France...something about cheese...

After an amazing few days in Belgium it's time to hit the road again and this leg I'm heading for the Swiss Alps! 


But first; leaving Belgium - I noted in the prior post they've sorted their city traffic with a series of underpasses though the CBD and this is a perfect example - those are the museums I visited and rather than slow through traffic down they've dug a tunnel underneath!

Pop out the other side and I'm racing along the suburban streets of Brussels!

One of the things I'm most enjoying is almost all round-abouts are given some sort of decoration; so far there's been some amazing ones however this was the absolute stand out; an african jazz band - it's also a fountain with water spouting from the instruments.

A little further on I'm fully out of the city and in a forest again.

Not to long later I was in the Belgian countryside; even random small town in Belgium are beautiful!

Crossing out of Belgium to France I pass through the bordertown Martelange; whilst most borders in Europe are either marked by rivers; mountains or simply pass through farmland this border is marked by the middle of the road. One side is Belgium; the other Luxembourg.

This has an unexpected effect as fuel and liquor taxes are significantly less in Luxembourg and as a result the ENTIRE left side of the road is lined with service stations; the right is all residential.

Really...how many service stations does one town need?

I'm not stopping through Luxembourg on this trip however I did come across this old BMW GS Sidecar setup which seems like the perfect way to do a 2 person trip!

Shortly thereafter I had hit France and just like that I met my first Frenchmen!

Having learned my lesson in the UK that despite being full from breakfast you cannot rely on being able to find food between 2pm and 5pm I decided to make a quick stop. Whilst many of the German/Belgian signs made absolutely no sense to me; at least some of the French ones did!

Sadly the sign was the extent of the English and I ended up ordering based on being able to count in French and knowing that poulet (poultry) means chicken. It turned out deliciously and for significantly less than a subway footlong I had myself a solid meal.

Riding a little longer, the rain set in and it was time to call it quits for the day - I've been booking accommodation either at breakfast or lunch for the evening so as to give myself the most flexibility. This paid off enormously as I stumbled upon the French border/mountain area of Dabo; the area was home to a Roman garrison due to its strategic hilltop location and commanding view of the route out of the Alps.

The roads around this area were absolutely incredible and deserted; unfortunately the GoPro (thanks Jay!!) was flat so no video but as the rain cleared I went for a blast to find an ATM. In the countryside B&Bs dont accept cards; only cash!


Next morning I picked up where I left off yesterday I headed south to the Parc Naturel Régional des Ballons des Vosges (National Park in the Vosges mountains).

The mountainsides are prime vineyards and between the chalets and fantastic roads led to some gorgeous photos!

The top of this mountain range was written up as one of the key motorcycling roads in France, and apparently I was not the only person who read the reviews. This was one of the biggest gatherings of bike's I've seen for the entire trip, the photo does not do justice to the volume of bikes here!

And blasting down the mountain towards Switzerland I realise why; absolutely amazing roads; and as the villages are so small there is almost no cars.

I've also come to realise on this trip that seeming EVERYONE in Europe who isn't on a sportbike or scooter has a BMW GS; without exaggerating they easily make up half of the touring motorcycles I've seen.

Just over the French/Swiss border is where I'm staying for the evening; I hadn't realised Switzerland uses a different currency (CHF not EUR) but thankfully I have a little fuel left!


My hotel is a ski chalet in a small town called Langenbruck.

And the view is amazing; I've not yet seen Switzerland in the winter but in summer its gorgeous!

The town has no pub so dinner is in the hotel, everything in Switzerland is expensive however the quality is amazing. For $40 AUD I had a MASSIVE salad, Kiwi lamb and chips.

Thats it for this trip; next time I'm pushing further into Switzerland!