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Re: Destination Alps ( and some other places along the way)
Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2018 3:59 pm
by Flintlock
Sunday 9th. Yet another glorious sunny, warm day. Allan's back had been giving him difs and he decided to shorten his milage and go solo across France back towards Brittainy & Normandy & would meet up with us on our last day (Wednesday).Steve Heff & myself cracked on along the D902 north out of Morzine, then took he D22, crossing into Switzerland at Chatel. We avoided the toll roads and as a result we travelled on a good selection of roads, initally through the Alps then around the east side of Lake Geneva towards Lac de Neuchatel towards Baden & then crossing into Germany at Waldshut-Tiengen. Being aware of the prices in Switzerland we opted for roadside brew ups.
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Another stop somewhere in Switzerland and we cooked up our lunch
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And an opportunity for Steve to get the hammock up
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Re: Destination Alps ( and some other places along the way)
Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2018 4:27 pm
by Flintlock
Another stop at Gransbrunnen along the way (only know it was here cause I clocked the name in the picture)
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Re: Destination Alps ( and some other places along the way)
Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2018 4:37 pm
by Flintlock
A couple of hours later & we crossed the border and the Rhine into Germany at Waldshut-Tiengen, a couple of hundred yards along the main road and we spotted another campsite - Rhein-camping, a very busy site, but typically German, efficient and spotlessly clean. We got booked in and had dinner and a couple of large German beers at the on-site restaurant.
A nicely located site on the bank of the Rhine
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Well placed to ride the B500 through the Black forest tomorrow.
Re: Destination Alps ( and some other places along the way)
Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2018 8:54 pm
by Flintlock
Monday 10th. Again another warm and sunny day. A left turn out of the campsite and the start of the B500 is a few hundred yards up the road , a left turn at a major junction. The traffic was a bit busy but soon eased off, the B500 is a great road with lots of lovely sweeping turns, passing through lots of hilly woodlands and the occasional lakes.It was around 100 miles long up fo Baden Baden, however my sat nav extended it by taking us off the B500 on a large loop along smaller roads and back unto a section of the B500 we had already done, on a plus side they too were great roads.
A typical German town we passed through on the way up
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After Baden Baden we covered roughly another 100 odd miles towards Trier (including an unrestricted speed carriageway), got some supplies and looked for a campsite. We soon found one and booked into Camping Losheim am See. We got a two bunk cabin for the night, the lady in reception was happy fof the three of us to use it.
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Tomorrow we would start to head back west aiming for a wee village in Belgium.
Re: Destination Alps ( and some other places along the way)
Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2018 11:25 pm
by bikenav
good report thanks for going to the effort
Re: Destination Alps ( and some other places along the way)
Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2018 7:43 pm
by Flintlock
Tuesday 11th. A pre-ordered breakfast on site and we were back on the road. The Belgium village in question was La Gleize ,,Stoumont & the reason to visit was to have a look at this
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King Tiger 213. Abandoned by the German army after being disabled by Americian gunners during the Battle of the Bulge in WW2.
An impressive tank, considering it was 75 years old and you can see how it would have struck fear into the allied troops in its day.
The strike marks by shells to the front
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Re: Destination Alps ( and some other places along the way)
Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2018 7:55 pm
by Flintlock
King Tiger 213 after being abandoned by its crew December 1944
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And my bike in the same location September 2018
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Re: Destination Alps ( and some other places along the way)
Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2018 8:10 pm
by Flintlock
So, after a brew up and a bite to eat in the shadow of the tank, we were back on the road, this area of Belgium is very nice, lots of mature woodland, pretty villages and nice roads, all helped of course by yet anoher sunny warm day. We stayed on the road until 7pm, then looked for a campsite, arriving at Camp Eure, Pont De L'Arche on the bank of he Seine, just before reception was being closed for the night
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Tomorrow would be our last day, but wih a couple of vists to WW2 sites along the way.
Re: Destination Alps ( and some other places along the way)
Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 7:53 pm
by Flintlock
Wednesday 12th. Our last day of the trip. Our ferry was not due to leave until 9pm, Cherbourg was roughly 150 miles away so we had plenty of time to get there. We set the destination on the sat nav for Sainte - Mere - Eglise, where we would meet up with Allan again. Back on the road, and after a while a familiar sight loomed up - Pegasus Bridge, we had been here before on a previous trip, but we were due a coffee stop, so we stopped at Cafe Gondree
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We were served by Madame Gondree herself,she was an infant when the British airboure forces took the bridge on the eve of D day. Lots of memorbilia in the cafe as you would expect.
It was then on to Pointe du Hoc, where the Americian Rangers scaled the cliffs to attack the German gun battery there
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A picture showing one of the aerial bombardments of the battery. The aftermath of the bombardments is still very evident today
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Re: Destination Alps ( and some other places along the way)
Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 8:00 pm
by Flintlock
Another stop at a roadside D day museum.
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