Heusenstamm

Well we have yet to start cycling but have already been met with a crash, bang, wallop of a beginning to our adventure. The crash and bang may just have been the thunder and lightning accompanying the torrential rain as we were being shown round the town, but what a fabulous welcome we had from 15 members of the Tonbridge twinning group with whom we have just spent an evening agreeing how similar we really all are.

The journey in Broomey started from Hadlow yesterday as we loaded the bikes and kit up ready for the trip. Picking Monica up en route to Dover we managed to get an earlier and almost deserted ferry to Calais

Nigel had a pretty grim drive across a very rainy Belgium before we stopped up for the evening at the above services still within Belgium.

With Richard and Dom flying out from Gatwick to Frankfurt we had to make sure we got to the airport for 1ish and with a brief foray into the Netherlands made it to the airport in time. Here we ended up parking illegally waiting for a slightly delayed flight. Luckily the parking attendant took pity on the over height camper and gave us an extra 5 minutes so I was able to find Dom & Richard wandering in the airport – we then managed to leave just as the attendant returned!

Now we had to find a Lidl’s to get lunch. Disaster. Today was a regional holiday so all Lidl’s and other supermarkets were closed. It was Corpus Christi not to celebrate D-Day! Monica was bereft. Luckily the bakers was open in Heusenstamm so we bought some rolls which Nigel then filled with bacon & fried egg which went down very nicely.

After we checked into our hotel, Neville from the Heusenstamm twinning circle then gave us a guided tour of the town. At this point the heavens opened and Dom tried to take cover in a UK phone box gifted from Tonbridge.

After a bit more hiding in the castle sheltering from the rain, Neville then took us on to meet the rest of the twinning circle and a fun meal in the old railway station pub.

Tomorrow the tour begins in earnest as we get on our bikes, but only after breakfast with the Burgermeister. The weather luckily is looking kinder and Monica is hoping that Lidl’s reopens or else we will not be eating tomorrow!!