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Published: August 30th 2010
Our Hotel in Calais was adequate and cheap but when we bought our ‘moules et frites’ we soon found that continental prices had doubled in recent years.
Next day we drove to stay with Eddy & Bep, our long standing friends in South Holland. As usual they were very accommodating and friendly and we had a good night talking about travelling, which we had all done a lot of.
Monday, and on to Amsterdam where we stayed at an Ibis. Breakfast was €15 each so we did not order that. We went off then to find the flat of Ron and Desiree (our delightful Dutch Doc) whom we had met in Fiji. If we thought things in Calais were expensive we had a shock in Amsterdam where, although they lived 15 minutes from the centre, we had to pay €3 per hour to park outside their flat which continued until midnight! However they took us to a nice (expensive) restaurant where they insisted on paying for our meals. Ron is a football fan (Ajax), so he and Terry spent most of the night discussing the World Cup.
Next morning, and 5 hours after leaving Desiree our DDD, Michelle
Out for a meal
Ron, Terry, Michelle and D.D.D. Desireehad a bad attack of cystitis and had to go to hospital. However, the service was excellent and we were soon on our way to see Jacqueline and Henny and their great children at Eschede near the German border. We had met the family on the campsite we worked on in Italy and had got on with them really well. Nothing had changed except the kids who had alarmingly grown up in 3 years; but how nice they were! Michelle was banned from alcohol but Henny kept the wine flowing until 2.30am when it became apparent that Michelle was the only one who knew what she was talking about, we went to bed.
Wednesday we crossed over to Coesfeld in Germany to meet the ‘Munsters’, a German family we met on the same campsite in Italy. Thomas and Lisa had champagne out almost as soon as we arrived, “to celebrate” Thomas claimed. We later went on a Coesfeld pub crawl where a very funny Lisa kept us laughing and Thomas insisted that Terry should ‘go compare’ the German beers. Then back to their house where Terry had to, again, ‘go compare’ German beers (he needed no encouragement). We went
to bed at 2.45am! Poor Lisa had to be in work by 8.00am but she still found time to go and buy bread for our breakfast before she left.
Four groups of friends; two nationalities, two couples and two families, all like minded to us and who without exception are friendly, generous and welcoming. We wish we could have had more time with all of them.
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