Lubeck & Munster – Germany

6th July – 16th July 2019

As we crossed the border into Sweden, we were like rabbits in headlights, cars and people everyone. It is funny how you get use to near solitude and it felt strange to be back into the hustle and bustle, which by no means is like the U.K. but from driving along roads and not seeing anyone to suddenly seeing lots of vehicles on the roads felt strange. We stopped at the first supermarket we found and with the packed car park it looked like everyone else did the same, even the Norwegians heading back into Norway. We got excited at the prices and we were still in Sweden so not that cheap, but cheap to us after Norway. I lost David, he was in the alcohol aisle, which still had limited choice, but enough and reasonably priced. So,with alcohol purchased and the cupboards replenished we set off again. We are now retracing our route through Sweden and Denmark and heading back into the U.K. to avoid the school holidays and packed roads . We stayed for 3 days just North of Gothenburg in a lovely small campsite owned by a young couple. Within walking distance there was a salmon river where you could fish, but we have a sea fishing rod and not a fly fishing rod and so, reluctantly we couldn’t fish. I think I was more upset that David! We walked all along the river and there is a lovely waterfall which the salmon jump up through. To assist with the conservation of the salmon, concrete stepping pools have been constructed to help the fish jump up. We watched a salmon jump in the water, but were told later that with the weather being so warm last year there had been a reduction in the number of salmon in the rivers. As we were preparing to leave, we met our first Englishman in 101 days of travelling. He was staying in an apartment on site and he was with his daughter who was playing football in England under 17’s. He lived in Essex and his daughter Ruby placed for Arsenal, what a small world. We would have loved to have visited Gothenburg but we had heard rumours of Motorhomes being broken into and when we looked at places to park in and around the area, nearly all said that there was problems with break-ins. We didn’t want to chance it, especially with Chloe being left in the van. We left Sweden at Helsingborg over the very expensive bridge, but it is certainly impressive and into Denmark. We deliberately stopped for lunch at the most delicious burger restaurant, that we had stopped at on the way into Sweden, freshly made to order. If you are ever in Sweden and fancy a burger check out Carls Junior. We stayed the night in the same place as when we had travelled through Denmark before, just outside Middlefart as we had read that there was some harbour porpoises swimming in the area. This time, it was busier with vans but we were lucky enough to see the porpoises swimming. No photos unfortunately, as they are too quick to capture and then it would only be a fin out of the water ! After one night we headed to the nearest supermarket to spend our remaining cash on alcohol before leaving Denmark. We sound like alcoholics! We then headed into Germany, I was losing track what country I was in, but we were back in the EU so no more different currencies. We stopped for lunch and the normal ritual is David takes Chloe out to have a wee etc. I prepare lunch, beverages and get Chloe’s biscuits ready. This time, David come back just as we are about to have an exciting cheese roll and says, they do Bratwurst sausages. Now in David’s language this means I want a Bratwurst sausage ! So our first meal in Germany was a very healthy German sausage and of course chips. We stayed the night in Lubeck and our first draught beer which went down very well. A beautiful town on the river Trave with extensive Gothic architecture and listed by UNESCO as a world heritage Site. It was here that we saw the first bus that changes into a boat. A tourist bus that I saw first on the road and then when we were sitting having a drink it goes past on the river. It looked like something out of a James Bond film. Telgte was our next destination, where after so muchmuch travelling we decided to stay for 4 days. Again we stayed just outside the town, but within easy cycling for groceries etc. Now some of you will think this weird, but opposite where we were staying was this beautiful wooded cemetery which we walked Chloe in. It was vast and surrounded by mature trees and shrubs. I think I have said before but I find cemeteries fascinating. At the very end of this vast cemetery there were two separate war grave areas. One German and one for the Allied Forces. I have never visited a German war cemetery before, all the stones were formed out of a very dark grey stone and there was not a flower or shrub adorning any of the hundreds of graves. Many woman were buried here aswell and it felt a very sad place. What is different in this cemetery is that there are many family plots and they are spread apart and tended with loving care. Mature shrubs and very unique and original headstones or rather sculptures make this a fascinating place to wander. It is a beautiful place to rest your head after your time is up. We visited the vibrant town of Munster, known as the bicycle capital of Germany and guess what, we were cycling in it. It reminded me of the Tour de France again, bells going behind me to let me know they are coming up on the outside, I need to get one of those mirrors for my bike ! Older people burning me up on a normal bike, no electric for them. Germany is brilliant with their cycle paths and you certainly feel safe from cars, but not other cyclists. It is fantastic though seeing 70 and probably 80 year olds cycling away in their everyday lives. Muster has a brilliant market on a Wednesday and Saturday, full of colourful plants and flowers and the most mouth watering of foods. We found a cheese stall with a Comte cheese called ‘David’ of course we had to buy some. A wedge was cut and it was a large wedge but at 20 euros we were hoping it was going to live up to it’s name. We bought fruit, nuts, beautiful fish, cheese, the most amazing apple and raspberry juice and savoured mini fish and chips before cycling home for siesta. Oh what a life !