Summer vacation 2025

A summer on the road, with warm days, new countries, beautiful cities and long bike rides. The text is a short summary of the summer holidays 2025

Departure and first leg

The summer holidays 2025 started the same way as the autumn holidays the year before. Right after work on Friday we headed for Strømstad, so the drive to Gothenburg was shorter. Taking the boat from here worked really well last time and meant we were quickly on our way south towards Germany.

Celle – a fond reunion

Our first stop in Germany was Celle – a town and RV park we really enjoyed on our last visit. We had some nice days here this year too, even though the temperature was on the warm side.

This year's upgrade was air conditioning from EcoFlow. Unfortunately, it only lasted two days before it broke and became unusable. Fortunately, the customer service was good, and the amount was refunded to the account within a few days.

Marburg – the fairy tale town

Because of the heat, we decided to have a day of pure driving and headed for Marburg. The city was very impressive – a fairytale town with an elevator up to the old town.

The campsite was a short bike ride from the city center and had an outdoor swimming pool as its closest neighbor.

Moselle Valley and Luxembourg

The next stop was the Moselle Valley. It was nice when we arrived in Cochem, but the next day it rained and the temperatures got colder. We still managed to go for a bike ride and a little swimming before we drove on.

This day we were also able to cross a new country – Luxembourg – for both us and the camper. This was also the first country we drove through without setting foot on the ground. Bella slept through the entire country.

France – the main part of the holiday

We then drove into France, the country where we spent the most time this year. The plan included both Disneyland and Paris, before continuing west towards the Bay of Biscay and Île de Ré.

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Champagne, Disneyland and Paris

We had a rainy overnight stay in the Champagne region, but a cool glass of champagne at the reception made the atmosphere significantly better.

Unstable weather meant we quickly headed to Disneyland. We used the parking lot outside the park as a base and visited both Disneyland and Paris.

Unfortunately, my bike was stolen outside the train station in Paris. Not a big loss in itself, but since we use our bikes a lot for trips, we had to get a new bike.

Camping life and Île de Ré

After several days on asphalt, we wanted good facilities and quieter surroundings. We chose Parc de Fierbois, a larger campsite with a swimming pool where we really found holiday relaxation.

The next stop was Île de Ré – a fantastic island. We found a nice campsite at La Flotte, and we did many bike rides around the island. The island reminded us a bit of Öland, but with different vegetation, great bike paths and many charming small towns.

Here I also bought a used bike via Facebook Marketplace.

Bordeaux and the Mediterranean

After a few days of unstable weather, we continued to Bordeaux. The city was definitely worth a visit, and we stayed for a few days before heading towards the Mediterranean.

At Camping Valras | La Plage et du Bord de Mer we ended our holiday with beach life, SUP, swimming and quiet summer days.

The journey home

The weeks of vacation passed quickly, and the return trip north began with fewer stops. Nevertheless, we managed to visit:

• Villefranche-sur-Saone

• Colmar

• Heidelberg

• Hann. Münden

Of these, Colmar was the absolute highlight.

The last stop before the ferry from Kiel was Lüneburg – a city we also visited during the fall break in 2024, and which was just as nice to return to.