Rhododendron World!

SLOCHTEREN.

Walking around town last night, we found a catholic church with mass this morning at 10:30. This gives us plenty of time to empty and fill the van. We find the church again and are performing a u-turn when a couple flag us down. Are we looking for the motorhome site? No, the church. Oh, follow us, then. We chat with them after mass, they have visited the UK in their van. We also talk to a guy from our pew. He has very little English but we manage to understand most of what he was saying. Nowhere else have we encountered such a warm welcome to church.

Rosie wants to move into The Netherlands by tonight. We select a site just short of Groningen, Slochteren. It is only 93 miles, well within our daily maximum. Much of the journey through the remainder of Germany is on flat country roads with intermittent small villages. A highlight is that we go through Rhododendron World. There are two market garden sites selling them but even the roads leading to and from are lined with fabulous colours, orange, lemon, pink and blackcurrant.

The motorway moves seamlessly from Germany into The Netherlands. No fuss is made of the border, simply a sign showing the relevant speed limits.

Our destination is a sleepy village, we pull into a paved area which has all the services, including internet, for 8 euro paid into an honesty envelope. At the point this was taken, it was our private spot. Later we were joined by a Dutch van.

Rosie heads into the centre on her bike while Paul heads the other way on a run. Both ways, the path is totally flat. Rosie enjoys a coffee in a kitchen attached to the pizza restaurant. She asks if they have Sky television. Chris is the doctor for Charlton who are playing at Wembley today in a play off final. Only for the porn is the joking reply. At least she thinks that they are joking.

After dinner, we decide to cycle back to the pizza restaurant for a beer. There is a very large estate on the way. Rosie said there were people sat outside earlier in the day.

We sit outside enjoying the drink until it starts to rain. At least, Rosie's bike feels at home here in The Netherlands.

The owner unfurls a umbrella to keep us dry. Unfortunately, she can't help us on the way back to the van. We get well and truly soaked.