YOU WIN SOME.... AND YOU LOSE SOME!

Kaiserslautern
With one week left to mosey back to the UK, this was our first stop.  We drove up a narrow track through woodland and on arrival I was filled with apprehension as my eyes took in the rather ramshackle and hickledy pickledy scene - was this really the campsite?  Directly in front of us was a low, long narrow 'makeshift' looking building with a few folks relaxing around a table outside, all looking at us with grins on their faces (were they smiling in welcome or laughing at what was to be in store for us here?).  There were the usual long term caravans with the typical randomly built homemade 'extensions' clustered in the shade of the surrounding trees.  We emerged gingerly from our motor home and were greeted by the owner who led us to one of the handful of tourer 'areas' just around the corner.  He pointed to the shower block tucked under the trees and explained we did have to pay for showers "but you can share - they're very big" he said - and left us to settle in. 

How quickly those first negative impressions evaporated.  So the site wasn't all neat, tidy and pristine but, oh so charmingly and adorably quirky and what a friendly couple.  Love and care was evident all around - Friedrich and his wife had put their personal stamp on this place and it really was just like being welcomed into their home and garden.  So unlike the typical campsite in so many says - and for those reasons, a real gem.   


We discovered we had our own access to the lake with beautiful views across to the pine clad mountains.   We could sit on the steps and dip our feet into the water, set our chairs up on the grassy bank, swim if we fancied and there was even a little boat ready to use.

That long, low building housed a simple little restaurant (the only part of the building available to the public).  All other needs were managed through a hatchway - ice creams, orders for food/drink, purchases of basic items and the all important kitchen - and was the food good!!  Everything homemade and cheaper than you could ever imagine! That was evidenced by the number of folks who seemed to appear from nowhere every evening for dinner!   We tucked into the tastiest burgers and chips washed down with wine and beers followed by coffees all for €13! 

A novel way of displaying the menu at the site entrance

At the far end of the building was their garden which they'd taken great pains to fence with various bits of wood and branches adorned with a multitude of every conceivable standing and hanging containers all filled with assorted potted plants.  

We were blessed with sunny weather and when we weren't relaxing in our own little place by the lake reading or watching the canoeists and kayakers, we took advantage of the lovely walks and cycle paths around and beyond the lake. 

Quiet time ....

... fun time

If you look carefully, you'll spot 'Poppy' along the left side of the pic  (yes, we finally settled on a name for our second motor home!).  And I think you'll agree, it's a beautiful spot!

On the morning of our reluctant departure Friedrich made us some tasty homemade waffles for breakfast - delicious!

 

This site didn't pretend to be anything other than what it was - it didn't need to.  We'd stepped into another world for a while - a welcoming, comfortable world.  We didn't want to leave and later regretted we hadn't stayed longer and left ourselves less time for the remaining sites we would use.

After all these weeks of travelling, the sights we've seen, experiences we've had - we will always remember those couple of days spent at Gelterswoog.

LUXEMBOURG
Berdorf - what a contrast!  Absolutely nothing to complain about - a perfect little site - spotlessly clean, immaculately laid out in the heart of the Ardennes but for us nothing more than a place to overnight.  Not helped I guess by the torrential rain that descended just after our arrival resulting in a paddling mud bath around our motor home!

Driving through those bizarre rock formations of the Mullerthal region

BELGIUM
Oteppe - oh dear, now this was definitely not our cup of tea!  On first impression everything looked so promising.  The castle entrance, a very smart large reception - until we drove around the corner to find a pitch!  It was a massive area housing not only hundreds of statics and permanently pitched caravans but the biggest children's playground I've ever come across, a large indoor and outdoor pool (that did look inviting!), a complex of bars, shops, cafe etc - it was 2 hours before we finally parked up and even then we were behind a grubby building but at least we had some space and it was reasonably quiet - and we'd made the mistake of booking for 2 nights!  A place definitely in need of some TLC - and so was I!
But not to berate it too harshly, I guess it served a good purpose for families - and we'd been so spoilt!

Ypres
Back to where we started - a good place to end we felt.

Cloth Hall

A retracing of our steps around the town as well as the discovery of  St Georges Memorial church - equal in its importance to the Menin Gate and perpetuating the daily act of remembrance, it is a permanent memorial to the dead and a meeting place for visiting relatives.

 













 
Every item in the church:  furniture, chairs, plaques on the walls, windows,  banners - are all there in memory of someone who gave their lives for freedom.  This was an extraordinarily humbling and startling experience - it is still impossible to begin to grasp the magnitude of such loss of lives - around 1,700,000 men and women of the Commonwealth forces died in the 2 world wars.

"We can truly say that the whole circuit of the earth is girdled with the graves of our dead...  I have many times asked myself whether there can be more potent advocates of peace upon earth through the years to come, than this massed multitude of silent witnesses to the desolation of war."  (King George V, Flanders, 1922)

- 90 years on, and still the world rages with battles and wars . . . . .   

On our final evening of this, our maiden tour of just over 10 weeks, it seemed fitting to witness the Last Post ceremony once more at the Menin Gate - as moving as ever which on this occasion included the haunting music of the Northumberland pipes.  We returned to our favourite Cyper Restaurant in the main square for supper in the evening sunshine and reflected on what has been an amazing tour.  The next morning (Tuesday 18th June) we would be heading to Calais in time to be back with the family for my birthday. 

We were delighted from the very start with our new motor home and during our time away we have transformed it from an impersonal motor home and truly made it ours - lace curtains and beautiful tablecloth from Bruges, the scarlet red Venetian fruit bowl and beautiful wine glasses from Neckargemund along with a few extra accessories.  We have travelled in utmost comfort and total freedom just under 1200 miles, through Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany and 'Poppy' definitely now feels like home! 

            ~   The Canvas of life is growing ever wider   ~


POSTSCRIPT
On the evening of our return to the UK, we were back in the fold of our family celebrating my birthday, Sarah & Sam's first wedding anniversary and belatedly, Father's Day! 

Jon's deliciously scrumptious birthday cake!