Whilst not perhaps able to fully endorse the extent of Lonely Planet’s effusive description of Ghent, I can confirm that it is well worth a visit. I thought it was a lovely town, and really accessible with fantastic free motorhome parking including overnight which I took advantage of, walking distance from the centre.
All ‘worked’ re my next 2-night stop at the Dusseldorf Caravon Salon. My main achievement here was to visit the show/exhibition extensively and twice and not buy a single thing. I stayed on the 800-place ‘caravan-center’ whose convenience was not outweighed for me by being under the flight path just by the airport, with business take-offs every minute or so it seemed, making their presence felt from 6am. Quiet though from 23:00 hours.
The 2nd day I made myself get the bike off the rack and cycle along the Rhein to Dusseldorf. Very easy – maybe 6 km away on the flat (for obvious reasons!) the sun was shining, and it was all well worth the effort. Really liked Dusseldorf Altstadt – ie historic centre – and the main thoroughfares. The Rhein is still used for loads of cargo boats transporting vehicles, lorries and all manner of goods.
From there, a 2 hour drive to a most fantastic welcome and 2 nights spent in Wissenbach benefitting from the most gracious hospitality, following the same that I was blessed with in London, my requested German gastronomy of Bienenstich and Curry Wurst, and visiting the Grun Villa museum in Dillenburg which included representations from all the industry/manufacturing there is in this area, including the first ‘airline kitchens’, which has had a historic and worldwide reach.
An abiding impression as I drove the 300 miles south to Lake Constance (Bodensee) for the last overnight in Germany was of the miles and miles of forest/woods still retained. My route around the east side of Bodensee took me through miles of fruit orchards and also vineyards.