What I’ve learnt in just one week on the road
Spoiler: Europe does motorhomes better. Pretzels still win.
Last time I wrote here, we were tucked away in a Starbucks at the very glamorous Warwick Southbound M40 services, on our way to the port of Harwich.
Now, just over a week later, I’m writing from Germany, south of Hamburg. Mark is at the hob making meatballs and pasta (the smell is unreal) and Bertie and Monty are sitting by my feet, drooling in hopeful anticipation. They are out of luck.
It’s been quite a week. Here’s what I’ve learnt so far on this journey (if you missed last week’s update, you can read about what we’re currently doing here).
Living in a small space as a perimenopausal woman with your husband, a teenager and two dogs is… well, let’s just say it’s ‘character building.’
Being away from home doesn’t make the hard things at home magically disappear.
European countries, at least the ones we’ve seen so far, are leagues ahead of the UK when it comes to accommodating motorhomes.
And pretzels are still the best bread in the world. No competition.
If I’m honest, my headspace hasn’t been the best of late. I’ve been overthinking (no surprise there - if you’re curious, you can read more about that journey here), while brain fog has been running the show. Slow, fuzzy and not particularly motivated to create - though I’m hoping that lifts soon.
So, in the spirit of keeping things simple - and because this post is already running a day late (on a deadline I invented, that is) - this week’s update will be more of a photo journal. That said, I’ll also share the details of where we’ve stayed, in case you’re ever tempted to make a trip like this yourself.
Harwich to Hook of Holland
We sailed with Stena Line from Harwich to the Hook of Holland, leaving at 9am and docking just after 5pm on Monday. Helpfully, Harwich allows overnight stays right on the docks, so the evening before we joined a small gathering of motorhomes and caravans - including one beautiful Airstream we eyed enviously over our cups of tea.
The English Channel was a millpond that day, sun glinting off the waves, and the boys - Bertie and his brother-from-another-mother Monty - enjoyed their pet-friendly cabin without a single “incident.” We used the crossing as a chance to catch up on work, lessons and daydreams, scribbling down the first version of our trip bucket list.
Maassluis, Netherlands
The Netherlands immediately delivers for motorhomers. After a long queue through border control and a quick Aldi stop for supplies, we settled at Camperplaats Veerpont in Maassluis. For a small fee, we had everything we needed - black and grey waste disposal, electric hook-up and a front-row seat to an unforgettable sunset as boats drifted by.
Kinderdijk, Netherlands
The next morning we detoured slightly to Kinderdijk, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Nineteen windmills, built in the 1700s to battle the ever-encroaching water, still stand tall here. It’s free to wander the paths if you don’t go inside the mills themselves, and parking was €9.50. On a moody September day, the silhouettes of those windmills felt incredibly atmospheric.
Amsterdam, Netherlands
From there, we drove 132km north to Amsterdam. We’ve all visited before, but this time we enjoyed the luxury of staying two nights at Camperpark Amsterdam. Hot showers, reliable facilities, and just a 20-minute Metro ride into the city centre - perfect. Amsterdam never loses its magic: the hum of bikes, the charm of canals, the pull of stroopwafels (which we, of course, sampled from Hans Egstorf).
Giethoorn, Netherlands
After Amsterdam, we pushed further northeast to Giethoorn, a village we’d never heard of until we arrived in the Netherlands - though clearly many others had, judging by the line of motorhomes at the marina. The first evening passed quietly, but at sunrise the next day Mark and I went for a run into the village. Giethoorn, with its canals instead of roads and storybook cottages, was so pretty it brought me to tears. Whether that was the scenery or perimenopausal hormones, I’ll let you decide!
Near Bremen, Germany
Determined to reach Sweden before the chill sets in, we began our dash across Germany. Our first night was less than glamorous: dinner at IKEA Brinkum, followed by parking up next to the Bremen airport valet car park. At €14 with no facilities, it was hardly a bargain, but it served its purpose.
Lanze See, Germany
Driving every day was catching up with us, so we paused for two nights at Camping Lanzer See in Schleswig-Holstein, south of Hamburg. The site was clean, efficient, and well-equipped - nothing fancy, but exactly what we needed. The river running alongside the campsite gave us a touch of peace before the next leg northwards.
And that almost brings us up to today: heading on towards Rostock, ready to cross the Baltic Sea into Sweden. Before we go, though, I’d love to know - when you travel, are you team pretzel, team stroopwafel, or something else entirely? Let me know in the comments, and we’ll see you next week (or thereabouts!).
We travel in our van throughout Europe, but mostly in the South. So, we are team pintxo. The Basque Country, in Spain and France, is one of our favorites.