The Black Forest To Bolton - The Journey Home

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Unbelievably, the time had finally arrived for us to head home and drive leisurely back through the rest of mainland Europe to the Channel Tunnel. We were experiencing mixed feelings at this point; on the one hand, we were really looking forward to seeing our family and friends again and getting back to a “normal” life. On the other, we’d grown quite used to this extended and extensive holiday - what’s not to like?!!

Our journey got off to a confusing start as the border between Switzerland and Germany isn’t a straight line but the road we took was. This resulted in us doing a kind of international hokey cokey as we switched from one country to the other and back again on several occasions. Eventually we arrived in the extreme south west of Germany and into Schwarzwald, better known to us as the home of everybody’s favourite gateaux, The Black Forest.

The Black Forest is a densely wooded mountain range covering over 12,000 square km and makes for some spectacular motoring. Steep climbs and hair pin bends (along with numerous apparently suicidal German motorcyclists) mean you need to keep your wits about you as you drive but the rewards definitely make it worthwhile. Vast expanses of woodland stretch out as far as the eye can see, broken only by wide, gushing rivers and some gorgeous villages.

Our first stop was in one such village named Bad Wildbad and if ever a place was neither bad nor wild, this was it. It took the word “sleepy” to a different level and as, we walked through its deserted main street on a Saturday night, we wondered how we were going to manage on the traditionally much quieter Sunday that we were there. As it turned out, we needn’t have worried as there was plenty to do and we had a great time in this inappropriately named spa town. Our hotel was set at the bottom of one of the mountains and was run by a real character called Jurgen. We were only there for two days but, during this time, he convinced me to put a bet on his favourite football team of Ebbsfleet United (from Kent!!) and to buy some shares in this publicly owned club. He even got me to carry out some remedial work on the hotel’s computer system - if only he knew!!

As we drove up through Germany it became apparent that, once you pull off the Autobahns, this is a country with some lovely towns and cities. We visited places like Heidelberg, Baden Baden and Aarchen which were all stunning, clean and full of great buildings and friendly people. We stayed overnight in the last named which was a majestic, impressive place twinned with, wait for it.................. Halifax (being from Bolton gives you this feeling of superiority!!). As the UK got closer the climate became colder and, for the first time in ages, we drove with either the roof up or wearing the Alan Partridge coats we’d bought in Carmel. Believe me, it’s been very easy to get used to warm, sunny weather.

After a brief surprise flit into Holland (obviously the surprise was for us, not Holland - we hadn’t realised we were going to cut through it!!) we arrived into a blustery Belgium. The country that would host the final stay of the ACDC World Tour is home to the world’s finest chocolate, the world’s best beers and, in Jean-Claude Van Damme, the world’s greatest actor (I’ll let you guess which one of those is tongue in cheek - everyone knows it’s Steven Seagal!!). It seemed fitting that we were to conclude in yet another UNESCO site, the historic city of Bruges.

Bruges is a small but beautiful city nicknamed “The Venice of the North”, a reference to the 5km of canals that weave through its historic centre. All streets leading to the “Grote Markt” (Big Market square) which is dominated by its 83 metre belfry; built in the 13th century, it contains 47 bells and there’s barely a moment when they’re not in action. A full time bell ringer is employed and, in our opinion, he is to campanology (or is that stamp collecting............?) what Les Dawson was to piano playing. From dawn until dusk, classics like “Danny Boy” or “Green Sleeves” are bashed out every five minutes (literally) and it really does seem like the bells need a thorough tuning.

Our last hotel proved to be an excellent choice located just two minutes walk from the Grote Markt and offering a champagne breakfast each morning. We took full advantage of this as a) we wanted to toast the end of our wonderful trip (any excuse) and b) it prepared you for the beers............ the Belgians probably consider Stella Artois for wimps and they happily tuck into beverages brewed in monasteries that regularly reach a strength of 11% and above. Maybe it’s to help them forget they live in such a boring country - after all, it’s most famous son is a fictional detective...........

Whilst in Bruges we took a boat trip around the canals (in torrential rain - welcome back to Northern Europe!!) which provided great views of the city from the water. We also took the obligatory bus tour and, as we passed the statue opposite the belfry, I couldn’t help but chuckle as it was the setting for my favourite ever Trigger Happy TV moment (if you’d like a laugh, copy and paste this link into your browser

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And that, I’m afraid, was that.

The ACDC Tour ‘07/’08 drew to a close as we emerged from the UK end of the Channel Tunnel and what a time we’ve had. Before I go even an inch further I want to thank Angela for everything - words simply cannot express how grateful I am to her. For the last twelve months she’s been my travel agent, financial advisor, house keeper and more; in fact, she’s pretty much done everything except carry our bags (my strong point!!) and I will be eternally grateful to her. (Readers of this blog should also be thankful as Angela edited it and, if you think some of the jokes that it contained were poor, you ought to have heard some of the ones she cut out!!).

It seems incredible just how quickly the time went, yet conversely how much we managed to pack into twelve short months. It was with some trepidation we stepped out into the stifling heat and chaos of Delhi Airport at the end of August 2007, unsure of what the following year would hold for us. We simply could not have anticipated what an incredible time we’d have - far, far better than we might have hoped for. Both of us truly appreciate how lucky we’ve been to be able to do what we’ve done and, most importantly, done it all in great health and without any major issues.

The past year has already become a reference point in our lives and doubtless we will reminisce and refer back to it on innumerable occasions in the future. We’ve had an outright assault on all our senses that will undoubtedly change us both forever. I remember when meeting someone else who’d just returned from a year out, my first question was “Where was your favourite place?” - I realise now that is an impossible question to answer. We can’t even decide which of the three legs was our favourite, never mind narrow it down to a country or city. We’ve experienced such startling variety that comparisons are just not possible and it’s best to remember each place on its own individual merits.

For example, catching that first glimpse of the Taj Majal, walking The Great Wall of China and diving the Barrier Reef were all fantastic but there have been lots of pleasant surprises from less celebrated sites too. Expectations tend to be directly in proportion to the fame of a place and it was often when we were least expecting something that we had our breath taken away. These events have been well documented through this blog but bricks and mortar only count for so much. What has made this sabbatical so special are the intangibles - languages, culture, food, weather, etc and, most of all (by far most of all) people. We’ve met characters from across a seemingly endless spectrum and that has undoubtedly been the most fascinating aspect of the year out. It has greatly broadened our frame of reference and, as well as being very interesting, has made us realise how lucky we are in many, many ways.

We hope you’ve enjoyed our blog, whether you’ve read it avidly from the beginning of it or just looked at the pictures (we know who you are!!). I didn’t really know what a blog was before we started out but it quickly became a very important part of our travels and, although time consuming, I’m thrilled we decided to write it. At times it took some keeping on top of but now, on those cold, miserable evenings during a Bolton January, we can look at it and think “Blimey, this time x years ago we were living in Buenos Aires..........”. It’s also proved a great way to keep in touch with friends and family and, if you’ve enjoyed reading it even a fraction of a percent of how much we’ve enjoyed doing it, we’ll be very happy.

Thanks for your company along the way.

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Photos

The Black Forest
Our journey back home began with some wonderful scenery and lovely German villages.

Off The Autobahn......
.........we found some great towns like Heidelberg. The German people were really friendly towards us and always very helpful.

Beautiful Bruges
Almost like a cross between Venice and Prague, Bruges was a wonderful place to end our year travelling.

Impressive Architecture
There are some breathtaking buildings around Bruges; the fountain in the foreground is where the Trigger Happy TV Tour went around and around and around.......
"You can shee shome weendows.........."

Cheeky Chocolate
Belgium is famed for its chocolate which, as you can see, comes in all shapes and sizes. Just when you thought something couldn't be improved!!