Flight tickets booked!

Yesterday I booked our flight tickets for our trip to Canada. Unfortunately, there were no deals to be had. Because of Canada's strict Covid regulations, there are very few choices when it comes to flying into Canada from Europe. 

So we're pretty much stuck with Air Canada, which certainly wouldn't have been our first choice for flying across the Atlantic. Normally there would be options such as Lufthansa or Swiss Air which are much better airlines.

Sometimes in life, the stars align!

When we fly to Ottawa next month, we will stay at Ruth's father's house until the auction on August 21st. After that, we were going to have to find somewhere to live for five weeks or so. Our daughter's house is okay for a night or two, but it's pretty small and with us there it gets crowded very quickly.

And Airbnb rentals around Canada's capital city are pricey. So we were looking to see if we could find a house sit for at least part of that time. 

The Windmills of Kinderdijk, and a perfect overnight spot

We took our time yesterday before leaving the campground. When you are paying for it, you might as well make use of the facilities and take the opportunity to do some cleaning. And of course we made sure to drive away with the holding tanks empty and the fresh water tank full.

As I said yesterday, it was a nice campground. For €13 ($19.25 CAD, $15.50 USD) including electric, WiFi, and nice hot showers. 

Our first campground in Netherlands

Despite the fact that "wild camping" isn't allowed in the Netherlands, finding a free place to overnight hasn't been that difficult for us. It may often be just a parking lot, but when we can find more scenic places during the day, we try to spend most of the day there, and only move to our overnight spot later on.

But the problem is trying to find somewhere to empty and fill our tanks. In Germany, they have a lot of free or very cheap places to do this... in Netherlands, not so much!

3 weeks living in Max the motorhome

It was three weeks ago today that we moved into Max.

And we haven't gone very far. But everything is new, and we don't really have a destination in mind so there is no need to go very far. Max now has about 440 kms (273 miles) on the odometer, and he still has about half of his original 90 liter (23.8 U.S. gallon) tank of fuel left.

Interesting day in Arnhem, Netherlands

It's still five weeks away, but I've been doing some planning for our trip back to Canada. We left on October 12th of last year, so by the time we get back we will have been away for 10 months which is the longest we've ever gone without seeing any of the family.

I haven't booked the flights yet, but now that we won't have to do the quarantine we will probably arrive back there sometime between August 12th and the 16th. The estate auction at Ruth's father's house is on August 21st and we want to be there in time to help get ready for that.

Vaccination details, and parked by the river

Around 9:30am we drove over to the small city of Arnhem (pop 160,000). It was only about a 45 minute drive. Our vaccination appointment was for 1:36 pm (yes, exactly!) but we were badly in need of a laundromat and we had found one about 1.5 kms from the vaccination place.

But it was right downtown and we had to find a parking spot for Max!

Vaccination scheduled for today!

We tried to get vaccinated in Albania, Poland, and Germany, with no success. The reasons were varied. Even by the time we left Albania on June 10th, they were vaccinating citizens only and unless in specified groups you had to be over 60 (we are 59). Poland was simply confusing, and there were language issues, and we ran out of time there trying to figure out their system. We didn't try very hard in Germany, but it seemed they were still intent on vaccinating only their own citizens.

Here in Netherlands, 90% of native Dutch speakers can also speak English. And many official government websites also have English versions so you don't have to rely on Google Translate. So when I read that there is a procedure to follow for foreigners on Dutch soil to get vaccinated, I started looking further into it.

Back in the Netherlands

We headed out from the big motorhome camping area in Goch, Germany at just after 10:00am. We made our way across the Germany/Netherlands border and arrived a short time later at our overnight spot just outside the town of Grave, Netherlands.

As I had read, there is absolutely no security presence at the EU country borders so far. In fact at this crossing, there was very little indication you were even crossing into a different country, other than the difference in the road markings and language.

Getting the hang of RV'ing in Germany

We would probably have spent another night at the Rhine River watching the barges go by, but our toilet tank was getting full. 

That's the problem with these types of cassette holding tanks... they aren't very big. It was easy to deal with in Australia because there are so many public toilets and a lot of our wild campsites enabled me to pee outside because there was nobody around. But here in Germany, that's not so easy.

Sitting by the Rhine River watching the barges go by

Friday morning, we left Max in his overnight spot just outside the city of Bocholt and walked into the city. Not that there was anything in particular we planned on seeing, but you never know what you might come across. 

Plus, we needed a new camera bag because the zipper finally let go on the cheap one I had bought at a Walmart quite a while ago. Surprised it lasted this long.

I was a bit disappointed

It was a rain day yesterday. Never saw the sun at all, and even though it stopped raining around 2pm, it was overcast and cool. July 1st and the temperature never got above 15C (60F).

Good opportunity to be able to test out Max's battery system though. We have two 100 amp hour 12 volt AGM batteries, and two 100 watt solar panels. Obviously the solar panels didn't do us much good yesterday, but even by the time we went to bed last night the batteries were still reading 12.4 volts, so lots of power remaining.

We love castles!

And here in Germany, there are said to be as many as 20,000 castles! Anything from little known ruins, to fully restored fairy tale style medieval fortifications, and everything in between.

So any detour to visit one of these castles doesn't usually involve too much of a route change. Yesterday, we drove a whole 41 kms (25 miles).

June Expenses

We started the month in Albania, having no idea how the month was going to go. Would we end up in Germany? How would we get there? Would we be able to get into our new motorhome? What would it cost to get the motorhome set up?

So it was really tough to come up with an approximate budget at the beginning of the month. But as you know, we did make it into Germany and we did get into our new motorhome. So June expenses include not only a our normal day to day expenses, but also the figures for capital expenses for the motorhome itself.

Problem solved for now, and back on the road to a nice free forest campground

We sat in the parking lot at the RV dealer until about lunchtime when our service tech David came and got Max to try to repair the sliding pantry door. Did you know that the name for this type of door is called a "tambour door". We had never heard that term before.

As I expected, this was not an easy problem to fix. He ended up having to break the door to get it out, and although that sounds extreme, I couldn't figure out how else it could be done. 

Travel smoothly with the help of these apps in 2021

Whether you’re going on a fishing adventure to New Zealand or exploring everything Warsaw has to offer, we all take our mobile phone devices with us in today’s smartphone-obsessed world. It’s understandable, too, of course. Today’s mobile phones offer a range of functionalities, be it taking high-quality images or simply enabling us to locate the best nearby hotels in a foreign location.  

For many modern-day holidaymakers, the smartphone devices of today offer a range of other benefits also. Instead of solely using devices to track down family or friends who are staying nearby or for entertainment purposes like watching a Netflix movie or playing slot games like Chests of Plenty, travellers are downloading an array of travel apps too. Some apps enable a journey to go more smoothly, while others help you get the most out of an adventure abroad. The options in this space are comprehensive too, as developers aim to tap into what is proving to be a popular category of apps. 

Hopefully it will be a quick fix, but I'm not betting on it.

A bit of a frustrating day yesterday.

We left our free overnight spot early Monday morning. We had forgotten that on Sundays the shops are almost all closed, and we had run out of milk so figured we would go into the nearest town that also had a motorhome service point where we could empty our toilet tank.

That turned out to be the town of  Vreden which was in the wrong direction to where we had wanted to be going, but it was only about 12 kms (7 miles) out of our way.

We never thought there would be flamingos in Germany

Sunday afternoon we went for a walk to see the flamingos at Zwillbrocker Venn. One of the trails to the conservation area actually starts right where we were parked with Max.

This area is famous because of a colony of nesting flamingos. It is the furthest north colony in the world. We never would have thought there would be flamingos in Germany.

Arrived in Netherlands... and the world's largest camping gear store!

It was only a 50 km (30 mile) drive from our RV dealer to the Netherlands border... and another 10 kms (6 miles) after that to the world's largest camping gear store.

I am calling it "the world's largest", although that has not been confirmed. But now that we've been there, we don't see how there could possibly be anything bigger! It is quite the place.

Have a look at these European RVs

We relaxed for the morning, but then around noon we got Max packed up and ready to go. We had a 2:30pm appointment for him at the service department, but wanted to pick up a few grocery items before we left.

Of course part of the process of getting ready to go includes the emptying of our toilet casette. The European system is quite different from the North American system.

What a big set of antlers!

There were lots of walking trails where we had been parked Wednesday night, so first thing Thursday morning we went for a walk. 

We are still trying to figure out the best way to install a power inverter so that we can have standard electricity (230VAC here in Europe) inside the house part of the motorhome, running off the batteries. Until we sort it out, I was looking for an inexpensive basic unit that would plug into the 12VDC power socket with just enough power to keep our laptops charged up.

First time driving Max!

We had a good day yesterday. 

It started with doing laundry. We don't have very many clothes to begin with, and we don't mind doing some hand washing to get us by, but eventually the larger items need doing too. It turns out there is no laundromat in the town of Dulmen, and we had to drive a half an hour into the city of Munster to get that job done.

Why are we still sitting here? And a few warranty issues

We arrived here to meet Max last Friday, so we have now spent four nights sleeping in the new motorhome. Yet he still has only 30 kms (18 miles) on the odometer. That's because we haven't driven him yet!

We had explained beforehand that we were in no rush. Plus, we arrived on a Friday so we were pretty sure not much would get done over the weekend. And Monday and Tuesday were Amazon Prime days, so I was pretty busy working during that event, and quite happy to be sat in one spot.

And, it gave us a chance to go over the rig and check out any problems. And there are some minor warranty problems (detailed below) to sort out. But, they are very minor.

A video tour of Max's interior

We think that we have the interior set up the way we want it. A place for everything, and everything in it's place, as they say.

Of course you put things away and store them during travel, but we try to do that even when we're parked up because it's easy for a motorhome's interior to start to look cluttered. 

Exploring Dulmen, Germany

We took a break from the shopping yesterday, although partly because it was forced on us. Here in Germany, the vast majority of shops are closed on Sundays.

So we spent some time organizing and figuring out the best way to store things in Max. And, we were overdue for some exercise so we got out for a long walk.

It is a lot of work to set up a new motorhome!

Another busy day shopping yesterday, but things are coming together. 

We wanted to go to an IKEA store, and I knew there was bound to be a lot of them in Germany. In fact I looked it up and there are 53 IKEA stores in Germany. For comparison, there are 52 in the United States, and 12 in Canada.

But surprisingly, there isn't one really close by to where we are. There were three that were all about the same distance, so we chose one.

Introducing you to Max... our new European motorhome!

We were up early yesterday morning and had a big breakfast at the hotel. It was buffet style, so there was lots of choice for us and we made sure to walk away full since we didn't know if or when we would have a chance to get any lunch.

We had to make our way to the dealership which was located about 10 kms (6 miles) from the hotel. (Or so I thought at the time!) There is no Uber presence in this town, and we asked about a taxi, only to be told it might cost €30 to €40 for the trip. I would walk before I would pay that kind of money!

Arrived in Germany... country #43 for us. And, what have we named our new motorhome?

Not only have we arrived in Germany, but we have arrived at the town where our new motorhome is located!

We were picked up at 9:00am at our apartment in Warsaw by a young couple who were driving all the way to Netherlands... and they were doing the drive all in one day. This worked out perfectly for us, even though it's a long distance and it would be a full day in the car to do the 1,000 km (620 mile) distance. 

But, it goes by pretty quick when you're doing 160 km/h (99.5 mph).

Visit with The Chouters, and a change of plans...

We left the apartment after lunch and began walking downtown. We were actually on our way to meet up with The Chouters, but they were located at a campground on the other side of downtown and the opposite side of the river.

We wanted to see the rooftop garden at the University Library and it was pretty much along the way. Then we could walk across the river and take an Uber from there.

Planning to get to Germany and our new motorhome

Our new motorhome is located in the town of Dulmen, Germany. It's actually quite close to the Netherlands border. So from here, it is still about 1,000 kms (620 miles) away. There are too many restrictions still involved with flying, but crossing into Germany by land is okay since we are already in the EU and have not been in a "risk" country in the last 10 days.

Our current plan is to take the train to the city of Poznan here in Poland. That gets us a little closer to the German border. From Poznan there are quite a few rideshares available to get us to Berlin. There are some rideshares available directly from Warsaw, but it's an 8 hour drive and the ones that are available seem to leave at odd hours.

Easier said than done!

First order of business on Monday was to try to find out about getting the Covid vaccination. Here in Poland, you do not have to be a citizen and the vaccination is free. However it's not as simple as just showing up and getting the shot.

In fact, it seems it's not simple at all, and we are just about ready to give up!

Sunday wasn't a great day

It wasn't bad... it just wasn't great! They were calling for showers on and off, and the temperature never got much above 18C (65F) and there were gusty winds. It was just a dull day. And sure enough, it did rain but it was a little more than showers. It really came down a couple of times, and with the wind it was just not nice.

We still planned on going out though. After all, we have raincoats and we needed to get some fresh air.

First day in Warsaw... lots to see!

I've always wanted to go to Poland. Mostly because not many other travelers from North America come here, when compared to the more popular countries of Europe. When North Americans think of Europe, they mostly think of Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, and Germany. Poland isn't nearly as popular for whatever reason.

Right now, we are only interested in Warsaw. We haven't done any research as to what to see in the rest of the country, and it's a pretty big country. All of that will have to wait until we get into our motorhome. Poland will be on the agenda at some point over the next couple of years. For this visit, Warsaw is our only interest.

Arrived in Poland... country #42 for us

I never sleep well the night before a travel day. Too many things running through my mind! And you just don't know what roadblocks will be thrown your way. I don't think I would describe it as stressful... it's more exciting to me than anything else. 

Yesterday's post ended with us in the departure lounge at Tirana Airport. Our flight to Warsaw, Poland was supposed to leave at 9:40am, but the departures board listed it as 9:20am. Turns out we didn't even start boarding until 9:20am, and didn't actually take off until 10:00am.

Off to Poland!

Writing this from the departure lounge at Tirana Airport. It's only a two hour flight, so by the time most of you read this we will be in Warsaw, Poland.

Yesterday, we walked downtown and had lunch at the very first restaurant we went to when we arrived here almost three months ago.

View above Tirana, and more Poland planning

One of the things we had wanted to do here in Tirana is to take the cable car up into the mountains. Wednesday was supposed to be warm and sunny, so we figured the views should be good. 

The lower cable car terminal is located on the outskirts of the city, about 6.5 kms (4 miles) from our apartment. We thought about driving, but traffic in Tirana can get backed up at all hours of the day. Also, when we return to the apartment it's difficult to find parking.

Life in Communist Albania

We wandered downtown yesterday afternoon. There had been some showers in the morning, but by after lunch it was a pleasant day.

It's only about 2 kms (1.6 miles) to downtown, but we took a bit of a different route because we wanted to see a small archeological site in a nearby neighborhood. 

Planning for Poland, and the cost of a haircut

Monday was a nice relaxing day! It was a bit overcast all day, and there were a few scattered showers. We didn't even leave the apartment until about noon. But that's okay, I had lots of planning to do for our upcoming trip to Poland.

First thing was to find suitable accommodation. There was lots of availability on Airbnb, but not much suitable at a half decent price. Warsaw is a big capital city, and even though Poland is one of the cheaper European countries, the big cities can still be expensive. So I started looking at shared accommodation, which we've been trying to avoid due to Covid. But sometimes economics comes into play. Anyhow, we got lucky!

Moving day... back in the big city of Tirana, and Covid update

Well, we are back where we started and our almost three month tour of Albania is coming to an end. We fly to Poland this coming Friday, so that gives us only four full days left here. Today, we don't have much planned... we both need haircuts though, so that will be on the agenda. And we do have a couple of day trips we want to do before we leave, so the rest of the week will go by quickly!

On Sunday, we drove from Koman to Tirana, with a couple of stops along the way.

Hiking high above Komani Lake

We came to Komani Lake specifically to do the Komani Lake Ferry ride. But when we were researching the area, we learned of a hike that goes high up into the mountains overlooking Komani Lake where there is the ruins of a settlement dating back to the 3rd century.

The hike itself would be great, but even better to see some ruins that not many other people see because it's a difficult uphill climb to get there.

Lake Komani Ferry. And decision time!

Let's talk about decision time first.

We have to leave Albania by June 13th one way or the other. Our destination of choice would be Germany to pick up our motorhome, but Germany is still closed to most visitors arriving by air. And the European Union (EU) countries are not united when it comes to entry rules for visitors... in fact they are a jumbled mess with all 27 countries making their own rules despite recommendations from the EU itself.

Koman, Albania

The little village of Koman doesn't really have a lot to offer. However, after wandering around for a day there is more to it than originally meets the eye.

This was a remote mountain village until 1980 when they began construction of the Koman Hydroelectric power station. The dam was completed in 1985, and the reservoir filled in 1986. When the reservoir was filled, they began a ferry service for the locals to be able to access the other villages along the waterway.

Moving day... and tire damage update

We said goodbye to the Albanian Alps yesterday after a fantastic week in such stunning scenery. We weren't going very far, but it was going to take a while to get there. 

First, we drove back to the city of Shkodra to get our flat tire problem fixed up. The other day, I had backed onto the shoulder of a narrow road in order to let another vehicle pass, and in the process a rock cut into the sidewall of the tire. I knew that it was not repairable, and I figured that we were going to be on the hook for the price of a new tire.

Trail markers, but no trail

We've really enjoyed our week here in the Albanian Alps. Other than one rain day, we did some hiking each day. In fact, we did 44 kms (27 miles) with some decent elevation gains.

Yesterday was our last full day here. We decided on a walk on the other side of the valley. For most of it, I think we were following an old logging road. But the signs at the beginning pointed to the top of the mountain, which we kind of figured would be a tough hike. 

Hiking in the snow!

This is the second post of the day. You may have missed our May Expenses post earlier on.

On Monday, we drove a short distance up to a trail that leads to a castle ruins. We had already been told that there isn't much left of the castle, so we knew not to expect too much. We also had already been told that "they" (whoever they are) are building a five star hotel up there. 

May Expenses

And so another month begins... it is June the 1st today. 

We are still using the TravelSpend app to keep track of our expenses. It's really working well for us and it's easy to use.

May was a good month, simply because we came in right where we expected to be. There were no surprises! We spent $2,413 CAD ($2,002 USD) for the month.

Our Travel Insurance - HeyMondo

Many countries around the world are beginning to open up for summer travel. And if you are going to travel, you want to have travel insurance that covers you for Covid related problems.

I don't want this to sound like an advertisement, because it's not. As any of our regular readers know, I put a lot of effort into researching just about anything we do. It's not only so that we get a good deal, although that is certainly a priority. It's also so that things go smoothly and we have a good understanding of what to do when things don't go smoothly.

We can't seem to get to where we want to go!

And I'm not just talking about Germany!

Although, while we're on the subject I'll give you an update on that problem. I had applied through the German Border Police for special permission to enter the country for 72 hours (the official "transit" time allowed) in order to pick up our motorhome and then drive directly to Poland where Canadian citizens are welcome.

Surprisingly, they got back to me within a couple of days. Unsurprisingly, it was denied. Going to pick up our motorhome in Germany is not an "essential" reason for entering the country, even though I would be coming from a country (Albania) that is not considered a country of risk by Germany.

There is still lots of snow up here!

Most people come to this area in order to get to the village of Theth and Theth National Park. And there are only three ways to get to Theth. One is by hiking, and the other two require 4 wheel drive. 

It's a very remote area.

Unfortunately, that is changing.

First day out hiking in the Albanian Alps

Well, I had said yesterday that we didn't want to jump right into a big hike because we hadn't done one for a while.

And what did we do? We ended up doing 13 kms (8 miles)! But, it was only an elevation gain of about 360 meters (1,200') so it wasn't really that strenuous. Of course we have lots of pictures to show you!