They don't seem to make boring days in Europe.
In the morning (after updating the blog) we used TomTom (the sat nav program) to find a shopping centre nearby and on the way for where we wanted to go, and stopped in and bought another FM transmitter for my iPod (no music is just not doable), and other supplies.
Then it was on to Nurburg, home of the Nurburgring racetracks. TomTom told us there was a campsite nearby, and off we went.
The nearby campsite was actually in some random village that wasn't really very close to Nurburg at all. But it was quite nice, right on a river, the weather was warm and we were stuffed so we decided to make the most of it and stay at the caravan park there anyway.
The pub where the park is run from was closed with a sign in German about how to get help. Hm. OK, next pub along, and there's a nice girl who spoke (quite broken) English and started to assist by pointing us back to the first pub. We told her that no it was closed, so she came out and tramped around the caravan park with us to find the owner. We eventually did, and he spoke even less English! We managed to get out of him that there were vacancies and the price, but not til later did we manage to communicate that we didn't have our own caravan but would need to sleep in someone else's.
That wasn't an option so he took us back to the second pub where the girl then took us to a Gasthaus (Guest House), which was full and then to another, which wasn't. She then left us with an elderly lady who spoke absolutely zero English at all, but only after we'd worked out some of the details. 35Euro for two, including breakfast and with our own room ("nicht zu frauline???" or something) and large bathroom.
We unloaded and, after a heavily involved discussion (the subject matter was very light, it was the effort required for discussion that was heavy) with the landlady, headed back down to the river to make ourselves wurst and cheese rolls for lunch. It was just lovely. The weather was so warm (30+ degrees) and the grass was thick and the view was quite pleasant. And, one better, we found a third pub that advertised showing of World Cup matches!
In we went, and drank 2 milkshakes each while watching the end of the South Korea vs Togo game. Then it was back outside to the thick grass for a deep sleep in the shade. Back into the pub for the next game (France vs Switzerland), this time trying the different beers and making sure to document (by photograph) the first time we tried each one.
That done, we had to find another venue for the screening of the third game, so in the car and through the windy narrow cobblestone (probably older than Captain Cook) streets, stopping at every guest house and pub until we found a place that offered to turn on the TV for us. Well, they might as well, we were the only ones there.
As a bonus they had a large meat platter (with veges and salad) on the menu, so Mark and I indulged while we had the chance, and it was just a top meal! The chef was a youngish bloke and sat down with us right infront of the TV for the first half of the game, soon joined by his sister (or was it his girlfriend? We didn't ask questions...). Then, after we'd finished the meal, they invited us to their friend's place where they have a projector going for all the games, and we saw the 2nd half of the Brazil vs Croatia match sharing beers with a room full of people who didn't understand us, but who found it amusing that we cheered so much.
Back to the landlady's guesthouse (just roll the car downhill slowly and don't scrape the sides!) for a well earned rest.
In the morning (after updating the blog) we used TomTom (the sat nav program) to find a shopping centre nearby and on the way for where we wanted to go, and stopped in and bought another FM transmitter for my iPod (no music is just not doable), and other supplies.
Then it was on to Nurburg, home of the Nurburgring racetracks. TomTom told us there was a campsite nearby, and off we went.
The nearby campsite was actually in some random village that wasn't really very close to Nurburg at all. But it was quite nice, right on a river, the weather was warm and we were stuffed so we decided to make the most of it and stay at the caravan park there anyway.
The pub where the park is run from was closed with a sign in German about how to get help. Hm. OK, next pub along, and there's a nice girl who spoke (quite broken) English and started to assist by pointing us back to the first pub. We told her that no it was closed, so she came out and tramped around the caravan park with us to find the owner. We eventually did, and he spoke even less English! We managed to get out of him that there were vacancies and the price, but not til later did we manage to communicate that we didn't have our own caravan but would need to sleep in someone else's.
That wasn't an option so he took us back to the second pub where the girl then took us to a Gasthaus (Guest House), which was full and then to another, which wasn't. She then left us with an elderly lady who spoke absolutely zero English at all, but only after we'd worked out some of the details. 35Euro for two, including breakfast and with our own room ("nicht zu frauline???" or something) and large bathroom.
We unloaded and, after a heavily involved discussion (the subject matter was very light, it was the effort required for discussion that was heavy) with the landlady, headed back down to the river to make ourselves wurst and cheese rolls for lunch. It was just lovely. The weather was so warm (30+ degrees) and the grass was thick and the view was quite pleasant. And, one better, we found a third pub that advertised showing of World Cup matches!
In we went, and drank 2 milkshakes each while watching the end of the South Korea vs Togo game. Then it was back outside to the thick grass for a deep sleep in the shade. Back into the pub for the next game (France vs Switzerland), this time trying the different beers and making sure to document (by photograph) the first time we tried each one.That done, we had to find another venue for the screening of the third game, so in the car and through the windy narrow cobblestone (probably older than Captain Cook) streets, stopping at every guest house and pub until we found a place that offered to turn on the TV for us. Well, they might as well, we were the only ones there.
As a bonus they had a large meat platter (with veges and salad) on the menu, so Mark and I indulged while we had the chance, and it was just a top meal! The chef was a youngish bloke and sat down with us right infront of the TV for the first half of the game, soon joined by his sister (or was it his girlfriend? We didn't ask questions...). Then, after we'd finished the meal, they invited us to their friend's place where they have a projector going for all the games, and we saw the 2nd half of the Brazil vs Croatia match sharing beers with a room full of people who didn't understand us, but who found it amusing that we cheered so much.
Back to the landlady's guesthouse (just roll the car downhill slowly and don't scrape the sides!) for a well earned rest.
posted by Tim at 9:47 pm
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