Claire and Simon's trip round Eastern Europe

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When we got up this morning the rain had actually stopped though drops were still falling off the trees. It was still cloudy and misty when we left. I did find the lake next to the camp but it looked gloomy in the low cloud.

We soon left Augsburg behind and travelled down the motorway through standard countryside. Around Stuttgart the traffic really built up and there were roadworks. They have quite a good system on the motorways when you have to change lanes for roadworks. Your way is highlighted in yellow so you know exactly where to go and when. Traffic almost stopped. But we were the lucky ones. On the other carriageway there had been a really bad accident and one car was on it's roof. There was no speed limit on some of this journey and the speeds of some is eyewatering. Whether that had anything to do with it I don't know but someone's day was ruined and a lot of people were held up for some time until it cleared.

As we went further the clouds started to lighten and the temperature rose. It was only 11.5 when we left but by lunch time it was 28 so things have definitely improved. We made our way to Karlsruhe for our next stop only to find the campsite was closed and looked abandoned. Simon queried whether we could stay there anyway but I didn't fancy it. If you are not registered at a campsite or accommodation you are meant to report to the police. I know the chances of us being spotted one night are slim but didn't want to risk it. We found another site nearby near Ettlingen and found a pitch there. It is over a railway line but there don't seem to be many trains.

We went off in search of fuel for the car and some cash and found ourselves in Ettlingen. It is a very attractive town with old buildings typical of the Black Forest area. So we had a wander round the streets and then had an icecream sitting in a park watching children play in the fountain. Then it was back to cook a meal. We had a short walk in the woods behind the site not too far as there was still washing up waiting. Not bad for our last day in Germany.

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