A bientôt EU

[Velma's Dad]

Ticks on dogs are expected, but with spot on treatment we rarely had to deal with them. With this collar we use on her now we keep on finding ticks. We have probably extracted 20 over the year, compared with perhaps four over the previous four years.

Encouraging that she got that few ticks, that sounds pretty good for a year's trip around the Continent. We pulled that number off Betty after a single walk in France last year. We now keep one of those twisty tick removal gadgets in the van permanently. Also we give her Advantix tablets for short trips, but presumably that wouldn;t have been a long term solution for Meg?

(Incidentally: I hope more people become aware of the issue of Lyme disease in humans, from tick bites. It's a really nasty and debilitating disease that can go on for years. We know two people who have suffered it. If you develop a ring-shaped redness around the bite site a few days after getting bitten, seek medical help as antibiotics are likely to halt the infection if taken early on).

 

[Amarillo]

Encouraging that she got that few ticks, that sounds pretty good for a year's trip around the Continent. We pulled that number off Betty after a single walk in France last year. We now keep one of those twisty tick removal gadgets in the van permanently. Also we give her Advantix tablets for short trips, but presumably that wouldn;t have been a long term solution for Meg?

It is heartening to think that the flea and tick collar is probably doing some good.



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[mccp]

It is heartening to think that the flea and tick collar is probably doing some good.

Our vet in the South of France now recommends Bravecto, which is a three-month treatment in a tasty treat. They used to recommend Frontline Combo and Scalibor collars, but apparently they are not so effective any more. Bravecto seems to work very well - at Easter we arrived without any tick treatment and both dogs picked up half a dozen each within a day or two. After starting the Bravecto, we have found no more.

 

[s2bear]

After spending a day in the park (which is full of deer), we’ve just found a lovely engorged tick in situ on our 21 month old daughter’s underarm. It’s left a large red welt so off to the quacks this morning with the perpetrator in a very small Tupperware box. Mrs S2bear just said “it could die if you don’t put a hole in the box.”.
I think I can live with that.


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[Amarillo]

After spending a day in the park (which is full of deer), we’ve just found a lovely engorged tick in situ on our 21 month old daughter’s underarm. It’s left a large red welt so off to the quacks this morning with the perpetrator in a very small Tupperware box. Mrs S2bear just said “it could die if you don’t put a hole in the box.”.
I think I can live with that.


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If I am remembering my Mountain Leadership training correctly, the risk of Lyme Disease is greatly reduced in areas where sheep and deer do not coexist. I cannot recall the reason for this, but it has something to do with the virus needing different hosts at different stages to transmit the disease to humans.


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[s2bear]

If I am remembering my Mountain Leadership training correctly, the risk of Lyme Disease is greatly reduced in areas where sheep and deer do not coexist. I cannot recall the reason for this, but it has something to do with the virus needing different hosts at different stages to transmit the disease to humans.


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Oh ok, I didn’t know that, thank you. Only trouble is her name is Florence so her nickname’s Flossy, which in this instance, is obviously terrible news! Hopefully all will be well although there are signs throughout the park warning of Lyme disease.


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[Velma's Dad]

Oh ok, I didn’t know that, thank you. Only trouble is her name is Florence so her nickname’s Flossy, which in this instance, is obviously terrible news! Hopefully all will be well although there are signs throughout the park warning of Lyme disease.

You gave the tick a name? And keep her your daughter in a box without air to breathe? What kind of people are you??

 

[s2bear]

You gave the tick a name? And keep her your daughter in a box without air to breathe? What kind of people are you??

Let’s just say the day so far has just been one big Box Ticking exercise.

 

[Amarillo]

This really is just a cursory visit to the Czech Republic. The place we really wanted to see was Prague, and springtime is, apparently, the best time of year to visit Prague. But we learned early on in our adventure, in Copenhagen, that cities do not work well for us. Traipsing about with a dog in a big city doesn't work well, with exceptions: Oporto and Dubrovnik were two such exceptions; and the boys are not particularly interested in cities. So with Prague off our wish list, we have just dipped into Czechia.

Our campsite is just the Czech side of the Polish/Czech border, almost due south of Walbrzych in Poland where we spent a night in a hotel after a Polish driver rolled his van backwards into Amarillo last August. The campsite is run by a very friendly Dutch couple, and the site feels like a bit of The Netherlands dumped into Czechia, complete with flood defences.

One afternoon we had a violent thunderstorm. A wall of water gushed towards the campsite, was caught by the ditch to the north, transported west, then southward downhill, then east in another ditch just below our pitch. The ditches were highly effective at moving water around the campsite.

The area used to be populated by Germans, they were expelled after the Second World War, but their houses and statues of Jesus remain. There is one such statue on the campsite which provided the boys with entertainment when a crane came to remove it for restoration.

Extended families live in the houses, grandparents, parents and grandchildren. It is the same with Clare's friend Barbera in Unna. Her parents live on the ground floor, Barbera and her family on the first floor and Barbera's sister and her family on the second floor. These are big houses. We saw a pair of such houses, one restored and the other with a new roof.

But it seems to me that these long houses with windows at the front but none along the side above the first floor must be part barn.

At the poolside we chatted to a Czech family. They told us that Czechia had nearly full employment; the unemployment rate is only 2.3%. I quipped that Czechia could take some of Italy's unwanted migrants. Apparently there are more anti immigrant members of the republic's parliament than migrants: the figures being 22 and 12 respectively. I checked this out: 12 Syrian refugees have been granted asylum in Czechia; there are 22 SPD MPs, the SPD being the far right anti immigrant party. Perhaps the Dutch campsite owners are not considered migrants.

We tried migrating - we got on our bikes and rode for Poland. And we made it.

On Sunday the only shop in the village was shut, so we cycled to the nearest open supermarket which was in Poland. It was good that we did, Polish grocery prices are 62% of the EU average, the Czech Republic's are 81%; the UK does well with prices just below average, but I expect that is because most food in the UK is VAT free. Food prices in Switzerland are close to being three times more expensive than Poland. See chart here.

Tomorrow we return to Poland, refuel before entering Germany, and camp somewhere outside of Dresden.


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[Velma's Dad]

Extended families live in the houses, grandparents, parents and grandchildren. It is the same with Clare's friend Barbera in Unna. Her parents live on the ground floor, Barbera and her family on the first floor and Barbera's sister and her family on the second floor. These are big houses. We saw a pair of such houses, one restored and the other with a new roof.

Interesting. I recall back in the late seventies seeing multigenerational houses like that in Germany. But I think that was a hangover of the post-war housing shortage. But I read somewhere recently that there's a new trend in Germany towards Mehrgenerationenhaus houses, as a social model for old people care combined with childcare.

I gather housing affordability in Czechia has plummeted in Czechia over the past decade with rampant property price inflation, so various types of shared living might seem pretty attractive there now.

 

[Amarillo]

Interesting. I recall back in the late seventies seeing multigenerational houses like that in Germany. But I think that was a hangover of the post-war housing shortage. But I read somewhere recently that there's a new trend in Germany towards Mehrgenerationenhaus houses, as a social model for old people care combined with childcare.

I can see a pros and cons list looking remarkably similar:
Pros
- close to grandchildren
- living with family
- in-laws cooking close by
- •••
Cons
- close to grandchildren
- living with family
- in-laws cooking close by
- •••


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[Amarillo]

Day 339 – Božanov to Dresden

After barely dipping our toes into Czechia, we left. I don't think that we strayed more than 3 Km from the Polish border. We left via a road marked as a track on our sat nav, but is was a very good road with a pristine tarmac surface. We have been finding roads more and more frequently that are not mapped on our 15 month old sat nav system - most notably a 200 Km section of the A5 motorway in northern Greece, opened in August 2017.

Pristine roads, however, soon became pot-holed mess, more typical of rural Poland, as we headed north to the toll free A4.

We stopped at the last service station before Germany to top up with cheap Polish diesel. At the largest service station I think I have ever seen, each pump with a queue of 3 or 4 cars, I snuck in behind a Sprinter van as another car pulled out, making me second in line.

Soon the Sprinter refuelled and moved forward. Following various conversations about premium diesel, I have decided to refuel with the more expensive diesels after each refill with AdBlue: about one refill in eight. This may or may not prolong the life of the engine.

I think I put in about 55 litres. I moved the van forward to allow the next person to refuel and queued to pay. With just two people on the fuel counter, the queue was long, and with many people buying large quantities of cigarettes, the queue was very slow moving. I was holding a fast asleep Jack in my arms as Ben and Clare had gone to the loo, and I couldn't leave him sleeping in the van. I said "Pump 4" and indicated 4 with my fingers, and was infuriated at being asked to enter my PIN for a value in UK pounds. This is a con popular in Poland with foreign credit card users. You try to buy something priced only in Zloty, but they try to charge you in your home currency after adding on anything from 5% to 25%. I insisted on paying in Zloty, knowing I'd be charged no more than Visa's conversion rate plus 2%.

After paying I returned to the car, put Jack in his seat, and noted the mileage of the van on the receipt and off we went.

We had another short toilet stop before Dresden and I tapped the figures into my phone which returned 68.79 mpg. We had been charged for 28.99 litres of fuel not about 55 litres.

I am not sure how it happened. Did I pay for the Sprinter's fuel, or the person behind's fuel. I thought I was very clear about it being Pump 4, but perhaps I used a different pump or was charged for a different pump. Who knows!? All I do know is that I was charged the incorrect amount for my fuel.

City campsites never seem to be very nice. This one is very busy, but it has a swimming pool and is close to a semi rural park for walking Meg and the boys.


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[Velma's Dad]

This is a con popular in Poland with foreign credit card users. You try to buy something priced only in Zloty, but they try to charge you in your home currency after adding on anything from 5% to 25%. I insisted on paying in Zloty, knowing I'd be charged no more than Visa's conversion rate plus 2%.

Not just Poland, seems to happen all over the place nowadays. Especially at ATMs where you have to jump through extra screens just to get the transaction logged as local currency.

Grr.

 

[Amarillo]

Not just Poland, seems to happen all over the place nowadays. Especially at ATMs where you have to jump through extra screens just to get the transaction logged as local currency.

Grr.

I don't mind it so much at ATMs, as I have control. What I object to is being told the price is xxx and being expected to enter a pin for yyy - at a different, and greater, cost.


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[Amarillo]

Day 340 - Dresden

5 June 2017 was the day we drove to Folkestone, took the Eurotunnel shuttle service to France, and spent the first night of our year away in our van, not really knowing what we had done.

We had tenants for a year move into our home on 17 June, so bridges were burnt: no return home. Our tenants move out on 16 June, and as we return to England on 15 June we have one or two nights with my parents before moving back into our lovely house again. We are very much looking forward to being home now.

This is Day 340 of our blog, not Day 365, why? In mid August, having travelled around the Baltic Sea, we returned to England for four weeks. We had a few nights in our van, but mostly we spent our time in my parents' second home overlooking Chichester Harbour in Emsworth. Those days went unblogged. There appears to be a discrepancy of three days in the blog: if none of the 28 days in England were blogged, then this should be Day 337. I'm unsure what has happened there, but as these things bug me I will investigate properly once I can review my blog properly on a PC.

Best experiences?

Cycling down Flåm mountain on a Brompton, hauling two toddlers in a trailer is up there. Also in Norway, leaving the boys alone and asleep in the van at midnight at Nordkapp and standing hand in hand with my wife hoping to glimpse the midnight sun below the cloud. Snuggled up in the top deck of our van with my wife and two boys watching Mary Poppins while the rain thundered outside. Having the entire city of Pompei to ourselves to explore on a wet and cold November day. Walking down the main road in Viscri late afternoon, watching the animals being brought home for the night. Being presented with a 15 Euro bill for a two course meal, plus drinks, for four people.


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[GillianC]

Day 340 - Dresden

5 June 2017 was the day we drove to Folkestone, took the Eurotunnel shuttle service to France, and spent the first night of our year away in our van, not really knowing what we had done.

We had tenants for a year move into our home on 17 June, so bridges were burnt: no return home. Our tenants move out on 16 June, and as we return to England on 15 June we have one or two nights with my parents before moving back into our lovely house again. We are very much looking forward to being home now.

This is Day 340 of our blog, not Day 365, why? In mid August, having travelled around the Baltic Sea, we returned to England for four weeks. We had a few nights in our van, but mostly we spent our time in my parents' second home overlooking Chichester Harbour in Emsworth. Those days went unblogged. There appears to be a discrepancy of three days in the blog: if none of the 28 days in England were blogged, then this should be Day 337. I'm unsure what has happened there, but as these things bug me I will investigate properly once I can review my blog properly on a PC.

Best experiences?

Cycling down Flåm mountain on a Brompton, hauling two toddlers in a trailer is up there. Also in Norway, leaving the boys alone and asleep in the van at midnight at Nordkapp and standing hand in hand with my wife hoping to glimpse the midnight sun below the cloud. Snuggled up in the top deck of our van with my wife and two boys watching Mary Poppins while the rain thundered outside. Having the entire city of Pompei to ourselves to explore on a wet and cold November day. Walking down the main road in Viscri late afternoon, watching the animals being brought home for the night. Being presented with a 15 Euro bill for a two course meal, plus drinks, for four people.


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An incredible adventure @Amarillo and one that we have been privileged to share with you. Your gift for expression has certainly moved me to tears of laughter and of sadness. Some of your descriptions will be forever memorable (eg the ghostly white riderless bike) and I for one will be sorry when this blog ends. Thank you.

 

[PudnBob]

Thank you for this. Your adventure started at about the time we bought Gracie and it has inspired us to do all sorts. I think I might just go back to the beginning so I don’t get withdrawal symptoms....welcome back

 

[Amarillo]

Thank you for this. Your adventure started at about the time we bought Gracie and it has inspired us to do all sorts. I think I might just go back to the beginning so I don’t get withdrawal symptoms....welcome back

A year is up, but we are not home just yet. We have nine more nights away, a good long holiday for many people.


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[s2bear]

I’d love to be a fly on the wall when your boys start school and the teacher asks where everyone went on holiday, what a magnificent trip!

The only trouble is, I can foresee the entire VW California Club suffering an onslaught of holiday blues in 9 days time.

So, anyway, where are you guys off to for the summer holidays?

 

[Amarillo]

So, anyway, where are you guys off to for the summer holidays?

Home.


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[Amarillo]

Day 341 - Dresden to Bielefeld

A fast and furious drive to the mythical town of Bielefeld. Even the German Chancellor, Angel Merkell doubts its existence. Making reference to a Bürgersprach – the equivalent of s town hall meeting – she had attended in Bielefeld, she said: “...so es denn existiert” – “if it even exists”. “Ich hatte den Eindruck, ich war da”, she said – “I had the impression I was there. I hope I can go back”; “Ich hoffe, ich darf wieder hinfahren”.

The exit road to Bielefeld was closed, so we had to skirt around the area where the city is alleged to exist to our campsite which certainly does exist. And surprisingly pleasant too with an amazing playground with water feature in the sandpit designed to make Ben and Jack messy, and a kangaroo enclosure designed to amuse and bemuse Meg.

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[Amarillo]

Day 242 - Bielefeld

Snap!

The chain on my bicycle broke on the way to the toilet block. I've had this happen before on my touring bike, and it's not a pleasant experience. One moment you are pushing hard on the pedals - as it would be a moment of extreme exertion when a chain snaps - and the next moment your Crown Jewels are making violent contact with the crossbar. But not this time, I was on my Brompton, so no crossbar - just an unoccupied child's saddle. It's no less painful.

Once my eyes had cleared I managed to work out what had happened. A visit to a bike shop was necessary.

Our reason for visiting Bielefeld was to see Clare's friend Patra, and her little girl Maya. Patra had worked in London as an architect, living on Blackheath Hill, before returning to Germany and running her own business renovating property. She was unable to see us until five that evening. It gave us ample time to find a bike shop.

Convieniently, the bike shop was located just over the road from Ikea - yes the town that many believe not to exist can support an Ikea. A plan formed: drop off the bike for a new chain, lunch in Ikea, then pick up the bike. I was naively unaware of how poor customer service can be in Germany.

"Lucky Bike" is a big shop with a huge range of bikes, electric bikes and children's bikes. The workshop is located at the rear of the children's bikes showroom. I had brought my bike and broken chain in with me. "Do you speak English?"

"Yes, a little", came the modest reply in an Oxford accent.

"My chain is broken, how much to replace the chain? I'll be going to Ikea for lunch so could pick it up afterwards."

"We can do it, but it will take three weeks."

Flabbergasted I took a step back and nearly fell over a toddler's Puky bike. I explained that it was just a broken chain, a five minute job to replace. "All these five minute jobs add up", says he, "three weeks."

I bought the chain he recommended for €9.99 and a chain breaker for €18.99, a specialist tool that I already have but did not bring away with us.

Never before have I come across a bike workshop that need to book you in for minor repairs.

We had a lovely lunch in Ikea, Jack chose meatballs, Ben and I schnitzel, and Clare a wrap. Then we dumped the boys in Ikea's wonderful child disposal unit and had an hour to ourselves walking Meg.

Petra lives the far side of town, in a house she shares with her father and brother, each with their own apartment in The multigenerational house her father built in the sixties. Petra's father was a specialist mechanic for Mercedes, but now at 85 spends his time restoring old cars. The garden is littered with car carcasses, and there is a beautiful old Citroen truck in the front drive. Born in Lithuania in 1933 he lived through Nazi then Soviet occupation before being expelled to Berlin with his mother because of his mother's "East Prussia" papers.

Patra's Polish partner cooked us a very fine BBQ.


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[Amarillo]

Day 343 - Bielefeld to Esbeek

A much more sedate drive to a campsite on the Dutch side of the Dutch Belgium border. We had to change our destination en-route as when we phoned the campsite we'd selected for our final week.

We were told:
- The cost would be 15 Euros plus 15 Euros per child; and,
- Dogs are not permitted.

I set the filters on the excellent Camping Card app for swimming pool and no charge for children, an we have found ourselves a lovely little campsite with a toddlers' pool and a nice size outdoor pool, and probably the best playground yet. We are camped on the playground field.

Arriving in good time I was able to fit the new chain to my bike once we were all set up. The blithering idiot of a mechanic had sold me the wrong thickness chain. After removing a few surplus links I fitted the chain. It works, but it rubs. It will need replacement again.

I have left an honest review of Lucky Bike Bielefeld on Google. Please do view and 'like' my review.


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[Amarillo]

Last full day away. Got up, made my coffee and Clare's tea, sat down and whuuummppff!

My chair broke a rivet.


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[s2bear]

Last full day away. Got up, made my coffee and Clare's tea, sat down and whuuummppff!

My chair broke a rivet.


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Bummer, can you take it to 'Lucky Chair' in Bielefeld??