Maybe a little crazy and a little brave 😉 We're going back to the North: Destination Norway (if they let us in) 😃

After Norway announced a few days ago that tourist travel will be allowed again from 15.7. for some EU countries (previously it was scheduled for 20.8.), we decided after long consideration to go back to the North. Besides the desire to travel to Norway, mainly because we don't want to spend the high season on the crowded French and later Spanish coast.

So we have to keep our fingers crossed that the Norwegians really let us in and that we don't drive the kilometers to the North for nothing. On 10.7. the Norwegian government will publish a list of which countries are allowed in. Of course, this depends on the infection numbers, but they are actually good in Germany (at least currently).

After the tour through Norway, we have to drive all the way back to the South, so we are considering whether we should do it at all 🤔 However, we already drove north yesterday.

In the days before, we took a trip south along the North Sea coast with the Smart car, as far as Dunkirk in France. Also in this direction, the holiday resorts of Belgium are real (quite ugly) "bed towns" with little charm. The beaches themselves are very beautiful, partly typical dune beaches. Furthermore, of all the holiday areas on the Belgian North Sea coast, De Haan was by far the best! Dunkirk is of course historically interesting, but otherwise it has nothing to offer and no charm at all. We could have saved the trip there. But at least we were able to smell some French air 😉

In addition, we visited Ghent in Belgium. We liked it better than Bruges. However, it was very crowded, so it was difficult to comply with the corona distance rules and it became exhausting. There were long queues in front of the shops, as the number of people allowed inside was checked. The sidewalks were partly narrow, crowded with people waiting in front of the shops, and trams and bicycles were on the road... Therefore, our 'shopping' only took place in a suburb of Ghent, in a camping shop 😉 In Ghent, we ate fries and frikandel at a (supposedly) typical snack bar. It wasn't quite to our taste, but we wanted to try it.

Currently, we are in the south of the Netherlands, at the beach of The Hague. We took a long time for the journey due to a huge traffic jam near Antwerp. When we arrived at 5.30 p.m., the reception was already closed. After a lot of back and forth, we were still able to secure a spot on the campsite. After 'parking' on our pitch, we went to the beach so that Triene could have a long-awaited walk and for some food. However, the beach promenade is currently under construction and the old gastronomy had to give way to (more lucrative?) new residential buildings, so we ended up in a beach bar. There, we had overpriced Heineken beer and burgers 😃

If the information is of interest: In Belgium, petrol is cheaper than in the Netherlands, and in the Netherlands, diesel is cheaper than in Belgium. But everything is of course more expensive than in Germany 😉

Otherwise, the weather has been extremely windy and unsettled in the last few days, so we have been spending a lot of time in the motorhome.

As always, we appreciate your interest and send warm greetings to you all! Have fun with the pictures

Thomas, Janina and Triene

P.S.: Our detailed steps, with more information and even more pictures, can still be followed on polarsteps: https://www.polarsteps.com/TrieneaufReisen/3152827-ein-jahr-auszeit-mit-dem-wohnmobil-durch-die-usa