Waw, what a day. This is the first day that i'm really tired of driving. I've driven around 500-600km, but on the narrow streets of Switzerland localities that were either going up or going down, never on the same level. And this people that are sleeping behind the wheel ... they kept me with 70 between localities (the limit is 80), and in the locality 30-40 ... i was going crazy.
But the catch of the day: we leave Lyon, we take the highway to Geneva, cause that's why we went through Lyon. Very beautiful, i'm not sorry for those 11.5 euro. When we enter Switzerland, a lady wants to stick the vignette on the windshield, and asks us 40euro. Hey, wait a minute, i don't want to use the highway. No? - she says, then you must go back to France. No, look on the GPS, i will go out at first exit in 1km, wtf, i need to pay 40euro for that? Yes, 40 euro. Ok, no thanks, i'm going back. then we go, i don't see the road left that takes us back, so i go straight, and go like my GPS was saying. But ... surprise: that exit was on another highway, in fact that's where the highway starts in Switzerland. There was a red light, in front Police, left some industrial parc. the exit in 2km. No, i won't pass near police control, the fine would be too big. so i take the left, go through that industrial parc (decision made in 1 sec) and from there the GPS takes us to Geneva without using highways (it was set like this from entering Switzerland, forbid highways). Common, 40 euro highway tax (it's for the entire year, but who will go there again in one year?). We've eaten a nice romantic dinner in Winterthur's center for those money.
We walked through Geneva (not big deal, except for the lake :P), then through Lausanne - nice, through Luzern - very beautiful and to the hotel. We've tried to eat something on the road, but at 3pm they didn't have the kitchen opened till 6 (at one restaurant) and they told us we shouldn't try in other places on the road because we won't find the kitchen opened. it's normal for them. When entering Lausanne a police filter stopped us (did they love our romanian number? maybe they don't like the Bucharest people also :D) but after verifying the documents they let us go. Full of swans on the Switzerland's lakes, i think our guys found some better snacks :P
Tomorrow we have 193km to Hohenschwangau and then 230 till Salzburg. Because we have time ... we are thinking of going through Liechtenstein (Vaduz) because there are only 60km detour.
Tuesday 10 August 2010
Monday 9 August 2010
Winterthur - Vaduz - Hohenschwangau - Salzburg
In the end, we've decided to go through Vaduz, we had enough time. There was not too much to see there, only the castle of the Liechtenstein princes (like they say, Principality of Liechtenstein). But well, who has ever seen this country? We are the best, isn't it? At Hohenschwangau we arrived pretty late - we've made a mistake in the GPS setting also, we left it on "avoid toll roads" after we entered Austria and bought the vignette, so we went parallel with the highway about 30km ... till we got it. Unfortunately, these losses of time were payed, we got to the german castles at 3pm and there were no tickets left, all of them were sold. Some americans were there, i believe some asylums for old people, there were only people passed 70 years, i don't even understand how did they went up to the castle. We saw them while they were going down and they were barely walking. So we walked to the castle (20 min. of going up) we ate something at a restaurant there and left for Salzburg.
We've seen some wonderful sights in the Alps, when we left from Winterthur it was foggy :) From time to time we've stopped to make some pictures because it was like in fairytales. It was like visiting Heidi :)
And like this, we've walked today through: Switzerland - Liechtenstein - Austria - Germany - Austria. Nice. Tomorrow we are going home, we already don't remember when we left, and we don't remember what we've seen in the beginning. We are so lucky to have this blog :P
We've seen some wonderful sights in the Alps, when we left from Winterthur it was foggy :) From time to time we've stopped to make some pictures because it was like in fairytales. It was like visiting Heidi :)
And like this, we've walked today through: Switzerland - Liechtenstein - Austria - Germany - Austria. Nice. Tomorrow we are going home, we already don't remember when we left, and we don't remember what we've seen in the beginning. We are so lucky to have this blog :P
Sunday 8 August 2010
Paris - Tours
Yesterday in Paris we mostly travelled with the metro, because the distance between the places we planned to see was pretty big. The first one was the Opera, then Place Vendome, Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame de la Lorette, La Defense, Trocadero + Eiffel Tower, Invalides, Musee D'Armee, Asemblee Nationale, Palais Bourbon, Musee D'Orsay, Conciergerie, Palais de Justice, Institut du Monde Arabe, Gare Austerlitz, Bastille.
We were exhausted after such a day. Last night I planned the route for today, with the castles of the Loire Valley, and I made a reservation in a hotel near Tours. I found a Premiere Classe for 41eur, very good and in our way.
So in the morning we left Paris a bit late (we went shopping in a cheap supermarket in Paris plus it was difficult to pack) and we headed towards Versailles. We only walked outside the castle, we didn't go inside because there was a 1km queue at the entrance, swirling around the front courtyard, so we just took some pictures and left.
Next we went to Chartres, we saw the cathedral, then we went to Orleans to see the cathedral as well. We also wanted to see Ch'dun, but it was already pretty late so we skipped it. From Orleans we went to Ch'bord and I was amazed by this castle. From there we went to Ch'rny, but it was in vain because we didn't see anything. The ticket costed 15euro and we didn't want to pay that much just to see the castle from the outside and to take 3 pictures. It was well hidden so we didn't get to see anything.
The next castle was Bois, because it was in our way towards Ch'boise. Ch'boise was more beautiful, but from the Bois Castle you had a nice view on the centre of the town and you could also see the cathedral a bit more up. Between these two we saw another one on the banks of the river, we also stopped in a parking to take some pictures. These pictures were made using zoom, so I don't know how good the pictures are, because I can't really stand still when I take pictures.
We planned to see 4-5 more, but it didn't work out because it was already late. they are here in the area and we'll visit them tomorrow. Besides, we also have to drive to Lyon ... But tonight I made reservations for the last days of the trip, so tomorrow we'll sleep at Premiere Classe Lyon Est Bron Eurexpo, then at Etap Winterthur in Switzerland and the last night at Jess Hotel Urstein in Salzburg. Unless there will be some surprises, Tuesday evening we'll arrive in Oradea.
We were exhausted after such a day. Last night I planned the route for today, with the castles of the Loire Valley, and I made a reservation in a hotel near Tours. I found a Premiere Classe for 41eur, very good and in our way.
So in the morning we left Paris a bit late (we went shopping in a cheap supermarket in Paris plus it was difficult to pack) and we headed towards Versailles. We only walked outside the castle, we didn't go inside because there was a 1km queue at the entrance, swirling around the front courtyard, so we just took some pictures and left.
Next we went to Chartres, we saw the cathedral, then we went to Orleans to see the cathedral as well. We also wanted to see Ch'dun, but it was already pretty late so we skipped it. From Orleans we went to Ch'bord and I was amazed by this castle. From there we went to Ch'rny, but it was in vain because we didn't see anything. The ticket costed 15euro and we didn't want to pay that much just to see the castle from the outside and to take 3 pictures. It was well hidden so we didn't get to see anything.
We planned to see 4-5 more, but it didn't work out because it was already late. they are here in the area and we'll visit them tomorrow. Besides, we also have to drive to Lyon ... But tonight I made reservations for the last days of the trip, so tomorrow we'll sleep at Premiere Classe Lyon Est Bron Eurexpo, then at Etap Winterthur in Switzerland and the last night at Jess Hotel Urstein in Salzburg. Unless there will be some surprises, Tuesday evening we'll arrive in Oradea.
Saturday 7 August 2010
Loire Valley
We've started early today. We had a long trip to the remaining castles and then to Lyon, avoiding highways. We've seen one by one: Chateau de Villandry, Chateau Azay-le-Rideau, Chateau de Chinon, Chateau de Rivau, Chateau de Chenonceau and Chateau de Valençay. We didn't enter, didn't have time for it, so we didn't see anything at Chenonceau, it was well hidden.
The road outside the highway was not so bad, a lot of speed limitations (30 - center, 50 - through the locality, 70 - before a curve or intersection, 90 general limitation) but we didn't take them into account so much. We've driven as the road allowed us, paying attention at the radar signs (radar was presignalized with 100m).
Driving on these roads gave us the chance to see the real France, not only what you see driving on the highway (nothing). In conclusion: good roads. A - highway, N - national road, Dwxyz - less numbers after D, the bigger the road - well, a D with 3-4 numbers is like a good road in Romania. The GPS took us on a very narrow road between some very small villages, but even that one was good, without holes in it.
With the GPS we had other adventures. Once, when we had a bigger distance between 2 castles, it said 120km. From what I've seen on bing maps, the distance should've been much smaller, and mostly the drawing was not minimum (not even close to a straight line). As for the time it said 140min, so it wasn't quick neither. On the GPS the setting was "optimum", so I changed it to "shortest" and surprise, 75km and 90min, a big difference. So we went like this, on the shortest, and we were careful not to enter every small road that the GPS would've said, so we arrived in 60min.
On Valençay - Lyon, on optimum I had 371km and on shortest 360 so for 11km it was not worth it. With the time we were not on the same line, GPS said 7h30 and we made 6h15 with 2 pauses, gas refuelling, some shopping at the supermarket and missing the street when entering Lyon, so instead of going near Lyon, with speed, we went through the center, red lights and roundabouts. So 5h i think it should've been correctly.
The best news is that my window is working fine again :) it's like new. i didn't do anything, it saw that I'm not giving it too much importance and it cured itself :) so we had a moral boost perfectly timed before the road to Lyon.
This evening we don't have internet in the room, they say it's because of the renovation works in the hotel that wi-fi is not reaching anymore, so i've posted (the romanian version only) in the morning, before leaving. The route for the next day is Lyon - Geneva - Lausanne - Luzern - Winterthur. Depending on how it will go (we will avoid the highways again), we'll jump some of them or enter through Zurich also.
The road outside the highway was not so bad, a lot of speed limitations (30 - center, 50 - through the locality, 70 - before a curve or intersection, 90 general limitation) but we didn't take them into account so much. We've driven as the road allowed us, paying attention at the radar signs (radar was presignalized with 100m).
Driving on these roads gave us the chance to see the real France, not only what you see driving on the highway (nothing). In conclusion: good roads. A - highway, N - national road, Dwxyz - less numbers after D, the bigger the road - well, a D with 3-4 numbers is like a good road in Romania. The GPS took us on a very narrow road between some very small villages, but even that one was good, without holes in it.
With the GPS we had other adventures. Once, when we had a bigger distance between 2 castles, it said 120km. From what I've seen on bing maps, the distance should've been much smaller, and mostly the drawing was not minimum (not even close to a straight line). As for the time it said 140min, so it wasn't quick neither. On the GPS the setting was "optimum", so I changed it to "shortest" and surprise, 75km and 90min, a big difference. So we went like this, on the shortest, and we were careful not to enter every small road that the GPS would've said, so we arrived in 60min.
On Valençay - Lyon, on optimum I had 371km and on shortest 360 so for 11km it was not worth it. With the time we were not on the same line, GPS said 7h30 and we made 6h15 with 2 pauses, gas refuelling, some shopping at the supermarket and missing the street when entering Lyon, so instead of going near Lyon, with speed, we went through the center, red lights and roundabouts. So 5h i think it should've been correctly.
The best news is that my window is working fine again :) it's like new. i didn't do anything, it saw that I'm not giving it too much importance and it cured itself :) so we had a moral boost perfectly timed before the road to Lyon.
This evening we don't have internet in the room, they say it's because of the renovation works in the hotel that wi-fi is not reaching anymore, so i've posted (the romanian version only) in the morning, before leaving. The route for the next day is Lyon - Geneva - Lausanne - Luzern - Winterthur. Depending on how it will go (we will avoid the highways again), we'll jump some of them or enter through Zurich also.
Wednesday 4 August 2010
Paris
No comment!
L'Arc de Triomphe - taken from Tour Eiffel
Petit Palais
Jardin des Tuileries, Carousel & Louvre - taken from Tour Eiffel
Place de la Concorde, Tuileries - taken from Tour Eiffel
Institut de France
Champ de Mars - view from Tour Eiffel
Tuesday 3 August 2010
Luxemburg - Reims - Paris
We got up at 8h and went for a swim. Yes, it was so relaxing ... After that, starving, we went to the restaurant to have breakfast. It was good, that was indeed a 5***** breakfast. They had so good croissants and a fresh orange juice and a lot more. I ate so much that I had to stay layed on the bed for 30' before I could drive.
So again on the road (not by James Kerouac, lucky us), with Reims as a first target. Of course, like always, they worked on the transition from E25 to A4 highways, so we lost about 2 hours circling around (we caught 2 traffic jams, of course) but finally we are there. Reims' cathedral is only 1km away from the highway so it was easy and quickly.
We hoped that there won't be road taxes in the north, but unfortunatelly there were. Still, we choose to go on the highway to arrive in time in Paris and to avoid driving in the evening/night (because of our problem with the lights). So: 13.2 + 4 + 3.7 + 2 Euro we paid between Metz and Paris. Too much. From now on, in France, we will try to avoid the highways.
We arrived at the hotel at about 6:10pm, but the usual problem: parking space. We parked in a restricted space (like other 5 cars around us) and we hoped they won't pick our car in the time needed to check in. The guy on the reception said that in August the paying parking is free, so we could park in the "payant" spaces. But all of them were occupied. No problem, we waited till one became free and we jumped on it immediately. Problem solved. Internet is free, hotel is in the zone 2 of Paris at about 15-20min from L'Arc de Triomphe, so everything is perfect. We went in a walk around to know the area, we've seen also the metro station, I talked with the person in the information office about some maps, some travel tips and we are ready for tomorrow.
So again on the road (not by James Kerouac, lucky us), with Reims as a first target. Of course, like always, they worked on the transition from E25 to A4 highways, so we lost about 2 hours circling around (we caught 2 traffic jams, of course) but finally we are there. Reims' cathedral is only 1km away from the highway so it was easy and quickly.
We hoped that there won't be road taxes in the north, but unfortunatelly there were. Still, we choose to go on the highway to arrive in time in Paris and to avoid driving in the evening/night (because of our problem with the lights). So: 13.2 + 4 + 3.7 + 2 Euro we paid between Metz and Paris. Too much. From now on, in France, we will try to avoid the highways.
We arrived at the hotel at about 6:10pm, but the usual problem: parking space. We parked in a restricted space (like other 5 cars around us) and we hoped they won't pick our car in the time needed to check in. The guy on the reception said that in August the paying parking is free, so we could park in the "payant" spaces. But all of them were occupied. No problem, we waited till one became free and we jumped on it immediately. Problem solved. Internet is free, hotel is in the zone 2 of Paris at about 15-20min from L'Arc de Triomphe, so everything is perfect. We went in a walk around to know the area, we've seen also the metro station, I talked with the person in the information office about some maps, some travel tips and we are ready for tomorrow.
Meerhout - Luxemburg
In Meerhout we had 3 days of rest, feeling the vacation. We stayed in a superb house, where everything is where it should be, everything is logic and with good taste. Our hosts were impecable, the kids were gorgeus. best days of our vacation. we just hope they will return the visit.
We played some table tennis (Sven & I) and after 2 matches, is 1-1. We may play a decisive game in Timisoara :) On saturday we went to Leuven (Louvain for the french) where, after making a tour of the city, we ate a local specialty: fondue. It was very good and we are happy that we went there.
On Sunday we've went to Brussels for a tour with the kids. It's a beautiful city, a lot to see there, unfortunately it is situated on some hills and we had to walk up and down so we were pretty tired in the evening. In Brussels we ate another specialty, waffle.
We ended the evening with a barbecue where we had some meat specialties made by Sven's father. They were very tasty, especially the sausages ...
Sven noticed a headlight was dead, so i should be careful not to drive in the evening/night. Could it be from the same german specialist in Hannover? We also saw that the fuses are not as they are supposed to be concerning the driver's window, instead of 25A there was one of 7.5A - we inversed them so the window is opening/closing but not continuosly, but it's better. so this morning on the road to Luxembourg we stopped at a Auto 5 in Hasselt and bought some spare fuses. I replaced it, but nothing changed. still, it's better then not opening at all so we can live with this till we finish the journey.
So we were on the road to Luxemburg when, before Liege we see signs on the highway that E25 that goes to Luxemburg is closed. So we took E42 like the signs said, and we made some 40km more. Like this, we arrived at 14h instead of 12:30 as we hoped. no problem, we checked in at the "magnificent" hotel Hilton ***** where internet is not free, and we went in the city asap.
The city of Luxembourg is very beautiful. It has a tourist office so we got the necessary info about what should we visit and in 5h we did it. Of course we are exhausted again, we arrived in the room after 9pm. We plan to start the day with a swim in the hotel's swimming pool, i hope we will feel refreshed after that. I can't wait for the breakfast that Sven said it's magnificent.
Paris, we are coming, are you ready?
We played some table tennis (Sven & I) and after 2 matches, is 1-1. We may play a decisive game in Timisoara :) On saturday we went to Leuven (Louvain for the french) where, after making a tour of the city, we ate a local specialty: fondue. It was very good and we are happy that we went there.
Leuven - City Hall
On Sunday we've went to Brussels for a tour with the kids. It's a beautiful city, a lot to see there, unfortunately it is situated on some hills and we had to walk up and down so we were pretty tired in the evening. In Brussels we ate another specialty, waffle.
Brusells - Rune, Robbe and the cathedral
We ended the evening with a barbecue where we had some meat specialties made by Sven's father. They were very tasty, especially the sausages ...
Sven noticed a headlight was dead, so i should be careful not to drive in the evening/night. Could it be from the same german specialist in Hannover? We also saw that the fuses are not as they are supposed to be concerning the driver's window, instead of 25A there was one of 7.5A - we inversed them so the window is opening/closing but not continuosly, but it's better. so this morning on the road to Luxembourg we stopped at a Auto 5 in Hasselt and bought some spare fuses. I replaced it, but nothing changed. still, it's better then not opening at all so we can live with this till we finish the journey.
So we were on the road to Luxemburg when, before Liege we see signs on the highway that E25 that goes to Luxemburg is closed. So we took E42 like the signs said, and we made some 40km more. Like this, we arrived at 14h instead of 12:30 as we hoped. no problem, we checked in at the "magnificent" hotel Hilton ***** where internet is not free, and we went in the city asap.
The city of Luxembourg is very beautiful. It has a tourist office so we got the necessary info about what should we visit and in 5h we did it. Of course we are exhausted again, we arrived in the room after 9pm. We plan to start the day with a swim in the hotel's swimming pool, i hope we will feel refreshed after that. I can't wait for the breakfast that Sven said it's magnificent.
Paris, we are coming, are you ready?
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