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Our final morning in Holland started grey and dismal. We love Holland and the Dutch but the weather has really let the country down over the last couple of days. Our Eurotunnel booking wasn’t until 4pm, so what to do on a damp day with not much time to spare?

The Netherlands American Cemetery was 6km from Maastricht and, as the only American Military Cemetery in the country, was worth a visit. The site has a rich historical background lying near the Cologne – Boulogne Roman highway. In 1940, Hitler’s troops advanced over this route, overwhelming the area. In September 1944, German Troops used the same route for retreat.

As you would expect from a Military Cemetery, it was impressive. Stylish architecture and immaculately kept grounds gave it an air of peace and serenity. An unimaginable contrast to what was endured by troops and residents alike. A sobering experience as always.

Our journey back to Eurotunnel was dull motorway driving, much through thick fog. As we crossed the border into France the sun came out and it was glorious. It would have been nice to have seen it sooner.

Somehow, we had only bought one bottle of wine and that wouldn’t see us through until Christmas. Begrudgingly, we settled on a trip to Citie Europe when Google came to our rescue. John discovered a wine shop, highly recommended by Decanter magazine in the town of Ardres. A short 15 minute detour from Calais and we were in a 250 year old building, home to Boursot’s Wine Collection with prices ranging from 3 – 80 euros. It was a joy. The salesman took time to establish our tastes and make recommendations. We left with three cases of wine and will return on our next trip to France. A far cry from French hypermarkets although they also sell crisps.

So what we have learned about Kerst in Holland?

For most children in The Netherlands, the most important December day is 5th ‘Pakjesavond’ (Gift Evening), when Sinterklaas (St. Nicholas) brings them their presents. Dutch folklore says that St. Nicholas lives in Spain and every year he chooses a different harbour to arrive in the Netherlands accompanied by his servants the ‘Piets’ who help deliver presents. Christmas Day is still the 25th December and is a quiet time when families attend church followed by a simple family meal. There are very few presents given at Christmas as these are exchanged earlier on St. Nicholas Day which is the more celebrated festival.

We have also learned a lot about Christmas Markets. Disappointingly, many stalls sell cheap tat made in China. In amongst those, if you look really carefully, you can find one or two local producers. A far cry from our rose-tinted expectations. The caves at Valkenburg were unusual but seemed to be missing some of the atmosphere of an outside market. Perhaps it was the lack of the scents of gluhwein and bratwurst.

So, we stayed in five countries while we’ve been away, starting in France, ending in the Netherlands and fitting Germany, Austria and Switzerland in the middle!

There was much coverage of the death of Queen Elizabeth, on televisions and radios. We weren’t expecting that, neither did we expect expressions of sympathy from people that crossed our paths. It really brought home how highly regarded her majesty was outside the UK.

I think we made it clear that cycling in mainland Europe is generally a joy. As to the roads? I’m not sure we saw a pothole. The journey home from Harwich, while not a joy, was more pleasant than the M25 but the state of the A120 meant we knew we were home!

Since we left, almost two weeks ago, probably 90% of our meals have involved cheese. Porridge is a bit of a shock for breakfast, as is making our own meals and clearing up after ourselves.

As has become usual, we thought we’d record our most memorable thoughts.

Starting with Ken. He pays tribute to his car for its fortitude and resilience in transporting them to a place of great infrastructure maintenance and putting up with the potholes on the M20 on the return journey without complaint. All more exceptional because Ken does not have a great track record of caring for his cars

Jacky just loves the Bodensee, the weather was fantastic, the scenery stunning and, she believes, she was blessed with good company! She will also remember the many lengthy debates over which route to take!

John gives the award of ‘Best cleanliness and maintenance’ to Germany and he quite likes that you can tell when you leave Germany for Belgium. It has nothing to do with border signs and everything to do with a significant change in the quality of the road surface.

As to Kim, she had carefully worked out where she could put her bike on a train at every stage of the holiday and didn’t consider it once.

And, although a day late in publishing, happy birthday to Ken

Despite our best intentions, traffic was against us today. We could see continuous tail lights from our hotel window, but instead of making the sensible decision and having a lie in, we headed out and queued along with everyone else

Tip of the day – never trust Google to take you to a supermarket in a foreign country, particularly one not known for its out of town hypermarkets. We found ourselves illegally parked in an Amsterdam suburb while John got his supermarket fix in a store smaller than our dining room table, The upside was that Kim stayed with the car and watched a truck transform, from wheeled to tracked. A vehicle Thunderbirds would be proud of.

Our main stop took us into the centre of Rotterdam, to the Cube House museum. Yesterday, there was a Tiny House exhibit at the Floriade, today it was cubes balanced over a main road. Both have a similar philosophy, how much space (and stuff) do you actually need?

Architect Piet Bloom’s design revolves around cubes tilted at almost 45 degrees to create high density housing on a smaller footprint. The cubes maximise internal space and light with the design intended to represent a tree. The row of trees then become a forest

The idea didn’t really take off and only 38 out of the original 74 were built. According to the museum’s FAQ, the cubes are inhabited by people who are creative, open-minded and flexible – we think that means you’re able to negotiate tight spaces and steep steps without injuring yourself.

Today was our ‘once in a lifetime’ trip to the Floriade. It’s been held every 10 years since 1952 and we thought ‘it’s now or never’. The site was a short ride along dedicated cycle routes – shall we stop mentioning how lovely cycling is over here? To add to our joy, there were blue skies and the biggest breakfast buffet ever!

Anyway, how to describe the Floriade? It’s like an RHS flower show on a significantly larger scale with less attention to perfection and a greater focus on both environment and sustainability. It has been on since April and finishes in 3 weeks, some of the exhibits are tired and/or closed. Saying that, it was well worth the visit. The two giant figures greeting visitors are covered with 10,000 corten steel bees, setting the tone for our visit

When the exhibition finishes, much will remain as infrastructure and green spaces for a residential development planned over the next few years. There are paths and roads already in place as well as existing mature trees that have been incorporated into the layout. Some of it seemed a little strange and disjointed until we understood what we were experiencing.

The theme around caring for your environment and building spaces for communities whilst support health and well-being was evident and the planting was humming with wildlife. There is a 3.2km bee corridor around the exhibition which is planted to ensure there is something to pollinators and birds throughout the year.

On our way out, we detoured into the Greenhouse. There were some colourful displays of indoor plants as well as rooms filled with foliage. We were rather puzzled by an IKEA display cabinet padlocked shut. John thought it was a safety issue until we noticed it was the only one in a long line of cabinets. Then we saw two cameras recording us and read the accompanying notice. The solitary plant inside was a Monstera minima variegata, the most expensive houseplant ever sold with one selling for almost $20,000 at auction. The phrase ‘more money than sense’ springs to mind.

There is only so much time you can spend at an exhibition this vast so, this afternoon, we drove north to Lelystad to see Anthony Gormley’s ‘Exposure’ a steel structure that resembles a crouching human figure looking out over the Markermeer. But the closer you get the more abstract it becomes, once you reach its feet – your head are at only ankle height and you can see the structure is made from straight sections of Scottish power pylons that resemble the straight roads and canals in the area. The concept relates to being a fixed point in a moving world and as climate change causes sea levels to rise, the dike it is built on will be raised, slowly burying the work.

Yesterday, we forgot to mention the retired German couple who asked us if it was possible to cycle in the UK. Without hesitation, all four of us shook our heads and said ‘no’!

To give some context, they are currently cycling along the Mosel valley to Koblenz covering 30-100km each day depending on how the mood takes them. This will all be done on dedicated cycle paths or quiet country roads. At the end of their trip, they will put their bikes on a train and return home to Freiburg. How we laughed. Bikes on a train? Only one bike at certain times in the Uk.

Their son had recently cycled the Scottish Highlands from Inverness. He, together with three friends, wanted to travel up by train from London with their bikes, and found it impossible. They ended up hiring a Motorhome instead! Of course, Kim and Jacky couldn’t see much of a problem with that idea.

Cycle networks in mainland Europe vary from country to country and aren’t perfect but, each time we cycle abroad we become more aware of how hazardous and discouraging it is back at home. Finally, our new German friends wanted to make it very clear that they were not using e-bikes, putting them in a minority amongst their fellow countrymen.

This morning, we sadly said goodbye to the Mosel and Jacky and Ken, who are heading home. We were not so sad to say goodbye to our hotel, we had high hopes from huge rooms, open views and balconies but the service wasn’t great and neither was the breakfast. Next time, we’d consider staying in Mehring where we had last dinner last night.

400km and 6 hours later, via a coffee stop in Valkenburg, we arrived at Almere for our visit to the Floriade tomorrow. We are in a huge, corporate hotel in a huge room with the sun shining.. We’re currently debating whether or not to have a cycle ride along Markenmeer to see Amsterdam before dinner.

We have a new game, Spot the Mercedes… can you?

Today, the good weather finally deserted us, cancelling any cycling or walking plans. Instead we drove to Bernkastel-Keus to see what the Mosel Wine Museum had to offer. The museum was shut but we were still able to visit the wine cellars. It was only 11am so we declined the €18 wine tasting option of over 100 local wines.

We have been to Bernkastel several times in the past but this is the first time we’ve seen a Viking River Cruise boat, bringing the famous advert to life! Bernkastel is very pretty and a popular tourist hot spot. It was interesting to see a COVID testing station set up by the bridge car park, it’s the only one we’ve seen since leaving home

Next was a picturesque drive along following the river to Piesport for lunch, before heading back to Riol for some very important wine tasting.

John was rather taken by a picture hanging on the cafe wall. Luckily, it was too big to hide under his coat

Last night, we enjoyed a very pleasant local wine with dinner. Google directed us to the address for the Schmitt-Kranz winery and we pulled up in what appeared to be someone’s front drive. We were greeted by the couple running the vineyard who were thrilled that we’d enjoyed their wine so much we wanted to buy some. In a mix of languages, they showed us around various items of winemaking equipment, describing it’s use and explaining that it was being cleaned ahead of next week’s grape harvest. They were lovely, their wine was lovely and we have a boot full.

Our final challenge of the day was a walk to the nearby town of Mehring for dinner. The weather had brightened up and it was only 30 minutes, according to Google. It seemed a lot longer and involved having to cross the river Mosel. Halfway there, John offered to go back for a car and meet us at the restaurant.

We had a lovely meal overlooking the river and watched as the heavens opened accompanied by flashes of lightning. Never had anyone been so grateful not to have to walk back to their hotel.

Tomorrow, we say goodbye to Jacky and Ken and drive to Almere in the Netherlands

Yesterday, we were relieved not to have another day’s cycling. This morning we were at a loss with no real structure to our day. Before we say a final goodbye to Constance, we have to admit the Mercedes got a parking ticket despite reassurances from the hotel that on road parking was ok. We can’t really fault the hotel’s advice because the ticket is for parking the wrong way round in a space, who knew there was such a thing?

Our next two nights are in Riol, on the outskirts of Trier overlooking the Mosel. Today, we did have a structure – to drive 250 miles. Our plan was to go via the Mercedes Museum in Stuttgart, which was pretty much on our route. Luckily, or not, we checked driving requirements and the car needed a clean air sticker. Having acquired one fine, we were reluctant to add to the tally and decided to head straight to Riol.

We had a very long, dull drive, arriving almost 7 hours after setting off. There was a short stop to fill up with petrol at €2.36 a litre and another in an unknown town where we stopped for coffee and cake. If you find yourselves in a German town with painted models of goats, please let us know where we were.

In one of our many traffic jams, it was fascinating to watch how cars positioned themselves, leaving room for emergency services to travel uninterrupted.

The rain that we had avoided while cycling, kept us company through much of our journey and it was a relief to arrive at the hotel.

Tomorrow’s plans are weather dependant. We may walk for some local wine tasting or, if the bikes’ saddles dry out, we may ever get back on the bikes!

We woke to torrential rain, it had been promised by our weather apps but we hoped they were fibbing. We prepared for 3 hours cycling, in the rain, with fingers crossed that we might dry out by Constance. By the time we had lingered over a very nice breakfast, the rain had stopped.

John found a leaflet for the FFA Musuem, a small museum of aircraft and cars overlooking a private airfield near Altenrhein and built on one of the first Dornier sites. We were cycling right past and decided it was worth a stop. Many of it’s exhibits are decommissioned Swiss airforce planes. As you would expect, there are a few Dorniers but more unexpectedly, several from the Hatfield based De Havilland company

Much of today was spent cycling alongside railway lines and through fields of sweetcorn and apple trees, it was a little dull at times. There was an obligatory coffee stop in Rorschach, where we sat and watched the passenger ferry sail out past a first class luxury tour boat and marvelled at the contrast.

Lunch was by the lake at Romanshorn. The sun came out and suddenly there was no need for waterproofs and fleeces. It had been a chilly ride and it was nice to bask in the warm sunshine, the only trouble was the warmth had brought out the midges all vying for our food. The view across the lake was lovely so we couldn’t grumble too much

Now for the last 20km back to Constance and the quality hotel of our first night. It felt a long slog with not much interest along the way, probably something to do with how tired and sore we were starting to feel….until we saw another stork. This one was quite happy to be approached for a photo opportunity

We arrived in Kreuzlingen, just across the river from Constance, when Ken announced it was the official end of the trip even though there were no crowds of admirers waiting to greet us. We stopped for a team photo and instead of savouring the moment, hastily donned waterproofs as the rain came down

John was in charge of leading us back to the hotel, the quickest way and he was off, he does like a challenge. The rest of us raced after him, through crowded streets, and heroically we outran the rain.

Dinner was eaten on the terrace of a lakeside restaurant where we watched the sun go down and reflected on the sad news of our Queen’s passing

Our penultimate day of cycling started with a threat of rain. Apart from some light drizzle yesterday, we have been lucky with the weather and so it was today. Our 55km route took us from Friedrichshafen to Hochst, hugging the lake most of the way

We cycled through some lovely, lakeside villages over an early wire suspension bridge. The bridge, built over the river Argen in 1896 was the first wire suspension bridge in Germany. It served as the model for longer and larger bridges.

A small accident triggered the first tea stop of the day at Kressbon. Someone, with a dodgy sense of balance, misjudged a kerb and fell off her bike. There are grazed, puffy knees, minor scratches to elbows and a bruised hand. The good news is it necessitated tea and Apfel Strudel with cream to help her get over the shock and the view across the lake was lovely…..the lengths some people will go to for a cuppa! Photos of knees are available, on request, in the meantime here’s some scenery.

Next stop Lindau, our halfway point. We have been here before (Italian Adventure – JustGo 2018!)! The town has a ferry terminal and, as a result, is very busy. We found somewhere quiet and shady for our makeshift lunch. It was nice to be away from the crowds, even if it was an old railway siding. Please note, Kim is not posing, she’s just trying to hide her knees.

It was tempting to get on a ferry to Bregenz, our next stop, but that felt too much like cheating so we soldiered on. It was only 10km and our aim was to take the Phalbaten cable car up to the highest point on the lake. From there you can see across the lake but, more impressively, the mountains surrounding it.

We cycled over the Rhine, at the point it enters the Lake and wondered what it would be like when swollen with mountain melt water during the spring.

As we approached our hotel in Hochst, we cycled past a field of storks. It has been a successful reintroduction programme in the area and it was exciting to see them. Not the best picture but they refused to pose for us!

Finally we arrived at our hotel and it was a welcome sight. Our rooms have balconies and it’s nice to sit and relax, watching the world go by.

Approximately 55km back to Konstanz tomorrow, heavy rain is forecast, Kim’s knees will have seized up….it will be fun!

Update: 9pm and the rain has started!

Today was our shortest cycling day, very welcome after yesterday’s marathon. We visited much of today’s route on our last Motorhome adventure so there will be no more pretty pictures of Meersburg or Hagnau. Neither will we talk about the Zeppelin Museum in Friedrichshafen – been there, done that and, if you’re interested you’ll have to read ‘Italian Adventure – JustGo 2019. We know this is no way to treat our trusty readers but we’re going to anyway.

Max, our green cycle book, suggested the Zeppelin Museum in Meersburg was worth a visit so, less than an hour from our start, we stopped for some culture. The museum opened in 1989 and houses a private collection of Zeppelin memorabilia. We pushed the bikes up a steep hill, secured them to railings and were greeted by the German receptionist who was extremely proud of the museum and the authenticity of its exhibits. She was also disparaging about the Friedrichshafen museum, all in very excitable German. It’s surprising what you can pick up from a tone of voice and some arm waving.

We were happily browsing the memorabilia, fascinated by the story of Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin, when she came rushing over shouting ‘Englisch, englisch’. She didn’t want us to miss the information film just starting with English commentary. The story of the development of airships through to the fatal Hindenburg disaster was fascinating and well worth the stop.

Meersburg, apart from being picture postcard pretty, is quite a hub for ferries across the lake and, consequently, very busy. We cycled a few kilometres on and stopped for a coffee break in a yacht club. Not quite as grand as it sounds but we were overlooking the lake and it was quiet.

Light rain kept us company as we cycled towards the Dornier Museum on the outskirts of Friedrichshafen. The museum attracted us with its boast of ‘a luxury terrace where, if you are lucky, you can see zeppelins take off’. We were sold, the history of Dornier aviation was almost secondary

For €300, you can have a 30 min flight in one of these modern day airships, a fraction of the size of the 245m Graf Zeppelin and Hindenburg. For €970 you are able to take a trip and see Rheinfall from above. Kim was tempted but the first ticket isn’t available until October.

Now onto Claude Dornier, the founder of the Dornier company and inventor of seaplanes. He was head-hunted by Graf von Zeppelin, designing a Zeppelin shed on a turntable in order for the airship to take advantage of the best weather conditions. The mind boggles at the scale of the engineering involved. Dornier went on to design and manufacture seaplanes. From a humble background, he made sure his workers were looked after, helping them to finance their own homes by funding 60% of the build cost.

Here’s a link to the museums site. If you ever find yourselves in the area, it’s an amazing place to visit. https://www.dorniermuseum.de

Despite losing everything in WWII, Claude restarted his business manufacturing small electrical goods and weaving looms. Today Lindauer Dornier is back in aviation and aeronautics, designing and manufacture satellites. What a legacy to leave and you have to love a museum that has pedal cars to keep children entertained amongst the exhibits.

In case you’re jealous of our lovely scenery and hotels, tonight we are in a Comfort Hotel, on an industrial estate underneath the flight path of Friedrichshafen airport.

We knew we had a hard day ahead of us and left our beautiful lakeside hotel just after 9am, fuelled up with enormous breakfasts of fruit, yogurt and cheese (with a sneaky additional cheese roll for each of us)

Starting out along the shore to Radolfzell we through a small market garden area with various stalls selling local produce, we rather liked the stylish idea of onion bouquets

Then we turned inland across to the Mindelsee nature reserve and our Mountain Stage. We puffed our way up the first steep hill, some pushing of bikes was involved, before freewheeling down the other side. It’s quite disheartening when you know you’ve only got to go back up again.

There have been a lot of apple and pear trees alongside our route and plenty are dotted around the nature reserve and we were fascinated to watch the fruit collection. The apples are to be juiced and fermented into apfelwein a speciality of the area which we have yet to try.

We had a 50m climb over 6km which doesn’t sound much until you do it. The next climb was hard but no bike pushing was involved. Kim looked at the route profile and blithely announced ‘we’ve done it, that’s the worst over’ before turning a corner and realising the final, steepest section was still ahead of us.

Further bike pushing was involved but, with a sense of pride, we realised we had only been passed by e-bikes and we all know that’s cheating!

Our makeshift lunch was eaten outside a small PostOffice in Stahringen. Take away coffee was available but nothing for fussy tea drinkers as a result, the break was short! It was already 1:30 and we weren’t even halfway round. At least we had a steep downhill section to make up time.

Finally, the lake came back into view and we treated ourselves to a refreshment/beer stop with only 20km to go. It was lovely to sit and relax in the sunshine but that last 20km was hard. We had got to the stage that any slight incline was hard going and heaved a sigh of relief when we could legitimately push our bikes through the pedestrian only streets of Uberlingen

We arrived in Muhlhofen just after 5pm and the hotel was a welcome sight. Our hotel is 5km off the route and it was an unexpectedly hilly ride. There have been heated debates over the distance cycled, ranging from 34 to 42 miles. Whatever the truth, it’s been a blooming long way and very hard work. Tomorrow should be less than 20 miles but we have planned a detour to a museum. We won’t know if that’s a good idea for another 24 hours.

It’s an early night for us, having been well fed in the hotel restaurant, to rest our weary legs. If you ever find yourselves in Muhlhofen, we recommend Hotel Sternen, the service was friendly and they serve huge plates of delicious, well cooked food

Well, what a night! We were woken about 2am by an inconsistent bass note and a variety of voices and screams. We’re not sure where the party was, but it kept going until at least 4am. Not a great start to our cycling holiday but, on a positive note, breakfast was not bad for a bargain hotel. And to be fair, the place was spotless but that didn’t make up for lack of parking and a sleepless night. The Mercedes is abandoned on an industrial estate and really deserves better.

We set off in our usual fashion, going round in circles for a few minutes until we found our way out of Konstanz and across the Swiss Border

We wound our way through lovely lakeside villages, each time commenting that ‘Inntravel would have booked us here and told us which way to turn our of the hotel’. It seems a little unfair to compare walking holiday instructions to our cycling ones but our Inntravel instructions have always been exceptional.

We cycled alongside the lake, stopping for coffee before following railway lines, through pear and apple orchards.

Our lunch break was beside the lake in Mannern. It had just gone 12 and we’d completed 2/3rds of our ride. We had liberated rolls and cheese from our breakfast buffet and it felt very leisurely sitting in the shade overlooking Untersee.

Next stop Stein am Rhein and a visit to the Lindwurm Museum, a complimentary ticket has been included in our pack so it seemed rude not to go. Stein am Rhein is very pretty and has a chequered history. It suffered in the French Revolution and lost income from tolls on the Rhine bridge, resulting in food shortages and loss of trade in wheat and wine. The town didn’t recover until railways appeared in the late 19th century and it regained some of its economic success. As a result of the long decline many of its medieval buildings survived.

The Lindwurm Museum recreates an upper middle class house from the 19th century. Parts date date back to 1279 when it started life as one of the most important houses in Stein before falling into decay. Jakob and Emma Windler inherited it from grandparents in 1945 and set about its renovation it eventually became a museum in 1992. It is also the only museum we’ve visited that has a group of chickens roaming in the yard to add that realistic feel.

The final few km to Residenz Seeterrasse were surprisingly hilly and came as a shock after the ease of the rest of the route. Some bike pushing was necessary which is a big worry ahead of tomorrow’s ‘Mountain Stage’

Our hotel is the complete opposite of last night. A lovely spacious room, with a balcony and lake view. Is it ungrateful to complain that’s it’s too hot to sit outside?

Finally, it’s goodnight from us. We have an early start tomorrow

We left Strasbourg in the rain and took our time driving through the Black Forest to get to Konstanz and the start of our cycling holiday

Jacky and Ken arrived ahead of us and sent pictures of torrential rainfall which doesn’t bode well for 5 days on a bike. By the time we caught up with them at Rheinfalls, any rain had eased and a watery sun appeared through the clouds.

It’s probably worth pointing out that although, technically we have been away with Jacky and Ken since Thursday, today is the first time we’ve actually seen each other.

Our detour to Rheinfalls was another tourist hotspot ticked off the list. The waterfalls are the most powerful in Europe and several attempts to create a hydropower plant or a diversion to enable ships to travel the whole length of the Rhine have been scuppered.

We arrived in Konstanz and are staying in the German equivalent of a Travelodge. Basic facilities but clean tidy rooms. We are abandoning the car on a industrial estate while we cycle, it doesn’t feel right but seems to be the thing to do when you can’t book hotel parking. Reassuringly, there are signs that other cars have been left here for a few days.

Our tour brochures caused some angst. There are two and they are called Ben and Max. We are used to unnamed guidebooks that take you logically from A to B. Not so with Ben and Max. They share our route between them, include significant sections that we don’t need and exclude precise directions to our hotels. We are sure everything will be fine as long as the lake remains on our right hand side!

So, not much from us today other than dinner was on a terrace overlooking the lake and was lovely…. until the midges came out.

Words cannot express how lovely it was not to get up at 3am and drive 500 miles!

Today, we cycled Strasbourg, not the entire city just the river around the old city. We will try not to bore you with too much history but Strasbourg does have more than it’s fair share.

Our hotel was on cycle route which took us directly onto Route 1, a circular cycle way encompassing the central historic city. Directions were a mix of signposts and coloured markers set in tarmac which took some getting used to. However, after a lovely local came to our aid, we were off on a clockwise circuit.

Our first stop was the European Parliament building, gleaming in the sun, with flags flying. It took us a while to remember why a Union Jack wasn’t included and we almost stormed in, brandishing our burgundy EU passports demanding the UK be reinstated as part of Europe once more. We did however return the hand of friendship to a couple of lost french men. In her best French, Kim was able to direct them to the Exposition Centre. She has been smug about that all day.

Next was the Parc de l’Orangerie, Strasbourg’s oldest park originally laid out in 1692. The early 19th century saw the addition of a pavilion to house 140 orange trees, confiscated from a chateau in Bouxwiller during the revolution. Only 3 survive and can be seen on specific days, today was not one of them!

After a caffeine boost, we rejoined our route and cycled into the historic quarter of Petite France, at this point the River Ill splits and runs through the city creating a need for lots of bridges. Petite France dates back to the Middle Ages and was once home to tanners, millers and fisherman. Today, at the western end of Strasbourg’s Grand Ile, it is a main tourist attraction and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. To sum it up, it’s very pretty with many half timbered buildings and lots of cobbled streets.

We stopped for lunch at a little pavement cafe, it seemed rude not to go ‘full tourist’, and sampled a Tarte Flambée which is a local specialty. In its simplest terms, it’s like a very, very thin slightly burnt crispy pizza with fromage blanc instead of mozzarella. A great thing to share in the middle of the day with an obligatory beer.

We were keen to see the Cathedral and had glimpsed it’s spire many times on our route, but trying to find it on foot was far from simple. It has a very distinctive colour, built of reddish brown sandstone from the nearby Vosges Mountains. Quite how something that tall could disappear from view remains a mystery but we persevered and it was worth it.

Construction started in the 11th century and finally finished in the 15th. From 1647 to 1874 it was the world’s tallest building and remains the highest standing structure built entirely in the Middle Ages. Strasbourg, and all of Alsace, has a chequered, violent history and it’s amazing that it remains standing. The beautiful stained glass windows, of which there are many, were removed for safekeeping during WWII and it’s restoration was not completed until 1990.

We have asked ourselves how something built from sandstone is standing after 800+ years and our wall at home is disintegrating before our eyes.

The cathedral also houses the Strasbourg Astronomical Clock. We were too late for it’s party piece. At noon there is a procession of 18” figures of Christ together with his apostles while a life sized cockerel crows three times. It’s worth a trip back just to see that! Despite missing its main attraction it’s a beautifully complex and decorative piece of machinery

Musee Alsacien was our final stop and real trip back in time. Housed in several timber framed houses, it was set up in 1907 to underpin the area’s identity against germanisation. Whole rooms reconstruct life in the Alsace, both in terms of living and working. Alsacien houses and furniture were built in such a way that they could be taken apart and re-constructed if needed. Real thought was given to how space was used and heated to help inhabitants get through bitterly cold winters. It was the best €3.50 we’ve spent in a long time.

We cycled to a local restaurant for dinner, drawn in by a menu of local delights and the fact that there’s not much on offer around the hotel. We’d booked before reading dire tripadvisor reviews so expectations were low. We were pleasantly surprised by pleasant service and a perfectly acceptable main meal. It did all fall apart when, after waiting 20 minutes for a dessert menu, we gave up paid the bill and called it a night

Finally, you have to admire the honesty and lack of effort!

We are off to cycle around Lake Constance (The Bodensee). It seemed a good idea when we booked it, back in June. 150 miles in 5 days around a pretty lake, how hard can it be?

We are starting with a couple of nights in Strasbourg before making our way across to Constance. Assuming we survive the cycling, we have a short stop along the Mosel Valley before heading up to Holland to visit The Floriade Exposition. There’s a lot of driving involved, to offset any impact from cycling, but the Floriade is every 10 years and we had a ‘now or never’ moment!

If you remember, it wasn’t that long ago that John refused to do another holiday with Jacky because she writes on maps which upsets his OCD. Well, we are meeting Jacky and Ken at Constance and, although she doesn’t yet know it, Jacky will be in charge of maps and official team leader. John could be trusted but doesn’t really want the responsibility. As to Kim and Ken… not to be trusted with directions and a bike.

Anyway, we were up at 3am for an 8am sailing from Dover having been deeply scarred from our previous trip. The bonus being we were all allocated earlier ferries, just not the same one!

We had a long, expensive drive to Strasbourg. 550 miles together with peage fees which may have cost even more than the fuel!

There was a slight detour at Reims for an obligatory visit to a defunct racing circuit. Luckily John didn’t suggest we needed to cycle the 10km course, he was happy just to take a photo against a classic backdrop.

We arrived at our hotel just before 6pm and it was a welcome sight. The car is securely parked along with the bikes and we have collapsed with a beer and planned tomorrow’s walking/cycling adventure in the home of the EU Administrative Centre.

Our final thought for the day is ‘how do you judge a winning team?’

Is it the team that:

A) arrived first at Dover

B) landed first in France

C) was the first to relax with a cold beer? Answers on a postcard….

Thursday is market day here in Chinon and it has been causing us some angst. The car has been in a garage right in the middle of the market area. In a panic, yesterday, it was was retrieved and parked alongside the river, just to make sure it wasn’t held captive today. We needn’t have worried the stall holders had left an escape route, although we were relieved we didn’t have to inch the car past market stalls and through crowds of shoppers.

Chinon is home to a large and busy market, selling everything from truffles to mattresses. We succumbed to the charms of an artisan cheese producer, neither of us thought to check the price of an eye-wateringly expensive lump of fermented milk. To be fair, we did taste it and it is very nice.

We said goodbye to the apartment, and Benoit, the owner before starting on our final adventure of the break – a visit to the Musee du Maurice Dufresne at Moulin de Marnay on the outskirts of Azay le Rideau.

Maurice was a character, from a young age he kept things that were made redundant by more modern offerings. He created a very successful scrap metal and demolition business and, today, the company has one of the largest reclamation sites in France.

His dream was to open a museum to house all his ‘treasures’ – junk to most people. He achieved this by buying and renovating an abandoned paper mill. Today it houses over 3000 exhibits ranging from vintage tools and weapons to various vehicles and even an original prototype bi-plane similar to the one Bleriot used to cross the Atlantic. It is an amazing and unassuming collection. It is also truly startling what you can achieve from nothing if you never throw anything away. He restored the original water driven turbine that drove the paper mill machinery and it’s a working centre piece to the museum.

Maurice also, very cleverly, designed the interior of the mill to ensure you have to walk every metre of its 1km halls of exhibits! We think he taught IKEA their art of selling. It’s probably just as well he never met Joan of Arc, goodness knows what they’d have achieved together.

Our last night is in St Malo, before our ferry home tomorrow morning. We enjoyed a seaside walk along the Plage after dinner rather than the planned cycle ride, because John’s bike has a puncture and he can’t be bothered to fix it. And, no, the puncture has nothing to do with Kim! And, also no, we don’t want to live here.

Like us, the Tour de France had a rest day yesterday, today they are cycling 172km from Dunkirk to Calais. To avoid confusion we cycled from Chinon to Richelieu on the voie verte, a 48km (30 miles in real distance) round trip along a disused railway line. It opened in 2017 and is punctuated with small stations and information Boards every 5km or so.

By our standards, we started early to try and beat the (30C) heat and headed out of town past vineyards, fields of sunflowers and nut trees, arriving in Richelieu, at the renovated station, just in time for a quick lunch.

The next stop was the Parc de Richelieu, a lovely quiet oasis behind a beautiful town square.

We took our time cycling back, mainly because of the head wind. In our experience, there is always a head wind on the journey home and never on the route out. Why is that? Is there a God of Cyclists that we should be praying to?

Halfway back we stopped to read about Chateau du Rivau, 1.5km off our route. It’s claim to fame is Joan of Arc stayed there while selecting war horses for her attack on Orleans. There was much eye-rolling from us and we chose not to visit the Chateau. Perhaps another time, the restoration of the organically managed gardens look interesting.

We returned home to see the last 60km of the Tour de France, which isn’t very interesting if you don’t know what’s going on because the commentary is in French and David Millar isn’t explaining precisely what’s happening.

As we write, two more ministers have quit the cabinet and yet again Boris is apologising with feigned sincerity, we know this as a couple on an adjacent dinner table have bet us, that Boris will be gone before breakfast! We think he’ll hang on longer although we are considering, on our way home, fishing Joan’s ashes out of the Seine. She’d soon have Boris sorted.

Jacky and Kim made the most of our final morning by visiting the Botanic Gardens. The Garden was founded in 1985 and is a centre for conservation, study and understanding of Mediterranean plants, specifically those of the Balearic Islands. The living plant collections are laid out according to ecological groups and simulate their natural habitats. We saw the biggest bee in the world, perhaps a slight exaggeration but Xylocopa violacea, the violet carpenter bee, is one of the largest in Europe. Kim has horrified John with ideas for growing her Aeoniums in the sandstone wall we have just had repaired.

Eventually the time came for us to leave our lovely hotel.

As a result of the Es Firo festival, Soller was starting to get very busy and a number of roads were being closed. Antonio our taxi driver was aware of the problems and arrived in plenty of time for a smooth and effortless drive to the airport. As we were leaving Soller we noticed long traffic queues on the outskirts of Palma – luckily on the other carriageway, caused by people visiting the Hippodrome to watch the horse trotting races. It really brought home that we had been living in a bubble for the last few days.

COVID-19 remains a risk in the Belearic Islands and the government has recruited 120 Special Agents to support local police. Candidates for this role are drawn from those who applied but failed to obtain a post in the police force in the last 5 years.

Luckily, Ken was able to escape Mallorca in disguise, otherwise Agent COVID may have arrested him….. he tested positive this morning. So far, the rest of us have escaped.

Today’s walk was a mere 11km with a total ascent/descent of 550m, one of the most challenging of the holiday. Yesterday’s ascent and descent figures were less than 400m and that had been difficult enough. Kim had checked the map carefully and identified a number of shortcuts if it all proved too much. The ankle has gone from blue and purple to shades of green and purple so obviously on the mend. We hope you’re suitably grateful that we haven’t shared a picture of said ankle?

We left Soller, heading north, on quiet tarmac roads. They didn’t last long and, within a couple of kilometres we were back on narrow loose cobbled paths. You read all about those yesterday and these were much the same. The route took us through the hamlet of Binibassi before arriving at the village of Fornalutx, also known as the ‘village of a thousand years’ and said to one of the prettiest in Mallorca. We couldn’t argue with that description. It was beautiful stone buildings on narrow cobbled streets.We stopped for refreshments outside a little cafe on the main square before moving on. We’d been walking for almost two hours and had only managed 3.5km.

The village is high up and there were some fantastic views over the orange groves and olive terraces. The cemetery on the outskirts of town was very peaceful against the backdrop of the mountains. We’re not sure if the grave was truly for sale but thought it could be worth investigating as a final resting place.

Kim took a view as we left the village and we cheated with a shortcut back to Soller. Jacky and Ken were determined not to be beaten by a little hill and some rubble and carried on to the viewing point and cafe at Mirador de ses Barques. Our route continued up through wooded terraces, along very narrow overgrown paths with steep drops. It seemed a bit unfair to still be climbing when all we wanted to do was head downhill back towards Soller. The route flattened out and we stopped briefly for a picnic lunch in an olive grove with a backdrop of grazing sheep.

At this point the path started to descend and suddenly we were wishing for some nice rugged ascents. Why is downhill so much harder than uphill? That just seems plain contrary! It was hard work and when John suggested that we could have a beer in Biniaraix, Kim gave him a very hard stare and pointed out it would add at least another hour to our walk. He saw sense and opted for a beer in a quiet, shady terrace in Soller, no more than 10 minutes walk from the hotel.

Ken and Jacky arrived back less than an hour after us and had made good time. There was grumbling about sore feet and knees as well as distances quoted on our walking notes. The whole walk was meant to be 11.5 km, just over 7 miles in a real measure. They had done somewhere between 10 and 11 miles depending on who you believed. We had walked over 7 miles and that was with our ‘shortcut’. So much for an easier day before walking to Deia tomorrow.

On a positive note, Ken and Jacky did see the stunning views over the bay and we booked into C’an Pintxo again for dinner tonight.

We had two options walking from Soller to the Port. First was a simple, straightforward 5km, the alternative was nearer 10km taking in Refugi de Muleta and Cap Gros. We chose the more adventurous route, it was only 6 miles and Kim insisted she was capable despite hobbling down to breakfast.

We picked up provisions from the nearest supermarket and set off just after 10am. Our route notes estimated a 4 hour walk so, even with Kim limping, we’d be at the Port by mid-afternoon.

All routes start from the main Square in Soller and, as we left town, we realised we’d walked quite a loop around to the back of our hotel. There was plenty of eye rolling and we were only 15 minutes in. Soon we had left the town and were walking out through Olive, Orange and Lemon groves with the Tramuntuna mountains curving around us. They looked very high and stood between us and the Port. We consoled ourselves with the thought that estimated walking times hadn’t let us down yet. It’s worth mentioning now that, by the time we were nearer our destination,

Following GR221, Ruta de Pedro en Sec or The Dry Stone Route, which followed old cobbled paths that had once been the main communication routes between villages. It took us up through rows of Olive terraces. As we walked, the dry stone route suddenly became the dangerous wet stone route as the rain came down. Luckily it didn’t last long but it turned a challenging route into something deeply unpleasant.

As we wound up through stone terraces we started to see glimpses of the port through the trees. We also started to see signs warning us of ‘Big Game’, the subject of much speculation. The wildest creatures we had seen were a couple of donkeys lazily grazing under overhanging trees.

It had been hard work and, about 2/3rds of the way along our route on the Muleta Plain, we came across Muleta de Ca’s Hereu, an old guest house perched on the hillside serving coffee and cake. It seemed rude not to stop and the almond cake was delicious. A few hundred meters on, we came across a young girl squeezing fresh oranges and selling the juice by the side of the path. A great business opportunity and we had two thoughts – shouldn’t she be at school and how do we get by without seeming rude, we had only just drunk a cuppa. Luckily, a couple of German walkers stopped as we went past.

We met numerous people along the way, of many different ages, abilities and nationalities. These narrow paths must get difficult to negotiate as the weather warms up and the number of walkers increases.

Finally, we reached Cap Gros, having decided the extra 5 minutes to Refugi de Muleta just wasn’t worth the effort. We may have missed the most picturesque stone hostel with breathtaking views but, quite frankly, we’re no longer bothered.

The final 3km into Port de Soller was on welcome tarmac. The only problem was it was steeply downhill with a lot of hairpin bends. Kim made it this far without too much complaining, but that last stretch was probably the most difficult.

The route timings were fairly accurate, we had walked for just over 4-hours. We stopped briefly in the Port for probably the most overpriced cuppa ever before taking the tram back to Soller.

The tram is a Spanish Heritage tramway and one of only a few first generation tramways to survive in Spain. Opening in 1913, the route is nearly 5km long and a very big tourist attraction. We decided we ought to do it even though, for the cost of one tram ticket, all four or us could get back to Soller in a taxi.. it was quaint but very overcrowded. According to Wikipedia, there are 17 stations along the route, quite how anyone could elbow their way through the crowds to get off is beyond us. And why would a local use it when there’s a perfectly good, faster cheaper bus service

Dinner this evening was a recommended local tapas bar, and it was delicious. We’re not good at remembering to take food photos but the carrots were quite exceptional!