Adventures in the Silver Machine

The Silver Machine now parked up at Knaus Camping, a campsite about a mile walk from the centre of town or a short, small ferry ride directly from the campsite.

It’s now over a week since our adventures around Cologne. The Silver Machine is driving well (hopefully not tempting fate here) but we still have an insufficient oil warning every time we slow down. The garage said that it was because it’s the wrong oil in the engine, it’s too thin, but it wasn’t a problem just take it to our garage whenever we get back. So we decided to hang around this area for a bit, then just come home as, whilst the beeping is in itself irritating, it’s also a constant reminder that something is not right and who knows, despite the garages assurance, it might get worse.

As this is a very popular part of the Rhine, we had booked the campsite at Braubach for two nights and an aire in Bingen about an hour further down the river on the opposite bank, for four nights, before we even set off. So we decided we would continue as planned, before finishing off in Koblenz, which is a beautiful spot, about 90 minutes further north at the point where the Mosel meets the Rhine, before eventually heading home.

At 45€ per night, it is one of the more expensiveive campsites we’ve been to, although in fairness it’s comparable with the cost of staying at a Caravan Club Site in the UK. It’s a lovely site, the facilities are excellent and has a bar/ restaurant on site. It’s about a mile to the town centre or a small passenger ferry takes you there directly from the campsite.

We had been to Koblenz a couple of years ago so this time was an opportunity to chill for a few days before we headed home. it’s a lovely town and because of its location, it’s a magnet for the cruise ships that prowl both the Mosel and the Rhine. One day we saw a five docked on the same stretch of the quay.

For whatever reason we didn’t take the Gondola Ride over the Rhine to the airport huge Citadel the last time we were here and since we were on a roll with cable assisted transport, it had to be done on this visit.

The combined ticket costs 17.50€ for seniors. The ride offers spectacular views over the Rhine and Koblenz and the Citadel is turned out to be well worth a visit.

We headed to Braubach after Cologne as originally planned. The Silver Machine was parked up at Green Camping am Rhine on the edge of Braubach literally on the bank of the river. It’s a nice little campsite, very friendly staff, lovely new facilities, and very reasonably priced at 24€.

You could spend all day just watching the cruise ships and cargo boats travel up and down the river…..and we absolutely could from our pitch. A walk in the older part of the village, with its half timbered houses, is like walking back in time.

Marksburg Castle looks like something out of a fairy tale and is perched high above the village. Is a fair old walk up to it but you are rewarded with some magnificent views of the Rhine in both directions. The castle itself is well worth seeing. It is one of the best preserved on the Rhine and the inside was completely renovated in 1901.

We had been to Bingen before, having cycled there from Bacharach about 12 miles downstream. We only had a quick look, but it was enough to think it would be nice to return here at some point in the future.

The Silver Mchine ended up parked up at Wohnmobile Camperpark, an excellent aire a two mile, very pleasant walk to Bingen along the banks of the river Rhine. The aire is very good value at 17.50€ per night which includes electricity.

Once we were organised, we had a walk into the town to discover it was the Winzerfest. It turns out this was the 10th day of an eleven day wine festival. Don’t know if they go at the wine with the same relish on each of the eleven days but this was some street party covering most of the town centre. Two squares had stages with live music booming out, the streets linking them had wine bars set up by the local producers and most of the townsfolk seemed to be joining in on the revelry.

Wine is of major importance to the economy of this part of the Rhine, and nowhere this is more apparent as Bingen. Vinyards adorn the steep hillsides on both sides of the river, as far as the eye can see, and winestuben, wine bars which usually mainly only sell the local wines are plentiful and popular.

When we were in Braubach, our neighbours suggested we do the “Ring” route when we are in Bingen. This is a basically a walk along the high ground on the east bank of the Rhine, though a woodland estate. However to get there to you take a boat to Lahnstein, a village on the Rhine to the north of Bingen, then a ski lift to take you up to the high ground. Once you’ve completed the walk you decent on a small gondola before completing the “Ring” with a boat trip back to Bingen. Good value for the 15€ seniors price.

So sadly this is our last night in Koblenz before we start to head home. Although it’s been a shorter trip than planned it has still been well worthwhile, especially our visit to the Düsseldorf Show. It has definitely moved our thinking along about a replacement for the Silver Machine. In reality the Silver Machine will never be truely replaced but somehow we need to try.

The Düsseldorf Caravan and Motorhome Show is reputed to be the largest of its kind and from our experience it really must be and by some way. It is simply enormous. There are 12 large halls with all of the European brands, no British, represented. Another hall is devoted to equipment while another allows countries to promote themselves as camping destinations.

Everything’s done on a large scale here. Even the motorhome park we were staying on must have had about 1000 motorhomes parked up. You have to be self contained in your motorhome if you do stay as, apart from toilets, which are clean and plentiful, and chemical toilet disposal, there are no other services. A free shuttle bus runs continuously throughout the day.

One of the things we have learned if you want to get the best of these shows you have to be clear about what you want to achieve and be very disciplined going about it. There is certainly an awful lot of things around that would distract you if you are not careful.

We are looking to downsize next year and as a result we will have to compromise on what we have in the Silver Machine. We wanted to know what layouts are available in motorhomes around 6 meters.

We were there two days but felt we’d achieved everything we wanted to half way through the second day. We were pleasantly surprised that we could get most of what we wanted in a 6 metre motorhome, albeit different manufacturers offering slightly different solutions.

At the start we were looking at motorhomes 6.5 metres and under, but were so impressed with the layouts of the 5.99 metre vans that we decided to focus solely on them. From all the motorhomes we looked at we have arrived at a shortlist of 5 vans.

They are all 5.99 metres except for the Pilote which is 6.20 metres, and broadly the same price other than the Klaus A Class Van I 550MF which will probably work out about 20,000 euro more expensive.

Burstner Travel Van T 590G

The Burstner is one of the two motorhomes which ticks most boxes. The main downside is the transverse bed across the rear of the vehicle. Ironically because of this there is a large garage underneath which could hold bikes. The wardrobe is strangely hidden under the bed but overall the van is spacious and light and airy with good cupboard space.

Klaus A Class Van I 550MF

Beautiful motorhome which sleeps. It has the largest wardrobe/ shelves for clothing, but the drop down bed (which drops down to normal bed level) in the front reduces natural light in the lounge and takes away valuable cupboard space. The kitchen is practically in the lounge area and makes movement there difficult. The garage is too small for bikes. Oh as I said earlier it’s about 20,000€ more than the rest.

Klaus T 1 550 MF Vansation

Virtually identical to the A Class version without the drop down bed. This allows a large window on the roof above the lounge space where the drop down bed would be, creates a much lighter, more spacious area and allows more cupboard space.

Defleffs Globebus Camp T1

The Defleffs is the second of the vans which ticks most boxes. The finish inside, in our opinion anyway, is excellent and the best or the bunch. It’s a similar layout to the Burstner, the wardrobe is also under the bed but more accessible directly from a door and the fridge is almost twice the height of the Burstner. This reduces the size of the entrance to the transverse bed which may make sleeping on it a bit like sleeping in a box. Three windows, two at either side and one on the roof help to mitigate this. The Burstner wider entrance definitely gives more of a feeling of openness. Like the Burstner it has a decent sized garage that should accommodate bikes.

Pilote P620D

The Pilote is the only motorhome on the list with no fixed bed in the back, instead it has a drop down bed at the front above the lounge area. This and the it’s 6.2 metre length allows the designers to provide far more space to live and move around. As you walk in the amount of space at the entrance and kitchen area and an overall lovely finish, gives the motorhome a real wow factor. The big downside is that it has no garage but a long very narrow cupboard accessible from inside and out.

They are all great motorhomes, cleverly designed to make a 6 metre van seem spacious, and apart from the A class Knaus, they are all much the same price. Although our initial impressions are that the Burstner and Defleffs stand out more than the rest, it’s largely because of the garage size. If we were ever able to get our heads around just sticking a bike rack on the back, then the rest of the motorhomes are definitely back in play.

Well we’ve stayed in worse places. Not many but some. We should have stayed at Camping Berger last night, on the outskirts of Cologne. Instead the Silver Machine was forced into an emergency landing onto the car park of J&A Automobiles in Langfeld, somewhere between Cologne and Düsseldorf, and I have to say, we were grateful to be here.

We broke down on the motorway two days ago on the outskirts of Cologne, and since then it’s been an experience of two very different halves.

The first sign we had that there was a problem was a peeping noise and a message saying that we had inadequate oil pressure. I had checked the oil level only a few days before so I didnt really think that that should be the issue. We were already looking for a lay-by when the temperature gauge suddenly started to shoot up. To our great relief a small lay-by turned up almost immediately and we gratefully pulled in.

It turned out the oil level was fine but the coolant level was below minimum. Unfortunately when we added water the level rose temporarily before dropping quickly back to where it had been. Even with our limited knowledge we knew we had a leak somewhere and the Silver Machine was going nowhere.

First Half

After reporting our plight to DAS Breakdown, no we hadn’t heard of them either, on the instructions of our insurers, we had to wait for 3 hours before the ADAC (German equivalent of the AA) tow truck arrived. When it did we got a very brusk driver who spoke only German or Russian as he informed us.

Once the Silver Machine was prepared for towing we had a fairly tense journey with the three of us perched high up in the dirty cab smelling of cigarette smoke. He didn’t try to communicate and we had no confidence that he was taking us to the most appropriate garage but perhaps the nearest garage.

When we arrived, it was 6.45 and unsurprisingly the garage was closed. When he literally abandoned us on the street outside it was clear that no one had communicated with the garage and we had no idea if they could help us. We managed to squeeze the motorhome onto their forecourt in a way which would hopefully cause least chaos, left a note outlining our problem and apologising for just pitching up.

Second Half

We managed to organise a hotel, the Hotel am Berliner Platz, a short distance away. It turned out to be a lovely little hotel, with a really nice owner. Even better the Indian Restaurant next door was more than happy to serve us beers and chicken pakoras.

We were at the garage when it opened a 8am. In contrast to our Russian friend the staff could not have been nicer and most of them spoke excellent English. If anything they seemed amused to have found a motorhome parked up on their forecourt.

Although we were clearly disrupting their schedule, they had the problem diagnosed within 30 minutes, which turned out to be a leaking hose, the replacement ordered by nine o’clock and a plan to change hoses at 8am the next day.

In the meantime they said we could park up in their overflow car park and stay the night there. They even offered us electricity, the use of their toilets and coffee making machine. If we had been at Camping Berger we had planned to go into Cologne for the day. Their kind offer meant that we could still do this.

With all this going on Amsterdam and the Motorhome Show at Düsseldorf seem such a long time ago although in reality it’s only a week since we drove off the ferry.

The Düsseldorf Caravan and Motorhome Show is reputed to be the largest of its kind in the world and from our experience it really must be and by some way. It is simply enormous. In fact we have decided that there is so much to be said about our experience here, we should cover our time at the show on a separate post.

We’d been to Amsterdam before so we didn’t feel any pressure to rush around and see all the sights. It was nice simply to stroll around the central area, absorbing the sights and sounds of a city where the bicycle is king of the road, has 75kms of canals and 1281 bridges.

The centre is easy to reach from the campsite with a train station less than 10 minutes walk away which takes you all the way to Central Station with some useful stops in between. On the Saturday we had a visit to the Van Gogh Museum booked, which was lucky as it was sold out.

On the Sunday day we took an open boat ride around (a very small part of) the canals. We highly recommend this as an introduction to Amsterdam and at 23€ per person, good value for money. The driver/guide is very amusing and has some good stories to tell. Late afternoon we headed to the Leidseplein for a couple of beers then what turned out to be the best Mexican food EVER!

With a day to entertain ourselves while we waited for the hose to arrive, we headed to Cologne. Fortunately there is a direct train from Langenfeld into the centre of the city which takes only about 25 minutes.

Cologne had to be completely rebuilt after the Second World War but parts of the Altstaht still remain, including the cathedral, as well as a couple of museums we thought we might visit.

It turns out there are two lovely squares in the Altstaht, the Heumarkt where we had morning coffee and the Altermarkt, where we had a late lunch.

The Registry office is on the Altermarkt, and we watched a number of newly weds emerge into the square cheered on by their friends and family. Interestingly many of them just set up a table in the shade of a tree, set out the glasses, poured out the champagne and started the celebration there.

The impressive Cathedral of St Peter is enormous and well worth a visit. At 157 metres it is the tallest twin church in the world and the third tallest church of any kind in the world.

We decided that we only had time to do justice to one of the museums so we forwent the Museum Ludwick which has the third highest number of Picassos on display, in the world. Instead we went to the Rautenstrauch – Joest, which has a very good selection of impressionist paintings, including some done by German artists, on display.

With the Silver Machine back on the road today (Friday) we’re back to our original plan, so we’re now on our way to Braubach, a small town only about 50 miles further down the Rhine. We’re so grateful to the guys at the garage for getting us back on the road in just over 24 hours. Instead of staying for two nights at Camping Berger, we stayed in Langenfeld, a town we’d never heard of before but will certainly be a town we will never forget.

Well we’re finally off again on another adventure and the Silver Machine has just landed at Camperpark Amsterdam. It’s a huge campsite, 420 pitches, on the outskirts of the city, but with easy access to the city centre on the Metro. It’s not cheap at 48€ per night but first impressions are of a well run, well maintained site with excellent facilities.

We arrived today after sailíng on the overnight ferry from Newcastle. We’re actually on our way (to begin with at least) to Düsseldorf and the largest Caravan and Camping Show in the World. It’s the first time we’ve taken this route as, at around £750 it’s expensive, but Düsseldorf is only about a 2.5hr drive from here so it’s just so convenient.

The ferry trip was very pleasant, the sea calm and the weather great. We set sail from Newcastle at 4.30 pm and docked at 9.45 as planned. The ship has been recently renovated so everything about it looks new. As usual to help pass the time we had dinner on board, which unusually was a buffet, and was excellent. It was wonderful to arrive in Amsterdam without having to drive all the way down through England to Dover.

We’ve taken four days to get to Amsterdam, staying for one night at the Green Frog, Campsite, Cafe and Fishery (to give it its full title) in Moffat then the Caravan and Motorhome Club Site in Old Hartley just outside Whitley Bay and only about a 20 minute drive from the ferry.

The “Frog” is an old favourite as a stopovér. it’s pretty basic but reasonably priced at £20 which includes electricity. It’s only a short walk into the centre of Moffat which, if not exciting, is quite pleasant to stroll around.

We’d never been to the coast north of Newcastle before which is why we ended up in Old Hartley. It’s a lovely part of the world and well worth a visit. The Campsite is perched on a cliff top with fine views of St Mary’s Lighthouse and south towards Whitley Bay. A coastal path stretches for miles in both directions and is easily accessible from the Campsite.

The St Mary’s Lighthouse is only a 15 minute walk from the site and accessed by a causeway which is only accessible when the tide is out. Extensive renovations are being carried out on the lighthouse so unfortunately it is closed at the moment and even worse wrapped in a white material to protect whatever is being done.

The historic harbour in the wonderfully named Seaton Sluice is only a mile north of the site on the path and overlooked by three decent looking pubs. There is a handy Coop, if you take the main road back, if food stocks require a top up. We popped up to the Delaval Arms literally 2 minutes walk from the campsite for a couple of drinks. It’s a nice old pub, well maintained and the meals, although we didn’t have any, looked good. Not surprisingly it seems popular with some of our fellow campers.

The Silver Machine was (eventually) locked and loaded on Sunday night, in order that we could leave Insch at 8am Monday. Before arriving at the “Frog” we were swinging in past the the Van Gogh Exhibition, at the SEC Glasgow. The drive was uneventful and the Exhibition, described as “an immersive 360° digital art experience that invites you into the universe of the Dutch genius”, was well worth the detour.

We are staying in Amsterdam for three nights before moving on to Düsseldorf and the Caravan and Motorhome Show. Ultimately we plan to head for the Danube and follow it east, tentatively planning to go as far as Budapest. We began a river cruise on the Danube here earlier in the year and although we boarded in Budapest we didn’t see anything of the city. Whether we will do any better on this occasion, or whether it turns out to be a step too far, only time will tell.

At 8.05am on the 10th March 1915, in an attempt to break the stalemate which had developed the previous year, after a 35 minute artillery bombardment British Forces attacked the German lines at Neuve-Chapelle. The plan was to capture the high ground at Aubers Ridge opening up the opportunity to recapture Lille.

The battle lasted 3 days and was only a limited success. The Allies failed to seize the ridge but did drive the Germans back from Neuve-Chapelle. This was the first big offensive action by the Indian Corps and the Canadian Expeditionary Force.

It was also the first major action of the year for the Gordon Highlanders. The 2nd Gordons Battalion were involved right from the start, the 6th Gordon’s became involved on the second day.

I only discovered recently that my great uncle, William Dustan, died at Battle of Neuve-Chapelle. He was in the the 6th Gordons Batallion and sadly killed on the final day of the battle. At the age of only fifteen!

His body was never found so he is commemorated on a plaque at the Touret Cemetery, on a long list of fallen Gordon Highlanders, less than 5 miles from Neuve-Chapelle.

When we planned to finish our trip with visits to Arras and Ypres it was pure luck that we discovered that the Touret Cemetery was about half way between the two, so it was a journey that just had to be made.

Arras and Ypres, both frontline towns during the entire duration of World War One, are fascinating places to visit. Both were badly damaged by German bombardment and have been extensively rebuilt.

We stayed at Aire de Camping Car Park, Arras only a short walk from the city centre. It’s a new, easy to access, has large pitches and at 10€, including electricity, is good value for money. Arras is a lovely town and the Place de la Heros and the Grand Place are worth wandering around. The Cathedral is huge and worth seeing and the Belfry has a lift if you don’t fancy stairs. The belfry one of the first buildings to be completely destroyed by German Artillary, as the French were using it as a observation post!

The Battle of Arras (9th April – 19th May 1917) began when British troops attacked the German defences on the outskirts of the city and was part of a wider plan with the Canadians attacking Vimy Ridge to the North and the French attacking along the the Aisne River to the south.

The attack began after a 4 day bombardment on the German positions and when 25,000 troops emerged from tunnels dug under no man’s land. These tunnels, which linked existing medieval caverns, were dug out by New Zealand miners specifically shipped in for the task.

These tunnels can be visited through an excellent tour organised from the Wellington Quarry Visitor Centre. As you walk through the tunnels, through stories told using headphones, film shown on the quarry walls and the guide himself, the story of the attack is told. The tour culminates at the steps of one of the exits where the men would have emerged into battle.

The Canadian Monument on Vimy Ridge is just a few miles from Arras just off the Road to Ypres and a moving place to visit. The Canadians have built a large but very tasteful visitor centre which offers free tours of the trenches and tunnels every half hour.

One of most remarkable things about the site is how close the Canadian and German trenches were to each other. Their supposed to be about 25-30 yards apart but in reality they seem even closer than that.

In Ypres, we stayed at Camping Jeugdstadion which again was only a short walk away from the centre of the town. Ypres is a walled town with much of the formidable wall still standing. The Tourist Information Centre offers an excellent map for a self guided tour of the Ramparts.

Inside the walls, it’s all charming buildings and lovely cobbled streets which mostly radiate from the centre and you have to remind yourself that most of this was rebuilt only 100 years ago.

The Lackenhallen with its grand Bell Tower and the beautiful Cathedral are at the heart of the city. The Bell Tower, for those of you who like going up these things, unlike Arras doesn’t have a lift. Instead you have to climb the 231, mostly rather narrow steps, to admire the view. The excellent, thought provoking, Fields of Flanders’s Museum is housed in the Lackenhallen and not to be missed.

The Menin Gate is the most famous landmark in Ypres but unfortunately at the moment is undergoing extensive renovation and it will be March 2025 before we see it again.

Since 1928, every evening at 8pm, the fire brigade stop all traffic entering the city through the gate and a group of buglars play the Last Post. The only break for this remembrance ceremony was during World War Two when Ypres was under German occupation.

Unsurprisingly it’s a very evocative and a girls choir follows the last post with a very haunting song of remembrance. It’s a very wet October night but despite this there’s a bit crowd come to witness the ceremony, which as you see makes getting a decent photo a bit challenging!

So perhaps symbolically the Last Post brings down the curtain of this year’s adventure. As we write our final post, the Silver Machine is current parked up in Calais, at our usual stopover, although it’s changed it’s name to Aire de Camping-Car Rue d’Asfeld. We’re just here for one night before catching the Ferry tomorrow morning at 10.40am.

As usual it’s been a very action packed trip but somehow it has felt even busier than usual.

By the time we get home we’ll have driven around 3,750 miles, travelled through 9 different countries, which is a record for us, and stayed in 22 different towns and cities. Apart from two stops, which were picked for convienience rather than interest, the remaining stops have all been really fascinating. During this time we visited 10 Castles, climbed 7 bell towers, visited countless museums and historical, usually Roman, sites.

It’s the first time we have stopped in Austria and Switzerland, and the first time we’ve ever been to Croatia and Slovenia, although we were just passing through Slovenia.

There are to many highlights to mention them all but ending the our adventure at Arras and Ypres was special and the tour of the tunnels in Arras unmissable. Croatia is a beautiful country and needs to be explored more thoroughly. Rovinj, in particular, was special place. Saltzburg is a really captivating city and of course the “Original” Sound of Music Tour just had to be done. Switzerland which is beautiful, is also eye wateringly expensive. We’ll have to save up before we go back there again.

…… and as ever we met some really nice people, which I guess is what it’s really all about.

The Battle of Sedan (12 – 15th May 1940) took place after the German Army launched an offensive through the Ardennes to reach the English Channel and encircle the Allied Armies in North Eastern France. To succeed the Germans had to capture Sedan and prevent the French from destroying the bridges over the River Meuse. With overwhelming force the German Army quickly secured the bridges and within days had reached the sea. On the 26th May, Operation Dynamo was launched and the first of 338,000 Allied Soldiers were evacuated from the harbour and beaches of Dunkirk.

The Silver Machine has landed at the Aire de Camping-Car Park in Sedan over looking the river Meuse next to one of these very bridges. It’s not why we’re here, in fact we’ve only just learned of the significance of the town at the beginning of World War Two. The reason we’re here is firstly, it’s on the way home and, secondly it’s got the Chateau Fort de Sedan which, covering an area of 8.5 acres, is the largest Fortress in Europe.

Sedan is a town in the Ardennes in the North West of France and it’s only about a 90 minute drive from Luxembourg . The town is pleasant enough to wander around but, with the population currently about 17,000, but on the decline, the buildings do generally look a bit jaded.

We thoroughly recommend a visit to the castle and at 11€ for adult admission it’s reasonably good value. It is absolutely enormous and although the visit can take a couple of hours, you still only access about 20% of the castle. There’s even a 4 star hotel incorporated into the structure.

The castle itself is impressive but what makes it really stand out is the amount of effort that has been put in to bringing the past back to life. Many of the rooms have been imaginatively recreated with good use of light and recordings of the sight and sounds you would expect back in the day.

We hadn’t initially planned to visit Luxembourg this time round as we had been here for four nights last year. However the forecast suggested there could be some heavy rain for a couple of days so we thought that at least there were some things we could do in the city if this turned out to be the case. So we pointed the Silver Machine in the direction of Camping Kockelstreuer and set off on the three hour drive. As it turned out the weather remained dry but it was cold, oh so cold.

The city of Luxembourg is famed for its medieval fortifications surrounding the old town which is perched on sheer cliffs overlooking the Alzette and Pétrusse Rivers. The great Fortress of Luxembourg was dismantled as a result of the Treaty of London 1867 which guaranteed the full independence and neutrality for Luxembourg.

Little remains of the Fortress on the Bock Promontory, but beneath the surface, the Bock Casemates, an immense underground military defence system with 17kms of tunnels remains. We’re not sure why we didn’t explore the Casemates last year but it was great to do it now and at 6.50€ for a senior ticket (8€ for adults) good value for money.

Described as the Gibraltar of the North, the tunnels could accommodate not only thousands of defenders with their equipment, but artillery, workshops, kitchens and bakeries. Not unreasonably you can only access the limited area of tunnels which probably offer most interest and most dramatic views from the openings cut into the cliff face.

We visited the Notre-DameNorte-Dame Cathedral because, to be honest, we couldn’t remember being in it the last time we were here. Even once we were in it we weren’t too sure.

Once we checked we had actually been inside. Maybe it’s a sign we’ve just seen too many churches.

The ornamentation is perhaps best described as restrained. What gives the interior its impressive appearance is the large stained glass widows dominating three sides of the building.

What we definitely hadn’t discovered the last time was the interesting crypt. It contains a small chapel and the tombs of members of the royal family.

While we were in Luxembourg, the national football side played Slovakia in a European Championship match. We only discovered this when I looked it up after hearing loud cheering close by. It turns out the Stadium is only about 15 walk from the campsite. Oh and despite the cheering Luxembourg lost 1 – 0.

The weather continues to be variable with regular showers. The temperatures have dropped so much that, as you may have noticed, the padded jackets are out, the shorts have been tucked away for another year amd the hearings on in the Silber Machine. Its a bit disappointing but I guess it’s all part of a gradual withdrawal process from the 31°C temperatures of only last week to whatever it is we’re going to face when we get home early November. “Winter is coming!”

Lucerne turned out to be a really amazing place. It is claimed to be the most beautiful city in Switzerland and one of the most beautiful in Europe, and it’s not difficult to see why. It is a striking medieval town, surrounded by impressive mountains, on the shores of scenic Lake Lucerne.

The colourful Aldstadt, is bordered by the Musegg Wall, a 16th century rampart, to the north and the the River Reuss to the south. It’s picturesque squares flanked by buildings covered in historical frescos are a unique feature.

You can walk along part of the Musegg wall and access four of its nine towers. The clock in the Zyt tower dates from 1535 and not surprisingly perhaps is the oldest in the city. We had the misfortune to arrive in the bell tower at exactly midday.

The wonderful Kapelbrücke and Spreuerbrücke, both roofed, wooden bridges, were built as part of the cities fortifications in the 14th and 15th centuries respectively and join the Aldstadt to the south bank of the river. Both have painted panels added in the seventeenth century.

The Lion Monument, according to the local guide book, is one of the worlds most famous monuments. It might only be us but to be honest we had never heard of it. Carved out of the rock face it commemorates the bravery of the Swiss Guards who died in combat in 1792. Apparently Mark Twain described the Lion of Lucerne as “the saddest and most moving piece of rock in the world.”

There were three churches recommended in the local guide book given to us when we arrived at the campsite. The Franziskirke, which was built towards the end of the 13th century, boasts a pulpit with the most elaborate ornamentation in Switzerland. The Jesuitenkirke established around 1666 was the first large baroque building to be built in Switzerland. And finally the Hofkirke with its lovely facade is Lucerne’s parish church.

On our last night we went out for a couple of beers and something to eat and ended up at the excellent Rathaus Brauerei, on the banks of the river. We ended up sitting next to a couple of local guys who spoke good English and were very pleasant to chat to. The food was good, the beer made on the premises even better, but at nearly £10 a pint you really have to feel flush before you come to Switzerland for a night out.

As in Venice we were keen to see Lucerne once darkness fell, and we were not disappointed. With the shimmering reflections doubling the impact, walking back to the bus stop along the river is really fantastic It’s was like you’d been transported to a different place entirely.

So we’re now in back in France, in Andlau, a village on La Route des Vins in the very heart of the Alsace region. It’s a very attractive village which, with nine different wine vendors and being completely surrounded by vineyards, exists only because of the wine industry. The residents are very friendly, without exception they say bonjour in passing, and the shop keepers all give you a cheery welcome as you enter their shop.

The Silver Machine landed in an new aire run by by the Camping-Car Park Organisation on the edge of the village, next to a leisure park. There are only 13 pitches and it’s full most nights but if you’re a member you can book ahead to secure a spot.

The weather is beginning to turn colder now and it has been a bit showery in the last couple of days. Luckily we have managed to get a couple of walks in since we got here. The first just around the village and the second a six mile round hike to a ruined castle which you can just see from the village.

It is an excellent walk which starts by zig zagging steeply up through the vineyards with some amazing views and finishes in woodland. There are some excellent views over the village and surrounding vineyards and the castle is well worth the walk.

We head off to Luxembourg next, about a three hours drive away. According to the weather forecast it’s not going to get much warmer than 10°C, so we’d better look the winter woolies out.

So we’re now in the land of mountains, cuckoo clocks, cheese, chocolates and William Tell….oh and yet another complex motorway toll system.

Before we even entered Switzerland we had to decide from how we were going to pay to use the motorways. The choice is basically pay for a vignette which lasts a year, or buy a digital pass which opens up a number of options. In fairness once we went down the digital route we discovered that you can buy a 10 day pass for about £30. You can use your 10 days at anytime over a year, you just have to remember to open the app and validate your pass on the day that you want to use it. It fairness, it must be the cheapest motorway toll system in Europe.

The Silver Machine has landed at TCS Camping Luzern Horw in the outskirts of Lucerne and next to the Lake. It’s a bit rustic maybe, but it has a very nice feeling about it. The Swiss kids are on holiday at the moment and the site has quite a number of them here running about in packs. The bus, which is free, is only a few minutes walk away and takes you straight into the centre.

It’s now been five nights since we left Venice. We headed first for Verona for two nights before crossing the border into Switzerland where we stayed at Maroggia again for two nights, on the shores of Lake Laguno.

Verona was really, really hot. On the day we visited it was forecast to reach 31° and it could easily have reached that. There was no breeze and the heat just seemed to drain your energy. Towards the end of the day we began to miss out things we had planned simply because the walk just didn’t seem worth it.

The Silver Machine was parked up at Camping Verona Village, a brand new site on the outskirts of the city. It’s very well laid out, it’s very well organised and it’s all a bit soulless really and it’s not cheap at almost £40 per night. It’s all about location though and you can get the bus from the gates all the way to the centre.

Verona is a large and vibrant city, boasting many Roman ruins, ancient churches colourful piazzas a fine Renaissance garden and an impressive castle.

We followed a route suggested in our guide book, which started at the Roman Arena on the restaurant lined Piazza Brà. Although it was only 10 o’clock, being Sunday, the the restaurants were already busy with people eating breakfast. The arena, built in the first century AD, is third largest across the Roman Empire and dominates the Piazza. It still entertains large audiences these days but with opera rather than blood sports.

Our next stop was the impressive Castelvecchio and the Ponte Scaligero both built about the same time in the 1300’s. You get good 360° views from the castle walls which are accessed through the keep. The bridge was destroyed in 1945 by the retreating German Army and was rebuilt after the river had to be dredged for the bricks.

The two churches we wanted to see, Sant’ Anastasia and the Duomo are quite close together and to get there we had to pass through the very beautiful, and very busy Piazza Erbe. The square is built on the site of the Roman Forum, and very much remains the centre of the city. It has been used as a market place for two thousand years and clearly still draw in the crowds.

It’s tricky to navigate your way through the narrow winding streets to find the the ancient churches, but a very pleasurable walk. They’re both very old, building was started on Sant’Anastasia in 1290 and the Duomo was only about 50 years later.

You have to cross a Roman Bridge, the Ponte Pietra to reach the Teatro. Both were built, like the Arena, in the first century. Again the bridge had to be rebuilt after being destroyed in 1945.

Very little remains of the stage in the Roman Teatro, but the seating area remains largely intact. There is a temporary stage in the place of the original to enable plays and concerts to continue to be held here. The museum is located at the top of the site in a former Franciscan Monastery. As well as having a lot of interesting Roman artefacts the building, and particularly the small cloisters, is well worth seeing.

It was a last minute decision to visit the Giardiono Giusti which are about a 10 minute walk from the Teatro. We’re glad we did go, because although quite expensive to get in, about £20, they are lovely. This unique Renaissance garden was first laid out in 1580 and was described at the time was described as one of the finest gardens in Europe.

By now we were beginning to flag so we decide we need to get an ice cream urgently on the way to the bus to head back to the Silver Machine. We were hoping that things cool down a bit in Switzerland.

We thought we might stay longer than two nights in Maroggia and get some cycling done. But as we approached Camping Monto Generoso Milano it quickly became apparent that the roads around there were just too busy. Nevertheless it’s a nice campsite right on the shores of Lake Laguna.

At about £48 a night it feels a bot overpriced but we’re beginning to learn that just about everything in Switzerland is expensive. The other thing we learned is that they use a completely different power sockets than anywhere else in Europe. I must say I was a bit taken aback that I didn’t know this but, there you go, you learn something every day. The Swiss sites are well used to people pitching up with the wrong fittings and almost assume that your going to need borrow an adapter. Again as it was the school holidays there were lots of kids around so it always injects a bit of life into a site.

We took the train to Laguno, on the shore of the lake just a bit further north. Laguno is regarded as one of Switzerland’s great seaside resorts and is a centre for finance and banking. It’s a beautiful town with strong Italian influence. Indeed Italian is the main language spoken here.

The train station is at the top of the hill and all roads lead down to the Altstadt and shady promenade along the edge of the lake. When we emerged from the station we were met with a magnificent view, over the city towards the lake with the cathedral bell tower in the foreground.

We wound our way down the narrow cobbled alleys to the Piazza Della Riforma, the central hub of the city, lined with tall shuttered buildings and lined with cafes. Which was handy because we fancied a coffee.

The Piazza opens out onto the promenade which allows a pleasant walk with great views of the lake, surrounding mountains and the city. There a lovely park at the eastern end where we had our picnic lunch.

The churches in this area are very highly decorated with elaborate frescos particularly in the Franciscan Church which apparently is typical of this part of Switzerland.

For our last night we thought that we’d eat out at the local restaurant. The local filling station has a bar so we thought we’d pop in for a beer on our way past. It is well used by the locals as it’s their only bar in the village.

Anyway after giving us our beers the barmaid brings over a basket of sandwiches and a basket of crisps. This has happened to us before, particularly in Italy. Of course after you’ve eaten all of this you really can’t face a meal so instead we just ordered a pizza, along with another beer, and shared that in the bar. Excellent! A cheap night out in Switzerland, who would have thought.

It’s you’ve got to face life after Croatia then what better place to start than Venice. This is our third time here and yet, every time you see the Grand Canal you still go Wow! It has been described as the most beautiful street in the world and who are we to argue. It’s certainly the most unique. You could stand all day on one of its many bridges, just watching the boats go by, soaking up the noise and atmosphere and watch daily life for the Venetians play itself out on the water. Even the huge number of fellow tourists cannot take away that feeling of awe and wonder.

Everything about Venice is of course amazing and it’s thee city to simply wander about the narrow cobbled streets, crossing countless canals on small stepped bridges, to discover lovely piazza’s surrounded by astonishingly beautiful old buildings. The gondoliers, in their striped teeshirts manoeuvring, their boats along the narrow waterways, just adds to the spectacle.

The Silver Machine landed at the excellent Camping Fusina, a campsite situated in what is basically an industrial estate, next to the new cruise ship terminal and only a 20 minute ferry ride from Venice. There are pitches right on the waterfront which can be booked for an additional fee if your motorhome is no bigger than 7 metres, otherwise your told you can park anywhere on the rest of the wooded site. There are no marked pitches so basically you do just park anywhere.

We parked facing the sea and it’s very entertaining. Cruise ships literally sail past the top of the site and dock next door. Generally they arrive first thing in the morning just as the sun is rising, which can’t be a coincidence and leave late in the evening when it’s dark.

The first time we went to Venice we took the train, on the second occasion we took the bus so this is the first time we’ve taken a boat and it’s definitely the way to go.

We didn’t book anything the last time we were in Venice, and that was a big mistake. Venice was extraordinarily busy and the queues for the top attractions were enormous. Although we only decided to visit Venice a few days prior to pitching up, we still managed to book tickets for the Doge’s Palace, the Camponile on St Marks Square and the Peggy Guggenheim Museum. We had no chance for tickets for the Basilica though. As I remember the first date we could get was the 14th October which was exactly a week after we were planning to leave Venice. On the day the queues for tickets was, for us anyway, prohibitally long so we still haven’t been in the Basilica. Oh well next time!

On our first day we caught the early ferry from Fusina to the dock at Zattere at 8 o’clock to get to the Rialto Bridge before the crowds got there. After that we had planned a route which took us to a number of churches, recommended in the guidebook, and to parts of Venice we had never been to. The aim was to get to St Marks Square in plenty of time to visit the Campanile and the Doges Palace at our allocated slots.

On the second day we had the Peggy Guggenheim Museum booked in the afternoon and the Hard Rock Cafe booked in the evening. This meant we could chill a bit in the morning at the campsite and head to Venice for a picnic lunch. The museum isn’t far from where the Ferry docks at Zattere so we were able to explore another part of Venice we hand the been to. We ended up at the start of the Grand Canal opposite St Marks Square and the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute before following the canal to the Peggy Guggenheim Museum.

The Doges Palace is spectacular and well worth the admission fee. The added bonus is of course crossing the original Bridge of Sighs and down to the prison on the other side of the canal. Casanova spent time as a prisoner of the Doge here before escaping via the roof of the Palace.

The Campanile is enormous and we were all psyched up for a fair old hike up the steps to the top to be astonished that in fact there is a lift. I’m not sure if the reward for reaching the top is quite the same but the views across Venice are amazing.

We were looking forward to the walk home from the Hard Rock Cafe, because by that time it should be getting dark and hopefully we would see a different side to Venice. And we weren’t disappointed. It wasn’t as busy as it was through the day, it was still quite warm, and the lights were just beginning to pick out the details of the buildings, and as the day drew to an end this final walk through Venice felt a fitting way to our most recent visit.

Krk Premier Camping Resort must be the poshest site the Silver Machine has ever landed at. Even the name is fancy! We’re about 100 miles further south from Pula, on the western side of the Island of Krk which is linked to the mainland by a bridge.

The site has 300 pitches laid out on terraces which drop down to the stoney beach. We have an excellent pitch, only one row back from the shoreline, with an excellent view across to the island of Plavnik.

It has an small shopping area, an excellent restaurant , a beach bar, a swimming pool, an infinity pool and another two play pools but the real jewel in the crown must be the toilet block, dishwashing and laundry area. In fact they must be the best facitities we’ve ever had in a campsite. Then of coarse is the beach itself which well used by swimmers, paddle boarders and sun worshippers generally.

The town of Krk, with a population of 6,243 is the largest town on the island and is a lovely 2 km walk from the campsite, along a rocky coastal path, with fine views of the approaching town and the inviting Adriatic Sea.

Krk is a walled town and from the direction of our approach you get the best views of the wall, the castle and cathedral. The old town is entered though one of four gates. It’s narrow cobbled streets are simply laid out, radiating out from the town square and eventually taking you to one of the gates.

Krk is maybe not as spectacular as Rovinj and doesn’t have the Roman presence of Pula but it’s still a lovely place. Perhaps it’s because it’s quite small and there’s no pressure on you to see lots of stuff. Instead it’s nice to just wander around soaking up the atmosphere and stopping for a coffee in one of the many cafe terraces.

The Castle and Cathedral are situated next to each other, separated by a narrow alley, and were both built in the 12 century, it is believed at the same time. The castle is built mainly to defend the town against attack from the sea. It’s rectangular, with huge walls linking the four corner towers, creating a large courtyard, which is empty except for a well.

You can still climb up two of the four towers and walk around the walls for some fine views of the surrounding area.

The Cathedral is relatively small and, apart from the baroque pulpit, like most churches we’ve seen in the area quite simply decorated. The pillars are topped with fine carvings.

We’re been here for four nights and sadly this is our last night, not just at the campsite but in Croatia. We’ve travelled 1951 miles to get here and we’re turning for home now. We’re giving ourselves about three weeks to get to Calais, so we’re not hurrying by any stretch of the imagination. So we’re off now to treat ourselves to a meal at the restaurant to mark the occasion.