DAY 68 SUNDAY MAY 31 SHORT TRAVEL DAY

As our train was not leaving till 11:59am we had time to walk along the river Main after breakfast.  We crossed a bridge to the south bank where a lot of small museums were situated.  As we walked on a generous shared pathway through a colonnade of trees, we noticed that all the trees had blue and white striped material about 200 mm wide wrapped around them. 

We puzzled about what this could mean until we found a notice attached to one of the trees stating that 1600 men had been interned nearby, mostly Polish, and most had died as a result of the German motto "Vernichtung durch Arbeit".  A few trees had names on them.  

This all happened in 1944 and 1945 when we were starting school.  The trees continued for about 2 kilometres, one for each man.  Very sobering  display.

We only needed to catch one train today, another DB InterCity Express.  The ticket said Platform 9, the departure board said Platform 8 and the board on Platform 9 said Regensburg.  Like us many people stood at the platform entrance wanting to be sure they got on the right train.  It was Platform 8, but only today.  There was the usual seat shuffle when 4 people with second class tickets were sitting in first class,  a poor man jumped in begging for 7 euros to buy himself a train ticket home and the man behind us had to move because he was in coach 28 and his ticket was for coach 27.  Just the standard entertaining kerfuffles.  This train had started in Hamburg at 5:30am, we got on at Frankfurt at 12:02 (13 minutes late), got off at 3:25pm (on time) and the train continued to Vienna Airport at 8:30pm.  Did anyone make it all the way?  Certainly the staff changed in Nuremburg. 

Booking.com rang us this morning to tell us the reception would be closed and to give us code to obtain our room key.  We had to punch in the code, retrieve a key from the "Key Boy" box, open the front door of the neighbouring unit block,  open the first floor door that led to four rooms including ours and finally open our own room.  All this with no visible support.  The place is a Catholic Conference Centre called "Katholische Akademie", and is designed like student accommodation.  The room is spacious, but we have no TV, no Wifi, no fridge and a shared toilet and shower up the hall.  There is a musty smell.  We need to meditate or read the Bibles supplied. We tried to go out a different way and closed a door behind us that we could not use the key to go back in.  It was starting to feel like a monastery or a prison.  By the way, the main street is called Martin Luther, so we nominate him for Regenburg's favourite son.  When we finally got out,  we could not remember how we had done it.

We are situated next to the Danube River, so we went for a walk along the mooring for the River Cruisers. This one looked as long as the Queen Mary 2, but the rooms must be quite small.  It did not attract us.

   

Breakfast is supplied tomorrow so we hope to actually speak to someone,  otherwise it will be like one of those silent retreats. 

DAY 67 SATURDAY MAY 30 - LET'S EXPLORE FRANKFURT

We started the day by walking along the bank of the River Main, then into the Old Town precinct.  This teddy greeted us outside the Teddy Paradise shop.

and another one was robotically blowing bubbles all day.

Around the corner a couple were emerging from the Town Hall as newlyweds and their friends were blowing bubbles over them instead of confetti.

We saw a picture of this area taken from the sky in 1944 and the bombing damage was horrific.  By 1957 many of the historic buildings were rebuilt and these three are now famous.

In other parts of the town the old buildings stand next to the new ones,  rather incongruously.

There are many carless and restricted areas where we felt very relaxed looking at the sights such as the Old Opera House.

There are a few pedicabs,  this one ridden by a lady with grey hair and we saw a tour of the city done on Segways.

There were streets named after Goethe and Schiller and statues in the park.  Goethe was undoubtedly the favourite son of Frankfurt.

After morning tea at Starbucks and a rest in our room,  we went in search of the Goethe House.

Malcolm did the 7Euro tour of the house, which was very well restored after being bombed.  Fortunately the contents had been stored away during the war and are able to be displayed still.  This clock from 1745 told the time, date, moon phases and sun aspects.  It even had a bear on a chain down the bottom that fell backwards when the spring needed rewinding.

This sculpture gave tribute to three of his close literary friends:  Heinrich Heine, Clemens Brentano and can you guess?

The ubiquitous fellow Romantic, Victor Hugo.

We visited the Travel Centre at the Station last night and twice today to make reservations and check our plans up to our time in Serbia.  After checking them several times we hope they are now complete.

There are poor areas of the town and quite a few people begging, many of them refugees, which is sad to see.

We definitely felt our day of sightseeing was worthwhile and we learned some history.  An Irish band was playing in the square and we really enjoyed listening to them for half an hour.

DAY 66 FRIDAY MAY 29 - FOUR TRAINS AND A TAXI

Another long travel day from Dinan to Frankfurt, starting at 7:30am and finishing at 6:30pm.  Our first train, to Dol de Bretagne, left and arrived on time, as it has for the four times we have now used it.  The connection to Rennes arrived 10 minutes late because of a signal problem at St Malo, where it had started. It got to Rennes seven minutes late, which was not a problem, as we had time to spare there.  We sat at a cafe for a drink and Lyn was taken by the lighting in the shop, which was reflected in a steel curved mirror.

The TGV from Rennes left on time but stopped at Le Mans (home of the 24 hour race) because of a mechanical problem in the carriage next to us.  It arrived in Paris Montparnasse 25 minutes late.  While reading Les Miserables on this trip, Malcolm learned about the time Jean Valjean was mugged on a lonely road in Austerlitz by a strapping twenty year old professional thief.  J.V. did the Crocodile Dundee thing and turned the tables on the mugger,  thrashing him, then giving him a long lecture based on his own life as a convict, before giving him his purse filled with money.  This was in the hope that the lad would respond as J.V. had done to the generosity of the bishop he stole from.  The name of the thief was Montparnasse.

We had planned to catch Line 4 Metro to Paris L'Est, but our connection time was now only 50 minutes so we turned to Plan B, which we had researched on Wednesday.  We knew from then where the taxi rank was and jumped straight into a cab driven by a quiet African man who drove very safely through the horrendous traffic.  One of the first signs we saw in Paris was "Austerlitz".  He got us to the German ICE train for Frankfurt  with five minutes to spare.  We still do not like Paris, because there are too few places where you can get away from the sirens, the horns and the crowds of pedestrians.  We took three photos from the taxi,  one of the Seine and Notre Dame and another of a tower we cannot recognise.

As we climbed aboard we were blocked by two guards trying to remove a drunk man from the train and he was threatening them with a bottle as they manhandled him off past us.

The ICE reached speeds of 320km/hour in France but when we were near Germany it took a detour through Strasburg to avoid track work and arrived one and a half hours late, causing long announcements in three languages to adjust connections in Mannheim and Frankfurt.  It was a long trip of five and a half hours from Paris but we got here unscathed, that is the main thing.  Our Munchener Hotel was easy to walk to and is very comfortable.  We went back to the station to the Reisezentrum where a burly ticket seller with a deep, gruff voice took our plans for the next two weeks and whizzed through the reservations and travel plans in a few minutes.  Another big step forward for our trip.

DAY 65 THURSDAY MAY 28 - FAREWELL LUNCH WITH NICOLE AND ALAIN

A quiet day today, starting with clothes washing and a walk through the Thursday markets.  We had morning tea at another Salon de The and then a long lunch put on for us by Nicole and Alain.  They provided us with dips for entree,  galettes mixes for mains and crepes for dessert.  We had a lovely conversation with them, everybody speaking partly in English and partly in French.  We are very grateful to them for all they have done for us while we have stayed in their lovely apartment.  We were all very sad to have to say adieu, goodbye.

An appropriate moment to show you our tiny "Wherefore art thou?" balcony.

A final wander around the town showed us a few little streets we had not tried so far.  The gate on Rue Saint Malo is quite close to "chez nous".

After a dinner of leftovers we packed ready for a 7:32am train from Dinan Station.  It is a long way to Frankfurt from here, and we need five trains to get there.

DAY 64 WEDNESDAY MAY 27 - TRIAL RUN TO PARIS

We had already been to Rennes on Saturday, so we were confident about travelling there on Friday on our way to Frankfurt.  That will be a big day's travel, so we spent today getting from Rennes to Paris via the TGV.  We do not think that the TGVs are as good as the best English trains but they carry huge numbers.  There were eight double deck coaches, with up to 200 people on a coach.

Our chief concern was with getting from Paris Montparnasse to Paris Est.  So we bought our metro tickets to use on Friday and explored the way to Line 4 Metro platform.

Once again we caught the 7:32 from Dinan and got back by 6pm.  It was a long trip but we now feel confident we will not miss connections.

Our good news of the day was that Malcolm's new Debit Card arrived by Express Post, thanks to Evelyn's efficiency.

Here are two pictures of our attic apartment in the sky before we sadly wave goodbye on Friday.

DAY 63 TUESDAY MAY 26 - MONT SAINT MICHEL

Yesterday we saw Mont Saint Michel from a lot of villages as it stands out from the surrounding plains and bays.  It is a world famous island just off the coast that used to be accessed only at low tide, but today there are dykes along the coast to protect the land from the sea and there is a boardwalk and roadway out to the Mount.

To get there today we had to catch the 7:32am  train to Dol de Bretagne and wait two and a half hours for a bus to take us there.  We wandered along the streets of Dol, which is another lovely medieval town with stone and wooden houses.

This town is also proud of its association with Chateaubriand and has a statue of him as a young man studying.

He also died in this town.

Victor Hugo lived here for a while and he was a great fan of Chateaubriand, who inspired him.  At 14 Victor said "I want to be him or nothing." His bust features in the main street also.

In the bookshop another local hero featured.

The Cathedral had the beautiful stone details renovated and the masons are still working on it.  Along the side were large photos of the details in the main stained glass window.  The main stories of the whole Bible were represented in glass and the life of Jesus was covered in the stonework.  Excellent education method for illiterate people of the middle ages.  This boat made of granite sat out the front and made us wonder whether it would float.

In the park in front of the cathedral there was another set of photos representing different aspects of the night sky.  This one showed a Medieval king on horseback being given a saintly appearance by the full moon.

Another one explained the blue grey strip across the horizon that can be seen in the west just before sunrise.

We saw this many times on the QM2.

L'ombre de la terre means "shadow of the earth".  Finally our longstanding belief was confirmed.

It was very easy to fill in the time at Dol.  We bought a caramel Pave de Dol, which is a square cake with thin icing all around it.  The bus from Dol dropped us off three kilometres from the Mount as there is extensive improvements underway, including the completion of a barrage to stabilise the river and the tides.  There was a free bus but there were queues and we enjoyed the walk to and from the Mount.  Once you get there you cannot see it any more, so the view from the coast is the best part.  We climbed the steps to the base of the Abbey.

Then we filled in time with a lovely salad at a Creperie.  The menu listed flavoured milk, so Malcolm asked which flavours were available and the first one the waiter said was lemon.  We both raised an eyebrow but Malcolm jumped in and found it was quite nice, but it went down quickly before it turned into curds. The main street is a long, crowded shopping strip and seems to be the main interest among the tourists.  It was a fascinating place to wander around, and walking the ramparts allowed 360 degree views.

DAY 62 MONDAY MAY 25 - ANOTHER LUXURY GUIDED TOUR

Nicole and Alain are determined to spoil us, wanting to show us more of the countryside around Dinan in their very comfortable Mercedes station wagon.  We joined them downstairs at 10am and agreed on a plan for today's outing.  They took us to many villages and towns, wending our way through lanes of beautiful stone cottages and wooden houses from as far back as the thirteen hundreds.  The narrow streets encourage a slower lifestyle and more people ride or cycle.  On the Rance Canal we were dropped off at a path and encouraged to walk 500 meters on a shared path past a lock in the canal.  Very tranquil area with just a few joggers and cyclists.  They picked us up at the next crossroad.

Our first town was  Combourg, where we had failed to see very much  on Saturday because of the distance of the town from the station.  We were surprised to find another street market packed with people.  We pushed our way through the thick crowd and decided to have lunch at the Restaurant du Lac, sitting next to a picture window with magnificent views of the lake.  They served us a four course meal that was worthy of the French reputation.  This is the lake with the Castle behind it.

After two hours of lunching we explored the grounds of the Castle, which was dated back to the twelfth century.  

In legend it belonged to Sir Lancelot of the Arthurian Round Table (cue for a jibe about us being lunchalots) and the lake we had looked over was the home of the Lady of the Lake (now called Lake Tranquil).  Read more here.

The town has Chateaubriand, the father of French Romanticism, as its favourite son and the castle was where he grew up.  This castle is to Combourg what Victor Hugo's house is to Guernsey.  After driving slowly through Dol and other towns we emerged at the north coast and found that it was low tide.  There were many people using the wind and the smooth sand to drive their "chars roulants" back and forth.

We had afternoon tea on the verandah of a cafe overlooking the port at Cancale.

Heading back to Dinan we stopped at a lookout across the estuary of the Rance River, and we appreciated why the locals are so attached to their environment.  The little towns we visited around the water have been classified as the most beautiful in France.  We could only agree with that description.

We were back home by 7:30 pm and told Nicole we had a magnificent day and it was much better than being on a tourist bus, which could not have taken us to many of the places Alain succeeded in squeezing his car into.

DAY 61 SUNDAY MAY 24 - TOUR DE (F)RANCE - OUR DAY OF SERENDIPITY

The first day we arrived in Dinan we noticed signs on the street indicating that there would be no parking allowed on the afternoon of Sunday May 24.  We inquired at the Tourism Office and was told that was because of the Tour de Rance, which is a race along the Rance river for 320 riders using vintage bikes and wearing suitable outfits, i.e., before 1990.  That sounded like our sort of entertainment so we obtained a brochure and checked the website, both telling us it would happen at 8am today in the Town Hall Square.

We got up early and came to the Square where we found one emergency services man talking on his mobile and nothing else at all.  Was it the wrong day, wrong place?  Could not be.  Then we saw some marquees in the rampart pits nearby, so went to investigate.  There were a few bike mechanics and bike riders and a lot of empty marquees.  There were two funny little cars there that looked like the one that M. Hulot took his Holiday in.  There was also a Simca Aronde from the 1960s similar to the one owned by a colleague when I was a French teacher.

 Clearly we were in the right place, but only very gradually were cyclists arriving.  Eventually after 9 o'clock some vintage buses  and cars pulled into the square.

By 9:30 there were probably 50 or more bikes around, and the village band from Plouer Sur Rance was taking shape.

A man was speaking on the public address system continually and we heard "magnifique" many times but he hardly stopped for breath and was still going strong after the square emptied out.  We presumed he was being paid by the hour.  He was back again at 2pm when we returned.

Four motor bikes arrived, belonging to men who did filming of the Tour de France years ago and have kept their bikes in immaculate order.

The band started playing at 10am and kept spectators entertained.  Then the four Tour de France winners were introduced and people crowded around to photograph them and talk to them.  Lyn managed some good shots. There is no doubt that the favourite son of Dinan today is Bernard Hinault.  His son is one of the chief organisers.

It was 10.15 and the leaders were set up at the start line, ready to ride through the square, but half of the riders were still in the square facing the start, so when the were told to line up, they had to weave their way through the other half of the riders to the back of the peleton.  With no sign of any marshals, that exercise took half an hour but it gave everyone a chance to look at the bikes and the outfits.  There were so many interesting people to record that we took a record number of photos.

The buzz of a thousand people chatting in French, laughing and double cheek kissing was an unforgettable experience for us. They set off at 10:45 to ride 45 km to Pleudihen, where they were expected to arrive from noon, according to the brochure.  The slow ones will take 3 hours to ride that distance. They had to ride through the spectators, just like le Tour.

The Marriage Ceremony Room in the Town Hall was given over to a display of old bikes and memorabilia from the Tour de France.  An excellent collection, the likes of which would never be seen in Australia.

How many songs have been written about le Tour?

The star of the ride was last to leave.

And the star of the museum was:

We wandered around the town in the afternoon and had a look at the castle.

At 5:30 we went back to the Town Hall Square to watch the finish of the tour, then at 6:30 the pro riders were paired with amateurs by lot and rode four times around the town in a time trial.  The winners were the ones who timed closest to a preset target.  A good time was had by all.