We had planned as usual and on this trip we couldn't deviate too much from the plans without consulting our friends. We must add that this was their first journey abroad (except Norway the year before).

28/6 The first day starts off easy, we only go to Kumla and Djupadalsbadets Camping. Here we wait for the friends. The camp site has a good location, beside the pool bath and within walking distance of the town.

29/6 Aspen camping in Lerum is still a nice camp site. This year we're going with the catamaran from Gothenburg (to save time).

30/6 We get onboard the catamaran last of all. It was a nice trip. Everybody had a seat and that is nice, even though the journey only took 90 minutes. Going off the boat wasn't quite as nice. We had to back out! Well, everything goes.

1/7 When we rise this morning our friends have already left. After one hour we are together again, but loose sight of them later. We stops at T/R Göttingen to wait for them, because now comes the problem. How to find the camp site in Kassel? Yes, we're going there again, to show our friends. A year or so ago we bought a map covering Kassel to be able to find the camp site the easy way. But no way. The map did not correspond with the reality. We found the way eventually. NOW I think we know the way to go there without problem. We have tried a couple of times now. Follow the signs to Aue-stadium, and you're there.

2/7 This day we're in company all day, which was lucky due to a lot of road works and 'staus'. You could easily get lost.

3/7 We had company as far as Belfort, then they disappeared. In Belfort we made a blunder. We came on a street and we shall (as we understand it) straight through Belfort. One sign to the right saying '... direc...' (something), a sign to the left '... museum..' and a street going straight ahead (no sign). I say to Kent to go straight ahead, and he does that and our friends are close behinds us! Then we end up on a parking lot below the fortress of Belfort, known for the stone lions and so. After some doing we managed to turn around and go out again. Now we can read the signs, the one that was right (now left) read "all directions" so we went that way. Then came signs with city names and another sign saying "other directions", and shouldn't we to the cities named, you turned the other way. When you think of it, it is quite clever thinking by the French. We arrive at the day's destination about 15.00 and have to wait for the friends until 17.00. It is a bit nervous to wait and wait. We can't communicate via Mobil phone, because they haven't got one. The camp site is nice and is within the city limits, which means that it is walking distance to almost everything.

4/7 The last day of travel. For speed we take the motorway. The fees for the motorway to the Spanish border this year was 330Francs. But it is worth it, because there is so nice lay-bys and quite a lot. In Valence we wait for our friends (the first time today), and then again at the lay-by Lapalme. When we have crossed the Spanish border we pass through a hailstorm and we thought; well, sun and bathing holiday was it that we had in mind. But it soon passed. The hailstorm I mean.

Camping Botanic BonaVista Kim is a terraced camp site. After what we heard it was once a peach plantation here. Trees, roses and all sorts of flowers are growing among the terraces. The trees give shadow on the terraces and it is not that terribly warm, as the wind comes from the sea to help to keep the warmth down.

You should not have weak legs to stay here. It is a fairly steep way up. Kim himself takes the caravan with his Landrover, to the pitch of your choice, you are not allowed to do that yourself. He parks the caravan where it shall be. Then you can follow with your car. There's a guard with dog patrolling the area at night. That feels safe.

There is a restaurant in the area and further down there is another. There is another camp site beside this one, and you could easily go wrong when arriving. It is a bit hard to explain but after you passed the shop and restaurant, you shall go right and up the hill. If you go straight ahead you end up at the other camp site. When the hill is finished you must turn left and park outside the restaurant, as far left as you can come. Otherwise you hinder other campers coming from behind, and they could damage their brakes and clutches.

To the town of Calella it takes about 20 minutes to walk, along the way you have a great view of the Mediterranean sea. In Calella all the things connected with tourism are to be found, of course. It is a moderately big town, dominated by german, dutch and danish tourists. 25 years ago there were a lot of swedes here.

The first day we take a walk to town to get some money and to have a look around. We have lunch at Casa Carlos and take a beer each (see photos). It is hot.

Then the holiday flows on, with sun, bath and nice restaurants. Nice shops were you can shop 'til you drop and still have money left.

15/7 Head north again. It has been a lovely stay, but we must move on. We take the same way back to Bourg-en-Bresse, which we arrive to about 18.00. But the friends don't show up until 21.00! Guess if we were nervous. They had gone round in Lyon in a lot of tunnels they said. We hadn't seen one.

16/7 We leave B-e-B before our friends and wait for them at a Shell petrol station in Luxembourg. The road through Nancy and Metz is nice, you can see quite a bit of the cities without having to stop. There are parking spaces here and there. We had thought of staying the night at the Shell petrol station but the smell was awful so we left. Trier is one of Germans older cities and that sounded interesting, but the camp site we found around 18.00 was not nice at all. We didn't see anything of Trier.

17/7 We follow the river Mosel "all the way" and it is so beautiful. When we reach Koblenz we turn south and follow the Rhine to Rüdeshiem. This way is not as nice as Mosel we think. The camp site would have gotten better marks hadn't it been for the warden. He was not nice at all. Nice sanitary rooms, pub but no restaurant and a shop. It is walking distance to town.

Rüdesheim is very popular among the Germans. We have never seen so many tourist busses in one place before. The town is nice to walk about, if it is not raining, which it did much this year.

19/7 It keeps on raining off and on while we travel north to T/R Dammer Berge.

20/7 Full speed ahead towards Flensburg! And when we arrive there is a flee market on the parking lot. We found a fairly shadowed place to wait for our friends at. Yes it is not raining today (yet). They eventually arrive and they don't see us, they go straight ahead to the parking. We hadn't seen that part of the flee market had closed down, so we move it as well.

21/7 Shops a great deal at Citti, it is such a nice shop. Then we go towards Billund, the kids must of course see Legoland. We arrive at 12 and they at 14.

23/7 We travel towards Frederikshavn. The friends go tomorrow. The same catamaran as when we left Sweden and that means that we have to back on the boat. The camp site for the day is Ekuddens outside of Mariestad. It is a nice "forest camping" with some oaks as well. There's a shop, snack bar and minigolf.

25/7 The last day of travel and we're home again before 13.00.

The whole holiday: 6200 km