Continuing
east, and after a
night on a busy stellplatz at Wildeshausen, we skirted to the west
of Bremen and crossed the Weser on a ferry at Ganspe (€7.10
for a
3 minute trip), then through industrial towns and flat marshland to
Worpeswede, an artists' village with several galleries (entrance fees,
also
paying parking and €5 overnight for motorhomes). It seemed a rather
touristy place so after a stroll around we continued east to Lüneburg
Heath, where we found a listed night stop at a hotel carpark in Nindorf.
The
next morning we drove to the main centre of Undelohe, where
access
to the low lying heathland was mainly by horsedrawn wagon tours. As it
was early in the morning there wasn't much happening so we
drove north to the town of Buxtehude, and on to the
interesting
town of Jork, in the centre of the Altes Land, a fertile area of
orchards, south of the Elbe. It was very busy with the carparks full and
motorhomers looking for parking places. (We realised it was a bank
holiday for the Hamburg region). Eventually we drove along the
riverside to Grünendeich, where there was a stellplatz next to a
large car and bike park. We found it was a popular weekend meeting
place for bikers, with several food kiosks. Luckily we took
the
last available motorhome place
and paid €10 for a 24 hour stay, with
no services but close-up views of the massive container ships heading
for
Hamburg. By lunchtime on the Sunday the place was overrun with cars
and bikers trying to park all around us, despite the signs stating only
for
motorhomes, and as tempers were getting frayed and voices raised,
we decided to leave and drove to the nearby town of Stade
where
the excellent stellplatz was full, but overnight parking was allowed in
the nearby concert hall carpark. The pleasant
town
centre was within walking distance, so we finished the day with
a
relaxing stroll
around the old wharfs and merchants' houses.
wöhnmobiles and bikers don't mix!
A sunny morning followed as we drove along the west bank of the Elbe,
and crossed on the ferry, €17.50 for a thirty minute trip, to
the
town of Glückstadt (literally "happy town"). A short distance
north was the small village of Brokdorf, and another stellplatz beside the dike,
with good cycle and footpaths, for views across the river.
Here we came across our first
sani-station with a timed roller shutter door giving a just few minutes
access to the grey and black waste drain. As we have a 100 litre grey
water tank, we got wise to this at the second attempt, and partially
drained the contents into our portable waste
container
before putting in the next Euro coin.
The
following morning
after using another Euro to fill our fresh water tank, we crossed the
new high bridge over the Nord-Ostsee canal, and took quiet
country
roads
to
the coast at Büsum, a popular seaside resort where, in every direction,
there were stalls selling the local delicacy of krebben (small
shrimps).
The private 100 place stellplatz was near the harbour and cost
€13/24 hours including hookup and waste, fresh water €1. There were
marked grass and gravel pitches with signs indicating which way to park
- typical German efficiency which we ignored as our door was on the
"UK" side. The parking ticket gave us access to the promenade,
lawns and beach, otherwise €3 each, although use of the
Strandkörbe wicker beach chairs (essential on this windy coast) was
another €7. As
it was the Mayday holiday the town centre was lively, with a band and a
duo of young but very skilled xylophone players to entertain us.
Pressing north
we crossed the Eider-Sperrwerk barrage, with large moving gates that
prevents flooding of the low-lying land, and drove to St Peter-Ording,
a
smart small seaside resort, where we stopped at the very tidy private
Reisemobilhafen, with a complicated SEP card system for barrier access
and payment for the services, and internet at €1/hour. We set off on
foot across the massive sandy beach (€2 payment depending on where you
access it) to the buildings, including a restaurant built on
stilts. Walking back through a nature reserve we reached the town
centre, where we came across a few more restaurants, shops and
pretty thatched houses.
The next day we drove around the
flat sparsely populated Eiderstedt peninsula then inland to
Friedrichstadt, a pleasant town laid out in a grid of streets,
with Dutch style facaded buildings. We decided we would come
back the next day and after getting our passports checked by
an
enthusiastic
German border police fräulein as we were leaving the car park, we drove
a few miles to Husum, and Schobüll where there was an ACSI campsite, a
bit basic with a grass field overlooking the sea, but it had free wifi
that worked fine with our notebook and tablets. We returned to
Friedrichstadt, known for its decorative doors, the next morning, and
also visited the impressive large
detailed model railway layout which is well worth a visit
(having decided to miss a similar
one in Hamburg). After a short stop in the
centre of Husum, a workaday harbour town with many Euro shops, we
returned
to the campsite for a second night.