Germany Calling

Cycling and sight-seeing whilst taking in plenty of history along the way.

- Tony Wallbank

We bought our green Hi-top T4 about nine years ago and have taken it to France most years since then. This time we both fancied a change so settled on the Harz Mountains in northern Germany with their highest peak, the Brocken, as an aiming point.

Getting to Germany meant first crossing Holland. We found it flat, watery and more expensive than Germany. Heavy rain greeted us as we disembarked from the ferry and queued up to show our passports. Ten minutes later we found a huge empty beach car park where we cooked and ate breakfast while pondering what the trip would bring. It ended up being much more varied than we expected, with lots of history from different periods including several World War II locations, great scenery and not too much driving.

As usual on continental trips, we hadn’t booked any campsites. East was the only possible direction, and we soon arrived in a damp Dordrecht, an old town full of waterways and a good introduction to Holland, including its habit of closing shops on Monday mornings. Tourist offices in Europe are usually good for finding overnight stops. Dordrecht’s had a map showing three motorhome areas. We chose one in a nearby marina. It was full but the manager said OK as we are small and didn’t need electricity. In the evening the rain stopped and everyone emerged from their various vehicles and chatted.