A weekend trip to the Maintal and Odenwald, October 2019

Stellplatz Monte Mare

Klingelswiese 1

Pitches: 8 pitches on paving. Part of a large parking lot. Ramps may be necessary

Daily Charges: 3,00€ per night, electricity 0,50€ per kilowatt hour, and fresh water 1,00 for 100 litres. Drive over grey water disposal. Holiday Clean point for fresh water and chemical toilet disposal (out of order on our visit, October 2019)

Location: A small stopover site next to the Monte Mare Hotel, Sauna and Fitness Club. Practical for sauna users but otherwise not particularily attractive. If you use the site there is discount on the price for the sauna or fitness club.

Conclusion: A small and fairly basic site. We did not stay overnight. We can highly recommend the Monte Mare Sauna.

Stellplatz am Gasthof Kuralpe

OT Staffel, Kuralpe 2

Pitches: 6 on gravel. Part of a large parking lot. Ramps may be necessary

Daily Charges: 15,00€ including electricity and fresh water. No further facilities. You get a 10,00€ discount if you eat in the hotel restaurant.

Location: A small stopover site which is part of the parking lot for the Hotel Kuralpe Kreuzhof. Located in the middle of the scenic Odenwald hills it is a popular starting point fof hikers and also the hotel is very busy with day visitors for meals and coffees. As a consequence the parking lot gets very full at the weekend in the warmer months and the motorhome pitches which are not well signed are gladly taken by cars. During the week it is less likely that you will have to defend your pitch space!

The food in the hotel is o.k. but very ordinary. You can order breakfast rolls at the reception and also use the toilets.

The area is perfect if you have a dog with a good choice of signed hiking paths.

As the site in Bad König was loud and not very attractive we made an early move the following day and drove onto to Lautertal. It was a beautiful sunny and warm day and it didn‘t take us long to reach our destination. This was just as well as we hadn‘t realised that the Kuralpe Kreuzhof where the site was situated was a very, very popular starting point for hikers and for afternoon coffee and cake. It wasn‘t long before we had to start to defend our pitch from being parked upon by day visitors. We set up our chairs outside so that we had at least that amount of space for us! As the weather was so glorious we could also sit outside and enjoy the sun. One of our neighbours told us that with good weather it is always that busy at weekends.

In the afternoon we also took a long walk through the countryside with Puh and enjoyed the views and the warmth of the sun.

The overnight stay costs 15,00€ but if you eat in the restaurant there is a 10,00€ discount on your meal. We of course took up this offer. It was still very busy with visitors but we had had the good sense to reserve a table. The menu was very ordinary, basically a chips with everything selection but the meal was o.k. on a slightly classier snack bar niveau. By the time we had eaten the carpark was almost empty and after an evening walk with Puh we turned in for the night.

The next morning was another lovely sunny day and once we had had a bite to eat we made moves to get on the road not sure if we would stop for another night somewhere or drive all the way home. Just we went outside to pack the chairs away, a couple obviously on a hike asked how we liked our Grand Canyon motorhome. It turned out that they have a Yellowstone, the slightly bigger version. We then had a fascinating conversation with them talking about our experiences. It turned out that they were much more adventurous than us and had been on a year long trip all the way to Australia through Russia, Khasakstan, India, China, Thailand....... and that was just one of their trips! We really enjoyed the talk with them and stood together for a good hour!

Once we got underway we finally decided to make for Andernach where we wanted to try out the Monte Mare Sauna there and perhaps stay the night. Although it was a Monday and the roads were busier it was an easy ride up there. Once we had made sure Puh was exercised and fed we walked over to the sauna. It turned out to be very good indeed. A very nice selection of saunas, a beautiful garden to relax in, a nice bistro and a very interesting sauna experience. There, they have the Geysir Sauna and it was a new experience for me. During the infusion ritual you experience the geyser exploding from below the sauna and a huge gush of water hitting the ceiling. It only lasts two or three minutes but it is very impressive. We enjoyed our time there very much and as it is not too far from Köln, I‘m sure we‘ll be back.

Stellplatz Odenwaldtherme

Am Bahndamm

Pitches: 5 on paving. Part of a large parking lot.

Daily Charges: 5,00€ including electricity. No further facilities.

Location: A small stopover site which is part of the parking lot for the Odenwaldtherme. Right next to a fairly busy railway line and a set of traffic lights, otherwise surrounded by housing. The town centre is very close as are the spa gardens which are quite pretty and practical for dog walking. An Aldi supermarket is quite close. Also the Odenwald-Therme with swimming pool and sauna department is only five minutes walk away.

Conclusion: A not very attractive stopover site which is fairly noisy due to the rail and road traffic. O.K. for one night.