for us, oop's.
He had obviously been made aware of the problem, as he gestured for us to follow him. Now we thought that he was going to find a translator, or a quite area to question us about the problem. It wasn't until we were heading for the exit, that we communicated our surprise. "Car here"? he said. "Camping park", we replied. "Come come, we go", he said, as he showed us a set of ignition keys. Next thing we know, Rita and I are being thrown around, in the back of this Mercedes Sprinter, like two lonely sardines in a great big tin. Klaus certainly knows his way around the Messe race track………sorry……… road system, and soon parks up next to our MH. 
Having read all about the Truma recall, and knowing that the serial numbers affected, did not apply to our boiler, we mentioned our problem to Truma UK, at Derby a few months ago. They told us to fetch it in, and they would have a look, however, as it was a Hymer E690, it would be a major problem to gain access to the appliance, and the whole bar area would have to come out. Whoa there, not so fast matey.
Klaus had only been in the MH about 15 - 20 minutes, and already he has gained full access to the boiler. (ex Hymer fitter apparently). Lol
He communicates that there is nothing to indicate that anything has melted, nor burned, to give off the smell. He then removes the top cover, fan and ducting, and gestures us to take a whiff. Yes, that's it, and it smelt more like sawdust. At last we have established the location of the smell. The fan and ducting had a layer of dust on them, so Klaus cleans them off with an airline………and the smell has gone. As a former firefighter, I do have a keen nose for anything that remotely smells like burning or overheating, and the dust build up was the cause, on this occasion. Klaus again communicates that the ducting has since been modified for better efficiency and less heat loss, so we have the replacement fitted.
1.5hrs, form start to finish, including two coffees, Klaus walks away with €71 (£47)……….and two cans of my treasured Speckled Hen, and we are happy MH'ers again. *Truma UK, please take note.* All in all, it has been quite a productive day for us

As it's now about 15.00 ish, we wander off to catch a bus, and the Metro into Dusseldorf again. Parting with my beloved Speckled Hen has me wanting a glass of Alt, at Dusseldorf's first ale house. Any old excuse will do. Lol

*(Messe Report)*
Peejay, (a trusted source of Continental touring info for many members), has asked us to report back on the Caravan Salon at Dusseldorf Messe. We'll try.

The exhibition area, consists of seventeen halls, all with excellent toilet facilities, The halls are clearly marked, are interconnected, and movement between each is very easy. They are clean and well lit, and the vehicle displays are well laid out. There are external seating areas, with several food stalls/small marquees. All areas have excellent disabled access, and there is a small shuttle bus that runs between the halls, for those not wishing to view them all. Transport to and from the Messe is free and extremely frequent, and again, disabled friendly. We personally found the display staff at the trade stands to be very helpful, generous, and good communicators, even though we cannot speak German, (our problem, not theirs). Opening hours are from 10.00 - 19.00
At 19.30hrs the free bus shuttle bus (897) discontinues, and another (898) comes into operation, conveying visitors in and out of Dusseldorf. If you choose to go earlier, (advised, as the buses are packed), you can catch the Metro into Dusseldorf old town, at the North entrance of the Messe, and catch the 898 back, from the Opera House, opposite the Police Station. The 898 runs until just after midnight.
Metro tickets can be purchased from the machine, on the platform, on the train, or at main shopping hall in Dusseldorf, (for the return journey).

*Camping Park*

As you enter the Messe road system, you are guided to the parking areas, P1 & P2 for camping. You will be directed into the rows, and be pitched under the trees. Spacing is closer than we Brits are used to, but not so, as to be intrusive. The one and only service point is at the entry to these areas, but as there were several stewards waving us on, making sure that we didn't stop, we missed it.
The camping park opens at 07.00 and closes at 18.00, and the cost of a pitch is €15, or €17 with electricity, (if you are lucky enough to get there in time). You have to vacate your pitch upon the day of departure, at 08.00. This is when the queue for the service area is at it's longest, and it's two rows deep. 
There is a marquee for entertainment in the evening, whereupon meals can be purchased, as can breakfast of a morning. Alcohol is served both inside and outside the marquee. In the same area, there are toilets and showering facilities for all, and the standard of cleanliness are, good to very good.
Tickets to the Messe can be purchased at the small information centre at the Camping park service area, or at the entrance to Hall 17, (bus stop). Prices are €11 for a one day adult ticket, or €17 for a two day adult ticket. We would recommend the two day ticket, as there really is a lot to see, without even looking at half of the displays. 
It all sounds very good, doesn't it?

Now for the bad news. At it's peak, aircraft movement overhead, is roughly about every minute, and they are only a few hundred feet above. So, bring you ear defenders, or a couple of bottles of your favourite tipple, and consume more than usual, if you want to get any kip. The earliest flight time I recall for A/C movements was 04.38. How do I know this? Because I was busy compiling this diary at the time. Yes it's sad, I know. Lol.

*Day Five*

This morning, I decided to empty the toilet cassette, and due to the distance involved, I strapped it to the bike rack, and off I went. As I was emptying the cassette, a MH pulled up onto the service area. The driver got out, removed his cassette, and then pushed me out of the way, so as to empty his. I suddenly had a vision of this guy driving down the road with a grey Thetford cassette wrapped around his ears. Fortunately, I refrained from turning this vision, into reality. He then had the cheek to remove his cassette from the rinsing tap, before switching it off, splashing water over my trousers and shoes. What an arrogant _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (please use your imagination at this point). Fortunately, he is the only one that we have come across, so far.

Upon my return, we went off to do the halls that we missed yesterday, hoping to purchase spares from Thetford and SOG. Thetford don't recommend the application of a SOG kit to their units. SOG on the other hand do, and, if you cannot get the Thetford spares from the accessory stand, you can get them from the SOG stand, even to the point of procuring a new cassette. 
Having done what we came to do, we made our way back to the MH. On the way, we received a text message from SidT, (Sid & Shirley), saying that they were on their way, having been held up at Antwerp. Due to their arrival time they were not permitted to pitch near us. So, if you want to be pitched with friends, you have to meet up somewhere, and arrive at the site together.
Sid & Shirley and Rita and I got together in the evening, and spent a couple of hours catching up, on bits and pieces. We thank them for making the effort to join us, before we moved on.

*Day Six*

Today has been a disaster from the start. Having arranged with the ticket inspector to vacate our pitch at 10.00, so as to avoid the queue for the service area, it then took 1.5 hours to drop the waste water, toilet, and fill with fresh. During the filling process, the tank kept air locking, causing water "back up" the filler neck. To assist the member of the service area staff, I removed the cap from the top of the tank, to allow the air to escape, and asked Rita to tell me as soon as the gauge read "Full". The tank was now filling nicely, so I proceeded to empty the cassette. As I had finished, Rita shouted that the tank was full. With the water turned off, the filler cap replaced, I then jumped into the MH to replace the tank cap, only to discover that, not only was the tank full, but it had overflowed into the MH, soaking the area around it. I moved the MH out of the way, parked up, and started a lengthy mopping up period. I never did understand why Hymer never fitted an overflow pipe to the tank. The tank cap has a silly little spout with a ball bearing fitted, to allow air to escape. This then closes off, when the water reaches that level. However, the spout is not large enough to permit the displacement of air, at the same rate as the inflow of water. We eventually hit the road at 11.45. Grrrrr

We headed for Koblenz, intentionally missing the Rhine, so as to concentrate on the Mosel. This theory was based upon the advice of others, (mostly German), as the Mosel is the prettier of the two river valleys, apparently.
Having found an Aldi's in Koblenz, but no where to overnight, we then headed off for a stellplatz at Kober, on the northern side of the Mosel. Upon our arrival, there was a MH in the car parking area. I approached the driver and said, "spreche kein ze Englisch"? To which he replied, "Oh aye lad, I can do that alright", in a broad Yorkshire accent.
We were later to know this chap to be Dave, and his wife Margaret, from Halifax. Dave explained that he wasn't staying, but the actual stellplatz was at the other end of this large area. That was a pity as the views at this point were excellent. We said "cheerio", and made our way up to the stellplatz, whereupon we came across three other Brit Mh's. Everything appeared to be okay at this stage, until we got settled. Rita had the oven on ready to cook tea, whilst I went to pay for parking, (€5). We didn't appreciate the noise levels upon arrival, from the dual carriageway, and railway behind us. Oh dear. Neither of us has had much sleep due to the aircraft noise over the past three nights, and we were in much need of quality rest. We ate our meal, and moved on down the road, looking for a quiet peaceful place to stop for the night. Some of the stellplatz that show up on the TT 700 are only parking areas, which would have been fine, but we couldn't get away from that blinking railway line. We could see a couple of campsites on the other side of the river, but we had missed the first bridge crossing, and carried on. Apparently, there is a stellplatz at the SOG Company, but we drove through some very tiny streets looking for it, and getting some very awkward looks from the residents. Out of luck, we continued making our way along the Mosel, when we came to another bridge. We crossed the river, to be met by a Hymer S740 coming the other way. This was Dave & Margaret whom we had met earlier. We waved as we passed and turned right off the bridge, following the TT 700 directions for another stellplatz. Due to traffic re routing, we again found ourselves traversing some very narrow streets, and eventually came across a car park at the entry to a campsite. The sign on this car park clearly stated that no MH's were permitted. We did contemplate the campsite, but decided to try once more for a stellplatz. As we turned right out of the car park, who should come down the road but, Dave & Margaret. We both stopped and exchanged our findings. They said, "we have found the ideal place if you want to follow us". "Great, I'll just turn round and catch up with you", says I. Away the two MH's went, through all those tiny streets again. The look on the local's faces was a picture. It's not as if we were invading the place, although it may have appeared that way.
Dave didn't realise just how far away this "ideal place" was, as we were now only about 10 km away from Kobern, but on the other side of the river. Dave slows down and he indicates right at the stellplatz sign. This turned out to be a spacious parking area, behind some housing, and hotels, and with large bays for MH's. Excellent!
We parked up and levelled off, and then went over to thank Dave & Margaret, whilst introducing ourselves.
We all soon got chatting over coffee and a beer, and made arrangements to get together later in the evening, which was to turn out to be both enjoyable and entertaining, in the company of seasoned travellers. Magic!
At the rear of this stellplatz is a religious looking building with a large loud speaker on the roof, which blasts out the sound of ringing bells at 19.00 and 07.00…………..but no trains, or planes. Lol
Parking here is free, but there are no facilities. There were nine MH's parked here.

Part Two to follow. >>Here<<

Jock & Rita,


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## bognormike (May 10, 2005)

Thanks Jock & Rita - these reports are always worth a read. Can I suggest that you add it as a "blog" - see http://www.motorhomefacts.com/blog.html?


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## JockandRita (Jun 1, 2005)

Hi Mike,

I did look at the blog, after Sallytrafic sent me the link, but all that <P for this and >P for that, it wasn't very appealing. It has taken literally days to compile the diary, and almost an hour to get it on here with all the highlighting etc.
I really don't relish spending a lot more time on it.

If I have got it wrong though, please point me in the right direction.

Cheers,

Jock.


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## takeaflight (May 9, 2005)

enjoyed the read thanks

Roy


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## JockandRita (Jun 1, 2005)

takeaflight said:


> enjoyed the read thanks
> 
> Roy


Thanks Roy.

*Mike*,

Suitably blogged now. You have a PM


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

Thanks for taking the time to compile your report and a special thanks for not forgetting to mention the disabled facilities. I have often wondered what the facilities were like at the Dusseldorf Show.

peedee


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## 88781 (May 9, 2005)

Thanks for sharing guys, thoroughly enjoyed it!  
MnD


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