8th June- Friday

It is Astrid here - Jenny is cooking tea so I have the privilege of writing on their blog.

Firstly let me start with the fact that it is supposed to be summer here and the days are very long and it is light from about 4am to 10.30 pm so we have lots of day to see and do things.

Ok - we drove to Poland today and the country side was beautiful and green. When we crossed the Germany Polish border you could see the difference in the houses etc as they looked very old and worn. We stopped to get supplies in a Polish supermarket (Biedronka means Ladybird) and were pleasantly surprised at the prices as they were much less than at home for the same things ie Camembert $1.49 for 200gm. This seemed to apply to most of the groceries.

We decided to stop close to Posnan at a place called Wierzbno a nice clean but basic camping area made up from old farm barns etc. Very interesting to see the only other van were Dutch people in their bathers sunning themselves while we sat with jumpers on under our annexe - Jenny told me this is a common site. We spent a pleasant afternoon reading and relaxing in the serene area of green fields and old buildings.

9th June - Saturday

We set out reasonably early and reached Ewout and Jenny's friend's house in Posnan at about 11 am where we were warmly greeted by Kasia (a English teacher at the local School) and her husband Greg and the children Adam and Filip. They had prepared a traditional Polish lunch and that was the start of the weekend full of delicious foods.

In the afternoon we went to see the town square in Posnan and it was beautiful with all the buildings having different ornamentation to make them individual. We were also treated to Croatian and Irish fans drinking and singing in the square before their soccer match the next day, as you can imagine there were interesting sights as we walked through.

The rest of day was spent relaxing and in the evening Kasia's friend Lucy came to spend the evening with us and practice her English. We had lots of laughs and ate way too much. We slept in the camper and got up a bit later.

10th June - Sunday

We had a lovely breakfast then caught up on the mundane things in life like the internet etc. In the afternoon we shopped in one of the big supermarkets that are like Big W and Woolworths joined together we were intrigued by all the different foods and wares. It is also a great place to see how the Polish people go about their usual day.

That evening we watched the soccer on TV then said our goodbyes to our wonderful hosts and went to bed.

11th June - Monday

We had a change of plans due to the European Cup, as the camp sites were full in Warotslav. So we went to Gorlitz earlier than we had planned. This is an interesting town that is split in 2 by the border which is the river. One side is Poland and the other Germany and we stayed on the German side in a camper stop beside a huge wall that was part of a school or university. We set up and had a quiet evening and went to sleep to the sound of the clock bells chiming in the background.

12th June - Tuesday

We went into the town of Gorlitz and had a wander on the cobble stoned streets - all these places are so unique and great to see first hand. We had a strange ice coffee that seemed to be a hot cappuccino with cold icecream weird combination. Then we went to the church to listen to an organ concert it was lovely and had a nice atmosphere in the church but the dialogue about the history was in German only, so it was a bit annoying.

After this we wandered back to the camper had lunch and were on our way again. Ewout and Jenny choose roads off the main highway so that there is much nicer scenery rather than trucks and cars all around us. We took our time and reached Dresden about 4 pm. There we stayed in a campsite with great amenities and settled down to read and cook a pork roast for tea - very yummy. All a bit hard to take really, I can understand why they love doing this each year and keep coming back.

They have got me intrigued by the series Game of Thrones so we watch that in the evening and then all went to bed for a good night sleep before we hit Dresden in the morning.

Just so you know the sleeping arrangements - it is quite spacious inside a bit of a Tardis and we are all very comfortable. Jenny sleeps above the cabin and climbs to bed in her princess tower. Ewout the lovable brother, he can be, gave me his usual bed which is the table folded down(I am getting to be an expert at making and un making it lol), Ewout has been relegated the coffin as we lovingly call it - the bottom bunk which is like a hidey hole, not sure he can move in there but he says it is very cosy and quiet, which is probably a good thing after a day with Jenny and I chatting.

Dresden. (Jenny taking over now)

Wednesday 13th june.

We woke up to grey sky's but the need to do our washing was all important and luckily for us there were some washing machines at the campsite which were very reasonably priced 70 aus cents for 1/2 hour of washing which is the best price we have seen in our travels over the last few years.

Washing done and hung out under the camper veranda it was then time to take the bus into Dresden City. The sky hung with threat of rain so we packed our rainwear and took our umbrella's. The bus stop was situated right outside the campground which was very convenient and we got off in front of the main train station. We made our way through the shopping malls towards the old part of the town and stopped on the way at a nice bakery for coffee and shared cake.

The old part of Dresden is very interesting with cobblestones and attractive buildings, we wandered a bit and then decided to take a 1/2 hour horse and buggy ride around the centre of the old town. This was a real treat and the girl who was driving the horses was very friendly and with her halting English gave us information about the sights. We enjoyed this trip a lot, taking a slow ride in the buggy was a wonderful way to see the sights and absorb the atmosphere. After the ride we went to find something to eat and went into a shopping mall where we found a Chinese meal for a very reasonable price.

After lunch we walked over to the Zwinger, (Palace built in Rococo style. It served as the orangery, exhibition gallery and festival arena of the Dresden Court.) This was an elaborate series of buildings that dazzled the eyes but we didn't bother going inside as we had enough for the day and wanted to head back to our mobile home.

That afternoon we found we had some other Aussies in the campsite and Ewout decided to chat to them and found out they were from Brisbane.

Thursday.

We woke to rain pattering on the roof and thought just as well this was to be a travelling day. Back on the road again, our next destination being Prague. Crossing the Czech border we programmed our Tom Tom to the next supermarket and found ourselves a Tesco, we love these type of shopping centres as they have plenty of parking spaces for the camper and it is easy to shop as at home, looking at the pictures on the goods and making guesses at what things we don't recognise. We find it quite fun looking at the food in the supermarkets and every place is a new adventure.

We had a good run into Prague and arrived at our campsite about 2.00 pm and after setting up (which takes 5 - 10 mins) we had a quiet afternoon, checked our emails, (wifi on site) and watched another episode of the Game of Thrones.

The campsite here in Prague is the one we had used 3 years ago, a nice small campsite, well maintained and clean facilities. The tram into Prague is 300 metres away and is very convenient to catch into the city.

Prague to be continued.....