From Germany to Spain, and all in between

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  Roses, Spain
Sunday, May 27, 2007

One thousand five hundred and seventy-four kilometers after leaving
Landshut on Tuesday, May 22, we find ourselves sitting in our campsite,
staring out into the blue of the Mediterranean...the weather could be a
bit nicer (it's a little cloudy and windy), but we finally made it to
Spain! The journey here took a bit longer than expected, and we did
have
to endure some unpleasantness along the way, but we are glad to have
arrived and look forward to exploring Spain and Portugal.


After
leaving Babette's place, we made it about 450 km into Freiburg, a town
near the French border

01.Muenster in Freiburg

. It was an unanticipated stop but a necessary
one as there was obviously something wrong with our front brakes (I
guess knocking on wood doesn't always work). We were stranded for a day
here as we awaited an ordered part, but since Freiburg was a
fairly
nice town we didn't mind at all. We found camping and rode our bikes
into town, a leisurely stroll of about 75 minutes along countryside and
forest roads. Freiburg is well known for its cathedral (Muenster) so it
was a natural place to start. Since we aren't really
big on the
church scene, we didn't linger long and instead wandered aimlessly
around the cobblestone sidewalks and streets. Between the streets and
the sidewalks are these little canal-like gutters with water running
through them, so you have to be quite careful when you're leaving the
curb. The streetcars that zip by every few minutes are also a hazard to
watch out for, but they will gladly remind you to step out of the way
with the ding of their bell. The clip-clop of horses' hooves also
aroused our attention and when we turned to have a look, a horse-drawn
wagon being driven by two Germans in dress was passing by

02.Gutters in Freiburg

. Its cargo
was, what else, barrels and barrels of beer! Then the thunder and
lightning came, and we quickly remembered that we left our little
sunroof open, not to mention our clothes drying outside. Our 75 minute
leisure ride became a 30 minute sprint as we tried to beat the rain
home.
Luckily we were parked under the canopy of a big tree so no damage
done. About 30 minutes later the sun came back out but we decided to
stay put and just relax. It was the first time we felt like we were on
vacation. We pulled our chairs alongside the lake shore,
read a
book, listened to some music, and watched the old Germans playing with
their remote-controlled sailboats. This concluded our  sightseeing of
Freiburg and we left in the morning to carry on toward Spain.


Crossing a border between two EU countries is very anti-climatic. When
you cross the Canada/US border, the lineup and the questioning by the
customs officers are the build-up

03.Streetcar in Freiburg

. When they let you go and into their
country, there is a sense of relief and even joy. That just doesn't
happen here. One tick on the odometer you're in Germany and the next
tick you're in France - the only indication being the small signpost on
the side of the road. If you are unlucky enough to blink in that moment
you might not even realize you're in a whole other country. It's kind
of disappointing when you're looking forward so much to getting there!


The going was slow as we took Route Nationales rather than the big
freeways. For one they're free, and also the scenery is so much nicer.
We also stopped quite often as it has been hot, Hot, HOT! If we mixed
up some dough we could bake fresh baguettes in the oven called our van!
But, not being ones to complain about dry, warm weather, we carried on
southwest through France. Yvonne had the foresight to purchase a series
of books that point out several "free" camping spots. They aren't
official sites, but basically nice little areas you can pull over and
rest your weary eyes

04.Horse-drawn wagon in Freiburg

. We took advantage of two right away, the first
one, near Besancon, was just off the main road but far enough away for
solitude and quiet and
beside a river with a couple of small
cascades. The second night was spent near the town of Le Puy (which we
visited last year), in a forested area with a lake. It couldn't have
gotten any darker or silent when night fell, very conducive to a good
night's sleep! We continued
on in the morning cutting through
France. It's such a beautiful country, the landscape is really amazing.
We took a wrong turn coming out of the forest, but it evolved into a
beautiful and welcome detour. We drove through rugged mountain terrain
with hills covered in lush
green grass and wildflowers of red,
white, blue and purple grew in abundance. The small (tiny) towns we
passed through, with their stone houses, blended right into the
surrounding rocky hillsides. It was quite odd to see, once in a while,
a modern vehicle parked in a
driveway

05. Wagon o' beer in Freiburg

. It just seemed so out of context. 



Back on the main road again, we didn't waste time in getting to, and
crossing over (for 5.40 Euro), the famous Grand Viaduc du Millau - a
2.5 km long bridge spanning over a valley far, far below (we read that
the bridge is sometimes above clouds - that would have been a sight to
see!). The weather finally turned as the dark clouds rolled in and
dumped heavy
rain on us for the rest of our drive through southern
France. Our last night before Spain was spent in yet another free area
near Perpignan, before we crossed the border this morning. We are
camped near a town called Roses on the Costa Brava for a couple of
nights. Since we've done lots of driving the past week, we intend to
sit here and relax and, if the weather turns back to sunny, do some
lounging on the beach!

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures

06.Street in Freiburg	07.Shopping in Freiburg	08.Clock in Freiburg	10.Sailboat captains
11.Yvonne reading a book at the lake	12.Little girl on trampoline at campsite	13.Yvonne on an old bridge	14.River and small cascade
15.Cows about to go over bridge	16.Us sitting in a tree on the lake	17.Freda on the road in France	18.Boulangerie in a small French town
19.The approach to the Viaduc du Millau	20.Getting closer	21.Driving over the Viaduc du Millau	22.The "border" crossing
23.Our beachfront property at Nautic Almata	24.Freda hiding amidst the palm trees	25.The set up	26.Just a few kite surfers down the beach
27.Some windsurfers	28.A young kite flyer

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