caggsie Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 Hello aLL I have just booked a ferry over to Calais in July. Going on the 13th and returning on 26th. We would love to get over to Germany. It will be our first time abroad in the motorhome. I'm really excited What would be the best route from Calais? What do I need to be legal? Where would be the best places to visit in the timeframe? Where would be the best place to stay overnight on the 12th for an 8.00 am ferry? I'm aware of the doofers for the lights, reflective thingies, Umzwelt zone badge and am I right in thinking you need a triangle too? Have a good Christmas and Newyear. regards Karen :-D :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terry1956 Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 re germany it all depends on what you like. a must have as its law now is a yellow reflective vest or coat for each person in the motorhome, this is a new france law and is being inforced with on the spot fines. The vest must be near the people and not inside a back box etc. There are far to many good spots within germany for anyone to give an answer 100%. a drive around the black forest, would be nice or take in the castles, the beer halls, As stated it depends on what you like. michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
libby Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 2 triangles, (spaced at the correct distances if used). Yellow jackets for each person (put them on before leaving the van). Receipts for the purchase of the vehicle (or copies of). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 The camping club and the caravan club both have very good publications and much information can be gleaned from the internet by Googling certain words like - driving Germany - or similar. Vicarious books can supply lots of very good maps and guides for sites, aires, stellplatz, etc. Using the search facility on here can also yield loads of good solid information based on the experience of the experienced. Why not do some research and come back with more specific questions if you can't find the answer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 May I suggest the Mosel Valley and maybe the Steam trains in the Harz Mountains if they are your thing. You should have a camping carnet with you, this can be obtained from either of the Clubs. HTH Stuart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ned Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 HI, There are some good suggestions above but I think in your time frame go for the Mosel starting from Trier and go up to Koblenz, across the Rhine and down into the Black forest. Come out half way down, come back through Strasbourg and back up through Charleville Messieres and back to dover. A bit of whistle-stop journey but you can always bail-out and come back if your time runs out. I would strongly suggest that you buy from Vicarious books the stelplatz book for southern germany or the Reismobile stelplatz book. These give invaluable information for German 'Aires' and we did the trip about three years ago and never stopped on a campsite once with the stelplatz often having 24 hr hook-up in places. Have agood time......................... Ned Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggyd Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 Yes I agree with Ned :-D we did Germany and back through France last year we had 6 weeks, the Stalplatz are good and very cheap, we stayed at a site in Burgan in the Mosel Valley and a couple of stalz that were just like camp sites. Were going back next year and starting at Trier we started at Koblenz last year and didnt get as far as trier we turned off and did Black Forest and Lake Constance my geography is terrible cant remember which we hit first. But do get the Stalz books as have already been suggested and if you have a Tom Tom or other Sat Nav you will have no trouble. A tip though take as many tins of Stewing steak corned beef ham etc; as you can the Germans eat lots of sausage I found. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klyne Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 caggsie - 2008-12-23 2:01 PM Hello aLL I have just booked a ferry over to Calais in July. Going on the 13th and returning on 26th. We would love to get over to Germany. It will be our first time abroad in the motorhome. I'm really excited What would be the best route from Calais? What do I need to be legal? Where would be the best places to visit in the timeframe? Where would be the best place to stay overnight on the 12th for an 8.00 am ferry? I'm aware of the doofers for the lights, reflective thingies, Umzwelt zone badge and am I right in thinking you need a triangle too? Have a good Christmas and Newyear. regards Karen :-D :-D Karen We spent the best part of 6/7 weeks in Germany last year, our blog here if its any use to you http://www.davidklyne.co.uk/germany_calling_2008.htm I suppose it depends on how much travelling you want to do and whether you wish to stay on campsites or Aires. The Black Forest and Rhine/Mosel areas are popular for a first time visit as is the Eiffel region. A good supermarket to look out for is REWE which will even take a credit card and they do sell more than sausages!!! David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
libby Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 Klyne Wonderful pictures and info. That's a pretty good site at Sonneck on the 12th by the Rhine (I assume) We are some of those who could sit all week just watching the barges. I will look on Google to see if I can locate it. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klyne Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 libby - 2008-12-23 11:20 PM Klyne Wonderful pictures and info. That's a pretty good site at Sonneck on the 12th by the Rhine (I assume) We are some of those who could sit all week just watching the barges. I will look on Google to see if I can locate it. Bill Bill Thanks for that. Here is a link you may wise to follow http://www.davidklyne.co.uk/campingpark_sonneneck.htm and within that is a link to the camp website. If you go just watch the swing doors at the end of the toilet block! They caused me a leg injury that has taken nearly 6 months to recover from! David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
libby Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 Are the shops walking distance? Bill Yes I believe I've found it, on the inside bend of the river with a railway behind the site and upward sloping ground to 200m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankkia Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 We spend 2 to 3 months every year (for the last 11) in Germany and it is a great country to visit. For the time you have available it really will be a whistle stop tour even if you only do a small part of the country. I agree with the other posters above that for the time you have available a tour of the Mosel and parts of the Rhine will give you more than enough places to visit. If you want to find out what is going on in the regions you plan to visit I suggest you try the www.germany-tourism.co.uk site where you can input the dates of your holiday and the regions you are visiting - you can also select your interests and the site will give you a tailored list of whats on where. (It is in English) You will be a bit early for the best wine festivals on the Rhine and Mosel which are from late August through to October but there are many other festivals worth visiting throughout the year. Many people don't travel much further than the Rhine and Mosel Valleys or the Black Forest but there are many more super places to go - a couple of our favourites are the south east near the Austrian border with say a visit to Neu Schwanstein (mad King Ludwigs castle) or over in the east to the Sachsiche Schweiz (saxon Switzerland) - the are from Dresden along the river towards the Cz border. Whereevr you go - have a great time and enjoy the bratwurst and bratkartofel (fried sausage and fied potatoes). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philman Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 If you browse around this site you will find lots of very useful information. http://www.germany-tourism.de/index_ENG.htm They will send you many brochures with details of different areas and places to visit. If you signup for the newsletter you will receive all the latest info. Phil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caggsie Posted December 24, 2008 Author Share Posted December 24, 2008 Thanks everybody for your replies and fab info. You have given me areas to look at on the web that I wouldn't have thought about. Great stuff. Thanks again to all. regards Karen :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terry1956 Posted December 24, 2008 Share Posted December 24, 2008 Some good information here, But remember if you are going to use a stellpatz-atlas deutschland, then it helps if your GPS system can input lon/lat positions as this is used a lot by germans. You can also download for free to your GPS systems the site positions from the the books web site. and you only need the yellow jackets in france and only on the person if broken down by the road side. michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted December 24, 2008 Share Posted December 24, 2008 maggyd - 2008-12-23 9:03 PM .............. A tip though take as many tins of Stewing steak corned beef ham etc; as you can the Germans eat lots of sausage I found. What the hell for? German sausage is very good: it should come as no surprise they eat a lot of it, they are legendary for it. They also eat a lot of other things, and there is absolutely no need to eat Frey Bentos tinned rubbish instead of proper food. Do the French eat cheese? Should we take packs of Dairylea sliced when going to France? Should we take British water instead of drinking wine? Come on Maggy, when in Rome? The food is the country, and the country is its food! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted December 24, 2008 Share Posted December 24, 2008 I concur with Brian. The other thing to remember and especially about France is that their viewpoint is that "Rules are for foreigners". Enjoy C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggyd Posted December 27, 2008 Share Posted December 27, 2008 Brian Kirby - 2008-12-24 1:24 PMmaggyd - 2008-12-23 9:03 PM .............. A tip though take as many tins of Stewing steak corned beef ham etc; as you can the Germans eat lots of sausage I found. What the hell for? German sausage is very good: it should come as no surprise they eat a lot of it, they are legendary for it. They also eat a lot of other things, and there is absolutely no need to eat Frey Bentos tinned rubbish instead of proper food. Do the French eat cheese? Should we take packs of Dairylea sliced when going to France? Should we take British water instead of drinking wine? Come on Maggy, when in Rome? The food is the country, and the country is its food!Brian I meant to fall back on in Emergency! half the stuff I took I brought back! BUT I found that eating out is alright if you like or can eat Salt !! they use it by the bucketfull I think.And if like me you were bitten by a DOG and are on antibiotics for over a week you cant drink the wine! and in the Mosel when we stayed at Burgan they was only a bakers shop! we were stuck untill a nice little Dutch man came over and offered a lift into the next town as he was going to a Supermarket. And I wouldnt eat Dairylea in this country nevermind France! of course your wife will miraculously provide you with a meal that you have taken for granted she has been able to source the ingredients from somewhere. I dont talk to men about providing food so let your wife speak and she will no doubt agree with me. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted December 27, 2008 Share Posted December 27, 2008 maggyd - 2008-12-27 4:24 PM ............... of course your wife will miraculously provide you with a meal that you have taken for granted she has been able to source the ingredients from somewhere. I dont talk to men about providing food so let your wife speak and she will no doubt agree with me. :D Ah, but you presume too much Maggy! However, I don't see where this strange sexist preoccupation with shopping and cooking fits into the Germans eating too much sausage, or too much salt. Do you just assume men can't cook, or is that your experience?Salt in restaurant meals? It is always there. Why? It is the cheapest flavour booster around. When we cook, we tend not to use any, so most restaurant meals taste a bit salty to us. If you look down the ingredients, I think you'll find salt (and sugar) in almost all tinned food - and sausage - for the same reason, plus it's a cheap bulker, and the added sugar is there to disguise the taste if the salt, and add a bit more cheap bulk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggyd Posted December 27, 2008 Share Posted December 27, 2008 Brian Kirby - 2008-12-27 5:00 PMmaggyd - 2008-12-27 4:24 PM ............... of course your wife will miraculously provide you with a meal that you have taken for granted she has been able to source the ingredients from somewhere. I dont talk to men about providing food so let your wife speak and she will no doubt agree with me. :D Ah, but you presume too much Maggy! However, I don't see where this strange sexist preoccupation with shopping and cooking fits into the Germans eating too much sausage, or too much salt. Do you just assume men can't cook, or is that your experience?Salt in restaurant meals? It is always there. Why? It is the cheapest flavour booster around. When we cook, we tend not to use any, so most restaurant meals taste a bit salty to us. If you look down the ingredients, I think you'll find salt (and sugar) in almost all tinned food - and sausage - for the same reason, plus it's a cheap bulker, and the added sugar is there to disguise the taste if the salt, and add a bit more cheap bulk.Brian my brother in law was in a Hotel in German and watched them preparing the food He said the were taking a handfull and throwing it in that was one of the things he didnt like about the food ! so its not just me I know when a tablespoon has been added rather than half a teaspoon! Im not being sexist I have been cooking neally every day for the last 48 years its not a hobby for me its a necessity Im stateing a fact, and dont worry Im continually checking the side of the tin for the ingredients for fat content! sugar, and salt. So go tell your granny how to suck eggs dont try and tell me. >:-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggyd Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 Karen Sorry for going off topic :-D everything seems to have been answered except the first one about where to stay on the night before you catch your 8.00 am ferry from Dover! if its any help we stayed at the Caravan Club site they have an area separate so you can leave early before the office opens, although next time we were thinking of just parking up on the front at Folkstone as others have said many do. Hope you have a lovely time where ever you go.Margaret. :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo3090 Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 If you are going to a lot of places then you will need an "Umwelt" sticker for your van. It's the German equivelent for the emmision zone in London. They cost from 5-30 Euros and you can either get them on-line, through the post or direct from a council office in Germany. They are universal for the country no matter where you get them from and it will save you a few bob in fines for not showing one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 maggyd - 2008-12-27 9:56 PM ............. So go tell your granny how to suck eggs dont try and tell me. >:-) Peace be with you Maggy. I merely responded to what you wrote, which seems to have led to some confusion. Sorry for the off topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggyd Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 Brian Kirby - 2008-12-28 5:20 PMmaggyd - 2008-12-27 9:56 PM ............. So go tell your granny how to suck eggs dont try and tell me. >:-) Peace be with you Maggy. I merely responded to what you wrote, which seems to have led to some confusion. Sorry for the off topic.AND ALSO WITH YOU :-D Brian and have a HAPPY HEALTHY NEW YEAR ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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