The Twenty-Sixth Week

Saturday 27-8-16

So we were having our second day at Goncourt on their very nice municipal camping inside the medieval walls. The walls can be walked, so that's what we did. But we waited until two o'clock when the sun was at it's hottest and we were sure to be hot and sweaty. Even with the heat it was nice to walk the whole way around the town on top of a wall.

We had a wander around the town too and bought stuff for dinner, a big meaty salad.

After dinner we had a bit of spectator sport watching a German pitching his caravan on the road around the site. Seems he didn't fancy a proper flat, grassy pitch. This was his final effort at leveling it before giving up.

We got the big map out and plotted our route for the next five days. A loop of French camping municipals that would end up near the German border and our next weekends beer festival destination.

Camping Municipal Goncourt, France. N47.86052 E005.32883

Sunday 28-8-16

Our next municipal was at Saint Marie Sur Ouche, to get to it the road narrowed over two bridges, one over the river and then one over the canal.

The site was small and quiet, our kind of place. The reception was closed but a sign said to find a pitch and pay later. This we did.

A lady came around at six and collected the money for the pitch, 16 euro. She said the town didn't have a bakery for bread in the morning but there was a great machine that dispensed bread on our way out. I dragged the charcoal and bbq out and burnt some pork and cooked some tomatoes in foil for dinner.

Camping Municipal at Saint Marie Sur Ouche, France. N47.28455 E004.79631

Monday 29-8-16

I had to find this bread machine, which we did in a car park. It did exactly what it promised and dispensed us a baguette after putting money in it. Problem was it was artisan bakers bread. This means oddly shaped and with a crust like a wood rasp.  I'm not a fan of artisans.

Something else we needed today was LPG. After a few laps around a few French petrol stations we eventually found one flogging gas. It was self service which I prefer as the attendants give up too quick and we never get a completely full tank. By waiting after the pump slows down I can normally get a couple more liters in. So far in the trip we've used 95 liters over 180 days.

At a big town called Gray we found the camping and made ourselves at home again.

Camping Municipal at Gray, France. N47.45219 E005.60168

Tuesday 30-8-16

And the week carried on much the same, drive for a few hours in nice scenery, a wander around a supermarket and then find the next camping on our list. Not that interesting but very relaxing after our previous months adventures. France is so easy to tour in a motorhome. Today's camping was again a small quiet one with a lady who collected the money in the evening, this one being just 11 euro.

Camping Municipal at St Maurice Sur Moselle, France. N47.87766 E006.77944

Wednesday 31-8-16

On the drive today we passed through Colmar. On one of its traffic islands we came across a 12m high replica of the Statue of Liberty. Latter with a bit of Googling I found out sculptor Auguste Batholdi, who was born in Colmar had created the original one.

Our plan was to stop at the camping municipal at Obernai, another medieval city. There was a closed barrier and the reception was shut when we got there. But the barrier wasn't a problem as I just followed a car through who had the code. We pitched and then when the reception opened we went to pay. The lady was unhappy and non too friendly, asking us to move to a gravel part of the site where motorhomes had to be parked. I didn't want to, so we asked her to lift the barrier and left. In the middle of the town was a free motorhome aire. It was just a gravel car park but not much different to where the snotty cow at the camping wanted us to pay 20 euros to pitch. We found ourselves a space.

The town was right on our doorstep so we had a good walk around. I forgot my camera so early the next morning I got up and went to take some snaps. The market stall holders were setting up everywhere so instead of pictures of nice old buildings with no tourists I got them in all my pics.

Aire at Obernai, France. N48.45972 E007.48607

Thursday 1-9-16

We wanted to be as close to Germany as possible today. The most easterly town in France is right on the border and that's where we found our last camping municipal of the week. From the outside it looked French.

But once in we felt like we were back in Germany, all the other people camping there were German and the signs were all in German. It was also the most expensive nights camping we'd had in 180 days at 22 euro a night.

It was next to a big lake with a beach so Liz topped her tan up there in the afternoon. They were setting a stage and some huge speakers up on the beach for a party at the weekend.

Camping Municipal at Lauterbourg, France. N48.97047 E008.16430

Friday 2-9-16

As we packed up the van in the morning they started sound checks at the beach, my coffee cup rattled on the table in the van. I felt a bit sorry for the campers stopping here over the weekend, it was going to be noisy. But we were off to a noisy event ourselves. Every two years my friends town in Germany has a beer and wine festival. This would be the fifth time I'd been to it and we were meeting my friend and 16 others there. He'd sorted us out a pitch on an allotment ten minutes walk out of the town. It was ideal as the town had no camp site or stellplatz for motorhomes. We found it down a gravel track and tucked the van under some trees for shade.

We walked into the town in the afternoon and met up with everyone. The idea was to have a few beers then go back to the van and then meet up again that night. That didn't happen, we just stayed out drinking. First in the bars....

Then up at the festival....

Friday night was supposed to be the quiet night at the festival with Saturday being the busy night. It wasn't that quiet for us. At 2am in the morning we wandered back to the van, it took over an hour rather than 10 minutes to find it in the dark with blurry eyes and wobbly legs.

An allotment near Jockgrim, Germany.

Below are the numbers so far for 179 days away.

Cheers, the Van Brian Crew.

The Ninteenth Week

Sunday 10-7-16

So the forecast today was for 37 degrees. It wasn't wrong. My solution was to spend most of the day in the shade of the van, write up last weeks blog and upload it. The wifi on the site was fast and free. I also backed up and recovered photos after our wine in the keyboard issues with two previous laptops. This was all aided by our recent big blowy fan purchase. The evening had been mapped out too. We were eating out at a grill restaurant, part of my ongoing search for grilled lamb chops, then cocktails in a noisy beach bar and then the Euro final. Liz being French having a keen interest in the result. We showered then wandered to the restaurant. Bingo, yes they had lamb chops. To say we were happy is an understatement.

They were great and we got eight each for 10 euro. Then it was part two of the mission, noisy beach bar. We found one playing AC/DC, old Rock n Roll and Santana, right up my street music wise. Liz had her cocktail and I crammed three ice cold Alpha beers in before kick off.

We saw the first drunk Greeks of our trip, they were happily knocking shots back and being nice and loud. Great stuff. Then it was back to the van and the dongle plugged in the laptop did it's stuff again. Shame the game was so boring and the French lost. But we'd had a good night whatever.

Camping Poseidon, Platamonas, Greece. N40.01329 E022.59299

Monday 11-7-16.

After a very steady pack up, last nights festivities had dulled my enthusiasm a bit, we paid up and left the camping. They tried to charge us 56 euro for two nights but Liz waved the ACSI book at them and they reduced it to 34 euro, the last date of the discount rate was today so we'd just got there in time.

We bought spinach pie and bread at the baker then jumped on the motorway to Thessaloniki. 55Km up the motorway we jumped off it and found a camping. Small, quiet and a lot cooler than yesterdays.

We walked around the site and found a cracking old Land rover with a very unstable camping box thing stuck on it. It was abandoned in a corner of the site and the last tax disc in the window was 2005. I liked it even though it looked like it'd handle like a pig on a pushbike.

We had coffees by the pool and then did some jobs. I put straps on the foil backed beach mats so they'd attach to the windows to act as sun shades and sorted the fan out with a strap to hang it over the bed. We also spent an hour putting a months worth of facts and figures in the trip log spreadsheet, another victim of the wine keyboard interface.

Camping Methoni, Greece. N40.42766 E022.60406

Tuesday 12-7-16

So we dropped back onto the motorway, paid our tolls and headed up to Thessaloniki. Luckily it has a ring road. Looking at it from the ring road which was above the town it looked like a hot busy mess of apartments, shops and businesses. We then headed south down the coast and into the part of Greece known as Halkidiki. We stopped to buy cigarettes in one of the seaside towns. I double parked as is the custom and a guy on the other side of the road double parked. All quite acceptable here.

The towns were busy and the beaches full of parasols. It was looking like yet another campsite night until we wandered into Paralia Trigias. By an old harbour building we found a quiet spot to park up next to some well looked after grass.

At the end of the road was a beach taverna. We had coffees then lunch back at the van. About four we wandered back for ice creams and two old Greek blokes started talking to us. We sat with them and they shared their retsina wine with us. One was a communist called Tito with Che Guevara tattooed on his arm the other was a capitalist called Georgos who loved money. This they told us in a mixture of Greek, German and English. But they were best friends non the less. The capitalist was off to Germany to work at the beer festivals making pizzas, he went by the name of Pizza George. The communist said he'd stay in Greece and drink wine. They called Liz Her Majesty when the found out her name. They were both very drunk. We left them after an hour and Pizza George drove his friend home. We sat outside the van in the shade and drank beer and read.

Wild camping at Paralia Trilias Beach, Greece. N40.26917 E023.18122

Wednesday 13-7-16

We looked at the map and I declared my total disinterest at seeing any more random Greek beaches. So Halkidiki was crossed off the itinerary. Seeing as where we were gave us a great opportunity to head north to Bulgaria that's what we decided to do. We backtracked up the dual carriageway to Thessaloniki then hung a right for a place on the coast called Stavros. The road was new and smooth and paid for by the EU. When we hit the coast we decided that as tomorrow would be a border crossing day we should find a campsite with Wi-Fi . We needed to find out what we needed, we didn't even know what the currency was in Bulgaria. And in Asprovota we found what we wanted. And it was probably our strangest Greek campsite yet.

We found a nice spot in the shade and then ambled around the place. It was huge, hundreds of pitches, but only maybe 10% occupied. You could see it had once been very busy and well maintained. But now it was struggling. We had become used to seeing Greek caravans left on the sites and people using them as weekend cottages, with little fences and paved areas they'd installed themselves, but here they took things even further. They were planting veggie plots outside their caravans.

The seafront was a bit bleak, but some of the residents had been watering the bit of grass in front of their plots to keep it green.

The Supermarket on site had seen better days too, we were glad we went to Lidl before getting here.

But it was quiet, the toilets were clean with hot water in the showers and the wifi was fast and free. In Lidl today we'd done a bit of shopping and found mozzi nets on offer. We bought some and I spent some time cutting them up to replace the tatty nets on the van door screen. Liz also made a small one to fit over the drivers door using the magnets they came with so we can have that open while we're parked up.

On the free wifi we sussed out Bulgaria border requirements, found out they spend Levs in the shops, learnt how to say hello and thank you in Bulgarian and found a campsite to head to just over the border for tomorrow night. So we were all set, I do like a plan.

Camping Asprovolta, Greece. N40.73553 E023.71797

Thursday 14-7-16

Bulgaria bound we headed north for the border, we waved bye bye to the sea as the next time we'd see it would be in France in two months time. On our way north we passed this fine fellow. No idea what it was but it looked old.

We reached the border after an hour and a half. We'd dug out our insurance docs, V5 and driving licences as we'd read we'd need them to enter Bulgaria. After a short queue two policemen, one Greek and one Bulgarian asked to see our passports. The Greek then asked us what we thought of Brexit. We told him and he gave us a long lecture about why it was good and what would happen next. He kept us talking for 5 minutes even though there was a queue of cars behind us. Eventually he waved us through and that was it. None of the other docs needed. About a mile up the road we pulled in for fuel, it was cheaper here so we'd waited till over the border to fill up. A nice chap filled us up and then gave our window a wash. Liz went and paid and also bought a carnet for 15 euro to allow us to drive in Bulgaria for a month.

We found the campsite I'd spotted on Google maps yesterday. It was run by an English couple called John and Sarah. It was small and tidy. The showers and loos were brand new and we had use of a kitchen in the house if we needed it.

They invited us for drinks and a game of darts after dinner. They also had two Spanish lads stopping there doing work for them in exchange for room and board, these two lads from Bilbao were referred to as the Spaniels and they'd learnt to play darts that week. They beat us all.

Sometime in the early hours we made it back to the van, Bulgarian rakia had made me sleepy.

Kamping Kromidovo, Bulgaria.  N41.45472 E023.36283

Friday 15-7-16

I woke up at 10am. We went to see John and another Brit called Ian with our map and they helped us with suggestions for places to go. This done we packed up very steadily as we had fuzzy heads and it was 41 degrees. We waved bye and headed for a big supermarket Sarah had recommended. We found it and it had an ATM which was handy as we had no Levs, we'd had to pay for the camping with Euros. It was a big place and we found everything we needed. The advertising poster outside caught my eye, the lady on it seemed to have far too many teeth.

After this we headed east and into the mountains with an idea that it would be cooler higher up. Just before the town of Predel at 1100m above sea level we spotted a sign for Camping. We followed down a dirt track through a forest and came across a completely empty campsite. A very happy man ran out the house and shouted “hello you want camp?” at us. We said yes and he said anywhere, which was obvious really as the field was empty apart from a lot of small wooden camping chalets. I asked how much and rubbed my fingers together in the internationally recognised way to mean money and he held up 10 fingers. 10 Euro, bargain, we pitched up and he plugged us in to the only electric point on the site.

It was sunny but a lot cooler than at the bottom of the mountains in the valley. Mission accomplished for the day.

Camping Predel, Bulgaria.  N41.89648 E023.33054

Saturday 16-7-16

We paid the happy campsite fellow and headed for Lake Batak. There was a camping on the lake that we'd got a discount card for. I took a photo of our personal campsite as we passed it on the dirt road.

The way to the lake took us through the mountains. There were people turning hay over with pitch forks in the fields and we passed lots of farmers with horse and carts. In one town we spotted a Lidl so did a small shop, really we just wanted to compare it with the Greek ones. More cooked meats and less Feta cheese was the answer. We were met at the gate of the camping by a young lady called Jana. She showed us a pitch and apologised for it being busy, it was Saturday and all the Bulgarians would go home tomorrow after their weekend away. We had a nice view of the lake and the cloud was clearing. Another night sorted.

Camping Lake Batak, Bulgaria.  N41.95861 E024.15475

I've managed to rescue my facts and figures spreadsheet and updated it. Below are the numbers so far for 130 days away.

Cheers, the Van Brian Crew.

The Eighteenth Week

Monday 4-7-16, Tuesday 5-7-16 and Wednesday 6-7-16

This morning we packed up our stuff and paid the nice campsite lady 17 euro a night for our pitch. The night before we'd watched France beat the Icelanders and go through to the Euro semi finals. I'd also eaten a wonderful braised beef dish in the taverna, two meals out on the trot, we must be millionaires. To make up for all this excess we needed some free camping. After 40 km of tortuously twisty roads that's just what we found at Patistika Beach.

It was a beach side car park where we found a great spot under the pines for shade. There was a beach bar across the road and a taverna just up the hill. We were the only motorhome there all day until a Dutch van turned up in the evening. We had a chat with them, they'd been here three years ago and said it was a good spot for camping.

The beach was nice, according to Liz.

The beach bar was quite smart too and was run by an excitable Greek chap who lived in Munich in the winter and here in the summer. He spoke Greek, German, Italian, French and English. He also had a thing for Italian opera. So we sat with our coffees listening to Pavarotti and talking to him about the Greek economy and Brexit. Everyone we meet asks us about Brexit.

It doesn't take much to entertain us any more. So the sight of a praying mantis sat on a cicada on our wiper blade caused quite a stir in the Van Brian camp.

In the end we stayed three nights, only the fact we'd run out of essentials like beer and wine forced us to move. The Dutch couple, Harry and Erine offered me their moped to go to town to get shopping, which was nice of them, but it was a long way to the shops so I said no thanks. We went for a drink with them and an Austrian who'd turned up in a van. We bought the barman a drink and he also sat chatting with us. It was all a bit multinational. The Austrian said he'd been here twenty years ago and the field we were parked in was a proper campsite then, he'd paid to pitch his tent on it. It was a pleasant evening with a nice view.

Wild camping at Potistika Beach, Greece. N39.26392 E023.29099

Thursday 7-7-16

We left the beach in the morning after saying our goodbyes to the Dutch and the Austrians. We found a town where we could stock up the fridge and also a garage for diesel then headed north. There was a beach Liz had seen photos off that looked good. And it was. It was small, sandy and in a rocky cove.

There was a taverna on the steps down to it and we sat having a coffee watching the lady preparing the food for lunch. The stuffed courgette flowers looked great.

A Bulgarian was camping on the beach. I talked to him about where to go in Bulgaria, as that's our next country, and he gave me some tips. At six the beach emptied and there was just us there. We found ourselves a corner of the parking area and made ourselves at home.

An Italian van turned up and they walked down to the beach. I was impressed with it, only 5m long and not a make I'd seen before. They came back after a swim and left. No idea where as there wasn't anywhere else around here that we could see as a possible overnight stop.

Wild camping at Lambinou Beach, Greece. N39.36027 E023.21325

Friday 8-7-16

So today we needed to make our way north, there was one wild camping spot 80km away we knew of and then it was another 60km to a camp site. The drive north took us high up and inland for a while, we drove along a huge flat plain. It had a man made lake covering part of it and lots of farms with cows and cereal crops, something we'd not seen for a long while.

Eventually we saw the sea again and dropped 380m in 5km down yet another hairpin riddled road. Just along the coast we found the beach we'd been looking for. We pitched up with a few Greek caravans, tents and also a group of gypsies living in tents. It was a busy little spot.

I spoke to one of the Greeks in a caravan. He introduced himself as Stavros, like that bloke off Harry Enfield. This threw me a bit. He explained that he'd lived in Derby for three years and had been the manager of the deep pan pizza take away there. He'd met an English girl in Corfu and had come to England to live with her. When they split up he bought an old Bedford motorhome and drove it back to Greece where a friend of his stole it from him and he's never seen either again. He also said tomorrow the beach car park would be packed with cars as it was Saturday. We were moving on in the morning but it was a shame as there was a great breeze coming off the sea and the place was very laid back, we liked it.

Wild camping at Kato Polydenri Beach, Greece. N39.65585 E022.89340

Saturday 9-7-16

During the evening more caravans and tents had turned up and in the morning the parking was filling up with cars. We packed up and left before we got blocked in. I set the sat nav to take us to a campsite. The route took us along the coast and for a long while all we passed was beaches full of parasols and beach tavernas. Seems this is a popular tourist area for the Greeks. We didn't stop to look around but a family of storks on a power pole warranted a photo.

We rolled into Camping Poseidon at lunchtime. A chap called Yorgos showed us a shady pitch by the sea and we were sorted again. The washing machines took a beating and my smalls got strung up for everyone to see.

We walked down the road and nosed about in the mini markets and shops. We bought some foil backed beach mats to attach to the side windows to act as sun shades. We also bought a nice big fan. The forecast for Sunday was 37 degrees so a bit of forward planning was required.

On our walk around we also realised we were the only tourers on the site, the rest was full of Greek caravans that are pitched here permanently. The services on site were good but they gave you an electronic key that allowed you only one hot shower a day. This seemed a bit stingy to me but their wifi was fast and free so that made up for it. The beach was packed and still busy at 9pm and the place had a proper buzz to it in the evening, like a small town. Most unlike all the other sites we've stopped on in Greece. It made a pleasant change.

And that's our eighteenth week, next week we head for Halkidiki where we plan on spending a few weeks and then its north to Bulgaria.

Camping Poseidon, Platamonas, Greece. N40.01329 E022.59299

Cheers, the Van Brian Crew.