snookie’s adventures in Europe
the next day, after finishing loading the van with furniture, we make our way to Lorsch. this is quite a pretty town, and it’s all so clean! i’ve never seen the streets anywhere in England as clean as this.
we have a bit of a drive round the local area, just for a look-and to find shops!! but it’s Sunday, so virtually everywhere’s shut. damn, would have loved to have gone into that teddy bear shop in Lorsch…
reats up in our hotel. i keep myself amused by watching ST:TOS in German, and try to figure out what they are saying. we go out later that night, first to this cafe-bar. really nice here. what i find odd though (they don’t do this in the big towns & cities,or in the tourist areas) is the fact that you don’t pay for your drinks as you get them, the barmaid marks a beermat with the price and a mark for each drink you have, & you pay when you leave. somehow, i don’t think that would work in this country…just like the ciggy machines on the streets you have over there-put one on the wll outside our local, it’d be gone as soon as the fitter had left!
we end up in a Chinese restaurant. pointless being handed the menu-it’s all in German! fortunately the waiter can speak english, so he recommends something.
the next morning, i have my first ever continental breakfast. looks more like lunch, with the sliced cheese & meat. i tuck in, and it’s only afterwards…
other half:”did you like that first slice of meat?”
“yes, why?”
“it had horse in it..”
ack! ack! ack!
[img]images/smiles/icon_eek.gif[/img] [img]images/smiles/icon_eek.gif[/img]
our final stop in Germany is the main factory of the company for which the other half works, just outside Lorsch. we were hoping to get away from there early, so i would have time to have a look round some shops, and take some pictures. as it was, we didn’t leave until 12.30pm, & we had to catch the ferry home at 8.45pm (continental time). i ended up trying to take pictures from the van on the move, so God knows if they’ll turn out…
one thing i will definitely remember from Germany is the food at the motorway services. it’s a damn site better that the kak you get here, it’s bloody lovely in fact!! just wish i didn’t look so much like a rabbit stuck in the headlights of a fast approaching car when the serving staff are talking..me no understand!!!
after finally getting to Calais in one piece(try drivin a tall van for 7hr with the wind straight from hell trying to blow you over!) i have a quick nip into one or to of the booze emporiums (!) cheap beer- i’ll have some of that!!, and board the ferry. we’re on SEAFRANCE-CEZANNE for the trip back- an older, smaller boat. Now that was a rough crossing -anyone in the UK should appreciate this, as they’ll know how bad the weather was all that w/end. took longer to get back..(tip-when on a rough ferry trip, don’t drink pints,drink shorts or wine-less stomach contents to slosh about!!!) raided the shop, of course [img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img] .we finally arrive in Dover. much to our amusement, as we are being loaded off, this VW camper van, in his excitement, tries to drive straight underneath the upper car deck. seeing as he had a sofa on his roof rack, this was a really bad idea…rips the whole lot off with a load crash! talk about peeing ourselves…
and home. picks the dog up from my mum & dad’s, who picked her up from the kennels earlier on. she’d been fine. i’d been worried she’d be upset that we’d left her, but she wasn’t. finally gets into bed 3.30am our time Tuesday morning. needless to say, i didn’t go to work that day..
and there you have it!! ok, it was all simple things that happened really-but it was a whole new experience for me. i can’t help but be excited by it. i just wish i could do it all again this w/end. one thing’s for sure, the next time i’m over there, i want more time to explore. Germany is a lovely country, and the taster i had last w/end has made me hungry fo more [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img] [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]
[ 02-05-2002: Message edited by: snooklepie ]