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When in Alsace

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Do you remember my old mate Floyd? He of the “to know a country you have to eat a country” mantra!

Well today he would have been proud of me! You see Mulhouse is in Alsace, part of France that has passed back and to between Germany and France so many times over the centuries that the people don’t speak just one of the languages, they speak both and sometimes in the same sentence! It’s the same with food, there’s a lot shared across the River Rhine. 

One of the most famous local dishes is tarte flambée an Alsatian and South German dish composed of bread dough rolled out very, very, thin in the shape of a rectangle or oval and covered with fromage blanc or crème fraîche, thinly sliced onions and lardons. It’s also known as Flammekueche,

One of this trip’s missions has been to track down a genuine tarte flambée and I’m pleased to report that in the rather splendid Cité du Train restaurant I succeeded! Et voila! 

 

. . . and very good it was too!

No it’s not a pizza either!

Crossing The Rhine

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After a thoroughly enjoyable five hours, yes honestly, in the railway museum we pulled out of Mulhouse and headed for Germany. Not such a big deal really, it’s only seven miles down the road and suddenly we were crossing the mighty River Rhine and the border. We certainly are crossing off the big rivers of Europe on this trip!

The plan was to head up into the mountains of the Black Forest, which frankly looked a bit forbidding and covered in cloud. As we took our planned route and began the climb we rounded a corner and that was it, the road was closed. . . No advance warning either, Straße Gesperrt! Oh yeah and no diversion route suggested as well, thanks Germany! A quick consult of the map showed two options, the Northern one would put at least sixty miles on our route and the Southern one would be a lot shorter, but probably a bit tedious on the Autobahn. South it was then, with strains of Kraftwerk passing through my mind! Thirty miles of Autobahn was enough for me, even though it had a 120kph limit, no one was sticking to it; no that’s wrong actually everyone was behaving except for anyone driving a Swiss car and they were everywhere, very fast, very close and very dangerous!

I decided to bale out onto ordinary roads and just for fun crossed the Rhine again, but this time into Switzerland; three countries in less than two hours, bonkers! Now here was a strange thing, in their own country all Swiss registered cars all stick to the speed limits, drive with plenty of distance and generally behave, strange! 

At Koblenz we crossed back into Germany and found our hotel in the old town part of Waldshut-Tiengen, a pleasant sort of place with a nice up-market feel and traditional buildings adding character. The Main Street is pedestrianised and makes for an agreeable stroll.  

 

The view from the hotel window. 

 

 Oh yes I’d better show you a picture of the Rhine as well! The chap on reception at the hotel said that it’s not so much of a river, it’s more about what defines people of these parts; I rather like that! 

 

101 miles today.

” Wir fahr’n fahr’n fahr’n auf der Autobahn.”

Bis später!

Dookes

Cité du Train

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First up, before I forget again, yesterday’s mileage was 343, but it honestly seemed a lot less, such is the ease of riding Baby Harls!

Today dawned a tad damp in Mulhouse, but that didn’t matter at all, because most of the day has been spent inside the wonderful Cité du Train, the French National Railway Museum. I spent the greater part of my working life on the railways, just under thirty years to be exact, and still class myself as a Railwayman. Additionally, I’ve long held a great admiration for French trains and the work of the famous engineers such as De Glehn and Chapelon, so the chance to get up close to some of their machines was too good to miss! Well, ok to be honest, I’ve been planning to visit this place for years and it didn’t disappoint at all.

Top marks to the place for keeping up with modern technology as well, you can download an App for your phone or tablet that gives a much greater insight to the exhibits as you walk around the large collection. On top of that, your admission also gives you a portable audio guide in the language of your choice, no Welsh though 😦 !

The collection is split between two large buildings, one being the old Mulhouse-Nord Engine Depot and between the two is a rather superb restaurant; this is France after all! It claims to be the biggest railway museum in the world, but as the British National Railway Museum at York is five times the size and has nearly four times as many visitors each year, I leave the maths to others! Anyway, I’m not being disparaging, it really is a super place and well worth a visit.

The first hall that a visitor passes into is the old depot, at first it takes a bit of getting used to, the lighting is all subdued and very atmospheric; exhibits are brilliantly highlighted as appropriate. My favourite by a mile was this fantastic 241  “Mountain” Class loco from the Est Company, dating from 1925. I love the blue lighting that gives a night-time feel to the scene. 

 

Now I realise that this could all get a bit photo heavy and posting from a tablet that’s going to cause me a few problems, so here’s the deal; I’ll whack some stuff on now and when I get home I’ll post more, probably in a few goes, ok? Good!  Otherwise it’s gonna end up a bit like Locomotive Porn!!!

Also in the atmospheric Hall One is a rather nice collection of classic passenger carriages that go back to almost the beginning of French railways. Most recognisable would be this wonderful CIWL Restaurant Car of the type used on the famous Orient Express.  

 
Hey look where it was built!  In the Second Hall, it’s all a lot brighter if a tad less atmospheric. There are some real gems here. 
 This Buddicom of 1844 is reputed to,be the oldest, original, loco in Continental Europe, built in Rouen by an English engineer, behind it is one of Robert Stephenson’s exports that was built in Newcastle around 1850.

Every thirty minutes Hudson 232.U.1 “Departs” Paris for Lyon in a cloud of steam, actually the engine has been jacked up and the wheels are spun by electric motor, but it still looks great and with some nice sound effects really captures the moment!  

 

More modern trains feature as well. There’s  a great display of Trans Europe Express equipment, stuff that I remember travelling on like this CC Electric, Number 6575. 

  

The exhibits continue outside as well, I end this post with one of the original Train a Grande Vitesse, TGV, power cars. 

 

I remember travelling on these as well, I’ll be in a museum next at this rate!

“Meet Iggy Pop and David Bowie, Trans Europe Express.”

Dookes

Cars

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Just a thought that crossed my mind yesterday as we bowled along the Autoroutes.

Am I the only one that thinks that nearly all modern cars are, well to be frank, Pug Ugly?

Now I’m not talking about the top end super cars, no I mean the cars that “ordinary” people drive! All those people carriers, small hatchbacks and family saloons all look pretty much the same as well. I know it’s all about fuel efficiency and making the things slippery through the air, but the “looks” department seems to have been fired!

To be fair France has over the years been responsible for some pretty poor examples as well as some of the best. I may be corrected, probably by Vifferman, but I can’t really remember a good looking Peugeot or Renault. Citroën, however, gave us the wonderfully quirky and much loved 2CV and the all time classic DS. So come on you car designers give us something nice to look at out on those boring Autoroutes!

  
The Citroën DS. I rest my case!

Dookes

Meeting People

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I’ve often commented about people I meet when I’m on the road and today has lived up to expectations.

My bikes always seem to grab someone’s attention and I really like it if they come over to ask some questions, it gives me a chance to practice language skills as well! 

It’s the unexpected things I love best, like this afternoon. I stopped in a small town called Avallon for some fuel and popped into a supermarket for some fruit. This time of year I adore the fresh French apricots, so much nicer than those that they export; clever people the French, keeping the best for themselves! So there I was perusing what was offer when I noticed an elderly French lady sifting through the fruit, but she couldn’t reach the top trays so I offered to help her and bring them nearer as the apricots looked better in those. She thanked me and dived straight in looking at the new fruit, then stopped when she saw what I was doing.

Clearly I was a novice and thus followed a lesson in how to find the best apricots! I’m not going to tell you how, go to Avallon and look for Madame yourself, I’m sure she’ll show you; me, I’m happy with my selection of excellent fruit aided by my new French friend!

Bon soirée!

Dookes

Across the Rivers and Plains

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After my splendid petit déjeuner Baby Harls and I hit the road around nine thirty. The day was warming up nicely, this was going to be a bit of a hot one, in more ways than one!

We had a tad of nonsense getting round Bourges, I think someone in the local highway department had a sense of humour when the town’s bypass was named “Rocade Jacques Bastard,” it certainly is a bit of one!  Anyway, we slotted onto the N151 with a bit of trepidation, you see I’d been along this road before in a car with Mrs Dookes and it wasn’t the greatest trip. Today though, was so different. Light traffic, ok there was almost none and lovely sunshine.

The road is pretty straight, the Romans were here a few thousand years ago, so we sang our Twin Cylinder song and purred East across the Cher Plain, this is the bread basket of France, wheat, barley and rape fields fill the land. I couldn’t resist trying to grab a “Big Sky” shot like Dhama Anchor  http://dharmaanchor.com does so well around Route 66.  

 I think that worked pretty well!

Dropping gently into the Loire valley and crossing the mighty river at La Charité we negotiated the narrow streets through historic buildings that even predate me! From Charité the road turns slightly North East and heads into Burgundy/Bourgogn, it’s still Roman so still pretty straight. Bourgogne is lovely, especially the Morvan part of which we passed through.

Clemency was were we crossed the River Yonne and shortly after the road became delightfully twisty winding through the Maulay Forest to the magical  hill top town of Vézelay. The town and the famous 11th century Romanesque Basilica of St Magdelene are designated UNESCO World Heritage sites, Mrs D and I visited in October a few years back and it was delightful; rather more tourists around today though! 

 It looked great across the fields.

From Avallon it was back on the Autoroutes I’m afraid! The first one was the worse, the A6, the infamous Route du Soliel. The motorway is the favourite of Parisienne holidaymakers as it is the main link to the South of France and the French Riviera. Notorious for traffic jams and accidents in the high holiday season, it’s reputation is well deserved and you certainly need to keep your wits about you! Once on the A36 we crossed the Saône and the traffic quietened down nicely, this is a super Autoroute with interesting bends and nice changes in gradient, enough to keep it interesting. 

. . . and so into Mulhouse, our stop for tonight. Not as plush as yesterday, but chosen for a reason and more of that tomorrow!

Catch you later and in the meantime, 

 “Don’t let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy.”

Dookes

Petit Dejuner

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I told you that this Chambres d’Hôte did great breakfasts. 

The spread for this morning comprises of;

Orange juice, real coffee, croissantes, bread, crêpes, yogurt, a sweet apple flan, melon, cheese, ham, six different confitures and two different types of honey. No wonder that I keep coming back! For info you can find the details on: http://www.chambredhotedelajunchere.com. If you are passing this way I can definitely recommend!

Madame makes all the confitures herself; my favourite is the Fig with Nuts, which last time I was here she told me how to make it, I sorry to report that as yet I haven’t tried.

I slept like a log and was woke by the delightful sounds of a cuckoo and donkey competing to greet the dawn.

It looks like a beautiful day, certainly the view from my bedroom is looking good. 

 

Now if you’ll excuse me, je vais manger!

Dookes

Strange but True

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These days I refuse to be surprised by anything I see on the road. 

Usually it’s idiotic driving that grabs my attention, but this one is right up there with weird!

Seen at the side of the road in Vern sur Seiche, one very contented looking Camel!

  

There was a very big bucket of water just out of shot, funny I thought he had brought his own!

Perhaps his name is Humph-Humph?

Well it can’t be Humphry, cos there’s only two!

. . . And Breathe!

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Tonight, “Baby Harls” and I are resting at a charming Chambres d’Hôtes near Vierzon, in the Berry Povince of the Cher Département. It’s a place I’ve stayed at many times before, because each time I am welcomed as an old friend and Madame’s petit dej is to die for!

The countryside from Roscoff, through Brittany and the Pays de la Loire is probably best described as “Pastoral,” it’s largely mixed farmland with the odd town thrown in every thirty miles.  Rennes is by far the biggest city and it’s older parts are really nice, but no time to stop today. After Le Mans the landscape begins to roll in a much grander way, this is the large sweeping valley of the mighty Loire, the longest river in France. The weather took a turn for the worse and got quite dull after leaving Tours, which is an OK sort of place, had the heart bombed out of it in 1944 and apart from the old Cathedral, the new building development doesn’t do much for me. The natives of Tours are renowned for speaking the purest form of the French language and they do love to revel in their linguistic snobbery, good for them I say! From Tours we crossed the Loire, turned left and traced the River Cher, a delightfully peaceful waterway nestling in its own quite grand wide valley carved in the limestone countryside. 

 Mennetou sur Cher seemed a good spot to take a stroll, it’s an old medieval walled city, actually little more than a village, that still clings onto bags of character. This fine stone bridge spans the Cher, but why did someone stick two such ugly lamps on it?

 The disused Berry Canal also passes through and just adds to the ambience. 

 

Jeanne D’Arc,  Joan of Arc, is reputed to have passed though this arch in 1429. That’s a bit awe inspiring!  

So it’s been the first really decent milage day, 393 to be exact, on my new baby and what can I report? Well I guess it’s true to say that Harley Davidson have done a stunning job with these “Rushmore” models, I my humble opinion anyway. 

I won’t say that after such a milage that I’m not tired; probably not putting my ear plugs in after lunch may have something to do with that, but after years being around and on all sorts of noisy locomotives and bikes something had to give! In comparison I have ridden the same route on my Softail before and been considerably more knackered than I feel right now. I could easily have done another 150+ miles today, but this is supposed to be fun, not punishment!  The bike has performed very well, cruising at 130(ish)kph, that’s about 81mph, with no effort at all; fuel consumption is around 45 to the gallon.
 I’ve played around with the cruise control all day, but it really came into its own when we hit the Péage, (Toll Road), where the traffic was almost non-existent. Then it was time to kick out the highway pegs and breathe! It’s amazing how not having to hold the throttle makes a big difference, on the Softail I used to have to sometimes strap up my right wrist on a long trip! 

Before I left Dookes H.Q. I switched the pipes and put the standard ones back on, she hasn’t been Stage One tuned yet and I quite fancied a quieter ride, it worked a treat and I even had time for a spot of music whilst cruising along. Poser!

Another big(ish) mileage day tomorrow, you up for it? Good, see you on the road, Mulhouse looks interesting!

“My uniform is leather and my power is my age.”

Dookes

Hard Miles

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Last night’s ferry crossing was so smooth that you could have been forgiven for thinking that we were sliding across glass; Mrs Dookes would have approved, she’s not great on ships!
The only downside was waking to thick fog that lay across the sea and land like a big, wet, grey blanket. This is nasty stuff when you are riding a motorbike; not only is visibility reduced and therefore, if you are sensible, so is your speed, but the tiny droplets of water coat everything, including your visor and so visibility gets even worse! It’s ok for car (cage) drivers, they have windscreen wipers, us bikers have only our fingers! On top of that, the road can also get nicely greasy . . . I hate fog!
So progress this morning has been a tad trying, not to mention slow, until we got to St Brieuc when surprise, out came the sun and the temperature went up 5 degrees. Currently stopped for fuel for both bike and boy at Vern sur Seiche. 136 miles in two hours ten, so I guess we weren’t really hanging about! 
What I can report though is that my new girl rides like a dream in mile munching mode.

I had a quick blast on Harls, my Softail, on Tuesday. That was fantastic, in a totally different way. . . so noisy and windy and fun!
Anyway gotta dash!

“I hear that highway a callin’ .”

Dookes