Champagne lifestyle

Wednesday 13 July 2016

Nido's parked up in another free aire in the village of Mutigny, high on a hill and completely surrounded by grape vines - we're deep in champagne country.  When we arrived we were alone, but a couple of vans have turned up since.  

It rained quite heavily last night and again after breakfast, so I waited until it stopped before moving the van over to the service point to fill up with (free!) fresh water and dump grey and black waste.  We stopped off at the Super U on our journey for food and diesel, before arriving at our first planned stop - a free Aire alongside the huge man-made lake of Der de Chantecoq, parking up with around about 20 other motorhomes. We enjoyed our lunch then started a walk around part of the lake.  At the start a woman stopped Cathy to ask if we had a portable gas stove she could borrow and which was our van.  Cathy said she looked very shifty and something didn't quite feel right about her. Also, the lakeside walk was on a boring concrete road with views of but no access to the lake.  We have a rule that if one of us feels uncomfortable at a stop, then we'll just move on, no questions asked. Well, I wasn't keen on the view and Cathy was suspicious of that woman and her male friend driving around in his car.  So I looked up another aire, we drove off and are now happily parked up with amazing views over the champagne vineyards.

We had a brew on arrival then went for a walk.  First we wandered through the tracks between the vines, noting the terroir was very stony and chalky, but clearly the vines like it. Back up the hill, we walked into the village.  Although quite small, there are several small, family champagne houses, offering tours, tastings and the opportunity to buy a bottle or two. The locals were also setting up for some form of party at the village hall, maybe for tomorrow's Bastille Day celebrations. 

Back at the van Cathy prepared a delicious dinner of pan cooked salmon, with vegetables and lentils, which we enjoyed with a (cheap!) bottle of Saumur cremant.  Now washed up, we're sat looking at the view, with a mix of dark clouds dropping sharp but short rain showers, combined with the occasional shaft of sunlight.  It's quiet, we're full and no doubt will be nodding off soon - so it's goodnight from her and it's goodnight from him - goodnight! 

Post-lunch walk - great skies

ooh - we're heading into that!

Great view from the aire at Mutigny

Future bubbles!

One of several small, family champagne houses in the village

It's been a busy day

Tuesday 12 July 2016

It's been a busy day.  Nido remains parked at the free aire by the lake in Favières. Man - it's so peaceful here.  The beauty of this part of France is that it's pretty much untouched by tourism; most tourists pass it by, if visit at all.  Downside - no café stop on my bike ride, upside - unspoilt countryside, beautiful villages and not a soul speaks English (except for one young girl at the lake paying booth), which means we've had to be brave and try out our French - and we've done OK.

The neds stopped doughnuts and wheelies in the car park at about 2300 last night, although they were replaced by the French Air Force doing aerial doughnuts into the night.  How did I know it was the French Air Force? Simple - the RAF don't fly after tea and certainly not after beddie-byes time! It rained a little in the night but remained warm, yet we woke to clear blue skies - again. I was off for a bike ride, so made myself a large breakfast - smoked salmon, scrambled eggs, pretzel, banana and nectarine - and a cup of tea.  Cathy also had a cuppa propped up in bed.  With my trusty steed off the rack, pockets and water bottle filled, I cycled out of the aire, turned right and uphill - and instantly regretted that large breakfast! The first 20 minutes of my ride seemed all to be uphill - something my digestion didn't appreciate- but eventually I was in the rhythm and loved the gentle, stress-free ride on smooth, quiet roads, through forests, small ancient villages and huge fields of corn, wheat and barley - I love cycling in France! The villages were generally quiet and pretty run down, but with some well kept gardens and potages.  I cycled through a few, turning around at Autreville - 'Another Village' - had they run out of names by this one!?  I was looking for a coffee stop, but this area is so far off the beaten track, that most villages don't have a tabac or boulangerie, never mind a café.  I rode a different route back, which was much shorter, and was soon back in Favières.  I carried on down the road towards the 'village fleurie' of Gelaucourt.  But on the way I came across this familiar face, who had already been and was on the return trek.  So being the gallant chap that I am, after exchanging pleasantries - she knows what I mean! - I rode back to the van to put the kettle on.  

We enjoyed our brew sat in the sunshine. I locked my bike on the rack, washed out my kit and hung it out to dry. We packed up our swimming gear and walked the 5 minutes to the lake.  This is such an excellent facility. The toddlers area was full, plus an area on the far left for the school camping groups to paddle in canoes and capsize each other.  We picked an area in the middle, spread our 'blankie' and towels on the grass in the sun and went for a swim.  There was an artificial beach which led into the warm lake. We love swimming in fresh water and were soon out of our depth and floating close to the reeds, with dragonflies buzzing around our head.  It's amazing how different a perspective you have at water level. We spent the afternoon swimming, sunbathing and walking back and to along the beach. The FAF continued their practice strafing runs - I recognise every French warplane silhouette from my Falklands War enemy plane recognition training  (despite the 34 years past) - as the French provided the Argentinians with most of their planes, although they didn't like our Seawolf missiles!! Later on I bought us an ice cream and asked the ageing restaurant waiter (think of a grumpy Antonio Carluccio!) what time they opened for dinner tonight. At the back of the restaurant we made use of the free but cold outdoor showers - and the shower gel secreted in our rucksack - to have a good dhoby and hair wash - I think we're turning into proper 'on the road' hippies! 

Back at the van, wet gear was hung out to dry and we enjoyed a brew and a read in the sunshine. Cathy in the meantime (when I was cycling) had stripped the bed and cleaned the van, so she made up the bed with clean sheets, ready for 'fresh hay' tonight. Changed and smelling clean (unusual for us hippies!) we walked back up to the restaurant, overlooking the lake and hills. Antonio was still on watch, but was now joined  by another, younger waiter - perhaps in his early 60s!? We ordered our food and an apero of beer (Cathy) and pastis (me).  Starters arrived, soon demolished, as were the mains and puddings.  I'd initially struggled to be understood here during the day and realised now that they spoke another 'version' of French - closer to German (Alsatian?). For example, 'Antonio' referred to Cathy as 'frau' rather than 'femme' - unless of course he thought 'we' were German. Still the food was good and we worked our way into their favour with good humour and pidgeon French.  At the end of the meal I went inside to thank them all for a good meal and bought them all a drink - whisky for Antonio, pastis for his oppo, beer for chef and a juice for (about 13 year old) mini-chef.  I learnt long ago that if you look after your chefs and stewards, they'll look after you.  I also ordered a Calvados for myself and, after some fun and laughter with them, the bottle was plonked in front of me to finish off gratis - so forgive any spollang mostwkas in thps bleg! 

Back in Nido, Cathy's asleep and it's very quiet outside - clearly the neds and the French Air Force are having an early night. It's been a very relaxing couple of days in an area of France unspoilt by mass tourism.  We've loved the lake wild swimming and friendly locals; Lorraine is an area to which we'll definitely return.  Although we could have spent nothing over the past two days, by paying for the lake swim and eating in the restaurant, we've put something back into the local community. Tomorrow we transit west, with our next stop planned for another free Aire at another swimming lake - this time in the Champagne region. We plan to buy a bottle ready to celebrate our impending final mortgage payment - another step closer to FIRE.   Until then, it's another relaxing, quiet, replete, sleep time in France - bonsoir. 

  

View from our dinner table on the terrace

Ham hock - yum!

Freeloading in Faviéres

Monday 11 July 2016

Nido is parked up at a free aire in the village of Faviéres, in the Lorraine region of France (where the quiche comes from!).  When I say 'free', I mean free to stay, free electricity and free water.  This is one of the ways the local French communes entice in visitors like us. We'll spend some money in the boulangerie and we may even eat in the village restaurant tomorrow night.

From the celebrations, singing, car horns and fireworks last night, I can only assume that France beat Portugal in the Euros final.  But they quietened down reasonably early (about 0100), to be followed by the workmen of Gérardmer started up their JCBs and diggers next to the Aire at about 0500!  Still, we slept well in between and after a very hot start to the night, with all windows open, it felt much cooler in the morning.  Breakfast done, secured for the road and gash ditched, we left and climbed up through the forest, before descending into the rolling plains of Lorraine, packed with fields of crops and small farming villages.  We stopped off at a small Carrefour supermarket on the way to top up with food and arrived at this Aire at about 1230.

There are five large spaces for motorhomes, with great 360' views of countryside all around. There was one French van here when we arrived and they were plugged into one of the free electric sockets, so I took the other.  We lunched outside in hot sunshine on the grass next to our parking spot. The aire is next to two small lakes - Base des Loisirs. One is a swimming lake (which we'll enjoy tomorrow) and the other is a fishing lake, adapted to allow disabled people to fish.  There's also a sensory garden and box-hedge maze.  There's a campsite above the lakes (for school and disabled groups) and a number of disabled children were laughing and enjoying the lake - what a fantastic facility.  If that's not enough there's a football pitch and a large restaurant with a good, reasonably priced menu and terrace bar. From the programme of events it's clearly a meeting place for the villagers.  We walked around the lake, sheltering under a tree during a short but intense rain shower, before returning to the van.  Cathy had a snooze on the grass while I researched some potential stops for the rest of this week. 

I prepared a tomato and onion salad for tonight, using the last of our baguette in the bottom of the bowl to soak up the juices and added some marjoram we 'gleaned' from the medieval garden at Murbach Abbey. We took a walk around the village, which was quiet but fairly large, albeit spread out. There were some lovely old buildings, many with the original large arch and gates (used for horse and carts), leading through to large old barns and courtyards.  Some were recently renovated but others were dilapidated and ripe for conversion - and some up for sale if anyone's interested!  We also came across a lavarie where the village women washed clothes by hand.  Looking up, there were several lacy bras thrown over the large oak beams under the roof - no doubt a regular meeting place for the young people! Back at the van, I cooked steak and sausage on the BBQ and we sat outside to eat. It was a little cooler now, but at least the wind had dropped. 

There's a large car park by the lake and the local neds were doing regular circuits and wheelies on their mopeds (sounding like large angry bees) and the occasional older ned screeching around in their hatchback - clearly they have plenty of disposable income for new tyres.  When bored with that they headed over to the lake to let off firecrackers and rockets - boys will be boys!  It's calmer now and we're sat outside with a brew, watching the sunset through the trees.  It should be a quiet night, the only sounds being sheep, cows, donkeys and the odd angry bee' moped.  We've some sleep to catch up on after the Euros celebrations!

Great aire - free including electric and water

 

The village lavarie

In the beams of the lavarie roof!!

Nido's rear just poking out on the far left

Allez Les Bleus!

Friday 10 July 2016

Today is my 53rd birthday, although we don't make a fuss of such things these days! So no cards or presents, but another hot, sunny day.  The heat pushed us out of the van at about 0730. We enjoyed an English breakfast of bacon and eggs, but then went all healthy with some fresh pineapple and apricots. We cracked on with our allocated 'moving on' jobs, I paid for our three nights and we hit the road, target France. I'd found an aire in the hills, surrounded by woods, in Murbach, next to an old Abbey in the Lorraine area.  On the journey we had to detour a couple of times as roads were closed for large Sunday markets, but eventually we arrived. It was a quiet, peaceful spot, by a brook and shaded.  We put out table and chairs on the grass and enjoyed our lunch in the shade. We walked around the medieval garden but decided to move on.  So we drove on to another aire in the village of Orschwihr, with views over the terraced vineyards. But this only had one spare pitch with nowhere to sit outside, so on we went.  It was third time lucky - the drive took us over the mountains past many ski stations and with amazing views over the hills and lakes. An hour or so later we arrived at a large aire in the town of Gérardmer. We had a brew in the shade before packing our swimming gear.  There's a large lake here and the town has grown around it, making it a popular tourist spot, in a similar way to the Lake District - only hot and sunny!  We paid to enter the the small plages and enjoyed a lovely swim in the peat-coloured water. Returning to the van we realised from the riot of Flags Bleu and people in football tops, and red, white and blue flags painted on their faces, that it was the Euro final tonight - France vs Portugal.  Another brew in the shade and once changed, we walked down the main drag, enjoying the sights and sounds of the football supporters. After a walk by the lake we returned to restaurant row and picked one to eat.  It was noisy but all very good humoured.  Fed and watered, we walked along the lake in the cool evening air as the sun set over the far side.  Eventually the swarms of midges forced us back and we're now sat outside in the dark, listening to the football supporters and regular very loud fire crackers.  We have no idea who's leading if any, but there's plenty of singing and shouting of "Allez les Bleus"! The end of another lovely relaxing day and, for me, another year older. 

Murbach Abbey

Great views on the drive in to Gerardmer

Another lake, another beach, another swim....bliss!

Shady pitch

Euros final - good move by the beer and fast food joint to add the big screen

The hills are alive...with the sound of puffing!

Saturday 9 July 2016

We slept well, although the village church bells go mental at 0645 each morning!  But by then the sun is over the mountain and it's warming up.

I was up at 0700, prepared my breakfast and sat outside to eat in the early sunshine.  I waved off our Belgian Motorhome neighbours as they drove off, then readied my bike and kit.  Cathy was having a well deserved lie in this morning so I tried to keep quiet in my 'trip over everything' sort of way! Dropping down from the campsite, I turned left and rode out of the village, heading west.  A combination of roads and excellent cycle paths soon found me in rhythm, humming to myself as I enjoyed the ride and the view.  I can't get over the beauty and cleanliness of these villages. What's really nice is that every house is different, unlike the endless rows of cloned boxes at home.  I had to make a few detours due to road and bridge closures; taking a closer look I suspect some of the bridges may have been damaged in the floods of last month in this area.  

I reversed my route, returning to ride through Simonswald - now the fun begins! Riding out of the village, the road started to climb, following the contour of the mountain - smooth roads with hairpins and a constant ascent of 6.5% according to the bike road signs.  The Germans are very precise - a rough 6% or 7% just isn't good enough!   It's also worth mentioning that every road and junction had signs for cars, bikes and hikers. I dropped down into my lowest gear and tried to pace myself, getting into a steady climbing cadence.  It wasn't lung-bursting, but the climb was relentless.  I stopped a couple of times to admire the view - also taking the opportunity to take in water and suck on an energy gel!  At one point a particularly severe hairpin had me thinking I was done, but I took a short break and continued at a steady pace, aiming for the next white marker, roughly 50m apart.  I had the 'Hiils are alive...' tune in my head as I rocked up the road. The traffic was kind and gave me plenty of space, but it still took me an hour to climb the 6 miles to the next village.  I turned left into the square and stopped to enjoy the moment. 

Turning around and pointing downhill, the fun began! My wingman - Ray - will quickly tell you I'm not a fast descender - unlike him.  I tend to feather the brakes all the way down, reaching the bottom of a hill long after him.  But this was a more gradual descent, although still challenging.  The road was very smooth and I could see the bends well in advance. Moreover the traffic was light, so I went for it.  I think this was my best descent ever.  I sat at the rear of the saddle, adjusting my positioning as I leant into the corners, touching the breaks on blind bends.  The descent kept me above 30mph all the down, my eyes were watering and it was exhilarating!  By the time I rolled into Simonswald after about 36 miles of cycling, I was ready for the coffee down at the water mill. Back at the van, Cathy was sat under the awning reading and I flopped into my chair, not quite believing my great ride. If I could do this  every day I might lose a little of the excess timber around my waist!

A quick change and I walked into the village to buy some food and draw out some cash. We then walked down to the village swimming pool again. Towels spread on the grass, we enjoyed our first swim of the day.  Once dried off I was hungry after my ride, so walked up to order some Currywurst and chips with a beer - amazing grub! Cathy joined me later for a glass of lager, followed by an ice cream each. The rest of the afternoon was gainfully employed sunbathing, swimming and snoozing, both waking each other up snoring! 

Back at Nido Cathy prepared dinner - duck breast with green beans and chickpeas. As the sun sank beneath the hills, it cooled down and the crickets started their evening serenade. Tomorrow we head  into France, but I've no doubt we'll return to the Black Forest. It's a beautiful place - clean air, amazing scenery and friendly, smiling people, who patiently tolerated our 'baby steps' attempts at speaking their language.  We'll be back. 

Post-ride coffee

Post-ride and post-swim currywurst, chips and pils!

I don't eat cake!

Friday 8 July 2016

Day two at Camping Schwarzwaldhorn and we woke early to another lovely hot, sunny day, albeit with a bit more breeze, which was welcoming. Breakfast done and rucksack packed, we were out of the van by 0800 and walked down into the village, soon crossing over the road and turning off to start a gentle climb up the Haslach valley. Today we planned to follow a circular walking route, taking in several old water mills, the route known as the Mühlenwanderweg. The day was warming fast and we followed the road past immaculate alpine houses and gardens, before turning off onto a track, climbing higher past sweet-smelling pastures and wild flower meadows. Many of the grass pastures had been cut and were now being turned - mostly by tractor but sometimes by the old fashioned way of manual labour - ready to store as silage for winter feed.  Another point we'd noticed was the very large, long and well-stacked wood piles. Wood isn't in shortage here, but clearly they use a huge amount during the winter months, when this area is covered in snow and ice and many areas never enjoy direct sunshine.  From the different colours of the wood, we could tell there were several years' of seasoning in progress.  Even now, in the heat of summer, the sweet swell of well-aged woodsmoke is prevalent.

We continued to climb, grateful for the deep shade provided by the very tall trees, mostly conifer, but occasionally oak, beech and hazel. The air was warm and scented with pine resin and Cathy even found some tiny, ripe alpine strawberries. We didn't see another soul until we started to drop back down into the valley.  All the paths are very well sign posted and at one point we saw a signpost for a waterfall about 3km away.  It meant doubling back a little, but we decided this would be worth it.  We eventually left the forest and walked up a steep road in full, hot sunshine, before turning off along a rocky track, heading steeply uphill alongside a fast flowing stream. We reached the waterfall and enjoyed its coolness from the bridge above, before doubling back to a spot that allowed us to get to the water.  The spring was ice cold and clean and we filled a water bottle, drinking this clear, refreshing  mountain water.  I had a paddle but Cathy stripped off to her underwear for a longer cool off, including soaking her hair.  I managed to split my shorts getting out of the water - clothes just don't last these days - they were only 20 years old!  Cooled and invigorated, we ate a sandwich before reversing our route and picking up the Mühlenwanderweg again. Descending into the valley, we stopped off at Wehrlehof-Mühle, which was open with a visitors book and local jams on sale with an honesty box. This mill was built in 1879 and was used to grind the local walnuts to extract the oil. We had a wander around inside, looking at the tools, utensils and nails they'd found when digging around. We sat outside in the shade to finish the rest of our lunch, using an old grindstone as a table.  It was very peaceful - the stream running below us, birds singing and the bells around cows' necks ringing harmoniously in the next field.  Back down in the valley it was now really hot, so we decided to head back, but after 5 hours and about 8 miles of steep mountainside, we were happy. On the way back we stopped off at the Konditerei (cake shop) and bought some Black Forest Gateau.  Well, we'd expended loads of calories on our walk and we were in the Black Forest!  Now "I don't eat cake!" but it was light, creamy and very tasty and went down well with a cup of tea. A quick change and we were off to the swimming pool again, where we spent the rest of the afternoon swimming, sunbathing and reading. 

Cathy returned to the campsite and I popped into the local supermarket for some breakfast bread and tomato/curry sauce for our Currywurst.  I also spotted some local clear 'firewater' made from cherries - well, it'd be rude not to! On the way back I watched the baker carry his well-risen dough on a plank to the wood-fired bread oven outside - a true artisan. I fried some onions and cooked some bratwurst on the BBQ, enjoyed with the bought curry sauce, a salad and a glass of local, light red wine, still a bit fizzy given its youth.  Cathy was almost falling asleep in her dinner, so after washing up she crashed out, while I sat outside in the warm evening, watching the hills darken. It's now 1030pm and there's still a warm orange glow in the sky to the west - I love these summer evenings in mainland Europe. The campsite's quiet, the odd quiet murmuring in caravans and tents and the occasional car or motorbike along the village road. The flowing river below continues to fill the silence as it tumbles over the rocks. What a beautiful way to end a lovely, relaxing day.  Tomorrow Cathy's planning a lazy day at the van and the pool, while I'm going to go for a long bike ride along these smooth, undulating and sometimes steep forest roads.  Followed by the inevitable swim and sunbathe of course! 

Now that's what I call a wood pile!

Lovely cooling waterfall and delicious spring water

When in the Black Forest.....eat BFG!

Homemade currywurst

A sign in Nido's window....just to make a point!

Black Forest Silence

Thursday 7 July 2016

Nido's pitched at Camping Schwarzwaldhorn, a peaceful campsite on the outskirts of the lovely village of Simonswald. The village sits in one of the many valleys in the Black Forest, with pine trees and high mountains all around us. It's been a chillin' day.

We breakfasted outside this morning, then Cathy sorted out the van while I popped down to the supermarket to get a few victuals.  We said goodbye to our neighbours - Ian and Helen - swapping contact details, before driving out of Meersburg.  We've noticed a few things about Germany, one being that the roads are very busy - much, much busier than France and almost as busy as UK, although there are more arctic lorries here, given it's a hub for so many other countries.  We drove along with a great view of Bodensee to our left, before heading into quieter countryside, typical of the Germany we expected to see. As we reached the Black Forest, we drove up,and down long, smooth, hair pinned roads with lovely houses and farms on either side.  I noted how much I'd enjoy riding some of these later on my bike.

We passed through the village of Simonswald and turned left and up a steep road to the campsite.  The owner was outside and directed us into a small pitch, not realising our sliding door is on the opposite side to European vans, so I pointed this out and turned us around. He directed me in, but was trying to reverse me up the slope at the back of the pitch.  This really wasn't helped by him calling us the 'Brexit Van' to a watching audience, so at this point I was starting to see red!  We'd voted to remain in the EU and I had printed and laminated posters to state this, anticipating such a reaction from some, which is now displayed in the windscreen. I think he saw the look on my face and made himself scarce, leaving his wife to check us in. With a great view over the hills, awning, chairs and tables out, we decompressed over lunch.  Although the campsite is expensive, it comes with free bus passes (a taste of things to come!) and free entry to the village swimming pool.  We packed our gear into a rucksack and walked down into the village to get our bearings. This campsite doesn't take any form of credit or debit card - only cash - so I needed to find an ATM first.   On our drive in, we'd noticed that there were very few campsites or Stellplatz,  but plenty of hotels and guest houses.  This has really surprised us, given the German's love of the outdoors. 

Cash found and after a quick bimble through the village, we walked to the swimming pool. This is an excellent facility - an Olympic size pool, with two children's pools and a separate diving pool. It was surrounded by grass, a children's play area and volleyball court.  In addition there was a snack bar, selling hot food, cold drinks and beer - imagine that in the UK!  The changing rooms, toilets and showers were immaculate.  Adjacent were football and tennis courts.  We'd noticed that almost every town and village had similar facilities - clearly their council tax is spent in the local community, not sucked up into some central government black hole.  We enjoyed a good couple of hours swimming and sunbathing, with lovely views up into the hills. We'll definitely be using this every day.

Back at the van, showered and sorted out, we sat outside to eat dinner and watch the sun set.  It's been a very relaxed day and I know we'll sleep well tonight - the heat of the day is disappearing in a cloudless and now almost pink evening sky.  Tomorrow we plan to hike in the hills and hope to find a café serving some real Black Forest Gateau.  But don't worry, we'll work it off in the pool! 

Great view from the van 

chillin' in the shade

What a great village facility - and free!