Europe Part 1.

Well we have fallen behind in our blog again!!!!!! Not sure how this keeps happening but it has to stop. Believe it or not we just have not had time????? How we ever found the time to work we will never know. Anyway we nave decIded to stay put in Chalon de Champagne for another day purely to catch up. I have to state first and foremost that although we are enjoying Europe and Molly we are really missing the excitement and absurdities of Asia. We travel with our home now and everything is by comparison much easier. However we do not need to take so many risks either so our tales are not so fraught with danger nor so exciting we feel. Our crossing from Dover to Calais was uneventful and very straightforward. I was dreading the getting on the ferry bit but I reckon a  child could manage as everything and everywhere is so well signposted - it was a piece of cake. Arriving in Calais we headed for our first French campsite in GuInes. Our first experience we learned a lot. We landed up on a dismal site with no sun but plenty of trees all around to shade us if the sun ever dared show it's face on that plot. The saving grace was the little village though - really cute. Biking there we stocked up on fresh fruit, veges and  choc-aux-paIn and spent a  couple of hours in the sun at the local pub. Lesson learned we moved on. Our next stop was Gent in Belgium which was fabulous. We did a day train trip to Brugge (6€  return) travelling, accidentally, first class all the way. To be honest both townships were very pretty as our photos on Facebook showed but Gent certainly won out. The flowers, the bridges over the canals, the historical buildings, the atmosphere and the sunshine made everything and everywhere picture perfect. Our perceived lesson learned at our previous campsite was not as thorough as first thought. Yes we got the sun bit OK but right outside our bedroom window was the bottle dump and nobody puts bottles into a dumpster quietly!!!!! Our next stop was Gulpen In the Netherlands, a camping site high on a hill overlooking a picturesque village with it's own quota of spired churches and old buildings. Our plan was to bike into the township but unfortunately the weather turned autumnal and rain, wind and the cold kept us marooned in Molly. First time we had had to consider wearing long trousers - time to head South which was always our plan to find warmer climes. Next day we drove through the village on our way to Cologne and were not disappointed. Cologne ah Cologne!!! Now Cologne and Kate 2 (the GPS) obviously had a bit of a misunderstanding this day. To cut a long story short by the time we reached the city it took us one and a half hours of constant rerouting and recalculating, a drive through what we now know was a pedestrian only area, possibly an excursion the wrong way up or down a one way cobbled narrow street, a left turn into oncoming traffic, a triple challenge at the base of a closed bridge that Kate insisted on taking us to from different directions and that was just to get to the other side of the Rhine. Another half an hour and we were at the camping site situated right at the edge of the Rhine. After so much stress we got out the table and chairs, a bottle of wine and some cheese and sat watching enthusiastic health fanatics, run and sweat the bike path in front of us. GREAT. Next day we biked into Cologne which once again was amazing. The Cathedral there was out of this world but the whole city was so vibrant and alive. We stumbled over some Roman ruins which were being unearthed, bought our first European Sim card (believe me NZ is not expensive) some warm clothes just in case and then headed back to Molly. We enjoyed this campsite although the amenities were spartan but this is where we realised how German people like to park directly on top of one another. So close that when you open the windows they touch. We went to bed one night and woke up with a sea of dome tents all around us. STRANGE!! Next stop Koblenz where the Rhine and the Mosel meet. Perfect site, sun, no bottle crashing and beside the river again. Seventh heaven and we had sunshine too. Blessed. This time we were able to take a ferry from the campsite to Koblenz which once again has so much history but I don't wish to bore you all. For us one campsite toilet blends into the next and I am sure, as you read this, one place is doing exactly the same thing with the next place. Facebook photos actually tie all these places together so hope you are going there. Our next thoughts were to travel alongside the Mosel river through vineyards and the German wine trail to Bernkastle where we were meeting up with Betty and Stuart who we met in Singapore. Hearing that Bernkastle was beautiful we were looking forward to this and also with meeting up again with friends. We were not disappointed. The trip down was awesome, extremely scenic, and Bernkastle was magical. Betty and Stuart had 2 days planned out for us, biking, drinking, eating, shopping, sightseeing, meeting friends etc etc and the time passed too quickly. Hopefully we will meet up again in Spain. We were given maps, information, hugs and kisses as we left. THANK YOU Betty and Stuart for the wonderful days we spent with you and your Invaluable help and knowledge. Sorry to hear about your eventful trip back to Spain The vineyards in Germany and especially Bernkastle are established on vertical slopes and produce the most amazing wines especially Reisling (Trochan of course) which we love. Mmmm. Leaving Betty and Stuart our next stop was Maanheim to meet up with old friends of Gary's where we were welcomed into the family as though no time had elapsed between the last (for Gary) and this ( the fIrst for me) meeting. This is where we could and enjoyed Swinehaxe and German Beer in a typical Bavarian restaurant. Maanheim at night is magical with it's beautiful fountains, sculptures and buildings restored after the war. May Britt is an amazing cook and speaks perfect English so the food, wine and chat was excellent. Gogo speaks excellent English too and had a special surprise for us. He had bought tickets for us to go to the local (large) football match - was that OK? Yes no problems we would enjoy that. Olaf had a different take on this crazy escapade though insisting we should not go and shaking his head in wonderment that Gogo would even think of such a terrible event to expose us to. It had been many years since Gary had seen Olaf and, although we only spent time with him briefly, he had not changed a bit. We were rather sad we were unable to catch up again before we left but work commitments got in the way. Anyway back to the football match. The idea was that we would bike to the stadium, enjoy the match and bike home. Good idea and I am sure you can feel a "but" coming on. Yep, two big buts or maybe even three or four. But number 1 - Gary unlocked the bikes from the bike stand only to find I had a broken chain????? No sweat MacIver can fix it. Chain mended but now cannot get the chain through the derailer. Ok no sweat unfix the chain and thread it through first. No way! Chain fixed so well couldn't unfix it. Ok no worries I can borrow Catrins bike. Now Catrins bike is a sit up and beg bike, bright turquoise and has no gears. My bike is a mountaIn bike with 24 gears and black! Ok no sweat I can do this! Just as we are about to leave it started to spit with rain, 100 metres later the heavens opened. It was a cold day anyway and rain had been threatening so we sported jeans and a rain jacket. Only problem was my waterproof rain jacket is red - the colour of the opposition team so of course I could not wear that. Gary was OK his is blue the colour of the local team but I had to wear a shower jacket in brown. Honestly by the time we arrived at the stadium, a good 20 minute ride, we were soaked right through to our underwear and our shoes were full. The final insult was when I was separated from the men to be frisk searched???? What the hell? Anyway the game was great. The local blue team scored 1 amazing goal and the red team 0. Well tensions mounted and really mounted, gesticulations and bad words flew from one side of the stadium to the other. Riot police with cameras were seen at half time. After 2 hours of sitting in a cold stadium in soaking wet clothes a very enjoyable game ended with Maanheim victorious. Out the stadium, on our bikes and away off home to hot coffee and a shower. Back at the stadium was a different story. Violence, aggression, 1500 riot policemen and hundreds of arrests. Why? It was only a game and a good one at that! Next day we went into Heidleburgh with May-Britt where she works to look around for the day. We took a tour around the Castle with a guide which was, once again, mind blowing. Had lunch in a very authentic  Thai restaurant, had my fringe cut, bought another pair of long trousers to wear instantly as my jeans were still drying. Bought a pair of Joseph Seible shoes for 30€ (bargain) and some antipasto for tea whIch was heavenly. We had a fabulous day which I agree was mainly about me! Oh yes, my bike was fixed that evening for 12€ by the local bike shop and the next day we headed off to see more friends of Gary's in Speyer. Thankyou Gogo and May-Britt and your beautiful children for a fabulous few days of comfort and luxury. For me it was as if I had known you for years not just a few days. Gary was so happy when everything went so well. We enjoyed every moment we spent with you and hopefully will return again soon. We are eeking out the special fruit marmalade you gave us and the lavender is keeping Molly smelling beautifully refreshed. Our next stop was an overnighter with Biggi, Woolfran and Jani their son. Once Molly was plugged in and happy a trip to Speyer township was our next delight where we spent time exploring a beautiful ancient cathedral and all the surrounding history together. The architecture, the history etc is phenomenal and we always get totally absorbed in our surroundings leading to us spending hours gazing up at beautiful ceilings, wandering through crypts, in awe as to how these amazing arched buildings with high Gothic ceilings were put together. The artwork and stained glass windows are just out of this world. So much history and we never tire of seeing the beauty of it all. Lunch was next in a local Bavarian restaurant - very nice and relaxing and where we were introduced to spaetzle a German noodle which is absolutely delicious. Back home then to chill out and for Gary and Biggi to ruminate over the past with copious amounts of wine of course. Next morning we were on our way having had a beautiful breakfast of fresh coffee and rolls that Woolfran had kindly organised for us before leavIng for hIs offIce. Jani being 19 years old was still getting his beauty sleep so we waved goodbye to Biggi as we headed for Trier on the Mosel.