We have 2 nights onboard the Norrona and are relieved to pack up and
head downstairs to GR3 to disembark the ship. We drive into Denmark by midday,
Sunday. Fortunately the supermarkets are open here on Sundays and we restock
our fridge before hitting the motorways. We are now in preparation mode before
putting GR3 onto a ship to Uruguay (our upcoming adventure).
Our friends posted a picture of an amazing troll in Denmark and I really
want to see one. There are heaps of them scattered all over the country just
waiting to be discovered and yes we find our very own troll not too far off our
route. He is lazing in a meadow and looks awesome. It would be a lovely quiet
spot to camp but John has found a spot right on the beach at Fredericia so we
head there. It’s perfect. Right on the beach in a lovely old town. We head out
to a local restaurant. After an excellent dinner it is great to sleep back in
our own bed (the ferry is NOT a luxury liner)
Monday it is time to start chores, so we head directly to Hamburg to an
E-scooter repair shop. My rear tyre has continually been going flat and
fortunately they can repair it straight away! And NO I didn’t crash it if that
is what you are thinking! Then onto the workshop John has been emailing. Once
there it is easier to communicate than the emails in German. They book us in
for a grease & oil change on Wednesday. That sorted we head out of the city
encountering yet more traffic congestion (roadworks are bringing the motorways
to a standstill with miles of trucks gridlocked) and find a nice spot on the
Elbe River for the night. It’s such a lovely evening we get out the scooters to
explore, following the river and then back past some lovely farmhouses.
Today is chore day. Cleaning and fixing. Unfortunately, John (who
usually can do anything) cannot repair 1: a waterleak in our UV filter and 2: a
watertank coming unattached. We will have to visit Krug again. By the end of
the day we return to the workshop and park there for the night ready for an
early start. Yet another hiccup. The cab won’t tilt so we need to wait for a new
hose which will arrive tomorrow. Oh well, plan B. We head right into the city
centre to park at the enormous Bunker our friends told us about (they have just
left but we will catch up with them soon) and get out our scooters to explore.
Hamburg is a perfect city for scooters with quiet streets and a wide bike lane.
We spend a few hours at the ruined Nikolai Cathedral. The tower is intact and a
lift zips passengers up to top for great views of the city. Downstairs is an
awesome Museum about the bombing of Hamburg in WW2. By now we are peckish, so
we zoom to the waterfont to get a famous fish sandwich and because it is such a
gorgeous day we head out on an hour-long boat trip. Back on dry land again the
day is nearly done so we zoom back to GR3 before driving through snarled
traffic to the workshop.
I am glad to say that we leave the workshop, jobs all done, by late morning.
Again, more traffic snarls, but we make it to the carpark at Werkfuerwehr Meyer
Werft in Papenburg in time for dinner with Joel & Cindy in their camper. We
have a lovely meal (thank you Chef Joel), but head to bed early as we have an
early start tomorrow.
Wera & Friso, who we met in South America, live nearby and as it
happens they both used to work here at this massive shipbuilding yard and they
are taking us on our very own guided tour of the workshop. This incredible workshop
builds those ginormous cruise ships you see all over the world. Later that
afternoon both motorhomes end up parked in Wera & Friso’s driveway and we
all enjoy pizzas cooked in the pizza oven. Wera & Friso will look after our
E-scooters as we are not allowed to take them on the ship. We are sure their
teenage kids will keep them well used.
Time to get a move on. We are booked into the Krug workshop on Monday so
we now have 2 days of driving to cross Germany and to reach Schladming in
Austria. It is just on dusk on the first night as we turn off the autobarn into
the tiny town of Geiselwind. They have a designated spot for campers but sadly
it is fenced off, so we simply pull into a nearby spot. By Sunday night we pull
into Schladming. It has been a long drive.
Monday morning the workshop starts on GR3. In the next few days they fix
our problems going over and beyond by improving the set ups completely and then
doing more jobs in readiness for South America. One night we can’t stay in GR3
as the water is disconnected, so we head into town for the night. Our stay
includes the Schladming card which entitles us to a free cable car ride. The
day is gorgeous so up we go for stunning views of the mountains and valleys.
Glad we did because the next day is drizzly and cold.
During our time here we have been fine tuning our paperwork for shipping,
booking a timeslot on the wharf to drop off GR3, booking trains and so on. It
has been a tad stressful when we couldn’t get paperwork for GR3 in time, but
with some help from Thomas at Krug making a few phone calls in German and a few
complaints from us we are now sorted (we hope!!! Fingers crossed)
Friday morning we head off back towards the motorway. There is almost
nothing to match the beauty of the Austrian mountains on a glorious day. As we
roll across the border we pull to a stop and drop our toll transponder off for
a refund. The process is pretty seamless and we head off on the busy German autobarn.
Later that day we pull off the autobarn and head to the town of Vohburg where
there is a campspot beside the Donau River. Just a little hiccup before we
arrive – a 3m sign and I spy old town gates ahead. Whoops, we quickly find
another route and find our lovely campspot on the river. We explore town with
its walls and Churches before joining some other campers around their blazing
campfire. A lovely way to end the day.
In the morning we return to the autobarn and head to Hipolstein to visit
our German friends, Konrad & Ingrid and their family. We have visited them
every time we have been in Germany since 2005. We have a fabulous time with
them sharing stories and enjoying a meal at a local restaurant. Then after an
awesome breakfast we head off. Sundays are a great day to drive the autobarn as
most of the trucks are off the road. We drive for the rest of the day and end
up in the village of Ahrweilen in a Wohnmobile Platz for the night. We are here to collect our paperwork from
CarTurf (we need the original documents for shipping)
Of course we need to explore town the next morning. And an awesome
little place it is too. The old town is enclosed in lovely stone walls and inside
the main street is lined with half timbered buildings. Very cute indeed. Time
for a few errands before we find a carpark near the Rhine for the night.
Today we must reach Hamburg ready to get to the port tomorrow, but we
need our paperwork first. At midday we get the call and we are off to collect
our papers and then start our drive. Hopefully there won’t be too much traffic.
The day is glorious, making for longer daylight, and there is lots of lovely
German scenery. But it is dark by the time we reach the city making it harder
to weave our way through road closures to get to The Bunker carpark. Phew here
in one piece and wake early to pack, clear out any remaining food, dump our wastewater
etc and head to the port. There are trucks streaming in so we follow them and
somehow manage to get checked in. Well John does most of it as I am not allowed
on port. Goodbye GR3 – safe travels to Montevideo. That leaves us on public
transport for the rest of the day. We grab a Bolt/uber to the train station,
fill in a few hours before getting on the ICE train to Munich. It really is
fast reaching speeds of 260km per hr. After 7 hours we arrive and hunt down our
next train that takes us to the airport. Then of course it is that long flight
home.
Hope you enjoyed following us on our travels - we will be back on the
road next year.
No comments:
Post a Comment