Our Travels In 2005

With the building project in Australia finished, we are now free to continue the Round the World voyage. We decided that, rather than try and rush some cruising this year, we’d spend some time working on Evanna and getting her ready for next year. We had a very enjoyable time, not just working on the vessel, but touring about Europe visiting old friends as well. Here’s the shortened record of that time.

We left Australia on 12 August. The main object was to spend a few weeks in Denmark working on Evanna and getting her ready for the continuation of the Round the World Voyage that has been so sadly interrupted over the past several years. We mentioned to John Johnson, the shipwright who built the ship that we’d need to put on a local to help out with the work, and to our surprise (and delight) he offered to come over for 6 weeks. We rented a large apartment in Flensburg, a lovely German town on the Danish border, and we spent an enjoyable time working on the yacht. She is now in prime condition, and ready to continue the voyage. But we’d better start at the beginning.

Carol and I flew into Paris, picked up a car from Peugeot and set out to drive across France and Germany to the northern town of Flensburg. Along the way, at Metz, we caught up with Jan and Diane Meyer on their new barge, the Nouvelle Etoile. You might remember Jan bought our passenger vessel the Etoile de Champagne some 14 years ago, and has built up a very successful business. This latest vessel is definitely State of the Art and will set the standard in barging for many years to come. (Elevator between decks, internet access in all cabins etc.). We left the car at Metz and hopped aboard for a few days while they cruised down the beautiful Moselle river, through Luxembourg to the old Roman city of Trier.

Flensburg is a lovely old town at the end of a fjord on the Danish border. The apartment was all we could have wished for - an old merchant’s house with loads of space and a 10 minute walk from the centre of town. John’s wife Louise joined us for the first 3 weeks and Carol and she had a great time gadding about town while John and I played with the boat. Flensburg is the home town of my sister-in- law Maren, and she was there visiting for part of our stay. Needless to say, we all had some great times together, especially with some of Maren’s family and friends. We also managed a few weekend trips and strayed as far as Rotterdam to visit the Timmer family who have been part of our life on ships for many years.

There were actually 5 of us in residence, as we shared the Flensburg house with a mouse, a friendly little fellow we named Hans. We thought he was cute at first until Louise found he had been into her suitcase and gnawed into her store of chocolate. The girls were horrified and rushed out to buy mouse traps to catch him. But in the end, no one had the heart to kill the little chap, so we put the traps away, and Carol worked out her own pest control method. She figured that if we fed the mouse all he could eat he wouldn't bother us again. So each evening as we sat down for dinner, Carol would put out a little something for Hans, and he would come out of his hole and dine alongside us. He had definite food preferences  -  he only liked certain cheese, (mostly French) and he loved tomato ketchup on his bread crumbs. It was an arrangement that seemed to suit Hans very well, and he never touched anything or bothered us again, although he put on so much weight that by the end of our stay he was having difficulty squeezing into his hole! So Hans the terrorist became Hans the decadent .  (A metaphor for some of the trouble spots in the world, perhaps?)

We soon discovered that the summer palace of Prince Frederick and Princess Mary was only a few kilometres away from the boat yard. When they are not in residence the grounds are open to the public and any one is able to walk in and wander about. Built on an inlet from the fiord, the gardens are magnificent. There are no guards or security of any kind as the Danes are obviously confident that no one means them harm. It was a refreshing look back in time to an era when the world was safer. Let’s hope their trust is not misplaced!

On 24th September we packed up in Flensburg, and Carol and I set off for our remaining couple of weeks in Europe. We spent 2 nights each in Prague and Heidelburg and listened to some great music, before driving on to the Marne Valley where our very good friends the Fallets invited us to stay for a night. They still make one of the best Champagnes in France, and only last year won a gold medallion at the international fair. The family has been on the vineyard since 1610, so I dare say they would have got it right by now! We drove on to Normandy where we stayed with Gill and Paul Treuthardt in their beautiful Normandy farm-house. Gill is a wonderful cook, so between gourmet meals at home and a great local restaurant, we had a feast. (It was fortunate we didn't have to crawl into a tight mouse hole, or we’d never have made it!)

It was great to be back in Paris again where Carol and I had spent so much of our lives. We stayed with Jillie Faraday for a couple of days on her barge at the Place de la Concorde, then Hans Wedler let us use his “spare” apartment at Montparnasse. In between time, we spent a great evening with Annick Nutt. It was wonderful to catch up with these old friends. Sadly, we didn’t get to see everyone. It will have to be next visit.

London was our last stop before flying home. Gill and Paul lent us their beautiful flat in Blackheath so we were able to organise a luncheon party and catch up with Ron and Jo Sullam, Jane Lidbury. and Douglas Botting. Douglas presented us with his most recently published books, both of which got excellent revues.

The Women who Knew Hitler. (Carrol & Graf)  

In the Ruins of the Reich.  (Methuen) 

Next day it was London Airport and the long flight home to Melbourne.

Thanks to everyone who put us up (and put up with us).

Peter and Carol Evans