More Countries, More Cities, More Fun?

This year we’re returning to Europe, but not just France. We’re traveling in Germany and France, plus a couple of nights in Austria and Switzerland. This trip will be quite different than our 2019 and 2022 adventures. In 2019 we stayed two months in each rental. In 2022, around a month. In 2023 we’ll only be staying a week in each place, and sometimes only three nights.

We’re also taking a bike trip around Lake Constance. The bike rental, lodging, and baggage transfers are all included… and we’re only staying one night in each hotel. A few years ago we did two bike trips – one in the Loire Valley and one in Umbria in Italy – and we really enjoyed them. Back then, we were used to short vacations since we were still working. Now we have to get back in the mindset of seeing all we can every day. (Perhaps we’ve become a couple of old fogeys?)

This is M’s first trip to Germany. He doesn’t speak the language – except “Nein”, “Ja”, and “Jawohl, meine Chefin!” (Yes, boss! [the boss is female]). That last one he only says to J, of course! J visited Germany a long time ago. In 1985 she spent two or three days in Munich with two very sick traveling companions. (It’s really a bad idea to drink water straight from an alpine stream…) Due to this, she didn’t see much of the city. This time will be better, we hope.

Our itinerary:

• Gougenheim, a little village in France near Strasbourg
• Munich
• Regensburg
• Oberstdorf, a small town in the mountains in southern Germany
• Around Lake Constance by bike (Germany, Switzerland and Austria)
• Immenstaad am Bodensee (a town on the lake)
• Titisee-Neustadt in the Black Forest
• Nancy, France
• Lyon

We’ll see if we still like this busier travel schedule. We’re off!