 |
 |
 |
|
|
| 06:00 - Starting out | |
| 07:05 - Pulled over to 'dress' the car for European travel. Headlight deflectors, National indicator, etc | |
| 07:15 - Cleared French/UK customers | |
| 07:30 - Checked in and queued in packing lane 115. | |
| 08:15 - Boarded ferry and department from dear old England. The Road Trip has officially begun! | |
| 10:37 - Disembarked onto French soil. One Border crossed. | |
| 11:00 - *Landmark Event* Paid first toll? Took the wrong turn coming out of Calais and ended up going toward Paris! (A26). Unfortunately the first turn off (following a truck), lead us to a traffic barrier and a very warn looking automated toll machine. After a short panic we found the assistance button and was advised to pay and get back onto normal roads. | |
| 11:41 - Back onto the correct road (A16). | |
| 11:43 - *Landmark Event* Overtook our first European vehicles - A Caravan! | |
| 12:08 - Belgium board | |
| 12:10 - Past a traffic jam of cars trying to get out of Belgium. The roads leading in are almost empty. | |
| 12:33 - 12:47 - Road side picnic | |
| 12:50 - *Landmark Event* Saw our first crash. A truck had left the right-hand side of the road and dropped about feet into a field (nasty). | |
| 13:16 - Reach Zeebrugge ferry dock. This was where the original trip entered Europe. The 1979 guide had this timed for 13:35. | |
| 14:25 - second petrol indicate cleared (2/3 fuel left). This shows that a full tank should get us 610 miles | |
| 14:35 - Entered Brussels. While approaching Elizabeth Park we were give a demonstration of Belgium Police efficiency as three policemen pin an offending to the pavement. | |
| 15:08 - Leaving Brussels. We got lost in the underpasses, were vehicles joining from the right and twisting tunnels did nothing for our lane changing needs. GPS is also useless as the tunnels block the signal. Brussels is one city to skip if you can! The Laptop batteries are also drained, and the 12V power unit we have is not charging the battery. Darn it! | |
| 15:32 - *Landmark Event* first petrol stop. 18.04 litres bought. Got the power unit charging the laptop (we think it got to hot with the good weather we have been getting. | |
| 15:50 - Back on the road. | |
| 16:24 - Panic - Approaching Germany and Where are the passports! Phew.. The folder got the lost under the seat | |
| 16:54 - Entered Germany at Aachen | |
| 17:36 - reached Koln (Cologne) | |
| 19:44 - Rather than use the same hotel in Koblenz (Coblence), we opted for a camping site near Winninggen, called Ziehfurt It is a small camp (7hec), but has all the amenities (power, showers, etc). The camp if part of the Winninger vineyard and is on a outcrop into the river Rhine. We have Chicken Curry and a 1/2 pint of Bitberger pils (nice). |
 |
| eMail DenniseMail Brian |
 |