Belgium: Rendeux, Durbuy, Dinant
Welcome to the next camping destination: Marche-en-Famenne, Belgium. As usual I started the trip right after work looking forward to meet old and new friends from the Netherlands, Belgium and France. Somehow a couple of apparent destinations that are easy to reach, turn out as a real adventure.
I was so happy that my parents have lent me their navigation agent in order to arrive punctual and relaxed at my destination.
Getting to Aachen, the westernmost city of Germany which is located in the border triangle to the Netherlands and Belgium, was no problem. Right before the border I wanted to make use of the navigation and realized that the cartography hasn’t been updated, additionally to that all Benelux maps were missing. Great! So I checked google.maps that marked the way on the map extract, turned off the connection and started the GPS. My smartphone lost the connection when I really needed it and was cruising around until it got dark. With my rusty French I was asking for the direction as soon as I could see someone outside. After narrow winding and unlighted roads up and down some hills I finally reached my destination.
After that late success the next surprise was already waiting, as no one was there - except me. My phone released the connection, the spot was completely dark and quiet. So I decided to search the others early in the morning. Due to my frustration I decided to not pitch up my tent but to sleep in the back of the car.
After sunrise I was pacing up and down the trails close to the river – without effect. With the remaining battery I could find my friends phone number in one of my mails and called him before the battery was completely dead. He told me that I mixed up the address and got to the place we met last year. Instead of Rendeux we meet in Wéris close to Durbuy. And the odyssey continued…
… in the end, after another quest in the morning (due to a wrong spelling) I was sent back and forth by the locals and reached our camping spot on time. After quick welcome hugs we went kayaking in Dinant followed by a cozy campfire…
Netherlands: Texel
Texel is the biggest island in the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland and has an excellent reputation as a popular holiday destination. Instead of reporting about this place I prefer to describe some emotions that remind me of this island.
Sometimes
there is this yearning for being free and experiencing the pleasurable feeling of being alive,
while sensing the grass between my toes and the sand under my feet, breathing
the salty air and getting touched by a fresh breeze that is playing with my
hair. To feel the warming rays of light on my face while closing my eyes and taking
a deep breath - taking a break, is a way of complete satisfaction and happiness.
Germany: Traben-Trarbach
Dear camping lovers! A perfect summer has started and invites you for camping at Mont Royal which is close to the historical village Traben-Trarbach at the river Mosel that is surrounded by smooth hills. During that weekend friends from all over the world enjoyed a city tour to Trier, hiking in the forest and the nearby vineyards, playing stupid games, having dinner at the campfire and of course vine tasting (the actual reason for coming here). Guys, that weekend was awesome! See you again next year!
