Travel
Summer Vacation, Day 18: Hindon
From Porthcothan we drove 270 km to Hindon over the A roads and the M5, staying the night at Martha’s Down.
Summer Vacation, Day 17: Porthcothan Bay
It feels unexpected to already write the seventeenth post about our vacation. Time is flying. On Thursday we have a ferry booked at Dover back to Calais. Nadine has been planning our return route and one of the last highlights is a campsite that’s only open two months a year, on top of a stormy cliff: Porthcothan Clifftop Camping.
Summer Vacation, Day 16: Perran Sands
Today we stayed at the campsite and, it being a rest day, we explored the beach.
Summer Vacation, Day 15: Perranporth
From Hayle we drove up the coast to Perranporth, where we are staying at the Perran Sands campsite.
Summer Vacation, Day 14: Hayle
Half an hour’s drive from last night’s stay in Penzance was St Ives. Nadine’s non-negotiable visit this vacation was going there and exploring the town.
Summer Vacation, Day 13: Penzance
We moved on from Heligan to Penzance today, we are staying at Ponsandane Farm Campsite close to the beach. Only 70 km. We made a short stop at Mounts Bay to see St Michael’s Mount.
Summer Vacation, Day 12: Heligan
We spent the day at the Lost Gardens of Heligan. It was abandoned after World War I as many of the gardeners never returned from their deployment. The gardens were rediscovered in 1990 and are continuously restored. Local artists donate sculptures and next to the gardens various themed areas for kids have been introduced.
Summer Vacation, Day 11: Heligan
We transferred from Whitsand Bay to the campsite next to the Lost Gardens of Heligan. But only after we had an obscenely large all-vegan breakfast at the Cliff Top Cafe: English breakfast, banana milkshakes, baked potato, avocado and sausage sandwiches. If you ever get there to see the beach, this is a non-negotiable stop on the way down the cliffs. Driving, even the short distance to the new campsite, was difficult being stuffed with all the nice food. Once we arrived and set up everything, we explored the area and stopped by the Lobbs Farm Shop next to the gardens. The latter we are saving for tomorrow.
Summer Vacation, Day 10: Whitsand Bay
We stayed another night at Whitsand Bay and spent the day at the beach. The pools during low tide are a magnet for the boys, we carved our own rivers to have the pools stay filled up longer before eventually drying out. Nadine and Tilian played board games at dusk. Right before she first heard and then spotted a young dunnock. I finished The Last Day of Creation, the ending was too abrupt and I am mad about how open ended it was and quick it was done.
Summer Vacation, Day 9: Whitsand Bay
From Ladram Bay we moved on to Whitsand Bay in Cornwall, around 120 km, through Plymouth and over the Tamar Bridge. The campsite is on top of an old fort but pretty run down.
Summer Vacation, Day 8: Ladram Bay
We stayed at Ladram Bay for the day before moving on to the next destination tomorrow. The kids spent most of the day at the beach, Nadine and I took turns around lunchtime as Aika had to stay off the beach, while I was with the boys, she went for a long hike with Aika towards the east. She spotted firecrest, goldcrest, coal tit, wren, blackcap and treecreeper. The Canon R5 has been doing a great job during our journey but the EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens stopped working reliably, after each picture the Canon errors out with a sync error between lens and body. It’s time for a service at Calumet in Leipzig.
Summer Vacation, Day 7: Ladram Bay
From Poole we moved on to Ladram Bay in Devon, around 150 km, with stops at the Spyway Dinosaur Footprints and Durdle Door. For the night we are staying at Ladram Bay Holiday Park.
Summer Vacation, Day 6: Poole
From Brighton we moved on to Poole, around 180 km. For the night we are staying at South Lytchett Manor in Lytchett Minster, a village a few kilometers west of Poole.
Summer Vacation, Day 5: Brighton
We packed up at Norman’s Bay and went once more to the beach for a swim. Kellin lasted for 30 seconds and Tilian could have gone on for hours. We went 50 km to the east to finally meet up with Jasper and Charlotte. For the night we are staying at the Brighton Club Campsite.
Summer Vacation, Day 4: Norman's Bay
From New Romney we moved on to Norman’s Bay. A short 55 km drive through narrow roads. Knock on wood, no misbehaving on the road today from my side - it feels like the drivers in the UK are very careful if they see someone with a foreign license plate.
Summer Vacation, Day 3: New Romney
From Orcq we drove 140 km to Calais, took the ferry to Dover, 1 hour and 40 minutes across the Channel, and continued 40 km to New Romney.
Summer Vacation, Day 2: Tournai
From Baarlo we moved on to Orcq, a village just west of Tournai in Belgium, 260 km in three hours with two breaks along the way. Tomorrow it’s only about 130 km to Calais, the ferry is at 12pm and we’ve got the flex ticket - we can board any ferry within a few hours before and after our booked departure time.
Summer Vacation, Day 1: Venlo
We finished packing the California this morning without any rush, we are traveling light; no big awning tent to assemble, no bikes, no roof box, just the pop-up tent that is with us again.
England, Day 4 1/2
Back home after a great time with Jasper and his family. Will be coming back during the summer holidays with our campervan. With the risk of repeating myself, flying has become a very smooth experience, 20 minutes from touchdown to the train at BER.
England, Day 4
We strolled through the Brighton Car Boot Sale. In many ways things are similar in Germany and the UK. Car boot sales are one of them. Saw an N64 (they guy wanted £50!) and a Sega Mega Drive.
England, Day 3
Jasper and I wanted to see the windfarm close to Brighton since a while. We went there today.
England, Day 2
The day nicely separated into three activities and peak busyness: we went to the RSPB Pulborough Brooks to take pictures, visited Dan (Hi Dan!), Jasper’s business partner, and went to the movies to see Project Hail Mary (second time).
England, Day 1
Arrived safely in Brighton, Jasper and I went out straight for a photo tour through the hills above Rottingdean.
Back Home
We made it back from Mayrhofen. Around 550 km, about six and a half hours with one break and a short traffic jam along the way, which is pretty reasonable for that distance.
Winter Vacation (Pt. 7)
Last full day in Mayrhofen. A round of Hus, a Mario Kart World cup, three groups heading in different directions and Tilian finally spending his pocket money.
Winter Vacation (Pt. 6)
Mountain day for everyone. We rode up the Penken together, Tilian took second place in his ski school race, Aika had her five minutes of fame and we closed out the evening at Goldkind.
Mayrhofen at Night
Nadine and I had an evening out in Mayrhofen. On the walk home, we stopped for a few neon sign photos.
Winter Vacation (Pt. 5)
Kellin was back on his feet. We spent the morning walking along the Ziller, rode the Zillertalbahn home and ended the evening at an escape room.
Winter Vacation (Pt. 4)
Kellin woke up with a fever, so my father-in-law and I stayed back with him while the others hit the slopes.
Winter Vacation (Pt. 3)
Up at 5. Getting better.
Winter Vacation (Pt. 2)
Day two started at 4:30 in the morning. The older one couldn’t sleep anymore. Great start to a vacation day.
Winter Vacation (Pt. 1)
We made it to Mayrhofen. Around 600 km, about 7 hours on the road with two short breaks. The drive was smooth, nothing to complain about.
2025 Wrapped
My year 2025 in numbers and highlights, wrapped-style. First attempt at summarizing an eventful year. More platforms offering wrapped/replay summaries obviously helped.