Roadtrip 2014 Part I

October is a good month to drive around Europe. Not yet very cold and not the summer crowd.
After many hours of surfing the internet reading about places to see, towns to stay, roads to drive, me and my wife started another road trip.

Day 1
Porto to Bordeaux -- 1000km

We started in Porto and ended in Porto, our home town, but google maps only allows for 10 pins.
The first leg of the journey was 1000km only to cross Portugal and Spain and a bit of France till Bordeaux.
10 hours driving (with stops) and as I did know a bit of the area just looked for a restaurant Buffalo Grill nearby the hotel and after a good enough dinner a good night sleep.
Next morning a new day.

On the road

Day 2
Bordeaux to Lyon -- 560km

A start with a cloudy sky, not much traffic and after a few hours we arrived at Lyon. A large city but very pleasant with an old roman area. I learned there that Lyon was the Roman Empire capital of Galia and there were many ruins to see.

Lyon

We ate at a traditional French restaurant and were having some difficulties in understanding the menu; a couple next table was really nice and helped explaining it for me. My French is not bad but not enough.

Lyon

Day 3
Lyon to Mulhouse -- 380km

Traveling in October has the advantage of less people on the roads, like here in a service area by the highway

This day was filled with less km and more visits. We went by Ronchamps to see a famous chapel by the architect LeCorbusier

Ronchamp chapel by LeCorbusier

It belongs to the city people, kind of private, so there is an entrance fee.
Parking by the chapel

Ronchamps

And next one of the highlights of the trip, a visit to Cité de l'Automobile the largest car museum in Europe so they say. It was started by two brothers and is now public. It has the largest Bugatti collection in the world and is possible to see around in a small electric convoy.

Cité de l'Automobile, Mulhouse

It lived to the expectation, so many so beautiful cars. Just love the Bugatti and the '50s F1. Also a group of horse less carriages, the beginners.

Cité de l'Automobile, Mulhouse

Next we went to see the city, the first of a series of beautiful and well preserved French/German cities.

Mulhouse

The building in the photo has walls painted to look like they are stone, but they are not. How do they keep the painting in such a good condition?
A nice small hotel

Hotel de Bale, Mulhouse

Day 4
Mulhouse to Colmar to Strasbourg to Baden-Baden to Heidelberg -- 270km

Only some km but many beautiful old cities to see. We started by the near by Colmar

Colmar

After some confusion and frustration because we arrived there very early - the time changed one hour and we forgot about it - we went in a small train tour. It's a good way of learning about history.
Then car again till another old city, Strasbourg

Strasbourg

It was Sunday and sunny and a lot of people everywhere! The main square, the cathedral, the canals, the old houses all very well preserved.
Time for a light lunch and road again till Baden-Baden, a German city famous for the baths.
We parked the car in a P that was far away from the city center so a long walk awaited us.
The city is nice, vibrant with people.
After the long walk back to the car we went to Heidelberg. Arriving by night and being so tired we just went to the hotel to have a good night sleep; so we have to go back someday and see the city center.


Day 5
Heidelberg to Berlin -- 640km

Long driving this day.
Just forward till Berlin.

Speeding in a Autobahn

Impossible to resist to the freedom of the autobahn...
And then the city and the daughter who is living there! :)
We went to a nice restaurant in a somewhat strange building

Berlin

The photo is terrible but the place remarkable. The restaurant accepted only cash! That happens a lot in Germany, looks like they don't like cards.
---

Roadtrip 2012 Part I

Road trip
A long trip always starts with the preparation. Finding routes to follow, places to see, hotels to stay.
That's part of the fun.
Also a reason, a motif: to take my younger daughter and a lot of stuff to her new life in Berlin, Germany.

We had just a week to go and return so it was going to be lot of driving and a little sight seeing.
No problem, a road trip is allways a pleasure.

DAY 1
Porto, Portugal to Bordeaux, France -- 1000km

Early rise, put things in the trunk of the Honda CR-V and off we go.
1000km after we arrived in Bordeaux, France. No history in crossing Portugal and Spain, when we arrived it was raining and night so we went straight to the hotel.
Next day it also was raining so we drove around the city, nice streets with old buildings and no time for more. Perhaps next time we go by the seaside so we can see and walk over the biggest dune in europe.

In the photo it's possible to see the rails for an electric tram, without aerial cables because it has batteries that are charged in each stop.

DAY 2
Bordeaux, France to Reims, France -- 720km

This part of France is sooooooo boring! The highway crosses la campagne, agricultural fields in a plane without end and without a thing of interest. Then Paris but only the outskirts and then Reims. Check-in at the hotel in the center of the city, and find a place to leave the car for the night -- the park by the hotel was closed. Hoping for the best off we went to see the famous cathedral, where all the kings in France were crowned. It's stone work is beautiful.

Reims, France

After dinner in a nice brasserie (beer house) we were lucky because there was a special light show there. Pretty amazing with projections of colored and animated images over the façade of the cathedral and music well integrated.

Reims, France

DAY 3
Reims, France to Köln, Germany -- 370km

As always with help of gps sat-nav system we left Reims and following the directions we went to the highway... but wait! Only a few kms after driving there I remembered I wanted to go another route, a secondary route that should be much more nice through the vineyards. Oh well, some other time.

Arriving in Köln was easy and after checking in and parking the car in the hotel garage we went see one more famous cathedral. I think is bigger and even more impressive than Reims' cathedral. Lots of people there!

Köln, Germany

We had time so we went around and saw the main monuments and went to the river side, a very pleasant area.

And the river Rhein

DAY 4
Köln, Germany to Berlin, Germany -- 580km

One day driving all the time in highway. It´s the only country in europe where there is no speed limit. That's not good for a CR-V. Three lanes, I was driving the middle one around 140-150km/h with lots of trucks to my right and lots of fast cars to my left! Way too much traffic, couldn't rest at all. Very tiring for me and my CR-V.
With no problem we arrived and could visit my daughters' apartment there and carry upstairs all her stuff.

DAY 5
Berlin

It's not difficult to drive in Berlin, just have to pay attention to the amazing lots of bikes and people all around. It's a city with large avenues and feels alive with all people just enjoying living.
One full day to see everything -- just is not enough.
Some wonderful museums.

By the wall, the 1km wall left there to remind us of the recent past.

It was difficult to take good clean photos, with so many people around.

I have to come back!

--