October 12, Eltmann….a stay put day!

With a pitter patter on the roof again this morning and rather low temperatures, and with everywhere else seeming to be the same, we decided to stay put and hopefully things will improve tomorrow. This is such a nice spot with views out over the river and have really enjoyed watching the traffic that uses it including 100 metre long floating hotels heading upstream as well as lots of barges. A few campers left this morning, so we were able to hook up to electricity and pay 1 Euro for 6 hours which is pretty good considering the parking is free.

Late morning with still a little drizzle we put our coats on and walked into town. A really traditional old town with narrow cobbled rows and houses with window boxes overflowing with red geraniums. Passed a shoe store and Ian’s very old boat shoes needed new insoles so we popped in. The shopkeeper couldn’t speak English but soon understood what we wanted and on further investigation discovered that the shoes were just about beyond repair. Oh dear. So had a look at something new…just can’t believe how cheap good quality German shoes are (Vicki B you would have a field day!). He found Ian an Extra Wide pair of Joseph Siebel leather shoes that fitted like a charm…and at 80 Euro they couldn’t be turned down. So he walked out in his new shoes and old shoes in the bag!

Next stop was at a coffee shop for an excellent cup of coffee then off to find a supermarket to get some milk and a bit of fruit. Maps.me app directed us to a store, which was in and around quite a few little narrow streets and turned out to be more of a grocer’s store but they had what we wanted…still no one speaking English, but we managed. Had noticed a butcher and a baker earlier so found our way back there. Again no one speaking English but with a bit of pointing and sign language we bought some bratwurst, salami and she sliced some rather nice looking bacon. We are really enjoying the German sausages and smoked products. Then onto the bakery, again with sign language we bought a small loaf of spelt bread and “one” sweet treat to be shared! Wandered back home on the riverside walkway for a very late lunch and a most relaxing afternoon.

Have been studying books and maps and working out a route to take us down through the wine regions to France. Looks good on paper, will see how it all pans out. The rain has stopped this afternoon so hopefully tomorrow is going to be a better day.

After the girls at Vodafone getting us organised again yesterday, unfortunately it has once again disappeared after only using it yesterday for about 5 minutes. Something is not working properly, so tomorrow will have to find another store to see if they can sort it out. Our 3 Network seems to have stopped completely as well so no wifi at all…will load the last few days blogs when we can sort this out.

A cruise boat passing our campsite

Ian in a shoe shop - very unusual

Canal boat