Despite the stomach-turning global events that are dominating the news these days, we managed to have a great flight over to Europe thanks to KLM Airlines. We spent the first night at an airport hotel trying to recover from the jet-lag that seems to be progressively getting worse with our maturity. Early the next morning we caught a train to Dulmen, Germany to connect with the fantastic crew at Dumo Reismobile. As usual, we were treated like royalty and even given a choice between two great motorhomes. We chose the Citroen based “Glucks Mobile” (Lucky-One Mobile). This “GlucksMobile” will make for a very comfortable home for the next three months. Thank you to Dominik, Sanna and Eddy. We then loaded up the motorhome with some supplies from a local super store and spent the first night at the Dumo Dealership. The next morning Michael Thyssen (Dumo’s owner) and his wife Anne sat with us over coffee and we talked about trip possibilities. Turkey or Portugal? Michael called in an employee that moved to Germany a few years ago from Turkey to give us a picture of how things are right now and this was very helpful. Still undecided, Michael phoned his rental department and had them add on required additional motorhome insurance for us to drive in Turkey, just in case we decide to make this our destination (Typically this would be an added expense for us at the border crossing). Portugal however is still very much on the table and a strong possibility, we actually have a few more days before we have to make that final decision. Stay tuned!

When we drove off we didn’t get very far at all. We stopped at the wonderful Gasthaus (Pub) and Campground called “Peters” just outside of Ludinghausen. We planned to see a magnificent nearby Palace called “Schloss Nordkirchen” that was built based on the design of Versailles outside of Paris. We took a tour of the impressive Palace but it was  presented in German. Of course we met a wonderful couple that translated the entire tour  for us. After the tour, we enjoyed getting to know them a bit better over a cold beer. Speaking of beer, we had the greatest time at Peters Gasthaus where we became very friendly with the Pub patron Hendrick, and a large number of his other guests too. The beer was good but the food was fantastic. We actually stayed at Peters for two nights and have plans to see Hendrick again on our return in June. Another castle nearby is worth a big mention. It’s one of the smallest castles we’ve ever seen but in my opinion it’s one of the best. There is something very unique about it and I have often thought about it ever since we first visited it in 2014.  Die Burg Vischering is a small historical gem that somehow transports me back through time to Medieval days.   

Hitting the road we put on some quick, and expensive, miles (Diesel @ $3.34/litre) and we made it to Kassel. A very interesting town with a ton of beautiful history.  And Kristen… you would be impressed with the dozen or so rowing clubs all within a one kilometre stretch along the river bank. Every time we see rowing, we think of you.

Now, with a concerning eye on the mess that Putin has created, it’s time for us to commit to a general direction of travel, keeping in mind that Turkey will still be in the running for a few more days yet.  Will keep you posted.