Friday, May 17th, 2024
It’s amazing how the universe manifests the turn of events. Paul’s mother passed away on Christmas day in 2022. The funeral took place in early January 2023. I was supposed to fly to the UK to attend the funeral, but the day before the flight, I was involved in a major car accident, which my car was totaled and I was a wreck, physically, emotionally and psychologically. Regrettably, I was not able to attend the funeral. And would you know it, totally unplanned and unforeseen, St. Mary’s Church in Farleigh, UK (built in the late 11th century, making it among the earliest historic churches in Surrey still in use) finally granted permission for the internment of Paul’s mother on the church’s premise two days after my arrival. At last, I was able to attend this event and we laid her remains to rest with her beloved husband. Co-incident? I think not. It was meant to be…
Sunday, May 19th, 2024
While waiting to start our expedition, we did a couple local tours to Penhurst Place and Gardens and the Chartwell Garden, home to the notable Sir Winston Churchill. Penhurst Place was once the property of King Henry VIII and later on granted to the Sidney family who has managed the property for more than 470 years. The Penhurst gardens were immaculate with various themes, one of which was the British flag, created from an assembly of various flowers and greeneries.
Wednesday 5/29/24
Our expedition started with a ferry ride from Dover, UK to Calais, France. Upon departure, you can see the white cliff of Dover, a visible and historic landmark on the English side that can be seen from the French coast.
Upon arrival, we stopped by Boulangerie Ange in Calais for baguette and pastries. Their slogan “can you resist eating this bread before you get home?” was spot on. Just the smell of the fresh pastries would ignite your hunger pain, and the chocolate tarte was an absolute divine.
We found a camping spot in Montville, France near Rouen, where Joan of Arc was tried and burned to death for heresy. Unfortunately, our GPS did not guide us to the correct camping area as posted in iOverlander, so the spot that we were in was at the municipal center’s parking lot so the police evicted us at 9 AM. We thought it was really odd to camp here so we did try to talk to a few locals and workers from the facility to confirm, but unsuccessful due to the language barrier, and they either didn’t know or didn’t have the time to help us. Luckily a construction worker nearby showed us the proper RV camping area adjacent to the municipal center with a beautiful lake.
Thursday 5/30/24
It’s exploration day. We toured Rouen, a cobblestoned pedestrian center with medieval half-timbered houses. Notre Dame Cathedral is the most prestigious monument in Rouen, also famously portrayed in a collection of 10 paintings by Claude Monet.
We also visited the Joan of Arc Museum, very rich in history with immersive AI technology.
I was elated to find the Nespresso boutique in the town square and loaded up several sleeves with various flavors for my roadtrip. These Nespresso pods are so much cheaper here than in the USA.
We had a late lunch in the old town square of Rouen, then took Uber back to our campsite in Montville and headed off towards Normandy Beach. Unfortunately, because of BAT’s size and weight, we were not able to go through some of the small streets to get back on the main road and the Garmin GPS got confused with all the reroutings, taking us round and round the country side for an hour. We finally used my phone navigation to get us back into Montville and found a way out. It was frustrating, stressful and tiring as it is now 5:30 pm and we’re finally back on the road towards the next campsite which was 40 miles from Normandy Beach. Paul picked a countryside campsite on a farm from iOverlander with no address but a GPS coordinate. Once again we got lost in a very narrow dirt road and bushy trees that would compromise BAT’S height and could damage the Starlink panel on the roof, so we had to turn around again and use my phone’s navigation to find the campsite. Finally arrived at the campsite close to 8pm. We both were beat. Paul had a quick bite and passed out on the couch while I troubleshoot the Garmin Tread to load the iOverlander app so we can navigate directly from the app without having to enter the GPS coordinate.
Some of you may wonder why we just don’t use my phone to navigate since it seems to be more accurate? The answer is the Google navigation does not allow you to enter constraints for your vehicle such as height and weight. Imagine going through a low tunnel or a bridge with weight limit where BAT will be an issue crossing these hurdles. Moreover, Europe also has low emission zones that don’t allow a diesel truck to enter so now you see why we have to use the Garmin device to get around and use my cell phone as a backup navigator.
After all that hassle, the campsite was just a ranch with a big green field and horses wandering around grazing. For 9 Euro a night, we really can’t complain after a very long day of wonders and wanders.
Friday 5/31/24
We drove to a campsite in Bayeux to attend the various D-Day commemoration. Of course the campsite was fully booked and we didn’t have reservation. A local man was taking pictures of BAT as we came out from the registration office, so gave us some pointer for another campsite that was not full, about 9 miles away. It was a very nice camping spot but further away from all the events. So we decided to go to the British cemetery and museum for the day, luckily upon arrival to the museum, there was an overnight parking right next to the museum. It’s not glamorous, but it was a great parking spot for BAT so we can visit the various museums nearby on foot.
I studied World History in highschool but have forgotten a lot of details about WWII so this visit was quite an immersive and moving experience for me. Being onsite at the British cemetery, reading the name, age, and rank of these soldiers on the headstone, especially those who were only 17 years old, was really heart wrenching. Our world would have been so different without these men’s ultimate sacrifices.
Saturday 6/1/24
We took off to Omaha Beach in the morning. D-Day is on June 4th, 1944, today is June 1st, but we see allied flags, military tanks, jeeps, and trucks everywhere in preparation for the big anniversary day. Men and women dressed in WWII era military uniforms, walking the street, driving their military jeeps making these towns very festive. Visitors from all over the world gathered here making these towns super crowded. We are truly lucky and humble to be here on this 80th anniversary of D-Day and participate in these events.
We walked along the Omaha Beach, envisioning the landings of Operation Overlord and the soldiers being massacred on this beach was heartbreaking.
Our next stop is the American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, France. We arrived here in the late afternoon. This site is quite grand. As we approached the cemetery about 5pm, we can hear “Tap” being played, and the US flag being lowered in the center of the cemetery, I was tearing up seeing thousands of headstones in the shape of white crosses uniformly laid across the greenfield overlooking the Omaha beach. This is the price of liberation and freedom so that we can have what we have today.
In the center of the cemetery is also a chapel with a burning flame and the following sentiment:
“Right here, 80 years ago, thousands of soldiers defied adversity, braving the waves and enemy fire to break through the Atlantic Wall, which was thought to be impassable. This Flame burns today in their honour, reminding us of their courage and determination to defend the values that unite us today. It reminds us that peace is precious and that the freedom in which we live must be protected at all costs.”
Sunday 6/2/24
Commute day to Breda, Netherlands to visit Bliss and coordinate upgrades for the living unit. It’s about a 400 miles trip so it will take us about 2 days to get there since BAT travels about 55 MPH for optimal fuel consumption.
We stopped half way to look for campsites but got turned down by two campgrounds due to the size and weight of BAT. The ground was too soft and muddy so they didn’t want BAT to dig deeper into the ground. We finally had to go to a rest area on the freeway to spend the night. Life on the road isn’t always grand in BAT, but we make the best of it.
Monday 6/3/24
Day two of the commute to Breda, Netherlands from France. Did I tell you France has so many toll roads? They are really expensive. For your ref, the five days traveling across France already cost us about $180+ in toll fees. This is not a complaint, it’s just a data point, since the roads are nice and wide.
We crossed over to Belgium and decided to have a late lunch to try out the local cuisines. It was a bit out of the way, but we arrived at a nice restaurant in a small cobblestone village. Unfortunately, they are closed in preparation for an early dinner engagement. Determined, we looked up and found another restaurant in a bigger town. We arrived and saw people dining inside, that was a good sign, but when we got in, they said the kitchen is closed as it was almost 3pm. We decided to skip Belgium and press ahead onto Breda.
No campsite in sight so we settled for another truck stop 16 miles south of Breda to rest for the evening as we have an early appointment at Bliss in the morning.
Tuesday 6/4/24
We arrived at Bliss in time and met with Marleen & Pieter to provide feedback and discuss the upgrade plan for BAT. Pieter gave us a tour of the facility. Bliss has done a lot of upgrades and improvements to their units based on users’ feedback. If money wasn’t an issue, I’m sure Paul would want a new Bliss box.
Jerome, a Bliss mechanic, worked on several minor fixes on BAT, which took the bulk of the day until closing time. While waiting, we were treated to a light lunch in the employee’s lounge. Upon our departure, Williem from Bliss gave us a couple of pointers on an outdoor laundromat by a gas station and a camping spot for the night.
The Bliss Team truly gave us a very warm reception and we are truly grateful for all their help and post-delivery services since 2019. We’re very happy to be part of the Bliss family worldwide.
Wednesday 6/5/24
Start the two day commute back to southern France to meet up with Paul’s college friend, Steve Willis.
We stopped in a small town, St. Imoges to camp for the night. The daily commute is starting to wear on me, especially with dehydration. After a light dinner, we took a stroll into town just to stretch our legs.
The farm across our camping site has a herd of white cows grazing on the lush green meadow. My eyes were so blurry from the long commute, I wasn’t sure if they were cows or sheep’s since I’ve never seen white cows before.
The town was quiet at 8pm, but still plenty of day light. In the middle of the town center was a small church, but also a commonwealth cemetery from WWI. Throughout our traverse in France, we saw a lot of war memorials and cemeteries from WWII — the remnants of history which the younger generations may not appreciate, taking their freedom for granted.
There was also a small pop-up burger stand, Le M Street, serving the locals as there are no shops or restaurants in this small town. We chatted with the couple who runs the shop in broken French, but mostly hands gestures. I managed to buy a freshly made chocolate chip cookie that was soooo good.
Friday 6/6/24
We finally arrived at Steve & Lorraine’s place near Sancerre, France. As BAT pulled up to the front gate, Steve walked out with both hands covering his mouth. I thought he was gasping because of the size of BAT, but as we got off the truck to say hello, Steve said he got so emotional as he hasn’t seen his friend, Paul, for 50 years. Wow, can you imagine a reunion after five decades?
Both Steve and Lorraine gave us a very warm welcome, and then guided us through their garden into their poolside sanctuary. We sat under the pergola that Steve designed and built himself, while Lorraine kept bringing out snacks, wine, appetizers, etc.
It turns out Lorraine is quite an abstract artist with some of her work featured in the Orleans Expo in France. She gave me a tour of the garden that she designed with a beautiful pond, variety of flowers, shrubs, trees that are harmonious and tranquil. I can sit here and “zen” out all day.
I asked Lorraine if I could tour the studio since I’m very interested in art, and she was kind enough to oblige. We headed over to the studio where she paints and Steve meddles with his new hobby, pottery. She’s so good with her color theory and application. She has several of her artwork made into smaller cards, framed and packaged ready to sell at her exhibitions. I was so in awe with her artistry, and truly inspired.
We sat back down to continue our chat after the tour. I shared some of my watercolor artwork with Lorraine and asked her to give me feedback as I lack confidence in my work. Lorraine is such a good mentor, she pointed out areas where I can improve and experiment. I’ve never talked to any artist before to get coaching, this is the first for me, and Lorraine just opened up a new horizon for me. She also called me “an artist!” What? Who? Me? Oh my God, I was elated! I’ve never considered myself an artist, I just know that I love painting, and never get enough of it. Lorraine, you have no idea what you’ve done for me. I’m so enlightened and encouraged to explore more into this art medium.
After all the nibbles, it was time for dinner. We had prawns for appetizers, steak, cous cous, salad, fresh bread, and my all time favorite, tiramisu for desserts. Everything was home made, and absolutely delicious! And then we had a cheese tray for the “after dinner dessert” – dessert. Apparently, this is a common French thing, to have cheese at the end of a meal. Steve and Lorraine said there are some 700 variety of cheeses in France. I feel so uncultured as I gained new insights into the culinary culture here.
After dinner, we cleaned up a bit, and built a fire in their new fire pit. We enjoyed the after dinner wine and tea. By now, it was past 11:30 p.m. Paul is about to pass out after grazing from 2 pm to 10 p.m, plus all the beer/ wine. We finally bid good night after a wonderful day with these two love birds.
Saturday 6/8/24
Steve drove us into Sancerre for lunch. We sat in the patio taking in the fresh air while going through the various appetizers, drinks, and enjoying each other’s company.
The plan is to stroll around town, perhaps shop a little, and check out a local gallery. As luck would have it, it started to sprinkle and developed into heavier rain. We looked at each other and questioned how is this possible after such beautiful day yesterday, and no rain in the forecast today?! On top of this mishap, Paul said he didn’t close the skylight in the bedroom and the kitchen when we left. What a bummer, we had to rush back to close up BAT otherwise we would be sleeping on a “waterbed” tonight.
When we got back, the kitchen floor had a puddle, but luckily the bedding wasn’t as soaked as we thought. The floor was easily toweled off. I used a towel to soak up the excess water on the duvet, and then used a hair dryer to dry it off. Sweet Lorraine offered her dryer or spare bedroom if needed, but surprisingly my hair dryer was adequate.
Later that evening, we gathered in the main house as the rain was still coming down. Lorraine gave us a tour of the house. She has done a fantastic job of interior decorating. It’s modern but also very cozy. Her property should really be featured in the Homes & Gardens magazine.
We had another impressive dinner with the “Coronation Chicken” along with several side dishes, topped off with Tiramisu and Apricot sauté in Grand Marnier & cream for desserts. We are so spoiled by her delightful cooking. As we complimented Lorraine’s cooking, Steve said: “that’s why I kept her!” 😊 We ended another lovely evening by 11:30 pm.
Sunday 6/9/24
It was hard to say good bye this morning. Two friends reunited after 50 years. Who knows when they/us will meet again. Lorraine gifted me a beautiful watercolor book by Ann Blockley. We both wished we could have had more time to paint together, and I would have loved to learn from the master!
Until we meet again, THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts for your hospitality and generosity. We will keep in touch. ❤️
Monday 6/10/24
Commute day from France to Geneva, Switzerland.
Just paid another toll fee for 118 Euro, ouch! But I guess we get to use most of the Aire overnight parking in returns, and it was convenient to pull off the road to camp instead of meandering into town looking for a camping spot just for the night.
We did the last Aire camping in France right before the border crossing.
Tuesday 6/11/24
As we crossed the border to Switzerland, we got pulled over by the border officer. We were told to park and pay inside. We’ve been crossing several borders but did not encounter this custom issue. Paul got all the paperwork out and went inside to pay while I waited in BAT.
About 20+ minutes later, he came out and said we only had to pay 25 CHF (Swiss Franc) (~$28) for the week. Pheeeew! After paying all the expensive tolls in France, I thought this was going to be a humongous bill. Thank goodness!
We were thinking of camping at another Aire on the way to the famous Lake Constance, but during our lunch break, Paul decided to camp at a lake near Interlaken, which was Camp Au Lac in Ringgenberg, Switzerland. Wow, it turns out to be a beautiful, scenic lakeside campground. Quite crowded, but so worth it. We paid $84 for two nights.
Since we arrived in the evening, along with the rain and cold weather, the lake was misty with low clouds hovering the mountains, so we cozied inside BAT. By 8pm, the rain paused for a few minutes so I ran outside to snap a few pictures, and got quite a few good ones.
Did you know:
“Many lakes in Switzerland are fed by glacial meltwater, which can give them a bright blue-green color. This color is due to glacial flour, which is a fine-grained powder of silt and clay that glaciers scour from bedrock. When sunlight hits the water, the glacial flour particles absorb shorter wavelengths of light, like purples and indigos, while the water absorbs longer wavelengths, like reds, oranges, and yellows. This leaves mainly blues and greens to scatter back to our eyes, creating a turquoise or bright blue-green color.”
Ref: Generative Google AI
Wednesday 6/12/24
We took the bus to tour around Interlaken today. We were blessed with the perfect weather for touring on foot. Not knowing which station to get off, when the bus stopped at the first drop off point, which looks like Ringgenberg village center, we got off to look around. We stumbled across an old church high on a hilltop, so we hiked up there and was rewarded with a beautiful view of the lake and the town.
We got back on the bus and got off at Interlacken, a popular tourist destination. We ended up in a multicultural/international street with shops and restaurants ranging from Chinese, Korean, Indian, Lebanese, Mexican, Italian cuisines, etc. Quite interesting to see such diversity on the same street in a small town with a population of 6,000+ people.
As we continued our walks, we discovered the high rent district with luxury shops. A beautiful central park adorn with snow top mountains in the backdrop, anchored by the 5 star Victoria-Jungfrau Grand Hotel & Spa that dominates this busy tourist area. Out of curiosity, I looked it up — a double-bed room, you’re looking at $1,200+ a night. What a steal, right?!!! I guess the Jungfrau view demands the high rent as “the Jungfrau, at 4,158 meters is one of the main summits of the Bernese Alps, located between the northern canton of Bern and the southern canton of Valais, halfway between Interlaken and Fiesch.” Ref Wikipedia
The park is filled with para-gliders where you can ride tandem with a professional for $200. I was soooo tempted to ride since this is on my bucket list, but Paul wasn’t feeling well and hardly had the energy to walk around so I had to forego my temptation. Bummer! I see other gliders screaming in exhilaration while in the air makes me so envious.
It was about 4ish pm, we both were tired and wanted to have an early dinner to experience the Swiss cuisine. We finally picked a really nice restaurant and got seated, but they only serve snacks at this hour since dinner doesn’t start until 5pm. Disappointed, we excused ourselves to look for another restaurant. Same thing happened. The waiter explained to us that all restaurants won’t open their kitchen until 5pm. We decided to take the bus back to Ringgenberg and have dinner there. We got off the bus a few times but couldn’t find a restaurant anywhere. In hindsight, we should have waited a little longer in Interlaken to dine there, but Paul wasn’t feeling well and got a bit impatient to wait around and refused to dine at McDonalds! I would have been fine with it.😁
We got back to our campsite, completely exhausted so we ate a light dinner, hoping for another opportunity to dine out tomorrow.
Thursday 6/13/24
We arrived at the border of Switzerland & Germany this afternoon. The border officers asked us to pull over for inspection. Paul opened up the living unit and all four of them wanted to check it out, it was more of a tour than an inspection. They were very friendly (and so good looking…)😁
We asked for a group picture and they didn’t hesitate. That was a very pleasant border crossing experience.
We camped in the center of Konstanz, a city on Lake Constance (Bodensee), in southern Germany. To make up for the dinner mishap yesterday, we googled and found a restaurant about half a mile away. Great, it’s within waking distance! And what a delightful discovery as we stumbled onto a preserved medieval district of Niederburg, which includes the Romanesque Konstanz Cathedral, known for its mix of decorative styles and a Gothic spire.
We had dinner at Cafe Münsterhof, and of course, I had to have desserts, of which I ordered the Black Forest cake. OMG, I kid you not, it’s the best Black Forest cake I’ve ever had, ever! I eat a lot of desserts everywhere I go, but this slice of cake was heavenly, and the serving size was twice the typical dessert serving size for any restaurant. I was tempted to get another piece to go, but I was afraid it might get soggy in the fridge. I’m still dreaming about it…
We strolled down to Lake Constance to burn off all those calories from dinner. The lake is beautiful and very scenic; it is so grand that it looks more like the ocean. A very touristy area with lakeside dining, dinner cruise boat, and people are out and about enjoying the beautiful sunset. So ends a perfect day in Konstanze and Lake Constance.
Friday 6/14/24
Commute day to Munich. Camped at Campingplatz München-Thalkirchen.
Saturday 6/15/24
We got onto a bus to get to Marienplatz from our campsite, not exactly sure how to get there, but we thought we just hop on the bus and then figure it out. Paul was trying to figure out how to pay for the bus ride and the route to get to Marienplatz. An older gentlemen tried to explain it to us in English with a heavy German accent. It turns out he and his friend are also going to Marienplatz so he offered to guide us there. We got off the bus and went into the subway where he showed us how to purchase tickets for the subway train, about 17.5 Euro for two people. We arrived at Marienplatz and said good bye as we thanked the two gentlemen for helping us out.
When we got out of the subway, we were overwhelmed with the massive crowd in the square as there was a huge Munich beer fest happening with men and women in their traditional costume, music, parade and the works.
Marienplatz is a historic central square in the city center of Munich, Germany. It has been the city’s main square since 1158 with shopping, dining, and picturesque Bavarian architecture.
I’m loving the vibe, the energy, the magnificent architecture of these historic but vibrant buildings, the shops, and especially the bakeries, eye candies for me.
Paul wanted to have a beer to get into the spirit of the festivities. We sat next to another couple in an outdoor dining patio, and of course Paul strikes up a conversation with them, Lisa and Cole. It turns out they are from Dallas, Texas. We all shared our travel destinations and experiences, which were quite interesting and intriguing. We just might run into each other again in Prague as they are also heading that way.
We left the square to walk around and stumbled onto the Viktualienmarkt, a vibrant open-air market in Old Town with fresh produce, Bavarian eats, and artisanal goods, beer garden and local culinary delights amidst a historical farmers’ market setting (ref Trip Advisor).
And as we strolled along, we found a Vietnamese restaurant , Hoang Restaurant , so that’s where we dined. The food was quite authentic and tasty, an enjoyable treat for me!
On our way back to the subway, we stopped by Marienplatz to pick up some pastries to satisfy my sweet tooth. What a way to end a perfect day with three unexpected yet delightful discoveries and positively sensory overloaded.
There’s so much more in Munich to experience, unfortunately we have to make tracks towards Denmark to catch the ferry to the Faroe Islands so we’ll have to revisit Munich another time, perhaps the Christmas Market someday.
Sunday 6/16/24
Commute to Salzburg, Austria.
Camped at REISEMOBIL-Stellplatz, Salzburg for 25 euro/ night.
Monday 6/17/24
Salzburg is known as the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of the most influential composers in the history of Western classical music. It is also the setting for the famous film “The Sound of Music filmed in 1965.
It’s exploration day in Salzburg. Our camp host gave us a city map and recommended a few highlights to check out. We took the bus and got off at the Mirabelplatz Garden, a beautiful spot to start the tour.
We wandered across the “Lovelock” bridge where lovers put their padlock with their names on the mesh rail of the bridge.
Did you know:
A love padlock is a padlock that couples lock to a bridge, fence, gate, monument, or similar public fixture to symbolize their love. Typically the sweethearts’ names or initials, and perhaps the date, are inscribed on the padlock, and its key is thrown away (often into a nearby river) to symbolize unbreakable love.
Ref: Wikipedia
As we walked around, we discovered the old town with shops and restaurants and tourists combing through the area. I just love the vibes of these old town. I can really spend all day here. We stopped for a late lunch break where Paul had a beef goulash and I had an apple strudel with ice cream.
As we continue our stroll, we found the funicular station to get up to the Hohensalzburg Fortress. As soon as we got out, we saw a lovely restaurant at the top of the fortress. If we had known there was a restaurant up here, we would have had our lunch here since the view is truly breathtaking. 😏
The view from the fortress is amazing as it offers a 360 view of Salzburg from the observation deck with the Salzach river snakes through the city. They say Salzburg is a city that looks straight out of a fairytale. Even with all the modernization, it is quite a charming city.
We wandered around the city and found a barber shop for Paul to get his haircut — 15 Euro for a man’s haircut and a bit of styling too.
We had an early dinner at the Gasthof Alter Fuchs (The Fox) restaurant. We sat outside to enjoy an Austrian meal and people watch. I notice there are still a lot of smokers in Europe.
So that ended a perfect day in Salzburg for us. Until next time, Salzburg, when I have more time to do the Sound of Music tour!
Tuesday 6/18/24
Commute to Prague, Czech Republic
Camped at Camp Sokol Troja, Trojska
Wednesday 6/19/24
We took the tram into the heart of Prague, the Vltava River and all the major tourist attractions. The river front has so many romantic restaurants with tourists roaming the area.
We found our way to the old town and enjoyed a gorgeous creme brulee, while Paul had a gallon of beer. I know I’m exaggerating, but that stein looks so big, I don’t even know where he puts ’em.
Did you know:
The Prague Astronomical Clock is the world’s most famous Medieval clock. It was built in 1410. The top part of the clock is what is called the Astronomical Dial. It represents the Universe or at least the maker’s perception of it when it was built during the Middle Ages. The dial includes a Zodiacal ring that shows the location of the Sun and the two clock hands are designed with a Sun and a Moon each.
The three dials that can be seen all show different times. The largest dial shows the Ancient Czech Time, the second-largest shows the Central European Time and the smallest circle shows Unequal Time (Babylonian Hours).
The most striking aspects of the clock are the moving 12 Apostles sculptures carved out of wood. They are located in the upper windows of the Astronomical Clock and appear every time the clock strikes the hour. Around the 12 disciples, there are four figures representing some of the capital vices, such as vanity, portrayed by a man looking at himself in the mirror, greed, illustrated by a man holding a moneybag, and a figure representing lust. There is also a sculpture of death, a skeleton that strikes the hour at the beginning of the parade.
Ref. Website https://www.introducingprague.com/
We got exhausted from the heat after 12,000 steps so we decided to head back to the river and do a river cruise. It was a very pleasant cruise with great narration full of history in the surrounding areas. The cool breezes were a big bonus.
We got off the cruise and had dinner at the beautiful waterfront restaurant that I spotted when I initially got off the tram earlier in the day.
Great dinner, great service, amazing scenery of Prague, how can anyone ask for more?! What a perfect day we had in Prague. Love, love Prague! ❣️
Thursday 6/20/24 – Saturday 6/22/24
Start our long commute to Denmark .
Sunday 6/23/24
Arrived at Hirtshals, Denmark. Camped at Tornby Strand Camping.
Monday 6/24/24
This was supposed to be a relaxing day with some packing to get on the ferry going to the Faroe Islands. Unfortunately, Paul found a big bolt that punctured through a tire that needed to be addressed before the big adventure in Iceland. Luckily we found a mechanic shop, Tip Trailer Services, to help patch the tire and also do an oil change. Phew, they saved the day so we can have peace of mind on our next travel segment.
We met up with Tiffany & Kurtis, another Acela owner with an expedition truck like ours, who will likely be our tour guide in Iceland since they’ve been there before. We all went out to dinner at MorFars Køkken Cafe Restaurant. Although this is a Danish restaurant, the owner came out and offered us a special item not in the menu, Thai dishes. Heck yes, both Tiffany and I ordered the big platter to share, while Paul & Kurtis went for the traditional Danish meal. When the Thai platter came out, all four of us gasped as we couldn’t believe the number of items on it, all four cameras went off like the paparazzi. It was surprisingly good Thai food for a relatively small and remote town. We only finished about 30% of the platter because there was so much food. As if that wasn’t enough, the owner brought out two desserts: mango sticky rice and coconut mochi. We were so stuffed, but thankfully, we had to walk back to our camp site to digest some of the food.
It was really nice to have dinner with someone we knew from home, and to plan the next part of our expedition.
Tuesday 6/25/24
We boarded the ferry in Hirtshals, Denmark going to the Faroe Islands. It will take about 1.5 day to get there. The Norrona ferry, operated by Smyril, can carry about 1,500 passengers and ~800 cars/trucks. The cabins aren’t as nice as a typical cruise ship, but does offer the basic amenities such as toilet, shower, bed, closet, but an extra towel will cost you. They have a couple of Cafe onboard, a fine dining restaurant, and a buffet. Everything onboard is expensive.
We had another delightful dinner with Tiffany and Kurtis, exchanging various travel and overlanding stories. They booked a jacuzzi for 8pm so Paul joined them while I opted to go back to the room and retire for the night since the weather outside was not ideal for the jacuzzi.
Share this:
https://widgets.wp.com/likes/index.html?ver=20250707#blog_id=178174874&post_id=4310&origin=endlesstrailexpeditions.wordpress.com&obj_id=178174874-4310-686b29f70333e&domain=endlesstrailexpeditions.comEditPart I: 2024
Endless Trail Expeditions 