Day 2 - Luxembourg

Saturday 24th June 2017

It is a misty and grey morning with drizzle in the air, but we are up and off early in time for our 07:20 check-in at Eurotunnel. 

For anyone who is wondering how bikes travel through the tunnel, here you go

Select first gear and park up against the ledge
They tend to hold all the bikes in a group so there are usually a number of fellow bike tourists to natter to during the 35 minutes transit. With all the admin completed on the English side we ride straight out onto the roads of Northern France.

 Our first destination is the lovely hilltop town of Cassel near to the French-Belgian border for breakfast.
Cassel marketplace (google image)
Most years I visit the Belgian Buell club Twinpower for their annual bash, and Cassel is where we gather to meet up for a scenic ride to the rally site.

So we stop for the traditional croque-monsieur and coffee at the usual cafe.

The weather is looking a lot better as the morning wears on. We leave Cassel and get onto the motorway for the 200 mile ride to Luxembourg. Belgian motorways are free to use but almost invariably horrible to ride on. So we weave around the potholes for few hours before turning off onto the N4 which heads south into the Ardennes.

Usual cafe in Bastogne
 I guess we are creatures of habit
Memento of the Battle of the Bulge
because our next stop is in the marketplace in Bastogne of WWII fame. I have been through here maybe a dozen times, and I always stop at the same cafe for coffee. They have even installed secure bike parking with helmet and gear locker just for us. 

Bastogne was largely destroyed near the end of WWII when the Americans came through with all guns blazing. Surprisingly the inhabitants of this corner of Belgium celebrate this liberation from the Nazis by placing left-over tanks all over the place. In 2014 at the start of our everlasting tour Mick and I followed a "tank trail" route supplied by our host Neil from AEAventures. German, British and American tanks in various states of disrepair litter the whole region.

We are soon in Luxembourg where the road surface changes immediately from pretty appalling to absolutely superb.

Camping at High Chapparal

Our destination is the High Chapparal, a biker-oriented bar bistro in the magnificently named Heiderscheidergrund, Luxembourg.

 It is run by the ever cheerful Ed who hails from the Netherlands. I've been coming here for years and it has never failed me. Great campsite on the banks of the River Sure, great weissbier from Erdinger, and wonderful spare ribs from pigs.

We soon have the tents up. We have quite a few fellow campers this time, including one who has brought his own Jack Daniels.

Interesting neighbours
 Before long we are in full relaxo mode and enjoying a beer on the terrace. The ribs are on order, the weather is great and we don't have a care in the world. 

The adventure has truly begun.

Local honey schnapps and Jack Daniels honey liqueur round off the evening and we are all tucked up in bed by 10pm.






Weissbier on the HC terrace

Happy as a pig in s**t
NEXT POST

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 18 - Primosten

Image
Monday 10th July 2017 Monday morning and another week on the road begins. We are well rested after our two days in Zuljana but now it is time to begin the long trek following the Croatian Adriatic coast north back to the Alps. We are on the the west coast of the Ston peninsula, a long strip of land that runs 80 kilometres northeast into the Adriatic. About 30 kilometres north from here on the eastern side of the peninsula lies the small port of Trpanj where the map shows a small ferry route that will take us back to the mainland coast, about half way between Dubrovnik and Split. On the coast road heading for the Trpanj ferry We are eager to be away and so we wave goodbye to Camp Sunce and are climbing into the central montain range by 6:30 am. The mountain air is cool and the road is empty of traffic. Boarding the ferry for Ploce We are soon in Trpanj and find our way to the ticket office for the ferry. The next crossing is not until 9am so we have time for a croissa...
Read more

Day 4 - Grainau

Image
Monday 26th June 2017 Our route today avoids the autobahn and takes us along some of the great 'A' roads of Southern Germany.  The Alps get larger and larger on the horizon and you always know you are getting close to the mountains when the tunnels start to turn up.  Distant Alps We were aiming for a camping ground in Oberammergau but when we arrive it is not very impressive so we head on in search of a better one. Getting closer First tunnel of many We ride on through Garmisch-Partenkirchen, home of the annual huge BMW Motorrad rally. Apparently it happens next week, and the guy at the camping site we choose in Grainau asks if we have arrived early. No mate, didnt even know it was on.  The site is fully booked up in a few days time so it's lucky we didnt clash with all the Beemer boys. The atmosphere is getting very sultry and humid as we set up our tents. A storm is definitely brewing. First onion church Tents up as the storm brews It...
Read more

Day 20 - Alesso

Image
Wednesday 12th July 2017 Today we are heading for the north east corner of Italy. We leave the Adriatic behind and are soon at the Slovenian border. We stop for fuel and spend the last of our kuna on junk food. We will soon be back in the eurozone. We traverse Slovenia without problems and are soon on the motorway heading past Trieste and into the mountains. Lago di Cavazzo Camping Lago Tre Communi lies on the shores of Lake Cavazzo just south of Tolmezzo close to where we crossed from Italy into Slovenia back on Day 7. That day it was wet and windy. Today the weather is glorious. Camping Lago Tre Communi It's a great little campsite with a good pizzabar and a few other friendly bikers around. We walk along the shores of the lake, and have a little paddle. The water is pretty cold, so no swimming today. We've been spoilt by the perfect swimming to be found in the Adriatic. There is no rush. We are here for two nights and tomorrow we plan to revisit a few old...
Read more