Wohnmobilstellplatz Alte Schiffsanleger 777, Elbuferstr. , 21502 Geestacht. 14 pitches, 7,00€ per night payment at the parking automat, electricity 0,50€ kwh, freshwater 1,00€ for 100 litres. Maximum stay 3 nights. [email protected]

Our last stop before our drive home was in Geestacht further along the Elbe and south west of Hamburg. The stopover site was once again on the banks of the river but this time next to a fairly busy main road. We were lucky to get the last pitch next to the river. The motorhomes that arrived after us had to stand in the second row without a direct river view and closer to the road. As we needed something to drink and eat in the evening I walked into the town to find a supermarket. The walk took me about fifteen to twenty minutes to reach the pedestrian precint where there was a good selection of shops and cafés. The town appeared to be fairly prosperous as it was busy, clean and well cared for. The proximity to Hamburg may be the reason for this. In the late afternoon the good weather broke and during the evening and night there was rain and thunderstorms.

The following day we continued on home, reaching the outskirts of Bad Zwischenahn where the van brokedown. After calling the ADAC, the van was towed to Fiat in Aurich and from there we took a taxi home.

Moving on from Bad Bevensen we spent the weekend in Dömitz. Dömitz lies just inside Mecklenburg-Vorpommern across the River Elbe from Dannenberg and close to the state border with Sachsen-Anhalt. The campsite is situated at the harbour in Dömitz and is part of a complex with a hotel and restaurant. The pitches are situated along the bank of an arm of the river which serves as the entrance to the harbour. It is extremely peaceful there as the Elbe is lined with wide fields. It is a short walk to the main river and every now and again there are little sandy bays. There is also bike path along the dyke which leads to towns further along the river, Wittenberge for example. It was very hot so we spent the two days just relaxing and sitting in the shade. On the first evening we visited the restaurant and sat on the terrace. The menu is a fairly ordinary mix of schnitzel, burgers and pasta but it was perfectly o.k. The hotel also has a panorama bar on the top floor but opened later in the evening so we didn‘t sample the cocktails, the view over the area was however impressive. Because of the heat, we didn‘t visit the town but driving through it we could recognise it‘s DDR past. If you are looking for peace and quiet, we can recommend this site.

Wohnmobilstellplatz am Hafen, Hafenplatz 3, 19303 Dömitz. 20 pitches allong the river bank. Payment and registration at the hotel reception. ca. 25,00€ per night including electricity and grey water disposal. Fresh water, 1,00€ for 100 litres. Toilets and showers in the hotel building, 1,00€ for five minutes hot shower water. No chemical toilet disposal on site. [email protected]

From Lüneburg we moved onto Bad Bevensen. There we stayed on the new site right next to the Kurpark and within short walking distance of the Jod-Sole-Therme and the town centre. The site was pretty quiet possibly because there is a second cheaper site which is further from the centre. There was a bit of traffic noise from the nearby road but plenty of peace and quiet in the Kurpark. In the afternoon we visited the therme which has been modernised and extended since we were last there. The newly laid out sauna garden and the panorama sauna in particular are very nice new attractions. There were restaurants close by but we decided to spend a quiet evening „at home“ in the van.

Wohnmobilstellplatz am Kurpark, Kurpark, 29549 Bad Bevensen. 18 pitches on asphalt, payment at a machine at the entrance, cards can be used. Using the touchscreen you register at the entrance. Per night, 12,00€ for the motorhome and 2,00€ per person. Added costs are 0,60€ per kw hour for electricity, 2,00€ for 100 litre freshwater, 1,00€ for the automatic chemical toilet disposal machine and 3,00€ per night and person guest tax. With your registration you buy credit for your stay to pay for the electricity and facilities that you use, when you you check out the remaining credit is returned to your bank account. The registration machine provides you with a card which is used to open the entrance and exit barriers and is swiped to get your electricity or other facilities. It works very efficiently. www.bad-bevensen.de und www.jod-sole-therme.eu

Following our night in Thedinghausen we stopped in Verden an der Aller to eat in breakfast in a café and from there we drove on through the Aller valley and past the Lüneburg Heide to Lüneburg where we spent the next couple of nights. The stopover site in Lüneburg is very close to the city centre and old town and is one of a number of parking lots alongside the Sulzwiesen which is used for outdoor events such as concerts or fairgrounds. It‘s also ideal for walking the dogs. While we were there it was used by the police for traffic rule training with groups of primary school children on their bikes.

On our first day we walked over to the Salü Therme and spent a couple of hours in the sauna. The sauna area is not large but it has a variety of saunas and it has lately been modernised. As the weather was very hot we spent the evening relaxing outside next to the van. The next day we took turns in visiting the old town as with the heat it would have been to take the dogs with us. Lüneburg was lucklily spared from a lot of damage during the second world war so that there are a large number of very old buildings still standing, particularily interesting are the variety of gables. Any new architecture has respected the surrounding buildings so that it is a very beautiful city. With its large student population it also very lively and has a large selection of shops, restaurants, bars and cafés. The sort of place where I would enjoy living. In the evening we walked into the town and had a very nice meal in Röhms Deli.

Wohnmobilstellplatz Sulzwiesen, am Bargenturm, 21335 Lüneburg. 69 pitches, payment at a machine near the entrance, 15,00€ per night all inclusive except 1,00€ for 10 minutes (ca. 60 litres) freshwater. Graywater and chemical toilet disposal on one of the neighbouring parking lots, ca. 500 metres distance. Here is also the freshwater point. Large trees on one side provide shade, the other side is more exposed. Only a short walk into the town, an Edeka supermarket is about 5-10 minutes walk. Pretty quiet despite the very central location. www.lueneparken.de

Wohnmobilstellplatz am Schloss Erbhof, Thedinghausen. 5,00€ per night, 1,00€ 6 hours of electricity, 1,00€ 10 minutes, fresh water. Electricity points for 8 motorhomes, but there is room on the site for another two or three motorhomes. Payment at the tourist information in the castle or left in a trust box. Toilets close by and gray water and chemical toilet facilities situated on the far side of the large car park.

There is restaurant next to the castle which is open from Wednesdays until Sunday. The town centre is about a five to ten minutes walk away, where there are snack bars and an italian restaurant. Next to the castle and Stellplatz is a large tree park, useful for walking the dogs.

A pleasant, quiet und very reasonably priced stopover site.

www.schloss-erbhof.de

Tour 42

With about a week‘s time on our hands and having completed our Denmark trip without further problems we decided to take a short trip across Niedersachsen.

The places we visited were:

1. Thedinghausen

2. Lüneburg (2 nights)

3. Bad Bevensen

4. Dömitz (2 nights)

5. Geestacht

During the trip we had hot summer weather and avoided the worst thunderstorms. We had a relaxing time until our last day on the way home. Once again, about an hour from home, a warning signal appeared on the display, control engine and our speed was cut to a snails pace. Luckily we were close to a motorway exit and managed to find place to stop and call the ADAC. The van was towed to our nearest Fiat garage and from there we had to take a taxi home. We were really fed up, thinking that it as the same problem that we‘d had before Denmark and which had cost a lot to repair. The next day, the garage phoned us and told us that they had discovered a mouse nest in the motor which they had built after burrowing through the air filter! Unfortuneately there was also a big problem with the left hand back brake! By the next day everything was repaired and there was another big bill for us.