France
Grand-Est

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    • Day 1

      En france

      April 18, 2022 in France ⋅ 🌬 50 °C

      Currently I am in France. Luckily we are travelling with approximately 300kmh (186 mph for the american fellows). That means we're soon away again. We try to speak as little french as possible, due to the fact that all this is an english language stay.Read more

    • Day 43

      FĂŒnf Fotos-Rhine Cruise Day 1

      May 26, 2022 in France ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

      Although we're on the boat we have remained docked as planned for the first day. We slept well, and we were up early to have breakfast and get ready for our departure by coast.

      We began the day with about an hour drive to Lucerne, Switzerland. We learned from our guide that today is Ascension Day, a clerical holiday in Switzerland that celebrates the Christian event of the ascension of Christ forty days after the resurrection. Most businesses are closed on this day, and we learned that truckers are not allowed to operate unless they are transporting food.

      Lucerne is a preserved Medieval city in central Switzerland with beautiful Lake Lucerne at its center with a backdrop of the Swiss Alps.

      When we left the coach we walked across a beautiful wooden covered pedestrian bridge, Kapellbrücke (Chapel Bridge) that crosses the Reuss River. The bridge was first built in the 14th century and it contains many paintings from the 17th century. We learned that a large section of the bridge was destroyed by fire as well as many of the original paintings. The Kapellbrücke is the oldest coveted bridge in Europe.

      We enjoyed walking the streets of the Altstadt (Old Town) and the river serves as a dividing point between old and new. We also enjoyed the rather quiet streets due to the holiday.

      When we returned to the coach, we headed for Wilderswil, a town near Interlachen, a beautiful town surrounded by glacier fed turquoise lakes. At Wilderswil, we made our way to a historic cog railway that took us on a 45-minute steep path to the Schynige Platte, a small mountain ridge and a viewpoint in the Bernese Highlands. The views of the glacier-covered Alps from this 7,000 ft. viewpoint was magnificent. We were blessed by a beautiful sunny day with mostly unobstructed views of the moutains.

      I have to admit that my view of the fields surrounded by the backdrop of the snow-capped mountains took me back to my six-year old self viewing the opening scene of Julie Andrews in the Sound of Music. It was magical, and I remember wanting very much to be in that field when I was little.

      We noticed off to the background a few musicians playing the alphorn, the twelve-foot horns made famous by the Ricola commercial. We decided to wander further up the slope to view the different vegetation. I kept my eyes focused for edelweiss, but I learned that it's too early in the season from one of the passengers who is traveling from the UK.

      At the appointed time, we made for our descent down the mountain to our waiting coach for the two and a half hour return trip to Basel. The sights were indeed beautiful. It's not every day that you get to see rolling hills with a castle scattered here and there. At the risk of sounding ungrateful, it was a bit too long a day on the coach. It's reinforced for me that I generally would prefer to be traveling at our own pace instead of with ninety-five of our "closest friends".

      That brings me to our efforts to try and find connection on the cruise. It appears that nearly all, if not all, of the passengers are from the UK. They look like us, they're the same age range as us, but it appears that we're the only couple from the States as well as the only gay couple. It's interesting feeling more like outliers in this experience than in other countries that we have visited to date where the language, culture and skin tone of the people is markedly different than ours.

      We've been trying to find ways to strike up conversations, and most of that has been a bit of a miss so far except for Daniel, one of the bartenders who is from Romania. Daniel has grown weary of the hospitality industry, especially in the aftermath of COVID-19. He is studying to be a truck driver because he likes to drive and he sees it as an opportunity for me freedom in his life. I don't think he's much younger than me. I'm optimistic that we'll have more opportunities to meet other folks and have deeper conversations as the week progresses. The few folks we have spoken with to date have had some connections to Portland through family and friends. Multnomah Falls is a universal hit. 😊

      We did have another great dinner, and at this writing, I'm staring out at the floor to ceiling glass doors of the French Balcony with the man I love at my side. At some point this evening, we should launch north on the beautiful Rhine. I'm ready. Guten Nacht!
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    • Day 86

      Bulgnéville im Grand Est

      June 11, 2022 in France ⋅ ☀ 30 °C

      Nach unserem gestrigen Stopp im märchenhaft schönen Montpeyroux in der Region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes machen wir unseren nächsten Zwischenstopp in Bulgnéville im Grand Est. Eigentlich sind wir hier gestrandet, da wir von unserem eigentlich geplanten Stellplatz in Langres geflüchtet sind. Eine hoch eingezäunte Betonfläche, die in der heißen Sonne förmlich glüht, ist nicht einmal nur für eine Nacht eine Option. Wie Spiegeleier in einer Pfanne gebraten zu werden, geht gar nicht.

      Jetzt sind wir sehr happy, noch ein Stück weitergefahren zu sein. Der kleine, liebevoll angelegte Stellplatz liegt an einem Weiher und große Bäume spenden Schatten. Wir sitzen auf einer saftigen Wiese... nach drei Monaten Spanien ist das für uns etwas ganz besonderes... vergraben die Füße in den kühlen Grashalmen und kühlen uns natürlich auch von innen. đŸș

      Gut gehts uns... đŸžđŸ˜ŽđŸŒžđŸ„‚
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    • Day 11

      Ein Traum! Den letzten Abend genießen 😎

      August 9, 2022 in France ⋅ ☀ 31 °C

      Heute genießen wir mit unserem Weltenbummler Ralf noch schön den Abend.

      Wir stehen hier ganz alleine - direkt am Kanal - mit einer großen Wiese - schön in der Abendsonne 🌞

      Grill raus - Tisch aufgebaut und schön gegessen - wir kommen uns vor, wie wenn wir im eigenen Garten sitzen 😃
      Die Leute die vorbeikommen freuen sich mit uns und sind alle freundlich 👍

      Es ist einfach immer schön so frei zu stehen…
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    • Day 2

      Day 2 - The 1st Tour Gig in Strasbourg

      February 29 in France ⋅ ☀ 9 °C

      After posting my 1st blog, I got into bed and checked on the Utd score just as it had gone to VAR in the 89th minute. Casemiro’s headed goal stood. Remarkably I was able to watch the remainder of the game on the BBC Sport App & probably could have watched the whole match.

      The next thing I remember (almost certainly helped by last night’s bottle of red) is waking up around 5.30am to Grumpy snoring like a warthog. Luckily it was so loud he woke himself up, then went back to sleep silently. I couldn’t get back to sleep, so at 6.45am I got up & stumbled around the room in the dark trying to pack up my gear that was spread out all over the solitary table, chairs & floor.

      After showering, I snuck out of the room for the (all you can eat) breakfast buffet. The breakfast room was busy with people of all ages, Nationalities & apparent walks of life. I shared a table of four with myself and dined on bread rolls I had stuffed with ham and cheese, followed by honey, then cake. My head had a caffeine rush after the 4th coffee. Not bad considering that it was included in the price of my stay for just €35 per night. Four coffees in the town would probably have cost more than that alone!

      My Youth Hostel Luxembourg stay was certainly not an unpleasant experience. Everyone, including my 3 roommates, were very courteous and respectful. Hopefully it will be the same at the hostels I’m staying at in Switzerland.

      After breakfast, I walked down to the Alzette River for a few photographs of the Steichen Bridge, the Neimenster and the other historic buildings in the locality, including their National Natural History Museum. There was a thick mist hanging over Luxembourg City, which gave an eerie feel to the place.

      At 9.30am, I returned to the Youth Hostel to pack up the rest of my gear, then 15 minutes later I checked out. I changed the settings on my SatNav to ‘Winding Route’ instead of ‘Fastest Route’, then entered my hotel address in Strasbourg as the destination. It showed my route to be just 125 miles, but estimated to take just over 4 hours.

      It was a lovely 4 hour ride through rolling farmland with long sweeping bends, alongside rivers, passing lakes and through quaint little villages and the odd small town. I really don’t know what route I took, but after leaving Luxembourg, I rode into France, then took a sojourn into Germany, before returning to France. I only got off the bike twice, once to fill up with Luxembourg fuel at €1.57 a litre and then just to take a photo of a rather lovely gothic church in a village called Munster. I felt like a real ‘motorcycle man’.

      I arrived at my hotel, the imaginatively named Hotel Strasbourg not long after 2.00pm & was gratefully allowed to check in to my double room that I didn’t have to share with anyone else. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to enjoy the room, because I had sightseeing to do.

      It was a mile long walk along the foot & cycle path of the River L’Ill to my 1st stop, the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. The building was a modern box and nothing to write home about……..oh bugger I just have!! The biggest thing of note was outside the entrance there were numerous groups of African males, who appeared to be illegal immigrants. To be fair to them they weren’t disturbing passers-by, but a couple of arguments broke out amongst themselves and I could easily see it kicking off.

      I didn’t hang around and moved on to the very picturesque old town. I started in Petite France, mainly a collection of old buildings on islands surrounded by the River L’Ill. It was then onto Grande-ile de Strasbourg, which is the large island upon which the old town sits. In and around the area, I visited the Alsatian Museum (nothing to do with that horrible dog breed!), the History Museum, Palais Rohan, Notre Dame Cathedral, Kleber Square and St Pierre Le Jeune Church. When I say I visited them, I looked at them from the outside and took a photo of them. I particularly object to paying to enter churches & Cathedrals. The very impressive (from the outside) Notre Dame Cathedral wanted €8 entry fee. I did however sit in Kleber Square and eat a €5.90 Big Mac, which doubled up as my lunch and dinner.

      Time was pushing on, so I headed to La Laiterie, the venue for the evening’s gig. The tour bus was outside & I could hear the sound check taking place. There were a few French youngsters outside the open venue door drinking beer, but I chose not to join them. Instead I returned to my hotel room for a lie down after my 5.5 mile walk.

      Less than 90 minutes later, I was heading back out on the 10 minute walk to La Laiterie. I arrived dead on 7.30pm to discover a huge queue, but it went down rapidly. In the venue, I bagged myself a bargain, I bought the Unbroken Tour t-shirt for €25, not the £25 they were charging on the 1st night of the tour in Northampton. I also endeared myself to the lady selling the merch because I was able to give her the correct money including 2 x €10 notes. I also bought myself 1 unimpressive beer for €7. Sadly I didn’t hear or notice anyone speaking English, so I found myself an elevated position next to the mixing desk, where I stayed for the rest of the evening.

      At 8.00pm sharp, the support band, Divine Shade, came out to play their 35 minute set. They were fantastic and definitely one of the best support bands I have seen in many a year. The band are from Lyon and supported Gary Numan on his tour in 2022. Their music is described as Neo Industrial / Dark Wave, I personally would describe them as somewhere between Killing Joke and The Sisters of Mercy.

      At 9.01pm, New Model Army took to the stage and did their thing, another superb passionate performance. There is no point in me trying to describe the performance, but of note Dean & Justin did an acoustic version of Snelsmore Wood as the first encore song. A great result for me, because Snelsmore Wood is one of my favourite songs. The band also played Where I Am. These were not listed on the set list.

      At the conclusion of the performance, I tried to see if there was a spare set list available. There wasn’t. I photographed one that someone had managed to get hold of. It didn’t have the amendments.

      As I was leaving I heard a group of 3 talking in English, but it felt too late to say hello & then as I got outside I saw the NMA stalwart Steve ‘Red’ Clarke sat on the floor with his chunky necklace around his neck. A woman was fussing over him & I heard him say “I’m alright, I need to pace myself”. It looked like he was in good hands, so despite the fact that he is also on the magic bus, I decided to leave them to it & I hot footed it back to my hotel for a well earned rest.

      Song of the Day - Motorcycle Man by The Damned.
      NMA Song of the Day - Snelsmore Wood by New Model Army.

      I had intended to upload a couple of videos I took of the gig, but they were too long to upload to Penguin. Next time.
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    • Day 131

      Unser letzter Stopp in Frankreich

      March 5 in France ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

      Am frühen Nachmittag treffen wir in Millery, einem kleinen Örtchen an der Mosel ein.

      Den kleinen, kostenlosen Stellplatz direkt am Moselufer haben wir nur zufällig entdeckt.

      Es gibt sieben Stellplätze mit kostenloser Entsorgung. Strom und Wasser sind, falls gewünscht, kostenpflichtig.

      Interessanterweise steht ein Baguette- und ein Pizzaautomat auf dem Platz. Ein Baguette ist dort für 1,20€ zu bekommen.

      An einem trüben Märztag wie heute kann man nur erahnen, wie hübsch es hier erst aussehen wird, wenn alles grünt und blüht.

      Bis Wasserbillig sind es nur noch 130km. Auch unser Heimathafen rückt näher...
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    • Day 3

      Strasbourg

      March 14 in France ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

      Vi hade förmiddagen på oss i Strasbourg innan tåget skulle ta oss vidare. Vi strosade runt i den gamla delen och insöp atmosfären, kom så småningom fram till den magnifika Vårfrukatedralen (Notre-Dame de Strasbourg).
      Inspekterade denna fantastiska byggnad (gratis!) och gick upp de 332 trappstegen upp i kyrktornet (en av oss iaf och inte gratis).
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    • Day 2

      Verdun Zitadelle

      October 27, 2019 in France ⋅ ☁ 13 °C

      Mit Bilder ist hier kaum etwas zu erzählen. Vielleicht klappt es ja mit Worten : Die Zitadelle von Verdun stammt schon aus dem 18. Jahrhundert und wurde dann während des 1. Weltkriegs zu einer Versorgungs- und Kommandozentrale ausgebaut. Bei der "Führung" fahren neun Personen in einem selbst fahrenden Gefährt durch ein Labyrinth von Gängen und alle 20 Meter gibt es eine andere Animation, meist begleitet von passender Musik: hier eine Besprechung im Stab, da ein Gespräch in der Bäckerei, hier ein Lazarett, da ein Unterstand. Es ist ungewohnt, bisweilen etwas plakativ, aber insgesamt informativ und berührend.Read more

    • Day 2

      Memorial de Verdun

      October 27, 2019 in France ⋅ 🌧 10 °C

      Das Memorial ist eine Ausstellung auf zwei Stockwerken: Unten geht es um den Krieg und um für Schlacht um Verdun an dich. Mit großem technischen Aufwand werden hier die Strategien und die Entwicklung der Front sowie das Leben der Soldaten im Schützengraben, im Lazarett oder auf Heimurlaub thematisiert. Im zweiten Stockwerk erfährt man viel über das Leben danach.
      Insgesamt interessant, aber auch erschlagend, weil sehr viel und sehr multimedial. Wahrscheinlich bräuchte man einen ganzen Tag nur für diese Ausstellung. Aber dafür bräuchte man wiederum ein stabiles Gemüt.
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    • Day 2

      Fort Douaumont und Gebeinhaus

      October 27, 2019 in France ⋅ 🌧 8 °C

      Was unter die Haut geht, sind nicht nur rdie Gräberfelder, es ist auch der Kontrast zwischen den Wäldern, durch die sich noch immer die Spuren der Schützengräben ziehen und wo man noch die Grantenkrater sieht, und den Kommandozentralen, wo man plötzlich Sicherheit und logistische Perfektion spürt. Eine davon war Fort Douaumont das lange von deutschen Truppen besetzt war.
      Eine letzte Ruhestätte fanden 1300 Soldaten im Gebeinhaus von Douaumont.
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    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Grand-Est, ACAL, Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine, Alsazia-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorena

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