Some of you will no doubt have been keeping track on Flickr, however I thought I post a consolidated selection of photos and a bit of a story from this years European jaunt!
After heading off to Europe last year we again decided to do the same thing, all be it we chose two primary destinations to spend the majority of our time - the French Alps near Annecy and the German Black Forest near Schluchsee - so I guess it was less of a roadtrip with a focus on destinations rather than miles and roads per se.
We had a great couple of weeks and the weather, by and large, was great. We took the ferry again this year (whilst I'd like to try the tunnel it was more than double the price of the ferry) so had to mix it with every man and his dog for 90 minutes, catching the 7am Seafrance to Dover. The first day was very much a blatt down the autoroutes, the target being to get to Thones nr Lake Annecy by late afternoon / evening (circa 550miles). The journey was pretty smooth with only a minor holdup at the Reims peage with quality continental qeueing in full swing, fellow autorouters were also keen to help flag Gendarmes speedtraps....although as you'll see from the photos below one slipped through the net! With less than a 100miles to go and the end in sight I pressed the loud pedal a little harder.....triggering a radar at 156km/h....oooops! A comical chase / catch followed with a discussion in pigeon french and high speed escort to the nearest cash point to surrender €45 (not bad considering).
We were sent on our way with a warning that if we were caught again we wouldn't be driving in France again this holiday......which did wonders for the fuel consumption.
We then spent six nights in Thones, climbing a few mountains, sailing on and swimming in lake Annecy and eating and drinking a bit too much. From France we headed up through Switzerland to the Black Forest near Schluchsee, me sticking religiously to the Swiss speed limits given the numerous speed cameras. Notably at one point the car was showing a range of 450miles - something I'd never seen before!
After the blue skies and low 30s of France 10degrees and heavy rain was a bit of a shock to the system, but thankfully the weather cleared up nicely allowing some good walks, a spot of mountain biking and more swimming in lakes. The Black Forest is a lovely region with some reasonably high mountains and some great twisty roads winding up down and around them - plenty of hairpins and such like.
After six nights in the Black Forest we headed for a night in Heidelberg, the weather during the day proved to be truly shocking with thunderstorms aplenty, plus Belgium Saabs and Volvo providing challenging obstacles on the winding roads. After short overnight stay in Heidelberg we head for a final overnight stay in Reims, doing a bit of typical tourist activity and driving some of the Champagne route.
So all in all, we clocked up a fare few miles, saw quite a bit of France and Germany and a bit of police excitement to boot! Final stats.....
Miles: 2,100
Mpg: 30.0
Here are a selection of pics from the two weeks - hope you enjoy.
Autoroute Escort (notably at a speed in excess of 130km/h)!
Lake Annecy:
Bastille Celebrations...in Thones:
And Annecy:
Annecy itself...
and with me in the way..
The impressive Alps:
The Black Forest:
Several waterfalls...
The car on those winding Black Forest roads...
The remants of the rain...
A full boot!
The Schluchsee (water temperature probably around 18degree c....brrrrrr..)
Heidelberg:
Reims and the Champagne region...
Kerstin in front of Verzenay
2009 Vintage...
All comments appreciated and welcomed.
Cheers
Paul
After heading off to Europe last year we again decided to do the same thing, all be it we chose two primary destinations to spend the majority of our time - the French Alps near Annecy and the German Black Forest near Schluchsee - so I guess it was less of a roadtrip with a focus on destinations rather than miles and roads per se.
We had a great couple of weeks and the weather, by and large, was great. We took the ferry again this year (whilst I'd like to try the tunnel it was more than double the price of the ferry) so had to mix it with every man and his dog for 90 minutes, catching the 7am Seafrance to Dover. The first day was very much a blatt down the autoroutes, the target being to get to Thones nr Lake Annecy by late afternoon / evening (circa 550miles). The journey was pretty smooth with only a minor holdup at the Reims peage with quality continental qeueing in full swing, fellow autorouters were also keen to help flag Gendarmes speedtraps....although as you'll see from the photos below one slipped through the net! With less than a 100miles to go and the end in sight I pressed the loud pedal a little harder.....triggering a radar at 156km/h....oooops! A comical chase / catch followed with a discussion in pigeon french and high speed escort to the nearest cash point to surrender €45 (not bad considering).
We were sent on our way with a warning that if we were caught again we wouldn't be driving in France again this holiday......which did wonders for the fuel consumption.
We then spent six nights in Thones, climbing a few mountains, sailing on and swimming in lake Annecy and eating and drinking a bit too much. From France we headed up through Switzerland to the Black Forest near Schluchsee, me sticking religiously to the Swiss speed limits given the numerous speed cameras. Notably at one point the car was showing a range of 450miles - something I'd never seen before!
After the blue skies and low 30s of France 10degrees and heavy rain was a bit of a shock to the system, but thankfully the weather cleared up nicely allowing some good walks, a spot of mountain biking and more swimming in lakes. The Black Forest is a lovely region with some reasonably high mountains and some great twisty roads winding up down and around them - plenty of hairpins and such like.
After six nights in the Black Forest we headed for a night in Heidelberg, the weather during the day proved to be truly shocking with thunderstorms aplenty, plus Belgium Saabs and Volvo providing challenging obstacles on the winding roads. After short overnight stay in Heidelberg we head for a final overnight stay in Reims, doing a bit of typical tourist activity and driving some of the Champagne route.
So all in all, we clocked up a fare few miles, saw quite a bit of France and Germany and a bit of police excitement to boot! Final stats.....
Miles: 2,100
Mpg: 30.0
Here are a selection of pics from the two weeks - hope you enjoy.
Autoroute Escort (notably at a speed in excess of 130km/h)!
Lake Annecy:
Bastille Celebrations...in Thones:
And Annecy:
Annecy itself...
and with me in the way..
The impressive Alps:
The Black Forest:
Several waterfalls...
The car on those winding Black Forest roads...
The remants of the rain...
A full boot!
The Schluchsee (water temperature probably around 18degree c....brrrrrr..)
Heidelberg:
Reims and the Champagne region...
Kerstin in front of Verzenay
2009 Vintage...
All comments appreciated and welcomed.
Cheers
Paul
