Showing posts with label Rhineland-Pfalz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rhineland-Pfalz. Show all posts

Tuesday, 31 July 2018

Germany to Belgium

Last day in Germany! 

The weather has been the great talking point for the past fortnight- everywhere folk are doing what they can to minimise the effects of the heatwave here in Germany. And, the sun keeps shining!   

The shutters were kept closed on the van early this morning in an  effort to keep the heat out - nevertheless, it didn’t take long to warm up. We had breakfast, did some jobs and then sadly said our farewells to our camping buddies, Brigitte,Dirk and Butch.
Indeed a very special part of our time in Europe was spending time with them.
We were on our way to Arlon in Belgium, but first we needed to take in supplies so a stop at the supermarket, and for some LPG, at Wittlich was our first target. Found some shade there and contemplated staying the day, but the show must go on!

The maze looked under stress - not many cobs,  nor any of a good size - definitely due to lack of rain. 

Not long after this we were near the old northern Roman capital of Trier - tempted to stop but too hot, and, we had visited there a couple of years ago. 

We crossed the Moselle on a number of occasions. 

Now we were only half an hour from the Luxembourg border. As we approached the border the biggest petrol station you could image was just on the other side - we’re told the cheapest petrol in Europe - and it was crowded. At €1.10 per litre, that still puts it around $1.75 per litre in Aus$. 

Cheapest petrol in Europe - so we are told!

We arrived in Arlon and parked with other motorhomes at a very warm aire de camping! Not many places to beat the heat here. 

Arlon is part of the Walloon municipality of Belgium. It was once a Roman settlement and now houses a well thought of museum of Roman sculptures and funerary (funeral) art. It’s main industrial employer is Ferrero Rocher chocolate. 

We settled down for the afternoon and evening attempting to dodge any sunshine that might come our way. Eventually the cool of the evening gave us some respite! 


An interesting building we passed on the way today. 

Some flowers have survived the heat where others have struggled. 




Monday, 30 July 2018

The Pulvermaar - The deepest “Eye of the Eifel”

Woke to the the very pleasant views down across the ancient volcanic landscape. The sun was showing its colours early, with the day beginning to shape as another hot one.  

We had breakfast and then took a walk to the “Maar” - the term in this area of Eifel for a lake of volcanic origin. This maar, the Pulvermaar, was formed somewhere around 20,000 years ago - Neanderthal man would have seen these eruptions! 

Pulvermaar is famous for it’s almost circular shape - being about 700m in diameter. The maar is filled only by rainwater, with no streams flowing into it. It’s depth at the moment is around 70 metres, only a fraction of its original depth of 300m. Because of it’s great depth the temperature remains at a constant 4 degrees Celsius. 




The very popular maar is set up for a number of water sports with swimming being the most popular. The area reminds us of the Basin in Launceston, Tasmania.

During the day a number of jet fighters flew overhead, and also, what we thought was an American Super Galaxy supply aircraft. The largest American airforce base in Germany is situated just north of where we are, and it is the centre for supplying forces in the Middle East. 

We relaxed for the rest of the afternoon, had our evening meal before settling into an evening of 
Rummikub. 



Still very warm when we said our good nights and headed for bed.