Mon 1 May - PnP, MayDay, sunny, prepare van, CdS comments, rainstorm, sunset
Having gone to bed relativley early last night, I wondered what was keeping Rita up so late. So I hopped out of bed and went to the loungeroom to investigate. And walked straight into her trap, when she pinched and punched me for first of the month. I blame jet-lag for not knowing what day it was!
Many hours later I woke to a beautiful sunny, but cool, morning. We had intended to start our trip north in the campervan today, but on realising the date and that it was the 1st of May (MayDay), which is a public holiday in France, we decided to postpone our departure till tomorrow for two reasons. Firstly, the ongoing dispute about the retirement age meant that much civil disruption was forecast for today (given that MayDay is a public holiday to honour the trade unions, who are behind much of the strikes and disruption). We didn't want to get caught up in any of this, even though we were not headed for any major city, where much of the disruption has taken place. Secondly, given that today would be the last day in a long weekend, there was the possibility of significant traffic on the major north-south roads. So instead of heading off, we took the day to leisurely pack and prepare the campervan (and realise just how much had to be done by way of preparation). It was a good rehearsal for the much longer campervan trip we will start later this month.
In between campervan preparation tasks, I continued to scan the internet sites looking for more comments on my CdS (or non-CdS) situation. And I found a comment from another bargee on the DBA Forum, in which he drew my attention to a recent (October 2022) publication by the European Commission entitled "Practical Handbook for Border Guards (Schengen Handbook)", which is the Handbook used by Border Guards at Schengen points of entry and exit. While it is quite long (143 pages) there are a few paragraphs which I was particularly interested in, pertaining to Freedom of Movement (FOM) of third-party nationals (e.g. Australians) who are married to an EU, EEA or Swiss national, in Chapter 2, as follows:
"2.1.2. In the case of third-country nationals who are family members of EU, EEA and CH citizens, they have the right of residence in a Member State for a period of up to three months if they are in possession of a valid passport and are accompanying or joining the EU, EEA or CH citizen, without any limitation to 90 days in a 180-day period.
To be noted that third-country nationals who are family members of EU, EEA and CH citizens are entitled to accompany or join the EU, EEA or CH citizen for consecutive periods of up to three months per Schengen State without any conditions or formalities (except the need to have a visa for third-country nationals from a country subject to a visa requirement where the person is not in possession of a valid residence card or a residence permit as further explained in point 2.8 of this Section).
When the family member travels on his/her own and does not hold a valid residence card or a residence permit (see point 2.8 of this Section), the normal regime concerning the length of the short stay (e.g. Schengen visa waiver) will (re)start to apply, as the conditions for benefiting from the facilitations concerning the free movement of the EU, EEA and CH citizens and their families are not met anymore."
This extract basically repeats the FOM conditions outlined in EU Directive 2004/38/ec, in slightly different words, but the important thing is that it is in the Border Guards Handbook, so one can refer to it if and when one is questionned at the border when exiting France, or any other EU/EEA/Swiss country (except the country of the EU spouse) after the expiration of the 90 days pertaining to holders of Schengen visa waivers.
Even the rainstorm we endured at the end of the day could not dampen my enthusiasm about having found more corroborating evidence for the FOM rights of third-party nationals married to an EU/EEA/Swiss spouse. And to reinforce the way I was now feeling, the sunset after the storm was spectacular, especially on the eastern side of the Saone.
Tues 2 May - packing, Lost Trades, Pont à Mousson, last spot, jobs, Gouramdin
So, today we were off in Vanumbra. But not until we had finished packing last minute items, confident in the knowledge that we would forget to pack some things (but hopefully remember them for the upcoming longer road trip). As I was carrying some stuff from the boat to the van, I bumped into a couple of Aussies from a boat moored a little further up Pontoon A. I was wearing my Lost Trades Fair t-shirt (from when the band played there a couple of months ago), and when they saw that, they both immediately said "Lost Trades Fair!". It turned out that they had been to one of the previous events before COVID, which led us onto talking about Bendigo, the band and other stuff related to Victoria. After a while, I realised that Rita would now be wondering why the hell I was taking so long to take something to the van, so I bid them Bon Voyage (they were leaving port today) and continued with my packing job.
Last night we had been considering where we would head to today (having a camper makes you think much more about overnight stops, whereas in the Scenic we just want to get to our final destination in one go as soon as possible). Using Google Maps and two apps that I got for campervan camping locations, Park4Night and CamperContact, we decided on a small town between Nancy and Metz, called Pont à Mousson, located on the Moselle River. The reviews in the two apps were very positive, but advised getting there early because it filled up quickly. So in the early afternoon, we headed off for the two and a half hour drive to Pont à Mousson, figuring we would get there in mid-afternoon. And now I learned something else about touring in a campervan - the predicted times in Google Maps are based on sitting on the speed limit, plus any extraordinary delays that they detect. But in a campervan, you rarely travel at 130kph on a French motorway, for several reasons. Firstly, it is just not comfortable travelling so fast in a campervan, for noise and crosswind reasons. Secondly, campervans use lots of fuel and travelling at 130kph just exaggerates that. Thirdly, you usually don't need to get anywhere quickly, so why go fast? So I found myself travelling at 100-110 kph most of the time (I had an extra reason for travelling slowly, because if I went above 110-115kph, the wing mirrow on the drivers side would fold back, preventing me from seeing any traffic behind!!). So our two and a half hour trip turned into a three and a half hour trip, and we arrived at the campground just before 1700h. When we got there all the spaces appeared to be occupied, but Rita spoke to one of the campers and he said there were more spaces on the other side of the Reception office, and that there must be spaces left there because the guy from the office had not come down to close the gate and put up the FULL sign. So Rita went ahead to the office, found the last remaining space, and went inside to book it, while I stopped halfway along the entrance road to fill up our water tank. But while she was inside, another campervan went past me and parked in the last spot, before going into the office, where Rita had just paid for the last spot. The manager was not all that happy, but didn't want to turn away customers, so he let the other campervan keep that spot and then told Rita that we could park in the disabled campervan spot (i.e. a spot for campervans containing disabled people, not a campervan which is disabled), which was still empty. This turned out to be much better for us, since it was a much wider spot and much easier to get into and out of.
The campervan spots were right next to the marina on the River Moselle, giving nice nautical views. It was also only 11euro per night, including electricity, water and waste water discharge. The reason it is so cheap is that it's run by the local mairie, and they keep prices low in the hope that it will encourage people to stay there (which it obviously does if we got the last spot at 1700h, and it's not yet high-season).
Another reason that the mairie keeps the camping prices low is in the hope that visitors will then go and spend some money in their town, such as at cafes, restaurants, supermarkets, fuel stations etc. So we obliged by going out to dinner that night at Le Petit Gourmandin. It was a relatively small restaurant, but with super friendly staff, and it too was packed (on a Tuesday night in shoulder-season). The food was very good and very pretty as well. I also took the opportunity to start a new contest for the year. In previous years I have sampled Creme Bruleé all over France. But I don't think I'll find any better than the one I had in Agen several years ago. So this year, I will be ordering Cafe Gourmand (an expresso coffee with a variety of several small desserts). The one I had tonight has set the bar reasonably high for all that follow. 8.5/10.
After we finished our meal, we took a lazy stroll along the riverbank back to the campground, taking in a nightview of the bridge over the Moselle.
Afer we'd finished parking the van and connecting the electricity, I noticed a lady walking past the front of our van looking rather strangely at it. I wasn't sure if I'd just imagined her quizzical look, until I went around the front of the van and noticed water running down the slight slope under the van, and then saw that the water was indeed coming from the underside of our van. After an inspection under the van, I saw it was coming from near the filling pipe for the water tank, and thought that I must have just overfilled the water tank when I stopped on the way in. So I just waited for it to stop, but it didn't! We had a quick look at other things near where the water was coming from, but nothing seemed to be the obvious cause. So we did what we have done several times before, when we have such a problem with the van; we contacted John Plunkett, from whom we bought Vanumbra last year. Within 10 minutes John had phoned back (from Spain where he and Irene are touring in their new camper). Luckily John recognised the problem immediately, and explained that the little black box near the leak was indeed a pressure relief valve for the hot water system. In cold weather (below 4degC) the value opens to release water to prevent interior pipes from bursting. However, in warmer weather, with the occasional cold morning, John had found that the valve had tripped and emptied the entire contents of the water tank (as it was now trying to do). John had "solved" this by using a piece of wire to keep the valve shut during non-winter periods, and the wire had come loose. So we just tightened the wire again and the leaking stopped.
While we had John on the phone, I also asked him about the wing mirror problem. He advised me to take the plastic cover off the wing mirror arm and see if there was a screw I could tighten to stop the mirror from folding in so easily. However, when I took off the cover, I found that a metal bar had sheared. So I adapted John's trick and used a piece of wire to tie the two ends of the metal bar together, until we can get the mirror properly repaired. After putting the plastic cover back on, the mirror seemed much more rigid and unwilling to fold back on itself. Time will tell as I occasionally travel at more than 120kph!
Wed 3 May - cold, town coffee, 4 countries, Maastricht, Meuse view, eBike trial
The morning started off cold, so we stayed under the duvet for just a little bit longer. But eventually we realised we'd have to get up if we were going to get anywhere today. We started the day with a walk into the old part of town, past the tulip-surrounded war memorial (getting ready for the May 8 public holiday next week celebrating VE Day), and then over the bridge near the cathedral.
We saw several cafes in the old part of town, but chose the one where many locals were sitting out in the sun enjoying a morning coffee. So we joined them and spent a pleasant 30 minutes soaking up the atmosphere and enjoying the coffee.
We then strolled back to the campground and prepared Vanumbra for departure. At 1130h, we hit the road heading north, and after travelling through four countries (FR, LUX, BE and NL) we arrived in Maastricht. Along the way we knew when we were in Belgium, because they are the only country I've experienced which has street lights along the entire length of their motorway system. We found the Maastricht Marina campground, and then found a parking space with a great view across goose-manicured lawns out to the River Meuse, which still carries significant volumes of commercial traffic in big boats. we enjoyed watching these boats as they plowed their way up and down the river.
Later in the day, we realised we needed some supplies from a local supermarket we had spotted on Google Maps. So we unhitched the eBikes from the back of the van, and gave them an initial test ride to and from the supermarket. This was the first time we had ridden any distance on them, but we thought we should experiment a bit before joing Arnim and Heidi tomorrow for some more serious riding. We were impressed by what we experienced.
Thurs 4 May - ride to Oud Rekum, Arnim&Heidi, lunch, Botticelli, dinner, fullmoon
We had been in touch with Arnim and Heidi last night to let them know we'd arrived in Maastricht (they were still further north in Maaseak). Since Heidi could not ride because of her recently-broken arm, it was decided that we should meet in the town of Oud Rekem (halfway between Maaseak and Maastricht), with Arnim cycling down while Heidi came down via public transport and/or taxi. So we used Google Maps to find a cycle route between Maastricht Marina and Oud Rekem, and then jumped on the eBikes and headed north, through the city of Maastricht and out the other side. As we cycled, we saw our first ecluse in The Netherlands at the town of Neerharen.
Because of some road works and detours along the way, we arrived in Oud Rekem about 30 minutes later than we expected, and Arnim and Heidi had sent our the search parties (themselves) to find us. But we eventually found each other, and then settled down at a local cafe for lunch and a catch-up on what we had all being doing in the past year since they had been on Kanumbra in and around Besançon. Last year it had been Arnim with his arm in a sling; this year it is Heidi. I wonder whose turn it will be next year. We talked so long over lunch that we didn't have time for a good look around the old town of Oud Rekem, before we had to start thinking about how Heidi would get to Maastricht, and the rest of us would cycle down there. Eventually Arnim suggested, under the watchful gaze of a stone gnome nearby, that Rita and I should cycle the loop to the north along the Maas River, before heading back to Maastricht, while he would take care of Heidi and then cycle down himself.
We parted after agreeing to meet at their Hotel Botticelli at 1830h before heading out to dinner that night.
On our trip around the loop, we spotted a little bicycle ferry making the trip between Belgium (where we were today) and The Netherlands on the other side of the River Maas.
We didn't catch up with Arnim on our ride back to Maastricht, but we all made it safely back. When we got back to Vanumbra, we relaxed and watched the big boats on the Meuse, the geese on the grass and the contrails overhead.
That evening, Rita and I rode into Maastricht and finally found the Botticelli Hotel. This time we were only 15 minutes late. But everyone was having trouble with timing, as Heidi had only just got home (having spent two hours walking to and waiting for the bus from Rekem) and Arnim thought we had said we'd meet at 1730h, and wondered where the hell we were! But everything worked out OK, and we set off looking for a place to eat. Despite it only being Thursday (but perhaps the most sunny day of Autumn so far), most restaurants were full of people. But we finally found a table for four at a little outdoor restaurant. Once again, the food was good and the chat and laughter went on forever. The self-compiled Cafe Gourmand was delicious. But no score given, because it wasn't really a Cafe Gourmand.
We could have gone on forever, but the restaurant had to close sometime and we had another day of cycling ahead of us tomorrow. So later that night, Rita and I hopped on our bikes to head home. As we cycled through the still bustling city centre, we reached the bridge over the Meuse and were greeted by a rising full moon over the river. A great way to end an enjoyable day.
Fri 5 May - Botticelli breakfast, ride to Valkenberg, parting, Ronald McDonald
Last night we agreed to meet at Hotel Botticelli for breakfast, and it was worthwhile getting up relatively early to get there (on-time this time). The venue was amazing, and the food and coffee was a great way to start the day.
After breakfast, Arnim, Rita and I set off on our bikes, while Heidi planned to catch a train and meet us in Valkenberg. After some "discussion" about the best way to get out of Masstricht and find the cycle path, we eventually linked up with it on the edge of urban Maastricht, and then had a great ride through forested farmland to Valkenberg. While Arnim was riding a normal bicycle, Rita and I appreciated our eBikes, especially when we went down some long steep hills and realised that we would have to climb them on the way back. We eventually reached Valkenberg, just after the rain started. But we didn't get too wet, and arrived at the Valkenberg Gare to find Heidi sitting under an umbrella sipping coffee. I loved the Gare, with its castellated roofline and the cafe/bar in the same building. I also took note of the charging station for the eBus at the Gare, where the bus timetable had been adjusted to allow for recharging time for the eBus. We took advantage of the cafe/bar to grab a warm drink while we sorted out onward travel plans.
Eventually, Arnim and Heidi boarded a train in the direction of Aachen, after we had agreed to meet up again next year, perhaps in the south of France near Moissac. Rita and I then headed back towards Maastricht on our bikes. As we cycled through the forest, we noticed the rain clouds gathering again, so we stopped at a hotel beside the cycle path to have a coffee while we waited for the rain to pass. We then continued on, and were intrigued by a building we saw, which we had to detour to investigate. We found a staff member outside and Rita engaged her in conversation. It turned out that the building was a Ronald McDonald respite centre for parents and children facing difficult circumstances (similar in concept to the one associated with the Royal Melbourne Childrens Hospital back home). The colourful building was designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser, a noted Austrian environmentalist, artist and architect who was opposed to the concept of "straight lines". A truly inspiring place.
We got home without further rain delays, and Rita contacted her cousin Ulrike in Aachen to confirm tomorrow's plans for meeting up with her. As the day drew to a close, all 20 geese returned to the lawn area in front of our van, plus this family of mum, dad and six kids, who took shelter near the water's edge. The lighting conditions at the end of the day made the photo look almost like a painting - it's become one of my favourite photos, which I will get printed on canvas when I get home.
Sat 6 May - sleep in, water tank lock, Ulrike&Miguel, tour of Aachen, drinks, dinner
Since Aachen was only a short drive from Maastricht, we slept in for a while, and then pottered around getting Vanumbra ready to leave our home of the past three nights. As we drove to the exit gate, we took advantage of the grey water emptying pit to empty the grey water tank. We had also intended to fill the fresh water tank, but could not get the cap on the tank to unlock. A quick contact with John Plunkett found that he had not previously had a problem with the lock, so we agreed that we would look at it again in Aachen. So we said goodbye to Maastricht Marina, and our geese neighbours who were back on the grass again, and headed east.
Thirty minutes later and we were arriving in Herzogenrath, the little town just north of Aachen where cousin Ulrike lives - so now we had logged up our fifth country, Germany, on this trip. We first saw Miguel, Ulrika's husband, who was working with his brother and some friends on a renovation of the property next door, where the extended family will move to on completion later this year. It's quite a big project for a DIY job, but Miguel and his friends are well-qualified for the task.
As we drove on a little further, we saw Ulrike madly waving her hands out the front of their current rented property. She jumped into the van and showed me to a safe parking spot about 100 metres from their house, where we could leave the van overnight. We returned to her house for a quick chat and coffee. Since Miguel was busy working on the renovation today (and can't work on it tomorrow - Sunday), Ulrike suggested that she take us into Aachen for a look around the historic city. We agreed to this and were soon on our way.
Aachen is a very old and important city in Germany. But because of its strategic importance, it was one of the first cities that was extensively bombed in WW2 by the Allies. As a result, many of the old buildings were damaged or destroyed, to be replaced by functional rectangular buildings in the 1950's and 60's. Luckily, enough of the older buildings in the centre of the city were spared, to retain a sense of the older times. The first building of this nature we encountered was the Aachen Rathaus (Town Hall), which contains the Mairie offices and several ceremonial rooms. Quite a spectacular building, which is constantly undergoing cleaning of the facade to reveal exquisite details in the stonework.
One of the ceremonial rooms therein, the Coronation Room, is used for the presentation of major awards, as described on a plaque (at left) near the entrance to the Rathaus, in relation to the Charlemagne Prize. Indeed, this year (in fact next week) the prize is being awarded to Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who will visit Aachen to receive the award. Today, we could not enter the Rathaus, because security measures were being implemented in preparation for next week's visit. I wish we were staying another week, but here is a picture of him receiving the award.
Close by the Rathaus is the Aachen Cathedral, one of the most unusual cathedrals I have seen. As hinted at by the rooflines below, it is composed of three separate areas. on the right is the entrance, with a typical cathedral spire. In the middle, is an unusual circular area, and on the left is the traditional cathedral area with altar and pews.
The "circular" area is more of a octagon, with a highly decorated mosaic ceiling, and a massive chandelier hanging from the centre. On a level above the ground floor are eight archways, with a walkway running around the octagon behind these archways.
The "normal" section of the cathedral is anything but normal, with several golden caskets and golden hanging ornaments, plus numerous huge and colourful stained glass windows. All in all, a spectacular cathedral.
After our cathedral visit, we adjourned to an old inn, where we sampled the local beer and other drinks, before moving to a restaurant in the old Post Office for dinner.
Sun 7 May - Wurm forest walk, MayPole, border street, birthdays, Saareguemines
We slept in the van overnight and joined Ulrike early on Sunday morning for a walk through the adjaceent Wurm Forest. She explained the name of the forest as arising from the warm spring waters that feed the stream that runs through the forest. It was a very different forest from what we see back home, and a wonderfully relaxing way to start a Sunday.
As Rita and Ulrika stood on the front steps of the Rathaus, we looked out at the town square below. In the square was a huge chestnut tree that was in full flower, and after I took a photo of it, I realised that I had accidentally switched the iPhone to taking Black & White photos. So I switched it back to colour and took another photo. But I show both below to highlight the different moods one can generate by including, or excluding, colour.
The "normal" section of the cathedral was anything but normal, with golden caskets and golden ornaments hanging from the ceiling. There were also many huge, colourful stained glass windows. Quite a spectacular cathedral, and so fortunate that it survived the extensive bombing during World War 2.
On the walk home, we spotted this tree wrapped in colourful ribbons and, since we had seen several of them in the last day or so, we asked Ulrike to explain their meaning. She said that they were MayPole Trees, and that they appeared at this time of year, when young lads installed a tree, or tree branch, covered in ribbons, near the house of a young lady that they were trying to impress. No idea how successful they are!
Miguel, Ulrike's husband, said he would help us with a problem we were having on the locking cap for the water tank on the van, so he loaded his tool box into his car and drove us up to the van. But along the way he took a detour to show us something he thought might interest us. Their house is very close to the Germany/Netherlands border, and one street in their town has the border running down the middle of one street. On one side of the street the people live in Germany, and on the other they live in the Netherlands. This was clear to see as he drove down the street, with 95% of the cars parked on one side having "D" licence plates, and 95% of cars on the other side having "NL" licence plates. I have no idea how they handled this before Freedom of Movement between EU countries became a fact of life. Coming from Australia, which has no borders with any other country, this street made a real impression on me.
In the afternoon, we joined in with birthday celebrations for Ulrike's daughter Isabelle and her partner Simon, who have birthdays in the same week, then headed back to the van to start our trip back south. We were aiming for the town of Saareguemines just over the French border. It was a beautiful drive through rolling forested hills, although we did encounter some very heavy rain on a couple of occasions. Interestingly, the highway was lined with many large solar farms. Perhaps these were private solar farms on individual farm properties, but the regularity of their occurrence led us to believe that their installation was initiated by the highway authority (possibly as a way of offsetting the greenhouse emissions of the vehicles using the highway?).
We succeeded in arriving in Saareguemines by late afternoon, and found that the campsite was operated by a nearby (large) thermal spa company. Given the low price charged for overnight camping (with all facilities included), we could only conclude that the campsite was a loss-leading operation to entice people to visit the spa. Indeed it confirmed what we had seen earlier that when campsites were operated as an ancilliary to another purpose, their prices are lower.
Mon 8 May - public holiday, Bern, Eichholz campsite, timber shelter, river walk
Today was another public holiday in France (May is the month of public holidays in France). So, since everything would be shut, we started the day in a liesurely fashion with another morning walk up the hill behind the campsite. Along the way, we met a girl taking her dog and two horses for a walk.
We had one more country to add to this multi-country trip in the van, so today we headed to Switzerland, entering at Basel and continuing on to Bern. Since we were heading from France to Switzerland, we had to remember once again to switch blue and green in the road signs, since France is one of the few countries that uses blue for motorways and green for normal rural roads (unlike Australia, and most other countries, which use green for freeways and blue for minor roads). Along the way in France, we pulled into an Intermarche Supermaket carpark for a rest and a cuppa. It was totally empty because of the public holiday, and very convenient.
When we got to Bern, we followed the Google Maps directions for getting to the Eichholz Campsite, which is located next to the Aare River. However, since Google Maps did not know the size of our vehicle, it sent us on the quickest path, which just happened to be through some very narrow, winding streets through residential areas with parking on both sides of the road. As a result, on more than one occasion, we had to pull the side mirrors in to squeeze between parked vehicles and opposing traffic. We learned a lesson from this adventure - stick to the major roads/streets.
But the Eichholz campsite proved to be worth the effort, given its location on the Aare, even if it was relatively expensive (like most things in Switzerland). We set up camp among the trees, with a view out to the river.
After setting up the van, we explored the site and found the pingpong table, and all the other facilities, including the bar, where we partook of a few refeshments. We sat there enjoying the spring sunshine, even though we could see dark clouds hovering on the horizon, and one feature of the campsite caught our attention - a shelter constructed with laminated timber beams/columns, and with a white tarpaulin roof, that could be used for catering, shelter from the weather, meetings or even small concerts.
We examined it more closely, and started thinking how the timber we are growing back home could be used to create such laminated structural members, and could also be used for cladding over the frame, instead of using tarpaulins.
As we sat there, letting our imaginations run wild, we grew hungry. So instead of returning to the van to cook dinner, we decided to try the menu at the bar/cafe in which we were already sitting. The food was good, but came at Swiss prices.
We finished the evening off with a game of pingpong (modesty forbids me from revealing the winner), and then went for a short bike ride along the Aare. Our ride was interrupted when we passed a sports ground, where two teams were playing Frisbee Football. I had never seen such a sport being played, and was amazed at the athleticism and tactics being displayed. We watched until they finished their game, and then returned to the van for a well-earned sleep.
Tues 9 May - clowns, dancers, Tiergarten Zoo, Regina, Turbo, Frank's, rain
We spent the morning catching up with routine tasks on the van, including emptying the toilet cassette (a necessary job if you want to enjoy the convenience of having a toilet on board the van). We then decided to go visit the Tiergarten Zoo on the other side of the Aare (an essential activity nearly every time we are in Bern). As we rode out of the campsite, we realised that our fellow campers were a mixed and talented bunch of people. Just near us, we found a campervan with an advertisement for a clown act, and started taking with a guy who told us that he and his wife were the clown act, and had performed and taken out awards all around the world, includuing the Adelaide Fringe Festival. And then as we left the site, we met another guy who had been a dance instructor, and was now just using his van to travel around Europe. We didn't tell either that we had two sets of steelpans aboard our van!
We continued on our way down the Aare till we came to the footbridge across the river, then came back up-river until we were across from the campsite. It was at this point that we realised what a privileged position we had, camping beside the river.
As always, we totally enjoyed the variety of animals at the zoo - pelicans, gemsels, marmots, piggies ...
In the early afternoon, we were on our bikes again to go into Bern to meet Regina for lunch. So we cycled along the Aare, then up the hill to central Bern, where we met Regina in an outdoor cafe near the Parliament buildings, with their view over the Aare and across to Gurten (the nearby hill to the south-west of Bern).
Rita always enjoys catching up with her old Bern friends (as do I) and this time was no different. We swapped many stories (it's been almost a month since Rita last saw Regina!) but decided to cut our meeting short as rain threatened on the horizon. But before we left the cafe, I had to get Rita to take a photo of me with some of the signage, which I thought was most appropriate!
That evening we caught up with Rita's brother Frank and his wife Annette, her other brother Lothar and his two sons Janek and David, as well as Janek's wife Stephanie. It was night full of many conversations, many occurring at the same time, across different segments of the table. Since rain was forecast, we decided not to ride our bikes to Frank's house, but rather to walk with wet weather gear handy. We were lucky on the trip to the house, but by the time we started to make our way home, the rain had begun. So it was on with the puffer jackets, and up with the umbrellas, for the walk down the hill to our campsite by the Aare.
Wed 10 May - rainy night, sleep-in, Felix, Hang
It continued raining overnight and into the morning, so we took the opportunity for a sleep-in. The rain pitter-pattering on the roof of the campervan was very soporific. In the afternoon, we jumped on the eBikes again and headed along the Aare, past the central area of Bern and out the other side, since Rita wanted to show me something special in her steelpan life. Along the way we crossed over the Aare on a bridge atop the barrage at the hydro-electric plant.
As we rode upstream from the barrage on the other side of the Aare, Rita pulled over and explained that the building we stopped at was the original panyard for the Bernese Oil Company steelband, the first band in which she played, led by Felix Rohner, who later went on to create the Hang and founded the company PANArt. The panyard building was closed, but we looked through the windows and she explained various features that had not changed much over the years. As we got ready to hop on our bikes again, we heard Rita's name being called from up the hill, and as we looked up Rita realised it was indeed Felix, who was calling to her from the PANArt headquarters above us. So we cycled up the hill, and said hello to him. He then invited us to have a look around his manufacturing facilities, where he explained the various generations of Hang pan, and what they were currently doing. He also introduced us to Sabina, and his two children who also work in PANArt. It was a fascinating afternoon, ending with a relaxed drink, where we learned lots about the history and philosophy of the Hang.
Thurs 11 May - rainy, van blogging, Rita visits Sarah, Kuno, Regina, eBikes
The rain continued on and off all day today, so I spent most of my time in the van catching up with this blog. In the afternoon, Rita met up with friend Sarah at the cafe across the Aare from us, then went to see her third brother Kuno, and finally her other girlfriend Regina.
While I sat in the van, I thought about how useful the eBikes had been in the past few days in Bern. While I had appreciated their help in covering long distances per day when we rode around Maastricht last week, I only truly appreciated their value in climbing hills (which Bern has plenty of as you go from the river up to the old town) during the past few days.
Fri 12 May - last Bern day, Theresa, Marian's JazzRoom, Morrison, border, Besain
Today was to be our last day in Bern for this trip, but before we left, Rita wanted to catch up with one more old friend, Theresa (who made the wonderful carpet from our alpacas' wool several years ago). We arranged to meet her for lunch at Marian's JazzRoom. As we arrived there, we noticed a poster for the Bern Jazz Festival that had taken place there in April, and recognised a very familiar face in the form of James Morrison, Australian trumpet player extraordinaire.
When we were seated at our table waiting for Theresa, the owner of the restaurant Hans Zurbrügg wandered in to check that everyting was in order, and Rita immediately recognised him as the supreme jazz aficionado of Bern. So when he stoppd to check at our table, we raised the topic of James Morrison and how we'd seen him perform in Centennial Park in Sydney in 1999. it wasn't long before he and Rita where exchanging stories about legendary jazz musicians that had performed in Bern over the years. It kept us well occupied until Theresa arrived for lunch.
Rita and Theresa had a great time reminiscing about times past, and about our fabulous time in 2021 when we stayed at her little house in Biglen.
I continued my taste-testing of Cafe Gourmand for this year, when it came time for dessert. It looked very pretty to begin with, and made a good abstract painting when I had finished, but did not come up to the taste standard of previous contestants. 7/10.
But all good things must come to an end, and so in mid-afternoon we said goodbye to Theresa and prepared to move on, but not before we looked out over the Bern panorama for one last time and then wrapped the bikes on the back of Vanumbra to protect them from some anticipated wet weather.
We then headed west to Besain where we intended to have dinner with Sarah and Albon, and then sleep overnight in the van. This very familiar trip was uneventful, except for very heavy congestion as we approached the French border, as lots of Swiss people were making an early escape on a Friday evening to spend the weekend somewhere in France (and maybe do a little shopping in France, where prices are much lower than in Switzerland).
Sat 13 May - up early, Auxonne, ducklings, phone cases, tasks, SGP, sunset
We were up early to say goodbye to Sarah who had to leave early for a weekend away on a school camp trip (as the teacher, not as a student). Then it was on to Auxonne to complete our first big trip in Vanumbra, which went well without too many unexpected surprises. We were welcomed home by mother duck and her six new duckling babies.
My online order for transparent cases for my iPhone 7+ had arrived in the mail while we were away, and they fitted the phone perfectly. Makes it look like a new phone. Then it was on to a range of mundane tasks on the boat, like filling the water tank, catching up with emails, doing the laundry and some shopping for essentials. That evening I followed the Speedway Grand Prix from Warsaw and all looked to be going well for Australian Jack Holder as he comfortably led the Final going into lap 3 (of 4) and on his way to his first Grand Prix win. But then fourth-placed Polish rider Bartosz Zmarzlik made an aggressive dive up the inside of Aussie Jason Doyle and knocked him off his bike, causing the race to be halted. Amazingly, Doyle was the rider excluded from the re-run. As often happens in re-runs, the leader of the race first time around does not win the re-run, and this happened again, with Holder missing out on his first SGP victory.
To make up for this disappointment, Auxonne turned on one of its usual Saone Sunsets for me.
