All has been quiet on this blog since I conquered the towering Marilyns of Denmark back in the middle of August. Here's a quick synopsis of what's gone on since:
After a visit to the birthplace of the monarchy and Christianity in Denmark, at the visitor centre at Jelling (highly recommended, if you should find yourself passing), and a quick trip to Legoland on the same day, we journeyed down to Ribe - the oldest town in Denmark. Three nights were spent there, which was a little naughty, given the 48hr max stay, but we very much liked the place, and having arrived at gone 9pm on the Friday night it didn't seem too cheeky to stay until early on the Monday morning (or maybe I mean: it seemed likely we would get away with the overstay, what with it being the weekend).
Ribe church
Leaving Ribe, we left Denmark and spent 10 nights in northern Germany. I soon learnt (as Mick already knew) that northern Germany is very flat and very agricultural. I also soon learnt to look for motorhome parking opportunities that were next to either rivers or lakes, because otherwise it wasn't very interesting. Whilst nowhere we went stood out from a walking point of view, I loved the flatness and the abundance of off-road cycle routes from a running point of view.
The castle next to which we parked for a couple of nights in Germany
Then came a few nights in the Netherlands, which is right up there with northern Germany for flatness. More running and more bimbling around lakes ensued.
Taking a horse for a swim
By then it was the end of August, and time for our Chunnel crossing back to the UK.
We woke up at home on 1 September and stayed there for a month, soon discovering that mud season has come early this year. As a result, we didn't visit our local paths as extensively as we ordinarily would when at home. We did, however, thoroughly exploit all of the local pavements in an attempt not to fall into complete idleness (thank goodness for the Fitbits; without them we would have become sloths for the month).
We went home with a whole list of things to be done, and things to be ordered online, but as is so often the case, it was only when we had our next departure date perilously close before us that we went into a frenzy of trying to work through the list. It defeated us.
Notwithstanding the incomplete to-do list, at the beginning of October I booked our passage back to Europe, and we set off again three days later. Two big days of driving took us to a location just north of Bordeaux, timed so that we could join in with a ParkRun there. Then we slowed down considerably as we moseyed down the coast to Spain.
Dune du Pyla, SW of Bordeaux, is the tallest sand dune in Europe. A couple of miles of barefoot walking along its ridge left me with a calf so sore that I was out of action for a couple of days.
The intention on this trip is to stay longer in each place. Ordinarily, we move every day, staying two days at most in one place. Lots of motorhome parking areas have limits of 48 or 72 hours, and there are few (if any) campsites open in this area at this time of year, but where a motorhome parking area coincides with walking opportunities then we will stay to the limit of our welcome.
Dramatic sea at El Peine de los Vientos at San Sebastián
We're in Elorrio, in the Basque country, at the moment. It's a lovely, welcoming place with the town having provided motorhome parking, a motorhome service point and an excellent audiotour of the town, all for free. The bar in the square is a good place for coffee and pintxos - and has good wifi - and the baker sells huge cakes. Moreover, the tourist information office has uploaded some recommended walks to Wikiloc (I'll write a separate (hopefully less rambling) post about our perambulations). The motorhome parking here is not in demand at this time of year, but as there is a 72hr limit in any one week, and as we registered with the local police when we arrived, we feel that we should move on tomorrow, even though we could happily stay here another night or two.
Short work was made of this huge chocolate covered cakey thing
(As always, I'm wittering on daily about our doings at thegateposts.blogspot.com, but will post here either with occasional updates or when we do a walk that I consider merits a mention on this blog.)
After a visit to the birthplace of the monarchy and Christianity in Denmark, at the visitor centre at Jelling (highly recommended, if you should find yourself passing), and a quick trip to Legoland on the same day, we journeyed down to Ribe - the oldest town in Denmark. Three nights were spent there, which was a little naughty, given the 48hr max stay, but we very much liked the place, and having arrived at gone 9pm on the Friday night it didn't seem too cheeky to stay until early on the Monday morning (or maybe I mean: it seemed likely we would get away with the overstay, what with it being the weekend).
Ribe church
Leaving Ribe, we left Denmark and spent 10 nights in northern Germany. I soon learnt (as Mick already knew) that northern Germany is very flat and very agricultural. I also soon learnt to look for motorhome parking opportunities that were next to either rivers or lakes, because otherwise it wasn't very interesting. Whilst nowhere we went stood out from a walking point of view, I loved the flatness and the abundance of off-road cycle routes from a running point of view.
The castle next to which we parked for a couple of nights in Germany
Then came a few nights in the Netherlands, which is right up there with northern Germany for flatness. More running and more bimbling around lakes ensued.
Taking a horse for a swim
By then it was the end of August, and time for our Chunnel crossing back to the UK.
We woke up at home on 1 September and stayed there for a month, soon discovering that mud season has come early this year. As a result, we didn't visit our local paths as extensively as we ordinarily would when at home. We did, however, thoroughly exploit all of the local pavements in an attempt not to fall into complete idleness (thank goodness for the Fitbits; without them we would have become sloths for the month).
We went home with a whole list of things to be done, and things to be ordered online, but as is so often the case, it was only when we had our next departure date perilously close before us that we went into a frenzy of trying to work through the list. It defeated us.
Notwithstanding the incomplete to-do list, at the beginning of October I booked our passage back to Europe, and we set off again three days later. Two big days of driving took us to a location just north of Bordeaux, timed so that we could join in with a ParkRun there. Then we slowed down considerably as we moseyed down the coast to Spain.
Dune du Pyla, SW of Bordeaux, is the tallest sand dune in Europe. A couple of miles of barefoot walking along its ridge left me with a calf so sore that I was out of action for a couple of days.
The intention on this trip is to stay longer in each place. Ordinarily, we move every day, staying two days at most in one place. Lots of motorhome parking areas have limits of 48 or 72 hours, and there are few (if any) campsites open in this area at this time of year, but where a motorhome parking area coincides with walking opportunities then we will stay to the limit of our welcome.
Dramatic sea at El Peine de los Vientos at San Sebastián
We're in Elorrio, in the Basque country, at the moment. It's a lovely, welcoming place with the town having provided motorhome parking, a motorhome service point and an excellent audiotour of the town, all for free. The bar in the square is a good place for coffee and pintxos - and has good wifi - and the baker sells huge cakes. Moreover, the tourist information office has uploaded some recommended walks to Wikiloc (I'll write a separate (hopefully less rambling) post about our perambulations). The motorhome parking here is not in demand at this time of year, but as there is a 72hr limit in any one week, and as we registered with the local police when we arrived, we feel that we should move on tomorrow, even though we could happily stay here another night or two.
Short work was made of this huge chocolate covered cakey thing
(As always, I'm wittering on daily about our doings at thegateposts.blogspot.com, but will post here either with occasional updates or when we do a walk that I consider merits a mention on this blog.)
Welcome back here. I look forward to some vicarious walks now being more or less immobilised. I did walk along the prom at Morecambe with Pete today for about two miles, but there's not much pleasure in it. The next target is to try and beat the NHS system by volunteering for any cancellation they may have against their 3 to 6 month prediction.
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