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Think we must have crossed the Channel by car ferry as the notes begin in Calais where we took the N43 through Les Attaques and Le Pont d'Ardes then onwards to Nordausques and St Martin-au-Laert. We changed route oto the N42 to St Omer, then back onto the N43 through Arques, Wittes, Aire, Norrent Fontes and Lillers, then onto the A26. Then we changed to the N17 to Arras, passing Baupaune and Peronne. At the junction we took the N29 to St Quentin, then the N44 to Reimes, passing Beumant-sur-Vesle, Les Petites-Loges, Charlons-sur-Marne and Vitry-Le-Francois. Then on the N4 through Marelles, Thieblemont-Farcmont and Perthes. Onto the N67 at St Dizier, through Marnavel and Rachecourt-sur-Marne, Vecqueville (beside a canal), Joinville.....
Oh my, i hope you followed all that dear reader, because there was more - alot more! I should have turned the page sooner beacuse i now realise i had written down the complete driving route from Calais to Interlaken and the holiday notes started on the next page! So back to the start...
Set off 7.10am, weather cloudy but bright but the sun came out as we crossed the Humber Bridge at 7.30am. Through Lincoln at 8.30am and onto the A46 then A1 and M11. Through the Dartford Tunnel at 1.05pm. Reached Dover and got onto the St Christopher cross channel ferry at 4.20pm.
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| The official Sealink portrait of the newly-delivered St Christopher in April 1981. Picture courtesy Andrew Orr |
Got to campsite, set up the caravan, dad bought some wine and chips. For tea we had Stew (6Fr20c) and (1F) raisin pie. About 10.30pm Stephen and I played badminton, then got washed in open air cold water wash basins.
August 16th
Woke up about 8.10am set off about 9.45am, it was a sunny day. Saw three herons in a field. Turned cloudy. Crossed the river Somme. In Reims saw Champagne factories, spent the night on the outskirts of Langres. People were playing boules and we saw some playing skittles along a stone alley way. For tea we had steak burgers, peas and Smash, then tinned peaches and cream.
August 17th
Corn was growing alot in this area. It seemed more developed than in the North. The soil was red and there were cows with white and pale brown markings in the fields, also the landscape was more undulating than earlier with more trees. The sun was shining. Saw logs neatly stacked by the roadside. Saw a black kite flying above a field of cut barley. [maybe when we stopped for a picnic lunch because i also wrote] Heard some very noisy grasshoppers.
Came to Besancon, a fairly large town spread across the sides and middle of a valley. Lots of big stone buildings and pretty squares. Pontarlier was similar but smaller. Stopped in a village to buy bread, saw ahouse very high up on a cliff. Began to climb a little into hillier country. Went through French/Swiss customs at Les Verriers, then through a tunnel before Neuchatel. Went through Bern but all we saw were a few statues, long avenues and stone buildings, then onto a motorway and through another tunnel. For the last part of the journey we travelled beside a railway along the edge of Lake Thun. Through Interlaken and finally to the Manor Farm campsite on the shore of the lake. After setting up the caravan we played badminton. At night after tea we went into Interlaken (I had some beer) and looked around the shops.
August 18th
Went into Interlaken for some bread, then went to Grindelwald. It was very hot. From the village you could see a great view of the Wetterhorn, Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau mountains.
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| https://www.tui.co.uk/destinations/europe/switzerland/grindelwald/holidays-grindelwald.html |
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| https://www.vacansoleil.co.uk/camping/switzerland/bernese-oberland/interlaken/camping-manor-farm-1-2364004/?pagenum=1 |
Went to Interlaken railway station west, then underneath platform one. Got onto paddle steamer Lotschberg and travelled across the beautiful blue water. The sun was shining. We had seats undercover but we stood at the bow most of the time. Went under a bridge then into Lake Brienz.
We arrived just in time to catch the steam cog railway up the Rothorn mountain. Went up through woodland and tunnels seeing the lake get smaller and smaller. We came out of the woods into a great valley halfway up the mountain. On the right there were some jagged peaks and we saw a cable car station very high up. Durther up the mountain on the left were some avalanche fences. Here we stopped for a while to let another train pass on their way down.
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| https://wengen.swiss/en/summer/product/page/brienz-rothorn-2350-m-asl-678/ |
The lake looked very small ad we could see the mountains around us clearly. Then the mist came in and when i looked back from the restaurant i could not see the top. As the clouds came in i could not see so much on the way down until we were below cloud level. We went back on the Brienz paddle steamer which was a similar size to the Lotschberg but more luxurious with carpets indoors. Seagulls flew alongside us and people threw bread from the deck. After tea we played crazy golf on a 38 hole course.
August 20th
We went into Interlaken and walked around. I bought myself a Swiss Army Knife (Ranger) for SF43 (3.84SF to £1), it had 19 different features and engraved with my initials. In the afternoon we came back to the campsite for lunch. Then we went for a 2hr walk by a river nearby. I saw a Dipper and Grey Wagtail. Also there was an obstacle training course where you had yo jump over logs and do pull-ups etc. When we came back we had tea then played badminton then went to play crazy golf while dad went to a concert. It came on to rain for the last few holes so we ran to a restaurant and had a beer. Dad came in at that moment to shelter from the rain.
August 21st
Today it was raining so we waited until 11 O'Clock and set off for Bern. There was a direct route on the motorway. All the buildings were the same, the shop windows were underneath a tunnel of arches. There were lots of different shops, even C&A. There was a great chocolate shop and i bought two bars of chocolate and a lquor chocolate.
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| http://www.world-citizen-trail.net/bern-the-medieval-city-of-guilds-flags-and-fountains-in-switzerland/ |
Went through a market square to a restaurant and had a slice of redcurrant cheesecake and some milk. On the way back we saw a three piece rock group with an electric guitar. At night we went for a walk by the river again and i found a little frog. The waters were muddied now as all the rain swept down from the mountains.
August 22nd
In the morning we went into Interlaken, further up the main street and looked around the casino gardens, After lunch we went to Lauterbrunnen with its streaming waterdall from the high cliffs above. Stephen and I went closer to look at it and discovered a tunnel hewn out of the rock which gave a view of the waterfall as it splashed down. We could srr the Eiger clearly at the end of the valley.
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| https://www.trover.com/d/1kEKK-lauterbrunnen-switzerland |
August 23rd
Today was colder and damp. We set off to Meiringen. There we founda brass band playing. Went on up the valley to the Susten Pass with 24 hairpin bends and lots of tunnels. We were about 7000ft above sea level (2133m). At the very top we stopped and go out of the car to look around but it was quite misty. Then we carried on through a 325m tunnel which was so dark the full headlights did not penetrate more than 5ft. Then down the other side through St Gotthard, then on to Furka Pass which was even higher.
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| https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/499758889875491323/ |
We stopped at Belvedere as the clouds had spread a little across the valley and we could see a road winding upwards again in the distance. Saw some marmosets. Stephen and I looked around an ice cave in a massive glacier by the side of the road (Rhone Glacier). It looked a sort of white/blue ice on the outside but inside there was tuqoise coloured ice.
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| https://www.somethingswiss.com/blog/2016/9/4/rhone-glacier |
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| https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/499758889875491323/ |
We travelled further up to the highest point of the road at Grimsel Pass +8000ft (2600m). It climbed up into the clouds and there was snow on either side. Then coming down the other side we encountered some roadworks. We could see where a line had been marked in the rock ready for blasting. Then the tarmac road gave way to a muddy lane and we had to slow right down as we went over some pot holes.
August 24th
The next morning wass sunny, although a little cloudy. We got up at 8am and set off at about 8.45am to Lauterbrunnen to catch a train up the Jungfrau. We had to race to get some seats as it was busy. We set off at 2,612 ft and climbed steeply through the forest to Wengweld and then on to Wengen at 4,180 ft. It was suprisingly big for a town that high up. in winter it would be a big skiing resort and also it has a good view of the mountains.
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| https://www.pandotrip.com/top-10-summer-trips-in-2015-18378/ |
From here the last part of the journey was by tunnel through the mountain with view points and stops at Eigerwald 9,400 ft and Eismeer 10,368 ft then we arrived at Jungfraujoch at 11,333 ft (3454m). It was very cold as we came out of the tunnel, through another, into the scoentific research area where we watched a film and looked around the exhibits.
Then as it was about 11.45am we went to the self-service restaurant. We were just deciding what to have when dad felt dizzy so we had to change our minds quickly because now we did not feel too well. I had some soup and two of our own sandwiches. After this we walked back through the tunnels to the ice palace. On the way we went outside for a look on the other side of the mountain. We could see a massive glacier and people like dots climbing up the Jungfrau on a very snowy path.
Then Stephen and I went on to the ice caves. The ice was less blue than on the Rhone glacier but there were more tunnels and there was even a car carved out of ice. Then we went back to the cafe for a warm drink. After that dad and I wwent up to the Sphynx at 11,700 ft. We had to wait a long time for there was quite a queue for the 350ft lift which took you to the highest point on the Jungfrau - even above the clouds. The Monch (13,447 ft) was very close to the balcony on which we stood. There were breath-taking views all around but we were glad to get back inside as it was very cold.
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| Aletsch glacier from Jungdrau https://springtomymind.com/jungfraujoch-things-to-do/ |
We made it back just in time to catch a train down again. At Kleine-Scheidegg we got pff and had a look around. Then as we had not had much lunch we went into a restaurant. I had a big plate of spaghetti in tomato sauce. When we got down to Wengen we decided to walk the rest of the way as it was only 1hr to Lauterbrunnen. It was a winding path and tiring to walk down as it was fairly steep.
August 25th
Stephen was ill the next day and stayed in bed until 1.20pm when he got up to go to a doctor. It was a very hot day. In the morning I had a look around Interlaken and in the afternoon i sat out near the caravan. At night mum and I had a round of crazy golf.
August 26th
In the morning it was sunny again. I went to have a look at some bears at the back of the campsite. There were two little ones and two massive ones. In the adternoon we went to Spiez on Lake Thun. It was very hot and mum and I had a large ice cream. At night we went to a Swiss folk evening where there was yodelling, swiss horn blowing and dancing.
August 27th
In the morning we went to Bern. I bought lots of chocolates. Had lunch out, I had spaghetti in tomato sauce with two slices of pork, then caramel and cream for dessert. Went into Interlaken for the last time at night.
August 28th
Got up at 8am and got away by 9.10am, first to Bern then Basle, then Strasbourg. It was a very hot day. Our camsite was in Kehl. We went into Strasbourg and looked round the cathederal, saw the astronomical clock.
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| https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Strasbourg_Cathedral_Astronomical_Clock_-_Diliff.jpg |
August 29th
Got up at 8am, set off at 9.20am to Serverne, then onto the motorway. Sunny day.
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