Today we bid adieu to France, entered Germany, crossed a small sliver of Luxembourg, and then re-entered Germany. By the end of the day, we will have ridden in three countries, conquered our biggest ride on the tour so far (80 miles/4100 feet), and completed 5 days of cycling in a row (305 miles including the warm-up ride in Paris). Feeling pretty “happy of ourselves!” A MUST WATCH 57-SECOND VIDEO!
Les Monthairons to Orscholz
DAY #05 of 35Germany305 miles total
Hard to believe that our time in France had come to an end so quickly, but thankfully there are still multiple weeks and multiple countries left on our Napoleon Cycling Tour. As a matter of fact, we’ll be adding one country to the list between Germany and Russia … can you guess what it might be? Stay tuned!
Sad to leave our castle hotel, but excited to enter Luxembourg and Germany. Getting an early start to tackle 80 miles and 4100 feet of climbing … about 1200 feet of it within 4km right towards the end of the ride – yikes! Chateau des Monthairons in the rear view mirror. Today’s ride started with some plum and cherry orchards. The region of Lorraine is known for Mirabelle plums. We were one of the first out the door today, but it didn’t take long the A Team riders to catch up to us, including Mike Lister from Australia … what a rider! Last chance for French croissants at our coffee break … nobody does pastries like the French! Haha, luckily the Escargot label refers to the shape of the pastry, not the contents! Who needs coffee on a coffee break when Escargot are available? Nuclear reactors in France. Leaving these behind as we move from France into Germany. France currently derives about 75% of its electricity from almost 60 nuclear reactors, due to a long-standing policy based on energy security. France is the world’s largest net exporter of electricity. Germany currently derives only about 10% of its electricity from about 10 nuclear reactors and has pledged to close down these reactors by the end of 2022. According to Wikipedia, in 2016 German renewable-energy-based electricity generation reached almost 30% while coal provided approximately 40%. A nice shady spot for a bite of lunch. Guide Richie sneaks in a lunchtime snooze. We entered Germany for the first time on the tour, albeit briefly.
A Little Luxembourg In Our Lives
We had a brief sojourn in Luxembourg — one more country without even taking a detour! 😉
Luxembourg is the second richest country in the world despite being one of the smallest countries in existence. It is also one of the safest countries in the world.
Trivia Fact: The original country of Luxembourg was about three times the size of the modern country, including notably most of the Belgian province of Luxembourg. However the modern Luxembourg is smaller than the state of Rhode Island.
We missed the entrance sign for Luxembourg from the west, but here’s the entrance sign from the east, so we know we were there! In the winemaking Moselle village of Schengen, located in the border area of Luxembourg, Germany and France, the representatives of 5 member states of the European Union – Germany, Belgium, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands – signed an agreement, on 14 June 1985, on the riverboat ‘Princesse Marie-Astrid’, which provided for the abolition of identity checks at the internal borders: the Schengen Agreements. Today, 26 European countries have ratified the agreements – a space which contains a population of over 400 million inhabitants on a surface of some 4,312,099 square km.
The Mosel River forms the border between Luxembourg and Germany. It’s sentimental to us as we drove along it on our honeymoon almost 18 years ago.
Entering Germany again as we cross the Mosel River. We’ll be in Germany for 10 nights, and have some BIG days of riding and climbing there next week. We took a pretty daunting hill for the end of an 80 mile day, but gosh, the scenery. We were able to take a short detour to see the Roman Villa Borg, a reconstructed Roman villa located near the village of Borg. Discovered at the end of the 19th century, the site was excavated in the late 1980s. Reconstruction work, which began in the mid-1990s, was virtually completed in late 2008 although further excavation work is still continuing. The site is a popular tourist attraction with some 50,000 visitors per year. The site is that of a villa rustica or agricultural facility consisting of a large palatial residence and a pars rustica or economic area. There had been very little activity on the site since Roman times so the Roman remains are still in very good condition. The current buildings comprise: the baths which are fully functional consisting of a frigidarium (cold bath), caldarium (hot bath) and tepidarium (tempered bath) together with latrines, a dressing room and a relaxation area; the manor or main building and a number of adjacent rooms in which the most important finds from the site are displayed, and the Roman kitchen. Reconstruction work was designed to present an authentic representation of the buildings as they originally stood so that visitors could better appreciate archaeology and antiquity. The reconstructed buildings now stand on the Roman foundation walls, revealing their probable appearance in the 2nd to 3rd century. The gardens, which have been designed as authentically as possible on the basis of pollen analysis and relevant literature, consist of a herb garden with spices and remedial plants as well as a kitchen garden with fruits and vegetables. The rose garden and the inner court garden are also based on Roman models and give an idea of Roman garden architecture with their fountains and footpaths. We even found an authentic chariot racer in the garden! Mark wants to jump in the hot bath to soak some sore muscles a bit. But he settles for dunking his head in a tub of water. Shauna is in the relaxation room waiting for a masseuse. Unfortunately, this is the only guy who shows up. Looks like a pizza oven to us!
Made it Orscholz
Our destination today is the quaint town of Orscholz which sits near a spectacular, hairpin turn on the Saar River known as the Saarschleife. After being informed it makes for an excellent evening walk, we had to go for a stroll despite our weary legs.
Saarschleife hairpin turn on the Saar River. What an exquisite vista to enjoy some wines from the region – thanks Ride and Seek! – during our history lesson.
Today’s Route
Next Stop: Meisenheim
2 thoughts on “Day #05: Three Countries in One Day”
Shauna, Love your blogs and all the gorgeous pictures you posted. It was fun to follow your journey!
I am a broken record here…the scenery and photography is indescribable. I wish that I was younger and could be with you for this adventure. Yes I am very envious! Keep up the history lessons!
Shauna, Love your blogs and all the gorgeous pictures you posted. It was fun to follow your journey!
I am a broken record here…the scenery and photography is indescribable. I wish that I was younger and could be with you for this adventure. Yes I am very envious! Keep up the history lessons!