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.
For my last full day and night of the Western Odyssey I drove the few miles across Normandy countryside to where the Seine flows into the sea between the town of Honfleur and my sailing port of Le Havre. I stayed at the very nice 2-star Camping du Phare, for an extremely reasonable cost without electricity, given it’s location at this beautiful little town on the tourist trail. There’s loads more to visit around this area, just over the Channel, beaches as well as the other towns and villages, and well worth a return trip.
Le Havre was destroyed in WWII and rebuilt in this style:
I drove to Caen WWII Memorial Centre and spent 3 hours dedicated to reminding myself about this momentous and horrendous time period in not just Europe but the world’s 20th century history.
In continuing to my overnight stop at the village of Asnelles – the D-Day landing site ‘Gold Beach’, it was obvious how much this area of France commemorates with respect what happened in June 1944. Streets in Asnelles are named after British regiments – eg, Rue du Devonshire Regiment – there are plaques and streetlight banners highlighting armed forces individuals who fought in the Battle of Normandy. And up and down the beaches are wartime defenses, and equipment just left there as a very vivid reminder of what happened then.
I decided to watch the film ‘Saving Private Ryan’, which I really feel should be compulsory viewing in schools for all 16 year olds, as well as films such as Schindler’s List, as the still living participants and witnesses of it all become ever fewer. We should make all efforts to not forget the horror which was unleashed as a result of evil philosophy on behalf of leaders who in Germany, Italy and others were able to seize power, and then distort almost completely the moral framework of their citizens. The fact that such ideologies continue to flourish and have since then managed to escape Pandora’s box, and wreak similar evil in our lifetimes, means we must not take for granted the relative freedoms and prosperities we have enjoyed in our liberal democracies.
In conversation with others, the fear of the rise of populism and nationalism in its worst forms throughout Europe was a repeated theme.
Normandy Landings
As I set off this morning and stopped briefly on the cliff tops at Arromanches, I thought about the EU, and how I want to celebrate the force for good that I, in my simple perception and knowledge, feel it to have been through its evolution since the second world war. In reflecting on how difficult it is for the opposing sides in Northern Ireland to overcome the wounds and legacies of that historical conflict, imagine the gulf, the bitterness, and the need for revenge and retribution, amongst and within the nations of Europe arising from WWII, coming also after WWI. In the span of one person’s lifetime, I am proud that these nations’ representatives have worked so hard together within this structure and its previous incarnations, I feel, to establish an order which indeed has restrained enmity and sought to enable its peoples to flourish from out of the devastation of that war.
Perhaps one will say that indeed it served this purpose in the 20th century, but now it needs reform and is no longer right for the world as it is now, and Great Britain’s place within it. My view remains that all things considered, the EU is still a force for peace, for prosperity, for flourishing of its peoples, and yes for ‘good’ , which the United Kingdom is leaving for an empty slogan of ‘taking back sovereignty’, and a misplaced confidence in a Britain of its empire of the past. To face the challenges of now – strong-man politics, the rise of populism and nationalism, globalisation with potentially rampant corporations in reality stronger than nations, climate change, we need to be part of that bigger community, to be able to stand together as a block to defend and continue to develop the values of freedom, human rights and social democracy, which have been so hard won .
In conversation with others, whether Dutch, German, or French, sadness at the departure of the United Kingdom from the EU was a repeated theme.
For the aire – thanks to the city – its location in the university area within 3/4 mile of the city beaches via well-planned cycle lanes, the peace and quiet at night, the beautiful buildings and layout of its compact centre, the fantastic cycle lanes, the beautiful bay, sand, sea and surrounding green hills, the tapas or pintxos culture, and the conversations/time spent with fellow travellers – yes it’s my, in the end 3 night stay, at SAN SEBASTIAN.
I decided to visit here based on numerous recommendations, and stay at the city aire, despite a weather forecast of solid rain for a day – sacre bleu – the first for me in about 6 weeks. The first night the charge was 3.30, but for the next two it went up to the Summer parking charge of 7.60 per night.
After about a 190-mile drive from the Picos, managed to get the 2nd to last of the 30 or so places, and on this first evening, it poured down from about 6pm, all through the night and the next morning until about 3pm, when as forecast, the sun managed to re-assert itself.
Unfortunately I observed my transformation into a southern europe wuss – no longer able to contemplate going outside in such rain and chill, and even when the sun came out, I had to force myself to put jeans on, and various layers, get the bike off the rack and make an effort for the city, given it’s motorhome provision, the choice I’d made to come here, and the fuel expenditure in doing so.
But fortune favours the brave ….. and obviously not being one of those “les anglais se cachent!” (the view of a French motorhomer – more of that in https://lifeinnewlanes.com/?p=796 ), as a result of this courageous sortie, I found a companion to meet up with in the evening to go and try the pintxos, rather than spending the time (me cachant ? 🙂 ) as usual in my apartment. This companion was a Dutchman who happened to take the same otherwise more or less empty funicular ride to the viewpoint at Mont Igeldo, who, after having the usual sort of conversation as to what are you doing here etc, suggested that we meet up and go to the old town area in the evening together as he’d also spent the previous one holed up in his airbnb due to the rain.
Marcel from Enschede is a consultant for integrated city mobility/transport projects, – see www.empowerproject.eu – and had been attending a workshop in S Sebastian. It was great to have company, and actually ‘go out’ (gasp) for the evening, and find out about his work as I am interested in cycling provision and how integrated transport-wise continental cities seem to be in comparison with ours. But beyond this conversation, in for a penny in for a pound, I decided to try some gastronomy, which I had managed to avoid more or less totally up to that point, despite already having concluded that this was something of a shame, and not helped by my solo travelling. So Octopus, Crab, Bacalao, (ie Cod), Sardine, with only the last not being ‘acceptable’ to my uneducated philistine taste buds 🙂
Because of Marcel’s invitation, I also saw more of the city centre, which I may well have amazingly avoided, and with this and the sun reappearing the next morning, decided to stay for a third night. Really enjoyed cycling all round the different areas – photos speak for themselves – and having longish conversations in French with my neighbours, Yves and Michel from Lyon, who have invited me to contact them for an evening out, if ever I’m passing through their city. So cheers Marcel.
Lots of young people, surfer dude vibe, all nationalities – and made me think about the Summer that one of my youngest son’s best friends would have spent working here last year.
Stayed at a lovely resort west of Lisbon, Cascais, well-served by buses and trains, enabling us to get to Sintra and Lisbon from just outside the Cascais Orbitur campsite entrance.
Loved both Sintra and Lisbon. Photos say it all.
A snapshot of magical Sintra where we did the recommended climb, and it is indeed a climb!, through the gardens of the Villa Sassetti to the palace. Needs another visit to see more.
Villa Sassetti
Palace de Pena
Courtyard in Palace
Got the bus, then train from Cascais to Lisbon; took one of the iconic old trams around some of the old city centre streets. Again, a lovely city; the first two photos are of Cascais:
Stayed overnight at a campsite at Porto Covo, where not made particularly welcome by the main reception person! then inland to a free aire with good reviews at historic town of Evora. Whilst congratulating myself on how well all was ‘working’ at this aire – nice location, safety in numbers, international community, but brits around if help needed quicker etc, the peace of the Saturday night was disrupted for upto an hour and a half, because Benfica had won the Portuguese league. The disruption consisted of the town’s primarily male Benfica supporters driving round and round the town centre roads (which unfortunately went past the aire) hanging out of their sunroofs, shouting, waving flags, and constant pressing of their car horns. It did come to a stop thankfully around 11:30, and indeed a good night’s sleep was had. Evora was worth the visit, as my first inland Portuguese town, and driving the non-toll roads to get there took me through some pleasing countryside.
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