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Saturday, June 15, 2019

European trip....the last post.


After Interlaken, we drove into France to a site we had stayed at 5 years before.


The chick on the saddle is my grandaughters and she lent him to us for the trip but had to have his picture taken wherever we stopped.

It was interesting going back to Colmar, just to see how much things have changed.
Colmar is old town and over the years has gone back and for between France to Germany.  Its microclimate is one of the driest in France and the area is ideal for wine growing.

It's also famous for being the birthplace of  Frederic Bartholdi who designed the Statue of Liberty.











From Colmar, we moved onto to just outside of Reims and stayed in the lovely quiet village of Guinicourt.





Quiet that is until we discovered a Motorbike festival was on over the weekend.

I thoroughly enjoyed as there were some fantastic machines there.




















Onto Reims for the cultural bit because when in Reims you have to go to the cathedral.















After Reims we made our way back to Calais and home via the horrible M26 and M25.  Driving on these roads is a complete contrast to the European roads, which are far more relaxing to drive on and I found that the drivers were better and more considerate than in the UK.

All in all, we did about 2000 miles which when spread over a month is not a hardship.

13 comments:

  1. You are so right about the contrast between British and European roads. Our roads are so busy that driving in the UK is a pretty stressful business....

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    1. Having just spent a couple of days outside Mevagissey and visiting the Lost Gardens of Heligan the drive along the M4 & M5 was horrendous, a combination of traffic volume, roadworks and torrential rain. I dread to think what its going to be like peak season.

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  2. Every building has such character and no two look the same...I imagine there was every type motorcycle ever made there...I like to look but like you Im not a fan of the loud noise they make. You had a fantastic tour I can see why you wanted to go back.

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    1. Yes wonderful buildings Sondra. I used to ride a motorbike, and still like to look, but no wish to get on one again. Yes it was a good trip and we may go to France in September, once the crowds have gone.

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  3. What a wonderful trip and wow...2000 miles. I love your granddaughter's bird on the seat. How sweet!

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  4. Another fantastic post.
    Taking pics in a cathedral is not easy, the height makes it difficult and you did well.
    More interesting buildings, and bikes!

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  5. Hi Dave, just binged read all the posts of your trip and thoroughly enjoyed them, as they brought back tons of memories of various trips around the same neck of the woods I and my ex wife did on motorcycles.
    The Alps do it for me every time, and the towns and villages in whichever country you happen to be in, are all so picturesque and beautiful.
    We based ourselves in Interlaken for a week as well on one trip, great place to explore from.
    If I won the lottery today, tomorrow I'd be house hunting in the Austrian Tyrol, as that is my favourite area of all the places I've toured,and even the trip to and from this country is a good one, once out of this country that is, as you mentioned! So many names you mentioned brought back so many memories either of places stayed, visited for the day or just traveled through.
    Great stuff Dave and excellent photos as usual!
    Thanks for posting!

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  6. Hi Mick, thanks and pleased you enjoyed re visiting those places. When I'm driving on the RHS I always remember the old bikers saying of "Keep your throttle in the gutter". Austria and Switzerland are amazing countries and yes the mountains are fantastic. But I whilst there I discovered that I get altitude sickness, it happened a couple of times, blinding headaches and nausea. Maybe it was the speed of ascent that caused it. We enjoyed it so much that were thinking of a September trip to France, but we'll see.
    We had a flying visit, 2 nights away,to the Lost Gardens of Heligan last week, I will do a post on that sometime. Thoroughly enjoyed that, and we were lucky with the weather.
    All the best.

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  7. Great photos and really enjoyed accompanying you on your trip!

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    1. Metaphorically speaking of course - haha!

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    2. Thanks Sian, pleased you enjoyed it.

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As you have taken the time to read my blog and comment then whenever possible I will always reply. Thank you. Dave