# Peejay winter tour - Brrr! - Part 1



## peejay (May 10, 2005)

Hi, just returned from our winter hols, heres an account of our travels if you're interested;

An uneventful trip down to Dover, a slight delay due to roadworks on the M11 but apart from that, a relatively clear run and arrived early at the docks. As usual P&O kindly let us jump on an earlier ship at no extra charge and we were off. Nice calm crossing but the captain announced there would be a ½ hour delay getting into the harbour at Calais due to industrial action rendering several berths out of commission, as luck would have it, the one we were going to use was one of the affected ones so we had to hang around until another ferry had left port. ½ hour was no big deal though and we were soon driving down the ramp into euro land.
First thing was to test out the aires, stellplatze and lpg station poi's that Ian (solentviews) had kindly converted to Navman format for me. Set it for the Calais aire and it took us straight there with no dramas and also used the same route we normally used, overall, all the aires and stellplatze poi's worked fine throughout the holiday so many thanks Ian, go ahead and put them in the download section. I'm sure they will be of benefit to MHF members. Ian also told me about poihandler website and I also successfully downloaded all the French and German supermarket poi's (aldi, auchan, leclerc etc) to keep the wife happy as well.
Got settled down on the aire and spent a leisurely evening watching the ferries coming in and out of port, both slept like logs that night, must something to do with that French red as usual.
Next day, we left the aire at about 10 ish and set the sat nav for auchan, once again, took us straight there with no dramas and we stocked up with a few provisions for the first few days and topped up with diesel, prices are creeping up, its now €1.05 per ltr.
A leisurely drive down to the Lac du der near St Dizier and topped up with lpg at the leclerc at st dizier as I hadn't filled up in UK. This is one of our favourite stopovers and this time we stayed at the north western edge of the lake at port de nuisement, this, in our opinion is the best of the three aires and if you drive around the corner from the aire proper there is a lovely parking spot next to the disabled parking with a great view of the lake. The place was totally deserted and we spent the night alone, I think it might be a different matter in the summer though.









Overnight at Lac Du Der near St Dizier.

It was totally peaceful until about 6am when we were awoken by the sound of hundreds of cranes flying overhead, not sure whether they were arriving or leaving but they made hell of a racket! Nice to see but I wish they had a lie in occasionally so we could!
Decided not to stay another night but to head on down to the Vosges region again like last year and see if we could get a bit of snow, we would not be disappointed as we would find out later.
First plan was to head down to Donjeux as there is an aire there, so once again, set 'thally twaffic' (so named because she has a lisp) for the journey and off we went. We arrived at Donjeux and the aire was nicely situated by the canal. The facilities here are excellent, complete with electric hook up and all free but it was close to the road near a very busy crossroads so we decided to give it a miss, it's a good aire if you don't mind close traffic noise though.









The aire at Donjeux

We were in no rush, so decided to cut across country and head to Charmes, a place we had stopped a few times before so we knew what to expect. Stopped at Joinville on the way and had a walk along the canal that runs through the town, the temperature was beginning to drop quite a bit so we didn't walk too far. 
We arrived early afternoon at the Charmes aire and surprisingly there were quite a few vans there for this time of year, but plenty of room for all, even a few large RV's were nestled at the other end. As usual, a nice chap came round early evening to collect the €5 fee.









Large RV's at Charmes

The temperature seemed to be dropping all the time and the pathetic Autosleeper beer barrel tap on the waste tank was well frozen by the morning so I had to implement the PJ patented winter waste system for the rest of the 'chilly bits' of the holiday. This involves disconnecting the normal waste pipe and running another custom made pipe down from the kitchen sink into a 5 gallon waste container under the sink cupboard. This means we wouldn't be able to use the bathroom sink or shower when it was really cold but it's better than having a tankful of ice. When the temperature rises it's just a 2 minute job to swop the pipes over.
A stroll along the canal and round Charmes in the morning and bought a baguette for lunch, then a relatively short drive to Gerardmer.
They had quite a bit of snow here so we decided to venture up to the col de la schluct. There were several vans at the top and we decided to join them and stayed for the night.









Overnight at Col De La Schluct

A few more inches of snow overnight and the following morning we hired a pair of skis each and off we went to the cross-country trail to try it out. This trail is actually the D61 road to Lac Blanc but they close it off in winter and use it as a cross-country ski trail, €8 each per day for the privilege. It's a great trail though with lovely views and a nice easy trail, which suits us fine, as we are total novices. Spend a few hours honing our skills, which really means we spent more time horizontal than upright but it was great fun and by the end of the day we were beginning to get the hang of it again.
We then headed down to Belle hut where there is a spot by the slopes for an overnight stop but when we got there it was absolutely mobbed, the car parks were chokka block and there was no more room for any more vans to park for the night. We were going to try the campsite just up the road (camping belle hut) but that looked full too so decided to carry on back down to gerardmer and maybe try the site on our return journey (more about that later). Back down the pass to gerardmer and discovered that the local council have opened a new motorhome parking area just behind the original aire. This one is much better and quieter as it is set back from the road. It's free but there are no facilities although it is possible to empty your loo at the public toilets next door if you're discreet. Slept like logs that night probably due to all that exercise, but boy did we suffer the next morning, the old joints ain't what they used to be! A few inches of snow overnight.
We then headed up to Xonrupt Longemer where there is a municipal campsite which the aires book says had an aire 'interieure carnet de passage acceptes' which basically means that for a small fee you can use the campsite facilities without staying for the night so that's what we did as we needed water and both wanted a good hot shower and we couldn't use ours because of the frozen tank. Excellent value for €4.
It was then time to head off towards Germany and we decided to go back over the col de la schluct and head for the excellent aire at Kayserberg. As we headed back over the col the snow on the roads started to settle in some areas so we stopped and put on the chains just in case, which was probably a good idea because when we got to the top they had had about a foot more snow and as we all know the traction capabilities of the Peugeot chassis are not exactly legendary in any conditions other than bone dry. I'm sure we would have got stuck if we hadn't had them on. Halfway back over the other side and the chains could come off again for the descent down to the wine-growing region that surrounds the picturesque and touristy village of Kayserberg.









Kayseberg aire in the snow

We stopped here for the night and had the usual wander round all the touristy bits.
Awoke the next morning to yet another covering of snow. It seemed the cold weather and snow was following us on our travels, here's hoping we get similar luck with the sun on our summer hols!

 >>MORE PICCIES HERE<< 

Next stop Germany in part 2 later….....

pete.


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

More please Pete and thanks for this. Lovely piccies - especially the snow at Col de la Schluct

G


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## nukeadmin (Oct 10, 2003)

brilliant writeup Peejay, makes me wanna go off right now and go travelling again


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## LadyJ (May 9, 2005)

All sounds loverly Pete if some what cold and welcome back


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## Scotjimland (May 23, 2005)

Welcome back Pete.. looks like you had a great time.. it's reports and pics like this that make us itchy to get 'on the road again'..  

Looking forward to part two.. 

Thanks


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## Motorhomersimpson (May 9, 2005)

Thanks for that Pete, great write up and pictures.

I have say I wouldn't want to be the baby in that stork's nest at kayserberg, a bit of a balancing act.

Welcome home by the way.

MHS....Rob


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## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

Thanks for that, Pete.

Like the ski pics - tell me the muscles didn't ache the next couple of days!

Dave


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## 97324 (Jan 17, 2006)

I so love your pics,question i am a noob to this,but i was wondering when i decide to do winter camping,do i need a special motorhome?reason i ask is i have a avantgarde just 2 years old,and i saw a add advertiseing winterized motorhome?what are they?and is mine winterized and if not what do i have to do?is there a way to check? 
ps sorry i am new to this.


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## 88781 (May 9, 2005)

Nice write up Pete, great photos, glad to have you both back with no breaks!

Dave


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## solentviews (May 9, 2005)

Nice to learn the poi worked so well and that our efforts were not in vain. Had a look at the downloads section to add them but I need an idiots guide to achieve it, however, if anyone wants the info in navman format please pm me. Alternatively if someone can provide me a guide in very simple speak to achieve it in the downloads section happy to try that.
Welcome back.
Ian


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## peejay (May 10, 2005)

Thanks for all the replies;

Dabs - "No, the muscles didn't ache", (I lie like cheap Japanese watch) 

Lost - 
in answer to your question, yes, it is very desirable to have a fully winterised van but by no means essential as long as you make a few preparations before you go.
A 'fully winterised' van usually means a double floor with all the facilities sandwiched in a heated compartment to prevent everything freezing. This usually comes at a considerable price premium but is by no means essential.
Our little Nuevo is in no way a van designed for winter use but we were toasty warm through the whole holiday.
The most essential need imo is an inboard fresh water tank first and if you haven't got one then that would be the first priority.
Next is a healthy supply of gas for water and leisure heating. UK vans usually have tiny gas lockers, our Nuevo does and we converted to refillable bottles to enable us to top up whilst abroad with no problems.
Next problem is the waste water tank which is usually underslung on UK vans and will be the first thing to freeze. If you have a decent bore waste drain tap then the easiest solution is to let your waste drain through to a bucket, its much easier to empty a frozen bucket than an underslung tank. I had a problem with my drain tap which ain't up to the job and kept freezing so I diverted all my waste water into an inboard 5 gallon water tank. This is a bit of an inconvenience as it cancels out the use of facilities in the shower room but sacrifices have to be made.
An exterior silverscreen cuts out cab window condensation and if its really cold fit interior screens as well for better insulation.
Apart from that we survived very comfortably and had a great time so you don't need big flash motorhomes to enjoy youself in the snow.
More essentials - snowchains and a shovel.
Also, have a look at the winterizing section here for a few more tips….

http://www.motorhomefacts.com/motorhome_winterising.html

solentviews - 
the poi's were much appreciated, hopefully dave or someone else of superior knowledge can help with entering them in the downloads, as you know, i'm a bit clueless on this :roll:

pete.


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## 97324 (Jan 17, 2006)

Thankyou so much for help,i have my water supply under our seat so that should be ok.my daughter loves snow and as we live in devon we hardly get it,so next year i want take her to the alps ect do abit sking ect.
love to see your next part in germany and again thankyou for help


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## 88757 (May 9, 2005)

Fantastic account and wonderful piccies Pete. Makes me think we might try winter trip next year. Looking forward to Part 2.

Mary


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## Pusser (May 9, 2005)

Wicked stuff and wicked pix. Really great read. I liked the area around lac du der. I don't think the name Der does it justice. Sounds like a Simpson creation.

Looking forward to some more parts as fast as you can write them.

Many thanks.


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## bognormike (May 10, 2005)

Pete - good stuff. Note you stopped at the calais official aire - what is access like now? Do you have to collect a token /key from the campsite, as threatened, or is it open to all?


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## peejay (May 10, 2005)

Hi Mike,

As stated in a previous post the barrier was 'modified' (ie broken off) last year by a disgruntled camper and it has been barrier-less ever since so that effectively cancelled out the stupid 'deposit for the swipe card' access system.

Last October when we were there they were sending a man round every morning to collect the dues but this time round no one seemed to bother so it was free for us on both visits.


pete.


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## Snelly (Aug 20, 2005)

Hi Pete

I normally have a very short attention span and skip over the details of long posts... but I was captivated by yours. And I love the pictures... especially the ones of the snow on the toll both (how did it hold the weight??) and the snow around the caravan/awning... you have to ask yourself what you'd think if you woke up in the morning and found that much snow all over your caravan/motorhome?? he he.

I look forward to part 2.


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## storeman (May 16, 2005)

Hi Pete 
great write up I can't wait for next part loved the photos as well.


Chris


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