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Alrighty, I have a little time to myself now..so can outline the recent holiday trip into Europe:
Day 1 - Outward Bound
Monday 3rd September
We had booked the Dover to Calais Ferry for an 0840 crossing, and had around 100 miles to go to get to Dover, the big imponderable was how quickly the M25 was going to become a car park at the time we were travelling. Decided to be cautious and give two hours for the journey, the ferry company wanted us booking in 90 mins before departure, which we put down to security checking and resigned ourselves to. So packed most items the night before, up for around 0445, quick cuppa, pack the toothbrush and travel documents, then step aside whilst my partner did a re-think on what to take in her suitcase, amazingly away for 0515 (I had been expecting at least another 20 mins for the re-think/pack).
We made good time on the M25 and then M2/A2, on arriving at the port we were asked if we wanted to board the 0740 ferry (departing in 20 mins). This was a bonus as we were going to loose and hour crossing into European time. The penny then dropped regarding the 90 mins, basically allowing the ferry company to maximise the vehicles crossing by filling up any empty car area with the vehicles on the next trip who arrived before the ferry departed (once per hour).
Snooze time aboard the ferry, as we had a long drive ahead of us, I bought a 2007 Road Atlas as the last time we drove through Holland (about 4 years previous) we were walloped time-wise by roadworks on a couple of occasions. Sat-Nav is just not my cup of tea, plus we had a navigator/co pilot set up. Our aim for the day was to arrive in Oldenburg (North Germany) some time in the evening and stay with my partner's eldest brother and family, before we drove South and East to the Harz region (old East/West German border before the wall came down).
I was directed to drive the first leg (on the right instead of the left once off the ferry), plenty of UK (registration number) plates coming off the ferry; but not a single one in three weeks of travelling once we were clear of Calais, until we were on our way back to the port and drew up alongside some dejected Irish rugby fans who were coming away from seeing their team fall short of expectations in the Rugby World Cup.
The A16/E40 stretch was uneventful, terrain being flat..flat..and....flat. One of the first things you think as an English driver on the continent is how many more rest places there are once over the channel, compared to the UK. Soon it was farewell to France as we crossed into Belgian terra firma. Noticably more renewable energy windmills dotted around the countryside than when last we came by, if anything this part of Belgium was flatter (and windier) than France!
Our first pit stop occurred near to Oostkamp. We had come prepared with a flask and some sandwiches in our cool box, plus a few small denomination Euro cents; you never know, when walking into some of the motorway toilets, if you are going to be faced with a gnarled little old lady toilet attendant with a saucer for gratuities!
The game plan was to drive towards Gent (A10), then head N/E towards Antwerp (A14). We swapped drivers so I was now navigating. Would have loved to have spent some time in these cities, but we knew how many miles lay ahead of us if we were to arrive in Oldenburg in time for tea. The good aspect of the ring-roads around the Belgian and Dutch cities was that you could pass through/by without having to negotiate the city centres. The flip side was that if you missed your exit, you could either end up going round the ring or off on a tangent, this is where a navigator earns their corn :o)
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