With a 600 km drive ahead of us to the Black Forest in Germany, we had to get up early. We hate getting up early.
We packed up all our stuff, walked the dogs for the last time, handed the house keys to Maarten (Claudia's dad) and then set off for the Black Forest. Our GPS has a TMC (Traffic Message Channel) ability which let's it incorporate latest traffic information into its route planning. When we left Amsterdam the TMC said we had some traffic jams ahead and re-routed accordingly. This route took us through Arnhem, Oberhausen, Cologne and the outskirts of Heidelberg before we reached our destination.
Despite the TMC we still encountered some traffic delays with accidents and road works as we neared our destination. The weather was pretty bad with overcast skies and rain a constant. The rain made driving a bit challenging as the cars and many many trucks on the highways kicked up a lot of the water which formed a constant water haze and difficult visibility in front of us.
We had planned to be at the Black Forest by 4:30pm as through a couple of strange email exchanges with the hotel booking company, they said the hotel guy would be waiting for us then. The trip took just over seven hours, including two stops, and we should have made it dead on time but we were thwarted by a couple of road work delays. We ended up arriving at 4:50pm and wondered if the guy would hang around.
When we got the the apartment house there was nobody in the small reception. There was a note on the door to either call the mobile or see Herr Schmitz at room 145. We went up to room 145 which of course is about six floors up. Herr Schmitz was in his room and said he would meet us back downstairs. Herr Schmitz was a typically strange 'innkeeper', not rude, not friendly, just...there.
He met us downstairs, we checked in and then were taken to our room - on the first floor.
Where we are staying is a town called Bad Liebenzell at the Apartmenthaus Barth. This is in the north east of the Black Forest. We chose this place as it allows pets, has free parking and was pretty cheap (Yay!). At 28 Euros per night for a self service apartment it seemed ideal.
Inside our apartment you could say it is horribly decorated, has a hideous kitchen and is a pastiche of all the worst design elements of the 70's 80's and 90's. I don't think anything from the 21st century is represented here. Aside from that, its a two room apartment and has everything we need, is in this lovely town and it was 28 Euros a night!
Their own description of the room is a bit different, crudely translated into English as:
We packed up all our stuff, walked the dogs for the last time, handed the house keys to Maarten (Claudia's dad) and then set off for the Black Forest. Our GPS has a TMC (Traffic Message Channel) ability which let's it incorporate latest traffic information into its route planning. When we left Amsterdam the TMC said we had some traffic jams ahead and re-routed accordingly. This route took us through Arnhem, Oberhausen, Cologne and the outskirts of Heidelberg before we reached our destination.
Despite the TMC we still encountered some traffic delays with accidents and road works as we neared our destination. The weather was pretty bad with overcast skies and rain a constant. The rain made driving a bit challenging as the cars and many many trucks on the highways kicked up a lot of the water which formed a constant water haze and difficult visibility in front of us.
Barney found the drive to be challenging too.
We had planned to be at the Black Forest by 4:30pm as through a couple of strange email exchanges with the hotel booking company, they said the hotel guy would be waiting for us then. The trip took just over seven hours, including two stops, and we should have made it dead on time but we were thwarted by a couple of road work delays. We ended up arriving at 4:50pm and wondered if the guy would hang around.
When we got the the apartment house there was nobody in the small reception. There was a note on the door to either call the mobile or see Herr Schmitz at room 145. We went up to room 145 which of course is about six floors up. Herr Schmitz was in his room and said he would meet us back downstairs. Herr Schmitz was a typically strange 'innkeeper', not rude, not friendly, just...there.
He met us downstairs, we checked in and then were taken to our room - on the first floor.
Where we are staying is a town called Bad Liebenzell at the Apartmenthaus Barth. This is in the north east of the Black Forest. We chose this place as it allows pets, has free parking and was pretty cheap (Yay!). At 28 Euros per night for a self service apartment it seemed ideal.
Inside our apartment you could say it is horribly decorated, has a hideous kitchen and is a pastiche of all the worst design elements of the 70's 80's and 90's. I don't think anything from the 21st century is represented here. Aside from that, its a two room apartment and has everything we need, is in this lovely town and it was 28 Euros a night!
Their own description of the room is a bit different, crudely translated into English as:
'The ambience is warm orange-red-brown tones with clever MiniBar, mini kitchen and adjacent unique bedroom that gives a "good sleeping" and also holds - simply emits a unique charm.
For Lovers - Silver Bridegroom - spa guests or just relaxation, an ideal haven amidst our hectic time - simply broadcasting the apartment soak up and enjoy pure relaxation and the Black Forest!'
Hahah - for lovers?, the two beds are singles and aren't even side by side in the conventional sense!
The view from the window is nice :)
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