Roadtrip 2014 Part II

Day 6
Berlin to Prague, CZ -- 350km

On this day we went to a new country, Czech Republic. Crossing the border we had to stop to buy the vignette, meaning a sticker to be able to drive in the highways for one week. A better system than other countries use.
Driving in different countries allow us to see different systems, languages, signs.
Then Prague where we stayed in a central hotel not expensive but a high price for keeping the car in a closed area. Anyway better safe than sorry.

Red Chair Hotel

 From the hotel we could walk all the main historic area.

Prague

Lots of people although it's October.

Prague

As a touristic city everybody speaks English. Nice. And the beer is quite good and famous.


Day 7
Prague to Augsburg, DE -- 420km

As Prague is something I will go back someday for sure, the next city, Augsburg in Germany is a city with nothing to make me go back.
It was nothing special.

The place where we stayed had a colorful wall.

Augsburg

Dinner was in a small restaurant nearby, the food had a strange smell but was very tasty; there I asked for a small beer and the waiter said "We don't have small beers!" Ha Germany right.

Day 8
Augsburg to Neuschwanstein to Lake Como, IT

Next visit was to a famous castle said to have inspired Disney. I don't know if that's true but the castle was impressive. Neuschwanstein is said to be the most visited monument in Germany and it was the result of a mad Bavarian King.

Neuschwanstein

The scenery is beautiful

View from Neuschwanstein castle

Lots of people! And this was the end of October; can't imagine during summer time.

Neuschwanstein castle

Photos are forbidden inside the castle, and no way of buying postcards or calendars or whatever with photos. We have to pay to visit it, that's the only way to see the interior. But it was a well spent time and money.

Then back on the road on the way to Italy crossing a little bit of Austria and Switzerland.
Then the Alps...
Coming from a country with almost no snow it's always nice to see and specially nice to drive on a road crossing snowy mountains. It feels good.

From Switzerland to Italy we went by Stelvio Pass, a winding road up the Alps with turn after turn after turn... And it was getting dark; almost no cars or houses. The going down the other side was by night so not so pleasant.
Following the satnav (GPS) we arrived at Lake Como and then... it tells us to take a boat! Time to go back to a paper map and follow the go-around route.

Lake Como

It took some time and a phone call to find the hotel

Charming Bellagio Boutique Hotel

Only in the morning I was able to take photos

Lake Como - Bellagio

Day 9
Lake Como to Annecy, FR -- 400km

Living Como I was thinking 'I have to come back some day but on summer time because it looks so nice.
Anyway, we were going to cross the Alps again, now from Italy to France; and what a better way than thru Mont Blanc by the famous tunnel, so hard to excavate and with an historic accident? The toll there was €43! Such a high price!

Annecy was a nice surprise

Annecy

Beautifully preserved, lots of people around, kids playing the 31 October with costumes asking treat or trick, and a nice dinner in a brasserie. In France they have very good meat.

We stayed in a hotel by the castle, but we couldn't visit it because was closed when we arrived. A reason to come back.

Annecy

Day 10
Annecy to Carcassonne, FR -- 550km

From Annecy the road was very good and then highway till Carcassonne, another French old town.

Carcassonne

We stayed there in a hotel that was not very good and that fact didn't help to get a good feeling for the city.
We walked to the castle, but as was November 1st a holiday it was closed! Damn. Second castle we couldn't visit. Another city to come back, some day.

Carcassonne

Day 11
Carcassonne to Porto -- 1200km

One full day of driving. 12 hours to get home. Same well known roads. Feels good to be at home again and not carrying suitcases around. After all it was 10 nights in 10 different hotels.

My new Honda Civic Tourer was a good companion.
The final numbers.

Honda Civic Tourer

6380km in 11 days and the final average of 5.3l/100km.
320l diesel for €450 and €330 in tolls.

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.
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Roadtrip 2012 Part II

Day 6
Berlin, Germany to Münster, Germany -- 470km

Leaving Berlin was easy and after a not so long driving in the autobahn we arrived at Münster, a small town with lots of bikes and very calm. Although it was cloudy it didn't rain so we could go to the tourism office, get a map and see around.

Münster

A few nice churches, of course, in one of them the door handle was original

Church door handle

 ...and for diner... no idea what to ask! The waiter didn't speak english, just a few words, and couldn't help with the menu so we ordered randomly and of course eat some strange things.
Now I have a smart phone so I can translate words, but not that time.

Menu in German

 One thing puzzled me -- the traffic light for pedestrians had 2 simultaneous red lights!

Double traffic red light

Day 7
Münster, Germany to Rouen, France -- 650km

After leaving Münster we crossed a bit of The Netherlands, Belgium and entered France.
Filling up with gasoline somewhere in The Netherlands. I had to ask which to select because they have 3 and no indication of octanes. Silly.
In Belgium the information panels in the highways always indicate the European number, not the country  number. Kind of the interstates in the US, but usualy no country cares. Perhaps because in Belgium we have Brussels the capital of European Union.
One of the pleasures of traveling in Europe is to find churches with beautiful stone work. Rouen is no exception.

Rouen, France

The very old city center had amazing houses like the one in the photo -- will the window doors open?

A not so vertical house

Other very old houses, just charming.

Rouen

Day 8 
Rouen, France to Nantes, France -- 530km passing by Honfleur, Le Mont-Saint-Michel, Saint-Malo and Dinan

This was going to be a full day of driving and city seeing. First stop: Honfleur. Sooo charming little village by the sea! The morning there was a pleasure.

Honfleur

Just beautiful

Honfleur

We had more kms to go so next stop: the famous Le Mont-Saint-Michel, a fortified city in a small island. A quick stop to eat something and take a photo of my CR-V. It was the only place I spoted another car with Portuguese plate.

While the CR-V stayed in a new and large and paying car park we walked all the way, not knowing that there's a free shuttle to take tourists there...

Far away Le Mont-Saint-Michel

After 45 minutes walking

Le Mont-Saint-Michel

Next stop: Saint-Malo
Near by Saint-Malo we could visit an old smalll fortress dating from the World War II.

WW II

 Saint-Malo also is a fortified city. This entrance looked solid.

Saint-Malo

We had diner in a nice restaurant and chose one of the french famous meat: Entrecôt. Tasty.
And then next stop: Dinan another fortified city reflecting the difficult history of Europe.

Dinan

Dinan

 It was getting dark so we just passed by and went to our last hotel near Nantes

Day 9
Nantes, France to Porto, Portugal -- 1350km

As I didn't expect to have time to visit Nantes I booked a hotel by the highway. Sleep a few hours and off to the final leg, a very long one.
Many hours driving! From 8h in the morning to 10 in the night. But it was the way home!

No problem at all, nor with me neither with the CR-V.
We both love road trips.
:)

All photos by me, my wife or my daughter
Porto - Berlin - Porto
Km: 6000
Days: 9
Global: 9.6 l/100km or 24.5 US MPG or 29.5 Imp MPG or 10.4 km/l