Day 1&2 - Home to Newcastle, Ferry to Amsterdam, Amsterdam to Rhine Valley

Day 1 & 2

I’ve been on many many overnight ferries however  the Friday overnight ferry from Newcastle to Amsterdam  is the only to be graced with ‘bouncers’ in the bar and ‘Security’ roaming the cabin decks into the small hours.....even before the ropes have been cast off the North Shields quayside Deck 9 open air ‘Mermaid bar’ is already thronging with a combination of Brit hen and stag do’s and Dutch Bikers doing their level best to drink their own body weight in ‘Grolsch’ or ’Newcastle Brown’....... Its  4.30 in the afternoon .....

We fine dine (slum it)  in our cabin on North Shields ASDA bread, some beers from the Van fridge and cheese and ham taken from home. Bed at 08:30 pm...!...lightweights

Die-hards are necking pints at 08:00 the next morning whilst I queue for cups of tea. For these week-enders going to Amsterdam we see them climb on board the buses  to take them to the city for a few hours before they are due back at the port at 4 pm to do it all again on the overnighter back to Newcastle ....

Docking near Amsterdam at 10:00 on a very rainy Saturday morning, we plug in the ‘Tom Tom’ ( thanks Christiana) and head off straight down the many motorways of Netherlands into rain soaked Germany only stopping once to add fuel. 300km later we turn off the motorway into a Gymnich (near Koln) to get food at a supermarket and lunch in the back of the van.

Flat lands turn into hills and we arrive on the Rhine river at Boppard mid afternoon and find a camp site.

We're 200+ miles in land and every 2-3 minutes a massive barge crawls up the fast flowing Rhine - I;m not sure we have any rivers evn 200 miles long form source to sea ( Severn ?) let alone navigable by a 300 m long barge.

Off on the bikes to St.Goar for Charlie’s 1^st ‘Stein’ ....of many .....

and some pukka ‘Rhine’ Food....soured cabbage and pork meatloaf – top drawer......

Bed at 9 pm.....shocker

Day 1     Holme( Home)  - Newcastle ( GB)                             197km                   Total      197km

Day 2     Amsterdam ( NDL) – St.Goar ( Rhine)  ( D)            408km                   Total      605km