PARCHIM – BUCHHOLZ in der NORDHEIDE - 107 miles

Tues 3^rd – Thur 5^th

It was very hot already when we left around 10.00am, so it was drive along with all windows open. Typical M25 type drive around Hamburg at snail’s pace in amongst all the lorries, not pleasant. As it was so hot and we are not really city folk we had decided to give Hamburg a miss especially as the only place we could stop outside the environmental zone would be a 45 minute bus ride in to the city. We opted to go back to the campsite at Bucholz in der Nordheide a bit further on where we had stayed on the outbound journey. It is a lovely site set in amongst pine trees by a lake and with all facilities including a washing machine! They were closed for lunch when we arrived so we had to wait outside until 2.30, then drove in and settled Juliette in the shade underneath a pine tree – now she is happy for a while. We parked our chairs and a cold drink underneath another pine tree and did not move for a couple of hours. Eventually we gathered ourselves sufficiently to cook some dinner and eat outside, then showers and fairly early to bed. It had reached 29’C today!!

Weds…at least we were cool when we got up, but it was certainly going to be another hot one. I put one load of washing in the machine (1.50) and did a few other bits of hand-washing, should all dry outside OK.  There is a small supermarket about a 10 minute walk up the road so we wandered along with our cold bag to get some meat that I can cook and freeze ready for a few more meals. We also came across a strawberry stall, so guess what we are having tonight for afters! Again up to 29'C

Thurs… As it was still warm and sunny, I once more commandeered the washing machine early and managed to get bedding and towels etc. all done, so we are up to date once more. We draped everything over the chairs out in the sun and then set off for a 10 minute walk to the bus stop.  It was a 15 minute ride in to the town of Buchholz in der Nordheide itself, a more modern place with lots of new apartment buildings going up. We browsed the little shops around the paved area and then went in to a shopping mall, one of the few we have seen. Lunch was a sandwich and cold drink in a nice café. Then it was back towards the bus stop, calling in to Deichmann (Woolworth) on the way to pick up some cushions for our outside chairs. We got back to Juliette around 3.00pm, now with neighbours all around us. Campsites here are unlike ours at home, no marked out spaces, no 3 metre rule, people just pitch up willy-nilly any which way with metres of cables running all over the place to a hook-up point. There are tents, caravans, motorhomes and residential mobile homes all mixed in together. Last night we had a couple next to us who arrived just with a box trailer on the back of their car. They hung a curtain at the back and crawled inside to sleep!