Euro Tour part 1

Hengist · 16th July 2011, 22:05

About 3 weeks ago I, Zed, set off on a drive round Europe.

First stop was at the de Havilland Heritage Centre just off the M25 at South Mimms - mostly to see that gorgeous piece of kit, the Mosquito. They have one fully restored (obviously not in flying order), one being built, and the original prototype which is also currently being restored ...

There's a range of de Havilland aircraft there, and it's a great, relaxed place to go ... plenty of old buffers hanging around with tales of their flying days ...

A chap has pretty good access to the aircraft on display, too:

Black & white:

Then it was off to Dover to catch the ferry to France:

On board, I made the most of the facilities on ofer by fending off small children in the play area ...

More to come soon!

Zed

Hengist · 17th July 2011, 11:20

So ... we got to France OK, and headed towards Belgium ...

I had to get a bit of a help from Thomas to get up this sign, though:

We went to Ypres for a look around, and visited a couple of War Cemeteries. This was at Lijssenthoek Cemetery, which is at the site of a front-line dressing station. There are 10,755 WW1 souls buried there, most of whom died from wounds. It's beautifully kept, and full of flowers surrounding the headstones.

Hengist · 17th July 2011, 11:45

From there, we stayed overnight in Lille, France and then headed down to Luxembourg, where a chap can buy cheap diesel! Tea at Pizza Hut, then a spot of sightseeing ...

They have a brilliant play-park in the centre of the City, so I hung around on this nice dustbin while Thomas tired himself out ...

Next morning, we headed for Switzerland ...

Stopped off at Bern, mostly so that I could see my cousins in the newly revamped bear pit in the centre of town. The bears have a nice big open space now - previously they were kept in a concrete pit. They have trees to climb, and nice open views along the river ...

Bern has a lovely "old town" area, the main attraction of which is the astronomical clock, the "Zytglogge" ...

Camped overnight at Thun, on the Thunersee Lake, then aimed for Italy across the Grimsel and Simplon Passes. The top of the Grimsel road was in clouds (about 30 feet visibility!), so didn't see much up there. Coming down the other side, though, the clouds cleared and we could see the Rhone Glacier on the other side of the valley.

You can actually stop at the hotel you see in the background, and walk up to the glacier in about 10 minutes. They've dug an ice-tunnel through it, which is nice and cool in the Alpine summer ...

The Grimsel road joins onto the road between the Furka and Nufenen Passes at the foot of the hill, and leads on to the Simplon Pass, at the top of which is a giant eagle statue. Here's me sitting on the edge of it ...

Down the mountain a bit, you reach the Italian border:

Hengist · 17th July 2011, 11:50

So ... into Italy, and camping at Baveno on the shore of Lago Maggiore ...

Next morning, we took a boat trip out to Isola Bella in the middle of the Lake ...

... before heading down out of the hills and along the Torino-Padua motorway to Venice.

Hengist · 17th July 2011, 13:21

After camping at Fusini, on the western side of Venice Lagoon, I hopped on a taxi-boat to get to the main island the next morning ...

After fighting past all the Americans and Japanese to get a look at St Mark's Square ...

... I sat and had a breather at the edge of the water, before heading off to the fishmarket area for a well-deserved Grand Espresso coffee!

Then I hopped back on the boat to the mainland, and headed off to Slovenia, with temperatures in the high 30s. Here's me at the border:

Camped in Ljubljana overnight, then went for a look in the town. Ljubljana is a compact, beautiful city with a few nice landmarks. This is the Dragon Bridge, where Jason (of Argonauts legend) apparently killed a dragon ...

Up the funicular to Ljubljana Grad (Castle), then a walk down the hill through the Old Town area ...

... before heading off to Hungary, with a small detour through northern Croatia because that was the shortest route.

starbug2 · 8th August 2011, 14:23

nice to see the Ted enjoying himself

16th July 2011, 22:05	#1
Hengist Avid contributor MG ZT CDTi Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: New Deer Posts: 225 Thanks: 0 Thanked 20 Times in 2 Posts	Euro Tour June-July 2011 About 3 weeks ago I, Zed, set off on a drive round Europe. First stop was at the de Havilland Heritage Centre just off the M25 at South Mimms - mostly to see that gorgeous piece of kit, the Mosquito. They have one fully restored (obviously not in flying order), one being built, and the original prototype which is also currently being restored ... There's a range of de Havilland aircraft there, and it's a great, relaxed place to go ... plenty of old buffers hanging around with tales of their flying days ... A chap has pretty good access to the aircraft on display, too: Black & white: Then it was off to Dover to catch the ferry to France: On board, I made the most of the facilities on ofer by fending off small children in the play area ... More to come soon! Zed Last edited by Hengist; 17th July 2011 at 10:14..

17th July 2011, 11:45	#3
Hengist Avid contributor MG ZT CDTi Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: New Deer Posts: 225 Thanks: 0 Thanked 20 Times in 2 Posts	From there, we stayed overnight in Lille, France and then headed down to Luxembourg, where a chap can buy cheap diesel! Tea at Pizza Hut, then a spot of sightseeing ... They have a brilliant play-park in the centre of the City, so I hung around on this nice dustbin while Thomas tired himself out ... Next morning, we headed for Switzerland ... Stopped off at Bern, mostly so that I could see my cousins in the newly revamped bear pit in the centre of town. The bears have a nice big open space now - previously they were kept in a concrete pit. They have trees to climb, and nice open views along the river ... Bern has a lovely "old town" area, the main attraction of which is the astronomical clock, the "Zytglogge" ... Camped overnight at Thun, on the Thunersee Lake, then aimed for Italy across the Grimsel and Simplon Passes. The top of the Grimsel road was in clouds (about 30 feet visibility!), so didn't see much up there. Coming down the other side, though, the clouds cleared and we could see the Rhone Glacier on the other side of the valley. You can actually stop at the hotel you see in the background, and walk up to the glacier in about 10 minutes. They've dug an ice-tunnel through it, which is nice and cool in the Alpine summer ... The Grimsel road joins onto the road between the Furka and Nufenen Passes at the foot of the hill, and leads on to the Simplon Pass, at the top of which is a giant eagle statue. Here's me sitting on the edge of it ... Down the mountain a bit, you reach the Italian border: Last edited by Hengist; 17th July 2011 at 11:47..

8th August 2011, 14:23	#6
starbug2 This is my second home Silver Rover 75 Tourer Club SE CDTI + MGF 1.8 in BRG Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: EARL SHILTON Posts: 5,937 Thanks: 235 Thanked 144 Times in 108 Posts	nice to see the Ted enjoying himself __________________ Membership No. 7576 now with 2020 MG ZS 1Lt TURBO engine with automatic 6 speed gearbox to help keep the 75 and MG F going as long as possible

17th July 2011, 11:20	#2
Hengist Avid contributor MG ZT CDTi Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: New Deer Posts: 225 Thanks: 0 Thanked 20 Times in 2 Posts	So ... we got to France OK, and headed towards Belgium ... I had to get a bit of a help from Thomas to get up this sign, though: We went to Ypres for a look around, and visited a couple of War Cemeteries. This was at Lijssenthoek Cemetery, which is at the site of a front-line dressing station. There are 10,755 WW1 souls buried there, most of whom died from wounds. It's beautifully kept, and full of flowers surrounding the headstones.

17th July 2011, 11:50	#4
Hengist Avid contributor MG ZT CDTi Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: New Deer Posts: 225 Thanks: 0 Thanked 20 Times in 2 Posts	So ... into Italy, and camping at Baveno on the shore of Lago Maggiore ... Next morning, we took a boat trip out to Isola Bella in the middle of the Lake ... ... before heading down out of the hills and along the Torino-Padua motorway to Venice.

17th July 2011, 13:21	#5
Hengist Avid contributor MG ZT CDTi Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: New Deer Posts: 225 Thanks: 0 Thanked 20 Times in 2 Posts	After camping at Fusini, on the western side of Venice Lagoon, I hopped on a taxi-boat to get to the main island the next morning ... After fighting past all the Americans and Japanese to get a look at St Mark's Square ... ... I sat and had a breather at the edge of the water, before heading off to the fishmarket area for a well-deserved Grand Espresso coffee! Then I hopped back on the boat to the mainland, and headed off to Slovenia, with temperatures in the high 30s. Here's me at the border: Camped in Ljubljana overnight, then went for a look in the town. Ljubljana is a compact, beautiful city with a few nice landmarks. This is the Dragon Bridge, where Jason (of Argonauts legend) apparently killed a dragon ... Up the funicular to Ljubljana Grad (Castle), then a walk down the hill through the Old Town area ... ... before heading off to Hungary, with a small detour through northern Croatia because that was the shortest route.