Lost in Spain !
 

Hi everybody !

My wife and I have a problem: We live in Germany and were on holiday in Spain, with our caravan, looking at the possibility of moving there. Following a serious RTA our car has been written off and our caravan damaged and not roadworthy, but usable. I have a broken shoulder but am mobile. We are now back at the campsite which we were just leaving when the accident occurred, about 50 miles inland from Alicante, it is a remote campsite with no electricity, etc. etc.. at about 2,500 feet. We are not yet hungry or cold or in any way in trouble. Our insurers have, at long last, agreed to pick up the caravan and return it to Germany and told us to make our way home.

The problem is we have two small dogs (under 10 kg's) and can't find an airline that will fly us back to Berlin. Getting international train information is more complicated than flying to the moon and hiring a car, one way, also seems surprisingly difficult (unless you are a millionaire) !

Can anybody suggest how we can get from here, with our dogs back to Berlin ? We still have a couple of days before the caravan will be picked up ... but don't yet know when that will be.

Would be grateful for any useable ideas.

Re: Lost in Spain !
 

This is in German. https://www.uship.com/de/tiertransport/
Here a pet rescue that works in Spain EU-TIERHILFE Treue Hundeseelen - Von Spanien nach Deutschland
Or maybe talk to local vets, who can give you other ideas

Re: Lost in Spain !
 

Add this link :
https://rail.cc/en/train/alicante-to-berlin

Basically Alicante - Barcelona - Paris - Berlin

The average journey time between Alacant-Terminal and Berlin Hbf is 30 hours and 4 minutes and the fastest journey time is 29 hours and 39 minutes. On an average weekday, there are 2 trains per day travelling from Alacant-Terminal to Berlin Hbf.

Re: Lost in Spain !
 

why won't the airlines fly the dogs? Can't they be emotional support pets or something? Realistically, it's a hire car and bill the cost back to the insurance company.

Re: Lost in Spain !
 

Many thanks for the replies. We e-mailed the animal help people but have received no replies from them.<br /><br />The airlines only want to make a quick buck it seems, not deal with other peoples problems. Our insurance were also useless and said that their obligation was only to pay for us to fly or get the train home; not to find us a flight or a train. Hiring a car is also easier said than done when you are stranded out in the sticks and then want to drop the car off in another country ! Right now it's 'winter tyre time' in Germany and the Spanish, understandably have never heard of them, it seems. Also driving with a broken shoulder has its catches ...<br /><br />My wife put an advert on e-bay's small ads and, lo and behold, we got two offers from guys in Germany, who have vans and were willing to pick us up. We immediately took the first offer, 2K, and the guy should arrive tomorrow, then it's homeward bound. My wife the driver and myself in the front and the contents of our caravan and car, with the dogs (in their cage) in the back.<br /><br />Fingers crossed, eh !

Re: Lost in Spain !
 

Good luck to all of you.

Re: Lost in Spain !
 

Sometimes you can have luck at the worst of moments: On the evening before our departure, a new guest, Jurgen, arrived at our campsite and he invited everyone to a steak party, him providing the steaks ! On the evening before that everyone had enjoyed a splendid Lamb-Tajine 4 course extravaganza provided by the camp-site host Franz Marschall and the night before that we sat with other campers enjoying a classical camp-fire evening. You simply would not expect this sort of treatment in the middle of an almost barren wasteland, which is the Finca Caravana, just outside of Yecla, on a high mountain plane 50 miles inland from Alicante: WWW.FINCA-CARAVANA.DE All of these people are a bit different, not classical camp-site-campers. From pensioners like us to families that have opted to 'self educate their kids' to giant Africa cross-country expedition 4x4 truckers, as fine a bunch of 'muckers' as you could wish to meet. Our transport home arrived almost 12 hours later than expected, I have to confess we were a bit skeptical, wondering if we had not been ripped off. We kept reassuring ourselves that he was driving more than 2,500 km from Berlin to collect us and all sorts of things could be delaying him. He is a young lad of 30 who has just started his own 'man with a van' business and being of Turkish origin would not normally have been my first choice, but beggars can't be choosers ! It turned out that, in just a couple of hours, before setting off, he had arranged to pick up someone in Germany and drop them off in Barcelona, on his way to us, and, while on the way, got another customer, who wanted a stool and foot-rest transporting back to Berlin, and that's what had delayed him. We couldn't be annoyed and were simply relieved and delighted when he arrived. This is when it gets amazing ... He drove us home in just over 24 hours ! Driving 4 hours and 'power napping' for less than an hour, which gave us time to stretch our legs and walk the dogs, then onwards, onwards. This is remarkable ! I have done a lot of driving in my time, often over 1,000 km a day, often 235,000 km per year, but I have never witnessed anything like this, more than 5,000 km in 4 days with 4 stops to pick up and drop off ! No he was not on drugs ! I have often bad mouthed the younger generation for being lazy slobs, but this lad, Faruk Ilgar, has taught me that there is talent amongst the youth, for which my wife and are are most grateful. Also, our camp-site-host, Franz Marschall, was brilliant, he did more than we dared ever expect and we remain indebted to him in many ways. So, our accident, which cost us our beloved car, damaged our caravan and wrecked our travel plans, gave us many new 'muckers' and two valuable new friends; our sincere thanks to one and all ! Bill Bentley MM, REMT, CPC, eK. &amp; Rahi

Re: Lost in Spain !
 

Wonderful. You started off feeling isolated and abandoned. Then good things happen

Re: Lost in Spain !
 

???

Re: Lost in Spain !
 

A very unfortunate statement.

Re: Lost in Spain !
 

Indeed and not only socially but post should be taken down due to GDPR regulations.:

Under the GDPR, personal data is data that relates to or can identify a living person, either by itself or together with other available information. Examples of personal data include a person’s name, phone number, bank details and medical history.

Re: Lost in Spain !
 

Sounds like an advert for the camp site...

Re: Lost in Spain !
 

Re: Lost in Spain !
 

Well law is law and has noting to do with Brits. GDPR is to protect personal data and nobody should be posting the guys name here, telling people his nationality etc. on a public forum.

Re: Lost in Spain !
 

I see no problem with the guy's name being published but with "..not my first choice.." and "..beggars can't be choosers" because of his nationality.