Day 21 – Organic Vegan Fair-Trade Hipster Dad Log

Same card for warm showers, hot water in the kitchen and…electricity to cook?

I think this “three-week-holiday” thing is just not our style. Can you believe that I have to work again tomorrow morning? There was no midnight party terror, so we were able to have a pretty relaxed morning. To make it even more so, we did not hesitate long to use the “tent camper kitchen” in the service building to its fullest. Very unusual for German camp grounds, but more than welcome today. Keeps the packing to a minimum and no extra run for doing the dishes.

Very on-brand for Germany was the fact that both hot water and the stove were charged by the minute (at least using our smart-cards as a token). The power on our site was metered as well – so the full charge over night was not that cheap, but still on par with an expensive charge card and way more convenient.

Check out was at 9 am. With all that compfort and without much of a hurry, we managed to be ready early. That meant another round on the playground for the little ones and first-in-line spot for me at the checkout. We even had some extra time after to buy a pack of feed and spend a while with the goats and chicken at the petting zoo.

So proud that he finally dared to feed the little goats!

[Nina: Flo seems to have forgotten that the playground was a “sand-and-water” playground which was amazing for the kids…just not for their clothes. The Agent of Entropy had to have a super quick bath afterwards as she had sand EVERYWHERE.]

By the time we arrived at the place in Düsseldorf where we wanted to meet one of Nina’s oldest friends, it was raining cats and dogs. With no parking in sight anyways, I still decided to drop off the rest and push for the nearest free charger. Once again, after arriving at the cafe properly drenched, I cursed the fact that Nina and I had not upgraded our gear since 2015.

Have not seen these two in way too long. Ms L and I finally live in the same country again after 14 years…if only for a year XD

It was lovely seeing Lina and Michael again after almost two years (long time readers might remember them, check out Oman from Home to Home). They have just moved to Düsseldorf. We decided over vegan coffee and organic müsli that the next time can not wait another two years and spend a lovely extended lunch huddled up in the tiny cafe called Greentrees. After a stellar performance up to that point, both the Agent and Number 3 gave up at around half past one and it was time to head home. We walked to the car, just to get everyone equally wet (the rain had not let up).

We took the last two hours in one go, making the most of our two sleeping hobbits in the back. We even managed to get the car fully unloaded and restore a vague semblance of order in our flat before collapsing into our own beds for the first time in three weeks. We were a bit apprehensive how well the kids would take to sleeping in their own room again – but it seemed they were exhausted enough to not mind.

And that was that …