camper van | Grown-up Gap Yah

This is not a drill

Posted on May 19, 2022 by Jane Gilbert

Bit of excitement at the Royal Blue Hotel, Dubrovnik, in the early hours of the morning. We were rudely awoken by sirens and a recorded voice shouting: ‘This is an emergency please depart the building by the nearest possible exit’ in a gazillion different languages.

Mr G grabbed the document wallet and I grabbed my laptop and off we went. Being obedient rule-followers, we were amongst the first out with a steady stream of fully-dressed people with suitcases following. We were feeling very smug having the teal-mobile parked outside, Mr G put on the kettle and we both chuntered about false alarms and drunken idiots setting off the fire alarms. Then we smelled the smoke.

Dear reader, is it terrible that my first worry was my handbag languishing in the bedroom and the fact that my only shorts and the few un-munched pairs of knickers were still upstairs in the wardrobe? Actually, don’t answer that question.

After an hour, the firemen were still busy with their hoses ( fnarr, fnarr!) However, a hotel man reassured us that the fire was under control and we could go back inside. It all seemed a little premature and not really in the best practice health and safety rule book. We mooched around outside battling our safety consciousness with our desire to snuggle back into bed. In the end, we waited for the fire engines to roll away before re-entering the building.

We were a little discombobulated by the reception area being thick with smoke. Was it more sensible and safe to pack up and sleep in the van? Of course it was, but we chose the risky but comfy option and I’m glad to report that we survived the night and we’re back on the road. Next stop Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Windy nights in Nuremberg

Posted on April 9, 2022 by Jane Gilbert

Mr G and I went our different ways after our night in a car-park in Wurzburg. Fear not dear reader, five nights of van life haven’t sent us to the divorce courts (well not yet anyway!) I flew back to Wales to attend the funeral of a close family friend. I spent a sad but special day with family and friends celebrating a life well lived, then flew back to meet Mr G in Czechia.

While I was traversing from Frankfurt to Bristol to Swansea, then back to Bristol and Prague and on to Karlovy Vary, Mr G took the van to a campsite in Nuremberg. Or so he says. I could picture him checking into the Grand Hotel Nuremberg and spending the two nights drinking steins of beer and eating bratwurst in front of the footie!

Mr G reports from Nuremberg

After a heroic 7.8 mile march from the campsite to Nuremberg, I needed a protein bar and a large coffee to recover. At the heart of Nuremberg is a beautiful medieval old town, with an impressive castle looming over it. I felt enormous pressure as official stand-in blogger/photographer as Dr G has a somewhat direct management style when it comes to assessing performance!

One of the Nuremberg pictures that made the cut

For me, the most memorable and moving part of Nuremberg was visiting the site of the World War 2 war crime trials. Courtroom 600 is a functional working courtroom but you can feel the atmosphere of 76 years ago. It seems particularly relevant at the moment in the light of the current atrocities in Ukraine.

Quick campsite comment:

I stayed in Camping zur Muhle, Zirndorf.

Google describes it as a small low-key campsite with pitches, which is pretty much spot on.

The good bits: Clean, inexpensive (E 22.50 per night) and good, flat pitches. Each site had hook-up and a nearby water supply. Shower facilities were good with lots of hot- water.

The bad bits: No shop on the site or surrounding streets (that I could find!) As I mentioned, it was a long 7.8 mile walk into Nuremberg, which I only did because Dr G wasn’t there to chunter the whole way!

Romantic Road- part two

Posted on April 5, 2022 by Jane Gilbert

Romantic and beautiful it may be, but it was also very, very wet and windy in Rothenburg this morning. Hardened, outdoorsy types that we are, we had a lie in and a leisurely breakfast in the van. All the while reassuring ourselves that this is meant to be a holiday!

We caught up with laundry, made full and extensive use of the wonderful shower rooms, and tidied the cupboards. After previously using a suction pump to squish the duvet and pillows down to the size of a matchbox, we’ve realised that #vanlife is too short for that. Even with the promise of finely honed arms like Michelle Obama or Jennifer Aniston, I’d always rather have another twenty minutes in bed. So, now I shove the bedding into a cupboard and quickly shut the tambour door before everything tumbles out!

Woolly hat- essential kit for showering in Bavaria in April

We headed up the Romantische Strasse to Wurzburg, gorgeous scenery but we had our first campsite fail. The site was more of a trailer park where people stay for the season, there was stuff EVERYWHERE. When we drove up it felt like that scene in American Werewolf where the forriners rock up, everyone went quiet and stared at the weird Brits. We skulked away and are now parked up on the river in Wurzburg with a glass of Riesling. And breathe…

In the end we stayed in a car park, with an area for Wohnmobiles, called Friedensbrucke Park.

The good bits: It’s not as bad as it sounds! The location is fantastic with great views, just a ten minute walk across the historic bridge into the town. It’s cheap, 12 Euros for 24 hours plus a Euro or two for electric hook up.

The bad bits: It’s a car park- what more can I say? There are loos but they are municipal car park loos- say no more! I plan on doing the old ablutions in the van and crossing my legs!!!