Sitting by the River Danube, I realise that I have finally reached “castle fatigue” stage, as I was relieved to find that the castle I was due to visit tomorrow is actually closed! This is really no bad thing, as it’ll give me time to process some of the glorious sights and views that I have witnessed over the past few days. It seems an age ago that I woke up on a farm in the middle of nowhere and got on my bike for a big day out – biking just seems to be the best option, not only because I enjoy a bit of exercise and fresh air, but also because it reduces the number of places I have to navigate to in Gloria. She’s quite happy to sit and chat to the pigs and horses while I go and do my stuff on two wheels, before gearing herself up for another outing on the roads (one scary detour and two birdstrikes, but more on that later).

First stop is the incredible Ludwigsburg Palace; the important lesson here is that expectations and reality can sometimes be poles apart. Why? Well, what I should have seen is the imposing, huge Baroque facade of this mighty Palace complex; what I actually got was a building covered in scaffolding 🙈🙄😂. However, the gardens were completely magnificent and the whole experience of the “Blooming Baroque” was so impressive that scaffoldgate was soon forgotten. The whole town is so well laid out and it turned out to be market day, so I was able to soak up the atmosphere of the Town Square while having a coffee (my “go-to” way of getting to know a place and picking up on its vibes…..that, along with endless bike rides!).

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Next stop on my bike tour was Porschplatz – I had seen the signposts on the autobahn on the way in and just couldn’t resist. This is one of the best things about a road trip (and, dare I say it, travelling solo?!)…….you can just make up your plans as you meander along. I know that the Porsche museum wouldn’t be high on many girls’ lists, but being a bit of a petrol head (that’s vehicle petrol, not “girl petrol” as my local Landlord likes to refer to rosé……although I am a bit partial to that stuff too!), it was a no-brainer. Just the building alone was worth the visit, as it’s really futuristic along with a few cars on ‘stalks’ on the roundabout outside – photos just don’t do it justice…..

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The sexy, aerodynamic lines of what makes a current Porsche instantly recognisable were immediately clear from the first prototypes and they are rightly proud of their history and heritage. The stand-out cars for me were one of the many cars that had won Le Mons along with all the dirt it had accumulated over 24 hours, the new E-version sports car and, of course, the best Porsche in my opinion(!), the gorgeous Boxster,

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Final stop of the day was Stuttgart and, if I was expecting a busy, industrial German city, I could not have been more wrong. At its heart, it has huge parks by the river full of frisbee throwers, picnickers and people just generally enjoying the German summer. On the way back to the campsite along the river, I was surrounded by hillsides bursting with vines and hops – in fact, the big bonus of biking is that you really appreciate the countryside and this area of Germany is extremely agricultural with endless fields of maize, corn, sunflowers and vegetables.

It had been a busy day on the bike, so I just had a short drive to the historical city of Esslingen where I found my first truly wild camping spot beside a river, completely on my own. Thanks to the recent installation of a top-of-the-range alarm system (Outsmart the Thief – thanks Carl!), I had no qualms about settling down to sleep in the middle of nowhere. Having set the alarm off inadvertently a couple of times (sorry Carl! 😬 ), I know that my phone is ringing within 20 seconds and that gives me the peace needed to get a good night’s sleep.

An early morning cup of tea by the river was good preparation for a bike ride up the steep hill to see Esslingen castle…..those of you who have been following so far will know that I’m a bit partial to the odd castle and I’m even beginning to understand the difference between a Schloss and a Burg . Turns out that this one is a Burg and what an unexpected bonus it turned out to be!

Next stop…..a Schloss that is also a Burg (confused? – so am I!). This one is Lichtenstein, meaning “light stone” (obvious, really!) and not to be confused with the country of Liechtenstein (but that will come). The first car park was full, so I managed to tuck Gloria into the very last parking spot in a lower car park (to be fair, it probably wasn’t even a parking spot, but we were the biggest thing in the car park, so no one was going to argue!) and had a lovely walk up the hill through wildflower meadows and woodlands containing 11 superb zipline and high obstacle courses (right up my street but sadly not enough time). The views from the castle were spectacular, however seeing inside was an interesting experience as I thought that I would be able to wander around at leisure, but it turned out that it could only be viewed on a tour. I was the only non-German-speaking visitor marooned on a fully German tour and I was trapped!! Fortunately, the (ridiculous) face mask meant that no one was fully aware of the expression of boredom on my face!

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At last, the great day has arrived……the entire trip has been based on visiting Hohenzollern Castle – though Germany is full of gorgeous castles, this is one of the largest and grandest I’ve ever laid eyes on. It is a true Disney-esque masterpiece, rising up out of an outcropping of rocks on the top of a hill with glorious views all around. In typical fashion, I didn’t do the “normal” thing and drive to the top – no, that would have been far too simple. My approach was to set off on my bike and take a path that led virtually straight uphill – perhaps not the easiest way to get there, but it all added to the adventure. I will let the pictures do the talking here, but let’s just say that I certainly wasn’t disappointed by this magical castle. I mean, this is Impressive with a capital I!!!

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Germany has 20,000 castles to explore, so for a castle geek like me, there’s literally one around every corner and it turns out that the next one is my nightstop. The journey there provided me with a “heart-in-mouth” moment, as there was a 4 mile detour; I even had to resort to getting google translate out to see what the sign meant! I set off on a single track road, not knowing if I was going to have to reverse the entire length of it if I encountered a tunnel. There was one, but fortunately it was just big enough…..I think that detours are probably the scariest thing in this big vehicle! I am on a gorgeous spot next to the River Danube in the town of Sigmaringen, another exquisitely preserved historic German city. As alluded to at the start of this post, the castle is actually shut, but that is absolutely fine with me, as I think that I have had my fill of suits of armour and German-speaking tour guides. Anyway, being an outdoorsy type, I would always prefer exploring the outside of these sights – preferably by bike……which is exactly what I did the following day.

Finally, what I know you’re all waiting for; how did emptying Gloria’s glory hole go?! Well, on one of the journeys, I accessed a town’s motorhome service station (they’re so well set up for motorhomes over here) and got on with decanting the onboard ‘waste’ (God, this is so much easier on board a yacht or an aircraft!). You can see how it went below – actually, much easier than expected and a big relief all round! I even managed to fill up with water, so more wild camping is ON!!!

• Thoughts so far:
• A birdstrike on the Groundbus isn’t nearly as bad as on the Airbus
• A Schloss is a palace unless it’s more fortified in which case it’s more of a Burg (and just to confuse things, a Berg is a mountain)
• There’s so much to learn about history, especially what happened to Prussia 🤷‍♀️
• Don’t wear white when emptying Gloria’s glory hole
• I LIKE MY OWN COMPANY!!……lucky, bearing in mind I’m on a solo roadtrip. At least I laugh at my own jokes! 😂🤡