Blogs from Mulhouse, Alsace, France, Europe

Oh, my, oh, my, oh, my!!! We had NO idea that such a museum even existed...and so very glad that we went...although, since our host decided to accompany us, and this was his upteenth visit, maybe we went through too quickly, but we won’t go back... It is worth your while to click on the link to read more about the history: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cité_de_l%27Automobile Ultimately, the woolen fabric factory went under, but the owner never gave up his obsession with collecting cars...Today, Mulhouse has kept up the tradition...the cars are beautifully displayed and lovingly maintained. At some point, the workers were striking and they broke into the hidden part and discovered ALL these cars in various states of reconstruction...they burned one and stated, ”there are 600 more to burn.” Of course, they weren’t burned, but I think ... read more

We visited METZ, because Bill’s great grandfather came from Metz. Apart from the B&B with no WiFi, it was a good visit. The cathedral was closed Sunday until 2 pm...so we found a place to eat and waited and WOW! What a treat...glad that we waited... Most cathedrals do canned music, but here we heard a REAL organ being played...it was peaceful and beautiful...This cathedral has more stained glass than any in the world and it took about 300 years to complete...and somehow, it wasn’t damaged by the wars... So, that was worth it all... As some of you know from FB, I am always collecting photos of manhole covers and whatever else someone sticks in the ground. Here we did find several covers with Metz, but also a couple of cute little dragons...Apparently, pre-Christian, a ... read more

Day5: Reims to Mulhouse; Todays trip was taken over by the satnav. Avoid tolls and unpaved roads etc... The route took me mainly on high speed fantastic toll free dual carriageways. This seemed to be going well and was on target to arrive in Mulhouse around 2.30pm Mrs Satnav then noticed a traffic hold up ahead so quickly rerouted me through a quicker but longer non highway area of the "Parc naturel regional des ballons des Vosges" This diversion added nearly two hours to the journey but it was worth the diversion. Up until then the scenery had been nice but flat. The roads are well made well serviced light traffic and with the roof down on the Stag the journey was going along nicely if a little tedious. The diversion added a whole new dimension. ... read more

We are starting to notice a change in the length of the sunlight as summer heads towards its closing stages,although we hope it hangs on for a while longer yet. Our room at the hotel doesn't get direct morning sun so it was a good excuse to sleep in a bit longer and also to give Gretchen more time of rest although she woke this morning feeling much improved,even on yesterday. We are heading today for an overnight stay close to the Swiss border and then tomorrow pop over into Basle and stay a night with Daniella who is a friend of our daughter,Leigh,they both having worked in a restaurant together while they were at University all those years ago.D moved earlier to Basle for a 3 year contract with her employer and at the time ... read more

Up pretty early and picked up the electronics from the office. All charged up and ready to go. The owners were also Tandem Cyclists and were very interested in the trike, thus before we headed out we offered them a spin. They returned with smiling faces! Weather - very windy and threatening rain as leaving Neuf-Brisach. Sprinkled on and off throughout the day. Lost several times, really poorly marked trails, especially any time we were near a town. Everything was closed due to the holiday but fortunately we had food to picnic on and found the lovely historical area to eat in. There is a large church in every town so it is easy to find these spots. We managed to find our way through the large city of Mulhouse & get to a fairly nice ... read more