Saturday 14th September- We started to make our way towards Stuttgart, a place my husband had been to many times for work but had never left the train station. We stopped for lunch on the side of the road and opened the roof window when a bright green cricket looking insect fell into the motorhome. It was dead. It was the same kind we saw in Camping Gerbe in Switzerland, only then it looked hurt as it was jumping along the grass like a grasshopper whilst simultaneously trying to fly but it was clearly not performing the way it should do so we assumed it must have been injured. They are huge things and like I said before, bright green. I studied this one up close before flinging it out the window and into the grass so I could try to identify it when googling what it might be. We think it may be something called a Katydid. Although we’ve never heard the sounds they’re supposed to make; apparently they’re supposed to sound like they’re saying “Katy did, Katy didn’t”.
Anyway we stopped in a campsite called Schwarzwald camping alisehof which was in the Black Forest. We chilled for the first day, doing our usual checking out of the facilities which happened to be really good. We did some washing whilst the little ones played on the playground which was right next to everything; our motorhome, the reception, sanitary block and the pizzeria. It was brilliant.
A little Dutch boy immediately fell in love with our little girl and followed her around everywhere much to the amusement of our daughter who kept giggling and changing direction to watch him follow her every step. It was adorable. We sat and ate pizza which was absolutely delicious and I tried my first ever Weiß beer and loved every drop of it! It was strong though and I wasn’t used to drinking really so it went straight to my head but the pizza helped absorb some of it.
The next day we decided to would go to the alternative bear and wolf park but first we needed to walk into the town to get some money out. We checked the bus times and the next one wasn’t for another 30-40 mins so we thought we’d go and have a drink at the pub we saw on the walk down. However, what we didn’t account for was “siesta” or whatever you call it in Germany and so the pub was closed. We decided to walk back to the campsite and then wait for the next bus which was free if staying on the campsite. On the walk back we saw the biggest, chunkiest caterpillar ever! It was pretty cool finding all these weird and wonderful insects on our journey and our little girl loved it. When we got back to the campsite we changed our minds about the bus and decided to walk instead as we noted the distance from here to our destination wasn’t actually that far away- about a 25min walk according to the map.
The path came to a bend on a very busy road so we decided to go uphill instead which nearly killed us as it was that steep, especially when your carrying children! We arrived at the park only for the entrance to be uphill as well- never mind, it was all good exercise that we needed to be honest. The park was pretty good to be fair and we finally got to see two brown bears play fighting in the water- it was amazing to watch and I was reluctant to leave but I had captured a lot of it on video and thought it only fair if I moved on so others could take my place. We didn’t spot any of the wolves as there was so much forest. However, we did spot a lynx that was chilling in the shade by the fence- you couldn’t blame the wolves really as it was a hot day and they were probably doing the same.
Afterwards we went and did the bear and wolf trail which had us scrambling down steep muddy slopes with rope to help you get down, over bridges, through trees and then back up steep muddy slopes with only a rope to help you back up- all this with little man on my back and little lady being miss independent. We were mightily impressed with ourselves and our little lady. Little man then finally had some down time with his sister as they both played in the sandpit and explored the tepees before we went down to the restaurant to have something to eat. Unfortunately the food wasn’t good at all- we ordered the vegan burgers and mine came still frozen in the middle! I complained and the lady just heated it back up in the microwave before giving it back to me- I wasn’t impressed and it still didn’t taste nice so we both left them feeling rather put off.
Once back at the campsite our little girl was off playing once again, this time with some new kids that had arrived. Having had a disappointing lunch, I ordered myself another weiß beer and a pizza for us both to share. It was needed and well deserved. We got chatting to a lovely Dutch couple and the man even had some clogs in his van which he then went and put on to show me. It was lovely and we were so relaxed that I think we could have honestly just stayed there. The children were having a good time too and found some rabbits and guinea pigs which we then went over to feed with the many dandelion leaves on the campsite ground. We then went to the children’s bathroom in the other block to wash the little ones but also so we could see what it was like as the reviews said it was awesome and they were true to their word. The block itself (which was closed apart from the children’s bathroom) was modern and the children’s bathroom was just incredible. It was brightly coloured and had little toilets, sinks and showers as well as baby changing facilities. It was pretty cool and I’m glad we used it as there aren’t many sanitary facilities in campsites aimed at children and the ones that are are just basic and have no real sense of fun so this was a great find. We turned in for the night with smiles on our faces knowing we had just stayed in the best campsite we have found so far on our travels.
The next day we left for Stuttgart and parked on the outskirts in a park and ride car park where we then got the tram into the centre. It was not a good day though as our little boy cried pretty much most of the day which in turn left myself and my husband stressed and fed up. It was nice to see Stuttgart though and my husband was happy to finally see it above ground once and for all but it was just a shame that the whole experience came with stressful times. We then went to Edeka (supermarket) to do some shopping and finally found some banana milkshake powder for our little girl (she’s obsessed with milkshake- banana in particular- and we haven’t been able to find any apart from chocolate since leaving the U.K.) and some veggie sausages for us. I know they’re processed but hey ho sometimes you need quick fix meals you know.
We then drove towards Munich but stopped in a campsite on route for the night as it was getting late. The owner wasn’t very nice though and spoke to us as though we were an inconvenience, even telling our little girl off when she was jumping up and holding onto the desk in reception. We were telling her not to ourselves when he rudely interrupted us and shouted at her not to- I wasn’t happy with his attitude and neither was my husband so we paid for our night and hoped never to see him again. And so the following day we left and never did see him as we headed towards Munich- or Munchen as they say in Germany.
K.E.E.N Explorers 