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Published: June 25th 2017
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Geo: 49.3007, 10.5715
Time Check: 0525 am up and ready for action!
Last night (Friday) we had a great blow out at the Restaurant Leo. You enter through a converted railway carriage reminiscent of the Orient Express and are greeted by waiters in crisp white double damask aprons. The walnut veneered interior is superb and exudes 1920's pre-war opulence. We we were ushered to our table overlooking a local cafe outside.
The local inhabitants are cultured but have a slightly weather beaten look..... from our vantage point we watched local Bastognian life pass by........Dogs perched on motorcycles.....young chic Belgians out for a stroll....however the overriding memories are of short skirted farming stock sipping local brews with tattoos...........in all sorts of unusual places! The maiden below us who looked like an extra from Conan The Barbarian (Uncensored version) had tattoos on both thighs above the knee.....both wrists and also behind here neck........so Cathy observed coldly.
COFFEE WORRIES!: Bug"?r! I exclaim........there is no kettle in our Room...where did you pack it..? ......eer I did not squeaks Cathy......ahhhh....we will have to use the in house Techno Coffee Maker!
Coffee bags make me nervous. The "machine" glares at me with a knowing wink. I approach it......switch on and
various blue lights flash. Eventually I find the hopper for water.....insert a coffee bag and push the "double cup" button. Stand back..........nothing apart from a feint fizzing noise then an ominous silence........ By this time it starts to rain, my iPad is flat and we face a 400km drive to the borders of the old East Germany......why spend three days doing what BA can do in 1hr 30mins?????
Our concerns soon evaporate and after a hearty breakfast with our fellow guests ......a motley crew of Battlefield Blokes........late middle aged German Couples (in precision ironed shorts) and a table of orientals who I am sure have followed us from Oslo earlier in the year, we head for Bernkastel in the Moselle region of Germany. This is a scenic 2 hour drive through rolling pasture land interspersed with timber framed farm buildings. Hard to believe this region saw over 100,000 deaths in WW2!
0930: set off mileage check: 308 so far since leaving Epsom.
Route: Head round the north of Luxembourg and on into Germany near St Vith taking a rural route through remnants of the Old Hindenburg Line. This is the region that Germans broke through in both Wars. Then routing across to Bernkastel
Keus in The Moselle Wine region ..... E42 down past Worms...Heilbronn..... and then heading due East in the direction of Nuremberg. This is a run of around 477km.
Weather Check: Improving.
Bernkastel is beautiful. Nestled alongside the Moselle river valley with endless vineyards planted right down the hillsides to the edge of the town itself. We set off through cobbled streets lineed with quaint timber-framed buildings with locals "quaffing" the local brew by the bucket load.....its only 1100hrs!
PETROL WORRIES: Anything less that half a tank and I start to get concerned. I haven't seen a gas station since yesterday afternoon somewhere near Dunkirk. The local tourist office directs to to the edge of town and at the same time we hit "ALDI" and clear them of their supplies of local Vino at 2 euro 30 a bottle. I recall this region were made famous by the "ANTIFREEZE" scandal back in the 1980's.........
After a long drive through yet more great German countryside....."MARGARET" the Sat Nav pipes up in her best silky "MISTRESS" voice that: "WE HAVE REACHED OUR DESTINATION". Neddy is hot and is covered in squashed insects. We stumble into the Hotel Zum Lamm in Ansbach and are greeted by "FRITZ" a
cheerful host............
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