Sunday 2nd June 2024
Dunkirk, Ghent, Maastricht and the Rheinland
Today I drove all the way to Germany, for the start of my first German road trip in 2 years. I started off from Maidstone at 6am and headed for the Port of Dover. There was a bit of a queue for passport control but it wasn’t too bad. I got through OK and boarded the ferry ready for an 08:25am departure.
My idea while driving to Bavaria, in order to make the drive that little bit more interesting – was to not stop at motorway services but instead, to identify interesting towns, cities, or points of interest, along the route.
This does make the journey take longer – it might take 20 to 30 minutes to get from a motorway in to the centre of a city – then the same to get back out to the motorway again – but is often cheaper than stopping at the services. There is the additional benefit that, where UK service stations might have a little Waitrose, M&S, or other supermarket where it is easy to grab a pint of milk, some bread and a quick ready meal for dinner – this isn’t the standard practice abroad. Of course they have a little shop but I couldn’t really buy much for dinner here – it is more about snacking while on the move than buying something for dinner. Popping in to towns gave me that little bit more choise.
The ferry crossing itself was good but very busy – I noticed on the way out of Maidstone a high number of German cars on the roads (an unusually high number), and in Dover, every other car was on German plates. I soon realised they were supporters of Dortmund’s football team (Borussia Dortmund). Most of the ferry were Dortmund supporters returning to Germany by the coach load after the team’s defeat at Wembley the night before. About three quarters of the ferry were in yellow and black BVB Dortmund branded clothing!
I felt like I was in Germany already!
Above: The vast majority of these cars in Dover were German.
France: Dunkerque
My destination in France was the port city of Dunkerque. Just 45 minutes from Calais, it is quite easy to get to on the motorway. I drove right the way down to the sea and visited the Operation Dynamo 1940 Museum which was all about the German occupation of France, and the evacuation of the city.
It was an interesting visit, and afterwards I had a walk along the beach outside – the very one the British evacuated from in May and June 1940.
België: Gent
Getting back on the road, just 6km on from Dunkerque I crossed the border in to Belgium. The first time I ever drove my car abroad, I kept it short and just hopped over to Belgium for a night in Ypres. These days I often pass through Belgium without really stopping – but it does have some very nice places worth visiting; Later in the year, I’m hoping maybe a long weekend may allow me the chance to explore it more (rather than just being simply annoyed at Belgian motorway traffic).
I stopped at the city of Gent (which you might know as Ghent – the English spelling – for the purposes of my blogs about my week in Germany, I will be using the local place names and spellings as much as possible).
Gent is a lovely city. When I was driving back from Itzehoe (in Northern Germany) 2 years ago, I stopped at Gent one Sunday morning for breakfast and decided I definitely wanted to return! Sunday is a good day to visit Gent too – the on-street parking has no parking charges on Sundays. Hooray!
I walked from where I’d parked in to the city centre (a 1km walk), took some lovely photos by the canals. I stopped for lunch too – just a simple ham & cheese toastie in a café in the centre, before getting back on the road and heading for Belgium.
Nederland: Maastricht
It was early evening by the time I arrived in Maastricht. The largest city in the Province of Limburg, Maastricht lies on the Maas (Meuse) river. You’ve probably heard of it because of the Maastricht Treaty, the legal mechanism which paved the way for the introduction of the Euro.
It was only a short stop in Maastricht (partly because of the time of day, with everything closing or being closed for the day), but I had time for a walk around the city centre, and grab a drink, before returning to the car to cross the final international border of the day. In to Germany!
Deutschland: Königswinter
Crossing the border in to Germany, I was immediately on the Autobahn – Germany’s world famous motorway network. One of the attractions of driving in Germany is that a lot of the Autobahn has no speed limit. When conditions allow, and if there is no speed limit, it is perfectly acceptable to drive at 150, 200, 300 km/h.
Off the Autobahn, I am always very impressed with the quality of Germany’s roads; No potholes! There are some lovely roads in Germany to drive on before you even consider the Autobahn.
My destination for the night was the Rheinland – specifically, the lovely little town of Königswinter, about 10km South of Bonn. I stayed the night at the lovely Haus Schlesien, actually a little out of town but it was lovely. Knowing I would arrive after the official check-in times, they arranged for someone in the restaurant to greet me and give me the key. I arrived just after 21:00.
I had a lovely room for the night; Not luxury, I tend to avoid chain hotels and prefer places with character and personality. I had a room with a balcony overlooking the courtyard, breakfast served in the morning, a little arm chair so I was able to sit and read my book (and unwind a bit) before bed.
Gute Nacht,
FH.
On the Car Stereo: BBC Radio Kent, RFM, France Bleu Nord, VRT Radio 2, NPO Radio 5, WDR 2
Today’s Mileage: 354.67 miles (570.78 km)
Accumulative Mileage: 506.97 miles (815.89 km)
