Over hill and valley along the Ahr

The European Motorhome Friends invited people to their 20th anniversary trip, and 20 members and guests came to the small town of Mayschoß, where the 18-day tour of the beautiful Rhineland began today. Heinz and Heidi Näschen have come up with a travel program that is as interesting as it is attractive. "We came to the Ahr Valley because we want to support this region, where so much was destroyed by the flood disaster in 2021," says Heinz Näschen. Choosing our first campsite was therefore not difficult: the "Zur Burgwiese in Mayschoß" facility is the only one in the surrounding area that survived this natural disaster economically.

The wounds of the devastating disaster have still not healed along the Ahr. Many ruined houses and flattened plots of land bear witness to the violent outbreak of nature in this region and bring to mind the terrible images from television and magazines. At the same time, however, respect and admiration are growing for the people here who have rebuilt and created so much in just under three years. Chapeau!

After arriving yesterday, there was a short briefing in the evening, for which the landlady opened her beer garden despite it being a day off - and on her birthday too. We thanked her for this with a proper birthday serenade after the official part with the welcoming speeches from the board of directors including Karl Meyer, Ricci Ott and Peter Demsar was unusually short.

Afterwards, the club treated us to dinner, knowing that we could use the refreshment for the hike the next day. The tour guide had picked out a section of the red wine hiking trail for us, which offered impressive views of the Ahr valley and its vineyards. But the planned seven kilometers over hill and valley to the Marienthal Monastery winery , where tables were reserved for us from 12.30 p.m., turned into almost 14 kilometers! Add to that the sun and the lava rock reflecting the heat - some people reached their limits, and not just the many over-80s in our hiking group.

Icke, my better half, also had to fight hard. She shared her suffering with Peter Demsar. The former army soldier, referee and football coach had volunteered to be a "rag collector" and thus took on the task of looking after those at the back of our hiking group who could no longer keep up with the pace and fell behind. After about half the route, the question became more and more pressing in my mind as to who would look after Peter if he could no longer keep up with our pace. I walked five or ten meters ahead of the two of them and heard them encouraging each other: "Come on Peter, just to that bend over there and you'll have made it." Or: "Icke, my pedometer says another 500 meters. We can manage that now too!"

And we actually made it. After a good meal in the monastery, we decided - contrary to our original plan - to take the bus back. When we got back to the campsite, Peter shook our hands and thanked us for not leaving him alone. We would never do that! What is the motto of the motorhome enthusiasts: one for all - all for one.