Second week of travel across Germany.

There's a horse in the 'hallway' (December 14th - 15th, 2019)

The night was calm. The rain had stopped at some point. We woke up relaxed. Obligatory morning calling: 'Mammmmmmmaaaaaa, Maaaaaammmmaaaa, do you want to play ...' 'Yes, dear, I love playing at 7:00am (not really :-))...' Then we do puzzles together and Mathias makes breakfast. And suddenly ... horses on the parking lot. No idea where they came from and what their purpose of visiting was. There are many strange things in camper life, maybe they came from a mobile home? :-)

Due to the rain, the area on the square was filled with many puddles. The horses bathed their feet. Maybe among the readers there is an equestrian expert who can tell us - why do they do that? Inspired by the horses, Wilma also wanted to go in the puddles. So we went out and played in the water. Well, I played less than Wilma. Mathias filled our camper with water. Then we left without seeing Wetzlar. Unfortunately, the parking lot was not so nice. Or is that marketing? Change of perspective is the motto of the city. I know Wetzlar a little bit and I know that it is indeed a very cute city. The place was probably the change of perspective for me/us. Successful strategy :-). Wetzlar, we will definitely see each other again.

Heading to the wine route (December 15th - 17th, 2019)

Today I had a plan. I didn't want to take the highway, but the country road instead. That's the only way to really see nature and the area. Mathias told me extensively that it would not work the way I imagined. No desire? Since I'm driving now, we'll do it the way I want. We go via Limburg, Nassau and Lahnstein to the Moselle. Really a nice drive. Mathias had found us a free parking lot right on the Moselle. So we ended up in Brodenbach on the Moselle Wine Route. It is already dark. Nevertheless, we took a short walk to get oriented. It seems to be beautiful. Many lights, the Moselle, and a playground right outside the door. Wilma took a ride on the camel (rocking animal) and then the highlight of the day... A mountain with a rope to climb. Wilma was up in no time. We were down. Everything was very soft and muddy, but afterwards Mathias was also quick as lightning on the mountain. Well, Mom also climbed up the mountain in the dark. Great - the Behnisch family on top. And now? Descent! I started fearlessly. The first 10 cm felt like rappelling and then... I slid down on my stomach into the 'valley'. Mud was everywhere.

The house next to our spot looked like a church. That quickly turned out to be true. Wilma was in bed and fell asleep quickly. At 7:30pm the bells tolled. It was kind of like we were the bell tower ourselves. The spectacle felt like it lasted 10 minutes. But then it was nice and quiet. We slept well.Brother Jakob was also diligent and rang the bells in the morning. Good morning at 7:30am. Wilma asked us if we had heard the bells too. Well - YESSS. Today a bike trip was on the agenda. We quickly had breakfast and prepared a picnic. Then it got a bit louder outside and a huge lawnmower came towards us. It knocked: 'Good morning, we would like to trim the hedge. Could you maybe move one parking space further?' Sure. We packed everything up and quickly moved. Then we set off. We had no destination - always along the Moselle. 5 minutes later 'I'm already hungry' - the child was already exhausted from riding along. In the next town (4.5 km later) we had our picnic with a view of a castle and the Moselle. Beautiful! Then we continued driving. Even though it was gray, the surroundings were great. Another 10 km later we arrived in a slightly larger town. But it seemed like they were already in hibernation here. But the church was open. Wilma's love for churches was supported again today. Afterwards a short walk and then across the bridge to the other side of the Moselle to the second half of the town. 'Hungry'... we had nothing left, so we stopped by Edeka quickly. Second picnic at the playground, which was right on the Moselle. We all went a little crazy here, the playground was ours. Then we made the 14.5 km trip back. I was happy when we were back at the spot. Having Wilma on the luggage rack all the time is quite heavy.With scrambled eggs and potatoes we said goodbye to the day. No, Brother Jakob promptly rang in the evening.

A carousel for Wilma (December 17th - 18th, 2019)

Oh wonder, no muscle soreness. I was convinced that something would definitely come. But neither for me nor for Mathias. So we can easily manage 28 km :-). Trucker Mum and co-pilot Wilma now drove the camper to the next bigger city - Cochem. I already knew Cochem from a previous trip through Europe. I knew that there was a beautiful castle there and maybe even a Christmas market at this time. Wilma's greatest hope. The sun was shining and we arrived in Cochem. Beautiful, just as I remembered it. We had lunch on a parking lot and then strolled along the Moselle into the city. Small, cute old town. Narrow streets, a church, and of course a Christmas market. We didn't have any cash left, so Wilma and I were parked in front of the carousel and Mathias went to get money. It felt like he went to the neighboring town. The child was in a great mood and now had enough time to decide which animal/vehicle it would be. Dad arrived and Wilma was in carousel heaven. Then the child suddenly got hungry. We looked for a small café. They had homemade cakes and ice cream for the child. The obligatory visit to the church was of course a must. And for the 1000th time we told her who Jesus is and what is celebrated at Christmas. Why Jesus is/was a baby and now has holes in his hands and feet. Wilma would have liked to climb the castle as well, but her feet couldn't take it anymore. And Dad didn't want to be a donkey again. So we only saw the castle from below and then continued on to our actual destination - Traben-Trarbach on the Moselle.

Sports make you thirsty (December 18th - 19th, 2019)

This morning, it wasn't Brother Jakob who woke us up, but the police. Not at our place, but on the other side of the Moselle something was going on. Wilma and I watched the action from the nursery window.

We were once again right by the Moselle with a very nice playground in front of us. I explored the surroundings for a few minutes on my own. Wilma and Mathias were busy looking at books. Eventually, Wilma came out to me and we took over the playground. It was like a sports course. Racing to the playground equipment, climbing up and down the climbing frame. Wild jumping in front of the slide and balancing. We baked sand cakes and took care of the horses in the stable. Visited Noah's Ark and played soccer. Meanwhile, Mathias went for a run. The weather was great, almost like spring. After lunch, we made our way to the next destination. It wasn't a place, but rather a drink. A wine that I had the pleasure of getting to know a few months ago. My sister told us that we were very close. Okay, then we'll just continue towards the Loersch vineyard. The best decision ever. The drive took us along the Moselle the whole time. The landscape became more and more beautiful and the weather better and better. But the roads became narrower and then the road disappeared and there was only a muddy narrow path in front of us. 'Do you think we can get through without getting stuck?' 'Of course, everything is firm. You can see that.' Strangely enough, the roads are always very adventurous as soon as Mathias navigates. I continued driving and a few kilometers later there was a normal road again. And the drive into the vineyards was more than worth it. A mega view. We couldn't get enough. Actually, we wanted to go shopping and then continue to Trier. We postponed that and just stayed. Best decision! So we spent the afternoon with a view of the Moselle and the vineyards. Of course, we also visited the Loersch vineyard and took six bottles with us for the journey. Wilma got to see some deer. So it was an all-around carefree program for the whole family. We were so enchanted by this place and the tranquility.

Those who sleep longer get more out of the day (December 19th)

It was already bright outside and no one moved in the camper. Only Mom was already awake. It was 8:50am. I don't even remember when was the last time I slept that long. Great. Wilma woke up because of me. We cuddled up in her bed and talked. Then we opened the window and both enjoyed the view. Well, Wilma was more excited about the deer that we could watch right out of the window. We did this for a while. Even the owner came and fed the animals. Wilma couldn't tear herself away and watched everything attentively. After a few questions, breakfast was ready. After showering, I took some time for myself for the first time on our journey. I did yoga with a beautiful view of the Moselle in the best spring weather in December. The deer were a bit confused, but I felt more uplifted than I had in a long time. And as I write these lines, I smile again. The place really enchanted me.

Wilma and Mathias joined later. Mathias took care of the camper. Wilma and I did our sports course again. Around the camper, jumping, balancing, flying like a bird, walking on tiptoes... and our little round was rounded off by a few screams. Screaming is liberating, my mom used to say. Mathias just grinned.To recover, Wilma and I decorated the floor with drawings. We said goodbye to the deer 100 times and happily, relaxed, and eager for more places like this, we continued on our way. Our goal now was to do some shopping and laundry. There was a laundromat in Trier and another free parking lot.

Shares in a laundromat in Trier (December 19th - 20th, 2019)

When we arrived at our spot in Trier, there was great disillusionment. Of course, it wasn't as nice as the previous one. But still nice. We had an observation tower right next door. We climbed up it, even though it was late. A beautiful view over the evening Trier. We postponed the laundromat to tomorrow.

Good morning Trier. Pink clouds and a beautiful rainbow greeted our housework day. Unfortunately, it started raining 10 minutes later and it wouldn't stop for the rest of the day. But the weather was perfect. So we sorted laundry, vacuumed, etc. After lunch, we went to the university campus. There was the laundromat, which now belongs to us in part.We mostly come in a trio, so while the machines were loading, Mathias went to activate them. He put 20 euros in the machine and was about to press start - but Wilma was faster. We don't know exactly what she pressed. In any case, it wasn't the start buttons of our washing machines. Nevertheless, the machine swallowed 18 euros for nothing. Unfortunately, the process couldn't be canceled. Money, money, money... We could hardly blame Wilma. She didn't know what would happen if you simply press all the colorful buttons. 12 euros later, our machines were finally running. We walked in the rain, through some puddles, and waited for the washing time to pass. After everything was clean and dry, we continued on our way to France. We didn't feel like staying in Trier.Saarlouis was our new destination. Here, we wanted to visit another Christmas market before going to France.We arrived again in the dark. This is really inconvenient because you can hardly orient yourself. But it didn't matter. The spot didn't have much charm even in the dark, daylight wouldn't have helped.

Saarlouis? Not worth visiting. (December 21st - 22nd, 2019)

Good morning rest area feeling. It was a restless night. Mathias had pinched something in his back the previous evening. And I listened carefully to every noise. The nighttime rest was over at 7am. Wilma was awake and wanted to play. As always, with mommy.

We spent the morning in the 'house'. Wilma relaxed in her pajamas. Mathias did some small repairs on the camper. A small damp spot on the roof had to be sealed, light bulbs had to be replaced, coolant and oil had to be refilled.Actually, I wanted to use the time to write. But Wilma also wanted to be entertained. So we argued a bit and then painted. We talked on the phone with my parents, sister, and a good friend. Then Mathias and Wilma cooked lunch together. Wilma helped diligently with everything. She got to cut the sausage into small pieces, stir the sauce, and cook the pasta. In the end, she was very proud. Since the night wasn't great, I wanted to take a nap. But unfortunately, that didn't happen. at 2pm, we headed to the city center of Saarlouis. The spot was about 20 minutes away. The city is unremarkable. The Christmas market is small, but not fine. Thank goodness there was at least a children's carousel. I would have liked to eat Mutzen. It seems they don't know something like that here. We got Baumstriezel instead. You probably don't know about that either and don't need to eat it again.Three rides in the crowded children's carousel, one Baumstriezel, one bratwurst, one ride on the children's train, and one ice cream later, we returned to the camper. STOP - not without a visit to the church, of course. From the outside, it's a concrete block, but from the inside, it's very, very beautiful. We still had some items missing from our shopping list, so we stopped at a supermarket on the way back. There were more people there than we had seen in Saarlouis altogether. The store was huge and packed. Wilma and I played Hoppe-Hoppe-Reiter, and Dad put together the groceries. Wilma was so wired. She thought it was funny to play hide and seek in the crowd. Most of the time, however, we spent in line at the checkout. Admittedly, the people around us were nice - nicer than in Rostock?

Back at the camper, we plan our next day/next days. Originally, we wanted to cross over to France now. However, our German gas cylinder is still not empty. We would like to exchange it one more time. So we wait until Sunday for it to be used up. Then we'll exchange the cylinder on Monday and drive over. With a heavy heart, we have also canceled our visit to Paris for Christmas. We wanted to stop in a suburb and take public transportation into Paris. Due to the strikes, public transportation is currently at a standstill or not functioning properly. We don't want to stress ourselves with that. Too bad. We have never been to Paris and it would have been nice to spend a few days there for Christmas in our imagination.

Let's see where we end up for Christmas.