Hey there, remember me?

We are back on the road!

After five months of hibernation for me and a rather industrious time for my human, we left the known once again to go and explore the unknown.

This part of the trip will have us visit England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. We are looking for medieval castles, rolling hills, deep moors, Vikings and royal landscapes. And since we are planning to take some five to six months to do that, we should find all the above and much more!

But before we start, I have been told by one (or two) people that my posts are a tad (or two) too long. And since I recently read a quote saying “Good writing is leaving things out”, I will try my best to be a bit briefer in the future.

We left Munich on a Monday morning, headed towards Rotterdam, where we would meet our ferry on Thursday to cross over to England. On the way we paid some visits to family and did some last minute beauty repairs to my furnishings. 

In Rotterdam, we parked up right next to the stadium of Feyenoord Rotterdam. From there it was about a 45min into town, where we met with a dear friend to have dinner.

The night was surprisingly quiet, with the road and the train tracks running right alongside the car park.

Our check in for the ferry wasn’t until 1.30pm, so we took our time getting ready. After a 45min ride we arrived at the terminal and were quickly and smoothly checked in. Of course the border patrol took and interest in us and just had to have a look and a little poke around.

My boat

My saloon

My view

                                         Upon departure                            Upon arrival

Driving into the bowels of the ferry on the right, only to come off of it 6 hours later and then drive on the left - I have to admit that I was a bit worried. But since my human had been driving on the left for years in Australia and New Zealand, it all went smoothly. Just for me it was a whole new experience. And slightly frightening at the beginning.

Not to stress it and drive too far on the wrong side when we both were a little tired, we parked up alongside a promenade just a few kilometers from the terminal, which is in Harwich. After a little stroll and some dinner we spent a quiet first night in England. 

The morning came around nice and sunny, so the bike was taken for a first little tour around the area before we moved on to the town of Ipswich. In recent years this place is said to have become a new favorite with the tourists. Not sure what they see, we didn’t really get it, though. It’s nice enough, has a little marina and some old buildings, but that’s about all we discovered. 

                                                           Whatever is German about a Döner...

We spent the night at Bawdsey Quay. It’s a small jetty down a loooong street leading there from the last village. Why it does that is anybody's guess. As we got there it was sunny but really windy. After a stroll on the beach and a little bike ride around the area, the wind had died down, and we enjoyed dinner and a wonderful sunset in peace. 

After a most quiet night we packed up and drove to Norwich.

This city is home to the cathedral with the highest tower in all of England. The surrounding grounds are quite nice as well, as is the whole inner city. It has a nice, relaxed vibe to it. There is a small river running alongside the city center and lots of pubs.

One thing we noticed almost immediately upon arrival here in England is the fact that it seems very much impossible to be under dressed. Which obviously suits my human pretty well and makes her feel a lot more comfortable in that regard as in, let’s say, well-dressed Spain. 

The initial reason for us to stop here was the fact that it was the closest larger city in the area and my human wanted to watch the FA Cup Final in a nice pub. Which she did, at the “Murderers Pub”. Long after the game was over, the fish & chips she’d had for dinner were still very much in a playful mood.

On arrival, we parked next to a soccer field. There was a gate, though, so we asked a local, and he told us that it would be closed overnight. No good. He recommended a spot up the hill with a good view from the car park. On that hill is also the city prison. And the road led directly into the car park of said institution. After driving around up there for a little while, my human asked at the information desk, and we were finally pointed in the right direction. 

Seemed like it could be a favorite with the local youth to hang out on weekends, it was Saturday, but we parked anyway, the game would start soon! When she got back, not only was her dinner in a party mood, but so were the kids sitting around in their cars. Couldn’t be so bad, right? 

Wrong. We moved at 1am to the next Aldi to spend the rest of the night there. Not only were they having a ball and listening to terrible music, they also raced their cars up and down the hill. I was worried that one of them might crash right into us sooner or later. 

By lunchtime, we were at our next spot, the “Karma Eco Camp”. Down a very, very bumpy, spring breaking road hides this very nice green space with cows, goats, geese and whatnot all around. 

Besides us, there was only one couple with a gorgeous Great Dane, which, of course, my human made friends with instantly. This dog loves carrots. So you can imagine where half of our stock of carrots went within the hour.

The afternoon was a bit grey and rainy, so after an hours walk we stayed in for the rest of the day and made plans for the coming week or so. Seems like were are going to rub shoulders with some future Nobel Prize winners in Cambridge!

Curiosities:

There is a lot of road kill, a lot. Mainly birds and some small, deer-like animal. Which we have seen alive, too. Which is a lot better. We’ve also seen a fox! 

You can ride your bicycle on the highway! At least if there is some special event. Still, on the highway!

A guy I passed by in Norwich told his friend: “I want the whole world to be a concrete jungle!” OK.., the two of us won't become friends.