Campsites,Germany # 5of14

The campsite in Rodenkirchen is located on the west bank of the Rhine River, and is reported to be the oldest in Germany. Right out our window there were river barges, passenger boats, fishermen, speed boats, planes landing at the Bonn airport, and people enjoying the evening. On the walk along the Rhine River, one lady was pulling a child's four-wheeled wagon especially fitted for a dog that had lost the use of its legs. The lady said the dog looked forward to the ride each day.

From Trier, the Mosel River flows north, south, east and west, through Bernkastel, then finally joins the Rhein at Koblenz. It’s hard to imagine a more twisty river, and it’s difficult to imagine one that is bordered with more beauty. One rainy night, in pitch dark, as we entered the campground in Bernkastel we heard a horrible noise, then found a hole punctured in the RV by a heavy pipe that remained from a tent building that was being demolished. Luckily the hole was neat, and easily repaired. One of a very, very few “scratches” we received in nearly 87,000 miles of RV driving in Europe.

One evening we camped in Offenbach, across the Main River from Heusenstamm, where we have spent several nights at the home of Emmy’s Cousins Klaus and Helga. During the telephoned invitation I got confused about which side of the river we were on, but since Klaus, an architect, works for the city of Offenbach, he of course knew exactly where we were. We invited them to our “house” for the evening, and we had a very nice time. Klaus and Helga have visited in our home in California a couple of times, including once making themselves at home while we were in Europe. In addition to visits to Chicago, Los Angeles, and other cities, they have especially enjoyed the desert in the western part of our country.

Our visit to Stendal was just a couple of years after the Berlin Wall fell. The lady who runs the office in the campground says she is so happy there is now just one Germany. She had never visited the West before the Wall fell, but in the past year she has visited several times, and is thrilled with what she sees. She hopes and expects that in the next few years former East Germany will become similar to what she sees in the West. This lady has worked in this campsite for many years, and she insists we are the first Americans ever, to spend a night in the Stendal campground.