Prepping for the road
Trip Start
May 02, 2007
1
4
70
Trip End
Ongoing
Loading Map
Landshut,
Germany
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Other than that, we've been doing all sorts of errands...laundry (lots of laundry - not sure why we brought so much clothes?), shopping for things we need on the road, tuning up our bicycles, cleaning and disinfecting our twenty year old van. Yesterday the van wouldn't start up so we had to call ADAC (like BCAA) and get someone over. He found some battery cables loose and also that the battery needed to be changed.
01. Kitty in a blanket
We were pretty thankful actually that it wasn't something bigger like the alternator, or the fuel pump or something else we know nothing about. Today we bought a new battery and new tires and brought it into the shop for an oil change, fuel and air filter change and an inspection...hopefully nothing else needs to be done! We'll soon find out (I do suspect some brake work might be required).We've also been keeping entertained by Babette's one year old cat...so aptly named, "Kitty". She's a real treat...she's possibly the craziest cat ever. It's like a carnival spook house around here sometimes. She has these spots (like her little cat house and the top perch of her scratching post) where she'll hide, then jump out at unsuspecting passersby. If you're not on your guard at all times when you round a corner, you're liable to get the you-know-what freaked out of you! Also...and this goes against all I know about cats (basically what I learned from cartoons)...but she's not afraid of water. Quite the opposite, really. There is a spray bottle that is supposed to be to scare her away when she's doing something she shouldn't be doing, but instead of making her run away, she sticks her face out and enjoys the shower. Speaking of shower, if you're not careful, she'll hop in with you! And she'll drink water from your glass...even if there's just a little at the bottom and it's a tall skinny one. She somehow squeezes her head down there to finish it off.
Mmm...what else have we done since we've been here...we went to a big flea market on Saturday. It was a huge parking lot full of crap that the owners didn't want anymore...and about 99.99% that no one else wanted either. But it was pretty interesting seeing what kind of memoribilia Germans held on to. It's hard to imagine...and this is quite a small town, but there was so much garbage in this market...and multiply that by who knows how much...conclusion: there is A LOT of unnecessary shit in this world!!
We also went to a beer garden with Yvonne's mom and sister for, what else, a beer! And shared a piece of fish with cheese and a huge pretzel (typical German fare). The weather has been off and on. It was comme-ci-comme-ca when we first arrived, then it got quite hot (Sunday got to 30 deg. and yesterday was pretty searing too...perfect for labouring in the hot sun cleaning the van), but late last night it turned around and we had a lightning storm and rain. Today it was pretty chilly out and rainy.
PS - we're still on the fence about Rosie (as a name for the campervan)...we're tossing around some ideas...
Comments
who's talking now?
...And you guys had a go at US about how much stuff we were taking! Geez! At least we fit it all into one bag and only have one load of laundry to do!! Maybe next time we come over and help YOU pack :)