Europe 2019
France /Germany/
Luxembourg
Saturday 6th July
Set off from home at
10am hoping for a decent run down to Dover , “Big Mistake” only got as far as
M6 Knutsford and as i have live traffic on satnav was informed of 50 minute
plus delays around stoke ,decided i would take the old rd of A50/A34 so came
off the M6 at Holmes Chapel and re-joined again at Stafford missing all the
standing traffic around Stoke ,had a fair run down via M6/M1 with a stop at the
services and then when i hit the M25 an update on traffic was informed on
another 50 min delay close to Dartford .I opted for the alternative route the
satnav offered and ended up going the opposite way round the M25 down to the M2
for Canterbury (was still quicker than sitting in the traffic and had no hold
ups.) Arriving at the Canterbury park and ride i was surprised at how quiet it
was with plenty of spaces. After the run down didn’t feel like doing any
cooking so we went for a very enjoyable meal in the Old Gate Inn on the edge of
the Park and Ride. The addition of an extra tap on the services is new to me as
last time i was here there was only one tap for fresh and cassette rinsing
.Still had people not lifting the grate to empty the cassette even though there
is a webbing to help you lift it resulting in some dirty b***ards leaving
toilet wipes dangling from the grate. Fran donned her rubber gloves and removed
these and put them in the bin and i hosed the grate down in keeping with my OCD
.Spent the Sunday in Canterbury (afternoon tea and scones at M&S is
recommended) leaving sunday evening (cost for the over night and daytime
parking and free bus was £7 so very good value)and then parked up on the
Esplanade in Dover as we had a late ferry over to Calais. As it was a
late /early morning ferry we opted for Cite Europe to park up for the night as
its a free safe parking spot with plenty of other vans there and handy for the
shops if needed. No services on the aire but the 24 hour service station down
the road has a bourne which was free while we were there, also a van wash close
by. Left Cite Europe around lunchtime and headed off to the aire at Avion
as it was on the way to a lot of the first world war sites that we intended to
visit .It is a free aire with a wooden barrier which helped to keep the cars
from parking, there are walks around a couple of lakes which made up for the
very quiet town .Services (which we did use) were 3 euros payable only by card
. Left Avion and then went to the WW1 Canadian Memorial site at Vimy
Ridge. The monument on the hillside you can see for miles around, Lots of
craters still on the site and has a free museum with loads of information and
also access to the trenches. From Vimy the next stop just past Arras
(been before so gave it a miss) was Bapaume, a small village not far from most
of the sites around Albert. The aire is at the rear of the church with half a
dozen places at the side of a very large and unused car park .Parking was free
and a borne with services for a couple of euros just round the corner. Spent
the next day touring the sites of the First World War around Pozieres then over
to the museum at Thiepval and also Albert. Also on route was the crater at
Boisselle and a coffee at the Le Tommy cafe. From the WW1 sites we went
on to St Quinten to spend the night and the next day there. The aire is a town
run barriered site pay by card €8 for 24hrs including electric. We parked up
and couldn’t get any electric even though we had paid for it , A phone call and
2 very helpful electricians turned up and as they couldn’t solve it moved us
onto another pitch which did work. Nice walk down the canal into the centre and
a few memorials there. We did witness a family raiding the doggy poo bag
dispensers along the canal and they cleaned all of them out of bags!!!!.
From St Quinten we headed to the Charleville Mezieres area, had a look at
the aire at Rocrio but didn't like the setting so we moved on to Riven which is
by the river with many shops, supermarkets close by and would have been a nice
stop but all the spaces were taken by badly parked French long termers and no
chance of getting a place so we had to give this a miss and moved on to
Montherme. The aire right on the river i have stopped at before and the views
are good and although there are no on site services there is a bourne just up
the road. Small quiet town but small bar and chippy van close by and views of
the barges etc. €4 plus tax for 24hrs so good value. We are now heading towards
Luxembourg and then the Mosel so we opted for an aire we had stopped at before
at Stenay. Used to have to go to the tourist info site in town or the
captainaria and pay there to get a code ,it is now a pay by card entry and
€9.40 but does include electric and toilets and showers. A Lidl on the
edge of town 20 mins walk away and a few bars, a brewery and plenty of bakers
in the town. Stayed here for 2 nights and travelled the second day to visit the
Citadel at Montredy which also had services and it was possible to stay.
Sunday 13th July: - Moved on from Stenay and as it was a Sunday and we were
close to the Luxembourg border and we needed to fill up with diesel we opted
for the pretty little village of Longwy and then we could call at the Luxembourg
border booze shops on Monday .Not a lot going on in Longwy as it was a Sunday
but found a couple of walks down to the village which was a bit of a walled
village. Free aire has half a dozen dedicated spots for campers but as it’s a
quiet car park room for more (there was a French R.V. there that looked like it
had been there a while). services was a Flot Blu which you can obtain tokens
from the machine which will give you access to services and electric points. We
had tokens from last year so did use it for water. Monday morning we
filed up and got some liquor at Rodange before moving into Luxembourg.
Went over to Dudelange on the outskirts of Luxembourg , a small village
that has been updated quite a lot since we were last here a couple of years
ago. The aire has 8 dedicated spaces but can fit more and there are more spaces
down near the bowling club a few hundred yards away. All services are free and
there are 4 electric points and if you arrive before the French as we did you
will get free electric. The village which has a large supermarket is 15 mins
walk and well worth a visit, We stopped a couple of days and caught the train
into Luxembourg , the station is 2 mins away and with a change at Bettembourg
which ties in with the time of the Dudelange train you are in the city in just
over half hour and all for €4.(free in 2020).Luxembourg at the moment is a
building site everywhere (using our E.U .money). As we were heading for
the Mosel we moved on to Perl a small village on the border of France, Germany and
Luxembourg. The aire is next to the swimming pool where you pay for your stay
€5 (open 7.30-10.30, 4pm-7pm) pay at reception, you can pay by phone but it is
a German website. You can walk down to Lidl and a few more commerce's via the
lane in front of the aire which also takes you to the Mosel and the
German/Luxembourg border and a few bars/cafes but it is a good uphill hike to
get back. There is an Aldi and a couple more shops closer to the aire and if
you turn left at the roundabout close to the aire you will come to Sehndorf
which has a few bars etc and the only cash machine/bank for miles. The aire
itself can take half a dozen /eight vans with services at €1 and also electric
at €1 for 6 hours. The services is a new type which i had not seen before where
you empty the cassette onto a stainless chute which then goes into the drain
but considering it had a big black button on the front for flushing we found it
full of waste that somebody had left and couldn't be bothered flushing it.
Moved up the Mosel past
Trier to Weingut Edwin Pauly a small Stelpatz with 4 places with views
facing the Mosel but after parking up (nobody came for money €8 ) and having a
stroll into the small village we decided as there was not much there and we
would need bikes to get about we moved on to Urzig . Arrived Urzig and
luckily got a place at the end overlooking the Mosel. Small village with great
views watching the barges and cruisers on the river. Free services and water
and €8 for 24 hours, €2 for electric if you need it. Moved up the river
to a Stelpatz we had stopped at before at Traben Trabach which was surprisingly
quiet as last time we were here we couldn't get on. The entry is now via a
camered barrier which takes your reg and then you pay at machine inside. €13 plus
tax of €1.70 made it the most expensive stop but you get toilets ,showers,
electric (I blew a fuse ) and free Wi-Fi .A half hour walk down the river and
across the bridge and there are many bars/cafes. While we were there they had a
large craft market, and also an Aldi and another large supermarket close by.
Now Sat 20th and we move a little further down the river for the weekend to
Zell. Busy Stelpatz outside a campsite (you can use services) €7 for 24hrs and
managed to get a spot on the river. Nice village across the bridge which had a
wine festival on the Saturday. Massive shopping centre close by but not
walkable unless you are a mountain goat. After a bit of shopping at Zell
Barl and a top up of gas we went back down the Mosel to another site i have
stopped before on the river at Kinhiem €9 a night plus extra for electric. As
the temperatures are now getting up to 40 degrees we move from Kinhiem to a
small private Stelpatz at Piesport €8 a night again on the river with
plenty of bike trails for the cyclists. We walked into the village and found a
very nice cafe/bakery. There was still not a lot of shade here so off again
tomorrow to find shade somewhere. Moved a bit further down the river to Ensch
again on the river but luckily we found some shade under a tree as it was now
getting unbearable heat wise .Very small village across the road with just i
shop which was a grocers bakers and butchers. Services also on the opposite
side of the road so if you do stop a few days make sure you are full with water
another at €8 a night. Bit of wildlife here for a change with a couple of
unusual birds and a deer. As it was getting no cooler we decided we would stay
until late morning when the sun came round the trees and then move on and use
the cab air conditioning and a bit of shopping to try to cool down. We
needed to refuel so called at Remich on the Luxembourg border. The intention
was to stop here as it is a nice touristy village but when we found the aire
even though it had an open air swimming pool next door was unshaded and the
heat was getting worse so we found a hypermarket and did a bit of shopping.
From here we went back to Perl and did a bit of shopping and
stocked up with some Aldi wine. The Stelpatz was empty when we got there around
6pm and we found a bit of shade under a tree. From Perl we again opted
for Dudelange for the weekend as we were going into Luxembourg for the Darts
Open in which a friend of ours Darryl Fitton (The Dazzler) was playing. Again
it was fairly quiet when we arrived but it did fill up a bit later, the weather
also changed a bit and we got a bit of much needed rain. Left Luxembourg
Sunday afternoon and as we wanted to get somewhere near Calais so we could
spend Monday without much travelling as we had a 12am ferry on Monday night
Ghent was on our route up so we opted for that . A busy free stop on the
yauchtdreef in a car park close to the canal which was handy just for the night.
Left Ghent and had a short trip to Calais and Cite Europe where we
chilled out for the day doing a bit of shopping, washing the van and the
relaxing before the late ferry. We got an earlier ferry (11.30) so arrived
dover 12 am UK time so i filled up with fuel and set off to do most of the 6
hour trip before the traffic started. Trip was ok until the M1 around Luton at
around 2.30am and i have never seen so many lorry's nose to tail making passing
very hairy. (Will never go this way again). And to make matters worse junction
4 -5 on the M6 was closed making it a detour through Coventry.
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