Lower Saxony (Soltau) Pt 3

MANY APOLOGIES FOR THE DELAY IN THIS POST – DUE TO AN IT PROBLEM CALLED ‘NEILITITIS’! A CASE OF FAR TOO MANY BUTTONS FOR SO FEW BRAIN CELLS, GIVE ME NUTS AND BOLTS ANYDAY.

Monday 18 Jun: ‘R’ Day (Reminisce). With so much covered on the Sunday we decided to have a rest day and relive some of our memories, strange how the mind tends to retain mainly good experiences and forgets bad ones. We had a great time, many laughs and some poignant memories over a bottle or two of wine and then put them back into the memory cells. A good ‘sunny spells’ day with a very nice 25C so the two girls managed to do a bit of sunbathing.

Tuesday 19 Jun: Back to ‘today time’ with some admin and cleaning duties – a reality injection. Blitzed the RV inside and out, got the previous blog done, phoned both mothers and answered some emails, all well in time before the football (not that it was that exciting, at least we qualified). Linda further tested her favourite RV necessity – the washing machine (those who know her will understand that she cannot be without one or an iron!), good job it was dry and sunny with 22C for drying the clothes.

Wednesday 20 Jun: Just had to do a visit to the successor to the old Tank School in Musterlager, now called the Deutsches Panzer Museum – well worth a visit and even Linda enjoyed it. They have collect a vast array of mainly east and west German tanks from the 2^nd WW (AV7) up to today (Leopard 2), presenting them very well and making the whole display very  interesting. Good choice to visit an inside attraction as it was dull and rainy – 19C.

Thursday 21 Jun: Neil got to go golfing again – very nice championship course which was in excellent condition and was most enjoyable, he even managed to scrape a 91 on a par 71 course so not too bad for first time out on the course, his partner was a bit wooden though. Good weather, for golf - very sunny and 24C.  Linda got to enjoy some time to herself (me, myself & I) – not, she did the washing and ironing (again) just to make Neil feel guilty. Most of the other site residents are now well known to us so a bit of socialising was the order of the afternoon/evening and a pleasant but language taxing time was spent swapping experiences and nation bashing (grass looking greener).

Friday 22 Jun: Lazy day called for – do not want to tire ourselves out yet. Linda and Daisy decided to be on ‘watch’ whilst Neil further investigated/photographed the site for an amendment for the Big Pitch Guide (a book with information in it on camping sites that accept ‘big boys toys’). Finished the day with a meal in the gasthaus and some pleasant, but strange unknown drinks compliments of Malte and Katarina of Roders Park – lovely evening that reinforced our opinion that they really are excellent hosts and the site is well worth a visit. Bit of a mixture weather wise today, sun, wind and showers with 23C.

Saturday 23 Jun: Trouble with eating and drinking one has to restock so off on another shopping trip for fresh rations and Neil did need a few things for the RV and trailer – minor repairs. Got all needed items and found the German B&Q equivalent which was great and had the edge on our British counterpart – a bit cheaper as well. Had a pleasant interlude with one of our Dutch neighbours who desperately wanted to see the inside of the RV, she called it a ‘house on wheels’ and was taken with the washing machine (must be woman thing). Good weather day again, sunny with a bit of a breeze but 22C so a good long ‘Daisy’ walk was called for and we revisited the lake.

Sunday 24 Jun: The good weather god decided to dessert us on our 1 month on the road anniversary and it ‘bucketed’ it down!  What a day to visit Hamburg, needless to say we retained our stiff British upper lip and dragged the 3 of ourselves around Hamburg in the pouring rain. We did find some interesting (?) places open on the Reeperbahn but headed for the very impressive Town Hall and St Michaelis Church amongst others instead. After dashing from place to place we did get to see all of the places we needed to see and 3 drowned rats returned to the car for the trip back to Soltau.

    

Monday 25 Jun: Time to shake out and get ready for tomorrow’s move, so packed up all the awning and outer items. Just had to use the doggy shower room again before leaving – much to Daisy’s disgust however she now smells a lot better, just us to sort out now. Linda did a final shop just to prevent us having to do without essentials like paprika crisps, pretzels etc. Another dull, windy and wet day with only 17C.

Still thoroughly enjoying ourselves with no pressure, or stress - however it makes one wonder how much WORK has to answer for. 

Lower Saxony (Soltau) Pt 2

WOW! Where has the last week gone? Not even time for golf. We have been having so much fun that we did not realise a full week had gone by - like the saying 'one is enjoying ones self'.

NB. With reference to the previous post - sorry to those not familiar with German cuisine – aschnitzel is a breaded escalope of veal and a Zigeuner one is served in a spicy tomato,onion and green/red peppers sauce with a Jager one being served in a creamedmushroom sauce.

Tuesday 12 Jun: Guess those jealous folks across in Englandhave sent some of their rubbish weather here – a warm 20C but very showery day sodecided on doing some canine hygiene (shower) and a bit of RV preventivemaintenance. No major problems with the RV but like all elderly ladies she needsregular attention. Daisy was not too impressed with the decision for the ‘bathday’ but afterwards was full of herself and fully ‘tic’ free.

     

Wednesday 13 Jun: Not a good start to the day, Linda seemsto have picked up a stomach bug and for obvious reasons wishes to stay close toporcelain so a lazy day planned. I did suggest that she could watch thefootball but for some reason she was not too impressed. At least the rain hasdisappeared and our neighbours have visited again, much to Daisy’s annoyance –she has started to slaver at the lips when they appear. They are pushing their PULLHEEMS(old army saying). Refuelled the Jazz – petrol is currently the equivalent of£1.25 a litre and diesel £1.12 a litre so do not feel too bad compared with theUK.

Thursday 14 Jun: Linda still a bit fragile but on the mend anda nice sunny, 18C, day so back to our quest to satisfying some nostalgic visitswith a run through to Verden (our home 1982-1984). On a roundabout route we passedthrough all sorts of old haunts – Celle, Hohne and Fallingbostel with allplaces having changed somewhat. Verden was a bit of a shock as the main barracks(Caithness) had become a council admin/civilian business centre and the secondarybarracks (Shiel - were Sandra’s stables used to be) have been knocked down and is now ahousing estate.

Our old flat was still standing with all the old quarters nowbeing used by German ish civilians and Linda took Daisy for a walk where over 28 years ago we used towalk Abby our Cavalier King Charles. Basically there is noreal sign of the previous British military presence.

Friday 15 Jun: Spent a day as Linda says ‘goofing’ around(it is great being retired) and contemplated our re-awakened memories from the previousday travels, a bit spooky, sad in parts but also some really very good times remembered.Linda did a bit of Kindle’ing and Neil with Daisy did some much needed physicalactivity in preparation for watching the football in the evening. A nice warmday 20C with a few showers.

  

Saturday 16 Jun: More supplies needed so a quick shoppingtrip into Soltau, it still amazes us what a nice little town Soltau has become.Started to work on our next move, trip out and our next site plan –provisionally hope to move to the Magdeburg area for a stopover on the way tothe Potsdam area – depending on site availability. It is now getting into thepeak season period so sites are a bit busy and slightly more expensive –anybody with relatives over here with verylarge driveways are requested to forward their details to enable us to do a bitof squatting. Hope to do a mass re-visit of old homes tomorrow so early night,no problems as this site is so quiet.

Sunday 17 Jun: Awoke to lovely sunny weather, good start toour ‘round the houses’ day, stayed bright and sunny all day with 21C. Early startand headed for Detmold via Rinteln (our son Terry's birthplace).

Shock, horror - most of Hobart barracks was still standing but in a very poor, dilapidated and boarded up state.The fence has gone and some of the buildings are being used for commercial purposes but basically a bit on an eyesore

  

The old Hakedahl school is a private kindergarten and the NAAFI is inthe same state as the barracks.

  

Both our homes Allandsbusch St (1974-1976) andSchillensbusch St (1978-1980) are still standing and occupied by German (?)civilians, with only the former visited.

After collecting our thoughts it was further onwards and we set off for Minden via Herford and Bunde and what was to be a bit more pleasing to the eye visit. Major changes in traffic and urban development made orientation a bit challenging but we made it to Elizabeth Barracks eventually - good type spookiness. The barracks has been fully utilised for housing, business and retail purposes, funny really as the main square is now the car park for the facility.

The old LAD (where Neil worked, sorry attended work) is now a driving school for light goods vehicles and the gymnasium is a supermarket. Our old house in Waterloostrasse (1985-1987) is still there with once again the estate now being German (?) families.

On a roll now, so many memories and places to cope with but we needed to complete the full set so after a quick refuel (McDonald's) we set off for Belm/Osnabruck - now that is going back in time, nearly 40 years ago when we first arrived in Osnabruck as a family. Osnabruck was in fact Neil's first posting from training and he joined the 1st Royal Tank Regiment in 1970 so one can presume that lots of you were possible rather small or just a twinkle. Belm apart from a bit more built up and the absence of the squaddies and their families was almost as remembered, the block of flats is still there and the supermarkets are just around the corner. Lots of memories here, including one about a little girl and some berries off a tree and a stomach pump!!

More shocks to the system when we saw the barracks, both were totally derelict, being left to rot and a very bad state. Both gates were wide open so anybody could get in/out, it did look like some people were living in the old buildings albeit with no electricity or water. Smartened up it would make a nice RV/Campsite - thinks....... no way!

We did have a quick look round inside, just for nostalgia and found Neil's original accommodation block and the LAD hanger, he could still hear 'Amazing Grace' from the days of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards as the band block was next to the LAD. Sad in some ways as Imphal Barracks used to be a good thriving British military workplace/community were we had so many happy times, it seems that in this instance we have just moved out and things have been left.

It just had to be done! A visit to the very first home for this part of the Gardiner family, easier said than done as we first lived in a German hiring which was a top floor flat miles from anyone/thing British and that was 39 years and 6 months ago so we were really taxing the grey cells. However we do remember the goldfish Sandra.

Things were not as bad as the days when one had to do '26 hours a day down the pit' but we had very few possessions (no washing machine, no car, no British TV and definitely no IT etc) but we were happy!  Linda and Sandra tried to amuse themselves in the flat (surrounded by non English speaking Germans) whilst  I took 2 buses to get to the other side of Osnabruck. No violins please - it helped make us who we are and to those who thought it might not last the first 40 years Wedding Anniversary is coming up.

The drive back to Soltau was full of "Do you remember............?", happy and sad memories and many reminders of our failing memories, names places dates etc.

ANOTHER BUCKET TOPIC ENJOYABLY COMPLETED!

Lower Saxony (Soltau) Pt 1

Thursday 7 Jun: Continued to settle in to the site, established IT and satellite communications (Linda happy that we will be able to watch the football – NOT) and recovered from the weather of Wednesday night/Thursday morning. Not as bad as the UK but some fairly heavy showers and it did drop down to 16C during the day. We have been fully accepted on site and now have a family of ducks that visit regularly – drives Daisy mad! Slowly getting back into the swing of German style living, especially the eating. The Luneburger Heide area of Lower Saxony area is much more picturesque when walking and driving around it whilst not on exercise/training; it certainly is more comfortable than being in the cupola of an armoured vehicle.

Friday 8 Jun: Nice weather, 22C, so one had to take the plunge and get the knotted hankie out, sat out in the sunshine watching the world go by - real lazy day after a quick visit to the shops to restock up on essentials, JP Chenet at £2.40 a bottle. Warm weather must keep up the liquid intake! Finished day with a visit to the site Rasthaus for a quick Zigeuner and Jager Schitzel with a few ‘tipples’ and the Pils is still the same – wonderful! The dogs over here are very clever and read; Daisy is having a bit of a problem with the reading bit but due to the dogs being bi-lingual is managing to just about understand. Managed to get my Umweltplakette (window sticker for access into low emmission zones - Hamburg, Hannover, Berlin etc) from the local Tuv station - a whole 5 Euros for all of Germany and for the life of the vehicle take note London  

Saturday 9 Jun: A walk into Soltau for a visit to the shops and the local market, the asparagus season is in full swing so every second stall was veggies. The town has been really smartened up and is now full of things to do and tourist attractions with the Toy Museum very worth a visit. Neil even found some new friends, well the only ones that would listen to him.

Stocked up on crisps, Pils and wine for the football, had to persuade Linda that the football was on the agenda with a larger portion of crisps than normal. Nice weather, still in the 20C’s but a cool wind and light showers a couple of times.

Sunday 10 Jun: On the road for 2 weeks, feels just like days. Travelled 496 miles and been in 3 countries already, thinks: may stick around Soltau a bit longer (enjoying the place and still lots to do) this should enable us to well miss the football chaos in Poland after our Berlin visit. Lovely day, sun busting the sky – order of the day is a Daisy day, with walks through the woods to the lake over the other side of small river. Beautiful countryside, lots of wild life and very healthy farm fields as far as the eye can see - she loved it ! Finished the day with a slap up meal in the the RV and some phone calls home (house still standing so we have been told?).

Monday 11 Jun: Another nice start to the day, sat out and had breakfast in the morning sunshine before setting out on a visit to some old haunts and some restocking of supplies. Strange places look a bit different after 25 years or is it our minds going a bit fuzzy? Wondered where we would get some more fresh potatoes when we came upon this:

needless to say some fresh potatoes were procurred. Who needs to 'speak the lingo'. The spuds are spotless with no bits needing to be cut off and taste lovely.

We have checked with Childline and have been given permission to include a photo of pommes mit mayo just to torture our offspring - yum yum.

The good weather is bringing out all the bugs so we are having to keep an eye on Daisy for ticks, will have to take advantage of the dog shower room here - yes thier own shower room. It has a tiled ramp up to a wash area that is about level with ones chest - right posh, like.

Zeist/Move

Unfortunately weather wise the last 2 days (Saturday/Sunday) at Zeist where somewhat wet, we did however between the showers manage to get the Add-a-Room (awning) up for an airing – first time but it is was very easy, looks the part and is like the beast, huge (7mx3m). With the extra space we were able to do some under compartment sorting and sit out watching the rain, sipping white wine and not get rained on, and of course Daisy can free roam in it. Linda has eyed it up for her drying area but instead we christened it by having a BBQ.

Pack up day on Monday saw yet more rain – goody, goody so Neil got a bit wet (has been said he is a bit of a drip sometimes). Not bad though we were ready to move at 3.15pm (1515hrs) after only taking 1 hour 25 minutes to be ‘ready’. So it was goodbye to the Gelderland region of Holland and we set off to Germany (and Currywurst) land – in the rain! Plan was to drive up as far as the Osnabruck area and park over night in a Restplatz (huge lay-by for those not familiar) for our first non-site night in the RV.

We got to Bramsche Ost Restplaz (on the outskirts of Osnabruck) just after teatime, Daisy was not impressed at having to wait for her ‘nosh’, and we parked up in a nice large park place which unfortunately was one of the main truck stops as well. All in all not too bad apart from the coming and going of the trucks during the night – the site fees were very cheap! It was a bit spooky being back in Germany after 25 years and having lots of memories re-awakened.

Tuesday morning brought us some dry and sunny weather (just as well) for our move up to Soltau in the Lower Saxony area of Germany, so off we set! Not impressed – where has the German efficiency gone? We set off and after 20 minutes came upon major road works and an Umlietung (diversion). We, and half of all of Germany’s traffic seemed to be taken all over Germany on country roads (no singing please) with traffic jam after traffic jam and we got back onto the Autobahn (motorway) 2 hours (yes 2 hours) later to find that we had travelled only 30 miles. At least we were, to quote a famous Aussie organisation ‘Hell bent on going nowhere’ whilst the Germans were not so understanding!

A late arrival, 2.15pm, at the site meant that we had a wait to get in as in Germany the world stops for lunch/quiet hours between 1pm and 3pm – we were not alone and by 3pm, we and 4 caravans were waiting to get on site. It did give us time to have some lunch whilst waiting. The site is a bit small and cramped but nicely laid out, in a good location, has loads of things laid on for guests and the facilities are immaculate. A bit scary, for the other guests, getting onto our pitch but once on it, we  only took just over the hour to fully set up (including the awning) and be sat down with cheese, biscuits and a glass of wine.

As normal our first day on site, Wednesday, was a settling in day, of course like most of everywhere else we are still getting the rain, showery today. Not to worry as we are still fully enjoying this lifestyle, Linda is having a great time watching life and its people going by (sure are some strange folk), Daisy just loves being with us all the time and is getting a lot better on the lead, Neil is amazed at the lack of stress and worry and according to Linda is enjoying himself. Had to do it! Down to the Schellimbiss (chip shop) and tasted the delights of Currywurst mit Pommes Frites (German sausage with curry tomato sauce with chips) – yum yum it was great kids.

We were going to insert a photo of Linda getting stuck into a Currywurst and Pommes Frites but thought better as we may have been reported for physiological child abuse, so instead we have a photo showing that we are having full cream milk fresh from the diary every day – very tasty but naughty. Real green top milk.   

De Krakeling Pt 1

Arrival day consisted of just setting up and acclimatising, arrived to 28C and sunshine phew!  Neil messed up and sited us too close to the trees so no satellite TV – will pay was heard from Linda, actually we all are not missing it  just would have been nice to have the decision not to watch it. Daisy loves it; the site is in the woodland of a nature reserve so there are all sorts of interesting things for her to watch/chase – shame about the lead.

First day was dedicated to shaking out the RV and ourselves, we knew that we had got everything just did not know where they were. It was like Christmas opening up cupboards and drawers to find all sorts of goodies; Daisy is alright there seems to be dog food/treats everywhere. RV now packed to our preference and not just for transportation/escape. Visited the local shops to pick up fresh rations, great to see all the old favourites on the supermarket shelves, obviously over bought to refresh memories – prices just on the lower side of UK but we think better choice and quality. Planned an outing for tomorrow – Arnhem (retake the bridge) and also did some planning for our next site. Hope to move to Germany next Monday/Tuesday. A bit cooler today, slightly overcast and only 18C.

Day two was an interesting, humbling and sombre day visiting the bridge, museum and cemetery at Arnhem. Chaos in Arnhem as mass roadwork’s and detours almost made the Tom Tom explode; we were unable to re-take the bridge due to traffic cones! Just about to give up when we saw a sign for the cemetery and managed to get to the museum/Old Hartenstein Hotel. Too nice a day to tour the museum so foot marched around the area – advert break, found Pocket Tours a great help so thanks Mark. We finished back at the new Hartenstein Restaurant for an al fresco lunch (club sandwiches and white wine) on the patio watching the world go by. The afternoon was spent paying our respects to the fallen at the cemetery. Nice sunny day with 24C.

Yuk! Overcast and wet, mild but lots of showers – mind you the ground here needs it (I sound like a farmer). Had a ‘slobs’ day, sure is hard doing what one wants - when one wants to. At least we managed to check out the waterproofing of the RV whilst catching up on ‘Justified, episodes. Unfortunately Linda had time on her hands so thought of some shopping we still needed so guess we will explore Zeist tomorrow.

Friday was a visit of Zeist which is certainly a lovely town, situated in a rather up market and geographically convenient area of Holland. Good standard and selection of shops with what looks like a thriving night life. Fortunately by lunchtime we had enough so a rather brave Neil suggested it may be a good day for golf! Wonders I got away with it (I suspect it was because Linda wanted a Kindle session) and set off for the golf course. A nice course which is still being completed and like most courses in Holland is a 9 hole par 3 course, very tricky and demanding and I coped much better once I realised the distances were in metres! Cool overcast morning and bright sunny afternoon with 20C. Tomorrow looks like being a dry day so might try and assemble the complete awning/add a room.