Ausflug: 4 Countries in 14 Hours

A few weekends ago, we spontaneously rented a car at the Cologne airport and visited a few places that have been on our 'to see' list, but are annoying to access by public transport. Our plans were loose, but we knew that we had the car from 9am to 11pm that day...and the sky was the limit!

First stop: the quaint Monschau, accessible only by bus (and webcam).

This little town is right on the border with Belgium and it at one point was part of France, so we saw a lot of Dutch and French in town. The best part of this cultural mixture -- poffertjes and waffles!

The winding, narrow streets, the castles on the hills surrounding the valley town, and the pretty stream flowing through town make Monschau the epitome of a small, German village.

We spent about 3 hours wandering around, then hopped in the rental car for the next leg of our trip.

The Mont + Country Cottages in the Loire Valley

During the last part of our trip to France in June, we visited places known for less for important historical events and more for their beauty and opulence. Our last stop in Normandy was Le Mont St. Michel, a lone island and UNESCO World Heritage site on the border with Brittany. A monastery built in 800 AD sits at the top of the island's hill, with layers of stone houses and shops below it, and a shallow bay all around it.

the camouflaged guardian

clever monks designed a crank-powered
system for bringing supplies up the hill

We arrived in the evening after driving down from the D-Day landing sites, and it was rainy and surprisingly cool so we felt like we had the island to ourselves. Apparently, the island is normally packed with tourists, so we didn't mind the rain too much. Previously, you could drive all the way down the causeway and park at the base of the island, but now the causeway is closed and buses ferry visitors from mainland parking lots. This is all part of a really neat project by the French government to restore the area around the island and prevent sedimentation from joining the island to the mainland. They are using a clever dam design and the force of the river to move most of the sediment from the bay. We decided to walk rather than take the bus so that we could soak up the beautiful vista from different angles, and we also really enjoyed reading about the project on signs all along the causeway.

We arrived pretty late, so the monastery and most shops were closed, but it was magical to see the island lit up at night. We had to hang around until 10pm to see this, though! Touring Europe in the summer is perhaps more expensive and crowded, but you definitely get a lot more daylight hours for sightseeing.

Our Visit to the D-Day Beaches

source: Army Signal Corps Collection, U.S. National Archives

During our trip to France, we spent almost an entire day driving along the Normandy coast to see important sites from the D-Day landing on June 6, 1944. We started out in Bayeaux, east of most of the landing areas, so we worked out way west. Here's a map of our tour:

Click to view D-Day Tour, Normandy Coast, France in a larger, navigable map

Our first stop was Arromanches, where the Allies built a false harbor by floating concrete and steel barriers across the English channel. We could see part of the harbor still intact in the distance, and pieces had also washed up on the beach. The story behind the harbor's design and construction is really fascinating, and explained well here.

Road Tripping through Normandy

After touring Paris for two days, we rented a car near the Louvre and--after managing to avoid colliding with the terrifying hordes of scooter-riding maniacs that plague that fair city's streets--we hopped on the highway and headed for Normandy. I loved this part of our trip for several reason. But first, a brief geography lesson...

Normandy is a region in northern France, known for its creamy cheeses, Calvados, and mussels. It's not a small region either, but encompasses several largish cities and many small towns and villages.

And it turns out that Normandy has a lot of really neat places to visit in addition to the D-Day beaches! Here are my favorites, in no particular order:

1. Cute coastal towns

Places like Honfleur give east coast towns like Rockport a run for their money in terms of cuteness. This pretty little harbor was a favorite of Monet's and other painters. Us, too--we ate a box of delectable macarons while people watching and enjoying the sunshine.

2. Beautiful chalk cliffs

After seeing postcards of dramatic cliffs while browsing shops in Honflour, we decided to take a little detour to Étretat. The postcards and my pictures just can't do it justice. The view from the beach is stunning, with the white pebble beach curving away towards a church set high on a hill above the sea.

But the most magnificent view is reached by walking up the cliff path. Wildflowers cover the tops of the white cliffs, leading down to dark turquoise waters. It reminded us very much of the west coast of the US.

But the west coast isn't littered with so many bunkers! These things were everywhere, tucked into towns, poking out of shrubbery in back yards, and greeting us at trailheads.

I see Paris, I see France...

We just got back from a wonderful tour of northern France. We spent 2 days in Paris, followed by a 2 day tour of the Normandy coast, followed by half a day at Mont St. Michel and another half day touring chateaus in the Loire Valley. I'll be covering our trip through a few different posts.

note the fine pollarding of the trees leading up to the tower

Most of my expectations of Paris came from movies such as French Kiss (a Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline classic), books such as Julia Child's My Life in France, and blogs such as DesignMom (an American family of 8 living in rural France). These sources--of varying accuracy--showed me what to expect in terms of culture and food, but not much in the way of historical context. Fortunately, I had a European history aficionado as my tour guide, so I saw all the major sights and learned a bunch about the city's history as well.

We stayed near the Eiffel Tower in an apartment that I found through AirBnb, and we spent our first day walking through the Tuileries and to the Louvre. Originally a palace for the king, the buildings we see today are only part of the original construction. It was incredible to imagine one man living in a house that large.

the palace bends in a U-shape, with the museum entrance through the glass pyramid
You walk under Napoleon's monument after exiting the garden

We got to the Louvre museum only an hour before closing, but it was still wonderful to see Winged Victory (she is so elegant and powerful-looking), the Venus de Milo (she is lovely) and the Mona Lisa (she is quite popular) in person.

that's Mona on the wall
this is also a 'Where's J?' photo - can you spot him? :)

Off to France!

Next week, J and I are heading to France for a brief visit and I can hardly wait! He has been to France several times, for vacation and research, but I have only been to one city, Strasbourg.


This is a really interesting bit of France since it has changed hands between France and Germany several times, and the official language has changed with it.

many signs are in both French and German

As we drove across the French border back in April, I was greeted by a hummed chorus of La Marseillaise which is one of my favorite memories from when J's parents and brother visited in April. We spent several hours in Strasbourg, touring the cathedral, buying crepes, and wandering around the old town.

Strausbourg has a lot of pretty canals, like in this and the previous picture

During our next visit to France (which nicely (almost) coincides with our 6th anniversary), we're heading to Paris, Rouen, the D-Day beaches in Normandy, Le Mont St. Michel, and the Loire Valley. I'm very curious to compare our trip to our brief visit to Strasbourg -- stay tuned!