An early start today for our Rhine Cruise tour. I am up at 03:30 and at the coach by 04:15 hoping I haven’t forgot anything in the rush of the last few days.
I have three pick up points in Petersfield, Liphook and Guildford and am away from Guildford by 06:30. This is not strictly true as we are picking two people up in France when they transfer from the Nauders coach to this one. This was the plan for me also but due to the difficulty in getting a driver for today I had to come home early from Nauders to drive today.
We have a good run down to Dover and catch the 09:15 sailing to Calais. It is a beautiful sunny day and the crossing is very smooth. Smooth enough for me to have a fat boys breakfast and a kip!
We are due to meet Brian at a service area north of Lille and arriving ahead of him we have a break and wait. Within half an hour he is with us and it is nice to see the Nauders group again. I take all of my luggage from one coach to the other as well as two Larbey’s! Ken and Jenny Larbey are the brave souls who are doing two of our tours back to back. It is also Jenny’s birthday today so a quick rendition of “Happy Birthday” is in order before we set off.
We are away before half one and rattling on down the road towards Bonn where we embark our ship. I say rattling because the road is a bit bumpy and uneven in places. There is a choice of three routes to take to the German border at Aachen, via Brussels, Antwerp or Lille. They all take the same amount of time but we rarely come Lille way and now I remember why!
We have another stop en-route and arrive in Bonn at six o’clock. I am following instructions to the quayside and our ship the MPS Esmeralda when I spot a Lucketts coach parked by the side of the road. There are three groups on our cruise with Lucketts and Grindles being the other two. Soon after spotting the Lucketts coach I notice the driver walking along the road and as he waves I stop and pick him up. This is handy for both of us as he has saved himself a fair walk and I now have a guide to show me where the boat is.
We pull up by the boat and soon the passengers are off and the luggage collected by the ships crew. I don’t envy them taking the luggage to the ship as the gangway is very steep due to the low water in the Rhine. When I walk down it later it is a bit hairy!
Dave, the Lucketts driver, is leaving his coach parked where we saw it for the week. This was my original idea but was told that the Lucketts coach was going to follow the ship on its journey. Myself and Phil, the Grindles driver, are also keen to leave our coaches here but are loathe to leave them at the side of the road. I have been given a telephone number of a local coach operator who is willing to let me park in his yard for the week. I call him and he tells me it is ok to park at his yard and he tells me the address but cannot spell it for me. I try to spell it so that Dave can put it into his sat nav but there is no such road with my spelling!
I go onto the boat to ask if the lady at the reception can call for me but she doesn’t speak German! One of the staff is a German speaker and she calls the man back and writes down the correct address. Phil puts this into his sat nav (I really must get one!) and I am soon following him through the streets of a dark Bonn to the premises of Univers Reisen. It is immediately obvious why there is no problem with parking here as the yard is vast with only three coaches in it. But what three coaches they are! There are two new Neoplan Starliners and a new Volvo vehicle. We have a quick look on one of the Starliners and it is magnificent inside with three leather seats in each row, two on one side and a single on the other. I don’t know how much this would cost but I am green with envy knowing this is what I need to aspire to but also knowing it will remain a fantasy for a few years yet!
Phil and I start to walk back hoping to catch a taxi. This we do but until we have walked most of the way back!
By the time we reach the ship it is eight o’clock and we are just in time for dinner which started at seven. I feel a lot more relaxed knowing the coach is parked up safely, if I had left it in the road I would have spent the whole week worrying that something would happen to it.
I go straight to bed after dinner as I’m worn out and need a good nights sleep.
I have three pick up points in Petersfield, Liphook and Guildford and am away from Guildford by 06:30. This is not strictly true as we are picking two people up in France when they transfer from the Nauders coach to this one. This was the plan for me also but due to the difficulty in getting a driver for today I had to come home early from Nauders to drive today.
We have a good run down to Dover and catch the 09:15 sailing to Calais. It is a beautiful sunny day and the crossing is very smooth. Smooth enough for me to have a fat boys breakfast and a kip!
We are due to meet Brian at a service area north of Lille and arriving ahead of him we have a break and wait. Within half an hour he is with us and it is nice to see the Nauders group again. I take all of my luggage from one coach to the other as well as two Larbey’s! Ken and Jenny Larbey are the brave souls who are doing two of our tours back to back. It is also Jenny’s birthday today so a quick rendition of “Happy Birthday” is in order before we set off.
We are away before half one and rattling on down the road towards Bonn where we embark our ship. I say rattling because the road is a bit bumpy and uneven in places. There is a choice of three routes to take to the German border at Aachen, via Brussels, Antwerp or Lille. They all take the same amount of time but we rarely come Lille way and now I remember why!
We have another stop en-route and arrive in Bonn at six o’clock. I am following instructions to the quayside and our ship the MPS Esmeralda when I spot a Lucketts coach parked by the side of the road. There are three groups on our cruise with Lucketts and Grindles being the other two. Soon after spotting the Lucketts coach I notice the driver walking along the road and as he waves I stop and pick him up. This is handy for both of us as he has saved himself a fair walk and I now have a guide to show me where the boat is.
We pull up by the boat and soon the passengers are off and the luggage collected by the ships crew. I don’t envy them taking the luggage to the ship as the gangway is very steep due to the low water in the Rhine. When I walk down it later it is a bit hairy!
Dave, the Lucketts driver, is leaving his coach parked where we saw it for the week. This was my original idea but was told that the Lucketts coach was going to follow the ship on its journey. Myself and Phil, the Grindles driver, are also keen to leave our coaches here but are loathe to leave them at the side of the road. I have been given a telephone number of a local coach operator who is willing to let me park in his yard for the week. I call him and he tells me it is ok to park at his yard and he tells me the address but cannot spell it for me. I try to spell it so that Dave can put it into his sat nav but there is no such road with my spelling!
I go onto the boat to ask if the lady at the reception can call for me but she doesn’t speak German! One of the staff is a German speaker and she calls the man back and writes down the correct address. Phil puts this into his sat nav (I really must get one!) and I am soon following him through the streets of a dark Bonn to the premises of Univers Reisen. It is immediately obvious why there is no problem with parking here as the yard is vast with only three coaches in it. But what three coaches they are! There are two new Neoplan Starliners and a new Volvo vehicle. We have a quick look on one of the Starliners and it is magnificent inside with three leather seats in each row, two on one side and a single on the other. I don’t know how much this would cost but I am green with envy knowing this is what I need to aspire to but also knowing it will remain a fantasy for a few years yet!
Phil and I start to walk back hoping to catch a taxi. This we do but until we have walked most of the way back!
By the time we reach the ship it is eight o’clock and we are just in time for dinner which started at seven. I feel a lot more relaxed knowing the coach is parked up safely, if I had left it in the road I would have spent the whole week worrying that something would happen to it.
I go straight to bed after dinner as I’m worn out and need a good nights sleep.
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