Day 3 - Conversations with dogs
Trip Start
Aug 31, 2008
1
4
14
Trip End
Sep 13, 2008
Undeloh,
Germany
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Campsites anywhere can be odd beasts at the best of times, but none more than the one I stayed at last night, just outside Wildeshausen. First, the campsite itself was actually only for fixed cabins. Motorhomes and other undesirables had to stay in a field (albeit a nice smooth grassed field) outside the entrance barrier. This field had a tap (wow), a pair of mating pigeons (and they were making a right racket about it too), and one electric power connection box with 22 connection points. I have known larger sites that haven't got as many as this. Odd thing was, you couldn't have fitted more than ten vehicles in the field anyway, so what was the point?
The toilet block beyond the barrier had showers outside the block (converted broom cupboards I think) but with lots of hot water I didn't complain. So it was very important to remember to get dressed before you opened the door - otherwise the locals would have had a shock. However, the washing sinks had no hot water, and the chemical loo emptying point was next to a row of benches. I can't quite work out why. Is emptying chemical loos so interesting that people need to sit down and watch? The phrase "mind your own business" came to mind...
First stop today was Wildeshausen, and what a nice place this was. There was a vigorous stream running the whole length on one side of the main shopping street, so make sure you remember to step over it. For the less agile, each shop had placed a piece of plastic acting as a kind of bridge, each bridge sporting the name of the shop. I've never seen this before - most odd, but original.
Walking around taking photos of people's houses can sometimes be rewarding, sometimes you get black looks, but on this occasion a ferocious Westie (West Highland terrier) tried to get rid of me by barking at me. Loudly. Remember these dogs are about as big as your fist, but with a lot of curly hair to make them look big and mean. I tried to stare it out, but to no avail. The owner came out, and said that he would only shut up if you said good morning to him. Worth a go. So I looked firmly at the dog and said clearly "Guten Morgen mein Freund" at which Mr Westie promptly shut up, and waggled back off into the house. The owner looked on approvingly, and said "schön" - a bit like "lovely". I wish people were so easily pleased.
Next I stopped at north Europe's single largest burial mound field, from the bronze age, at Pestrup. Over 500 of these mounds, over a huge area. I won't bore you with details, but none of them looked like they had been dug up, which I suppose is a good thing. I wish they would leave things as they are in the UK - just look at the mess Silbury Hill is in with all those scientists probing around.
Having photographed as many bronze age burial mounds as I thought healthy, a German biker came up to me and asked where the grave field was. I thought it was a trick, as it was right behind me. I pointed, he looked and nodded. Turns out he just wanted to talk about the van, York, bronze age burial customs and the lack of a bike rack in the car park. His English was a little worse than my German, so the whole thing was done in a bilingual dumb-show. Great fun!
Driving outside Verden I came across a most odd sight. In a layby was a parked motorhome, with "Girls" and red hearts painted over its sides. Now I thought the idea of a mobile brothel was a great idea, but with only one bed (it was only a small motorhome) I thought the choice must have been a bit limited. So I gave it a miss.
So now I am parked in a tiny car park in a wood between Undeloh and Wesel. A night off a campsite every now and again is fine for the van, and also a fair bit of fun. You never know when you might get told to move on. But in 20 years of camping this only happened once - in Kent, of course. Snooty lot in Kent.
Bye till tomorrow!
Shane.
