Thrashing about in the channel

[lockwood1956]

sat here on a Norfolk line ferry from Dover to Dunkerque, the weather is REALLY bad, still, it makes for shorter queues in the cafeteria.
I'm on my way to Northern France, and Germany to attempt sorcing winemaking grapes for next year.

will post pictures and report as I go along

[medpretzel]

Oh my, please be careful!

[Mamgiowl]

What an adventure! I love being at sea in a gale. Makes you appreciate how magnificent the sea can be.

Mind you, it makes you appreciate being on dry land even more.

Have fun and try not to

[fatbloke]

-----%<-----

Have fun and try not to

A large fry up to quell the hunger, followed by a pot of jam, that way it tastes better if it comes back up.

Personally I'd have gone from Dover to Calais and then driven into Belgium, the ferry crossing is much shorter and I've never been car sick!

Ha ha! Bob says about finding wine grapes, I delivered a trailer full of fencing stakes to a new vineyard today (just west of Petworth on the A272). They've been knocking in about 300 posts a day (machine hammer on the back of a tractor) for about a year or so - the bloke said that they should get their first crop from the site next year. It's part of the "Nytimber wines" setup, so it's sparkling white. All set in 110 acres of West Sussex!

S'pose I'll have to track down a bottle to see what the "local splosh" tastes like.

regards

John the fatbloke

[lockwood1956]

On my way back!

the rough seas don't bother me, I'm a good sailor

had a fun time, traveled through France Belgium Holland and Germany, mostly Germany on this trip, but will focus more on France next time maybe....unfortunately didn't get a grape supplier, but found out that Grapes may be available from southern Germany, will likely visit again.

it rained the whole time almost, still I managed to find things to do to fill in the time....drank a lot of wine!!

[Mamgiowl]

Ho, so thats why you got delayed?

[medpretzel]

Probably some of the smaller wineries in Palatinate might be good for that.

The last time I was in Germany looking at wineries, someone gave me that tip to find some grapes.

Perhaps also in the Saale Unstrut region. I got this from Wikipedia....

The Saale Unstrut region is which basically lies along the Saale River and the Unstrut river in southern Saxony-Anhalt and northeast Thuringia. Apparently, the soil, the rain, and its northern climage offer good sorts of wines such as Müller-Thurgau, Weissburgunder and Silvaner. The southern part of the region has milder climates, however, and is called the Thuringean Tuscany. The region is also known for its "Romantic street" where literally 100's of castles, fortresses and churches are.

This is located in the former East Germany, which probably offers a lot more willingness to get western buyers. They are a very proud people, and are so kind.


Good luck to you. I hope this helps. Please keep me posted. I'd be interested in what you find out.

[lockwood1956]

Some pictures