Milton Keynes to Vienna, 5th and Final Part
Our route from the Bodensee back into France was very scenic and we seem to follow a small stream for many miles. The border between Germany and France is the Rhine. As we crossed the river to the French side we saw vehicles being pulled over up ahead of us. When it was our turn we were just waved through!!! The thing you immediately notice having crossed back into France is how frenetic the driving was compared to Germany and Austria. We were heading for Molsheim which is not far from Strasbourg. We found the campsite but the barrier was down and we were concerned that we would have to wait until 3.00pm but a guy appeared, opened the barrier, gave us a site plan and said to report back later. The Municipal at Molsheim is quite green but after the recent rain was becoming quite sticky so we selected a pitch which hopefully would be easy to get off. During our stay several motorhomes had to be helped off the grass. I do wonder if people really think about where they are parking such a heavy vehicle?
The old town of Molsheim is only a short walk from the site. Typical Alsace styling. On the town gate is a plaque dedicated to the soldiers of the American 3rd Infantry Division that liberated the town in November 1944. Maybe not so well known is that Molsheim was the home of Bugatti cars from 1909 and 1939 and there is a museum dedicated to the brand in the town. The advantage of using Municipal campsites in France is that generally everything is conveniently at hand. This was true of this site with a handy Super U just around the corner.
Our next stop was at Vittel which looking at the map might seem a strange choice as we appeared to be heading away from Calais!!! Because of the change in the weather we wanted to be sure of a reasonable firm pitch for the motorhome and the Municipal at Vittel apparently had hardstandings. When you think of a Caravan Club hardstanding an immediate picture comes to mind. This is not always the case abroad. What we found was compacted clay that would suit our purpose but perhaps not as clean as gravel!!! The lady that run the site was most helpful in finding us a pitch where we might get satellite TV. She also spoke excellent English.
I suspect most people have heard of Vittel mineral water which comes from the town. In the town centre there are some interesting sculptures made out of empty water bottles! Vittel is also an important Spa town where people come to “take the waters” and also undergo various therapies. A bus even runs from the campsite to the Spa. Perhaps it would have been good for my knees? Like many Spa towns the buildings around the Spa are always very grand and almost speak of a different time.
Getting back on course for the final part of our homeward journey we headed for Verdun and a return visit to Camping Les Breuils. This was our third visit to this campsite, not because it’s particularly good but it is a very convenient stopping off point between France and Germany. Another advantage of this campsite is that it is within relatively easy walking distance of both the Citadel and the town. Verdun is of course, famous for its heroic defence in 1916 Battle of Verdun during the First World War of the Citadel. Walking round the walls of the Citadel you can perhaps see why it was such a hard nut to crack for the Germans. The defence was in part successful because of the massive underground tunnels hewn into the rock which it made it even more difficult for an attack to succeed. It had been our intention to try and get in to see all these places but at the cash desk the girl told us there was a two hour wait which rather hit the idea on the head. Several school parties had arrived and I assume they had pre-booked. Mind you I suppose it’s far more important for these kids to learn about their history compared to a couple of pensioners!!!
We walked on past the Citadel and into the town, taking the opportunity to stop at a Patisserie with an inside seating area for a coffee. Despite being described as large the coffee was a fairly normal sized cup. Clearly, thus far, Starbucks have made no impression on France!!! There is a large memorial in the town centre with a pedestrian walk way right down to the river. As we got back to the campsite the heavens opened accompanied by a heavy thunder storm!
Two more stops before the Tunnel the first one being the Municipal at Soissons north east of Paris. They had a variation on a theme with regards to hardstanding. Inset into the grass was a metal grid on the pitches reserved for motorhomes. The town is a slightly longer walk so we decided to use the bikes and we discovered the river with a nice quay with boats moored before turning into the town. En route we passed what seemed to be a large car boot sale which was very busy and being French was complete with stalls selling food to eat. Further around from the site in the other direction we discovered a river lock and watched a small barge go through.
Our last stop in France, Camping de la Maye, was at Rue near to the Baie de Somme. It was only an overnighter and the owner allowed us to park on the hard area next to the service point. We use this site simply because there is a Carrefour Market supermarket right opposite the campsite which is handy for stocking up for all things French, including wine!!! The Tunnel is only about 60 miles from Rue so depending on crossing time It’s an easy journey even allowing for a fuel stop at the Auchen near Boulogne. There were no delays on the tunnel but there was on the M20 near Maidstone. It was not really a problem as we were only going as far as the C&CC site at Waltham Cross for another overnight stay. For the last couple of trips to Europe we have decided to break the journey rather than heading straight back to MK as it makes for an easier journey the following day.
For those that like statistics. We were away for 50 nights and a total cost in site fees of £830 which worked out as a nightly average of £16.60 a night. No European sites were booked in advance. We travelled 2651 miles and used 443 litres of fuel at a cost of £401. We paid about £140 in tolls, this included tolls on French autoroutes, our two month Austrian motorway vignette and a couple of separate tolls for using long tunnels in Austria.
The End
More of this story and many more pictures as well as campsite reviews of all the sites we used can be seen on my website here
