Leaving home early spring 2025,
Finally!
November 24, 2024, we returned the Frankia to the storage and now December 15, 2024, we pick up the Frankia again. Not to go out on a trip, but to bring the rv to our Iveco garage.
After refueling in Salamanca on our last trip, we noticed that our tank was leaking some diesel. We want the garage to check this. We have an appointment early morning and we decide that it is better to spend the night before at a parking in Spijkenisse. Then we don’t have to drive in a traffic jam tomorrow. We arrive late afternoon in Spijkenisse.
Visiting our friend Frank.
The visit to our camino friend Frank took longer than expected. It was very pleasant; we had plenty to talk about, and the Italian meal Frank prepared us was delicious.
Outside it is really winter, icy cold and rainy and we are surprised to see that there are already several RV’s at the parking. However, there is still one spot left where we park the Frankia and our Subaru.
The next morning, we leave the Frankia in the garage. It stays a couple of days before we can return it to the storage. The tank is inspected, but apart from the fact that there are very stiff connections in the fuel hoses they couldn’t do anything.
We spent a lot of money for little result, but our tank is filled up again.
It’s not until February 10, 2025, that I bring Dick to the metro station again, he’ll be riding to Spijkenisse to (finally) pick up our RV.
While Dick is on his way, I carry all things that need to be taken with us to the living room and then wait for him to arrive. The weather isn’t great. Every now and then some snow falls, but by the time Dick arrives, it’s dry for a while. Luckily because now we can load everything dry. We leave at 1 pm.
The traffic is not too bad. Only around the city of Antwerp is it busy. We end up in traffic jams, but we are used to that.
Motorhome parking Ronse.
We park in Ronse. There’s a large parking lot at the sports fields. Unfortunately, it’s started raining heavily, so going out is not a good idea. We are just walking nearby and stay inside the rest of the time.
We planned to stay here another day to look for geocaches. Around Ronse are a lot. However our friend Sandra told us that, after all that rain in recent months, that’s not a good idea. She has just been here with Janine, and cycling in the woods was impossible. We’ll save the geocaches for drier weather. We’ll spend the rest of the afternoon reading and go to bed early. Our satellite dish can’t find a signal and watching TV is impossible.
Tuesday, February 11th, we don’t get up until 8:30 am. It is warm inside because during the night our heater turned on. After breakfast and washing the dishes, we leave. We drive over back roads to Songeons in Northern France. Here is a nice parking, but it is so cold and wet that this place is not very inviting. We will return another time to visit Gerberoy, an old village closeby, known for its beautiful half-timbered houses and many flowers.
So we drive further south, to Beauvais. There is certainly more to do and we can visit the cathedral. 15 miles further we arrive on the square opposite the large supermarket. There is no one in this large parking lot, and we have plenty of room to park our Frankia.
Dick is going to install the toiletbrush holder. I did some cleaning, the holder was a bit loose, I tried to tighten it, too roughly and the holder came loose from the wall. Luckily, I managed to find a similar holder at Hornbach, its adhesive because screwing into the exterior wall of an rv isn’t exactly a great idea.In the meantime, I’m going to look for some geocaches.
Looking for geocaches
To find this geocaches there are French rhymes giving hints where the cache is hidden. Here are two examples of such a rhyme:
In the shadow of a wall, a secret is hidden
where charm shines, a smile is awakened
Floating in life, she dances lightly
Search for the hidden beauty where the eye lights up.
and
Near the quiet murmur of a singing stream
A silent and large granite stays watchfully
In its discreet shade where the green stretches
Search, dear friend, the hidden grass that awaits
By searching like this I am strengthening my knowledge of French and it keeps me searching longer. Normally when I don’t find a geocache within 2 minutes I stop searching. Thanks to these rhymes I find all three caches. Later, it turns out there’s a fourth cache.
That one will have to wait until the next time we’re here.
Cathedrale in Beauvais.
On my way back to the Frankia, I pass the cathedral. Of course, I go inside. A large section is closed due to renovation work, but there’s still a place to thank God that we can go out together again.
When I am back Dick managed to fix the brush holder. We walk to the large supermarket across the street.
After a call with our dealer, Raema, we find out that our satellite dish cannot find a signal because it needs an update. Unfortunately, we cannot do it ourselves; we have to make an appointment.
Looking television on the laptop.
That isn’t possible in a short time, so we’ll have to watch TV on our laptop or just read books during this holiday.
After a few days of gray weather, we are surprised with some blue sky on wednesday, February 12th. Even the sun appears. It remains cold, however, the thermometer shows 37 degrees Fahrenheit.
We drive south along back roads, pass Rouen and then Honfleur.
Our destination today is Colleville Montgomery. Until 1946, this village was called Colleville-sur-Orne. In honor of British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, who led the Allied troops on Sword Beach, the town name was changed to Colleville Montgomery.
For the first time, we’re confronted with Flux libre, a French toll road, in this case the A13. This kind of toll road no longer has toll booth. I’m glad when we leave this stretch of road. I always worry about this kind of road because our RV is not automatically registered on a tollroad and can therefore be fined.
The parking lot in Colleville is fenced, and we have to open a barrier. That’s quite a hassle. It’s actually my fault that it doesn’t work so well, because I start the payment process without my wallet. When I realize we have to pay immediately, I have to get my wallet out of the rv. The break makes the program go crazy and then it crashes. Back with my wallet, I press several buttons, Dick shouts disapprovingly. Then, suddenly, there’s movement on the screen, and I can pay. But the barrier won’t open. What now? Dick look better and find a phone number. I call and explain what’s going on. The speaker tells me I have to pay again. He’ll cancel my first payment. We want to stay here and I don’t want to throw away 13 euros, so we pay again and finally the barrier opens. However, no receipt or code appears, so how are we supposed to get out tomorrow? There are only two rv’s on the parking lot and we have plenty of space to park.
Then Dick takes out the bikes.
The sun is shining and the sky is blue, so we want to find some geocaches.
The first few caches are easy to reach because they’re next to a gravel path, but after that, the path leads into the woods en becomes very muddy. Why did I think it would be dry in this area after all the rain that has fallen here?
Bike path ??
We sink into the mud almost up to our frames, but we manage to keep going. Then, thankfully, a long, higher path opens up. For some time we can avoid mud but we end up in deep water and mud puddles. There are also steep, impassable slopes, and stumbling through the mud, we have to carry our bikes.
My bike chain slips through the thick mud, but luckily Dick manages to put it back on. When we return to our camper at dusk, not only our bikes but we are too covered in mud.
Dick removes the worst mud from the bikes before putting them back in the garage, I remove the thick layer of mud on our shoes. Luckily, there’s a water tap at the site, which makes it easy.
It’s dark by the time we’re done. What a hell of a ride this has been.
RV park Colleville Montgomery.
Luckily, there’s a pizza van in front of the parking lot. In an hour, we can pick up the pizzas we order. It’s great that we don’t have to cook and we enjoy the pizza. This food is well deserved after all the hard work this afternoon. Needless to say that we sleep like babies after this trip. Although the weather was beautiful, the temperatures didn’t rise above 40 degrees.
We also planned to stay here for two days but we decide different the next day and leave at 10:30 am. We are late because we did some extra cleaning and the water tap was running so slowly that filling up was an issue. To open the barrier, you have to enter a code that we, of course, don’t have, so again I call the friendly Frenchman. After explaining what happened yesterday and verifying our payment, the barrier opens and we can leave.
Yesterdays blue sky is gone, it looks gray and dull, but it is dry. After a 85 miles drive, we arrive in Cherbourg. We are surprised that the parking next to the harbor area is practically empty. There are plenty of options for parking. We notice that we are back at the coast because it’s colder than yesterday. While Dick thoroughly cleans our bikes with a high-pressure water canister, I walk to the store to buy some food. I also make reservations at our Thai restaurant, Tao Tao for tonight. I wonder if this is really necessary because there is always a table available, but I walk past it.
Fresh fish unloading
When I am back, Dick just finish cleaning. Together we walk to the harbor where the fishing boats unload their catch mainly consisting of crabs and haul it ashore. Then we walk back and see how incredibly dirty our Frankia looks. Dick decide to clean the Frankia too. I grab a bucket and clean the sides.
Around 6 pm, a beautiful white rv shines in the parking lot, and we can warm up inside. Our heater is doing overtime because the outside temperature is now 34 degrees.
After attaching the insulation mat to the frontwindow, we walk to our Thai restaurant. We have a delicious meal, although the green curry is more watery than usual. On our walk back, we enjoy the many lights around the harbor. Back home, we watch TV on our laptop.
Harbour lights in Cherbourg.
After we get up on February 14th, we considered our plans and decide to stay another day. The weather forecast call it a drizzle day, but that proves to be incorrect. It soon clears out, the clouds disappears, and in the afternoon we enjoy the sun. However a cold wind remains so it isn’t really warm. We look in the shops for lounge pants for Dick. I thought I’d seen some yesterday. Unfortunately, the ones I’ saw are either too big, too small, or don’t fit at all. We cannot find suitable pants and Dick walks back, I stay in the shopping mall because in an hour I can go to the hairdresser. It is really necessairy because my hair is so long and curly and sticks out in every direction.
The haircut isn’t exactly a success. It takes exactly 9 minutes, my hair is still too long and doesn’t fit at all, it costs 40 euros.
Feeling frustrated, I walk back to the rv. After showing Dick my failed haircut, I walk back into town while Dick looks for a geocache nearby. I check some restaurants, but they’re all booked up, after all it’s Valentine’s Day. So I walk back to our Thai restaurant to make a reservation for tonight. This restaurant is booked up too. Finally, after a lot of back and forth browsing through the agenda, they manage to find us a table. I’m back late afternoon. I only walked 6 miles, but I’m still tired. When I call Hannah, she says she slipped on an icy terrace. She’s on a ski trip with Henk in Italy. Her arm hurts a lot and she think it’s a fracture. Let’s hope it’s not too bad.
At 6 a.m. we walk into town, we are the first to arrive at the restaurant. As always, the food is delicious. This time, Dick orders Pad Thai, and I order chicken with cashew nuts. This dish is actually tastier than the green curry.
Chateau de Falaise
On Saturday, February 15th, we get up at 8 a.m. There’s a faint sun, but it’s very cold at 36 degrees. After dumping our grey and black water and filling up with diesel, we leave Cherbourg and drive to Falaise. This Norman town breathes medieval history as William the Conqueror was born here. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, he became King of England.
We are parked at the foot of the hill where the castle “Chateau de Falaise” is located. It’s an impressive medieval fortress. After coffee, we stroll through the old town.
Nice old church
We visit the beautiful old church, where we light a candle. Of course we also look for some geocaches. We enjoy the sunshine during our walk. Late in the afternoon I walk to the castle. The outdoor area is admission free.
There’s an earthcache and it shows beautiful limestone crystals. An earthcache is a special type of geocache. Instead of searching for a box, you learn about geology and get answers to questions in a unique natural setting.
From the battlements on the wall, I wave to Dick and enjoy the view of the surroundings.
This afternoon we passed a kebab shop and I buy food there. It tast good, and it’s nice that I don’t have to cook.
Meanwhile Dick made an appointment to update our satellite dish. Due to the busy workshop it cannot be done earlier than mid-March.
Our propane cylinder runs out of gas during the night. Why does that always happen at night? Fortunately, it has a dual connection, so the other propane cylinder automatically serves as the main cylinder.
Since we’re practically next to a Boulanger (bakery), I walk to the corner of the square on Sunday morning, February 16th. It’s busy at the bakery, and I have to stand in a long line, but eventually we’re able to enjoy a fresh baguette.
At 10:30 a.m. we leave this lovely site in Falaise and drive to Cormeilles. This parking is 45 miles further, and the spots are separated by hedges. There are still a few spots available. However, the “eau coupée” sign indicates there’s no water. Understandable given the nighttime temperatures of 34 degrees Celsius.
Walking in Corneille.
The town center is small, and a steep, uphill street leads to an open church. Everything else in this small village is closed. Even the restaurants and bars closed their doors.
That’s why I walk to a nearby village where a cache is hidden at an old wash house. After finding it, I leisurely stroll back to the rv. The sun and blue sky are now obscured by clouds. It’s cold and nice to sit inside by the stove.
We read a bit, do paperwork, and eat leftovers. Yesterday we had so much meat that we can eat from it again.
Monday, February 17th, we get up at 8:30 am.
The weather is beautiful outside, and the sun shines brightly. During breakfast we enjoy the sunrays. After dumping our grey and black water, we leave. To avoid toll roads, we take back roads to Honfleur.
Mural Apostel Santiago
It’s still quite busy at the parking but after having a coffee, many spots become available and we can park at our usual spot on the corner. Here we have our favorite spot too. Now the Frankia is properly positioned, we walk to the town center. It’s crowded and cold, but the sun is shining.
In the church of Saint Leonard, we look around and find a beautiful painting on the wall of the young Jacobus Le Maior, Apostol Santiago. It’s beautiful. When we are back (we haven’t walked much), I‘ll walk around a bit more. I’m back at 4 p.m. We discuss our route home, and once it’s committed to paper, we have a burger with bacon and cheese. It’s not bad, but it’s not really a good idea to cook this inside. The smell of fried bacon lingers for a very long time. Despite the cold outside, we open the windows again, and our housefan is working overtime. The parking is filling up now.
Tuesday, February 18th, we wake up at 8 a.m. by our alarm clock. The sun paints the sky red, and as we shower, the first rays of sunlight hit the camper. It’s icy cold when we remove the insulation mat from the front window. Even though the thermometer reads 32 degree Celsius, it feels like 28 degrees. After breakfast and filling up water, even when it’s freezing, there’s water here, we leave. We choose the route over Rouen, but because there are quite a few deviations (diversions), we cross the Seine via the Pont de Brotonne. This means we’ll skip Rouen.
At 1 p.m. we arrive in Montreuil-sur-Mer.
There’s no one at the parking site, but there are two rv’s on the gravel plain in front of it. After a cup of coffee we walk into town. Montreuil-sur-Mer is currently 11 miles from the Côte d’Opale, but in the Middle Ages, it was an important port. The town is surrounded by ramparts and has a citadel. Construction began in the 13th century.
We are standing at the foot of the city wall.
Insulation at the front window
After drinking coffee, we apply our insulation mat to the window. The sun is shining but it feels cold.
It’s possible to walk along these city walls. Because there are also some geocaches, we look for them. Despite the fact that there is plenty of sun, it’s icy cold. After a while Dick is calling it a day and returns. I walk on but soon I also go back to warm up inside. In the evening, I walk to a kebab shop to buy some food. We enjoy another excellent mixed grill platter. Then we watch TV before going to bed.
Wednesday, March 19th, we wake up at 5:30 a.m. by the enormous noise of emptying the garbage and glass containers next to the rv. We stay in bed for a while, but then get up. After breakfast, we do the dishes. I don’t know how we manage it, but every day the entire countertop is covered with dirty dishes and glasses. When everything is clean and put away, we leave. After driving 69 miles northeast we arrive in Douai.
We find a spot to park at the edge of a large square in the town center. Of course, we’ll explore this city. When walking through some of the narrow streets, it’s a little cooler, the temperature doesn’t rise above 40 degrees. Douai is a charming town. There are a lot of opticians, though.
Beffroi tower
We pass the beautiful Beffroi, an impressive medieval tower and iconic monument of Douai. Towers like this one were symbols of urban autonomy.
In the afternoon, I buy some food at the Lidl supermarket and then I walk to the Collegiate Church of Saint-Pierre, at 367 feet long, this church is the longest north of Paris. Inside is an organ with monumental statues. Originally built for the St. Petersburg Conservatory, it was installed in this church in 1922 due to the Russian Revolution. With 4,400 pipes, it’s one of the largest and most beautiful organs in Northern France. Unfortunately, it’s not being played at this moment. I would love to hear this organ. I think my cousin Ronald would also like to play it. Next time we are here, Dick absolutely has to visit this church too.
In the evening, we’re having a burger with slices of melted cheese and lettuce. It tast good
We could have driven straight home from Douai, but we choose to drive 153 miles on Thursday, February 20, 2025, and spend the night in Hoogerheide, Netherlands.
For a geocaching challenge, we need to find a cache in every province of Belgium, and the only one missing is the one from the Brussels district. So, our route to Hoogerheide leads through Brussels. Not really a good route on a Thursday. The traffic is incredibly busy in Brussels. I get out but can’t find the cache and Dick can’t park our rv. The other geocaches in Brussels are located on a busy road. Unfortunately, there’s no parking either, so we end up leaving the Brussels district empty-handed. This challenge will have to wait until another time.
The cache is hanging too high
We arrive in Hoogerheide at 2:30 pm. There is no one and we park our Frankia.
It is already 53 degrees, even though the sun is hidden behind a thick layer of clouds. Warmer than we had last week, so I walk into town. The geocache I am looking for is hanging high in a tree, inaccessible with a fishing rod, so it must be a tree-climbing cache. I leave this cache as it is and walk to a butcher and supermarket to get food for tonight. The schnitzel we have for dinner tastes good. Next time I return to this butcher. Tomorrow we’ll drive home, it’s only 52 miles.
Early birds
The weather is on our side when we wake up on Friday, February 21st.
The sky is blue and the sun is shining. The birds are chirping in the trees. We are home at 10:30 am. Unloading and cleaning in sunny weather is more pleasant. The thermometer even shows 56 degrees. At 2 pm, everything is cleaned in- and outside and Dick brings the Frankia back to our storage.We have no time to go out again before March 5th.
Now we have a full week, including two appointments: one with a bedding company and one with our RVdealer. I don’t have to make a complicated route.
We get up at 7 a.m. and after breakfast Dick takes the bus. Before 10 am he is back and we load everything, fill up with water, and leave before noon. We arrive in Bruggen, Germany, at 2.30 p.m. I have two bags full of refundable German cans and bottles. Once we’re parked and paid the 5 euro overnight fee, I walk to the store across the street with the deposit cans. Unfortunately, not everything is accepted so I walk to a drinkshop, here I can return the rest. On my way there, I find other cans with a total deposit of 1 euro so it’s no problem to walk a bit further. When I am back, Dick has cleaned all the windows. The weather is beautiful, and we even see 65 degrees on the thermometer. For the first time, we walk outside in just a T-shirt. It’s too late to go out on our bikes, almost 5 pm so I walk to the local stores to browse around. At 6.30 pm I get food at the Turkish restaurant, as always it tastes good. The appointment to update our satellite dish isn’t until end of this week and we still can’t watch TV. Fortunately we can follow our favorite programs, such as the news, on our laptop.
On Thursday, March 6, we don’t wake up until 8:30 am. After removing our insulation mat, we have breakfast. Then Dick walks back and forth several times with a watering can to fill our tank. I do the same to dump our black and gray water. We leave at 9.45 am and take a back road to Hellenthal. It’s not going fast because the road keeps winding and there are endless climbs and descents. But at 12.15 pm we arrive at the carpark at the foot of the Oleftal dam. There’s plenty of space and we park in the sun. Again it’s warm, 67 degrees.
Geocaches hanging in the trees
We pay for the parking and get our bikes ready for a ride. There are several geocaches around the reservoir and they all hang in the trees. That’s why this season is the best time to fish them out. The trees aren’t in leaf yet and the caches can be seen. Each cache is high up in a tree, and every 700 feet is a tree.
Every time the fishing rod has to be taken off the bike, extended and then we can fish the cache out of the trees, write our names on the logbook and put the cache back in the trees.
But it is lovely in the sun and we enjoy being outside. It’s noticeably cooler on the shady side of the reservoir, so we put on our sweaters.
View over the lake
Finally, after cycling 10 miles and finding 23 geocaches, we’re back at 6 p.m. The Frankia is now in the shade of the dam. It’s much colder and our hands are frozen. It takes some time to warm up. In the evening, we have a beautiful view of the illuminated dam. The clear, starry, sky above is magnificent. It’s deathly quiet here.
On Friday, March 7, we wake up with a blue sky, but it is only 37 degrees. It’s good we attached our insulation mat on the window. We drive to Mettlach, where we can dump, so directly after breakfast, we leave. At noon, we arrive in Mettlach. The parking is empty and we park the Frankia in its usual spot. After a coffee we walk to the town center and pay at the tourist information for our overnight stay.
Ice cream in Mettlach.
The weather is nice, it is 61 degrees and we decide to buy an ice cream. We are lucky because we still get an ice cream at the winter price. After this weekend this ice cream cost an euro more. We enjoyIt tast good and we enjoy it while we stroll through the shopping street full of outlets.
Then Dick goes back to the Frankia and I walk on to the Aldi supermarket where I want to buy some juice. When I am back, we go together to the Netto market and buy some beer. At 6.30 pm it’s dinnertime and we go to the Abtei Brau.
As always we enjoy a freshly tapped beer with rumpsteak and fried potatoes (for Dick) and schnitzel with fries (for Tita).
Before we go to bed I write down our experiences. Of course, we buy fresh bread at the supermarket on Saturday, March 8. Then we do our dishes and dump. Unfortunately, we can’t fill up with water. With nighttime temperatures around freezing, the water tap is completely shut off. It’s no problem because we have still plenty of water. We drive along the river Saar to Saarburg and a little later we cross the border into Luxembourg. There we fill up, of course. Fuel is still cheaper in Luxembourg than in the neighboring countries.
In the shop at the gasstation I see our brand of coffee beans. These kilo bags are also a few euros cheaper than here or in Germany, so I immediately buy a few packs of Tschibo coffee beans. After driving a few miles, we cross the border again and are back in Germany. We drive a long distance north on the autobahn. When we arrive in Schonecken, the parking lot looks very familiar. I think we’ve been here before but drove on. Dick doesn’t recognize anything, though, so I might be confusing places. After coffee, we grab our bikes and go for a ride in the nearby hills. Fortunately there was little rain in recent weeks and the dirt roads aren’t muddy. We cycle nice through the forest and find some geocaches.
Simple and tastefully meal
Back in the village, we chat with the owners of a snack bar. They are Dutch, and we will have dinner that evening. It is a good decision and the simple meal tastes great. After so much fresh air and delicious food, we’re asleep before 10 pm.
On Sunday, March 8, we get up at 8 a.m. There’s a bakery around the corner where I buy croissants. They don’t taste like the French ones, but they’re still good. Better than our survival bread. After breakfast, we leave and drive on the autobahn to Elsdorf. There are two places for RV’s in the large parking lot near the sports fields. One is available, the other is occupied by a parked truck. Dick get the bikes out while I get water, bike-batteries and our fishing rod and then we leave. The few clouds have disappeared, and the sun shines in a blue sky.
Good visible geocaches
We are here because almost all geocaches are fishing rod caches. Now the trees are still in their winter coat, so the high-hanging tubes are easy to spot among the bare branches and easier to fish out the trees.
Late in the afternoon, we arrive at the Hambach mine. It’s one of the largest lignite quarries in Europe. The mine covers an area of 4,380 hectares. Operations began in 1978, and the deepest point is now 1348 feet. It’s very busy here. Inevitably, because the weather is beautiful, it’s Sunday, and there’s a restaurant with a terrace.
We continue and stop here next time to look around. We’re back around 6 pm. While Dick stores our bikes, I put away all our other stuff. I’m not cooking tonight so we look nearby and find a kebab restaurant, Germany is full of them. In the evening I buy there our food. It tastes good.
On Monday, March 10, we’re up at 7 am. We have breakfast and then Dick gets the bikes ready. Now we cycle in the other direction. We pass the place where tonight is a geocache event and continue towards Julich. Although we drive past the lignite mine, we never actually get a glimse inside. It doesn’t take long before we start to climb up to Sophien Hohe, 987 feet above sea level. It’s the largest man-made hill in the world. It was created by the excavation to access the lignite seams of the Hambach mine. The hill now covers an area of 5 square miles and towers 656 feet above the surrounding plain. It has become a striking landmark in the area.
Sandy steep roads ??
There are over 62 miles of hiking and cycling trails on this hill, so finding the right path to a geocache is a real challenge. Sometimes the path is quite steep, and we need our turbo boost to reach the top. Then we end up in a sandy desert instead of a path, so we have to walk quite a distance to reach the top. We end up spending a large part of the day here. We find a few geocaches, enjoy the first blossoming trees, and get lost. After a lot of wrong driving on the dirt paths we find the right path again and descend the steep slopes at breakneck speed to reach the surrounding villages. We drive through these villages back home. In Elsdorf, we see a bakery with a terrace and sit down at an empty table. We order coffee and a piece of cake and enjoy.
As we leave, we see a long line in front of the Norma supermarket. This store just opened, and as a special offer, they’re selling bratwurst sandwich for just 1 euro. Even though we’d just finished a piece of cake, we join the queue and a little later we enjoy this delicacy. Late in the afternoon we are back at the rv. Because we will visit the geocaching event at 5 p.m. our bikes stay outside. It is too far to walk.
We are the first to arrive, but other geocachers soon arrive. We share the same hobby and there is plenty to talk about.
Sunset over the mine
We receive a hint about the location of the cache we couldn’t find this morning and an hour later we cycle there and find the geocache. We are also just in time to admire the sunset over the mine.
Tuesday, March 1, it is foggy outside. We leave at 9 a.m. and arrive in Sittard an hour later.
Here, we can dump our gray and black water. There is no fresh water. The tap here is also turned off due to the low nighttime temperatures. We don’t stay in Sittard but drive on to Belgium, first to Opitter and then to Hamont. In the end we do not stay in any of these places and drive on to Nuenen, Netherlands. We arrive there at 1 p.m. While I go for a walk, Dick logs the geocaches on the computer. Unlike the past few days, it’s gray, dreary and cold and I’m back at 4 p.m. We don’t go out anymore but stay inside. Finally I’m cooking again.
Custom-made matras
When we get up at 7:30 am on Wednesday, March 12, I immediately remove the bedding from our mattresses and after breakfast, we drive to the mattress manufacturer. We want to have new mattresses made. At 10 am we arrive in Son en Breugel. Saleswomen Beau explains the different mattresses and lets us try them out. Dick already made his choice, but I’m not really convinced I need a new mattress. After some deliberation and discussion we decide to replace only Dick’s mattress. It will be made while we wait. Through large windows we see how the mattress is made, and at 2.30 pm we put a new mattress on Dick’s bed and drive back to Nuenen. There, I cover our beds with clean bedding.
It’s too cold to be outside, so after buying vegetables at the store, I quickly walk back. We cook ourselves again. The cevapcici, rosti, and cucumber taste quite good. In the evening, we read and listen to music.
Dumping black water in Nuenen
Thursday, March 13, after washing the dishes, I clean the shower. We do all kind of chorus this morning because our appointment at Raema isn’t until 1 p.m. Then I clean the toilet while Dick vacuums the floor. Of course, we dump our gray and black water. There’s a sewer in the grass where this is permitted. We arrive at Raema by noon. An hour too early, but that’s no problem because we’re immediately next in line. While we look around in the showroom and talking to other rv owners, our satellite dish is being updated. At 2.15 p.m. everything is ready, we pay and drive into the traffic jam. It’s Thursday when traffic jams are at their worst in the Netherlands. Finally we are home. Our neighbor is moving his car so we can park the Frankia behind our house. At 6.30 p.m. we emptied the rv and cleaned it inside. I buy us Chinese food.
Friday morning, March 14, we just need to empty our (fresh and dirty) watertanks and clean them with the high pressure hose. Then Dick drive the Frankia to our storage. The weather is gray and dreary, so we don’t clean the outside.That will have to wait until the next trip.