Amsterdam to Hamburg

The Hague and Amsterdam

Our plan at this stage is to tour Scandinavia over summer and experience the midnight sun at Nordkapp in Norway, the northernmost point in Europe. With the aim of being there in early July the first part of our journey is focused on getting to Scandinavia while still making sure we do justice to the places we’re passing through and see as much as we can.

After leaving Brugge on June 5 we headed towards Amsterdam. I’ve always wanted to see The Hague and had heard the waterfront is worth a visit so I persuaded Mr. Love to stop there for lunch. This was easier said than done as traffic was horrific and the waterfront built up and crowded, not the place for a 7.45 metre-long campervan. We did eventually find a park and had our picnic overlooking the marina before heading into the centre for a stroll through this city of Peace and Justice. 2017 marks the centenary of the Dutch art movement De Stijl best known through the works of Piet Mondrian with his bold black grids filled with blocks of bright primary colours. The Hague has gone all out to celebrate Mondrian, turning buildings into giant replicas of his famous art and flying Mondrian styled flags along the streets. Retailers were getting into the spirit with shop window designs inspired by Mondrian, and even dresses in the windows of high fashion stores bearing the trademark print of this famous artist.

We arrived mid-afternoon in Amsterdam and settled in to Camping Zeeburg, a colourful camping ground located about 7.5km from the city centre.  The place was a hive of activity, filled with young backpackers in tiny one-man tents as well, as families and couples in campers and caravans of all shapes and sizes. We knew we were in Amsterdam when greeted by the waft of “smoke”, a permanent presence around the camp. After setting up we cycled to Amsterdam and spent a few hours exploring the city before heading back to camp.

Overnight a storm hit with heavy rain and strong winds. The campervan felt like a boat being tossed around at sea. At 5am the wind still hadn’t abated and after listening to the awning flapping madly in the gale we decided it was best to get up and take it down. Semi-clothed and fighting the wind we successfully had the awning rolled up and back in place and as a reward got to see a dramatic red dawn sky – “red sky in the morning shepherds’ warning”.

After waiting for the weather to clear for most of the morning we decided to brave it, rug up against the cold wind, and cycle to town. First stop, the Van Gogh Museum where we were told the next available tickets were for the 4pm intake. We bought tickets and then cycled through the Old Towne to the Tulip Markets for lunch, after which we visited some of the local cheese shops for tastings of Gouda of all flavours imaginable.

I am great with maps and generally have good sense of direction, as Andrew would say; “very good for a girl”. But Amsterdam gets me, and Andrew too. It’s one of those cities that seems to send you in circles every time. We took an age trying to find Anne Frank’s house and with squalls of wind and rain constantly coming through navigation proved even harder. In a moment of frustration, I tried to take a short cut and cycled straight into an angry Dutchman. With my leg and pride bruised and a bit of confidence lost we managed to find our intended destination.

After visiting Anne Frank’s House, we headed back to the Van Gogh Museum to get there for the 4pm intake. Unsurprisingly we got horribly lost again, but enjoyed seeing some more picturesque residential streets filled with climbing roses and flower pots brimming with impatiens.

The Van Gogh Museum was a great experience, especially for a longtime fan like me. I thought I knew a lot about this artist after falling in love with his work at 15, but perhaps embarrassingly didn’t know he went through a Japanese phase, Fishing Boats on the Beach at Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer is now my new favourite. Within the museum was also an exhibition of Prints in Paris 1900, an amazing display of modern art prints including world-famous posters like Le Chat Noir and Le Moulin Rouge.

After a couple of hours in the museum we headed back to the campsite, arriving there just as the heavens opened, so we put aside any plans for a night on the town and hunkered down in the camper telling stories and listening to the rain on the roof.

Hamburg

To get to Hamburg the next day we drove 465 km in the pouring rain with heavy traffic and more trucks than you could ever imagine. Where are they all going?

Given the conditions, it was hard going for my driver, but he did a great job and only once managed to upset the locals when driving through roadworks and attempting to drive down a lane that had a width restriction of 2 metres, and being 2.3 metres without the mirrors we were inevitably squeezed to a halt. An angry truck driver got out of his vehicle and gave is a quick roadside lesson on measuring. Lesson learned.

After almost eight hours on the road we arrived at our campsite in Hamburg. Knaus Campingpark is in a woodland area 14km from central Hamburg, and funnily enough right beside IKEA. Despite having one of the world’s biggest homeware stores as your neighbour the setting is very pleasant, with plenty of trees and greenery, and each site surrounded by a privacy hedge.

Originally, we were only going to stay one night but as it took so long to get here we decided to stay two so we could spend a full day in the city, so the next morning we headed off to town via the extremely efficient and convenient public transport. For $20 NZD, we could get a day pass for two people giving us unlimited access to all public transport.

Hamburg is a beautiful city; wide streets, clean, a low-rise cityscape creating a feeling of openness, nice balance of historic and modern, laidback and cool populous with no one really in a rush and no crowds or visible queues, a seemingly very livable city.

After an enjoyable day walking the streets of Hamburg, taking in the history and admiring the architecture, both historic and modern, we headed back to the camping ground via a quick stop at IKEA to buy some essentials for our “home”.

It’s rained every day this week and the average high has been 15 degrees, so it’s not at all summery. However, the weather forecast looks like it’s finally clearing and warming up, perfect timing as we head north to Denmark tomorrow.

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Mr Love lost in Amsterdam
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A girl and her bike
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Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
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Camping in Amsterdam
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Being tourists in Amsterdam
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Tulip Markets Amsterdam
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Amsterdam

 

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Rathaus Hamburg
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St Katherine’s Hamburg
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River Elbe and floodgates

Folkestone to Brugge

After leaving Walton on the Hill we headed south to Folkestone where Andrew was born, to catch up with family before leaving for the continent. Unfortunately, Andrew’s cousin Steve is terminally ill so it was a visit tinged with sadness as we said a final goodbye to him.

However, despite the situation it was great to catch up with family and revisit old haunts.

Folkestone was once a grand holiday destination for the wealthy. But since air travel made more attractive destinations easier to access, this once popular seaside town lost its appeal and over the years has become very run down. However, recently a local businessman has generously invested in the area and finally Folkestone is getting some much needed revitalisation, particularly to the beautiful waterfront area. The old historic pier is being restored to its former glory with eateries and bars opening, and areas for outdoor performances being created. There is still a lot of work to be done but the vision is there, and will certainly make this part of England more appealing to live in, especially given that with the new fast rail connection it is now just a 55-minute commute from London.

We made the most of the weather cycling along the waterfront from Folkestone, through Sandgate to the picturesque town of Hythe, one of a series of historic towns along the Kent coast known as Cinque Ports that were strategic defence points for England.

After two nights in Folkestone we boarded the ferry to Calais and finally felt like our European adventure was underway. First stop – Brugge.

Andrew had a mild moment of panic when we arrived at the campsite in Brugge as he had forgotten what camping grounds were like, with vans and tents close by and, god forbid, other people around. You would think that having made the decision to spend a year in a campervan you would have considered whether you liked camping or not. However, once we were set up and he’d had a cold beer he started to relax, and was soon befriending the neighbours.

The next morning, we cycled into the historic centre of Brugge, exploring the canals, cobbled streets and narrow lanes, and dodging the hordes of tourists that inundate this prominent UNESCO World Heritage Site to admire the architecture and absorb the history. A stop at the boulangerie for a baguette and it was home to the campsite for lunch before heading out again to further explore the canals by bike, and stop for well-earned Belgian beer.

Tomorrow we head to Amsterdam.

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The house flat where Andrew was born.
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Folkestone waterfront.
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Andrew’s cousin’s son recently resurrected the business that his father and uncle started years before. The photos on his van paying tribute to the original owners are a great touch!
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The White Cliffs of Dover
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All set up for out first night camping.

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The beautiful historic town of Brugge.

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Walton on the Hill

Although we always intended to stay in the UK for a week or so, the start of our European adventure has been delayed by a nasty cut on Andrew’s leg that became infected after swimming in the warm Persian Gulf. On doctor’s advice, we have waited out a week while antibiotics did their thing. Apart from a day trip to London last week we’ve spent the last ten days in and around Walton on the Hill enjoying the great hospitality of Andrew’s brother David and sister in-law Alison and their children Rhys and Cerys. Between servicing the van and stocking up on essentials we’ve found plenty of time for exploring the area, biking in the woods, and spending time with our UK family and appreciating village life in Surrey.
We stumbled upon the US Golf Open qualifying tournament at the local golf course so spent a few hours watching some great golf, including supporting Kiwi Ryan Fox through a few holes.
A bike ride to Epsom for lunch had us cycling across the famous Epsom Downs racecourse and stopping to watch the preparations for this weekend’s iconic Epsom Derby. As racing fans it might seem odd we’re not sticking around for this but we’ve seen it before and are champing at the bit to get on the road.
So, after a visit to the doctor today we’ve been given the all clear – tomorrow is the day we finally head off.

 

London Day Trip 26/05/17

After most of the week comprising of arduous pre-trip preparation, and a particularly stressful few hours when we couldn’t work out why the water from the tank was pouring out as fast we were filling it, we decided to leave the campervan behind and take the train to London for the day. There were a couple of jobs to be done, a phone to buy and some other essentials, but most of the day was free to enjoy the colour and vibrancy of the city we both love to return to time and time again. A tourist attraction neither of us had visited before was an impromptu first stop after getting off the train at Victoria. The Royal Mews was well worth the visit. After emerging from the stables we wandered past Buckingham Palace with it’s heightened security presence, up through Hyde Park, down Oxford Street, Carnaby Street, down through Covent Garden, a stop in the sunshine in Trafalgar Square, then to Whitehall with the Horse Guards and Downing Street, past Big Ben and along the Thames crossing the Millennium Bridge to the Tate Modern and stopping for a beer at the Anchor Bankside. Then to the Borough Markets where we bought the most delicious ham, ewes cheese and ciabatta to have for dinner sitting beside the Thames, washed down with a Spanish Tempranillo drank out of paper cups. Then home on the train and a walk through the woods at dusk. The Fitbit read just on 20 kms by foot!

 

Pre-Trip Preparation

Since arriving in London on Sunday we have been busy getting ready to set off on our road trip. First up the campervan needed a good scrub inside and out, then it was off shopping for bikes, bike rack, BBQ, outdoor furniture, duvet, wine glasses…the list was long and the bill was high, but you can’t spend a year on the road without some creature comforts. There have been a few frustrations trying to figure out how everything worked – neither of us are great at following instruction manuals so after a tantrum or two we decided to drive to a motorhome dealer and get them to give us a personal demo. Nothing beats being shown things first hand. Fantastic service thanks Johns Cross Motorhome and Camping Centre

Take a tour of our new home on wheels here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKNNC_gU8YM

We’re Roving!

Hi, I’m Louise. Welcome to our Travel Blog.

My husband Mr Love and I made the decision to give up our everyday lives in New Zealand, sell our house, leave our jobs, bid farewell to friends and family, and head to Europe to travel the continent by Campervan. We have no set plans nor timeline to stick to, and will let the road take us where it will.

This blog is a record of my experiences roving Europe with Mr Love.

I hope you enjoy following our adventures!