We are on a road trip around northern and eastern Europe in our motorhome and for the last month or so, we’ve been driving through Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. Then after a short ride in a car ferry from Rødby in Denmark, we arrived in Germany and drove straight to the port city of Hamburg.
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| The lovely harbour of Hamburg, Germany |
Hamburg is an historic Hanseatic city, and now the 2nd largest city in Germany after Berlin. We drove through this huge city and around its impressive harbour looking for a campsite for the night. Eventually we found one and settled in, keen to seeing more of Hamburg the next day. However, wet and windy weather the next day kept us confined to the camp.
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| Marg at the Alster Fleet Canal, Hamburg, Germany |
The following morning the weather cleared, so we hopped on a bus then metro to reach the city for a look around. We walked for ages seeing interesting architecture, big shopping streets, and several canals leading down to the Elbe River. The Elbe is one of Germany’s most significant rivers. It links many German cities with the North Sea and hence travel and trade opportunities. We wandered along the Elbe Prominade and through the old town.
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| Speicherstadt moated castle (UNESCO), Hamburg, Germany |
One of the highlights was seeing the Speicherstadt moated castle. It’s not a real castle but its architecture is reminiscent of one, and its moat is actually a canal that flows around it. It is a fascinating place. The ‘castle’ is surrounded by the Speicherstadt, a huge complex of brick buildings built from 1883 to 1927, that is considered to be the largest warehouse district in the world. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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| Part of the huge port at Hamburg, Germany |
As we walked around, we caught views of Hamburg’s huge port, the largest in Germany. This port, from 1840 to 1939, was the gateway for five million emigrants who left from Hamburg to sail to the ‘New World’. Marg’s Grandmother was one of them. On 10 May 1875 at age three, she and her mother, father, older sister, and other extended family members, left Hamburg on a ship for Hawkes Bay, New Zealand.
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| Grand buildings: (L) Marg at St. Pauli Piers and Town Hall. (C) St Michael’s church. (R) Railway station |
So, after walking further around the city seeing more attractive architecture, we made our way to the Ballinstadt Emigration Museum to learn more about it. The Museum is in the old Emigration Halls, and has a huge collection of emigrants’ stories, artifacts, and information about the emigration process. We wondered how it must have felt to sail out of that port leaving your country for a far-off land and a whole new life style – sad; scary; exciting......how brave!
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| Boat cabin reproduction, Ballinstadt Emigration Centre, Hamburg, Germany |
There was a reproduction of living conditions for passengers on the sailing ships, and it is mind-boggling to picture what they must have endured during the very long voyage to New Zealand. We could search ancestors on the Museum’s data-base so we filled out a form seeking more information on Marg’s Grandmother. Now we wait to see what they can tell us.
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| Architecture in the old town of Goslar (UNESCO). Germany |
We had a relaxing break in Hamburg before driving south. Along our southerly route, we passed through lots of lovely small towns and villages. One of these was pretty Goslar. We had tried to visit Goslar earlier in this trip but were unable to stop due to a big event being held there. This time it was ok, so we stopped for a walk around.
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| Us in beautiful Goslar (UNESCO), Germany |
Goslar dates back to 922 when it was set up to protect silver mines in the nearby Rammelsberg mountain. The riches resulting from the mine industry helped Goslar to become politically important to the Holy Roman Empire and the Hanseatic League. The old town of Goslar, and the silver mines are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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| Marg in historic Goslar (UNESCO), Germany |
We loved this old town. It is full of interesting stone and half-timbered buildings from the 13th–16th centuries, beautiful historic palaces and churches, and winding cobbled streets. It still has parts of its fortified walls and towers. We had a great time there. After a good look around Goslar, we kept driving south and reached Nordhausen.
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| Nordhausen |
Built on the Zorge River, Nordhausen dates back to 927, when it was the site of a royal castle. After a quick look around, we continued on as we needed to find a camping site for the night. As we drove, it became steadily darker and our GPS took us through some small back roads. But we were unable to find the campsite – bother! Where had to get off the road for the night and thought it may have to be at a fuel stop.
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| Darkening sky but beautiful colours looking for a campsite near Nordhausen, Germany |
But our GPS showed another camp nearby so we trusted it and drove there. By this time, it was very late and rain was threatening as we drove through some narrow winding roads with colourful trees. We were getting tired but finally saw a camping sign that took us along a dirt track, and there it was – open! There was no one at reception, but we parked and settled in for the night. It was right out in the countryside and incredibly quiet. We awoke to find ourselves in a very pretty spot surrounded by lovely autumn colours.
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| Architecture of Weimar (UNESCO), Germany |
The next morning, we drove to Weimar and enjoyed a lovely day walk around seeing the sights. Weimer is a very attractive city. It dates back to 899 and many famous people lived here such as Goethe, Schiller, Nietzsche, Liszt, Bach, Cornelius, and others. It has become known for its cultural heritage and its importance to German history, so the historic houses and monuments erected to those artistic and famous people are collectively, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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| More autumn colours in Thuringia, Germany |
The drive leaving Weimar was spectacular. Weimar, like Nordhausen, is in the Thuringia region, and right through this area we’d seen beautiful autumn colours in the roadside trees. To see more autumn displays, we followed a colourful strip of trees to a spruce and beech forest near the small town of Oettern (population 34). After a meandering drive through this very pretty area we drove to Plauen, a bigger town where we thought there may be a camping site.
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| The town square in Plauen, Germany |
After a look around Plaun, we spotted a camping sign and followed it to nearby Pohl township where we found a campsite open. It was lovely, right on a lake and with restaurant facilities.
The next morning, we crossed the border into the Czech Republic (Czechia). Then we drove directly to our friend Klara’s place in České Budějovice, where we store our motorhome Vanni, for the winter.
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| The town square České Budějovice, Czechia |
After a few days in České Budějovice, we caught the train to Prague, and hopped on a flight to Dubai. After resting in Dubai, we flew on to Auckland then home to Wellington.
We were happy to be back in New Zealand to catch up with family and friends after being away for six months. It had been a fantastic journey and we look forward to visiting Europe again next year when we plan to drive around western Europe.
This blog describes part of our 6-month motorhome trip around north-eastern Europe, which began in Prague.