The Labraventures of Carbón, Spanish (ex-) foster dog extraordinaire

M

M.F.

Happy new year in your home from home. So pleased it went well. How long did you actually drive for????? And how long was the total journey? I’m in awe. After all the curtailment in travel this past year, and working from home, just thinking about driving 30 mins puts me off these days. I had to drive to the office this week to collect a new laptop. Had to psyche myself up for the drive!
 
Emily_Babbelhund

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Location
Regensburg, Germany
M.F. said:
After all the curtailment in travel this past year, and working from home, just thinking about driving 30 mins puts me off these days. I had to drive to the office this week to collect a new laptop. Had to psyche myself up for the drive!
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Seems totally understandable that you're not feeling comfortable so long not driving. I also wouldn't be too enthusiastic to go into an office space, so maybe that's part of it too? Hopefully your comfort level will come back quickly once you feel it's safe again. :hug:

M.F. said:
How long did you actually drive for????? And how long was the total journey?
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The whole trip is a bit over 1500 km door to door (Regensburg to Padstow). Pre-COVID, I'd do that in three days driving with a couple stops over to see friends on route and usually an overnighter (or two 😊) with @Beanwood. A six hour drive day is perfect for me, any more and my brain starts to buzz.

I knew I wanted to self-isolate in Germany prior to this trip so as not to spread anything out of the consequences of my travels. Part of that was an initial plan to drive non-stop to the UK. As rules, hotspots and tier levels kept changing, that plan kept changing. I kept trying to balance: "don't spread/catch COVID" with "don't kill yourself or others by driving 18 hours without stopping".

They now sell N95 masks in pharmacies in Germany, so I settled on a strategy of wearing a cloth mask with N95 inserts plus the N95 mask, glasses or face shield, dousing myself in hand sanitizer before and after any unavoidable stops (petrol or hotel) and of course zero human contact for 10 days upon arrival in the UK.

Long story short: Regensburg to Reims, 8 hour drive. Slept in same hotel I used on my Brittany-Regensburg trip a month prior. It is in an area with low COVID numbers, hotel very clean and well set-up. Last time I was one of four guests, this time I was one of three. Upon arrival, I left the window open for 2 hours and except for brief shower and meal, kept my mask on the whole time. Then left in the early morning for the Reims to Calais stretch (3 hours), the trip with Eurotunnel and then Folkestone to St Merryn/Padstow. Last contact with a human was the UK Border Force in Calais and even that I don't know if I'd call "contact" as we were physically separate and both had masks on. But you know what I mean.

Drive from Reims to Padstow door to door, 10 hours. Total drive time 18 hours.

Best part of drive: Stonehenge. I've never been to Stonehenge, didn't know I would be going by it as Sean (my sat nav) picked the route and I'd never driven that way before. I'm sure most UK readers already know this, but Stonehenge is visible just off the motorway. I thought it was some type of diorama or other realistic billboard advertising the EXIT for Stonehenge. But no...it was the actual Stonehenge. Who knew that (1) Stonehenge is closer to the motorway than an M&S Food, and (2) Spinal Tap proportions weren't that far off. That gave me a chuckle for a good 5 miles.




By the way, awoke to an amazing Cornish sunrise, seagulls screeching, frost on the roof and wood smoke in the fresh air. I love it here. ❤❤❤
 
Emily_Babbelhund

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Location
Regensburg, Germany
Jacqui-S said:
That was a marathon Emily.
Make sure you keep in touch with us on here, because, social isolation and all that.....
:hug:
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Thanks, Jac. I really can't understate what a huge help you all and the Forum are. While it's my choice to be a (technically) homeless nomad and there are lots of positives, it can also be lonely and isolating. Knowing there are friends out there who care what dot on the map I'm on...well, just thank you and ❤❤❤.

The 10 days quarantine should go quickly. What with all my scanning project and packing prior to my trip, I've not really had a 'sit on the sofa' Christmas holiday moment, so that's going to happen this weekend.

Then next week my German, Italian and service dog classes start up again. Once I'm out of quarantine, I've decided to make an effort to go to the beach in the morning at the same nearly every day to see if I can find a dog group that can become familiar to Carbon and me. Thanks to @snowbunny for the inspiration for that!

So far I've been more of a long-term tourist of the area than anything, but now I'd like to see if I can make some more connections, even if superficial, and learn more about local history and what day-to-day 'normal' (non tourist) life is like for people who live here year-round. 😊

pee ess: no cultural ding on Stonehenge in my previous comment. It really was a lovely view, surrounded by green frosted fields and hundreds of fluffy sheep. Just really wasn't excepting to see it there! 😂
 
Stacia

Stacia

Location
Malvern Worcestershire
Joy said:
@Emily_Babbelhund When I was a child, in the 60s, you could just drive up to Stonehenge and walk right up to the stones, touch them and even climb on them. I can remember my family being upset when the site was fenced and you had to pay to go in, but I suppose it was a response to a big increase in tourists.
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Yes, I remember doing that, went when no-one else was there, very fortunate to have that experience.
 
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