Germany

In fact, although the trip we are going to take ends in the Czech Republic,
the majority of the trip will take place in Germany.

Daily updates at the time but for a long read try

Could 2021 see the Devall Boys riding together again? Maybe firstl to explain that "The Devall Boys" are my brother Neill, and me.

Last year I planned a short trip across to Germany to visit the Dams and some of the memorials and it had to be cancelled as Covid-19 spread across the globe and we were still in a partial lockdown.

By August 2021 both Neill and I will have had both our vaccinations and if there's a Covid passport we will be line to get our hands on one!

Whether Germany will be ready for visitors is anyone's guess.

Neill has plotted a route taking in the dams that were bombed by 617 "Dambusters" Squadron in "Operation Chastise" on 17 May 1943.

More information on the raid here - http://www.dambusters.org.uk/the-dam-raids/dams-of-the-ruhr-valley/ and https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/the-incredible-story-of-the-dambusters-raid

He has included many of the monuments to those aircrew that were shot down during the Operation. I tend not to be as "in depth" when I plan and stop for fuel as and when I look at the trip and see that I need it in the next 30 or so miles!

The added places are different sites where the crews are commemorated/buried after being shot down during the raid.

So here are the current mapped routes:

Overall Route

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

I have downloaded all of them and have posted them to my TomTom. Ready for the off.

Of course, all the planning in the world goes up the creek if we can't travel to the EU in early August unless they get Covid under control.

Both Neill and have already had our second vaccinations and by then we will be pretty much ready to travel.

On day 4 I am hoping we'll have time enough to stop on the way back for some essential shopping.....

UPDATE MARCH 1st 2022

Sadly this trip was cancelled due to the Covid pandemic. We were unable to travel to Germany at this time. Only now in March 2022 have entry rules been relaxed for the fully vaccinated.

Part 1

We were up about the same time I get up for work and out of the house about 0820 and by 0840 I had secured my first coffee of the day.

As usual the shuttle was late leaving by about 10 minutes. First stop Auchun to fill the tank. Diesel is much cheaper in France at €1.348 a litre rather that £1.45. At the current exchange rate that makes it about £1.15!!! A considerable saving. An £80 tank was about £60 instead.

The first problem was TomTom failed. No map of Germany. With no paper map we had to follow our noses.

Having been this way before I knew the route and occasionally used the Skrobbler app on my phone to check when we were nearby.

We had a coffee break about 1.30pm and arrived at about 4.15pm at the hotel.

The room is small but clean and cheap!

Once checked in we set off for the Stadium to see where to go in daylight.

Veltins Arena

The bratwurst and beer stands had barely opened and so we ended up in Burger King by the hotel.

Bratwurst Free Zone!

How much curry sauce is needed?

Now back in the hotel with two hours to kick off. Need a beer and after the game I need a sausage!

Part 2

After a feast at BK, we went back into the hotel and changed into our football gear.

Me a little blurry

Blured Neill

Once at the stadium getting in was very easy and we found ourselves in Block 65 along with the home supporters. The fact that we weren't segregated actually went off very well and there was none of the expected and customary trouble.

The game was a disappointment ending 2-2 after we had been 2-0 up.

All the pictures are blurred. The lesson learned was never take an iPhone 3S with you when a camera will do the job better - this was in 2012 remember.

I took this video on my phone of the "community signing" before the kick off. Most of the songs to rouse their crowd were like this - http://youtu.be/9ZuWfryxUVo

Part Final

On the way home we planned a shopping trip in Auchun and to fill the car with diesel, so we were up and at breakfast by 8.30am and off on the road. A stop in Lidl revealed no different makes of beer so we bought eistee and then were off again back tracking along the autobahns towards Holland.

As we approached the border we couldn't help notice this sign for a town with a humorous name....

Once in Belgium we had a stop for a coffee and a leg stretch at the E17 stop and decided that we would go straight to Auchun and shop, then lunch then fuel and back to the Shuttle.

Shopping included some beers we had never tried before, plus cheese, cassoulet and chocolate. For those times when people drop round a 5 litre cask of wine, rose, was also dropped in the cart.

Some beers

When we put fuel in at Auchun it worked out that for 518 miles we had used 10.5 galls (imp)...... around 49mpg.... Had we gone on the bikes it would have been about the same each!

I have been to Germany on quite a few occasions and many of them are either on the way to somewhere else - Czech or Austria - or in the age before digital cameras and blogs. Even before the internet became a reality for the common man*

So the posts that appear here have been saved from defunct blogging and "free" web hosting sites like Prohosting, Geocities, Travelpod etc, plus will have new ones added as they happen.

Best Wishes.

Paul

• man - replace with whatever gender you want to be recognised as.