Week 4 – August 10th – 16th – Lower Saxony
Day 21 – Monday – Once again we stayed put as Paul likes to keep Monday clear for work – especially as he does not work on Fridays. Stuff to catch upon. Yaaaawwwwn.
I spent the day on the keyboard too, editing Week 3 and adding hyperlinks and tags and photos and last minute touches. One thing I forgot to mention was that BIll has a new hidey-hole. It seems to be his current favourite place. Whether it’s nice and cool or whether he feel’s safe there or something, we don’t know. But he’s happy there and that’s fine with us.
There is a swimming spot nearby – formed from an old silver mine and we planned a dip on Monday evening, but when the evening came it was overcast and – it feels odd to say it – a tad chilly, so we abandoned that idea in favour of a grooming session. Meaning I cut Paul’s hair and we both showered. Nothing exotic!
Days 22& 23 – Tuesday/Wednesday – I felt really quite sad to leave our spot in Altenau on Tuesday as we bade farewell to Frank and his wife (Andrea). I felt very comfy there – nice vibe – although the red squirrel was the only 4 legged critter we saw, sadly. But we have a plan to make happen – that free-forming didn’t last long did it?
Unfortunately, the excess heat has fried the power supply for the Starlink. It just overheated and upped and died. So we are reliant purely on 4g – which has been fine so far, but Paul can’t take any risks as he needs reliable wifi for work. We thus sourced a new power unit – 4 times more powerful and with inbuilt fan to keep it cool – like a Southern belle with a mint julep! We bought it on Amazon and are having it delivered to a Hermes locker in Goslar, which is in Lower Saxony. It will be there on Friday.
We stopped at a handy Netto on the way, in Clausthal-Zellerfe, to pick up some fresh goods, and then continued the short hop to Schulenberg, where there is a very pleasant spot for motorhomes overlooking the Okerstausee – another reservoir. The Wohnmobilpstellpllatz Schulenberg has all mod cons and room for 10 vans. And a view, which we’d have for 2 nights. We were a little concerned that , as it was pretty rural, the 4G signal might be an issue, but luckily it was fine.
As soon as we arrived and got settled, I made a reservation at a “proper” site for Thursday night, planning to catch up on the laundry, before we hit the road again on Friday. Although the plan is to stay in the mountains for the first part of the weekend, to explore a little more.
We had managed to grab a spot with the best view over the valley. Paul immediately got back to work and I sat in the “garden” and read my book. Very pleasant. It was very quiet and also unusually cool at night. We actually put the quilt back in its cover – it’s been stashed away for a couple of weeks, because even a 1 tog quilt was too much.
I spent Tuesday catching up with the blog and doing a bit of research for the forthcoming weekend. I also sat in the garden again and read. It’s a tough life. We realised – a bit late – that we would be unable to see the much-vaunted eclipse, as the sun would have gone down behind the mountain before it started happening. Ah well. I still have amazing and very vivid memories of being on the canal for the last eclipse in 1999. We moored up as the eclipse began and gradually the world fell silent. Even the farmer on his tractor stopped. As it grew ever darker, the birds stopped singing and the countryside was bathed in an eerie light – not quite dark, not quite daylight. It was an unforgettable moment and I very much doubt I’ll be around for the next big one in 2090. I suspect most of the people reading this won’t be either!
Day 24 – Thursday – time for a lunchtime reposition. We were bound for Harz Camp Goslar – a very short hop as the crow flies, as you can see form the map below. (we were the big red dot)
EXCEPT – there was a road closure (that we did not know about until we set off) and we had to go the long way round. A bit of a nuisance, but no biggie, Paul had worked quite late last night and will again tonight. He’s very conscientious and always plays fair.
We arrived, Paul went back to work and I beetled off with the laundry. The facilities block here looks quite new. Very smart and clean as a whistle. I set the washing off and retired to the van to await its completion. Miele machines with a great spin. But – in common with many machines – it tells lies. What purported to be a 49 minute wash actually took the best part of an hour.
I was intrigued by a machine there, though – called a “Camping Butler”. Having time on my hands I thought I’d do a bit of research. Well I’m glad I did. This wondrous machine takes your full toilet (you pop it in through the door), empties and rinses it, sanitises it and pops it back to you, clean and ready to go with a shot of green treatment fluid to boot! It’s a shame that their website is a bit of a donkey! But here’s a link so that you see just how clean and streamlined it is. I think Thetford trialled a similar machine but I’m not sure it caught on?
I am doubly glad I checked, though, as it looked more like a dishwasher to me. I might have rocked up with my dirty dishes and popped them in! What do you think?
By the way, I’d had confirmation that our new power supply was waiting for us at the Hermes pick-up point in Goslar. Good news.
The washing dried perfectly by the time Paul finished work and, after putting it away, we set off down to the campsite restaurant, where we had a drink and made our choices. I say choices, but there seems to be a standard menu at these places – schnitzel or bratwurst. Luckily, we love both and have not yet tired of it. Tonight’s special was a schnitzel with a local chanterelle mushroom sauce and spätzle – a type of noodle, popular in Germany/Austria etc. Paul opted for that while I chose a Bratwurst with frites, which came with mustard and ketchup for the sausage and a tub of mayo for the frites. Delicious!
After dinner, we sat out in the cooling evening, just chilling and chatting.
Day 25 – Friday – We left the site (very nice) that morning feeling pretty excited. We were going up in the world! OK – Wurmberg, in the Harz mountains is a little under 1,000 m – not even as high as Snowdon, but it’s a ski resort with a gondola to the top. We’d have a bit of that please!
But first – errands. The first job – a trip to Edeka to stock up on fresh stuff. No hardship as it’s air conditioned. And then to the Hermes pick-up shop for our new power supply. That was easy! Although more on this later.
We set off on the drive to the gondola. It was very hot day – 30C by 09:00 and we arrived at around 11:30, by which time it was around 34C, It was the boys’ first trip on a ski lift and they took it all in their stride, as they always do with everything new. The gondola – much like a small goldfish bowl – had great views but was stiflingly hot! We gave the boys water half way up to keep them hydrated.
Once at the top, we had a walk around to see the view and then popped for a drink and – yep – a hot dog! In addition to the usual ketchup and mustard, they serve cucumber slices pickled with dill. They are next level lush!
There were various fun ways of getting back down – go-kart type things, scooters with big squidgy tires and big tricycles. And of course – you could walk or cycle! There was a great mountain biking trail, but none were at all appealing in that heat! So back to the gondola for another roasting it was.
The cab on Vera is air conditioned and it was a relief to be driving along in relative chill. Nice and cool for the boys too.
We had noticed hundreds of dead looking pine trees on the way to Wurmberg and I recognised that they were the devastating work of a small beetle. We had seen it in some of the national parks in the USA and Canada.
The culprit in this case is the European spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus). Consecutive dry summers, rising temperatures, and the planting of just one variety of shallow-rooted tree have heavily compromised the trees’ defenses, allowing the beetle populations to surge.
They have really gone to town in the Harz NP – from the top it looked like as much as 80% of the trees were affected. That’s what you get for consistently planting trees (Norway Spruce) outside their normal habitat. That, coupled with climate change and the fact that trees, weakened by climate stress, cannot produce defensive resin, has enabled a rapid population boom. Glory days for the beetle! It started to be noticeable in the first drought of 2018 and successive years of drought have not helped.
They take a laissez-faire stance, allowing large zones to naturally regenerate. The dead wood decays to allow new, more diverse trees to establish themselves. As the skeletal trees collapse, they create a layer of dead wood that acts as a natural shelter, giving delicate seeds protection from intense sunlight, wind, and foraging wildlife. It’ll take a while but letting nature take over certainly seems the best strategy to me.
After we’d finished mountaineering, we set off towards Quedlinberg – a town in Saxony-Anhalt, which is where we now find ourselves. As we approached the site we arrived at what looked like a road closure. Hmm. What to do now? as we sat there deliberating and translating varios signs, a lady came through from the opposite direction and indicated that all was good to proceed. So we did. It was pretty narrow, but good old Sumps made easy work of it. He’s cool as a cucumber!
It was roasting as we arrived (Lehof camping) and we could not find anyone to tell us what to do or where to go. Luckily a German camper arrived behind us and took control of the situation. It seemed that reception was only open at 09:00 or 19:00 (cushty job!) and we were to find a platz and sort all the biz out at 7pm. There were no signs/instructions to this effect and we were a bit peeved – possibly more so because of the heat?
We had planned to cycle into Quedlinberg but it was a good 3kms and we just could not face it in the heat – especially with 11 kgs of dog on one’s back! A real shame, because it looks really beautiful.
When Paul toddled over to the office just after 7 to square up, they had no means of paying by card, which was doubly annoying as he had to toddle back and collect cash – of which we are a little low, currently. Tsk. And then when he toddled back (after it had cooled a tad, the rubbish compound was locked. Grr. All in all, we weren’t enamoured of the site, to be honest. To be fair, the facilities (which we did not use) looked very fresh and modern. But we did not feel we’d want to return.
Day 26 – Saturday – We continued our journey, heading for a Wohnmobilstellplatz in Tangermünde – a place I’d never heard of until this trip. It looked lovely and we hoped it would be cool enough for an explore. As we were driving through the vastness of the country (nearly twice the size of the UK) we realised it had been days and days since we’d seen any Brits. The last we could recall was back at Loreleyblick on the Rhine in week 2. I think they are all in Spain or France!
We drove through field after field of sunflowers and maize dying and withering on the stalk – a very sad sight and another sign of the effects of this drought, which I’m sure will hit us in the pocket at some point. I feel very sorry for all the poor farmers.
We arrived at the Wohnmobilstellplatz Tangermünde, which is a very popular spot and has an automated check-in. Very swish – although I rather like the human contact you nomally get, when a local designated person rocks up to take your money. It’s quite sweet.
We got settled, had lunch, made sure the dogs were comfy and then went for a snooze – a bit of a hot and sticky one, but nonetheless quite restful. And restorative. So much so that we set off on our bikes, into the town for an explore and possibly a bite to eat. It was a fair bit cooler by the evening and there was the prospect of something called “rain”. We’ll see.
Oh and Paul got to grips with the new and improved power supply. He cut the power lead off the duff one, so that it could be reused, and then he noticed something alarming – it may not have been the heat. Here’s an extract from his Amazon review, which is entitled “Mains cable is a safety hazard, should not be on sale in the UK”!
” I started stripping back the insulation only to discover Red, Black and Green wires, which I could accept, but when I stripped the individual wires they were absolutely awful, incredibly thin, much smaller than 3A mains table lamp type cable and I could strip the insulation with my thumb nail.
I am an electronics designer and I have never seen such awful quality DC cable let alone AC mains cable – in my opinion this product is not safe for normal operation in the UK.”
We had to sacrifice the lead from one of the bike chargers instead, which is fine as they rarely both need charging at once. Famous last words?
Tangermünde did not disappoint. It is a walled town, set on the River Tanger and the Elbe, with a very long history. It has a stunning Rathaus (town hall) complete with stork nest on top, St Stephen’s Church, with it’s 87.5 meter high spire, the Eulenterm (Owl Tower), a 24-metre-high medieval defensive tower built around 1300 and numerous other beautiful buildings and half-timbered houses, worthy of a film set. We were enchanted. And hungry.
We finished our tour of the pretty streets and set about looking for a restaurant that had outdoor tables, room for us and somewhere to put the bikes. We settled on Rhodos – a Greek restaurant in case you hadn’t guessed! And a rather lacklustre one, it transpired. Never mind. It filled a hole!
There was talk of a thunderstorm, so – despite the heat – we closed everything down as much as necessary. And as we went to bed, there were a crowd of tourists, seemingly travelling together, who were having a riotous time – despite the late hour. I think they had forgotten the very existence of the “Ruhezeiten” – quiet/rest time – as it was nearing midnight.
We had a disturbed night – thunderstorm and heavy rain rattling on the roof for much of it and were awoken at a little before 08;00 by a dog barking. Not one of ours! So we gave in and got up.
Day 26 – Sunday – It was a reasonably long drive to our next destination in the Mecklenburg Lakes district – sometimes known as the land of 1,000 lakes. It was not the most interesting drive, if I’m honest, being very flat. But we passed through some lovely forested areas and it was a lovely, proper summer day – 10 degrees cooler than the day before!
Our first real lake glimpse was in the very buzzy little lakeside town of Malchow. I say buzzy because there were lots of people out and about, the bunting was up and and it had a very “vacation destination” feel. Also – notably- the supermarkets were open! I’m not sure whether I mentioned that supermarkets are usually closed (by law) on a Sunday? We usually make sure we do a shop on Saturday to get us through the weeknd and beyond. I had failed to buy bread for lunch and so popped into the backerei to rectify the situation. What a treat on a Sunday. Fresh bread!
We arrived at our spot at the Marina (or Yachthafen) in Jabel, on the shores of the Jabelscher See and were shown to a pleasant pitch near the slipway. No sooner had we arrived than we noticed they did boat hire. No sooner had our steadies hit the deck we were off! Throwing drink, snacks and sunscreen into a bag and dashing down to the slipway, where our electric-motored rowing boat awaited us.
The motor brand was “Rhino”, which we suspected was a Chinese knock off of the excellent Bison brand that we had once owned. It certainly behaved like a Chinese knock-off, but was way better than rowing! So there we were – out on the lake on a lovely sunny Sunday afternoon. And not too hot! We were so happy and explored the lake to our heart’s content. The boys seemed happy and slurped up lake water like it was going out of fashion. Cue very long pees once we had disembarked!
We like it here (Camping Maribell) so much that we have booked an extra night. It has a little sandy beach, although somewhat ironically, it’s a little cool for swimming! But it’s a lovely spot.
And we’ve discovered a “thing” – this is a centre where you can get your motorhome loaded onto a pontoon boat and go off cruising! What a brilliant idea! There’s a picture above. When we first saw one, we thought it was perhaps a car ferry, but no.
I have translated the spiel about it below. I’m tempted…….
“The “Wechsel-Wassercamper” (convertible water camper) is designed for your own motorhome—accommodating vehicles up to 8 meters in length (including bike racks) and weighing up to 4.5 tonnes. Experience camping on the water; it offers a genuine alternative to standard campsites and motorhome pitches in the Müritz region.
The water camper features a highly stable, heavy-duty trimaran platform with real wood decking. It is powered by a robust 60 hp outboard motor, with maneuvering assisted by two bow thrusters and two stern thrusters. Your motorhome connects to the onboard power supply, automatically recharging the vehicle’s batteries whenever shore power is utilized—requiring no manual intervention on your part. A large holding tank for greywater and sewage is installed below deck; your motorhome’s greywater outlet connects to this tank via a funnel system. Contents from the motorhome’s cassette toilet can also be emptied into the holding tank at any time through an access hatch on the deck.
The outboard motor gives this combination the flexibility of a motor yacht paired with the comfort of a motorhome, offering a cost-effective alternative to the significantly higher rental rates of a charter yacht of comparable size. You can navigate the entire waterway network—spanning from the Dömitz Lock on the Elbe, along the Elde and Stör Waterway, across the Müritz, the Mecklenburg Upper Lakes, the “Kleinseenplatte” (Small Lakes District), and the Havel River up to the Liebenwalde Lock on the Oder-Havel Canal—without a standard inland boating license; a special charter certificate is all that is required. Starting with the 2022 season, you can also rent the “Seecamper” vessels directly from us—units previously based at the Kamerun camping and motorhome park on the Binnen-Müritz.
Please send us a booking inquiry for your preferred holiday dates in Europe’s largest contiguous lake district. We will respond with a no-obligation quote. Thank you for your interest.
Don’t own a motorhome? You can rent the “Wassercamper”—featuring a permanently installed, flush-mounted caravan—as a houseboat and explore the unique river and lake landscape.”
It’s a bit expensive but what a great idea for a holiday.
What a busy week we’ve had! And next week we’ll be heading across to the Baltic coast, on the border with Poland to spend a week or so exploring until we arrive in Denmark. I’m rather looking forward to it.
| Period | Miles | Cumulative |
| Week 4 | 264 | 1389 |