Groenlo 2014

Easter 2014: of course we made use of 4 days off and went on a tour to the Netherlands. On Thursday afternoon we set off for our first stop, Salzbergen. Salzbergen isn't very famous, and perhaps we would have driven past this lovely village too if Bernd and Rita hadn't invited us. In the late afternoon we reached the motorhome pitch on Emsstraße, newly opened in October 2013.

The motorhome pitch is free and located next to a canoe club and a riding hall. The four tarmac pitches are generously sized and have room for big vehicles too. As the evening was still young and we had to go shopping anyway, we took our bikes off the motorhome and went exploring. The centre is only about 1 kilometre away, with all the important amenities. The town centre is built around the church.

The next morning brought some little challenges. During the night our gas suddenly ran out. No problem – we had a spare bottle with us. But after swapping over, we found that this bottle was empty too.

We promptly plugged in the electricity (1 euro per 8 hours), so we could run the fridge and heat our motorhome electrically. Rita and Bernd had actually wanted to pick us up by car at around 9.30 a.m. to go to Emsflower together. At 9.10 a.m. the two of them were standing at our motorhome with their aluminium gas bottle in tow. After a few quick phone calls by Bernd and Rita (they simply know the right people), we could have exchanged our gas bottles that very day (not forgetting it was Good Friday).

Thanks again to Bernd and Rita for their super support. After we had been able to exchange a gas bottle very close to the pitch, we drove towards Emsbüren and Emsflower.

Our tour guide Bernd first showed us the huge greenhouse complex around the company. It was really impressive how big it is.

Contrary to what we had been told on the phone the day before, the shop wasn't open on Good Friday. Only the restaurant with the adjoining adventure world for young and old was open.

After a great afternoon with Bernd and Rita, it was time to say goodbye again, as we wanted to continue to the Netherlands. In the late afternoon we drove from Salzbergen to Groenlo (NL), 70 kilometres away.

The "Marveld" campsite we had booked in advance turned out to be a small town of its own. After checking in, we reached our pitch "A20" on a large meadow. We parked the vehicle – no need for levelling, as we were already standing straight – and went off shopping.

The campsite's own supermarket has everything you could wish for. We postponed exploring the site until the next day. Easter Saturday: no rain and the sun was shining. At 10 a.m. we unloaded the bikes (the batteries were already full again) and set off for Winterswijk, 12 kilometres away.

Most campers probably already know our first destination in Winterswijk: the shopping paradise for campers, Obelink. If you don't know it yet, just take a look at www.obelink.de.

The fact that we were in Winterswijk by bike was a small advantage for my wallet. Every other time we have spent between 500 and 700 euros. But as we had no means of transport other than our bikes, our purchases remained modest and small. We only spent 90 euros, and the biggest purchase was new panniers for the bikes.

Our next stop was the shopping street in Winterswijk. In such lovely weather, the whole town was probably out and about. We went to our usual shops, such as Xenos and Albert Heijn, and always found something nice.

The best thing about the Netherlands for us is all the wide, separate cycle paths. On the way back to Groenlo we took a little side route not far from the main road.

Saturday evening: the weather held and the barbecue was calling :-) Easter Sunday: sleeping in was out of the question, as the neighbours' children were going on an Easter egg hunt. The campsite has its own fun pool, which was included in the price. At 11 a.m. we went to the indoor pool for a swim. The swimmers' pool is really great, and the lifeguards make sure people can actually swim. For children, the play area and the non-swimmers' area with its long slide are great. After swimming we went into Groenlo town centre. The shops were all closed, but we had a look around the town anyway.

Right in the centre we suddenly discovered some animal enclosures with goats, donkeys, deer and horses. This free attraction is right by the lake.

The campsite offers lots of space. Each meadow has 10 pitches with a climbing frame for the little ones in the middle.

The campsite is very nicely laid out and offers lots of options. It is very much geared towards families and can therefore get louder.