Day 11

Good evening from Belgium once again!!

After a very long travel day we made it all the way back to Bruges in Belgium from Rothenburg in Germany (see map below). The GPS said the trip was supposed to take 8 hours without traffic. So, we were a bit worried that with traffic it could be much longer - especially since we would potentially be driving during both morning and evening commuting hours. We knew we would need at least one break in the middle for lunch and we had two routes planned - 1) further north through the city of Cologne, or 2) through the Rhine/Mosel Valley. 

At our last breakfast in Rothenburg we enjoyed our final meal in the town while we pondered which route to take and chased Luke around the dining room. In the end we decided for option 2 because we were worried there might be too much traffic going in and out of a major city like Cologne. Plus, there is a small town in the Mosel River Valley called Cochem which we both really enjoyed on our first Europe trip together in 2010 - so we thought this would be a good spot for a rest and lunch break. 

We had about 4 hours for this first leg of the journey and we experienced quite a bit of weather. First rain, then snow, then rain, then snow again. By the time we got to the outskirts of Frankfurt around 10:30, the commuter traffic had already subsided. Despite all of the weather, we made it to Cochem for our break in just under 3 and a half hours! We were all stoked on this accomplishment - or at least I was (when I looked back to share this great news, I found Jessica asleep and Luke hypnotized by his Cocomelon sing along videos). 

The town of Cochem looked just as we remembered it from 11 years ago - with the small colorful village at the bottom of a hillside with a huge, imposing castle on top overlooking the town and river below - quite a sight! The first thing we did was walk on the bridge to a couple viewpoints to take it all in. Then, we went into to town and saw the main square briefly before beginning our search for lunch. We needed to be somewhat quick with this visit, so we saw a Chinese restaurant and figured that was exactly what we needed. Jessica got the chicken fried rice and I got a Tom Kha Kai soup with some eggrolls. Luke had some of everything and the waitress even gave him a lollipop which he loved. 

Full and proud of ourselves for making good time so far on this long travel day, we walked back to the car ready for the rest of the trip. The GPS had us taking another 4 hours and 15 minutes to get to Bruges from here, so we quickly loaded everything up and hopped in. Upon trying to start the car however, a notification popped up on the dashboard and the car refused to start...We were a bit perplexed and tried a few more times with no luck. The notification read "Add AdBlue. Impossible to start." Frustrated, we both looked at each other and tried to brainstorm as to what the heck "AdBlue" was. 

I stayed back with Luke while Jessica walked back to look for some Wifi. Eventually she was able to find some (we had to purchase it), and we discovered that AdBlue is a "diesel exhaust fluid" which apparently needs to be added to the vehicle every 20,000 kilometers. Considering the only time we've ever driven diesel vehicles has been in Europe, we did not know this information. It was also curious as to why our car rental company did not fill this up before renting the car to us. First option - Jessica tried to call the rental car company for help but their lines were busy. Next option - we figured this stuff had to be sold somewhere, perhaps at a gas station or something? So, we looked up the nearest gas station and it was a half kilometer away. So, I jogged down to the Shell station, went inside and saw engine oil, windshield wiper fluid, etc, but NO freaking AdBlue. At this point I was getting skeptical that this was even a real thing, and quite frustrated that we were now dealing with this issue for almost an hour, adding even more time to our already long travel day. 

I made my way back to the parking lot where Jessica still had no luck getting through to the car rental company. We looked for another gas station to try but couldn't find any. But, we did see a Mercedes Benz dealership and service center that was 0.7 kilometers away. So, off I went jogging again, right past the Shell station and to the dealership. I went in and there were 2 members of the German Army talking to the attendant, so I stepped back and waited quietly for my turn. Once I was up, I asked the man if they had any AdBlue that I could purchase because my car wouldn't start. I was sure he would have no idea what this stuff was, but to my surprise he said that he would check. When he came back he was carrying a 10 liter container of (believe it or not) AdBlue!

Quite relieved, I texted Jessica to let her know that the search was over. 18 euros later I was heaving the canister back down the road to the parking lot. When I arrived at the car we all celebrated briefly before adding the stuff to the vehicle (right next to the gas tank). Fingers crossed, we tried to start the car anddddd, it didn't start.... BUT, the second time we tried, it started right up. After this hour and a half delay we were back on the road!

Luke fell asleep and took a nice, long nap and from there the time went by fairly quickly - some more rain, snow, and rain again, but before we knew it, we were back in Bruges. We were able to easily park and get checked in since we are staying at the same place. After we spent some time settling in, I went out to the Christmas Market to get dinner for everyone - bratwurst, hamburger, and potatoes were on the menu. The food was pretty decent, and Luke went to bed shortly after. Now we are just relaxing by the fireplace getting ready for bed ourselves. Another wild day!