not in east grinstead anymore

so we find ourselves camping next to a lake on the outskirts of dresden.

there is something about caravans in wooded areas next to water that starts the duelling banjo tune in your head...and probably for good reason.

rohan and i bought ourselves a german camping guide (in german) as we felt our english one was holding us back. we were heading to a campsite that the (very helpful) symbols suggested was in an area of outstanding natural beauty and quiet (good, because we had been camping next to a motorway the previous two nights). still, things werent looking good as we only had the town name and the only campsite there was gated and surrounded by barbed wire...and had a different name to the one in the book (FKK something). i thought maybe it had changed names but rohan said í dont like the look of this ainslie´so we headed to my second choice.

which was lucky as when we further consulted the camping guide book it said that sites which were branded with ´FKK´ were naturalist sites. phew...although i dont know who would be worse off - us or them, as it has to be said that the german food has done neither of us any favours - yes, even rohan is showing that he is human and a schnitzel and 1/2 litre of beer per night does affect his waistline (slightly).

anyway, this trip feels like an epic already, even though apparently we are only a 1/10th of the way through. there have been highs (cycling along the moselle valley, finding quirky towns in the old east germany) and there have been a few lows (flattening the car battery, etc)...but we are getting into the swing of being on the road again.

the camp sites have been a bit of a mixed bag. all have had good and bad points - i guess it is a good thing that none have been all bad. mostly it seems that friendliness and amenities are inversly proportionate. i have been fascinated by the level of effort that the permanent caravaners go to with their front yards. i think there should be an award for the most eccentric/bizarre display in a campground (if there isnt one already). my favourite so far has been a small front yard with lifesize sheep statues and even one of a sheepdog. classy.

anyway - our trip so far has been through belgium, to the grand duchy of luxembourg, the moselle valley in germany, around erfurt in east germany and now dresden.

next on the trajectory is the czech republic.

if anyone has any tips or advice please let us know!

internet has been a bit hard to come by so these posts will probably be a bit sporadic. hopefully we will be organised enough to upload photos sometime...

our german has progressed so far as to ´ich sprecken kein deutsch´ (sp?) which we say whenever given 1/2 a chance.

love
ainslie and rohan