Continental Europe

chrismacgowan

There are just so many wonderful tours to make in continental
Europe that it is firstly difficult to know where to start and
secondly even more difficult to settle on your Top Ten Best Tours!
However, for me, one of my favourites is the Mosel Valley in south
west Germany. It is beautiful and the Mosel itself is one of the
longest tributaries of the Rhine so plenty to go at. In Germany you
are talking between Trier and Koblenz but of course both Luxembourg
and France get in on the act.

Much of the Rhine and the Mosel are prone to flooding in the
winter and a consequence of this is the enormous number of sites to
choose from in the summer. The banks are not suited to permanent
development and so sites set up primarily for the tourist trade are
numerous. A look through The Caravan Club Europe guide demonstrates
this very well.

So wall to wall vineyards, boats, barges, railways and masses of
sites - and aires if your are a motorcaravanner as I am - are lined
up to greet you. You could easily spend a fortnight exploring or
you can just call in for a few highlights on your way to somewhere
else; the choice is yours! The sites in Germany are to a high
standard once you get your head round the idea that these are very
good commercial sites but will never in a million years come up to
the standards we all take for granted on sites run by The Caravan
Club. 

A favourite place for me is the charming town of Zell at
Campingpark Zell Mosel, 56856 Zell-Kaimt, which is a delight and
just a ten minute walk across the river - actually over a
footbridge to be precise - takes you right into the town with shops
and restaurants aplenty. Just one practical point when travelling
in Germany: Germany does not have the credit card culture we have
in the UK and whilst you are fine at petrol stations and motorway
stopovers, be prepared to pay cash in restaurants, bars and snack
bars.

 Boppard is one of the larger towns and I managed to find a
spot quite high up to capture the sheer scale of the Rhine and the
vital role it plays. It really is a transport asset and so wide
that there are not too many bridges crossing it so I took a ferry
from one side to the other on more than one occasion - once at The
Lorely!

You might even be tempted to jump on a pleasure cruiser!

One of the high spots of my last visit was Bernkastel-Kues.
It is one of the most appreciated Moselle towns and is proudly
called the centre of the middle Moselle. Guests from all over the
world come here every year to find this "international town of
vines and wine." Situated on both sides of the river, underneath
the imposing ruin of Landshut Castle, the old town invites you to
go for a stroll through historical lanes. Discover its unique
ensemble of wonderful medieval half-timbered houses. And it sports
several bars where only wine is served; no food, no beer so
definitely for the purist!

Bernkastel is like many towns where there are good sites close
to the centre. For caravanners this represents easy touring and for
motorcaravanners there is daytime motorcaravan parking available in
the town on the banks of the river; in the evening I selected a
site from the CC Europe book and walked the fifteen minutes into
town. 

This area of Germany makes everything so easy; it is a joy to
visit and I cannot recommend it highly enough!! One last tip - call
in on minuscule Luxembourg one way or the other as the fuel is SO
cheap!!

GeePee

Anyone ever been robbed?  We have, twice.:-(

The first time was near Verona, Italy about 10 years ago. We had an old Eldiss Autoquest with a rear door. We came out of Auchan after a bit of essential shopping and noticed that some of our clothes had apparently fallen out of the wardrobe. Not unusual,
so I started repacking them. Then noticed some things missing. After an audit, we found that all of our washing
things had gone (we assume people pack valuables in them), my vehicle log book of mileage fuel consumption etc., my wife's jewellery & makeup. So not a lot! We reported it to the police who took a note and filed it - finished!  We went to a local store
to replace the essentials and when they staff heard of our predicament, they raided all the freebies in the store and kitted us out with all the bathroom things that we needed. There are some lovely people around!

Our second mishap occured on a Motel/Campsite outside of Zagreb, Croatia. We were asleep in the early morning at about 5am, when I thought I heard my wife in the front of the 'van. However, I realised she was still asleep beside me! Then the realisation
that there was a man sitting in the passenger seat! I shouted 'Get Out' (Clever? - I'm not my best in the early morning). He had been going through my CD collection but obvlously not to his taste as he had not selected any - moron! I jumped out of the 'van
door but he had disappeared in the trees. I ran to the reception and found both the receptionist and security guard fast asleep on couches. I rang the police who came immediately. An audit showed that me new semi-pro camera, my laptop and my wife's purse (less
her credit cards) had gone. The side door locks on both sides had been broken and both doors were open. We were taken to the local police station and made a lengthy statement - had a cup of coffee and were told that in all probibality the stolen goods were
now out of the country. We were only a few kilometers  from the Slovenian border.

Our next task was to obtain new locks for the 'van. The nearest Fiat dealer was in Split so off we went. They assessed the damage and ordered a new set of locks which involved every single one and they had to come from Italy. We advised our insurers and
borrowed a laptop and camera for our work. We carried on with our trip and called in at Split on our way back, had the locks (ignition as well) all changed and the dents in the doors repaired.

Trouble is after that sort of invasion of privacy, every single skweak or movement of the 'van at night, wakes you. We felt physically sick for ages. My wife always say, physical things can be replaced and we should not worry. Hard to follow that advice
but very true. Everything was replaced (except for some of my date on the laptop), but most of it was backed up.

I hope it never happens to you. But, if it does, even if you have taken precautions, remember that personal safety is paramount.