A bientôt EU

[Amarillo]

Day 63 - Krakow

A lazy day to end our ninth week away. A trip to the supermarket and walks in the park were highlights.


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[Amarillo]

Day 64 - Krakow to Wroclaw

After breakfast packing went pretty smoothly. It has taken us a very long time to realise this, but our earlier issues about packing were not really packing issues but childcare issues. Clare and I were trying to pack at the same time as trying to occupy the boys. Now one does the childcare while the other does their packing jobs and then we swap over. We were off the site soon after 11am; with one short break we arrived at our new campsite soon after 3pm after an easy drive.

This is a great family campsite, stuffed with Dutch families, complete with swimming lake and bar serving good family food: schnitzel, chips and salad for Clare; goulash, roasted potatoes and salad for me; chicken, chips and salad for the boys; a glass of red wine, half a litre of beer and a mineral water came to the equivalent of £17.

it is just as well the food is cheap - after nine weeks away our gas has run out and we cannot find Campingaz refill anywhere - and we've been looking since Norway when our first bottle ran out.

The Campingaz website proudly boasts that Campingaz is widely available in Europe. I don't know their definition of Europe, but we haven't been able to find exchange refills in Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania or Poland, and we don't think that exchange refills are available in Denmark or Sweden either.

We should have brought propane, refilling is possible at many petrol filling stations with an appropriate adaptor.

never mind - we will BBQ Polish sausages tomorrow and eat with the excellent potato and carrot salads all supermarkets in Poland sell. We can restock with Campingaz in Germany on Thursday. We will consider later whether to switch to propane for the second leg of our trip: I don't suppose Campingaz is available in Bulgaria, Romania or Hungary either.


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[Rocoloco]

/.

Lom


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[Amarillo]

Day 65, 66 & 67

I'm pretty mad with Campingaz's website. Here's what they say about their low pressure cyylinders:

"The bigger, heavier cylinders are designed for more prolonged, intensive or regular use. They are fitted with a safety valve and are available in most European countries.

With the Campingaz cylinder exchange system you can bring your empty cylinder to a Campingaz product dealer in France, UK, Germany, Italy, Spain and dozens of other countries and get a full cylinder for the price of just a refill. It's as simple as that."

But it's not "as simple as that". Our first bottle ran out in Norway, and we have been looking for an exchange refill in Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland where our second bottle ran out. We made a special trip to a Campingaz product retailer in Krakow, Decathlon, only to discover that they didn't stock gas cylinders. In fact, there don't appear to be any gas cylinder stockists in Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania or Poland. Had we known this when we set out, we would have looked for a different gas solution.

Still, all is not bad - our two cylinders lasted nine weeks of regular and intensive use, and we are just a few miles from the German border where Campingaz exchange cylinders are available.

The campsite we are on is the best so far. It is set around an old quarry, the centre of which is a swimming lake with a diving pontoon and sandy beaches. Reed beds, including a reed island, and fish filter the water.

The owners are a Dutch/Polish couple who take a very active role in running the site, and the overwhelming majority of campers are Dutch who stay for up to a week.

There is a strong family feel to the site, and a thriving restaurant at which we have eaten three times. A meal for four people, two adult mains, a child main shared, two glasses of red wine, a beer and a mineral water came to 100 Zloty, about £22. For our fourth meal we BBQed sausages on skewers over an open charcoal fire. The owners of the campsite are kind enough to provide us with a kettle of boiling water each morning when we collect our bread rolls.

The weather has been kind to us here, with temperatures in the mid to high twenties, but I write this amid a fierce thunderstorm at 3am. We are all dry and snug.

Sausages roasting on an open fire

Blackberrying

Swimming in the lake


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[Amarillo]

Day 68 - Worclaw to Walbrzych

What a day!

We left our campsite near the town of Dzierżoniów soon after midday, heading for the A4, which would take us, eventually, to Trier where we are looking forward to a few days cycling along the Mosel, and quaffing a bottle or two of the region's excellent auslese wines.

In the small town of Świdnica, we were stopped at traffic lights when the van ahead started rolling backwards. When the distance between us halved from about 1.5m to about 75cm I sounded my horn with one continuous blast - the van continued rolling backwards. It hit us at probably somewhere between -2 and -5 kph.

There was no noticeable damage to the Fiat Ducato Maxi, but our front numberplate had been torn off, the grill damaged, and the radar torn from its mounting in the grill.

The driver of the Ducato came out of his vehicle ranting at Clare who he must have thought was the driver of Amarillo. Not being able to communicate with one another, I dialled the only Polish number I know, 112, and got straight through to the police. I was able to give our location by spelling street names.

The police arrived but knew no English, and after a long wait, during which time a police photographer came to take pictures, and I had been breathalisef, we were beckoned to follow the police to the police station.

We were greeted by a young policeman who spoke English with a Scottish accent. He explained that the Ducato driver was saying that we had driven into the back of him, but that CCTV evidence from a nearby nursery suggested that he had backed into us.

Yipee!

We spent the next two hours at the police station giving out statements, translated into Polish, with no Scottish version alongside, so we have no idea what they might say, but are assured that they are not a confession to a brutal murder or similar heinous crime.

Eventually, released from the police station, we went to the nearby VW service centre where they fixed the number plate for free, but could do nothing about the grill or radar until 22 August at the earliest.

We have now found overnight accommodation in the Ibis hotel Walbrzych. En-route we discovered, unsurprisingly, that the cruise control is completely non-functioning. I'll miss it on the long drive home to the UK, but at least we will have four weeks to get it fixed before we set off again.

Walbrzych is an old mining town, now being rebranded as a tourist attraction. I had an interesting walk with the dogs around the disused workings while thunder was rumbling in the background.


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[Joker 1299]

Day 68 - Worclaw to Walbrzych

What a day!

We left our campsite near the town of Dzierżoniów soon after midday, heading for the A4, which would take us, eventually, to Trier where we are looking forward to a few days cycling along the Mosel, and quaffing a bottle or two of the region's excellent auslese wines.

In the small town of Świdnica, we were stopped at traffic lights when the van ahead started rolling backwards. When the distance between us halved from about 1.5m to about 75cm I sounded my horn with one continuous blast - the van continued rolling backwards. It hit us at probably somewhere between -2 and -5 kph.

There was no noticeable damage to the Fiat Ducato Maxi, but our front numberplate had been torn off, the grill damaged, and the radar torn from its mounting in the grill.

The driver of the Ducato came out of his vehicle ranting at Clare who he must have thought was the driver of Amarillo. Not being able to communicate with one another, I dialled the only Polish number I know, 112, and got straight through to the police. I was able to give our location by spelling street names.

The police arrived but knew no English, and after a long wait, during which time a police photographer came to take pictures, and I had been breathalisef, we were beckoned to follow the police to the police station.

We were greeted by a young policeman who spoke English with a Scottish accent. He explained that the Ducato driver was saying that we had driven into the back of him, but that CCTV evidence from a nearby nursery suggested that he had backed into us.

Yipee!

We spent the next two hours at the police station giving out statements, translated into Polish, with no Scottish version alongside, so we have no idea what they might say, but are assured that they are not a confession to a brutal murder or similar heinous crime.

Eventually, released from the police station, we went to the nearby VW service centre where they fixed the number plate for free, but could do nothing about the grill or radar until 22 August at the earliest.

We have now found overnight accommodation in the Ibis hotel Walbrzych. En-route we discovered, unsurprisingly, that the cruise control is completely non-functioning. I'll miss it on the long drive home to the UK, but at least we will have four weeks to get it fixed before we set off again.

Walbrzych is an old mining town, now being rebranded as a tourist attraction. I had an interesting walk with the dogs around the disused workings while thunder was rumbling in the background.


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Sorry to hear that my friend. Outcome better than it could have been though. At least, with your radar out of action, you won't get nuked by the yanks!

 

[kave]

Sorry to hear. In the menu between the speedo and rpm meters you should be able to disable distance control etc so you get a normal cruise control. I dont know if it will work when sensor is broken though. We sometimes get errors on the sensor when it is snowing.

 

[Amarillo]

Sorry to hear. In the menu between the speedo and rpm meters you should be able to disable distance control etc so you get a normal cruise control. I dont know if it will work when sensor is broken though. We sometimes get errors on the sensor when it is snowing.

That's useful information. I'll try it. The garage suggested it might simply need recalibration.


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[leightonjthomas]

That's useful information. I'll try it. The garage suggested it might simply need recalibration.


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Really sorry to hear that Tom. Hope you sort out the cruise - that would be a real pain.

 

[Amarillo]

Sorry to hear. In the menu between the speedo and rpm meters you should be able to disable distance control etc so you get a normal cruise control. I dont know if it will work when sensor is broken though. We sometimes get errors on the sensor when it is snowing.

Ok - I've turned off front assistance, but whatever I press for the cruise control I get either "ACC deactivated" or "ACC not available"

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[T6 CFO]

Bad luck indeed and thank goodness for the CCTV.

I appreciate that it's another bit of kit but makes me happier about shelling out for a dashcam.




Mike

 

[Amarillo]

I appreciate that it's another bit of kit but makes me happier about shelling out for a dashcam.

We came within a nanometre of getting a dashcam installed. We were wrong not to.

On the plus side, I'll now be able to write an informed review of the expensive ACC option.



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[T6 CFO]

We came within a nanometre of getting a dashcam installed. We were wrong not to.

On the plus side, I'll now be able to write an informed review of the expensive ACC option.



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You've done amazingly well and packed many ordinary years of ordinary ownership into a short time. As they say **** happens.


Mike

 

[hirsty]

Indeed, s*** happens, but he could’ve at least owned up to it, the bounder ... Glad your journey not being significantly delayed.

 

[T6 CFO]

Indeed, s*** happens, but he could’ve at least owned up to it, the bounder ... Glad your journey not being significantly delayed.

Yep! Shame indeed. Human nature to doing something stupid or careless seems to be to be reflex denial followed up with lies.

Mike

 

[GrannyJen]

Tom, thank you for your brilliant, entertaining narratives.

Great reading.

 

[Amarillo]

Indeed, s*** happens, but he could’ve at least owned up to it, the bounder ... Glad your journey not being significantly delayed.

I think that he stopped, hill start held him for a while, and he was unaware that he was rolling backward.

No one knowingly allows their vehicle to roll back more than a few inches.

If he was unaware the collision would have felt like a rear end impact.


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[andyinluton]

Ok - I've turned off front assistance, but whatever I press for the cruise control I get either "ACC deactivated" or "ACC not available"

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Is that simply because you are stationary with the engine off? try it when moving.

 

[T6 CFO]

I think that he stopped, hill start held him for a while, and he was unaware that he was rolling backward.

No one knowingly allows their vehicle to roll back more than a few inches.

If he was unaware the collision would have felt like a rear end impact.


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You dealt with the guy so you would have more idea.

Mike

 

[Amarillo]

Is that simply because you are stationary with the engine off? try it when moving.

I pulled every knob and pressed every tit between Walbrzych and Trier to no avail.

It seems that certain features of the radar can be disabled, but if the radar is not functioning the CC part of the ACC will not function without the A.


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[Amarillo]

You dealt with the guy so you would have more idea.

He was certainly a tow rag - he tried to make out his vehicle was damaged when it was not.

The two alternatives are that the crash was an honest mistake or a deliberate scam to extract cash from innocent tourists. I'd rate the chances at 80% the former and 20% the latter. If the latter, it was a wholly incompetent attempt at a scam - unless we've been duped into signing a confession by corrupt Polish police, in which case it was a highly sophisticated scam.



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[Amarillo]

Day 75 - Vandières

We returned to the UK as a family of six: two parents, two boys and two dogs, and resume our tour as a family of five: two parents, two boys and one dog. We have given Meg's puppy, Jess, to my cousin and her family. It was a very hard decision, but one that we feel is best for Jess and makes life easier for us. It would have been even more help if Catherine taken one of our boys, but she refusef.

We had a trouble free drive from Blackheath to the Champagne district of France. 1 hour 5 minutes to Folkestone, then through the tunnel where we met a pro-Brexit German towing in a trailer what I believe he described as a 1966 Porsche 906.

From Calais we drove on empty motorways to here, arriving some time after 6pm.

Apart from giving away pets, we haven't been idle while home in the UK. We have a new lower bunk mattress, new pockets for the front seat backs, a dash cam and wind out awning panels to make a really large enclosed tent area attached to the van, or a simple overnight storage area.

We've also jettisoned, as well as the puppy,, some of our excess baggage: the Burley bike trailer that bounced down the mountain in Flam with the two boys, hauled by me on my Brompton; the pop-a-loo that we never used; sleeping bags; and the electric hook-up cables that the solar panels make redundant.

The use of the boot space has been reconfigured, and packing the car is really slick. Both Ben and Jack are now on Group 2 child seats, and that helps a lot. We also now have quick release connectors for the gas stove and gas BBQ. The next nine months away will be a doddle.


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[kave]

Have you abondoned the Ikea Talgje? I am considering that on top of our Comfort madrass or just buying a calibed prestige:
https://shop.vwcamper.de/schlafkomfort/196/calibed-prestige-beach?c=16

 

[Amarillo]

Have you abondoned the Ikea Talgje?

We haven't quite abandoned it. We haven't brought it away with us, but we still have it and may use it under the Brandrup mattress in the future.

The Brandrup mattress is extremely comfortable.



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[Amarillo]

Day 76 - Vandieres

We all had an excellent night's sleep, waking at 9:02 Bugger! The baker comes to the campsite 8:45 to 9am. We'd missed him. I pulled the short straw and was lumbered with the boys while Clare cycled to the next village for bread.

Other VW California owners arrived thick and fast all morning, the meet organiser was there before the baker, having left home at 5am. Wim gave us and the boys all sorts of little gifts, including balloons that burst almost as fast as the boys insisted I blew them up.

After lunch we went on a bike ride along the Marne "voie verte", a section so new it is not on the recent cycling map of the area.

On our return we were somewhat surprised to see everything soaked - apparently we'd missed a heavy shower even though we were just a few metres away.

Everyone at the meet are truly charming, many have read this blog and are interested in our travels: they are too polite to comment on how mad they think we are. Ben and Jack are being horribly spoiled by all the attention they receive.


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