Am off on a Danube Cruise today, a trip I have been looking forward to for a year.
I adore river cruising and after doing a couple of cruises in Holland and a Rhine cruise this is a much more adventurous trip. I am not alone as more than half the group came on the Rhine Cruise.
I only have 20 passengers but I’m pleased with that as it is about the number I expected for a long tour that is expensive.
I have two pick-ups this morning – Petersfield and Liphook.
The passengers have all been given a be ready time for their taxi’s and I will have the coach in Petersfield at 05:00 for a 05:30 departure. As I pull in to the Waitrose car park at 05;00 all of the passengers are there waiting for me! They had been there since 04:45!
I will have to ask the taxi’s to pick people up a little later because as good as it is to get away early, when we reach Liphook for our next pick-up we shall sit and wait for half an hour!
We are due to leave Liphook at 06:00 and we manage to leave on time.
Having the Hindhead Tunnel open makes our journey shorter, allowing a twenty minute stop at Clackett Lane before arriving in Dover by 08:30.
It has been foggy all the way to Dover but as soon as we approach the port the skies clear and we are greeted with glorious blue skies and sunshine. A perfect morning to sail across the channel.
Our ferry, the Pride of Calais, departs on time at 09:40 and it seems almost empty. There is only one other coach, half a deck of cars and some trucks.
Coupled with the sun and calm waters it is a pleasure to sail this morning. There wasn’t even a queue in the drivers room so I didn’t have to wait long before tucking into my fat boys breakfast.
We have sun all day today as we drive to Brussels and stop for a lunch break before continuing to the Belgian/German border where we have a short comfort stop.
I came off the motorway a junction early and ended up negotiating lots of parked lorries waiting to cross the border! I seem to remember doing the same thing before so the problem must be with the motorway signs!!
Our overnight hotel this evening is the very comfortable Ramada Hotel in Bruhl, south of Koln. We use this hotel a few times through the year and it is always a pleasure. The meals are all buffet and the atmosphere relaxed, I can park the bus and we are close to the motorway. Splendid.
The only problem tonight is the heat with no air con in the rooms but that doesn’t detract from a good nights stop.
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