Worblingen

Another car park (€6 + metered electricity and water) but this was by a stream down a lane, fantastically peaceful. I always think we don’t use much electricity but we are finding we use about 5kwh a day. The main drain is recharging the bike batteries. Water we use about 40 litres a day if we run the washing machine and showering in the van.

We came here solely for the garage that had been recommended. On the Friday morning we had to set an alarm, much to my consternation and be at the body shop for 8am. Now homeless for a day we set off through the pouring rain to Stein am Rhine. We did about 1K before I made John detour to a coffee shop and we spent the next hour eating pastries trying to get warm and dry. Once the rain abated and after going to the bank armed with a pre-written note detailing a list of coins we needed (all sites around here need coins) we continued our journey, sheltering under overhangs with every storm. What a day to be homeless. At last we got to Stein and the sun came out. Stein is a beautiful town, on the river side with a nice square and ornate buildings giving you a chocolate box Swiss look. The journey back to the van at the end of the day was dry but it was with trepidation that we picked up the van. I expected big globs of white paste stuck into the holes, instead we have a perfectly matched, flat surface and only if you look closely can you tell it has been repaired. I spent the evening looking up new awnings and getting quotes, both English and German so we can compare doing it here with waiting until we get home.

On the second next day we cycled around lake Unter (90K) stopping at the lovely town of Konstanz and tried some German beer. Germany is one of the largest producers and consumers of alcohol free beer which suits John and I, the taste without the bad bit. That’s enough cycling for a day or so, time to give certain bits of me some recovery time.

As the weather has dipped and surrounds are flat we did a 5K run on the back lanes before packing up and moving on after 3 nights here. Somewhat poorer in terms of money from this stop but richer in terms of experiences.