We travel to compare our imagination with reality.
Collector
I was not so sure about Brest but I felt it should be visited once you travel in the Bretagne. It was a little plain, but also with some charm.
Main attraction is the dominating Castle.
Pointe du Raz is the most western cap of France. I was looking forward to it and was collecting lots of energy from it.
It was late afternoon but I was still fit and headed towards Carnac. I came until Loirant and found some quite parking with luck.
I left Lion-sur-Mer early and headed for Saint Malo, found good parking just a little outside town and activated my bicycle. I watched a big ship passing an narrow spot.
From inside St. Malo, slowly waking up.
Some other travelers recommended the village Erquy to me. But I did not have the motivation to search for the hidden gems which are definitely there.
For the search of the Granite Rose I started in Louannec. It was not was I was hoping for. But I had a great cycling round partially over rocky terrain at the beach.
In search for colors.
The couple which recommended Erquy to me also praised Tregastel. It was not on my radar. Here I found my Granite Rose. Of the finest.
With the change of light colors varied a lot.
I was looking for a beach to find fossils. According to the net there should be some in Houlgate and Lion-sur-Mer.
From Houlgate:
In the background are the black rocks where they found Dinosaurs and one could have found other smaller fossils. High tide, no way to reach.
Unfortunate timing 🙁
From Lion-sur-Mer
PATTERNS and FOSSILS!
Smart light fading slowly.
In the morning I was woken up at 06:00 a.m. from marketeers. What a shock, but they were actually kind and guided me out of the parking. After the empty fuel tank yesterday another straining exercise…
Found perfect parking near the library and did my morning routine in peace again. Jumped on the bike to explore the market and search for a building which I had missed yesterday.
Found Presbytère Saint Etienne
From the toll road to Etretat.
From Etretat Cliffs And Beach
From very charming Honfleur.
Waked up early, left early for Rouen.
My fuel gage betrayed me with drastic consequences 🙁
From Rouen.
From the way to Caen -> Lisieux:
Arrived in Caen on time and found parking near town again at the yacht harbor.
As one would expect by now, I started my sight seeing tour on the bike.
View from the castle on top.
Again my parking locations was close to old town. Asked for direction and only had to follow a tramway track.
Numerous canals in Gent.
I am so often catching weddings, which I really enjoy.
All around the “Korenmarkt“.
Continued to Lille in France and did not expect too much. What a pleasant surprise was waiting for me.
At my return to the parking I observed groups of people entering the Belfried von Lille. I was curious and followed. Should somebody ask for a ticket, “oh, I do not speak French (Je ne palpar française) 🙂
It was a free exhibition of local artists. So enjoyable.
Two of my top favorite artists.
After the exhibition.
I considered to stay overnight where I was. But at the end of the consideration I moved on and stopped at a quiet parking lot on route to Rouen.
The morning was sunny but very windy. So I opted to drive to Den Haag instead of cycling the 14 km. To find parking was another lengthy exercise but eventually successful.
Parking at the yacht harbor “Vissershaven” was not expensive and close to town.
The Royals stay private.
Great weather, great social life.
Tranquil flea market near Escher House.
I was looking forward to some famous Dutch painters in the museum of arts. But found only a handful. The rest was so depressing.
From the piers.
In the late afternoon only the question was again how far to go south west. This time i voted for Lille in France.
Due to quite some delays because of traffic congestions and one detour from my side I had to change to Gent which was one hour shorter. Ingrid has often mentioned its charme and beautiful building ensembles.
From my app “Stellplatz Radar” I found free parking near the Gent Rowing Club near the city center…
After the unpleasant happenings last night I was relaxed again and after the morning routine took the bike and cycled to town.
Found also the “Kulturspeicher” cycling along the river.
A rare version of a “Meerjungfrau”. (Check Kopenhagen!)
The most charming castle of “Evenburg” is a little outside, worthwhile the cycling.
I followed a recommendation of friends to visit Ditzum, which was indeed a romantic fishing village.
After some consideration how far to travel towards the west I decided for Den Haag, which I had in mind for a long time.
I stopped then some 15 km short on a camping ground in Leiden.
I started very early in the morning, the first trucks left before 5 a.m. and I followed about 05:30. New trick.
Arrived in Flensburg early, found an ALDI quickly and stored up my groceries. Followed more an intuition than lots of analysis and headed for Husum, which should be a charming fishing village south-east of Flensburg.
I am addicted to mirror images.
From the crossing over the Elbe near Glückstadt avoiding the Hamburg tunnel.
Langesund is not a small place but the center area is manageable. After the leisurely breakfast I took a stroll to “town” hoping for a coffee shop with internet to catch up with postings, etc. But I was not hopeful indeed. And as hope dies at last, I followed a man towards what looked like a store. Arriving there the shop had attached a wonderful cafe area and – internet access for free. Did lots of work…
Rolling onto the ferry meant to say Good Buy from Norway. I had so many moments of peace and happiness, of awe for the beauty of their nature.
Arrival in Hirtshals after quite a shaky crossing.
The rest of the day led onto the superb Danish highways in strictly souther direction. Now it was time to look forward to warmer temperatures and different experiences.
I skipped the plan to stop in Alborg and carried on to a highway parking spot near Suldrup much further to the south.