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Stacey's Journal

May 31 2004 (Mon)

Old Town (Hebden Bridge) - Kirkintilloch (Glasgow)

Finally got the bus ready to set off at about 3pm after 2 weeks of testing, fixing, bridge bashing, panel beating and learning that the fuel pump hoojie was at the front of the tank (so if we wanted to go uphill, especially a steep one, the tank had to be fairly full of diesel).

We left via Keighley and onto the A65 up to the Lake District hoping to see the Hibberts but alas they were off in Scotland on holiday we found out later.

We decided to carry on up to Glasgow to see my folks and a few friends and after a detour through the East End of Glasgow as the M73 was closed we arrived at the Stables pub in Kirkintilloch gasping for a drink. It was 11pm, it was also a bank holiday and they'd just stopped serving (the bus doesn't go very fast you may have worked out).

We resigned ourselves to a good night's sleep in the truck lay-by across from the Stables. The bus and Dom's driving of it had both performed above expectation. For those of you who don't know Dom had managed to crash my lovely and nearly new VW Polo Sport a month beforehand

June 1 2004 (Tue)

Lenzie and Kirkintilloch (Glasgow)

After a fairly uncomfortable night's sleep we decided a nice big mattress was a must. Dom also convinced me to buy a bicycle even though I haven't ridden one for at least 10 years

We soon realised that parking the bus was going to be a problem even in a big retail park so we ended up not stopping as it was all too difficult and we carried on instead to my folk's house. I had a very welcome shower (not being used to the smell of diesel yet) and cheekily did some washing while no-one (well except Helen my youngest sister) was in.

As Helen wasn't up to visiting the us we thought we'd try the retail park again and managed to park about half a mile away. First stop was Bensons the bed shop to uy a king-size and very comfortable mattress. While trying to decide on one the helpful sales lady asked us what kind of frame it was for. I don't think she ever thought she's hear the answer 'a bus' but she took it in good stead and recommended a fairly sturdy one. Decision made we then had to get it onto the bus so we drove to the loading bay round the back much to the delight of one of the other sale assistants who would quite happily have joined us on our travels. After a bit of heaving and pulling the mattress was in place and it was time to buy a bike.

I opted for a nice shiny blue one (colour being the most important thing obviously) which incidentally had a sprung seat and handlebars - at least I'd be comfortable before falling off. My mum and dad, we discovered, were out with their friends Bob and Liz who were up from Gloucester visiting, and wouldn't be back until much later so I arranged to meet Gillian and Jackie, friends from school days, while waiting on Dom to bring the bus round to the main road so we could load the bicycle into the boot.

There was a surprise waiting for me on the bus - Dom had bumped into Claire, my other sister, who was on her way home from work and had offered her a lift on the bus. She had accepted, rather bravely, and told us it was her first day in her new permanent job so we invited her to join us for drinks too by way of a bit of a celebration.

We parked the bus at McNairs in Kirkintilloch, which was a bit naughty but there really was nowhere to put it, and wandered up to the Puffer in Kirkintilloch (which used to be the police station but is now a Witherspoons).

Had some food, some drinks and a good laugh and when mum came to pick up Cliare she invited us for breakfast the next day. We weren't sure if we'd be up in time but...

June 2 2004 (Wed)

Lenzie and Loch Lomond

At 6.50am we were wakened by the McNair's security guard and were asked to move on fairly politely - it involved the word sir anyway but that's not necessarily a good thing. Dom still in his pants and me still in bed, drove dopey eyed up to the lay-by across from the stables again. We decided we'd make that breakfast after all - and I could have a shower!

I booked the Rosyth to Zeebrugge ferry for the next day at 5pm (there is only one a day but we had no problem getting booked on) and Dom who doesn't like boats at all was very good about the whole idea - I guess it beat driving the bus all the way to the Channel Tunnel

We decided to drive up to Loch Lomond for a bit of a jaunt and to try out my new bike - I'm a bit unfit. We got to the big car park at Balmaha on the East side and cycled for not very long - basically until we got to the first bit of beach. Dom fell asleep for 40 minutes - I think its pretty knackering driving a big bus...and I watched the dogs playing with sticks and got my breath back.

We went back to Lenzie and my folks for tea, with a very nice dessert made by Helen, and then made our way to Broom Gardens where we'd parked the bus and hoped for a bit of a lie-in.

June 3 2004 (Thurs)

Glasgow and Rosyth (Edinburgh)

After a bit of a lie-in (Hooray!) we went to meet our good firend Lisa for lunch picking her up outside her work at Glasgow Uni. She thought the bus looked a bit sinister - aw! - but was impressed really. We had the usual problem of parking so went back to Lisa's flat on Great Western Road for a bit of a sandwich until it was time for Lisa to go back to work (via the underground!!)

We stopped off at the very good caravan shop on Great Western Road to get some advice about our chemical toilet (nice!) and then made our way over to Rosyth and the ferry.

We got there in plenty of time but the customs man didn't spend too long looking at the bus and its contents, I think it must have looked like too much of an effort, so he gave us the ok to queue up for the ferry.

Our cabin was ace wih ensuite shower/bathroom - a bit better than the ferry I remember from scholl trip days all lurching and diesel smelling and toilet blocks covered in sick. So pretty happy with our lot and excited about starting our travels abroad we made our way up onto the deck to take some pictures. We met a WWII veteran, a dispatch rider for the Royal Engineers, in full regalia who was going back to Arnhem for the first time, after 60 years, to lay a wreath.

We had a good buffet dinner and watched the cheesy cabaret for a bit. Two passengers decided to take it upon themselves to jive, disco dance and quickstep about the place which caused our teetotal veteran to make a sharp exit to bed and we followed his lead not long afterwards.

June 4 2004 (Fri)

Zeebrugge - Brugge (Bruges) - Amsterdam

We arrived in Zeebrugge and got off the boat at about 11am after a very smooth night crossing. Remembering to drive on the right-hand side we decided to head to Bruges for a bit of a wander. First stop, after finding somewhere on the outer ring-road to park, was a tat shop to buy the first of our promised snowshaker souvenirs.

Being a bit peckish we had mushroom omelette for lunch and a nice refreshing glass of Belgian beer before taking in the sites and sounds of the small, picturesque city. We got to the Netherlands border for 5pm and, after a bit of a detour to Der Haag Europort due to my poor sense of direction and inability to accept that 'oost' meant east and not west, it took us two further hours to reach 'Camping Zeeburg' our home for the next few days

We stayed at the campsite that night playing some pool and having a go on the Internet before retiring for the night.

June 5 2004 (Sat)

Amsterdam

After a nice shower and some breakfast we decided to ride our bikes into the centre though we got a bit lost to begin with. We walked through a local market and got our bearings so got back on our bikes and headed towards the University where we parked up and had our wander. Ireland were playing Holland at the football so the city was mobbed with Irish and Dutch fans, confusingly all in orange, but all were in good spirits. We watched the match in an irish bar, as you do, which sold very good guinness - Ireland won 1-0 in a close match. We had a look round, had some chinese for tea and then went to the red light district as you have to and also visited a brown cafe on the way to our bikes - which were no longer there. Me new fancy bike and Dom's had both been nicked! Bastards! So we got the nightbus back from Rembrandtsplein.

June 6 2004 (Sun)

Amsterdam

Had a quiet day and went into Amsterdam later on in the afternoon - on the local bus. We visited Anne Frank Huis which I've always wanted to see since reading her diary in history class at school - it was very sad. We stopped for coffee and then wandered for miles to the Vondelpark, where all the hippies camped out in the 60's, to do a bit of sunbathing and eat some hotdogs. We walked back into town and into Sarah's bar for a few beers where we met two Irish gents - 'Uncle' Gerry Power and his friend Noel who kept us entertained for the night but were unsuccessful in finding anywhere to continue our craic after Sarah announced last orders. We bid our farewells and set off the central station for the nightbus which got us home in the wee small hours to a chorus of thousands of frogs as we walked the last bit of the way back to the camping.

June 7 2004 (Mon)

Amsterdam

Had a very quiet day staying on the campsite just sunbathing and getting a bit burnt.

We had a look on the internet and decided to head over to Maastricht to visit George, who we know from our Sweet and Maxwell days, the next day.

June 8 2004 (Tues)

Amsterdam - Maastricht

We phoned George in the morning to decide where to meet up and agreed that we'd pick him up from work as he had to vouch for us at the campsite he'd found for us near his house.

It only took us three hours as the bus was doing grand and Dom did a fab job of parking in the middle of the town only just fitting into the car parking spaces in the middle of the road much to the consternation of the local bus drivers. George came out to meet us and gave us a tour of his offices before loading his bike into the bus and directing us to the campsite.

We settled in to the campsite (now immune to the bemused looks from fellow holidaymakers) and George drove us, in his car, back into Maastricht for a much needed beer.

We sat outside at a cafe bar in the shade as it was scorching until we were too hungry to drink anymore - well I was anyway. George took us to a very nice Italian restaurant where we stuffed ourselves with salad , a huge mountain of fish (langoustines, crevettes, plaice, sardines, shark etc) between the three of us and even managed to squeeze in dessert. I was mildly disappointed though that Dom's ice-cream 'bambino' didn't come in a plastic penguin container.

To aid digestion we then went for a bit of a donner round the old town's walls complete with small wildlife park with deer, peacocks, rabbits, goats and a bear pit. The pit no longer was home to a bear thank goodness but instead had models of other animals that had been hunted to (near) extinction. Oh and on the top was a naked woman stroking a giraffe's neck!

We went back into town for a few more beers and then decided we'd better call it a night as George had workt he next day. George said he'd try and get a half-day holiday for the next day and take us to a maze where Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands meet,

We got back to the car when George realised he didn't have his house keys and couldn't remember when he last had them. So we drove back to the Italian restaurant - they weren't there. We then drove to a colleague of George's house to ask her for her work keys as he thought he'd have to stay the night at his desk. However and thankfully he found he'd left his work and house keys on his desk!

So we got to bed a bit later than planned but at least we could have a lie in while poor George had to go to work.

June 9 2004 (Wed)

Maastricht

We did have a nice long lie in, hired some biks and rode to George's house to meet him at 2.30pm. Thankfully though George drove us to the three points labrynth as it turned out to be a rather long way away. To the tune of Zipadeedoodah we joined a million children in the maze and driven by the desire for an ice-cream reward at the centre we managed to outfox the bushes. I came out unscathed despite Dom and George trying to soak me at the many water-jet obstacles but also ice-cream-less as the shop at the centre was closed - the cheek of it!

We had apple pancakes instead at the cafe-bar and then made our way (in the lift) to the top of the viewing tower. It as a bit scary as the platform was just a grill-type arrangement and it's impossible notto look down - eek!

We were too late to try the archery and clay-pigeon shooting so we drove back to George's and picked up the bikes to cycle into Maastricht. Unbeknown to me George had decided on the scenic route. A 20 km trip through Belgium over a big road bridge. We stopped off at a bar on an island in Belgium for much needed refreshment to be told that we should have taken the little ferry acorss the river instead of cycling the long way round - oops. I'm sure it did wonders for my fitness levels anyhow. We got to Maastricht eventually (at 9pm) and found a little restaurant for dinner. George and I decide to try the kangaroo and ostrich combo and very good it was too. We were also treated to a man playing bongo drums and a girl doinga bit of majorettes with her batons on fire before the police moved them on.

Thankfully the cycle back to the campsite was mercifully shorter. We bid our farewells to George as we decided to head to Luxembourg the next day.

June 10 2004 (Thurs)

Maastricht - Spa - Luxembourg

A frustrating day. We drove back through Belgium and went via Spa Francorchamps where the Belgian Grand Prix is sometimes held hoping to have a drive round a bit of the track in the bus. However we got there to find them doing rather hefty repairs to the roads and the place all closed off. October 13 2004 was the day we'd have to comeback to drive our own car round - nt sure if they'd accept the bus though.

We continued on to Luxembourg,took a bit of a detour back through Belgium as the roqad in Luxembourg we wanted was closed for repairs, and eventually made it to Luxembourg Ville only to drive round it about 15 times in an effort to find somewhere to park. We even parked up on the road out towards Trier in Germany for an hour's kip before braving the Luxembourg madness again. Still there was nowhere to park. What had looked like a very nice and interesting place to visit had begun to resemble the nightmarish landscape of a Dali or Bosch so we dicided to cut our losses and head on to Germany and Heidelburg.

However, it had gotten rather late so we ended up parked up at a service station still in Luxembourg, having dinner in the trucker's cafe (which was actually very good as well as inexpensive) before getting a sleepless night amid the smell of diesel and the loud rumble of lorries arriving and setting off.

June 11 2004 (Fri)

Luxembourg - Heidelburg (Germany)

We left Luxembourg well and truly behind us and set off for Heidelburg where Dom knew of a campsite. We managed to find the campsite without too much difficulty though I think that was because Dom knew where he was going and nothing to do with any improvement in my cartography skills.

June 12 2004 (Sat)

Heidelburg

June 13 2004 (Sun)

Heidelburg

June 14 2004 (Mon)

Heidelburg

Had a quiet day resting, feeding the ducks being attacked by a dog and developing our holiday website

June 15 2004 (Tues)

Heidelburg - Munchen (Munich)

We set off for Munich at midday as it was quite a long way off. The nice elderly lady at the campsite reckoned in the average car it would take 2-3 hours so estimated 4 for our bus.

After about 5 hours in we had to stop to nail and screw the side of the bus back on before it decided to fly off and wound some poor innocent passerby but the bus on the whole was doing grand - it didn't like the hills much though and there were a few of them where we were down to 15 mph! We reached the Nord-West Camping site in Moosach and checked in just in time for veal and sauteed potatoes and to watch the football - Germany v Latvia. After a hard days driving we decided to get a fairly early night

June 16 2004 (Wed)

Munich

After a bit of lie in (you'll be seeing a bit of a pattern.. but it was pouring down all night) we thought we'd better make an attempt at Munich centre so at 3pm we walked up th road to the bus stop in the rain. The bus driver wasn't very happy at our request for day cards - still he didn't throw us off the bus and we found Moosach's train station. It took us a while longer to work out how to buy tickets from the machine - it was all a bit complicated - and we made our way into town.

First stop after grabbing a hotdog to munch on was the botanical gardens with about three flowers so we swiftly made our way down into the old town for our usual wanderings. It was vey picturesque but packed with tourists so we did the touristy thing and stopped off in the Viktualen Markt for a very large glass of beer as only the Germans can manage and a look at all the produce - lots of very smelly cheeses, meats, fish, fruit and veg just about everything really and all very tasty looking.

Next stop, although without actually stopping, was the English Garden. It was massively huge. We got some pictures of some mad people trying to surf in a weir and then wishing our bikes hadn't been stolen walked to the centre of the garden where, you've guessed it, there was a beer garden. We made our way back into town and got some apple strudel and custard (yum) and then got the train back to Moosach where we discovered there were no buses to be had. Thankfully there were plenty of taxis!

June 17 2004 (Thurs)

Munich Zoo

Decided to visit the zoo today. It was really good. We walked into Fasanerie to the train station - it was a scorcher of a day - and caught the train into town and from there took the underground out to the zoo. Due to the lack of signage which seems to be a bit of a german joke we walked the wrong way and ended up on a shingle beach on the river so we had to have a bit of a sunbathe before retracing our steps to find the zoo.

It was well worth the visit. They had everything, lions, tigers and bears..oh my. All the animals had plenty of room and looked happy. Even the polar bears which always seem to look a bit hot and mangy away from their natural environment.

Having had a very pleasant day out we took the bus back to town to find some food and the football. We watched the Czech Republic v Germany game in a Greek bar and then decided we were desperate for a kebab. We found one - hoorah- and then discovered there were no trains going back in our direction however there were a few late trams to Moosach so all was not lost - we even managed to get the last bus to the campsite.

June 18 2004 (Fri)

Dachau

We had another very long lie-in and then walked into Moosach train station where Dom had spotted an old junk shop full of old radios and hats for some reason. We went to have a look and get prices but I swear the shopowner didn't have a limp until Dom went to ask him about something! Dom decided he'd have to manoeuvre the bus back to the station the next day so he could buy a few - till there's plenty of room on the bus....

It being fairly late on we decided to visit Dachau which wasn't far away on the train but as we'd come to realise everybody gets up fairly early in Germany including the other tourists. For a Friday evening the place was empty.

We had a wander around the gardens of the schloss as the actual castle had been turned into a restaurant and I'm not actually sure where the concentraion camp had been. Still feel a bit guilty about learning nothing of the place other than it serves a good pint of Guiness and Beamish in the Irish pub.

We'd gone in for a bit of a giggle as they had a live music night but the locals did very good renditions of Irish folk songs and we got a basketful of huge hand-cooked proper chips - was a very good night but it did make for a bit of a hangover. We also realised there were no trains or buses so a taxi it was again

June 19 2004 (Sat)

Dachau - Moosach - Bad Reichenhall (Salzburg)

We did get home early on saturday morning - our latest night so far more due to the lack of public transport than our revelry it has to be said.

So around noon we set off with fairly sore heads from the Beamish and Guiness thankful that we were clever enough not to try the potcheen that had been on offer. We were heading for Austria and Salzburg it being just over the border. It was however still quite a way away.

First though we had to get the bus to the train station in Moosach without going under the low bridge, or we would be without a bus for the rest of our holiday, in order to buy some old radios. Dom successfully managed to figure out where we were and I left him to it - my direction sense except for in large shopping centres really is appalling. He picked out two very old radios and haggled limpy-boy down to a fair price.

Happy with his new toys we set off on our travels again. We discovered as we neared Austria that in order for the bus to be driven on the main Austrian roads we had to fit it out with a radar box and pay a handsome amount of road tax. We felt a bit chagrined that a 30-year old bus converted to a motorhome was to be treated as a mere lorry so we decided to camp on the German side of the border at a place called Bad Reichenhall.

June 9 2004 (Wed)

Maastricht