May 30: Mannheim to Lorrach, Germany

We had a leisurely breakfast with Debbie and Charlie. Charlie had the day off - it being Memorial Day. They took us to Heidelberg. We were interested to note the network of electric trolleys which moves down the middle of the Heidelberg streets.

We went to Heidelberg Castle, one of Heidelberg's most famous points. The castle was very large and very crowded with tourists, including many US servicemen. From the back of the castle one gets a terrific view of Heidelberg and the river. Unfortunately, it was very cloudy and not very good for pictures.

We had lunch (hamburgers at an American style drive-in restaurant) and tehn set out at 1:30 PM. The muffler connection to the manifold was still leaking, even though I had added more cement early in the morning. I thought I could probably patch it up so we proceeded southward on the autobahn. We made it 270 km (162 miles) to Lorrach, Germany (near Basel) by 5:15 PM

We set up camp in a very nice campsite on the Weise River in Lorrach. Upon examining the muffler I found that it had split all the way down the side - it looked like it had exploded - so I could only leave until morning.

We got our tent set up nicely just before it started raining. It rained pretty hard for about two hours while we cooked and ate supper, but the tent seems quite waterproof.

We have become a bit homesick for our Volkswagen while traveling. The Collums and half the servicemen in Mannheim are Volkswagen owners. We also see quite a few Mercedes on the road. Charlie said they cost about $2000 less here in Germany than in the US. There are about four Mercedes at this campsite in Lorrach - all have pulled very nice caravans. The caravans and tents are all very nice, large and fancy.

Must note driving our British made car with right side steering on right side of the road since crossing the Channel. It only presents difficulty when passing on the two lane roads - I have to be the passing guide from my left side view. Otherwise the driving is simple - much like in the US.