September 10th. First full day in Honfleur

So we did get to the Black Forest on Saturday.  We started off on backroads rather than freeway again but we only got to the second village before we ran into streets that were dug up and our gps got all confused.  We gave up and hit the freeway. When we left the freeway we drove through a couple of villages that were really pretty.  Already I can’t remember their names.  Can’t pronounce them either. Anyway, Freiburg was the destination.  Supposedly the nicest city in the Back Forest.  We arrived to the usual crowds of people and crazy traffic.  Parked in an underground parking lot and went off to explore.  It turns out that it was Market Day and was even more crowded than usual.  Ian hated the place.  I loved it except for the crowds of people.  The buildings were like something out of a Hansel and Gretel story.  Tons of shops that I would love to have poked through.  But it was not to be.  Also it was late in the day and we had an hours drive back to Baden Baden.  Our last day in Baden Baden was spent doing laundry and packing for the next move.  Also it was raining.  Something we haven’t seen much of.  Off to Toni’s for a very good Italian dinner and then an early night.
We were up early next morning (for us) , quick breakfast and on the road before 9:00.
We were prepared for and dreading the long drive dodging big trucks and maniac drivers.  So were pleasantly surprised to find quite the opposite.  Not that there wasn’t traffic.....there was but quite normal for us.  We soon discovered why.  We were on toll highways.  Seven tolls altogether that we went through, including over the bridge from LeHavre to Honfleur.  The problem with the tolls was that they are unmanned and ......surprise!  in French.  We were stuck in the first one for quite a while before Ian figured it out.  We only needed to grab a ticket, not make a payment yet.  We were not alone.  We never went through one toll booth where there weren’t at least two or three people stuck in there.  People were trying to back up to use another booth.  You can imagine that not all motorists are helpful.  Anyway, we are e parts now.  The only other glitch was when we came through one of the toll booths and there were armed police there pulling some people over to be questioned and searched.  Of course we were one of them.  They were confused by our Dutch license plates , coming from Germany and we couldn’t speak Dutch, German or French.  When the officer asked Ian where we came from he said “Canada”.  The officer said “surely not today?”  Anyway, they quickly realized we were not terrorists......just dumb Canadians.  Searched our suitcases, wished us a good holiday and then sent us on our way.
We arrived in Honfleur at just after 4:30.  Our host’s representative was not here to meet us.  When finally after 45 minutes ,Jessy arrived, we were getting a little bit ticked.  Apparently she had sent is a message telling us to call her when we arrived.  But we don’t have a phone.  She could not believe it! Anyway, she showed us around our new home.  It’s  called “The Tiny House”.  And for good reason. You can hardly turn around in it.  Supposedly it can accommodate four people.  I’d love to see how they fit four into there.  Anyway, when you go through the front door there is a tablet attached to the wall that controls everything from lights to tv to heat to shutters.  You name it.  So we got a ten minute lesson.  Which we forgot ten minutes after Jessy left of course.  Also, no explanation of what to do when the internet disconnects.  WHICH IT DOES!  So now Jessy won’t reply to us and the owner lives in Paris.  So, by email this morning. Ian spoke to Francois.  He only wants us to be happy.  So he asked us “what would be a good time to do a FaceTime call?”  Ian said “how about 5:00”.  Francois said oh no, that’s not good for me.  I can only make it for 6:30.  So......why did he ask.
So we’ve had a pretty good day so far.  We’ve found a grocery store, a nice pub, had a good walk and taken some good pictures.  They will follow

Still September 6th

Well, that was fun.  Decided to drive to  Heppenheim today.  It’s about an hour and a half drive from Baden Baden.  It’s only an hour and a half drive if there are no accidents or road works.  We were about an hour into our trip when all of a sudden traffic came to a stop.  We were stopped for a good twenty minutes when we had huge emergency vehicles screaming up behind us.  We all had to squeeze to one side or another to let them through.  So we knew it had to be a pretty serious accident. After another twenty five minutes of stopping and going we came to the scene of the accident.  There were four cars and one huge transport truck involved.  The transport trucks windshield was shattered. We don’t know what happened but it was a mess.  Anyway, we finally arrived in Heppenheim.  And what a treat it was.  Like something out of a fairytale.  Winding streets, half timbered houses, cute shops.  They were setting up for some big event for the weekend.  We aren’t sure what but possibly a cycling race or something of the sort.  Good thing we went today and not tomorrow or Sunday.  We had lunch,  walked around, took lots of pictures and I even found a couple of sundresses on sale.  Then we headed home again.  The autobahns here are unbelievable.  They may have worked years ago but they can’t handle the number of cars and trucks anymore.  I have never seen so many trucks in my life.  They have lots of rest areas and you can’t pass one that is not filled with trucks.  I guess they no longer use freight trains to transport goods so it is all handled by trucks.  I would not want to be a truck driver over here.  Or to have to commute for work.  Driving is very stressful.  Anyway, we made it home alive and only have two more long drives left.  We leave here on Monday for Honfleur, France. It’s about a 7 hour drive, barring accidents and road works.  We will be there for one week and then another long drive back to Amsterdam to fly home on the 17th.  It feels as if we have been away forever but now the time is flying.  We both agree that this is probably our last trip to Europe.  It’s been fun but too many people, cars, trucks and bicycles.  Hopefully the Black Forest tomorrow.

Just a P.S.

Also forgot to mention that after I went to bed the other night Ian continued playing around on my IPad.  We think he may have joined Facebook!  What a hoot!

Thursday, September 5th

We’ve had a day of rest......sort of.  The other evening we decided to video call people on messenger. Ian was amazed!  Oh, the technology. So we started with Karen Schick.  Was she surprised?  Yes, she was.  Had a few laughs with her..as always.  Next was my son Cam.  It was good talking to him.  He’s a busy boy these days working on his house.  We spent over an hour with him.  Then on to Craig and Judy.  Caught up on family news with them. Then we tried Georgina, Kathy Cutting, Jason Tycho and David Tycho.  None of them were receiving. David Tycho actually thought he was being hacked so he closed his account, changed passwords and did whatever he thought was necessary so thwart the hackers.  Sorry David.  Did I mention that we were sampling some lovely white wines during this time? So that’s why we had a day of rest.  It was all fun though. One thing that was really good was that we found a huge grocery store just 2 kilometres down the back street from us.  So I think I’ll shop ahead for France just in case I can’t find a grocery store when we arrive.  I also read that most of their stores are closed on Sundays and some even on Mondays.  So groceries and wine will be stockpiled.
Now.....today is Friday the 6th of September.  Happy Birthday to our dear friend Basil!
We are going to take a drive today and explore some of the small villages near to us. Also want to get to see the Black Forest.
P.S.  forgot to mention that the other day we thought it would be nice to go to a beach seeing as how it was a beautiful 27 degrees.  So Ian googled beaches near us.  They were all in France and the nearest one was only 16 kilometres away.  So off we went.  Bummer.......the beach was closed!  But we did find an outlet mall just like they have in the States.  So all was not lost.

Tuesday, September 3rd. First full day in Baden Baden

They say here that this place is so good that they had to name it twice.  And we would have to agree with that.  Sun is shining again and the temperatures reached 26 degrees.  It’s a more comfortable 26 than in Amsterdam or Antwerp or anywhere in the Netherlands because the climate here is drier.  So we had a lovely day just wandering the streets of Old Town and through a beautiful park.  It was just nice to be walking on soft green grass for a change.  We have put on plenty of miles walking on cobblestones and cement. The one thing here, that is so far hard to find, is a decent grocery store.  There is a couple of pricey markets close to us and one Asian market that is pretty good.  But there are a lot of things that are hard to find. We did eventually find the spices that I was looking for and some herbs.  Of which fresh basil was one.  You can only get it fresh here by buying the whole plant. When I told the clerk that we were travelling she said that she could cut the basil leaves for me.  Great says I........I only need a few branches.  Oh no says she.  She has to cut all the branches.  How much will that be I ask.  Well the same as buying the whole plant.  So I have a lovely basil plant.  That will, by the way , come to France with me! When we got home Ian googled “where to find a grocery store near us” and found an Aldi only four kilometres away. So off we went.  We have shopped in Aldi lots of times in Britain and they are pretty good.  We both agreed that it was the worst grocery store we have ever been in.  Selection was poor and everything was so mixed up it was hard to find. No such thing as an Asian isle.  Anyway in the end we got enough groceries to put together a curry.  (Ian’s specialty). It only took about four stores.  So tomorrow we are going to search for a “real” grocery store and just do some more exploring.  Tomorrow is supposed to be even warmer.
We needed the assistance of our hostess Susan again this evening as we could not figure out the can opener.  Turns out neither could she.  So she brought us a new one.  She is unbelievable.  She has told us to call her whenever we want all our towels or sheets washed.  Or anything else we need.  I would recommend this Air bob to anyone.

September 2nd Antwerp to Baden Baden Germany

What a lovely day we have had. The sun was shining again this morning.  We got ourselves up, had breakfast and packed up. I made us a lunch for the road and then went to get the car.  The car wouldn’t start.......I was about to sit down and have a good cry.  Because by this time we were locked out of the apartment.  And our host, Yves, was out of town today.  Also we don’t

have a phone.  Anyway, we don’t know why, but all of a sudden the car started.  The gods must be smiling on us.  Getting out of town was a bit stressful but we made it.  And once we hit the freeway it was clear sailing.  They have really nice rest stops along the way in Germany and there are lots of them.  Gas stations as well.  Shell seems to be the big one here.  So we gassed up in at a Shell station on the way and I took the opportunity to go to the bathroom. Not only are the gas prices out of sight, they charge €.50 to take a pee!  Wouldn’t you think if you are paying $2.60 Canadian a litre for gas that they could throw in a free pee?  Apparently not.  I know we all complain about things at home but we are so lucky and spoiled in Canada! So back on the road again.  It was clear sailing all the way.  We kept waiting for the other shoe to drop.  This is not how our holidays go!  And when we arrived in Baden Baden,on time to the minute according to our GPS, it only took about five minutes to find our house. Our hostess , Susan, was here to greet us and show us through our new temporary home.  It is just perfect.  We have two bedrooms, two bathrooms, living room, fully equipped kitchen, washing machine, two t.v.’s and two patios.  She has supplied us with toilet paper, soap, shampoo, lots of towels, coffee, tea, spices, canned goods and four locally produced beers.  She also told us that if we needed anything more such as money, new passports or new identities just knock on her door.  We like her.  I would love to introduce her to our hosts in Höllviken, Sweden so she could maybe teach them a thing or two.  Anyway, we are looking forward to a great week!

September 1st. Last day in Antwerp

First thing this morning Ian went down to the garage to make sure the opener was working and it wasn’t.  We tried manually to open the door but that wasn’t possible either.  Off we went in search of a new battery which we found not too far from our apartment. The so and so that sold us the battery charged us €4.oo.  We knew we were being skinned but we were desperate.  So we got back to the apartment, put the new battery in and it wouldn’t work.  Finally Ian emailed the owner ( we were lucky to get wifi when we needed it).  He responded quickly and said they would be in Antwerp in an hour to give us a new opener.  When they arrived they were apologetic and hoped that we weren’t too inconvenienced.  No problem we told them!  As it turned out they brought three openers and only one of them would work.  Yves was pretty ticked.  He said “these damn things cost €70 each and we are lucky if they last two years.”  I didn’t ask him if they had run them through the washing machine.🤪.  Anyway,  we now have a working door opener so we can leave in the morning.
Once again we are in the oldest pub in Antwerp.  It’s the only way I can do the blog and send and receive emails.  So now it’s time to get back to the apartment, do a final load of laundry (sans door opener) and pack up.