Charleville-Mézières

Our home for the past two nights has been the Kyriad City Centre in Charleville Mezieres. This famous city was the first pit stop on this leg of the ride. I have learned just how popular these so called rest days are on every ride, although precious little resting actually takes place. In fact most of our participants would probably say that they expend more energy exploring foreign cities, than they do when riding from place to place on their bikes.

Having two nights at the Kyriad also gave me a chance to assess the quality of the accommodation in more detail. I have a simple set of yardsticks with which to judge any hotel, and here are some of them:
1. Is there an ample supply of hot water ?
2. Is the room big enough to open my luggage and move about freely ?
3. Does the toilet flush properly ?
4. Can the toilet roll be reached easily when you are sitting on the toilet ?
5. Are there any shelf spaces or hooks in the bathroom ?
6. Is the lighting adequate or do you need to wear a head torch ?
7. Does it have a reasonable outlook from the window ?
8. Does the AC work properly ?
9. Is it quiet at night ?
10. Does the bed come with proper pillows and clean, taut sheets ?
11. Are there a sufficient number of power points
12. (Very important) Does it have fast and secure Internet services ?
13. Is the breakfast up to a good standard ?
14. Does it have a functioning lift ?

If you can answer a YES to the above questions, I would say that the hotel scores a pass mark in my book. While the Budget Ibis at Givet scored a NO to almost all of the above points, I am pleased to say that the Kyriad was a much better hotel. Not perfect, but quite acceptable.

After breakfast, our first task was to find a Laundromat to catch up on the ever increasing mountain of laundry. David informed us that he had found the ideal place, but his instructions were so abysmal, that it took us about an hour to walk the short distance from our hotel. He even got the name of the place incorrect.

When we eventually found the place, it was already full of fellow Ghostriders, all watching the accumulated filth being swished out of their clothing. I had to admit that the Laundromat was really a high class setup. Not only were the washing machines impressive, but they even dispensed their own washing detergent.

About 45 minutes later we were heading back to the hotel with a bag full of clean and (almost) dry clothing. We then decided to catch a taxi to what we thought was the old city, but was actually the impressive Hotel de Ville.

This city was the site of intense fighting during WW2, and the scars of battle can still be seen everywhere on the buildings. Some bullet damage has been repaired, but others are remain almost 80 years after the war ended.

The Ardennes Region was the region where the famous Battle of the Bulge took place. This was the last major German offensive, and it quickly faltered when fine weather allowed the allied air force to batter the German divisions. As we walked the streets of the city, we could not help but feel the pain and suffering that had taken place here. You could almost feel the awful memories permeating the buildings and streets.

Tomorrow, we resume our ride as we continue our way to Bouillon.Read more