Simplon Pass and Matterhorn

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Yet more sunny days. What have we done to deserve such fabulous weather! From Cannero Rio after breakfast on the sunny terrace we drove along mountain valley road over to Malesco Domodossola on a steep narrow road high above a gorge viewing mountains as we passed. Into Simpson Pass we were greeted with 4 hairpin bends, tunnels and snow canopies. At the top, with 360 degree panorama of more mountains, we ate lunch and took a walk to see a stone eagle which is a tribute to the WW2 soldiers. Down through an easier gradient to Brig and onto Fiesch to stay at a the YHA which is the Swiss Olympic training village. A 1 1/2 hr walk through the village and along the river also revealed snowy topped hills with hang gliders floating high above us.

Rose early to drive to Tasch to catch the train to Zematt to view the Matterhorn. We knew that the morning would be best if we had a good day. Yes sunshine again but a little cooler. All went well. The train uses cogs to travel up the steeper parts and tunnels where snow fall would be a problem. Once at Zematt we make a decision to walk up the Matterhorn trail which would take about 2 1/2 hrs. Along the way the views of the Matterhorn were fabulous even when wispy cloud obscured the left side. It soon burnt off only to gather more wisps. The trail is varied from flat paths to farm tracks to tinkling cowbell to loose stonyand steep areas and at times we puffed up the slopes. Many others also trekked to see this Mountain. At the top of the first cable car stop, Schwarsee (black sea), a much needed beer was enjoyed. Then the downward journey back to Zematt, another 2 1/4hrs away to catch the train to Tasch. It was a steep and slippery descent to start with but levelled out as Zematt came closer. Today was quite a day but perfect. Another off Hugh’s bucket list.

Off to Zurich again tomorrow so a 6 hrs journey is planned using different roads from previously travelled.

Those mountain passes!

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Last night was spent at Iseltwald as our organised hotel had closed down in Grindlewald! Found Strand Hotel on waterfront and spoilt ourselves with a bit of luxury. Our windows looked over the lake to the hills and boats gliding in the calm waters.

Today we were going to attack the passes through the mountains. First along the southern side of the lake to Meiringen, then up the valley to Grimselpass with many photo stops to capture the road bends and tunnels, three big dams and lakes. Both of us amazed at the incredible views and blue skies. Then off down to Gletsch and up a valley to Furka Pass . Once again windy narrow roads that twist and turn on each other. Quite an engineering feat. A huge number of motorcyclists also enjoy this road and zip past loudly. Again off to the St Gothard pass with an easier grade and width with similar views of snowy topped terrain.

Bellinzona our next stop was about 33degrees but we managed a hike up to one of the 3 castles that have survived. We must have been mad as a swim would have been a better idea and that was waiting for us at Lake Maggiore. But first a visit to the centre of town at Cannero Riviera to sightsee. Our hotel room again overlooked the water and it felt like N Z in summer so a swim was very necessary to soothe and cool our hot bodies. Even at 8 pm the water was calm and the air warm to dry us off.

Alsace to Zurich to Brunig Pass

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Hugh drove on the motorway from Luxembourg to Epinal before heading cross country to Sigolheim. In between we visited the flowered and pretty villages of Ribeauville and Keitsheim and had a beer in the sunshine before finding our BnB. For dinner we found very nice “tarte flambe” which proved to be similar to pizza but with lighter base with creme fraiche instead of tomato, in the village of Riquewihr.(the St Tropez of this area.) This village too was pretty with flowers and old buildings and castle walls although a bit touristy.
Our BnB host was a teacher just on holiday and helping out her husband who usually runs it.
The days journey would take us through Colmar and Freiberg onthe motorway then cross country through beautiful forested and rolling landscapes to the Black Forest to Sluchsee and on to Schleren in Zurich. This night would be spent with friends met on our Vietnam trip a couple of years ago along with a previous BnB guest, Petra from Germany who to wanted to meet us again. She organised the trip to coincide with other friends as well. It was good to catch up. We caught the transport system into town which meant a bus then train andffinally a tramto meet.

After breakfast with Lars and Rahel we drove through to Lucerne. Wow what a city! It has amazing wooden bridges that span a fast running river that cuts the town in half. Along the pathways were many markets selling a wide range of vegetables, fruits and bread.The strawberries smelt delicious. From here we took the motorway and old roadsalong valleys and past lakes and sat for lunch by Lungersee Lake with great views to mountains and watched a train disappear into one. Over the pass to Brunig pass and our night’s hotel. There was time to carry on to Hasliberg to take the cable car halfway up the hill. We walked back down through grassy meadows to the sound cowbells, birds and otherwise quiet. A change from sitting in the car.

Brunig to Grindlewald. It had rained in the night but the day shone blue and clear as we drove along the shore of Brienzersee to Interlarkin. The rivers raged in the valleys of farmland and the mountains magnificent towering above. Arrived at Mannichen cable car bought tickets (snrs 60! Yrs) upto the top. Wow! The mountain shone with snowy tops all around after the longest cable car ride in the world. The Eiger, Jungfrau, and many others all standing in view. Walked the paths to get the 3 mountain view, about 4 hours, then back to the top for a drink and off again to trek up to the highest point from the station. Was great to be moving the body again. We couldn’t have asked for a better day. The gods were with us. Once again the cable car took us down to the base. It was about half an hour’s ride so still more opportunity to see the mountains and views to the village of Grindlewald below. Magic!

Luxembourg

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Nico, our Belgium rotary student from 20 years ago met us at his parent’s house in Liege. Nathalie came with us as she too was our rotary student.. We had a wonderful evening of catching up and laughing together about memories and the fact that Nico’s Dad found Nathalie’s sport of underwater hockey an anathema. The next day Luxembourg was the destination as that is where Nico and his wife, Kathelijn live. Dion too flew in from London for the weekend.
On the way we stopped at another war memorial to the Americans because of their involvement in the Battle of the Bulge. This huge 5 star shaped structure with a crypt underneath commemorates the 76000 who died there. After lunch we walked in the forested area close to the house and drove to the airport topick up Dion. Dinner was a BBQ on the terrace as the evening was warm and balmy, the first of the summer. We joked that the sun came with us from NZ. Friends of Nico’s who had visited us in NZ were also there. It was a fantastic evening.
There is a large Abbey D’Orval that produces a beer of high quality a short drive and the boys were keen check it out. The Abbey has been built around the ruins of the original and houses explanations of the buildings, the production of the beer and a large herb garden. After a lunch in the village we returned home to see what was happening on the tour de France before heading to see the city of Luxembourg. It is unusual in that there is a low city set below the upper city. A really pretty city and quite compact. In some squares were stalls and music raising money for the less fortunate. Dinner at a classy restaurant ended our evening in Luxembourg.
In the morning, after farewells and hugs it was time to move on to Sigolheim in the Alsace region.

Belgium

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After our small trip into Germany we headed back into Belgium to a little village called Baelen which is where Nathalie, our Rotary student , lives with her family. Here we were welcomed warmly by all and a spent a wonderful evening catching up. Dion had also joined us from London so it was a great night. It is an interesting experience living amongst another language where everyone does their best to ensure you have understood the conversation. Nathalie , her Mum and sister all spoke very good English and interpreted for me. Hugh’sFFrench certainly improved while we were there. We stayed with Nathalie’s Grandparents as they had spare rooms and the family joined us for breakfast as they live fairly close.

Nathalie had worked out an itinerary for us to get to see and know the area in the French speaking part of Belgium. We drove to see 2 large dams which supply the water for the villages and towns through rolling hills and woods before visiting the American cemetery at LaChapelle where 10 to 11, 000 soldiers are buried. Another very moving and somber reminder of the outcome of war. The afternoon took usto the highest point in Belgium, 694m! Very different from NZ geography. Patrick, Nathalie’s dad, is a keen car racing fan so it was a must see at Spa Longchamp. Cars were actually racing around. Porsche, Maserati etc belted along the straight and up a hill, noisily revving their engines into the corners. Quite exciting. We dropped Dion off for his return to London and continued home for dinner.

The next day Marilyn and Natalie along with Grandpa and Grandma had a walking day. To start with we drove to another dam which had a10km walkway along the edge. It was very enjoyable with the views across the lake and is obviously a recreational place for holiday makers and fishermen. A yummy lunch in a German style cafe Burzenbach set us up for an afternoon walk in the Fagenes.This is peat land and covers a large area. Walking was easy as the flat paths and wide. Quite enough walking to make us all feel a bit tired. Dinner was in a little town of Limberg at Brassiere St George’s. A wonderful dinner was enjoyed in the evening air after a sunny warm day.

What a contrast. We woke to rain the next day which was to be our drive through the Ardenne. Nathalie and Marilyne joined us as well. At Dinant , a river town, we discovered a Museum to the House of Sax. Sax had invented the instrument and the town really identified with it by placing very large Sax along the bridge into town. A charming area. From here a drive tthrough more countryside and valleys took us to La Roche en Ardennes and Rochefort and the rain disappeared. Climbing over another ruined castle at La Roche we learnt how the past was lived. From there it was off to Dubuy, Belgium’s smallest town and another beautiful place to visit.

Brussels was our final visit with Nathalie and we took an early train ((7.12am). Saw the fabulous Grand Place with it’s exquisite buildings that used to be guild halls.(amongst tiers of seating unfortunately), found the Mannikin Pis but he was dressed as an American! July 4th we guessed. He has many outfits. Later waffles were on. These were very light and covered with strawberries and choc.YYummy but I couldn’t eat it regularly. Then it was through the Galleries de Roi to the Palais Royal found on the street by a big park. TV cameras sat there maybe because the day before the King had abdicated. On our return we found an unusual building which housed a music museum and set off by metro to the Atomium which was an amazing experience. The train took us back to the cars and we set off for Liege to meet with Nico.

Netherlands and Germany

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The day shone as we left Bruges towards Antwerp first. This city is a massive port with a historic heart and we wandered round quite quickly as we were off to Holland for a few days to meet with Martin and Gisela, friends from our Bnb days. They live in a smallish village, Soesterberg, an hours train journey from Amsterdam. What a wonderful time we had with them. One day we drove through to the dykes which are huge and a fantastic engineering feat. A visit to the fishing village of Hoorn and onto Voledan which was also a fishing port and touristy showed us some of the outer area of Holland. Onward and we found Zaandam and the “windmill” village. We discovered a variety of windmills and found out that they were used for far more industries than we had thought. Grinding stones for paint being one of them. Some of the lanes we travelled through in the afternoon revealed pretty villages and also some large expensive homes like small chateaux. Utrecht is another town worth a visit which is beautiful around the canals. Because they too knew little of the history of Amsterdam, the four of us took a tour the next day after a moving visit to Anne Frank’s house. The quiet amongst the other visitors reflected the sobbering reminder of being cooped up for over two years and how the families survived for so long. Quite tragic.

Amsterdam is a vibrant city with lots of variety to see from the historic palace with its splendid rooms, to the canals and boat life, the girls in the windows, Rembrandt’s house, and the thousands of bikes everywhere. It was a shame that the sun did not shine as the prospect of relaxing by the canals in one of the many cafe would be very appealing. We saw little evidence of legal substances but caught a whiff every now and then. Not our scene anyway.

After fond farewells we left for Aachen in Germany to meet with another BnB guest, Jasmine. It certainly is fun catching up with friends again and sharing in their lives for a little time. Aachen is a historic town 20 mins from the border kf Belgium and has a magnificent Cathedral which has been renovated. Inside kt reminded me somewhat of the Mezquita in Cordoba but the ceiling and walls were heavily mosaiced. Because it is smallish it has an intimate feeling when inside. A walk in the countryside took us to a central spot where we could be in 3 countries at once!

Into Europe again

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The Eurostar quickly took us from London to Brussels where we took another train to the airport to pick up our car to tour with. We leased a Puegeot Eurolease as it was cheaper for a longer period than renting. Our drive took us to Ypres, a former WW1 and 2 battlefield. Although the tow ship is touristy there are many important places to visit. I cannot recommend visiting the Flanders Field Museum too highly. It is informative, interactive and worth spending at least 2 hours learning about the devastation of this area. The Menin Gate is a town entrance that commemorates the soldiers who died here. Each evening at 8pm the Last Post is played and visitors stand and remember the fallen while a few placed wreaths . It was a somber and powerful feeling being there. We could not locate any NZ names but found a row of Maori soldiers buried on the parapet that is part of the town wall which is 12th century. Very moving.

Next day we drove to Tyne Cot which is a huge cemetery for about 11, 000 who died. Some of the graves are for unknown soldiers while others are identified and have a carved symbol of their country. Around the back wall are all the names and found those from NZ. Tyne Cot is situated on a slope overlooking fields and is a quiet and reflective place. All around Ypres are other gravesites and some take bIke tours as the area is fairly flat.

Bruges is a pretty town on the edge of a canal a d we stayed on a barge that has become accommodation and a restaurant. Our room was boattbattered and very different. Huge barges passed, people biked past and ducks looked at us for tidbits. A walk around town includeda boat ride on another canal. I can see why people liken it to Venice as the houses are right on the water’s edge. Our guide gave us a commentary on the history of the buildings which was informative and humorous. Begijnhof was a beautiful square used by nuns and also contained alms houses for the poor. The town is also known for it’s lace work and many shops have displays.

Reading and London

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After fond farewells with George and Anita we headed for Reading to spend an evening with Kate, a friend we met on our Vietnam trip. On the way we passed the New forest but only saw it from the car as we continued along lanes of purple rhododedrons, which seem to be growing everywhere. Leighton Park, Hugh’s boarding school, seemed quiet and peaceful with a few groups outside playing sport. He was quite disappointed to find that his hall had been demolished and a new “Reckitt” had replaced it. The Headmaster’s house held memoriesof a past girlfriend! Change happens.

Kate shared her culinary skills with us at Alwyn’s house as her flat was too small. We hope to reciprocate in NZ in a couple of years as a visit is planned. After a great evening it was a drive to London where we would meet Alison, Hugh’s sister for lunch. A book had been written about Hugh’s Greatgrandfather who was murdered on the train and the rearson why emergency cords have been placed in carriages. We certainly had a lovely lunch and a chat. Then it was time to catch up with Dion in town. As I had been in London previously the tourist sights weren’t on the list. We wandered along South bank found a bite to eat before setting off to see a live production of Macbeth at the Globe. Wow! This is definitely one of the highlights of our trip. I would love to return to see it again. The director included music, dance and humour into this tragedy and the acting was superb.

The next day we went out to do a little shopping but found that on Sunday shops can only open for 6 hours so they start at 11 but the tills don’t operate till midday! Quite bizarre! What a waste of a morning. Later we caught up with Dion and we joined his friends Kate and Ed and Nick for a lovely lunch before exploring Putney, enjoying a drink at his local and then going to his flat. Dion cooked a great meal of pork belly, roast potatoes and pak choy and we finished off with fresh raspberries. Mmmm. We will see him again in Belgiumso no long farewell at this stage. The next day we left the hotel which was close to St Pancres so within 10 minutes the Eurostarwas reached and off to Brussels to pick up the car for the rest of our journey.

To Weymouth

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Sun streaming through the windows to start off our day. Yay! Our trip today would take us to Weymouth via Seaton where we were to meet up with George and Anita, uni friends who had travelled from Great Yarmouth for a catch up. What great friends to travel to see us. At Lyme Regis we searched for and found some fossils. Nothing of great mention to take home but a few small and interesting. One huge one we left. The picture will show it. Once settled into the BnB in Weymouth it was off to town for a looksee and dinner. Weymouth is very French in it’s ports and cafe/restaurants along the shoreline.

Next day was grey and misty, such a change from yesterday. Corfe castle was our first visit which is again a ruin but was well toured by school groups. Hugh and George had a joust in fun. Headed to Lulworth Cove to see some extraordinary geological uplifting of rock from earth squeezing. We climbed up a steepish path to see Durdle Door and Stairhole Bay with more features of land folding. Later, after travelling through little villages, we found Cerne Giant high and huge as a chalk man in the grass. Dinner was in an old pub 1520 in Cerne Abbas another pretty village.

St Austell to Dartmouth, England

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From St Austell we drove to Fowey. My mother’s grandmother had lived there. What a pretty fishing, holiday and retirement village. We walked throughthe “typical” quaint streets before taking the car across on the ferry and driving the byways to yet another, larger ferry to cross to Plymouth. Also boarding were the cycling group we had seen in Land’s End! Continued our drive towards Dartmouth via a pub lunch, of course, in a1250 Benedictine monk’s residence with thatched roof cottages opposite. Different from NZ! Hilary and Antony, Hugh’s friends from his childhood, met us to guide our way to their home which was set above the port along narrow twisty streets. Yet another beautiful place to visit. On a walking tour of the township we met Kathy Stansfield, a university colleague from Manchester days, who was a mutual friend of Hilary and Antony’s. Quite a coincidence.
18 June a grey slightly spitty start led to periods of sun and wind so Hilary joined us for the day. First was Hugh’s need for a ride on a steam train from Tonnes to Buckfastleigh. He was a little boy again but others were the same. He loved the steam and the sound of the whistle and had an awesome time. The Good Pub Guide led us to Ruddleston Inn which was picturesque with a little river, flower baskets and chickens pecking here and there. After a great meal we headed to Dartmoor where we walked up to a Tor and had 360degree views of the landscape. A group of Dartmoor ponies grazed peacefully as we passed. A visit to Dartington Hall , renovated manor buildings, completed the day with a wander in the grounds full of summer flowers. Lovely. Home to a wonderful dinner where Kathy and Hugh reminisced about uni days.