Next Things: Munich, Illertissen, Isny, Illertissen, Bodensee

Tuesday: 23-Apr-2019

A moment of concern was experienced at immigration when we were asked how long we were staying… 6 months? Not the right answer (given we did not have a visa for 6 months)… until we said… but only a few weeks in Germany! All smiles and two stamps and we were good to go. 

Our rental car had been upgraded to a cavernous 7 seater Ford Tourneo – a taste of our future increase in roadside footprint, which was just as well, it turns out. So then we set out to get a prepaid SIM card… both shops that stocked them (at the Airport) had already  “sold out” – but we were told “you can get them in the city”.  So on to our hotel and to our delight… an early check in. While I had slept quite well on the flight, Karilyn had not (the last row (61), beside the toilet, and narrower seats effect) – so some rest needed. Then into the city (by train, of course, with the station 100m from our hotel…) to see what we could see… and get two SIM cards.

The train station at Hirschgarten (by the Holiday Inn Express Munich - sadly not a very traditional German hotel but the location was right!

We arrived in Marienplatz just before 5 pm, which fortuitously, was just in time to see and hear the Glockenspiel on the “Neu Rathaus” – very entertaining… and 500 or so people looking skyward.

Some of the characters "in" the Rathaus Glockenspiel...

But the SIM problem would not go away!  After we had surveyed the offerings from Vodafone, and O2 and several other shops… we were not convinced about the costs of the deals offered… all 25 or more Euros / month.  So decided to have dinner and think about it… a pork knuckle dish for Karilyn and beef goulash for me… There was a lot (really, a lot!) of fat on the pork… and the goulash (surprisingly to us) came with spaetzle (German Egg Noodles) – a new taste.  It was interesting to watch the people pass by the restaurant too…Privacy of vision is the norm… looking someone else in the eye is clearly not proper behaviour.

Watching the passers-by... while eating pork-knuckle and goulash...

At this point we decided to go back to the Vodafone shop to talk about SIM cards again – to be told, "we are all sold out!"  Why? "Because of all the tourists – we sell out every day… come back at 10.00 tomorrow and we will have new stock".... Curious!

What to do?  Forget it and do some sightseeing and listening… and eat ice-cream!

The original Rathaus… dating originally from 1310 - but extensively modified since, and severely damaged during World War II... The Grand Hall was the location that Goebbels used in 1938 to give a speech that was the prelude to Kristallnacht. 

An interesting collection of instruments... playing Vivaldi (and similar) - while carried by the violin the other instruments provided real depth to the sound - we listened for quite some time.

This group were playing Vivaldi! The sound was unbelievable – a joy to the ears!

Wednesday 24-Apr-2019

A simple day planned… first drive to Illertissen, to Wolfgang’s parent’s home (Bernhard and Brigitte) to pick up the eBikes and on to Isny in readiness for the real start of this adventure. But at this point, we had become aware that German efficiency failed – which as Wolfgang pointed out was very un-German-like!  Only one eBike had arrived in Illertissen – along with locks for two ebikes… and it was unclear where the other was… as some “system” failure at DHL combined, in the end with some confusion at Bike-Discount meant the second ebike seemed to be lost in transit...

One Tern Vektron P7i ebike… out of the very large delivery box!

But were very warmly welcomed by Bernard and Brigitte – and enjoyed a few stories and things to see – before settling down to the important task of “putting the bike together”…  it turns out that they were not quite “ready to ride” as I had thought would be the case based on emails from the store… and of course the instructions were in German.  But with Bernhard’s clear guidance and direction, and his tool chest and tin of grease… success was achieved… except we only had on bike.. and the best advice from Bike-Discount was that the other would probably not arrive till Monday at the earliest.  So after a little more guidance, and discussion on matters of politics (where I learned the shameful truth…. Trump’s ancestors are German – so we can blame the Germans for Donald Trump!) we set out again (realising that fitting a second ebike, plus our luggage into even the cavernous Tourneo might have been a challenge… so perhaps just as well there was only one.

And so – onwards to Isny via Ravensburg – to pick up the furnishings that we would need from IKEA… and two SIM cards.   A lovely drive at the highest speed we are going to do this trip… 150+kmh… as being 4.5 tonnes – the motorhome is limited to 80 kph on 120 kph restricted roads, and 100 kph on un-speed limited roads – and no passing either!  But… the IKEA turned out to be just a delivery pick up site (so a small failure)… but the man at the O2 shop pointed us toward MediaMart… and a very helpful sales assistant who both sold and registered a 15 Euro/month “plan” that should meet all our needs.  It turns out that registering for a prepaid SIM in Germany is complicated… it needs a Passport – which is photographed and associated with a QR code, and a form….which is then sent on  to some organ of the German Government for approval… we were approved – so the drive to Ravensburg was a success after all.  Not something to be done without good language and process skills!

Our hotel (Hotel Restaurant Baren) in Isny was right in the centre of the old town – and very pleasant – as was the breakfast.

A portion of the offering for breakfast at the Hotel Restaurant Baren

Isny is a “pretty town”…

Isny… on the water... part of the district of Ravensburg (hence the characters "RV" on our "number plate"...

Thursday: 25-Apr-2019

The day of reckoning… We started with a factory tour (all in German) – but apart from not understanding a word of the corporate presentation – it was very interesting to see how these motor homes are built… from the inside out (starting with the headrests and seatbelt anchors for the non-cab seats!). Then over to McRent for the hand over of “our” motorhome… and the signing of the lease agreement (cost = 0Euro).  As we arrived – the team at McRent were loading it up with all the house-hold things we were going to need immediately (pots and pans, cutlery, crockery (well, melamine equivalents...), bedding, camp chairs and table… so it was just as well, that our trip to “IKEA” in Ravensburg was a failure!  

And so we finally meet RV NZ 100... the end of a 5+ year journey...

After further familiarisation – we took it on it s first long drive – 500m or so… to the Dethleffs “Aire” – some spaces in the Dethleffs Factory carpark – with power. One last thing to do for the day… return the rental car.  This required a trip to Kempton (about 30 km), then a taxi ride back… at 6 pm. Small concern about achieving this at that time – further increased when trying to call taxi companies in Kempton to arrange the ride back… the automatic answering systems were of course in German… and that was beyond my understanding!  So time to ask for help from our fellow campers in the Aire… all very obliging... and we soon had someone who could understand enough English to make the call and sure enough… when I got to the rental return – the taxi was there ready and waiting. So I was back in Isny about 90 minutes after leaving… and was relieved to be so.

Friday: 26-Apr-2019

We slept fitfully…. It was not a lack of comfort – just a new set of surroundings.  The (Alde – hot water) heating worked very well (though there is a small 2.5C calibration error between the Dethleff view of the interior temperature, and that proposed by Alde)! Then to our (very pleasant) surprise… mid-morning we got a call from Brigitte to say that the second bike had turned up!  So back to Ilertissen…. And our first real drive of the Esprit.  I must confess that at this point I had a moment of doubt as to the wisdom of this adventure…. This vehicle felt very big… and there was the small matter of the placement of the steering wheel, and the side of the road on which we were to drive, the absence of English, and the need to learn a whole lot of new “things” – a bit outside my comfort zone… But it was great… and driving with the wheel on the right side of the vehicle, but on the wrong side of the road did not seem problematic at all… even the size of the vehicle was not too bad once underway. The navigation system also “knows” that we are >3.5 tonnes so makes clear the correct speed limits… and the places that we can (or can’t) go. And we have yet to find ourselves on the wrong side of a road... or parking lot, or ....

Cruising down the highway... as relaxed as can be...

Mind you – the steering is not quite up to that of the Tiguan… it has a slightly less direct feeling!  But the “automated manual” seems to work well (must figure out how it works some day!).

And so we return to Wolfgang’s old home again… and park in the drive… it quite fills it up… 

Filling up the drive way at the Hayek home in Illertissen.

Brigitte had now prepared some local delicacies for us… starting with a cake/tart that is covered in raspberries and a glaze… with cream of course… delightful! Then, after reviewing a couple of Bernhard’s software projects (an application of matrix multiplication on 2 and 3D objects, and a database for managing digital images), it was off to the garage to assemble the second bike.  Much faster this time.  By which time it was almost time to eat again! Bavarian delicacies (a beef roulade dish with homemade spaetzle) and all the trimmings.  We were very grateful for this opportunity to both enjoy a special meal together, and, with some interpolation – explore ideas about the state of the world!

Breakfasting with the Hayek's: Brigitte, Karilyn and Bernhard

At this point it was time to say goodbye to Bernhard and Brigitte – and to head to our first camp site… Upon advice…. we decided on a location in Bodman-Ludwigshafen (Campingplatz Schachenhorn) right on the on the shore of the lake (which we know as Lake Constance). But before that – a trip to Ulm (which had a “big” IKEA) – to pick up a few more necessities (including lunch – Swedish Meatballs for me), and to a Bike shop, to buy cycle helmets (and some tools).  More fine-grained manoeuvring needed to get into a tight IKEA parking space for motorhomes and cars with trailers… but still no scratches (John!). 

Who would have thought... a museum for trains....

On the way here (Campingplatz Schachenhorn, from which this update is coming) – we took the scenic route via Sigmaringen – and stopped to look at the large castle on the hill above the Danube river – which is not very large at this point! And the rain kept falling

Hohenzollern Castle on the Danube at Sigmaringen

Still raining... and using up the right number of "car" parking spaces... in Sigmaringen.

And then on via Engen – it would have been even more lovely… if it had been sunny.  One lasting  memory of this trip so far is “dandelions” – the fields have been covered in a golden yellow glow of them (although that is not evident in these pictures).

Typical of the countryside between Engen and Ludwigshafen

And so at last we arrived at our first campsite (ever) in Europe.

The view from the "lounge" at Campingplatz Schachenhorn...

Sunday: 28-Apr-2019

We slept well! We were tired… We didn’t manage to find a church to visit today… we are a bit out of the nearest town (Ludwigshafen)… but we did manage to sort a few things out – such as reducing the tyre pressures (which ranged from 75 to 85 psi – all to 65 psi – to see if that will reduce one “little” noise that emanates from dashboard on bumpy sections of the road). This afternoon, after the rain cleared, we went for a walk along the late to Ludwigshafen.  Delightful.

We will likely move on tomorrow… but have yet to decide where… perhaps to Bregenz…