A return to Switzerland – land of mountains, museums and moos! COMPLETED 12/4 - Page 81 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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There are other changes as well.
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It's time to move on and move forward.
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Saturday 7 September – part four: do you want a faster route?
We got on the Autobahn, then came off at the next exit, although there were roadworks, and it really wasn’t very clear at all where we were supposed to go, as it was in fact two exits. You can guess what happened, and sure enough, we took the wrong exit, but a quick U-turn later (we were on a main road, not an Autobahn), and we were going the right way again.
We were heading for Strasbourg, just over the border in France, although I was fascinated to see the German spelling for it…
Now you see it… … now you don’t!
As we approached Strasbourg, everything became a very weird mix of French and German. You’d see signs to the “city centre” for Strasbourg, while signs to a German town nearby said “zentrum”. We weren’t quite sure if we’d crossed the border or not, as it is easy to miss.
Then we found the border over a river, and we were moving out of Germany, and into France…
I have to say that Strasbourg didn’t do a lot for us. We had thought about stopping here, but decided to drive straight through to Luxembourg with no stop, so we didn’t see the historic centre, so maybe I’m being unfair here, but we weren’t wowed by the architecture we saw. It was all just, well a bit far out I guess.
It also struck us as a city that’s struggling to work out what it wants to be. It’s clear that the area around the river is pretty deprived, and has obviously been recently regenerated with new shopping centres, and restaurants, but the ones we saw looked pretty quiet, which was a bit worrying for a Saturday lunchtime.
We made our way through the city, and out the other side. By now, it was a little more cloudy than it had been earlier…
Soon we were approaching a toll booth, which was another surprise to us. I had looked up an online map, and had been pleasantly surprised to discover that there didn’t seem to be any tolls between here and Luxembourg, but obviously this one was missed out. At least it would be quieter on the toll road, which is always a good thing…
We got a bit of a shock not long after we paid for that toll, as another one appeared. We hadn’t taken a ticket, so we weren’t quite sure what was going on. As a result, we went for the “pay by cash” option, figuring there’d be someone to help us, but it was all automated. Thankfully the sign explained. It was a set fee, dependent on what type of vehicle you were in. It was only €4.40 (c. $5.80), so it was fine. It would’ve been better to pay by credit card, as there was no line for that, but we didn’t know what the situation was when we got in line.
It wasn’t long after that that the rain started. It had been looking as if it would rain, so it was only a matter of time. I did my best with snapping through the rain as we went along…
Soon we were starting to see signs for Luxembourg…
It was about this time that Mark’s GPS, which comes with live traffic updates, told us that there was a 42 minute delay on our route. Apparently there was at least 6km (3.75 miles) of stationery traffic. Not what we needed to hear! We kept an eye on it, and eventually the GPS asked if we wanted to use an alternative route, which was 25 minutes faster. please!
Soon we were crossing the border between France and Luxembourg, and despite the rain, I just about got photos of it. The whole thing was very odd, and it seemed to go on for ages…
There was also this border crossing, which was obviously a relic from years gone by when borders were in place. It was very weird to see it.
A couple of miles further on, we saw the back of the queue, and turned off, although in fairness, the signs were now telling everyone to do that.
On the route we took, we found a petrol station, so stopped to fill the car up, as she’d literally just told us that she needed fuel. I’d heard that the prices in Luxembourg were cheap, and my goodness, that was right! It was €1.25 (c. $1.65) per litre for diesel. Now you think that’s pricey? Compare that to Ł1.42 (c. €1.69or $2.25) and now you see why I think it’s cheap.
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Kind of a confusing driving situation, but you're in yet another country! Is that 5 so far for this trip? How great to fill up the tank with less expensive gas.
Again, I just love all the scenery pictures! But wait... I didn't see any cows.
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Kind of a confusing driving situation, but you're in yet another country! Is that 5 so far for this trip? How great to fill up the tank with less expensive gas.
Hmmm... I have to work this out... France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germanya nd Luxembourg, that's five!
Some nice scenery along the way, but not a lot. Did like the one of the cathedral. Instead of going through Strasbourg, you should have made another u-turn and headed south for Colmar again as it's only an hour drive! The photos of Strasbourg don't show me much. Seems like just a big city with little personality.
I thought it was quite odd with the signs on the auto routes with some being in German and others in French or a combination of so! I noticed this on my trip to France this year when approaching your area here in the Alsace and throughout down to Colmar! I'm sure we traveled on the same routes!
Just loving this TR of yours as it has so much in common with mine at times!
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Last edited by SuperDave; 11-29-2013 at 08:22 PM..
Agree with Dave that the cathedral you snapped looked nice, but otherwise don't think much of what I could see of Strasburg. I look forward to Luxemburg, as I have roots that go back to there! I still have some distant relatives who live there.
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I forgot to say that Strasbourg does have some beautiful areas around the Rhine. Lots of canals and inlets and quaint sections, and the cathedral is amazing. It's a very large city, though, and I agree that the modern section you were driving through (which I don't remember at all-- probably all built since I was there!) looks pretty uninspiring.
Some nice scenery along the way, but not a lot. Did like the one of the cathedral.
I liked that one too and I was lucky to get it.
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Instead of going through Strasbourg, you should have made another u-turn and headed south for Colmar again as it's only an hour drive! The photos of Strasbourg don't show me much. Seems like just a big city with little personality.
Tempting as it was to go back to Colmar, I'd planned the route to see different places. It turned out that the different places weren't as nice as the ones we
saw on the way down.
Quote:
I thought it was quite odd with the signs on the auto routes with some being in German and others in French or a combination of so! I noticed this on my trip to France this year when approaching your area here in the Alsace and throughout down to Colmar! I'm sure we traveled on the same routes!
I think we probably did!
Quote:
Just loving this TR of yours as it has so much in common with mine at times!
Agree with Dave that the cathedral you snapped looked nice, but otherwise don't think much of what I could see of Strasburg. I look forward to Luxemburg, as I have roots that go back to there! I still have some distant relatives who live there.
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You can guess what happened, and sure enough, we took the wrong exit, but a quick U-turn later (we were on a main road, not an Autobahn), and we were going the right way again. 
It was all just, well a bit far out I guess. 
It had been looking as if it would rain, so it was only a matter of time. I did my best with snapping through the rain as we went along… 
Apparently there was at least 6km (3.75 miles) of stationery traffic. Not what we needed to hear! 
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Instead of going through Strasbourg, you should have made another u-turn and headed south for Colmar again as it's only an hour drive! 
I'm sure we traveled on the same routes! 
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