THE ROMANCE OF THE EUROS

Sports fan David Dowling combined his twin passions motorhoming and football for on a German adventure to the Euros and the Romantic Road.

When we purchased our first motorhome, part of our motivation was being able to combine our love of travel with our love of football. I'm on the Board of Brora Rangers, who play in the Scottish Highland Football League, and we've enjoyed many weekends travelling in the Highlands while taking in a Brora match.

As soon as the Euro 2024 venue was announced, we made up our minds to go. After all, Germany is a motorhome-friendly country, and has easy access from the UK and a superb road network.

Our anticipation reached fever pitch when Scotland was drawn to play Germany in the opening fixture in Munich!

Our plan was to leave our Inverness home 10 days before the opening game, to allow for leisurely travel and to be able to visit the Carthago factory in Aulendorf en route.

Heading into Germany

We crossed the border into Germany at Strasbourg, before travelling south towards Switzerland, via Freiberg, to the small German town of Sulzburg.

We had made a two-night reservation at Camping Sulzbachtal, which was well-kept and within walking distance of the town.

Unusually, they didn't want to be paid on arrival and said the electricity was metered and would be added to our bill. I noticed at reception the price shown as €22 per night.

Both anecdotally and on social media, a lot is made of the "high prices" charged by British sites, so we were looking forward to the cheap Continental rates. On departure, I returned to reception holding a €50 note and expecting a little change. Alas no! To the €44 was added €10.20 for electricity, €12.80 to cover our two dogs and an additional €6.80 tourist tax, giving a grand total of €80.26.

A similar pattern was to follow throughout our trip. But the site was lovely, and in a beautiful part of Germany.