Holiday to Germany part 8 (last)
Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2018 7:04 pm
In contrast to our arrival we were leaving Oberstaufen under sunny conditions
. My daughter manned my mobile as she did on the way in.
The route took us on country roads past Isny and somewhere between there and Leutkirch I had to stop as I spotted a group of White Storks foraging in a field.
My daughter navigated me around the motorway hold-ups so we made good time. She also helped me find the Landgasthaus standenhof restaurant & service station, that we’d stopped at after leaving the Ibis hotel, Livange Luxembourg on the way in (and which we were now heading back to). The journey was not as punishing perhaps because the weather stayed fine or perhaps because I was growing accustomed to long journeys
. A mate back home had cut me some CD’s from MP3’s I’d given him on a datastick, so having my own music helped: - Alan Parsons; Steely Dan; Mike Oldfield; Steve Hackett; The Doves (of course); Pink Floyd and Rush
.
The one thing that I need to mention iss adapting to driving on the autobahn. I consider myself no slouch in the UK but at 85 - 90mph you still needed to judge the timing of your overtake perfectly if you didn’t want to shave-off speed when gaining on the caravan in front. Cars would appear from nowhere in the overtaking lane and all seemed to have that burst of acceleration that my 1.8 Almera didn’t (leading to the cars in my rear-view mirror overtaking me before I could make my own move safely)
. That all said I totally agree with that way of driving, you just have to adjust to it (much better than our dire congestion-causing ‘Smart Motorways’ sic.)
At Landgasthaus I refuelled had some refreshment (Bratwurst in a bun) and explored around the grassy banks. This time there were no ‘fancy moths’ and the only butterfly I managed to photograph was a Common Blue. Moving on we arrived at the Ibis Hotel at Livange ahead of schedule, had time to clean up and relax before heading to the “Il Cherubino” for our evening meal. I had my seafood pizza which was the best of the best meal I’d had on the whole holiday. Not a Paella Chris, but I think you’d have liked it
.
Next morning before and after breakfast I explored the grassy margins around the hotels and a little bit further up a farm lane. My first butterfly was a Common Blue, a butterfly vying for top spot with Silver-washed for the commonest butterfly seen throughout the holiday. As it was grass that I was wandering through the commonest insect were grasshoppers. I’d largely ignored them but had a go snapping this male Meadow Grasshopper whilst waiting for my next butterfly
. The next butterfly wasn't long in coming: my first Brown Argus of the holiday taking my species total to 38
.
Next up was a Common Blue and the best open-wing male shot that I could muster. I like the way the blue forewing venation stands out against opaque almost translucent membranous parts of the wings (which I consider is an aid to identification on ‘very blue’ examples of this species)
Just before breakfast I added a Burnet Companion to the Sandisk
After Breakfast whilst the others sorted out their stuff etc I squeezed in another foray where I added a Small Heath and a Large White, (my first sighting would you believe
?) and my 39th species
.
So, we set off again and were making good time although the weather was hot as ever and driving a little tiring. Our return ferry crossing was booked for 22:30 but I realised we’d arrive well in advance so I needed to kill some time somewhere. At the same time, I was determined to do a decent stint so I decided that I’d drop into Mons, Belgium at around 2/3 journey distance
. During the drive I noticed some of the place names were one that were famous/infamous for WW1 battles on the Western front and Mons was the place of the first major battle for the British Expeditionary Force. Perhaps oddly for that reason I had a curious desire to see what the place was like ……
And the outcome was I wished I’d never bothered
. I was driving around in circles on an inner ring road on a Sunday with little sign of life and nowhere obvious to park. At one point turned into three lanes of oncoming traffic on a misinterpreted left-turn green filter light
. In the end I was able to extricate my way out thanks to my daughter’s navigation. I’m sure Mons would be a nice and interesting place to visit … on a different day.
Moving on close to Lille (Baisieux) I pulled into a lay-by which was a lorry park. My daughter told me from the phone GPS that our car bisected the border between France and Belgium. Close by was a buddleia bush and on it some butterflies .. all the one’s I’d struggled to get pictures of
. Strangely I couldn't recall seeing any butterflies on the buddleias in Germany
.
I could see that there was a Swallowtail but for some strange reason after a quick record shot I focussed my attention on getting the Red Admirals and the Swallowtail got the huff, did a big arc fly-by then burgered off
. This was totally unlike the 'unspookable' boomerang one I’d got in Cabopino in Spain or even the buddleia bush one nr. La Bastide de Serou in France. Drat
As I attempted to get good pics of the twitchy solar-charged butterflies the others were calling me back. The lorry park with lorries; litter; and drivers loitering, felt a bit threatening to them so it was time to leave. The good thing was I now had a photo of every species I’d seen
.
Still trying to kill time we called into a village ..... which was deserted then a service station Aire de Saint Laurent where we spent the next hour (but no butterflies just this impressive female Dark Bush Cricket on a wall). My eldest checked the Ferry times and found that there was an earlier one leaving at 20:30 ….. still leaving us plenty of time. So, to kill some more time we called into the town of Dunkirk itself (some distance from the ferry terminals). No problem getting in and getting parked this time .. and a nice town too
.
We arrived at the ferry port and were able to take the earlier 20:30 ferry. After a two-hour crossing adjusted for UK time and the hardest drive yet: - Dover to Woking, we arrived home just after midnight.
It had been one hell of an adventure and writing this has helped to rekindle it all
.
So, butterflies species seen: -
Meadow Brown; Small Heath; Gatekeeper; Common Blue; Small White; Mazarine Blue; Green-veined White; Swallowtail; Silver-washed Fritillary; Marbled White; Small Skipper; Sooty Copper; Silver-spotted Skipper; Map; Ringlet; Essex Skipper; Comma; Niobe fritillary; High Brown Fritillary; Holly Blue; Speckled Wood; Small Tortoiseshell; Red Admiral; Peacock; Painted Lady; Mountain Clouded Yellow; Large Wall Brown; Yellow-spotted Ringlet; (Pyrgus serratulae or carlinae or cacaliae); Brimstone; Purple Emperor; Wood White; Arran Brown; White Admiral; Scotch Argus; Clouded Yellow; White-letter Hairstreak; Brown Argus and Large White = 39 species ... though spread over France/Belgium; Luxembourg; Germany; Austria; Switzerland and Italy… and one less than I got in France/Andorra in one week).
High-points of the holiday?: - Hundle and Hochgrat (‘scuse the pun); some unexpected moth lifers; the Hawfinch and Red-backed Shrike; fresh air; smooth roads; clean and functional toilets and washroom facilities; great beer … lovely towns and cities, friendly down to earth people ….
Low-points: - A parking fine in Oberstaufen; sore blistered feet and sun-burn; One of the resort receptionists (but that’s another story) and some noisy boozed-up German youths returning to the resort late one night
Missing out on the Camberwell Beauty
We have extricated ourselves from out timeshare (at cost) and my other half has gone and booked up our next holiday …. for one week in Dinge near Dinan northern France, early August and one-week late August at our frequent cottage retreat in Sibton, Suffolk. It is unlikely that I will be racking-up any new butterfly lifers but the holiday will be a thoroughly enjoyable one all the same
. The landlord of the Sibton cottage lets me use my moth-trap
there so there’s a good chance I’ll be bringing it with me (if it hasn’t fallen to bits by then … the plastic bowl housing to which the lamp is mounted has turned brittle over the years and is being held together with parcel tape
.
Whether I'll be able to take another holiday like this in the foreseeable future remains to be seen. With my eldest going to University next year and my youngest likely to be doing the same three years on, I doub't I'll have much money to spend
Phil
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
![Neutral :|](./images/smilies/icon_neutral.gif)
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
The one thing that I need to mention iss adapting to driving on the autobahn. I consider myself no slouch in the UK but at 85 - 90mph you still needed to judge the timing of your overtake perfectly if you didn’t want to shave-off speed when gaining on the caravan in front. Cars would appear from nowhere in the overtaking lane and all seemed to have that burst of acceleration that my 1.8 Almera didn’t (leading to the cars in my rear-view mirror overtaking me before I could make my own move safely)
![Shocked :shock:](./images/smilies/icon_eek.gif)
At Landgasthaus I refuelled had some refreshment (Bratwurst in a bun) and explored around the grassy banks. This time there were no ‘fancy moths’ and the only butterfly I managed to photograph was a Common Blue. Moving on we arrived at the Ibis Hotel at Livange ahead of schedule, had time to clean up and relax before heading to the “Il Cherubino” for our evening meal. I had my seafood pizza which was the best of the best meal I’d had on the whole holiday. Not a Paella Chris, but I think you’d have liked it
![Wink :wink:](./images/smilies/icon_wink.gif)
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
![Surprised :o](./images/smilies/icon_surprised.gif)
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
![Idea :idea:](./images/smilies/icon_idea.gif)
![Confused :?](./images/smilies/icon_confused.gif)
And the outcome was I wished I’d never bothered
![Sad :(](./images/smilies/icon_sad.gif)
![Shocked :shock:](./images/smilies/icon_eek.gif)
Moving on close to Lille (Baisieux) I pulled into a lay-by which was a lorry park. My daughter told me from the phone GPS that our car bisected the border between France and Belgium. Close by was a buddleia bush and on it some butterflies .. all the one’s I’d struggled to get pictures of
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
![Confused :?](./images/smilies/icon_confused.gif)
I could see that there was a Swallowtail but for some strange reason after a quick record shot I focussed my attention on getting the Red Admirals and the Swallowtail got the huff, did a big arc fly-by then burgered off
![Shocked :shock:](./images/smilies/icon_eek.gif)
![Sad :(](./images/smilies/icon_sad.gif)
![Mad :x](./images/smilies/icon_mad.gif)
![Mad :x](./images/smilies/icon_mad.gif)
![Cool 8)](./images/smilies/icon_cool.gif)
Still trying to kill time we called into a village ..... which was deserted then a service station Aire de Saint Laurent where we spent the next hour (but no butterflies just this impressive female Dark Bush Cricket on a wall). My eldest checked the Ferry times and found that there was an earlier one leaving at 20:30 ….. still leaving us plenty of time. So, to kill some more time we called into the town of Dunkirk itself (some distance from the ferry terminals). No problem getting in and getting parked this time .. and a nice town too
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
We arrived at the ferry port and were able to take the earlier 20:30 ferry. After a two-hour crossing adjusted for UK time and the hardest drive yet: - Dover to Woking, we arrived home just after midnight.
It had been one hell of an adventure and writing this has helped to rekindle it all
![Cool 8)](./images/smilies/icon_cool.gif)
So, butterflies species seen: -
Meadow Brown; Small Heath; Gatekeeper; Common Blue; Small White; Mazarine Blue; Green-veined White; Swallowtail; Silver-washed Fritillary; Marbled White; Small Skipper; Sooty Copper; Silver-spotted Skipper; Map; Ringlet; Essex Skipper; Comma; Niobe fritillary; High Brown Fritillary; Holly Blue; Speckled Wood; Small Tortoiseshell; Red Admiral; Peacock; Painted Lady; Mountain Clouded Yellow; Large Wall Brown; Yellow-spotted Ringlet; (Pyrgus serratulae or carlinae or cacaliae); Brimstone; Purple Emperor; Wood White; Arran Brown; White Admiral; Scotch Argus; Clouded Yellow; White-letter Hairstreak; Brown Argus and Large White = 39 species ... though spread over France/Belgium; Luxembourg; Germany; Austria; Switzerland and Italy… and one less than I got in France/Andorra in one week).
High-points of the holiday?: - Hundle and Hochgrat (‘scuse the pun); some unexpected moth lifers; the Hawfinch and Red-backed Shrike; fresh air; smooth roads; clean and functional toilets and washroom facilities; great beer … lovely towns and cities, friendly down to earth people ….
![Cool 8)](./images/smilies/icon_cool.gif)
Low-points: - A parking fine in Oberstaufen; sore blistered feet and sun-burn; One of the resort receptionists (but that’s another story) and some noisy boozed-up German youths returning to the resort late one night
![Neutral :|](./images/smilies/icon_neutral.gif)
![Sad :(](./images/smilies/icon_sad.gif)
![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)
We have extricated ourselves from out timeshare (at cost) and my other half has gone and booked up our next holiday …. for one week in Dinge near Dinan northern France, early August and one-week late August at our frequent cottage retreat in Sibton, Suffolk. It is unlikely that I will be racking-up any new butterfly lifers but the holiday will be a thoroughly enjoyable one all the same
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
![Cool 8)](./images/smilies/icon_cool.gif)
![Neutral :|](./images/smilies/icon_neutral.gif)
Whether I'll be able to take another holiday like this in the foreseeable future remains to be seen. With my eldest going to University next year and my youngest likely to be doing the same three years on, I doub't I'll have much money to spend
![Confused :?](./images/smilies/icon_confused.gif)
Phil