The day dawns, the sky is leaden, the sound of water drops on the roof. Rosie used to say never pitch under a tree; but at least raindrops make a change from the occasional thud of falling acorns. The weather app says drizzle until 6pm; sometimes it’s a bit heavier. Today I’d planned to go sightseeing: originally Cologne by train, then recently Maastricht by bus. Although I have waterproofs, the thought of traipsing around a large city in the wet didn’t grab me. So a second rest day is in order, and a series of maintenance tasks. Later on I might trek into Vaals to restock the larder.

Yesterday, among the general exodus, Piet and Lambert; Theo; and the younger woman and her mother in the tents next door, to whom I’d leant a hammer while she was chasing down the mice or shrews under the groundsheet, all left to go to their various abodes. I miss them all: I don’t have anyone I’m on first name terms with here now.

I was worrying: I’d missed the pitch marker when I first arrived, and was too far to the right. Mouse lady and mum didn’t mind, but I worried I might get into dispute with their successors. So I’ve moved the van round to the centre of the pitch. All the laid-back Dutch said it was nice, but why did you bother? And indeed, the pitch stays empty; as do many on the site. There seems to be an influx of German motorhomes; a caravan has arrived on the other side: Heike and Mike, they introduced themselves as. Now, according to Theo, the German campers he’s spoken to like the Netherlands: the people are friendly, the campsites are friendly, even the dogs are friendly! And certainly the Dutch are proud of their warmth, if tempered by directness. The other element is their attitude to personal space: according to Ben Coates’ book on the Rhine, because they live at such high density, the Dutch have a different attitude to space. They stand closer, talk more freely (almost incessantly!)

There’s something I’ve been noticing, and I think it’s the disconnect between the familiarity of the interior of the van, and the novelty of the experiences on the outside. I can only explain it as a kind of synesthesia, a set of sensations, maybe memories, like déja vu of something that hasn’t really happened. Maybe it’s the recollection of a dream? Particularly now I’ve been here four days, some things are slightly familiar, and have associations. Maybe I’ll have another go at describing it, once I’ve observed a little more. It’s not so much Proust’s madeleines, reminding him of his aunty’s kitchen: more like Eliot’s rose garden:

“Footfalls echo in the memory. Down the passage which we did not take. Towards the door we never opened. Into the rose-garden.”

So I’ve given in and booked the next site, at Camping Gülser Moselbogen, a little outside Koblenz. I’ve abandoned Köln/Cologne for the time being; and opted to be very conservative in my approach to tourism in Germany. There’s diving in to unfamiliar environments: then there’s diving in with both feet. Dammit, it’s supposed to be a holiday! I can do what I want – with the weather being abysmal across Northern Europe, I even contemplated abandoning this adventure and striking out for Provence: but the weather maps are as bad there too.

Troublesome kit #1: I’ve been wondering why my phone has been running low after a day out, down to the 20% low energy area. Overnight, it depleted itself completely. According to online research, there are a number of causes for this; but as part of that, I found there’s useful little setting that allows you to check battery condition. It was at 85%, and advice was to get it serviced. As I was carrying my other iPhone (battery condition 95%), with the UK SIM in, I decided to swap SIM cards, set my watch up – again – on the new device, and set it working. So far so good; but I’m bracing myself for the app that I’ve forgotten. So long as the satnav can get me to Koblenz tomorrow, that will be good.

(Picking up) I did the walk into town, with sluggish steps. The rain held off mostly, until the last 500 metres, when it poured. I had the brolly, and my quick dry walking trousers, so no real problem. I’m now reasonably stocked for the next few days; Moselbogen at least has a cafe bar that does pizza, and comes recommended. Only had one pizza so far this trip! My next post will be from Germany, near the confluence of the Moselle and the Rhine. And the weather, is better tomorrow, it says!