Overview:
This is the map of all the destinations we have been traveling to between February 28th and June 24, 2018. Clicking on this link will enable you to see more details for each location.
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?hl=en&mid=13Vw1apW__54QJXZdOvq4Pxl-6lf0KZGF&ll=42.48746100653804%2C2.4264442999999574&z=5
The Beginning
Mid January, 2018
Previous to the delivery of the van to Baltimore harbour, all the camping material and clothing had to be packed in the vehicle. Just imagine for a moment, it is winter, temperatures are -20 or so, and it is snowing every day. Getting in the mood to pack the car for camping was difficult!!! Our supplies were in the garage and as soon as we hit a mild and dry day (-2C), we put everything in! and drove to Baltimore, hoping for not too heavy snowfall! Except for the Syracuse area, we had a lovely drive of 850 km with our 2 cars...I was driving the KIA while Heiner drove the Elantra. We stayed at the motel closest to the harbour and next morning, after getting the KIA through a car wash, we delivered it at the office of the forwarder in Baltimore. A taxi driver was assigned to us (Marleyne did the work with the driver as Heiner had a bad cold and was voiceless! At first quite bewildered because a woman was in charge of the delivery, the taxi driver settled with the idea and was very nice). We (taxi driver and Marleyne) drove to the harbour, went to Customs office, filled diverse forms, etc...and from there, waited for somebody to measure the van. When it was all done, we left it there, taking the license plates away and storing them inside the vehicle. Adieu little van! See you the other side of the Atlantic!!! I must admit, it was kind of unbelievable to leave the car, unattended, key within and, yes, the question came up: will it find its way to Europe??????
This is the ship that the van sailed on! "Atlantic Sail"
January 24
The ship arrived in Antwerpen, Belgium 2 days earlier than forecasted and the van was waiting for us on the huge parking lot of the harbour. The air was frigid.
January 26
Our flight with British Airways from Toronto
to London was flawless …just happy
to be able to board the plane! The British Airways clerk did not want to let me
(Marleyne) on the plane with a one-way ticket. We were nervous for a while and argued
long enough with her that she had to consult with her manager who did not see
any difficulty with letting me board!
Landed in London
and Brussels a couple of hours
later greeted by the Beast from the East: indeed, the temperatures
plunged to -6 with ferocious winds coming from…Siberia.
We took a bus from Brussels
airport to
Antwerpen: despite the sun, it was really cold. In the
meantime, we were told by well meaning friends that temperatures in Toronto
soared to +10C! Thanks!!!
We booked the Ibis hotel in Antwerpen as it was very central. What we
did not know at the time of booking was that Lidl was located in the same
building! Very, very practical indeed. We are talking food!!!
The day after our arrival, we p
icked up our van at Antwerpen harbour.
January 28
Wanting to leave frigid northern Europe
was our goal and so, only 2 days after our arrival in Belgium,
we started our trip south. We left early in the morning in order not to get into
heavy traffic in Antwerp, Brussels
and Charleroi.
.
First overnight was in Nevers, France, at the convent
where Sainte Bernadette Soubirou came at the end of her life to die in peace.
Well, it was snowing when we arrived…deep winter in Nevers.
Nevertheless, the site was charming with heavy snow in the gardens. Besides, we were in France...and our first bottle of excellent wine made us forget the bad weather!
March 1
What a day it was going to be. Around 10am, the sun was shining, the streets were icy and we
definitely wanted to reach the Mediterranean as soon as
possible. The stretch between Nevers and Clermont Ferrand was easy and pretty
straight forward. Then the clouds rolled in: it was out of the question to do
any sight seeing with the storm that was hitting the region. And under no
circumstances we would use the suspended bridge in Millau! The Larzac was wild:
winds were ferocious especially in this wide open area ! The more south we
drove, the worst it became!
We reached Béziers around 4
pm and needed to go west to Narbonne
where we had booked a B&B for the night. Nope, nothing was moving anymore. BIG
chaos in this region according to the radio stations: 30 cm of snow had been
falling on Montpellier and area.
Trucks were stranded up the Rhone valley highways almost
up to Valence. It was pure chaos.
After one hour of waiting on the road to Narbonne, we managed to drive out of the queued vehicles and take a small road to Narbonne where we
arrived around 7 pm. The owners of the B&B named Aux Abords du Canal had
contacted booking.com to see whether we were going to make it...they knew about the bad weather, of course. We made it…and thank god we purchased bread and cheese on the way because there was no way we wanted to go
out for supper. We ate in our room, stunned by this very unexpected turn of
events. Where was the mild Mediterranean weather????
March 2
If France
will not give us sun, then Spain
will!!!!???
Once again, cold but sunny wintery day.
We were excited to
have made it so far and the view of the snowy peaks of the Pyrenées was breathtaking!
Our very first overnight in Spain was in Catalunya, in Estartit.
Night temperature was 11C. But we had a heater!
We were puzzled by the fact, however, that our espresso
coffeemaker and the 2 packs of coffee were missing. Had we forgotten the bag at
home? Nope! We were to find out much later – when we returned home – that the
bag had been stolen!!! In Baltimore?
In Antwerpen? Who knows…we had to purchase another espresso maker and coffee!
We met other campers from Germany
and Netherlands. All are surprised about the wintery feel of the weather. All are
optimistic that as soon as we will reach Valence,
it will be warm….the way it is supposed to be!
March 4
After taking our breakfast in our tent (happy to have
brought plastic walls with us!!!) we drove out to Figueres where the Dali
Museum is located. Not too long ago, we enjoyed visiting the Dali Museum in Florida. But this Figueres' one blew our minds!!!
March 5
Still in Estartit. Weather was stormy in Spain
and Portugal
due to an Atlantic storm (Emma coming from North
America!). Oh well, we went to the supermercado and bought amazing food…jamon, capers, bread, cheese, sausages
for the BBQ. Our new little charcoal BBQ was a welcome source of heat! It was rainy and windy, nothing like
what we expected from Spain
in March. Everybody said that it was exceptional weather…we would hear that one
until the end of our trip in Spain!
March 6
In Sitges.
Cold. Not the fiesta mood that we read about in our
guides!!! We were the only tourists and the little town was very quiet…Tote Hosen!
March 8, 9, 10
We drove to the mountains! Navajas, our next stop.
The view from the campsite Altomira was beautiful. It was surprisingly quite busy and we had to drive up a VERY steep hill to find a spot between German and
Dutch campers. The German, Jurgen and Gudrun were very fit mountain climbers (in their 70s) and knew the
area very well. They invited us to their camper for a glass of wine. We “picked” their
brains with regard to excursions in the area.
Navajas village is a 1-km walk away. We walked on a former railway line, now a Via Verde path for cycling, walking and horse-riding, that passes above the campsite. We walked to a waterfall (Salto de la Novia) and afterwards, we had coffee in the
village…it was Sunday, the sun shined and while it was quite cool, locals sat and ate (and smoked) outside on the terrasse! On TV, the noise of explosions caught our attention! Our first thought was that a new war was going on or may be another terrorist attack…we saw clouds of smoke on the screen. Terrifying noise. But nobody looked alarmed!???
What a surprise when we learned that these explosions were
simply the beginning of the Fallas festivities in Valencia!
March 11
Palomares, here we come!
Beautiful drive through the mountains! A range of mountains
that had a lunar aspect to it!
Shortly after our arrival, we walked to the beach.
March 12 to 17
We reached the famous Costa del Sol. All
campsites on the Costa del Sol are located very close to
the motor way. Estepona, where we will spend 5 days, was no exception.
Luckily, in the van it was quiet!
Besides our quest for sunny warm weather, we wanted to spend some time here to visit our friend John, to explore Gibraltar,
the White Villages, and possibly to go for a day or two to Tangier in Morocco.
John who was now living in
Puerto Banus, near Marbella, greeted us in his new residence atop of his electrical "Austin-Mini scooter" and together, we went for lunch to the very
friendly restaurant called Le Box. John is well known there and we got great
food and excellent service. It was nice to see John again…it had been years!
Next day’s excursion to Ronda and another white
village (Senetril) proved quite wonderful despite the cloudy and rainy
weather!
Thanks to the rain, though, we had to spend an hour or so in a Bodega
to sample their wine and some tapas! Life can be hard in Spain.
It soon became evident that due to incessant rain storms
hitting Morocco and Tangier, there was no point going to across to Africa for a couple of
days. But at least, we could go to Gibraltar
and see North Africa from there!!!!
Gibraltar and its rock! We decided to take the car into Gibraltar and park it there instead of leaving it on the Spanish side. A fun thing to take the car into British territory! We were warmly greeted by a British border officer ..."my favorite people" did he exclaim when he saw our Canadian passports and Canadian car! And he was more than willing to stamp our passports ... something unusual!
We took the cable car to the top of the rock as it was quite a hike to go up there on foot. It is a short (less than 6 minutes) and expensive ride but … one only does this once in a life time. We thoroughly enjoyed the view up there and were careful with the monkeys! They have quite a reputation!
We slowly walked back to town, enjoying the sights and the view over to Morocco! We were never in Africa and to see this continent, even from a distance, was an event for us.
We had a beer in a small pub, looked at the crowd and at times, and because of people's attire and language, it felt like we were back in Kingston, Canada!!! The prices, however, reminded one that you were really in the UK!!!
March 17
Camper wisdom (heavy rain was forecasted for the next morning) made us fold the tent the day before we left Estepona. And raining it did! The more we progressed westwards to Andalusia, the more it rained.
Buckets. And more buckets! We targeted the area of Almonte, more precisely the National
Park of Donana, a huge park known for its wetlands, among other things. Wetlands? yes, very wet indeed.
On
our way to the park, we noticed a French camper being stuck in a deep
sandy, muddy hole. We stopped to see if we could help them. We didn’t have a rope, they didn’t
have a rope…and they did not call for help as they did not speak any word of Spanish.
We drove to the camp site, told the owner (a Frenchman!) about their ordeal: he lent us a shovel without showing further eagerness to help his countrymen. In the meantime, a
Spanish couple was at the site of the incident and the man was
quick to organise a rope and successfully pulled the camper out of the mud. During that time, I
spoke with the French lady and she told me about a camping site at El Rocio and
about the gatherings of people to the cathedral on Sunday morning … A Dutch
camper had talked to us about El Rocio before, and when camping in the Donana park
proved too complicated (and being a bit turned off by this unhelpful Frenchman), we made our way to El Rocio campsite in Almonte.
It was still raining quite hard when we got there (and the drive on those unchartered backroads through the park was something else) …and very, very windy. The latter became an issue with the sanitary
buildings: there were no proper doors, just curtains into the building and open windows. A sign that this area is usually
not subject to such inclement weather!
Sunday morning, while the skies were cloudy and looked quite
menacing, we started walking towards the village
of El Rocio. And there, we
experienced Pura Andalucia! The sun came out, and the locals slowly
gathered in the area, most of them on horseback! The sights were unreal!
We managed to get in the church during mass and enjoyed the flamenco music and choirs!
Every Sunday hundreds of people stream into this chapel to light candles:the smoke is so thick you can barely breath! A good industry here for candle makers!
After so many emotions, we strolled in the village and enjoyed a light meal of seafood in a local seafood restaurant. Check out those posts on the picture: they would tie their horses to these poles! And our bar had outside "tables" high enough so that the riders did not have to dismount their horse to have a drink or a bite to eat.
MARCH 19 - 27
Time has come to leave Spain and travel to Portugal. Our initial plan was to circumscribe the Iberian peninsula but we will not, due to weather. Nevertheless, we will take advantage of the coming dry and sunny days to venture into the famous Algarve coast !
We drove 3 hours before entering the country and must decide, at the border, whether or not to purchase a pass in order to be able to use the freeway. As we prefer NOT to drive freeways, we continue on the road towards Quarteira, 22 km west of Faro. The first stretch of road is really, really bad, with wheel swallowing potholes and made us regret (a little) not to have taken the highway. Soon, however, around Tavira, it became much smoother. Our guess is, they were trying to discourage tourists taken the free country roads and steer them back to the toll highway.
Our campsite in Quarteira was very spacious and "natural" (compared to campsites in Spain) with lots of trees and greenery. We built up the tent, and planned the next few days of visit in the area.
The Algarve is the sunny coast of Portugal. Even in winter. But it was obviously not the touristic season: condos building were empty or boarded up, restaurants closed, giving a strange eerie feeling to small towns. We visited Tavira, which was listed as one of the prettiest town on the coast.
We enjoyed a succulent lunch at one of the local restaurant (Essencia) and wandered around to the castle and to the church, all in all a pleasant afternoon. But as you can see, it is off-season, and we had the town pretty much to ourselves.
Another popular place in the area is Silves. Its castle (seen below) is the oldest in the Algarve.
The cathedral is also sitting on a hill...
probably more lively in the late spring or summer months, it was very very quiet when we were there, with only a handful of tourists walking through its empty streets.
Faro had definitely more tourists than its neighbours and we sat down for pasteis and excellent coffee and watch passers by!
Prettiest flower on the beach...from the ice plant!
In order to see the colourful cliffs of the Algarve, one must drive westwards to the Atlantic. Thanks to Dana and Martin, whom we had
met in Spain (Estepona) and who had given us one of their self-published travel travel guides, we were able to discover its most beautiful landscapes! Have a look at their guides here:
https://www.mdmot.de/en/homepage-2.html
In order to be located close to this beautiful area, we moved westwards near to Cabo Sao Vincente, the most westwards point of Europe! We found a real gem of a campsite, located on a hill called Salema Eco Camp! We had a bit of a challenge getting our car into our spot, but it was worth it. Orange trees were in bloom, several birds were singing throughout the day. Spring was definitely in the air...when one was shielded from the wind!
The weather was still holding for a couple of days, long enough for us the explore the area. Along the coast, the guidebook directed us onto a dirt road which followed the sea cliffs, with a sharp drop-off immediately beside the road.
But in addition to these "beach boy" strand images, there were other impressions as well: locals providing food to us tourists (and locals as well, we think).
This area was truly breathtaking and we were sad to have to turn around due to weather. The next 2 weeks were to become, once more, rainy and cold. The Atlantic coast of Portugal being really exposed to the storms, we definitely did not want to camp in this area when the storms hit.
So, we turned around...
March 28th
Back to Spain. Easter was arriving and campsites were full. Both of us were starting to get sick with head colds and coughs … and we hoped to spend several days in a comfortable and quiet campsite to nurse ourselves back to health! … Dream on ….
We spent the Easter holidays with hundreds of Spanish locals on a campsite of Isla Christina. The place felt like an Almodovar movie set...families with lots of
ninos, all becoming suddenly very alive around 23h! Spaniards love living at night...they have no problems starting to light up their charcoal BBQ late a night for a nice family meal (with grand-parents and kids)! Never mind the washrooms, which became a staging ground for family meetings and kids entertainment. It was quite an experience. Fortunately, there was a nice beach across the road where we walked despite our colds, between rain showers, braving the cold wind ! During one of our off-site excursions, trying to warm up, we discovered a nice tapas bar that offered extremely delicious tapas such as Pulpo Gallego! We made the best of our time in this "movie set", but were really happy to move on after the Easter weekend was over, even though we still were very sick!
From Isla Christina, we drove to the area of Granada. What an amazing route through the mountains! Spain has really rugged and mountainous landscapes! We camped for 2 nights in Beas de Granada admiring the
mountain range Sierra Nevada from our camping spot, the peaks still showing snow. Unfortunately, we did not have the stamina to take the bus to re-visit Granada due to our colds, so we just walked a bit, enjoying the tranquility of this site, and trying to get our strength back.
Our next destination was Fortuna, supposedly the sunniest and warmest spot in Spain during the winter. We had been told about its spa waters and felt that this might help our health conditions! And so, we started traveling north-east, crossing several natural reserves: vast uninhabited expanses that made us feel like on another planet!
Fortuna was a very special place: we could not imagine that there would be a campsite amidst this desert. But yes, there it was! And a very popular at that!!! This was a real spa...it felt like an all-inclusive with people going around in their bathrobes, or having a drink in cafes and bars! We suspect that many of the older campers were staying here for months, escaping the cold from northern Europe. Romans had already discovered the virtues of its waters! Now the Northern tourists! We especially enjoyed the ice cream dish served in one of the glamourous hotels: most helpful for Heiner's sore throat!
April 5
Chatting with other campers, we learned of another possible destination on our way north (at some point we wanted to leave Spain!!!). Puerto de Mazarron. The person was all ohh and ahh ... Well, it was actually south of Alicante but we still had poor weather all over southern Europe so we had time to kill!! But imagine! Although Puerto Mazarron may be a very touristic spot, but definitely not at this time of the year. Pretty dead all around. Because restaurants were also "killing" time waiting for tourists to come in greater number, they were offering full menus at 10 euros! No wonder, the place was popular among some campers!
What we enjoyed most were the sandstone formations.
April 8
Valencia, once more! We enjoyed the town in 2015 and felt like it would be fun to see it again. This time, we set camp in Albufera, a park like reserve famous for the cultivation of paella rice. Lovely landscape but oh! it was so windy that we could not put up our day tent.
Sunday in Valencia. It was a special day, celebrating a saint whose name we forgot. Nevertheless, it was a treat to witness those beautiful women of all ages in traditional costumes.
and ...walking through its parks!
April 11
Let's go! There seemed to be nice weather in Bilbao and area. We decided to leave Valencia and to drive across Spain and to overnight in a hotel in the area of Navarette, a town north of the Rioja Valley, on the Camino de Compostela. There we no campsites open at this time of year.
Well, the weather proofed to be a challenge - once again!
The drive started well, but then we encountered heavy snowfalls in the mountainous area of Teruel, not letting up all the way to Zaragoza. The police closed repeatedly the highway, so we had to seek refuge in a highway service centre, which was packed full with hundreds of stranded people. Now, service centres (see photo left) in Spain differ from those in North American ones. They are so "civilized" with restaurants serving menus with wine and beer at surprisingly low prices. Several TV sets make sure that one does not miss important (weather), news, and more importantly: soccer (!!!) games. The atmosphere was rather animated. People were enjoying dinner, or coffee, standing and conversing with each other. Then, suddenly, all went back to their cars and the parking lot started to empty...so we followed! …. Just to be stopped about 15 km further down the road because of another snow related closure! It started again to snow heavily and we were totally dumbfounded: what kind of weather was that!!!!
To make a long story short, we finally were given the green light by the polizia to drive along one lane, still very mushy and slippery with snow (trucks were grounded, however) and we made it to our destination in Navarette over the next few hours. There we stayed at the very nice and warm Hotel Don Camilo. We had a delightful evening, enjoying a warm bath, drinking Rioja wine...the snow did not bother us after that anymore!
Next morning, with a coolish 10C and snow still on the ground when we left, we made our
way to the Pais Vasco or Basque Country. Wow! green hills! it had been a
while that we had not see those. The Rioja valley had been really
lovely but this Pais Vasco looked enchanted. It was so exciting to be
in this area and we decided to make a stop in Vitoria Gasteiz , the capital of the
Basque Autonomous Country in Spain. What a special town. The apartment
buildings with their enclosed balconies, the plaza, … and the language which is absolutely not related to any other european language!
April 12
Bilbao: Our campsite was located at Playa Arenillas (Islares) and very green and grassy!
April 13
We decide to drive with the car into Bilbao as the public transit system requires several transfers. We felt confident to find a parking garage. Main reason of our visit is to see the Guggenheim Museum. Finding a place in one of Bilbao parking garages proved to be an exhausting experience, however. The streets downtown were very narrow and were made even narrower by construction work. We decided on a hotel underground parking lot. Bad choice! Hotel's underground parking garages are for midgets and their mini cars! We entered one and spent half-hour trying to get out again: our van was too wide for the space and it was a one-way parking garage making for an interesting back and forth by 1cm increments until we successfully left this labyrinth. A real nightmare. Eventually, we managed to secure a place in a shopping mall parking garage. It took us half an hour to relax and recuperate before we felt ready to enter the museum. It had been a Friday 13 kind of experience!!!
But it was worth the effort!
Guggenheim museum was designed by Canadian-american architect Franz Gehry.
Water trenches surrounded the structure, with frequent smoky fog being blown out creating a mystical atmosphere!
Puppy, a flowery sculpture by Jeff Koons that is quite
charming and impressive.
And last but not least, Maman, the giant spider created by Louise Bourgeois (one of Maman's sibbling is alive and well in Ottawa at the National Art Gallery).
We spent several hours in the museum, visiting temporary and permanent exhibitions and admiring the design of the building!
April 14,15, 16
Although Bilbao is a real interesting place, the rain made us go eastwards to San Sebastian. On our way, we stopped in Portugalete to admire the Vizcaya bridge: it is one of the oldest functional Cotgan bridges in Europe. It still carries up to 6 cars and 200 people over the river! Quite an impressive structure. We spent a very enjoyable Saturday morning walking along the river and soaking up the sights.
We arrived late in San Sebastian. We stayed 2 days in this Basque gem of a city that has hundreds of tapas bars!!!! They know what to do with anchovies there! And with your money!
April 17 - May 5
Leaving Spain, the weather underwent a major change. It became warm if not hot. The clouds disappeared, in other words, the weather we had been hoping for over the last few weeks arrived. A welcome change, and a great welcome to our next major destination: Southern France!
We had been told that fuel was much cheaper in Spain, as were most of the groceries. So, on the way to St. Jean de Luz, and just before the border, we stopped at a very busy gas station and filled up. Smart move! We saw later on that we saved 35c per litre on the Spanish side, compared to the French side just a stone's throw away.
Next stop at our preferred grocery store: LIDL.
Being a border town, we were not surprised to see a lot of products advertised as "Produits de France", but what about the Spanish Brandy, now replaced with French Brandy (and much, much more expensive), and the cashier greeting us in French …. it finally dawned on us: we must have arrived in France! There is no border here, and within this little town, we slipped, unknown to us, from Spain to France.
Ok, Viva La France!
Our camp site in St. Jean de Luz was amazing. Overlooking the beach, and the sunsets pointing us to Canada - home. Great walks along the shoreline marked by numerous bunkers from WW2 in the overgrown cliffs.
A nice town with outdoor cafes (and it was hot enough to seek shelter FROM the sun!) just a perfect place to hike, or to sit and relax, and to get rid off the last remnants of our cold.
More about the bunkers: (in french)
and
https://battlefieldsww2.com/gun-battery-socoa-west.html
This was a great start. And for the rest of our trip
in Europe, the weather continued to hold. What a
change to the weeks before!
On our way east along the Pyrenees,
it was tempting to use the side roads and to venture into the mountain villages.
However, a look at the snow covered horizon, and the information that most
passes were still closed, forced us to drop this excursion. Instead, we
drove parallel to the Pyrenees on the French side,
enjoying the momentous scenery to the south, using the toll road to make
progress (the side roads would have taken us 3 times as long, going from one
major place to another. While the toll road was so much more scenic along
this stretch).
We stopped for one night directly at the Canal du Midi,
Avignonet.
The area was beautiful, dotted with numerous peaceful
villages. Reading about their
history was, however, bone chilling. It was here that the Albigensian
Crusade took place. From 1209 to 1215, the catholic Crusaders captured Cathar
lands and perpetrated acts of extreme violence, often against civilians.
By the middle of the 14th centruy, any signs of the Cathar movement in this
area had been eradicated.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albigensian_Crusade
The city of Carcassonne
has a campsite, within walking distance, just below the old town, with a view of
this historical monument from our site. What a start. We could not
resist to climb up to the town in the evening of our arrival. With some
surprises awaiting us:
Depending on the angle one views these circles, they disrupt the impression of this walled city, or brings the place into focus, as one can see from the picture above.
Apart from this, Carcassonne was a great place to visit, although one would have to share each cobblestone street with 1000s of other sightseers (nice thing with photos is that you can wait long enough until the guided tour groups disappear, and you have the illusion to have the place to yourself for a few moments).
Back in the 70s, Marleyne and I had visited an impressive Roman structure: the Pont du Gard.
The Romans constructed aqueducts throughout their Republic and later Empire, to bring water from outside sources into cities and towns. The Pont du Gard is an ancient Roman aqueduct that crosses the Gardon River near the town of Vers-Pont-du-Gard (1832 inhabitants) in southern France. The Pont du Gard, built as three tiers of archways to bring water to the city of Nîmes, is the highest of all elevated Roman aqueducts, and one of the best preserved.
Time to visit this structure, and its surroundings again!
And we were not disappointed. The campsite provided us with a pleasant setting along the river, leading to the aqueduct, and a footpath we were able to follow at night.
A side trip brought us to Avignon, another re-visit. Entering the city through one of its gates, I (Heiner) was taken back "how French" the plazas looked. What do you think?
Moving on to Aix-en-Provence, we did a stop over at Roussillon. Roussillon is situated in the heart of one of the biggest ochre deposits in the world, and it is famous for its magnificent red cliffs and ochre quarries.
Again, in the 70s, we had this place pretty much to ourselves. Now, the place has been "discovered" and has become a magnet for many Asian tour operators.
Getting there was a challenge. Not for our navigation system, but for the driver. Our navi (GPS) had no mercy and sent us over country roads which probably had never seen a mini-van transversing. But we arrived, and by coming in from an unusual direction, we even found a shady and free parking spot. We still love this place and its surroundings, and thought back to our previous visits. And the ice cream we had was just the perfect thing to enjoy while overlooking the cliffs.
Heading further east, the region of Aix-en-Provence was next on our itinerary. While Marleyne had been here in the 70s, I (Heiner) had never seen this place. For Marleyne, it was a place with mixed memories: her wallet and passport got stolen in this area. Little did we know that she was going to encounter a similar incident here : while sleeping at night in the van, a break-in resulted in her camera being stolen, with all the pictures taken over the past months. If thoughts could kill ….!
Another reason we wanted to come, and why we picked this particular campsite somewhat away from the city (public bus with regular service into town) was that Paul Cezanne had taken residence here in order to paint a famous rock: la montagne Sainte-Victoire.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mont_Sainte-Victoire_(Cézanne)
From our campsite, we had a great view of the mountain, especially towards the evening, when the setting sun painted the rock face with a beautiful reddish hue.
We enjoyed the area and had a challenging hike towards the top of this mountain without, however, making it to the very top, however. It was too hot!!!
The city of Aix-en Provence has also become more touristic but has kept its charm. The markets were so colourful and lively.
Another gem of Aix is its Cloitre Saint-Sauveur, with its magnificents sculpted arches.
A truly beautiful area which we left, however, with a bitter after taste.
Heading further east towards the French Riviera
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Riviera
we took the coastal road (very slow, but scenic!) with breaks along the way (e.g. Cassis) and other beautiful spots ...
… eventually arriving at Cavalaire-sur-Mer as our staging point to visit St. Tropez and the coast and the famous "Plage de Gigaro". The hike along the shoreline was spectacular, and challenging, climbing steep inclines on slippery rocks, walking through overgrown paths, and wading through the surf. It was GREAT!
Saint Tropez! We had to see this place - again!
And the place did not disappoint: as tacky as before - but fun.
And we had to give our tribute to Louis de Funès: we love his St. Tropez movies!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_de_Funès
For the tacky part:
Ok, these wannabe mega yachts are a bit boring, compared to what we had seen in the past. At that time you had "famous beauties" showing off on deck, to the delight of us, the ordinary tourist. Now, these decks are too elevated to look into it - or empty. Boring!
But there are fancy restaurants, galore, with "priceless artworks".
For the movie buff part:
Moving on … east again!
Our next destination brought us more inland, with our final destination being St. Paul de Vence via Grasse. Again, we decided to take the side roads. The numbering of the rural roads give an indication of the physical dimensions. That is, D562 is a rural road but wide enough to pass traffic easily. Now, D2562, D2085, D2210 (these are the one we followed as well) are narrower, and given the terrain, follow the contours of the valleys closely, with numerous switchbacks, and lack side guards. So, toppling off into the valley below was always an option for a short-cut. It was a great and beautiful drive - for the passenger - the driver was busy with the road condition, traffic (if there was one), steep inclines, and numerous sharp curves. Not to forget these groups of French cyclist who seem to have their own rules of the road.
Our campsite "La Bergerie" was within walking distance to the medieval town of St. Paul de Vence, a place we wanted to see. And it was close to the Gorges du Loup, famous for its scenic hikes.
St. Paul de Vence!
A nice walk through the hills was already an invitation to this artful place. Chagall lived the last 20 years of his life in St-Paul de Vence; this particular vista is visible in A COUPLE OVER ST-PAUL.
Chagall was thankful to have been brought the
shores of the Mediterranean. In fact, he had been attracted to the
area by Aime and Marguerite Maeght, who were his art dealers in Paris
(as well as for Henri Matisse, Braque, Léger, Miró, Alexander Calder et
Alberto Giacometti). Aime and Marguerite Maeght had taken refuge in Vence during the second world war. Today’s Fondation Maeght is a world famous
museum in this town. https://www.saint-pauldevence.com/en/fiches/musees-et-lieux-de-visites/the-maeght-foundation/. The Maeght's
artist friends participated in the design of the museum, each one of
them taking over an area of the future Foundation. Garden have Calder's sculpture, hile Miró's
artworks dominate the gardens, and Giacometti's skinny figures inhabit
another court...As for Chagall, several of his large
paintings are shown together, thus giving us a better sense for his works.
We did not leave St-Paul without paying a visit to Marc Chagall's resting place in the town's cemetery.
Here is the gravestone of March Chagall, his wife Valentina and
her brother, Michel Brodsky. The small stones symbolizing the permanence of
memory in the Jewish tradition
We were enjoying our stay at the campsite Domaine de la
Bergerie and felt happy to come back to this beautiful campsite after a day of
adventure: in addition to its tall trees and peacefullness (we were only a few
campers). We enjoyed the songbirds and numerous owls during the night. The
propriétaire of the camping was from this area and she was able to suggest some
hikes along the river Loup. But first, we wanted to drive through some of
the numerous villages perched on top of the mountains! Not an easy task! and
then, the reward was to walk along the river Loup.
An interesting discovery was also the domain where the famous French director Marcel Pagnol lived and filmed La belle meunière in 1948! Pagnol does not live there anymore but we had the opportunity to admire its wonderful property on the river Loup.
MAY 5
It was difficult to leave such a beautiful region. We think,
we will be back for more …
We had a one night stop over at Ventimiglia,
Italy. Apart from
trying to navigate impossible side roads to get to this place, and a swim in
the Med, we had a wonderful evening with a German couple. Over a laundry
line, we got talking, and in the end, were sitting together cooking our meals
and sharing our food. A wonderful evening.
We are on the way to Cinque Terre, Italy,
a place we really wanted to see. Arriving at our planned campsite Deiva
Marine, just before the villages of Cinque Terre, we realized that we were not
the only ones to visit this area (despite off season). The place was
full, but they found us a small spot where we could park our van, a small
terrace, from which we looked at the mountains stretching toward the sea.
Wonderful!
A train took us into the park
of Cinque Terre, where, over since
the 11th century, people have carefully built terraces on the rugged, steep
landscape right up to the cliffs that overlook the sea. Paths, trains and boats
connect the villages, and cars cannot reach them from the outside. Not
surprisingly, it is an Unesco World Heritage Site since 1997. These sinuous
paths traverse steep cliffsides connecting these villages, while a more
"recent" 19th-century railway line cut sthrough a series of coastal
tunnels going from village to village in absolute darkness until you arrive at
the next train station.
We had wanted to hike on some of these paths and even had made a short list of
those we anted to explore … only to learn, and AFTER! we had purchased the park
pass for hiking, that most paths had been closed for repair (apparently for
years!) … Oh Italy!
We started off at Riomaggiore, hoped on-and-off on the train to Vernazza, from where we took the coastal path to walk back to Monterosso. What a great day, and the hike, well, it was challenging on many fronts. Steep, climbing/descending more than 500 hundred of steps, walking along the edge of the cliffs high up over the sea, negotiating oncoming travellers on these narrow paths (meaning, you had to hug the rocks to let them pass (or the other way around), … A cold beer was a welcome reward at the end.
May 8 to May 22
On our way into Tuscany, Pisa and beyond, we took a campsite close to Lucca to see this city. This campsite will remained in our memories because of its 1000s of mosquitoes attacking us and literally covering our car as soon as we arrived in this rather marshy setting. But we wanted to see Lucca! So we used our mosquitoes spray - Canadians have that stuff with them at all times - and we braved nature.
Lucca is surrounded by thick and high fortifications that date back to the Middle Ages. These jagged walls encircling Lucca have a pretty famous architect named Leonardo Da Vinci. These walls are so thick that there is actually a road that loops around the top!
Lucca, which is
referred to as the "city of one hundred churches", offers indeed a
great variety of architectural Italian styles of religious buildings. The
most popular one is of course the cathedral referred to as the Duomo (San
Michele al Foro.). Most of the present structure dates from 1070, but the
church is unfinished: money ran out before the body of the church could be
raised to the level of the facade. The result is exquisite, however! The
impressive campanile is Lucca's
tallest!
Sculptures of the Costarican artist Jimenez Deredia were
scatered aroud the Piazza San Michele.
Lucca, which is
referred to as the "city of one hundred churches", offers indeed a
great variety of architectural Italian styles of religious buildings. The
most popular one is of course the cathedral referred to as the Duomo (San
Michele al Foro.). Most of the present structure dates from 1070, but the
church is unfinished: money ran out before the body of the church could be
raised to the level of the facade. The result is exquisite, however! The
impressive campanile is Lucca's
tallest!
Another architectural structure in the Pisan-romanesque style is the Basilica de San Frediano, dating back 13th century, and featuring a magnificent gold leaf Byzantine mosaic on its front facade (Christ in Majesty)!
As for the torre of the villa Guidini, we admired its
silhouette without being able to really get a good photo as the streets of Lucca
are very narrow. A several centuries-old evergreen oak tree on its summit with
its roots growing in the romom down below. The Guinigi, a leading family in the
15th century Lucca, planted a tree
to symbolize the town’s rebirth while under their control. Nearby, the
oval-shaped Roman Amphitheatre, the Piazza dell’Anfiteatro.
Lucca, despite
its numerous attractions, remains a real lived-in city, not (yet) overwhelmed
by tourism. It feels good to walk its sometimes empty narrow streets and
sit in one of its charming small restaurants. It had all the charm of Tuscany
less the overcrowding: we liked the feel of this city!
Of course, Pisa, not to far away, is a complete different story in terms of tourism! Nevertheless, we enjoyed our short visit. We so often see its leaned tower that it gives the impression that it is the only sight in the city. And it is not: the ensemble of religious buildings around the tower is the beauty of t all! Indeed, it is the Piazza dei Miracoli!
The ominous clouds did not shed a drop of rain on us that day: Miracolo!!!
Our last camping stop in Toscana was in Siena, a city that we really love. Once again, it is touristy but has kept some authenticity! We asked a lady about these territories (contrade in italian) in which the city is divided. She explained that the life of the city is very much linked to the relationships between contrade . Take the Palio for example.
The Palio di Siena is more than a simple horse race. It is the
culmination of ongoing rivalry and competition between the contrade. The
lead-up and the day of the race are invested with passion and pride. Formal and
informal rituals take place as the day proceeds, with each contrada
navigating a strategy of horsemanship, alliances and animosities. There are the
final clandestine meetings among the heads of the contrade and then
between them and the jockeys. The race takes only about 75 seconds to complete and don't be fooled, the passions displayed are still very real.
The contrada's territory is marked on the walls of the buildings like here, Territorio della civeta. By the way, Civetta (the Owlet) had the title from
1979 until 2009, when it won 16 August race! It won the titl again in 2014. Still today, the most serious causes of conflict between the contrades are related to territories issues!
From our base in Sienna, we made several excursions in the surrounding area. As mentioned before, we were delighted with the spring beauty of Toscana. The vines were already quite tall for the season (mid-May).
Here is Montereggioni, a very small walled town that kept its rugged stone buildings and churches. Here is the church of Santa Maria Assunta, on the Piazza Roma.
One discovery was the Abbadia de Monte Oliveto Maggiore. Hidden in the mountains, the Abbaye is very large and appears to hide from civilization although it is located only 26 km from Siena. Indeed, it was borne itself out of the dream of Giovanni Tolomei (1272-1348),
son of an aristocratic Sienese family,
who at forty decided to trade his aristocratic lifestyle against the life of an hermit, acquiring the name of Bernardo, in honor of Bernard of Clairvaux (a french abbot who founded the Cistercian order).
The path leading to the monastery is lovely but also shows the isolation of the place; one can imagine how, several centuries ago, monks who chose to live here really were far away from surrounding civilization.
While we were admiring the paintings of Signorelli and Bazzi ornamenting the walls of the cloister, there was a slow procession of Benedictine monks carrying incense and singing Gregorian chants. It was very solemn and almost felt like a religious experience! We spent hours in the cloister admiring the paintings and learning about the life of Saint Benedict and the history of the monastery.
Before leaving Tuscany,
we stopped at another interesting abbaye, probably the most evocative Gothic
building in all Italy.
San Galgano, built by Cistercian monks, was a grandiose project
that was never completed. After 70 years of work, with the
Black Death and its ensuing famine and shortage of manpower, the abbaye
remained unfinished and the monks fled to Siena.
On the hill close to the abbaye, stands the round Romanesque
church of Monte Siepi
which commemorates the spot where Galgano, a local 12th century knight,
renounced his voilent past by thrusting his sword into a stone. And
amazingly enough, his sword has survived and is now under a globe...just in
case it would not survive tourism!
After our stay in Siena,
we traveled through the Marche and,
weather oblige, made our way to the Adriatic side of Italy.
We settled in the area of Pesaro,
in a campsite aptly named Camping Panorama. It was located on the panoramic (!)
road between Pesaro and Gabicce. Located
about 100 meters above sea level, and surrounded by San Bartolo National Park,
it offered an extremely picturesque landscape. The camping has been in the
hands of a family for 3 generations and we really enjoyed talking to the
current manager, Marco. He lent us hiking maps and gave us good travel tips to
visit the region.
Sadly, the scars of the previous year forest fires were still quite evident in the entire region.
We revisited the pretty Renaissance city of Urbino and its Palazzo Ducale.
And, of course, we ung around seaside towns and had fresh seafood!!! Always delicious with a crisp white wine!
It was already mid-may and we decided to slowly drive north, not without paying a short visit to Venice, however. On our way there, we made a one night stop at a very very busy family campground, in Comagio on the Adriatic see. The beach was nothing to write home about but families (German,mostly) were taking their kids there for the holiday season. We left early for Venice, on a Sunday. While we fled the seaside resort, hundreds of Italians were driving towards it. it made us really nervous when scooters decide to pass cars and drove onto OUR lane, expecting us to drive on the sidewalk maybe????
We arrived at the Camping Serenissima located on the River Brenta. A peaceful and green campsite, just a bus trip from Venice. We loved the place. So convenient. So quiet after a hectic day in town. We took photos of Venice,
again, and just enjoyed strolling along its canals. It was a busy day in Venice as there was a gathering of international boaters (kayaks, paddle boats, row boats, canoes) who competed through the canals of la Serenissima! We had fun looking at this crowd, paddling in the heat, while we were drinking Prosecco and eating those delicious chips!!! La dolce vita.
We never have enough of Venice and find all kinds of opportunities to take pictures!
Even taking a taxi is enjoyable! Here, we embark a Traghetto!
Ciao Venezzia!
Pursuing our way north, we make one stop at Lago di Cavazzo in Friul. And here, as seen in Catalunya and Eureska, we enter a region, friui, that has its own distinct and official language: Friulian. Road signs, info pannels, are all bilingual. Friulian has around 600,000 speakers (a vast majority of whom also speak Italian) in this region of northeastern Italy. This language has diverged under the influence of surrounding languages, including German, Italian, Venetian, and Slovene. Documents in Friulian are attested from the 11th century and poetry and literature date as far back as 1300.
This Lago di Cavazzo or Lago dei Tre Comuni is located in the Province of Udine, an area well known for its damaging earthquakes (1976, 2017). It is a stern area, with imposing mountains We walked around the lake, and enjoyed the sights. No swimming here: the water was ice cold!
May 23 to June 15 - Heading North
Leaving Italy, and heading north, was a reminder that our trip was coming to en end. In about 4 weeks, our van was going to be on the ship, bound for Halifax, Canada, and us back in Kingston. With this realization, we had mixed feelings when we left our last campsite.
At the same time, we entered a territory with significant personal histories for us. Back in 1972, it is here in Austria and Germany (our next destinations) that we both started our relationship - during a camping trip. In other words, a trip back in time …
It is also a place my parents (Heiner’s) introduced me to. They loved the mountains, the respective hikes, and introduced us kids to these discoveries. At a time before Internet, they must have poured over a multitude of guidebooks - months ahead - to plan destinations and excursions. These experiences are still with me, and I tried to share some of those with Marleyne in 1972.
Well, 46 years later, will this leg of the trip live up to our expectations?
It did!
Our first destination in Austria was the Millstaetter See, where we were greeted with the typical “Zwiebelturm” during our explorations around the lake. Marleyne could finally relax: while she gets along well in Italian, both of us were now able to communicate in German!
Our camping site (Seecamping Moessler) was close to Doebriach and offered a stunning view of the beautiful mountain scape. We walked around the lake! But at some point, thunderclouds were becoming too menacing and so we had a beer at the original restaurant Rinomato (Grossegg) and then took a little ferry back to our end of the lake.
It was a nice start.
Our next goal was an area (Tamsweg and Mariapfarr) where my parents brought me numerous time during my childhood. Back in 1972 I brought Marleyne there for some serious hiking (assuming that ALL Canadians are outdoor enthusiasts and were fit for hikes in the alps - smile!). The old campsite in Tamsweg still existed, but despite our nostalgic memories, the place looked quite a bit run down, and we preferred to stay close by at a site in Mauterndorf, listening to a fast running river just beside of us.
The area really is beautiful and charmed us, with its castle (here, Mauterndorf Burg), its old wooden mills, and its delicacies! Finally, Fleischbroetchen!
Apart from exploring towns, villages and valleys, we wanted to hike up again to the Rotgueldensee. Well, we did, a bit short of breath (Marleyne), but we did it. Wonderful experience!
Yes, this is snow!!! But the weather was perfect for hiking!
On our way to our next destination, Wolfgang See/Lake (Austria), we chose to drive the passes through the alps, rather than using the tunnels (where is nothing to see!). It was great, our car (automatic) behaved reliably ... but the driver had to learn to switch automatic gears down on the steep way down, something we never had to do before! Smoking brakes forced us to stop on the road side;fortunately, nothing got damaged.
Wolfgang See is a very picturesque area, with great hikes along the shoreline or into mountains. We must have walked/hiked every day for many hours, we just could not get enough of the scenery. But with some kind of holidays taking place, the camping site was packed!, a reminder that spring holidays bring an amazing number of Europeans on the roads and that from now on, we might have to phone ahead to check for availability!
Ah! those delightful hours spent drinking coffee and eating delicious pastries!
We used our site as a base to visit Salzburg. Parking was a bit of a challenge (which is true for any European city, I would say). But somehow, Salzburg did not “hit” us this time. The historical downtown core was under construction; somehow the Salzburger flair we had experienced in the past, was just not there. But we were happy we came, and the drive itself was fantastic.
Salzburg still has kiosks with flowers and typical Austrian delicacies...just like in 1972!!!!
This is a photo we took back in 1972 …! We remembered this one!
Many, many years ago, I (Heiner) was in Berchtesgarden with my parents, and I had memories of The Watzmann (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watzmann) Mountain Group (the third highest mountain in Germany), Koenigssee Natural Park (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6nigssee), and its gorges (of which we visited the Almbachklamm-
https://www.berchtesgaden.de/en/nature/hiking-paradise/almbach-gorge-almbachklamm).
Although our campsite close to Berchtesgaden was pretty full, divided on tiny parcels with neighbours sitting under your nose: the adjoining meadow used for tent camping was not. In fact, it was absolutely empty! And during our stay we had the whole place for ourselves, with grandiose and unobstructed views of the mountains surrounding us. And public transport just at the entrance. The perfect place to start our excursions.
Berchtesgaden has a strong link to the Third Reich and Nazi history. Close by, Hitler had his infamous Eagle Nest, and many high ranking Nazi officials settled here. Looking closely, one can still make out signs of this time, especially at the Berchtesgadener Train Station.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berchtesgaden#History
And if I remember correctly, it is here that I got my first “Lederhose”. Was tempted to get another one!
Our boat ride on The Koenigssee, was a highlight, followed by a wonderful, albeit short hike, at the end of the lake. A visit to an “Almhuette” on the way back was very refreshing, enjoying of listening in to the hikers about their experiences in climbing The Watzmann from different angles (something well of our league!).
Another highlight was a visit to the Almbachklamm. Hiking there, I had the distinct impression that I had been here before ... which was probably the case. I am sure, my parents would not have missed this most beautiful and wild gorge around Berchtesgaden.
And, of course, we could not miss a visit to the famous Ramsau church, which appears to be on every Christmas calendar here in North America! And a backdrop for other occasions: this Chinese couple fitted perfectly in this romantic setting!
It is with mixed feelings that we left this beautiful area. Mountain landscapes have a real attraction to us. Our next destination was also linked to Marleyne's first visit to Germany. Continuing along memory lane, next stop was “Rothenburg ob der Tauber” (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rothenburg_ob_der_Tauber). Actually, it was our first camping stop in 1972, where we stayed a week, high on uncertainties and curious at the same time. Some things never change!
The same campsite still exists, located at the foot of the town in Detwang and adjacent to a 9th century church (something Marleyne could not get over it back in 1972, a first for her).
And the views have not changed - apart from many, many more tourists. Again, we could not get enough from re-visiting this medieval town. A place we could come back to again and again.
While visiting the St. Jacob church in Rothenburg, we met, by chance, a women (something in her 80s - and what a memory she had!) who told us details about the famous altar wood carvings by Riemenschneider. The piece is breathtaking, as is the history behind it. There are all kinds of hidden details
(and some removable figures to display a hidden story) in these wood carvings. Da Vinci would have loved this ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._James%27s_Church,_Rothenburg_ob_der_Tauber
And we found a neat little brewery on the way back to our campsite, along the Tauber river. A place we enjoyed after a long day of walking in town, or hiking the surroundings.
A few years back, I stopped here in Detwang/Rothenburg with my mom on one of our last trips we were able to do together. Like us, she had good memories of this place (she had stayed here with my dad, and on the same camp site!!! due to our recommendations back then), and we took a walk into town and along the river and stayed in this beautiful hotel, located just outside the camp site.
Using our campsite as a base, we drove to Wuerzburg, where we studied from 1974 to 1980, before coming to Canada. This is the entrance to our University department through which we walked daily. The university had been founded back in 1402 … yup, still there today!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_W%C3%BCrzburg
Compared to then, the city is much more lively, with wine bars and coffee shops at every corner, so it seems.
And the house/apartments we had lived are still there as well: Semmelstrasse 51 and Steinheilstrasse 7!
And, what a surprise, our Metzgerei (butcher)
on Semmelstrasse where we got our Fleischbroetchen in the past, still existed after all these years. … mmmhhh getting hungry!
Starting our last leg of our travels in Germany, we stopped in Stuttgart/Wilhelmsheim to see our friend Uwe. The three of us studied in Wuerzburg, and have remained friends since then!!! WE enjoyed, once again, Uwe's culinary extravaganza … but for some reasons, we never managed to take a photo of this event. But here is one, showing Uwe in his element aboard La Buena Vida:
Hope to see him again in the near future!
Our next stop brought us to the Bodensee, another place with many memories. As noted before, the camping sites are getting busy and we had to try a few before we found one which had available sites (Camping Birnau-Maurach).
The place was located just a few hundred meters away from the famous Kloster Birnau - the interior was absolutely stunning, as was the location, overlooking the lake.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Birnau
Excursions along the shoreline gave us not only stunning views of the Swiss Alps south of us, but were rewarded with visits to small towns and harbours.
Moving west, the Black Forrest was our next destination. I (Heiner) spent a few years here, studying in Furtwangen. We arranged our travels to see good friends of ours there, Michael and family. They stayed with us a few years ago, when we offered them our house to use as a base for exploring our part of Canada. Unfortunately, the weather was not up to its usual summer pattern, it was cold and rainy. Nevertheless, they enjoyed their stay here and we were looking forward to seeing them again. Unfortunately, the weather during our visit with them also showed its rainy side, but this did not dampen our enjoyment in seeing them again and venturing out on hiking paths we had been on back in the 70s.
They took us on a tour of a small distillery, hidden in a valley, where we sampled some of the local specialties. We would have like to import most of them back to Canada, but … there are some very restrictive importation rules we sadly had to accept!
Our final destination was Freiburg, a city we both love. The camp site was packed, but the place was run by a dedicated and very nice manager who found us a place to park the van. Apart from the fact that the place offered a nice view of the surroundings, it was also within walking distance, along the river, into town.
On top of that, we managed to get hold of one of our friends, Erik and family. In the evening, we were sitting in front of our van, enjoying a glass or two of wine, while their two small children made themselves comfortable in our van. It was a great evening!
We are linked to him through our times in Stuttgart, where we both worked at Bosch Photokino (Untertuerkheim) during our study time in Germany. Erik's father (my boss) invited us Wednesdays to a wonderful supper (cooked by his wife Elisabeth), and before we sat down to a delightful evening, we took the kids to indoor pool for some fun. Since then, Erik had grown up a bit and is no longer the boy I could carry on my shoulders, splashing around in the pool.
Time to leave Germany … heading for Luxembourg. In Europe, most distances are relatively short for our standards. Hence, we decided to take the scenic route. This send us through the famous wine region of The Kaiserstuhl (https://www.wine-searcher.com/regions-kaiserstuhl), with its numerous little villages, each inviting us to a wine tasting. We wished we could. While studying in the Black Forest, I very much enjoyed its wine: it was affordable, and still is. But very little is exported. And what is exported, well, try to find it in our local liquor stores … Haven't seen it!
The drive was ever winding between the wine stocks. And with some melancholy, we left Germany behind and crossed the Rhein river into France.
June 16 to - heading home
After touring small villages in Alsace, we hit the highway until Luxembourg city.
The skies were grey and low. Luxembourg city
lies at 49degree latitude (Kingston, Canada
is at 44 degree): we definitely were in Northern Europe!!!
Our campsite was not far from Luxembourg
City that we could easily reach by public bus. The
municipal campsite was very tidy and managed by an employee who had a more
Germanic style to her than all the camping managers met so far in Germany!!!!
She spoke German and English with a very
strong French accent. (Luxembourgeois, French and German are the official
languages of this small country).
Luxembourg
City on a Sunday is
very quiet. Being the seat of several institutions, agencies and bodies of the European Union, a great
number of restaurants and cafés catering to bureaucrats and other employees were
closed. We nevertheless explored the Old Town and walked along the walls of the Corniche which look
over the city down onto a valley.
We managed to find some ambiance around the Place d’Armes; a
bit surprised to find so many American fast food chains in this European city,
we settled for a patio under gas heating lamps and had pizza!!!!
Next day, we reached our final campsite which was located in the Netherlands but very close to Brueges (Bonte
Hoeve, St.Kruis/Ostburg).
Before preparing the van for shipping, however, we wanted to visit Bruges. This city is a
real jewel mostly known for its laces. But it is so much more! We did not tire to walk its small streets, enjoying chocolate,
waffles, fries and beer…so many things to eat in such little time!!!
Bruges not only has a valuable architectural heritage and history, it is also
famous for its brick-Gothic buildings. Not only the medieval fabric of the city
has been retained but it has successfully been integrated with modern
buildings. We booked a tour of its canals (it is often referred to as the
Venise of the North) which enabled us to admire the facades from the water and
to understand the origin of their design.
After our visit to Bruges, we had some time to wind down; we made an excursion to Bresken, Netherlands looking at the mouth of the Scheldt river (l'Escaut in French), knowing that in a couple of days, the ship with our KIA van would be leaving Europe towards the Atlantic ocean.
We enjoyed the bucolic landscapes of Netherland.
Then came the time to prepare the car for its shipping
to Halifax, Canada.
Agriculture Canada
is quite picky when it comes to the cleanliness of vehicles disembarking on
Canadian soil. After going through a car wash, we also cleaned the interior,
kept only canned goods but no other items (containing meat or fish or cheese),
secured everything and brought the van, as planned, to Antwerp.
The drop-off time was 11h30 next morning. The drive to Antwerp
harbour took about 40 minutes. The sun was shining: we were almost in disbelief
that our voyage had come to an end.
Now being a little more familiar with the gigantic harbour and with the
help of our GPS, we had no problem finding the building of Euro Terminal Kaai
1333; we had been in that same building a few months ago for receiving the van!
We filled out the paper work and voilà! A harbour worker stuck a note
with HAL (Halifax) and a bar code to the car windows and we were done. It was
almost unbelievable at this point that the van would make it back to Canada…
After we said bye bye to our little van, we had to make our
way back to Antwerp. The cost
of a taxi was 75 euros! But the employee of the shipping company indicated that
there was a bus going to Antwerp: a
cheaper alternative if we just walked a little. After almost one hour of
walking (!) through this industrial and somewhat deserted area, we finally saw
some civilisation and a bus stop (83,89).
After months of camping, we spent a night at the hotel: at the Ibis Hotel of Antwerpen, the same hotel we had spent our firsts nights back in February. Just above the Lidl grocery store, and very close to the train station, it was the perfect location. Next morning, we took the train to Brussels.
We booked 2 nights at the hotel THON HOTEL BRUSSELS CITY
CENTRE. This hotel located on Avenue du
Boulevard was perfectly suited to our needs. Just steps from the city's main
shopping street and a 10 minute walk from the Grand
Place, it was close to the Rogier metro station and
to the Brussels North Station with direct connection to Brussels
Airport!
Our stay in Brussels
was very enjoyable. While we were there, an international soccer championship
was taking place and the streets were packed with fans watching the games on
exterior TV screens. Brussel was easy to explore (much smaller than Paris) and had many interesting areas and neighbourhood.
Of course, we spend time on La Grande Place, admiring all its imposing buildings.
And we found the little guy ! That week, as it seemed to be a student graduation of sort, he was wearing the students' s costume.
Bruxelles has many buildings with Art Nouveau architecture. This is one good example.
After so mulch walking, it was always pleasant to find a nice sunny place to sip one of the many excellent Belgian beers...
Our flight back to Canada was with WOW Air, a
perfectly suitable option for us as we needed a one-way ticket only and did not
have much luggage. It was not a direct flight to Toronto as we made a stop in Iceland…but we did not care: it
just made our trip more interesting!
PICKING UP THE VAN
Having arrived by plane in Canada about 10 days before picking up the van, we needed 2 days of driving (1500km) to pick it up in Nova Scotia at the Halifax harbour. What a long and, might we say, dull trip. We had been spoiled during our European road trip with so many different landscapes, castles, villages perched on mountain tops that the continous forest scape of Eastern Canada did not excite us at all. At least, we were not stressed by traffic!!!
We picked up the van at the Halifax harbour: it was easy enough. And then, driving back home with the van and our other car...thankfully, the weather was excellent. We were happy to leave the non stop forest of New Brunswick behind us and we spent the night at a traveler's rest area in La Pocatière , Québec, overlooking the St Lawrence river.
Next day, we were home. What a beautiful trip it was...we could start all over again !!!
