Playing catch-up

Due to a lack of free wifi I haven't managed to update the blog for several days so this is a bit of a catch up. Last Saturday we moved on in the Czech Republic to a campsite about 15km from the centre of Prague and we then had two days of site-seeing in the city. There was a bus that stopped right outside the campsite but the journey in required two changes (another bus and then a tram) and took about 90 minutes each way. There is a lot to see in Prague and there seemed to be a lot going on but I think we managed to get a flavour of the place. The tram took us into Wenceslas Square, really a wide boulevard with large shops and hotels on either side and a statue of the “Sainted King” at the top. We then walked to the Old Town, in the rain on Sunday but again in better weather on the Monday. We also found a little area of lanes and courtyards off the Old Square, where there were some interesting old shops with antiques and bric a brac. We then went on over the Charles Bridge, and on Monday we actually made it up the steep hill to the Castle and did a tour of the old Royal Palace, St Vitus' Cathedral and various other attractions, before walking back to Wenceslas Square, (complete with a branch of Marks and Spencer!) to get the tram back. Tuesday was a Czech public holiday and we decided to have a bit of a quieter day. We stayed around the campsite and then had a stroll into the nearby village.

The weather had not been so good since we got into the Czech Republic, probably not their fault! It brightened up a bit on Tuesday and then got even hotter on Wednesday as we drove back into Germany.

We stayed for one night on a site in a forest that used to be a training camp for the Stasi!! The present owners have made it into a very attractive and popular holiday site, despite its unfortunate history. Soon after we arrived the hot weather broke into a short but heavy thunder shower. However the warm weather had returned by this morning. We had a very long drive today in hot sunshine not helped by running out of LPG at an inconvenient place half way up a hill and having to coax the engine to keep going on petrol despite the usual sticking carburettor float problem, until we could pull into a garage forecourt in the next town. Edith was not at all happy about this! Fortunately the force must have been with us as the Opel dealership next door sold LPG and after that we had an incident free journey, except for a small spot of navigational difficulty in finding the correct exit from the autobahn. We are now back on the site at the Edersee National Park where we stayed on our first night and the plan is to stay here for two nights and then go up to Cologne for a couple of nights before heading back to Rotterdam for the ferry home.

Monsoon Season

We didn't make it to the open-air museum, in fact we sat in the van, watching the rain .... and thunder and lightening and reading our books from about 11.00am until 8 in the evening when we dashed across to the hotel next door, for a meal and a change of scenery! It continued to rain all night and after putting the tent/awning away soaking wet and carrying all the washing which had been on a washing line since yesterday morning and was also drenched, we left the site and headed further west into the Czech Republic. The rain eventually petered out late morning, and by mid-afternoon we arrived at a somewhat surreal site beside a lake. The plumbing and electrics, and the site generally,  have the look and feel of "Soviet era - circa 1960" and nearby there is a group of campers who appear to be from the Czech branch of the owners club for a small Citroen hatchback car. Next to the camping field is a bar with an outside seating area and a "Live performance" from a local very loud Blues band! However, the rain has held off and the sun even shone for a while, so we have got the tent and the laundry dry.

The plan is to go on to a site on the outskirts of Prague tomorrow and spend a couple of days exploring the city. The weather forecast doesn't sound too promising but hopefully we can find enough to see undercover to cope with the wettest bits.