What a drive today! We wound our way through the heart of the Black Forest, and it was every bit as enchanting as the name suggests with towering evergreens, and winding roads that climbed forever.

The higher we went, the more the world faded into the mist. For the first time, there were plenty of places to pull over and soak in the view… only the view had vanished! Thick white fog wrapped around us, hiding the valleys below and any other traffic on the road!

Then, just like that, we crossed the Rhine and drove into Frankreich??? Where the hell is Frankreich, I thought we were heading to France? But the sign said Frankreich 1 km ahead. It turns out Frankreich is German for France. Yes, I should have known this, and no, I didn’t. But panic over.

It was exciting though, especially when we recognised the bridge… the very same one we cycled over back in 2022! We had no idea we were retracing our steps. And it feels crazy to think we pedalled all this way back then.

And France is just so beautiful. Not only does it have chocolate ripple houses, they are also wonky and misshapen in the best possible way. The little villages we drove through were adorable, and some of the best we have ever seen.

It was very exciting being back in France, it kinda feels like home as we’ve spent so much time here. They also have free park up places for campervans called Aire de camping car. We found one of these, but all the spots were taken. The vans were crammed in tight, all huddled around a small pond that didn’t exactly scream “idyllic.” So we moved on in search of something a little more our style.

About 30 minutes down the road we found another place. And this was much better. There were four individual spots separated by bushes. So very private. And so far, only one other camper is here. 

We saw them attempting to take their cat for a walk on a leash. The cat, however, had other plans and zero interest in being part of this outdoor adventure. It put its foot down and refused to go any furtner.  Then it slipped out of its collar like a miniature Houdini (no full harness, rookie move).

What followed was 30 minutes of entertainment watching two humans chasing an unimpressed cat around. It makes me wonder, who would want to travel with pets?

802 kms to go according to Google and its main roads.

Oh, and Steve is back and he’s got an annoying inflection he picked up in Germany. He now buzzes when he talks.