Maple in Germany
Week 1
Taking our motor home to Europe has been on our wish list for a long time.
We made our first camper van during Covid, when our plan to travel around Scotland was cancelled. We converted one of our old school buses, by making a large bed, table, and some seating and traveled around Iceland with our two daughters. A few years after that we bought a 1997 Combi camper motor. For this trip we upgraded to a 2002 Ahorn motor home that we call Maple. Now it was time to make the dream come true.
We saw a sale for the ferry tickets if travelling from October and at such a good price we bought them. We would leave Iceland October 2nd and return November 5th. That gave us a trip of about 35 days and of that 29 days were traveling in Germany and Denmark.
After months of preparation, we had a good idea of where we wanted to go. We boarded the ferry Norröna on October 2nd and set sail. First stop was in the Faroe Islands. We disembarked and went for dinner in Torhavn and then back to the ship. Then came the announcement that due to Storm Amy, which was raging in the Atlantic Ocean at the time we would not be setting sail for another 24 hours. We spent the day in the gym, the swimming pool and relaxing before setting off. We finally arrived in Denmark on October 6th.
Week 1.
After getting off the ferry, we headed south and simply drove straight through Denmark. The plan was to get as far south as possible on the first day. After a driving 480 km we decided to stop for the night in Wahlstedt. Here we could stock up on food and found a stellplatz for 8 euro. A stellplatz is a basic overnight spot for motor homes and usually for a very good price. Our first planned destination was the Harz National Park, located southwest of Hanover. We stopped for lunch in Hamlin, where the story of the Pied Piper of Hamlin took place.
We found a campsite in Harz were we stayed for 2 nights. We drove through the national park, enjoying the views, the autumn colours and the towns. We really liked Goslar, which is a small but beautiful town full of old half-timbered houses, found in many places we visited in Germany. We visited a beautiful castle in the town of Wernigerode.
The next day we set off to Quedlinburg and then drove through the surrounding countryside on our way to Erfurt. We were now getting quite good at using stellplatz and this time we stayed at “Caravanstellplatz am Saunabad Trautmann” .
Even though the very interesting owner could not speak English he managed to explain everything to us, including how to get to the centre by tram. We took the tram to town and then strolled around. We headed to Krämerbrücke, which is a medieval arch bridge, lined with half-timbered shops and houses on both sides of a cobblestone street. It is one of the few such bridges left in the world. We were lucky enough to be in town when Oktoberfest was on. We had a fantastic time in the text, listening to the band and watching the local people in traditional dress dancing on tables. Of course we had to partake in drinking the litre beers “prost”. We only spent one night in Erfurt but would have been happy to stay longer. 
Day 4 dawned, we said goodbye to Erfurt and drove south. Highways and country roads mixed with small towns and villages became the focus of the day. We headed to Bamberg for the night. The Regnitz River flows through this city so we walked along the river and crossed the bridge, that reminded us of the Charles bridge in Prague. Bamberg is a beautiful city and we snapped a few photos of the famous city hall jutting out over the river. From Bamberg we went to Rothenburg ob de Tauber. What can we say about the town that is on every bodies “to visit list” when in Germany. We completely fell in love with this beautiful medieval town. Entering the town center which is surrounded by an ancient wooden fortress feels like you’ve accidentally fallen into a fairy tale. 
The houses in the town are beautifully coloured and half-timbered. We saw the year 1357 on one house, the next was 1465, it was easy to imagine people of the past strolling around the cobbled streets to buy their daily needs. We went to the crime and punishment museum, sat outside one of the cafes for cake and coffee, and walked along the wall. We decided to relax in the towns swimming pool before making dinner in Maple. Then we went back to the historic centre to see it again without all the day trippers. We ended the day sitting in the town square with a glass of wine.
The next day we arrived in Bavaria and visited our friends who live in Gaaussenhausen. They took us to a local restaurant were we tried wild boar and around the nearby town of Landshut. The next part of our journey was to head to the Alps.
Rothenburg 2025
Here is a short video of our visit to Rothenburg.
Definitely one of our favourite places .
Octoberfest in Erfurt
“We ended up eating there and having a lot of beer – one liter is the minimum, sir! said the waitress and we did as she told us to do.”
Week 2
We then drove south towards the Alps and arrived at our destination for the next few days. We had heard of a place called Berchtesgaden, which is in the southeast corner of Germany, at the border with Austria. Adolf Hitler had often visited there and ended up building a summer house high up on a mountain there that he called the Eagles Nest. Under that mountain is the Königsee lake, which is one of the more beautiful mountain lakes on the German side of the Alps. The Alps are incredibly majestic and beautiful there and we were not disappointed by this visit. We settled in a beautiful campsite under Mount Jenner, which rises to 1800 meters above this small village. There are large ski areas and lifts all the way up into the high mountains. Inside Berchtesgaden is the Königsee lake.
The next day we took a bus to Salzburg in Austria. The beauty of the Alps followed us into Salzburg were we were greeted by wonderful weather and a beautiful city. As we strolled around the city we came across the Salzburg Cathedral. We were just in time to get tickets for the organ concert that is held each day in the cathedral. The interior of the building was breathtaking, with beautifully painted ceilings. We sat and listened to the beautiful organ concert; Bach, Vivaldi and of course Mozart filled the church. Next we took the funicular railway up to the Fortress Hohensalzburg. We spend a few hours looking around, reading about the history of the city and admiring the views. For dinner we had to try snitzel and apple strudel.
We woke up to a cold and foggy morning. The plan was to take a boat on the lake and was worried this would be ruined by the weather. We did not need to worry. By 9am when we caught the boat, the fog lifted and the sun came out to reveal the magnificent mountains all around. We sailed in between the majestic and high mountains, stopping to hear the captain blow a horn that echoed throughout the valley. We embarked at a village called St. Bartholomaa (during the summer it is possible to travel further). Above the village is the second highest mountain in Germany, Watzmann 2713m.
After a walk and lunch of fresh fish we caught the boat back. The weather was so amazing that we took a cable car up Mt Jenner, which is 1874 m high. The magnificent view of the valley below and the mountains all around us was unforgettable.
We could have spent a lot longer in this area however our next plan was to drive the Alpine Road and after looking at the weather forecast we decided to head on to catch the best of the weather. Before we left the area of Konigsee we stopped at a small village we had read about, called Ramsau, and the church called St Sebastian. The cemetery there is worth visiting and for those who know Rachel know she loves a good cemetary.
We continued along the Alpine road, enjoyed the scenery before spending the night on the shores of lake Chiemsee. The next day was back in the Alps. We drove 183km on bendy roads, through small villages, countryside and even crossing into Austria. The mountain views were fantastic and we even saw cows with clanging bells. We passed fields of pumpkins for sale and stopped to see a waterfall. We ended up staying in a place that ended up been one of our favourites, Oberammergau. The town is full of houses covered in murals, we found the Little Red Riding house, cobbled streets and wood carving shops. The crunchy leaves on the ground, the chill in the air, the sound of church bells, and the smell of log burners, gave this place a cosy feel. We found a family run wood carving shop ran by Toni Baur and his wife and granddaughter or as we were introduced to them Opa (grandfather) and Opa (grandmother). granddaughter. We bought two owls sat on a log that fit in well with our trip; of fairy tale towns and listening to nightly Grimms fairy tales. We had heard about Weißwurst and finally had the chance to taste it here. A white bratwurst with bezel and sweet mustard of course washed down with Bavarian wheat beer.
Today we began the day by walking on the tree top bridge from the Austrian border and back to Germany. We continued driving the hilly German Alpine Road but when we got to the Oberjock pass (a road with 25 hairpin bends) it was closed for a classic car race. We watched some of the cars pass then found an alternative route to our next stop, Bodensee. Once we arrived, we found a car park stellplatz in Uberlingen and watched the sunset over the lake and then it was time for bed.
Lake Königsee 2025
Video from Königsee.
Berchtesgaden and Königsee in the German Alps are so beautiful. We took a cable car up in the mountains, took a bus to Salzburg Austria and sailed on the Königsee lake.
We stayed here 4 days and loved it!
Salzburg Austria 2025
Video from Salzburg Austria.
We took a bus from Berchtesgaden to Salzburg.
Music was the theme for this day in the birth-city of Mozart. We went in the Cathedral but also up to the Hohensazburg Fortress above the city.
Week 3
We were now just over halfway in our journey and were standing where three countries come together. Since we both come from islands, it is strange to think about such borders. The countries that border Lake Constance or Bodensee are Switzerland, Germany and Austria.
Now it was time for us to head north. We set off towards the Black Forest. On the way to the Black Forest we visited Campus Galli, where a great living museum has been built about the general life of people in the Middle Ages. There you could see houses built using traditional methods, see how people lived, wove baskets and hats, how iron was made and how food was cooked. We really enjoyed visiting these people and watching them work.
Next stop was Schloss Lichtenstein. The castle is privately owned but partially open to the public. Rebuilt 1840 -1880 on a high rocky ridge in southern part of Germany. It is an incredibly beautiful and majestic castle with a high tower, built on the ruins of another castle that was in there, originally built around the year 1100.
We arrived in Triberg later in the day. We visiting the cuckoo clock shops and the local church. Not sure where to stay for the night we asked a German couple (also in a motor home) and they told us to follow them to a nearby free stellplatz. Cuckoo clocks have been made in the area for hundreds of years. Before driving on the B500 scenic road we saw the largest cuckoo clock in the world.
So now the weather began to change and with it the rain arrived. So instead of another night in the Black Forest as planned, we decided to continue north. We drove close to the French border and found a stellplatz on a winery in mußbach Weingut Schafer. By the time we arrived the sun had appeared, we went for a walk to see the vineyards surrounding the area and the local town. We ate a delicious meal of beef and spatzle and of course local wine.
The next day we headed to the Rhine river. The next two nights would be spent in Backarach. We loved this small town and were lucky that at this time of year it was not busy. We had a great few days in Bacharach, sailing on the river, enjoying the views from the towns castle and one day we took a train to Cologne. The next two nights we spent on the Mosel River in a town called Cochem. 
From there took a train trip to Trier which is the oldest city in Germany. The Rhine and Moselle were wonderful places and although we felt the weather was beginning to remind us that it was autumn we really enjoyed being there.
It had rained all night and was still raining when we awoke, and we had no plan. Due to the weather we decided to start heading back north towards Denmark. We visited the castle, Berg Eltz, had lunch in Maple, then after looking at the map decided to go to Fritzlar. We had never heard of this place but it was underlined in the map which meant it was worth visiting. After driving 258km we arrived and the rain had eased so we walked to town. It was a very nice walled town like we had seen though out Germany, we enjoyed an Italian meal over looking the cobbled market square and crooked timber houses.
Today we changed the clocks due to daylights saving time. Off we set towards Bremen in the rain and wind. Bremen was the last stop on the plan for Germany, and it made a really nice stop. We drove directly there (320km) because the weather was not great. We found a stellplatz outside the eco-zone for two nights. We caught the tram to the centre and went to find the statue of the Town Musicians of Bremen. We found the old town of Bremen which did not disappoint. We loved walking the old streets with the coloured houses and even saw two wandering journeymen. We had now completed 3 weeks of our journey and it was time to head to Denmark.
Driving and Sailing
We drove all over Germany, we visited so many beautiful places, we took trains, busses, sailed on rivers and drove through forests and over high mountains.
Week 4
It was time to say goodbye to Germany and drive to Denmark. In keeping with the theme of old towns, we headed to Ribe, the oldest town in Denmark and 350km away. We booked a campsite for two nights and headed to the centre. It was not long before Rachel started wondering about house prices for this beautiful, cute, crooked town. We had a Danish beer and then found a place for pizza and more beer from a local brewery. It was getting dark by 5pm now so we headed back to the campsite.
We woke after a night of constant heavy rain and spent the morning in Maple. It was still raining and windy, so we drove to the centre and visited the Viking museum. We had bread, hummus, and cake in one of the oldest buildings in Ribe. The rain didn’t stop all day, so we went back to Maple to plan the next day.
We have traveled around Denmark before, during our honeymoon trip in 2013 but nevertheless we took a few days to get to Hirtshals and went to Römö. This is an island right on the German border. We joined the local people walking on the beach. It was good to see the sea again after spending so long in Germany. We drove to Skive and stayed there for one night. We arrived there in the evening and found a very good place to stay by the harbor. In fact we were the only ones there.
One of the things we had worried about when we left home, was that our lpg gas would not last the whole trip. We put 2 x 12 kg gas tanks in the camper before we left. There we were on day 26 when suddenly we realized that the gas in the first tank had ran out so we had to switch to the second tank. Our worries about running out of gas were therefore unnecessary.
It was time to freshen up and relax so we spent the morning in a nice indoor swimming pool. The sauna and hot tub were just what we needed. We drove the endless flat roads of Denmark and ended up in Nykoping for lunch. We spent sometime people watching and looking at the Halloween decorations. We continued the coastal road, passing sand dunes and the ocean, to a campsite on the west coast, near Tornby. The campsite was close to Hirtstal where we had to get the ferry, so we decided to spend our last two nights here.
The last day in Denmark was sunny but very windy. We drove to Skagen, the most northern tip of Denmark. We walked along the beach to where two seas meet. We found the remains of a church that had eventually been moved as it was continuously getting buried in sand. We drove to Fredrikshavn for a hot chocolate and then the rain started so went back to the campsite to relax for our last night in Maple.
We boarded the ferry Norræna on November 2nd and set sail for Iceland. Although we encountered rough weather on the way home, there were no delays in the voyage and we ended up back home on the evening of November 5th.
