Road Trip

Vineyard near Husseren-les-Châteaux

My parents are volunteering in the Black Forest for a few weeks, giving me a good excuse for a spontaneous road trip.

Splashing in the fountain, Eguisheim

I drove south through Germany on the A61 motorway, aka autobahn. The one thing everyone seems to know about the autobahn is that there is no speed limit. It can be a bit startling to be passing a truck that's going 80 km/hour (about 50 mph), only to be passed on the other side by a car going close to 100 mph. Add in rain and construction diversions, and it turned out to be a fairly stressful drive. Luckily the weather was partly clear and I was able to enjoy the spectacular scenery just south of Koblenz, aka the Romantic Rhine, an area I hope to revisit soon.

Despite weather and traffic I arrived safe and sound, and in time to enjoy a good German meal with my folks. It was great to see them again, and we had good travel stories to swap as they had recently been in Tanzania and we had just returned from Greece. It's pretty obvious who I got my travel bug from!

Cobblestones and 16th century residences in Equisheim

We spent Saturday exploring the Alsace region, my first visit to that part of France. It's a beautiful area, a hilly patchwork of vineyards spread nearly up to the forested tops, ornamented with charmingly historic villages. Although now part of France, it is historically tied to Germany as well, as shown by place names like Kaysersberg, Obermorschwihr, and Steinbach.

We shopped for fruit at the Saturday market in Rouffach, enjoyed a delicious lunch of French and German specialties (the onion tart was especially yummy) in Eguisheim, tasted Riesling and Pinot Noir wines in Ammerschwihr, and listened to an impromptu organ concert at the Romanesque church in Kaysersberg. I was surprised at the good wine values, and it was interesting to see how the French spend a sunny afternoon - eating good food, then shopping for wine to accompany future meals. I could get used to that!

Marché du samedi in Rouffach

For the trip home, I chose a route through France, partly to avoid some of the construction diversions that helped slow me down on Friday, and partly just to see some different scenery. The French motorway was definitely different - the pavement was rougher and there were no rest stops. But with a speed limit of 130 km/hour, at least I wasn't startled by cars zooming by.

The most interesting sight I saw on the return trip was the disused, seemingly abandoned border checkpoint near Lauterbourg, France. Seeing those rusty, dusty buildings helped me better understand what Europe gained by unifying. I imagined a world of abandoned checkpoints, where instead of wasting time and energy fearing and distrusting each other, we enjoy a good meal together and then shop for wine. I could get used to that, too.

Photo credit drw25

Special Meetings

Fellow Pieterpad walkers, near Puth, NL

Walking the Pieterpad has so far been a joyous experience. I've mostly been walking alone - Tim walked one stage with me, and Robin says she will join me for a stage or two once school is out. I feel safe, even though many parts are quite rural, and others are in the woods. I have walked for hours without seeing another person, although I see plenty of birds and many farm animals, sometimes while crossing their pasture:

A friendly cow

While encounters with other people have been rare, some have been very special. The photo at the top shows three kind souls who let me tag along for much of a rainy Thursday. We huddled under a cherry tree during an intense shower, puzzled over confusing route directions, and enjoyed coffee and vlaai for a well-earned break.

Another special meeting during one of my first stages ended up in someone else's blog. Marjolein and I met in Swolgen where we finished connecting stages at about the same time - she from the north, and I from the south. The next day I met her again in Venlo as she was finishing the next stage. Turns out, Marjolein is walking the Pieterpad and then continuing to Santiago de Compostela, a pilgrimage route I mentioned in an earlier post. I am happy to see that Marjolein is doing well on her journey, and wish her succes!

This week I experienced another kind of special meeting when I enjoyed the hospitality of Panchita, Paul and Fay of Gangelt, Germany. We connected through Vrienden op de Fiets, an organization that facilitates homestay accomodation for bicycle and foot travelers (fietsers en wandelaars). Their friendly and gracious hospitality was most welcome at the end of a 34 kilometer walk, and I will long remember them with great fondness. Dank U wel for the wonderful conversation, comfortable bed, and lovely breakfast!

A breakfast to remember

Germany

We made our first foray into Germany last week, thanks to a school vacation that coincided with a family birthday. The trip was by train; first to Cologne (Köln in German) for a day and a half, then Düsseldorf for another night and a day.

Our impressions: unlike some other places*, in Germany the train schedule is serious business. Stops at smaller stations are quick, sometimes less than a minute, and more than once we saw luckless travelers sprinting for a train that started pulling away from the station 20 seconds early. On the other hand, we found that Germans are sympathetic and helpful to visitors. Once, when we got on a tram going the wrong direction and foolishly stayed on it to the end of the line, a very kind Oma (grandmother) instructed us on where to find a tram back to the city center, and which tram we needed - all in German but perfectly comprehensible to monoglot me.

In Cologne we visited the Schokoladen Museum (Chocolate Museum) then worked off the rich desserts by ascending more than 500 steps to the top of the belfrey at the Dom (cathedral). The view was wonderful but the interior of the cathedral was simply spectacular. I hope to return someday to enjoy one of the many choral or organ concerts at the Dom.

We happened onto a fun international event - Düsseldorf is the host city for Eurovision 2011 (a song contest) and we enjoyed watching hopefuls in the junior division dance their hearts out on stage. While walking around Düsseldorf's old town we were treated to a glimpse of last year's winner, Lena Meyer-Landrut, as she was intercepted by a TV camera crew.

Other highlights of our trip: Köln's riverwalk and many beautiful churches, most of which were rebuilt in their original styles after the war, meeting other travelers at the Pathpoint Cologne hostel; Dusseldorf's Kunst im Tunnel (Art in the Tunnel) gallery, rich-in-history Stadtmuseum and local Altbier.

On the whole, a successful foray. Auf Wiedersehen, Deutschland! We'll be back!

*namely the Netherlands and Belgium, more on this later.