Parts of the bitumen residue were still present on the alcove, which looked very unattractive. One of the previous owners had applied bitumen to the entire roof. The last owner tried to remove it, but Alex took the trouble to completely remove it from the front of the alcove. There was also a strip screwed on there, which we thought was absolutely pointless and which was already starting to rust. I have no idea what it was used for at some point. Alex then diligently closed all the holes in the removed strip on the alcove, sanded down the surface and gave it a nice coat of paint again.
He also got Ms. M’s motorhome back in shape so that she can at least go to the garage. Ms. M. is now overjoyed to finally be able to continue her journey. However, she has had to change her previous plans somewhat due to her breakdown. That’s what traveling with a camper van is like. Sometimes everything works great and sometimes nothing at all, but there’s always a solution and we carry on.
To make sure Alex never gets bored ;-), he helped Mr. W. install a new solar panel. If Mr. W. or his wife need help, we don’t think twice. They are also always there for us. Recently, for example, he went shopping and simply brought us 10 x 6 liter canisters of water. He thought it would be easier for us to get there by car than by motorcycle.
In the middle of the week, we helped out at the “Schelter”, less than 5 minutes away by car.
Our friend Mrs. H. helps out there on a voluntary basis every Friday. The Schelter is basically an animal farm with neglected or abandoned dogs. The 13 donkeys that live there only serve as “lawn mowers” on the huge property 🙂
Mrs. H. asked me if I would like to help, as the animal farm receives a delivery of hay bales and there are supposedly not many volunteers to unload and stack them in the barn.
I immediately said yes and Alex also offered to help.
In the end there were 8 helpers, plus the truck driver who delivered the hay bales and also helped out.
The job was said to take just under 3 hours. After half an hour, however, all 120 hay bales had been put away.
Mrs. H. gave us a tour of the farm. She introduced us to every single dog. What they are called, why and how long they have been there and told us about the behavior and health of each dog.
You can also adopt dogs there and although there are some really great dogs there, we went home without one 🙂 A dog in a motorhome would not last long with Iris’ allergy.
Then Mr. W. and Mrs. H. spoiled us with a great second breakfast.
We were often invited for coffee and pastries by various fellow campers. We really enjoyed this hour of just being with loved ones and doing nothing this week. At the end of the week, we dedicated ourselves to the many external storage compartments that are attached directly to the vehicle. So far, there has been a lot of chaos and we had to tidy things up a bit. We also started up our WENNE after almost 6 months of standing and checked that everything was running smoothly. We are slowly starting to get everything ready for the next trip in June
On Sunday, we and our friends were invited to our groundsman and his wife for cake and champagne. They were celebrating their 29th wedding anniversary. Apart from the four of us from the Caravan Park, only family members of the couple were there. What an honor for us, this invitation.
In the morning, Mrs. H. and I picked a bunch of flowers while the men bought wine and sweets.
As we didn’t know what we were in for, we were very excited. After all, our groundsman works virtually 24/7 and never takes a vacation. His home is in the middle of the campers on the caravan park.
It was a very warm welcome. Everyone was very nice to us and delighted that we accepted the invitation. Due to the limited space in the hosts’ “house”, everyone ate their cake and drank champagne while standing somewhere. After about half an hour, everyone said goodbye, so we joined them 🙂 For us, it was a completely different way to celebrate. Warm, nice but short.
