Sunday August 28, Ladenburg

Ladenberg

As expected, Reiner messaged this morning to say he couldn’t persuade his wife to buy the van! So it was back on the road again this morning. We decided to retrace some of our drive yesterday and then head towards the Rhine. And the best way was to take the motorways, certainly we miss seeing the smaller towns, but it meant we cut through the km’s. It was back around Stuttgart, on HW 8, and then North on HW6 around Karlsruhe. It ended up being much longer than we expected as there were huge delays on the HW8 with road works which we crawled for about half an hour.

We had noticed during the weekends on the motorways, the truck stops and rest stops were overflowing with parked trucks and there were only a few on the road. Checked with Google and found that there is a ban for trucks on Sundays from midnight until 10pm, and over the summer months of July and August trucks are not allowed to drive on selected motorways and highways between 7am and 8pm. It certainly frees the motorways up and makes driving more enjoyable. Had planned to have a break in the trip at a truckstop but there was no chance of finding any spare space for the motorhome, so we just kept driving.

Had found this nice looking camp at Ladenburg which is very near the Necker River and right on the bike path to Heidleberg, and thought we were just about there when we discovered some fair on in the centre of town and the roads were all closed. At one stage Jilly tried to detour over a cycle ferry across the river! The navigator had a few issues but with the help of Google Maps and Jilly we finally found the camp, very relieved. It is a beautiful day, blue skies and pleasantly warm at about 25 degrees.

It was a very late lunch, then a wee siesta to recharge the batteries. I decided to walk into town and try to find a cash machine that would take Visa. Checked the map and it was only about 15 minutes but it took me a bit longer as it took me through the most beautiful old town with cobbled streets and delightful houses, and I kept stopping to take photos! Everyone was out enjoying the warm Sunday afternoon, walking, cycling and sitting outside cafes and bars. Such a great happy atmosphere. And the bank took Visa!

Sitting outside in the shade as I write todays blog, enjoy the warmth and a gently breeze.

Spotted this old bus on the motorway, didn't
manage a good shot as we passed it.

This sparrow decided he wanted some of Ian's
lunch, so he put some on his shoulder.

Lots of photos of Ladenburg

Not a grape vein but a kiwifruit vine
growing up this house, and if you
look closely you can see the kiwifruit.

Dated 1480

Had a real French look.