Rotterdam to Goslar – Germany 2009

Our most recent motorhome trip encompassed large parts of Germany and a little bit of Austria – plus the ‘commuting’ mileage we had to do through the Netherlands to get to and from Rotterdam, our ferry port of choice (we used P&O’s Hull-Rotterdam route as we were coming from the north of England).

Our intention was to stay at official Stellplatz motorhome parking areas or to wild camp throughout the trip – no campsite usage was planned. As it turned out, we used Stellplatz* (the equivalent of French Aires) every night – some free, some not, but all very good.

The first day’s driving took us across to the pleasant and historical town of Goslar, in Lower Saxony. Goslar is on the western edge of the Harz National Park region, which was our first planned destination, and is obviously popular with visitors. The town itself is an attractive place and we did a little food and drink shopping (always more fun abroad) before settling down for an early night at the local Stellplatz – a dedicated area of a public car park with full motorhome servicing facilities, albeit at extra cost.

The next morning we wondered around the historical town centre before moving on from the Stellplatz when our parking ticket ran out (pay and display parking).

*Germany & Stellplatz – How To Find Them

The definitive guide to Germany’s Stellplatz is the Reisemobil International Bord Atlas – available in the UK from Vicarious Books. Our 2009 edition contained details of more than 4,500 Stellplatz in Germany and also came with a European edition containing details of motorhome stopover locations in a further 28 European countries. This came in very handy when we had an unplanned couple of nights in Austria.

The books are in German but there is a multi-language glossary and the driving directions are excellent and don’t take too much translation, once you’ve grasped a few key words. Naturally, GPS coordinates for sat nav users are included for all locations. Highly recommended.