Deleted account 210609001
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A while ago I posted about planning a 'spur of the moment' trip and was roundly criticised because it was still some months away. It was the planning that was spur of the moment, not the trip. Some among us didn't quite appreciate this.
Anyway, the trip has been undertaken. Here are some pictures, of dubious quality, which I blame on only having a phone rather than a flashy camera with settings and everything. There is very little narrative, and the the number of pictures of the last few days is dramatically reduced because that's when my phone battery ran out and I'd left the charger in Luxembourg...
I did a quick service on the bike before we went. Here's the old vs new air filter. I'm sure I've changed it once already, and I've only had the bike seven years:
Day one was a quick blast on motorways to Namur, then down to Dinant and back into France to Montherme. Cakes on arrival:
Montherme is a pretty little town in Fench Ardennes. It sits on a bend in the Meuse:
We stayed in a Logis hotel, which did a fine steak:
(France beat Germany in the Euros that night, which meant anyone with a car drove round until the small hours tooting their horn.)
The next day we rode to Vianden, initially along the extremely scenic Vallee de Semoy (or Semois, depending on which country you're in). You'll have to take my word for the extreme natural beauty as we didn't stop for any photos. Honestly, it really is unbelievably good.
We stopped for a coffee at Bouillon:
Vianden has been photographed to death with pictures like this one:
I went the extra mile and took a picture from the same place, looking the other way. (We think the Queen owns all the swans in Luxembourg, by the way.)
And a photo of the castle from another angle:
We stayed in the Hotel Heintz (recommended) in a huge room with a lovely balcony:
The hotel cat was very friendly and was perfect in nearly every way. It was, however, deficient in the front leg department, to the tune of one.
(The hotel owner said it was fine until a couple of days before when some Scottish bloke called Gerry, who kept blathering on about a "flappy wee hoor," was seen acting suspiciously around her feline companion. In the morning, Gerry had gone; as had the cat's leg.
This ruined my appetite, but Jo still had to eat, so I treated her:
Next, it was off to Germany and the Mosel Valley. Big river, vineyards everywhere. We stopped in Alf for an ice cream:
We arrived at our next stop in Ernst (a few miles upstream from Cochem - Micky will be along shortly to say that Ediger is the better place to stay) and topped up the ice cream with kirsch cake:
That tided me over until it was time for currywurst and Bitburger:
We had a bike-free day so caught the bus into Cochem to have a wander round. It is very pretty, and the castle on top of a hill overlooking the river is impressive. The views from the top make the slog up the hill in blazing sunshine worth while. And once nearly at the top, the free shuttle bus from town merrily whizzes past, leaving you in a sweaty puddle. Still, there was a ukelele band playing. Anywhere with a ukulele band can't be all bad:
That's where the photos ran out. After Ernst, we spent a night near Spa in Belgium, and rode to the circuit to watch a track day. That was fun for about 2 minutes. We had a cracking lunch in Spa, at a restaurant called La Belle Epoque. With the amuse bouche (mussel soup and fromage frais) they served a delicious home-made roll, still warm from the oven. I thought it was just about the best bread I've ever tasted. Jo tried a bit, looked unimpressed and said "It's OK, but it's not Kingsmill is it?" Classy bird...
Then today we rode home from Spa. We had the only rain we'd seen for a week - about 20 minutes of light drizzle, then two minutes of torrential downpour. it was like being underwater.
Anyway, the trip has been undertaken. Here are some pictures, of dubious quality, which I blame on only having a phone rather than a flashy camera with settings and everything. There is very little narrative, and the the number of pictures of the last few days is dramatically reduced because that's when my phone battery ran out and I'd left the charger in Luxembourg...
I did a quick service on the bike before we went. Here's the old vs new air filter. I'm sure I've changed it once already, and I've only had the bike seven years:
Day one was a quick blast on motorways to Namur, then down to Dinant and back into France to Montherme. Cakes on arrival:
Montherme is a pretty little town in Fench Ardennes. It sits on a bend in the Meuse:
We stayed in a Logis hotel, which did a fine steak:
(France beat Germany in the Euros that night, which meant anyone with a car drove round until the small hours tooting their horn.)
The next day we rode to Vianden, initially along the extremely scenic Vallee de Semoy (or Semois, depending on which country you're in). You'll have to take my word for the extreme natural beauty as we didn't stop for any photos. Honestly, it really is unbelievably good.
We stopped for a coffee at Bouillon:
Vianden has been photographed to death with pictures like this one:
I went the extra mile and took a picture from the same place, looking the other way. (We think the Queen owns all the swans in Luxembourg, by the way.)
And a photo of the castle from another angle:
We stayed in the Hotel Heintz (recommended) in a huge room with a lovely balcony:
The hotel cat was very friendly and was perfect in nearly every way. It was, however, deficient in the front leg department, to the tune of one.
(The hotel owner said it was fine until a couple of days before when some Scottish bloke called Gerry, who kept blathering on about a "flappy wee hoor," was seen acting suspiciously around her feline companion. In the morning, Gerry had gone; as had the cat's leg.
This ruined my appetite, but Jo still had to eat, so I treated her:
Next, it was off to Germany and the Mosel Valley. Big river, vineyards everywhere. We stopped in Alf for an ice cream:
We arrived at our next stop in Ernst (a few miles upstream from Cochem - Micky will be along shortly to say that Ediger is the better place to stay) and topped up the ice cream with kirsch cake:
That tided me over until it was time for currywurst and Bitburger:
We had a bike-free day so caught the bus into Cochem to have a wander round. It is very pretty, and the castle on top of a hill overlooking the river is impressive. The views from the top make the slog up the hill in blazing sunshine worth while. And once nearly at the top, the free shuttle bus from town merrily whizzes past, leaving you in a sweaty puddle. Still, there was a ukelele band playing. Anywhere with a ukulele band can't be all bad:
That's where the photos ran out. After Ernst, we spent a night near Spa in Belgium, and rode to the circuit to watch a track day. That was fun for about 2 minutes. We had a cracking lunch in Spa, at a restaurant called La Belle Epoque. With the amuse bouche (mussel soup and fromage frais) they served a delicious home-made roll, still warm from the oven. I thought it was just about the best bread I've ever tasted. Jo tried a bit, looked unimpressed and said "It's OK, but it's not Kingsmill is it?" Classy bird...
Then today we rode home from Spa. We had the only rain we'd seen for a week - about 20 minutes of light drizzle, then two minutes of torrential downpour. it was like being underwater.
but it's on the list now. I have played the Montherme Map in the game Company of Heroes a fair bit, I've blown that bridge many times 
