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Chocolate box indeed.
Over the next few days we visited the Kinzigtal valley at the heart of the Black Forest. It’s a beautiful area with the Kinzig river and a handful of pretty towns and villages that looked nice to visit. After a quick supermarket visit and a van service we’re all set for the next few days. First stop is Shiltach, we managed to bag a space in the very pleasant motorhome parking area by the river. It was free which is always a bonus! It’s a hot one so we nestled Heulwen in the shade and set about the important stuff, lunch, falafel salad and a delicious pretzel, perfect for humous…
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Hymers, Squirrels and cake
After the joy of the Feldburg Steig walk we ventured on deeper into the Black Forest in search of more lakes and hoped to visit Triberg, home to Germanys highest waterfalls and apparently tame red squirrels!!! After showers and a bit of van tidying we set off to Triberg. It’s not that far from us and we arrive fairly soon. We’re in luck and grab one of the last motorhome parking spots right in the middle of town, happy days!!! We head off down the hill and make a beeline for the falls, €8 person and an extra €1 for a bag of nuts for Claire, she’s desperate to tempt…
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Feldburg steig, time for walkies…
The anticipation is growing as we peak out of Heulwen and see the blue sky. A step outside confirms it will be a good day, hopefully cool as we’ve decided to walk the 12km Feldburg Steig circular walk. When we leave our park up in Titisee we get stung for €19 overnight, not a good start. A short hop away and we get to the Feldburg car park. Oddly we are the only van in the car park so we ready ourselves, pack our trail lunches, waterproofs, walking poles, water and trail mix/ sweets. All important stuff! We get the cable car, €12 each, non return and head on up.…
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Black Forest adventures.
We wing our way north towards our destination, Feldburg and the twin lakes of Schultsee and Titisee ( yes we laughed too!) They are in the Black Forest highlands area and we soon discover the area is steeper than expected! We stopped at a handful of scenic viewpoints one of which had some information about the Westweg. The Westweg is a long-distance hiking trail in Germany, running north–south through the Black Forest from Pforzheim to Basel. The trail is around 285 km long, and was founded in 1900. If the scenery around this area is indicative of the route then it’s probably a cracker! We arrive at Feldburg after trundling,…
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Lake Geneva, Switzerland and traffic jams.
After our gorgeous cycle in Divonne we set off along the shores of Lake Geneva. It was a lovely route hugging the water and passing through a handful of nice small towns. What amazed us was that every time we stopped along the shore and parked up, it was free. Some of the spots were prime view locations but no charge at all! We have a lot to learn in the UK!!! Later in the morning before heading away from the Lake we stopped for a picnic at a glorious spot. It was busy but very pleasant. I don’t know whether it was the tasty sandwich and fresh fruit or…
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Cascades and a Col.
An early start from the campsite, a service for waste and water and we are off. Today is a combination of tourist stuff and amazing driving, hopefully. Our first stop and one of the Jura’s biggest draws are the Cascades du Herisson. A long valley littered with huge waterfalls all stretched out along a walkable trail. There are a number of access points but we plump for the visitor centre start area. It’s a pleasant spot but we quickly realise why it’s a top spot. It was heaving!!! At 10€’s each it’s not bad, the VC and cafe/ shop are pretty tasteful, lots of interpretation and helpful staff. Off we…
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Lac de Narlay
After leaving the Route des Sapins we noticed that the next few days were looking a tad hot, well, hot for two Welsh people! We needed a campsite and somewhere to cool off. I’d been given a tip by a work colleague about a lovely campsite at Lac de Narlay in the Jura. We headed to the nearest town, Champagnole to buy some food and hopefully service Heulwen. All stocked up on food and fully serviced we headed east towards the Jura lakes. This area has a series of beautiful lakes of varying shapes and sizes but all ripe for a swim!! The drive towards the area was beautiful, again…
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Trees, trees, trees…
Another early start, showered, breakfast and getting ready for the off. We’ve only been using Heulwen’s shower during this recent trip and what a revelation. Poor old Hank, our previous Hymer had a fab bathroom but showering, even though biggish space, was a task to wrestle with a billowing shower curtain! Water on, soap, unstick yourself from said curtain, more water, soap in eyes, stinging like crazy, flailing for the tap, more billowing curtain!!! You were clean but suitably stressed! Heulwen on the other hand has a neat Hymer design where the walls all fold out and back together making a separate little shower cubicle in the bathroom, water drains…
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Rivers and viewpoints
We start sleepily at Fraisans, toasted baguette, tea, coffee and a lovely view of the river. After a quick visit to the supermarket a 5 minute walk away, we pack up and set a course for Besancon, a nearby city to hopefully service Heulwen. It was a shock to the system, people, buses, trams, all over the roads with me trying to navigate to the aire, to service Heulwen. All done we bid our farewell and head out of town on a splendid route through the forest and rolling meadows of the Jura. A short hop later we arrive at the town of Ornans, sitting proudly in the Loue valley…
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Jura wanderings
After an early breakfast and shower we head off deeper into the Jura and first stop is the lovely town of Dole. A frantic search for a parking space, after all the suggestions either have fairgrounds or are just too busy finds us slap bang in the middle of a roundabout 5 mins walk across the River Doubs from the historic centre! Dole was once the capital of the Franch-Comte region but now Besancon holds that title. It’s a beautiful place with lovely canal area, some nice restaurants and a huge imposing church. Lunchtime sees us perched next to the canal indulging in that truly French vegetarian staple, Goats cheese…
