Two Go For Cheese

Really enjoying your post. If you like modern architecture your are now near Ronchamp where Le Corbusier built a beautiful church ( in my eyes at least). Well worth a visit.
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Your commentary and photos are a great read.

The places where you stay are a great antidote to those who like campsites and comment that 'they would like like to stay in aires which are car parks'

Keep the thread coming please.
 
But we were puzzled by these which we found in several places.

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The only identification was a number above each. They must date from WW1 but there were no obvious fortifications here. Fuel dumps, ammunition stores? I've no idea and there were no signs to help.
Hmmm….. extreme lateral thinking but hinged lid and a vent pipe adjacent could they have something to do with either:
A) the aquifers and springs associated with the production of mineral waters in that area.

Or

B) Vents for Radon gas associated with the above?
 
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Hmmm….. extreme lateral thinking but hinged lid and a vent pipe adjacent could they have something to do with either:
A) the aquifers and springs associated with the production of mineral waters in that area.

Or

B) Vents for Radon gas associated with the above?
I have no idea but they are very old. The concrete and the colour of them suggests WW1 or perhaps WW2 but beyond that I'm stuck - but I'll keep looking for an answer. :)
 
Your commentary and photos are a great read.

The places where you stay are a great antidote to those who like campsites and comment that 'they would like like to stay in aires which are car parks'

Keep the thread coming please.
I confess when we starting touring we were using a lot of campsites. Then for a while when we used more aires we would find a site once a week to use their laundry facilities - until we discovered they are laundrettes in towns and often attached to supermarkets. The latter are better for parking but the urban laundrettes like we used today have more machines and thus usually no waiting.

We would still use sites when they were the best option available. We've been in popular areas of Spain for example where sites were more attractive than many of the commercial aires.

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Really enjoying your post. If you like modern architecture your are now near Ronchamp where Le Corbusier built a beautiful church ( in my eyes at least). Well worth a visit.
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What an amazing building. I'll see if we can swerve by there when we head south from here.
 
We had a quiet night's sleep at Le Grand Ballon parking. This was the view as the sun was setting.

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Sadly it clouded over when it got dark which was a pity as the stars are supposed to be very clear here when they are visible due to the lack of background light.

Before we left this morning I took the short (fifteen minute) walk up to the summit of Le Grand Ballon where there is a large radar installation. The whole summit is heavily protected and fences confine visitors to the paths.

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The reason for coming here was of course to set up my radio as this is a qualifying peak for the Summits On The Air (SOTA) programme. I thought it would be an easy activation but the Sun has been very active recently, throwing out flares and making radio propagation difficult. But I managed, after a struggle, contacts with Spain, Italy, Germany and to a friend in Devon.

My radio has a touch screen and it seems I have sticky fingers! I really should carry a stylus.... :)

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This is the view south from the summit. The road is the Route des Crêtes and was the way we left after I descended.

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This is a shot of the MH parking here.

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The track continues on the right to another area but the track is extremely rough although passable by the smallest vans. We could probably have done it but the potholes were full of muddy water and I am trying to keep our van clean. :)

On the way down the road passes a memorial beside the summit of Hartmannswiller. This was seized by the French in WW1 when they tried to retake Alsace from Germany who had themselves seized it from France the previous century. The hill was used as an artillery observation post but the area became a bloody battleground. Some 30,000 French and German soldiers died here.

The bodies of 12,000 French soldiers are in the cemetery.

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The hill in the distance with a cross on is Hartmannswiller. There is a 4.5km circular walk around the area and the remains of trenches and other evidence of battle can be found.

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After some teeth sucking and a night of very heavy rain we drove on today, heading south. We have stopped at the free aire in Saint Hippolyte by the river Doubs. We are close to the Swiss border under the blue blob just right of centre of the map below.

Screenshot_20220908-172203_Maps.jpg


Confusingly there is another place with the same name not far from where we started this morning. That one claims to be the birthplace of the 8th century saint. This one probably does as well but I haven't found anything online and the tourist office is closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays so they couldn't be asked. Which was vaguely irritating as the MH services are not on the aire but on the northern edge of the town. A notice in the aire says you can buy the jeton needed for water at the Tabac-presse in the centre but the lady there said you now get them from the tourist office, which is almost next door. Or rather, from the tourist office next door when it is open, which it wasn't today. It should open tomorrow morning at 0930 but I don't think we will bother and just do our chores when we arrive at the next place.

The official MH parking is along the river or south side of the large car park but several have parked on the opposite site. This is better for solar charging as the trees shade most of the official area.

PXL_20220908_142540859.jpg


We went for a wander after lunch. There is a narrow path from the end of the car park which follows the river upstream for a short distance.

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The path takes you through a small campsite which had several Dutch caravanners in it. You have to loop back here and return through the houses, past a small supermarket and eventually back to the bridge over the river and town centre.

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The town is built where another river, the Dessoubre, flows into the Doubs. You can just it's muddy waters on the right of this photo.

PXL_20220908_123748107.jpg


After the heavy rain last night I'm surprised the Doubs isn't coloured. They either missed the rain here or the floodwaters are still making their way here and we will be evacuating later tonight. I saw signs in the campsite on where to go in an emergency. :confused:

PXL_20220908_101421724.jpg


But back to more interesting stuff. I have a bottle of Alsace reisling to taste tonight, just a cheapie at a little under €7, they had ones over €20!

I also visited this Crémerie and Épicerie. :)

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It has good reviews on Google maps for its cheeses, of which it has several.

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I bought some local goats' cheese to have grilled on a baby leaf salad tomorrow and a slice of the Juradelice, which is also fairly local. You can see it in the middle of the top photo. This one has fenugreek seeds in it which will be interesting to try.
 
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After some teeth sucking and a night of very heavy rain we drove on today, heading south. We have stopped at the free aire in Saint Hippolyte by the river Doubs. We are close to the Swiss border under the blue blob just right of centre of the map below.

View attachment 661376

Confusingly there is another place with the same name not far from where we started this morning. That one claims to be the birthplace of the 8th century saint. This one probably does as well but I haven't found anything online and the tourist office is closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays so they couldn't be asked. Which was vaguely irritating as the MH services are not on the aire but on the northern edge of the town. A notice in the aire says you can buy the jeton needed for water at the Tabac-presse in the centre but the lady there said you now get them from the tourist office, which is almost next door. Or rather, from the tourist office next door when it is open, which it wasn't today. It should open tomorrow morning at 0930 but I don't think we will bother and just do our chores when we arrive at the next place.

The official MH parking is along the river or south side of the large car park but several have parked on the opposite site. This is better for solar charging as the trees shade most of the official area.

View attachment 661388

We went for a wander after lunch. There is a narrow path from the end of the car park which follows the river upstream for a short distance.

View attachment 661382

The path takes you through a small campsite which had several Dutch caravanners in it. You have to loop back here and return through the houses, past a small supermarket and eventually back to the bridge over the river and town centre.

View attachment 661380

The town is built where another river, the Dessoubre, flows into the Doubs. You can just it's muddy waters on the right of this photo.

View attachment 661378

After the heavy rain last night I'm surprised the Doubs isn't coloured. They either missed the rain here or the floodwaters are still making their way here and we will be evacuating later tonight. I saw signs in the campsite on where to go in an emergency. :confused:

View attachment 661379

But back to more interesting stuff. I have a bottle of Alsace reisling to taste tonight, just a cheapie at a little under €7, they had ones over €20!

I also visited this Crémerie and Épicerie. :)

View attachment 661383

It has good reviews on Google maps for it cheeses, of which it has several.

View attachment 661384View attachment 661381

I bought some local goats' cheese to have grilled on a baby leaf salad tomorrow and a slice of the Juradelice, which is also fairly local. You can see it in the middle of the top photo. This one has fenugreek seeds in it which will be interesting to try.
You are not far from us now, we are catching fast, look out for a yellow ambulance and keep your head down (y) :giggle::giggle:;)
 
You are not far from us now, we are catching fast, look out for a yellow ambulance and keep your head down (y) :giggle::giggle:;)
We were overtaken by a red and white ambulance today. It had flashing blue lights so probably not a MH conversation. :)

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After some teeth sucking and a night of very heavy rain we drove on today, heading south. We have stopped at the free aire in Saint Hippolyte by the river Doubs. We are close to the Swiss border under the blue blob just right of centre of the map below.

View attachment 661376

Confusingly there is another place with the same name not far from where we started this morning. That one claims to be the birthplace of the 8th century saint. This one probably does as well but I haven't found anything online and the tourist office is closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays so they couldn't be asked. Which was vaguely irritating as the MH services are not on the aire but on the northern edge of the town. A notice in the aire says you can buy the jeton needed for water at the Tabac-presse in the centre but the lady there said you now get them from the tourist office, which is almost next door. Or rather, from the tourist office next door when it is open, which it wasn't today. It should open tomorrow morning at 0930 but I don't think we will bother and just do our chores when we arrive at the next place.

The official MH parking is along the river or south side of the large car park but several have parked on the opposite site. This is better for solar charging as the trees shade most of the official area.

View attachment 661388

We went for a wander after lunch. There is a narrow path from the end of the car park which follows the river upstream for a short distance.

View attachment 661382

The path takes you through a small campsite which had several Dutch caravanners in it. You have to loop back here and return through the houses, past a small supermarket and eventually back to the bridge over the river and town centre.

View attachment 661380

The town is built where another river, the Dessoubre, flows into the Doubs. You can just it's muddy waters on the right of this photo.

View attachment 661378

After the heavy rain last night I'm surprised the Doubs isn't coloured. They either missed the rain here or the floodwaters are still making their way here and we will be evacuating later tonight. I saw signs in the campsite on where to go in an emergency. :confused:

View attachment 661379

But back to more interesting stuff. I have a bottle of Alsace reisling to taste tonight, just a cheapie at a little under €7, they had ones over €20!

I also visited this Crémerie and Épicerie. :)

View attachment 661383

It has good reviews on Google maps for its cheeses, of which it has several.

View attachment 661384View attachment 661381

I bought some local goats' cheese to have grilled on a baby leaf salad tomorrow and a slice of the Juradelice, which is also fairly local. You can see it in the middle of the top photo. This one has fenugreek seeds in it which will be interesting to try.
I believe the first photo in the thread "photo of the outside from inside" was taken at your Aire
 
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I believe the first photo in the thread "photo of the outside from inside" was taken at your Aire
Not just the same aire, we are on the same pitch! Photo below taken just now after opening the whoosh bang door.

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We have been to a cheese place up in the mountains today and there was a few motohomes there, had a look to see if they were UK but no you wernt there.
Some massive herds of simmentels up here.
 
We have been to a cheese place up in the mountains today and there was a few motohomes there, had a look to see if they were UK but no you wernt there.
Some massive herds of simmentels up here.
A huge amount of dairy cattle to be seen on our route today - and in very green fields so they are well fed. And a lot of large farm buildings too. Seems a prosperous area.
 
We continued the route down the French side of the border today but before we left I took Charlie for a walk and came across this sign.

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It says this is a watchmaking area, which may or may not explain the man we saw during the afternoon on the bench opposite our pitch (see photos above :)) who was taking a pocket watch apart and a gold or gold plated one it was too! Curious, but I suspect the proper watchmakers have their own workshops and don't need to use park benches. :)

We travelled through some very attractive country today and I apologise for the absence of photographs but in the Gorges des Saine we had to stop here to see a side-stream cascading down the valley into the river Saine.

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I couldn't make out the bridge, it looks like a railway bridge but there were no rails I could see.

At the end of our journey we have arrived here.

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We are on the edge of the Haut Jura and on a campsite! The ACSI site Camping de l'Abbaye.

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I had recently mused to myself if we could get through this trip without using campsites but this is a place I wanted to come to and the only aires around here are just car parks without services, which is no good for us as we want to stay here until Monday. Needs must. :)

It's raining now but tomorrow looks dryish and Sunday much better. We will be going on a waterfall hunt. :)

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You are an hour from us, we further east in the .mountains.
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We are going to stay here until Monday and then probably only move a little way to an aire somewhere a little further south. Not sure which one.

But you remind me I haven't been been posting the route taken during the day. This is mine from Google Timeline. It does it in straight lines but shows the two supermarkets we visited and the CCP aire we stopped at to use the services and have lunch as this campsite doesn't open for new arrivals until 1400.

Screenshot_20220909-194359_Maps.jpg
 
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A huge amount of dairy cattle to be seen on our route today - and in very green fields so they are well fed. And a lot of large farm buildings too. Seems a prosperous area.
Glad to hear that it seems prosperous. I remember cycle touring through there in the early 80s and the French side seemed quite poor relative to the Swiss side (and other parts of France) The whole Swiss Jura area was big on watchmaking. There's a museum of watchmaking at Chaud de Fond think.
 
I had a lazy morning today although Mrs DBK was busy doing the laundry.

She then russled up a tasty lunch of baby leaf salad, bacon and on each plate a toasted half of the goats' cheese we bought in St Hippolyte. It was very creamy and not "goaty". 🐐

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This afternoon we went for a walk around the lake just below the campsite. The map below shows the blue line we followed and also a dotted black line running north. This is the way we will go tomorrow to see the waterfalls, the Cascades du Hérisson.

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The path round the lake was an easy level walk and despite the recent rain it was dry.

PXL_20220910_130444610.jpg


The lake was attractive. Swimming here is not permitted but fishing is and we saw two anglers who had just returned from a float tubing trip. This is where you sit in a sort of circular inflatable dinghy which is propelled using flippers attached to the feet.

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They must get a lot of rain here. This moss hanging from a tree branch was soaking wet.

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Back at the site this Hymer is parked close to us.

PXL_20220910_134942314.MP.jpg


When I first saw it I thought it was the Hymer Venture S which comes with the eye-watering price of €225,000 but on a second look its just a "basic" model built on the Sprinter 4*4 chassis. Ground clearance must be 12" at least.
 
We bought our Hymer S840 3 years ago from a dealer in Belgium. It had one owner from new who had put every extra on it and obviously loved it for 10 years.

They were changing to a 4 x 4 so that they could explore the ‘Stans and Russia. They were late 70’s and wanted an exciting adventure!

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I had a lazy morning today although Mrs DBK was busy doing the laundry.

She then russled up a tasty lunch of baby leaf salad, bacon and on each plate a toasted half of the goats' cheese we bought in St Hippolyte. It was very creamy and not "goaty". 🐐

View attachment 662189

This afternoon we went for a walk around the lake just below the campsite. The map below shows the blue line we followed and also a dotted black line running north. This is the way we will go tomorrow to see the waterfalls, the Cascades du Hérisson.

View attachment 662187

The path round the lake was an easy level walk and despite the recent rain it was dry.

View attachment 662194

The lake was attractive. Swimming here is not permitted but fishing is and we saw two anglers who had just returned from a float tubing trip. This is where you sit in a sort of circular inflatable dinghy which is propelled using flippers attached to the feet.

View attachment 662192

View attachment 662190

They must get a lot of rain here. This moss hanging from a tree branch was soaking wet.

View attachment 662188

Back at the site this Hymer is parked close to us.

View attachment 662191

When I first saw it I thought it was the Hymer Venture S which comes with the eye-watering price of €225,000 but on a second look its just a "basic" model built on the Sprinter 4*4 chassis. Ground clearance must be 12" at least.

Looking at the gap between the front wheel arch and the tyre I am speculating what is in the back. Two hefty campers in a rear kitchen or a 650cc M/C on a rack?
 
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Looking at the gap between the front wheel arch and the tyre I am speculating what is in the back. Two hefty campers in a rear kitchen or a 650cc M/C on a rack?
No, it's as high at the back as the front. But they have still used a levelling block at the rear right. You would think it should have self-levelling air suspension. :)
 
We walked to the Cascades du Hérisson this morning, or to be exact just to the first cascade. There are several and we heard it takes four hours to see them all and we didn't have that amount of time - and I going to stick to that excuse! It took exactly an hour on foot from the campsite. Mostly easy walking apart from a steep descent to the waterfall. The biggest problem were the people! Don't do as we did and decide to visit on a warm Sunday. There is a reasonable path, wide enough for several people to walk abreast and that's what they do, three or four at a time and dawdling!

But we reached the objective, took a quick photo and retreated.

PXL_20220911_093846847.MP.jpg


It is worth visiting but avoid weekends and give yourself time to walk on to visit the other cascades downstream.

Outside the campsite is an intriguing memorial which is worth examining.

PXL_20220911_123758072.MP.jpg


If the photo looks a bit odd it's because I took it facing into the sun and I've had to do a bit of tweaking to make the writing readable as it was very dark in the original.

The double cross at the top is the Cross of Lorraine which was adopted by the Free French, led by de Gaul. It was added to the French Tricolour to distinguish their flag from the traditional Tricolour which was being used by Vichy France.

You can see "Soldats FFI" written near the top. The FFI were the French Forces of the Interior. The explanation is revealed in the date below this, 3rd and 4th August 1944. This is after D Day and the FFI were established in this period. My understanding is they were predominently Resistance fighters who became much more overt in their actions after D Day taking on the Germans more openly and as formed units.

On another side of the memorial is this inscription.

PXL_20220911_123659614.MP.jpg


This tested my French - or rather Googling skills. "Réfractaire Assassiné" means "murdered resisting" I think. The date is the same 3 August but he is not shown as a member of the FFI. Perhaps someone executed as a reprisal?

Another side shows this.

PXL_20220911_123640114.jpg


An FFI but also an FFF. I can't identify this one, I thought momentarily it might mean Free French Forces but of course the French for free is libre. The inscription reads "died in command service" so perhaps they were leaders of the local Resistance?

The saddest part of all this is such heroic resistance is no longer something from the past but is going on right now in Ukraine. :(

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We walked to the Cascades du Hérisson this morning, or to be exact just to the first cascade. There are several and we heard it takes four hours to see them all and we didn't have that amount of time - and I going to stick to that excuse! It took exactly an hour on foot from the campsite. Mostly easy walking apart from a steep descent to the waterfall. The biggest problem were the people! Don't do as we did and decide to visit on a warm Sunday. There is a reasonable path, wide enough for several people to walk abreast and that's what they do, three or four at a time and dawdling!

But we reached the objective, took a quick photo and retreated.

View attachment 662811

It is worth visiting but avoid weekends and give yourself time to walk on to visit the other cascades downstream.

Outside the campsite is an intriguing memorial which is worth examining.

View attachment 662810

If the photo looks a bit odd it's because I took it facing into the sun and I've had to do a bit of tweaking to make the writing readable as it was very dark in the original.

The double cross at the top is the Cross of Lorraine which was adopted by the Free French, led by de Gaul. It was added to the French Tricolour to distinguish their flag from the traditional Tricolour which was being used by Vichy France.

You can see "Soldats FFI" written near the top. The FFI were the French Forces of the Interior. The explanation is revealed in the date below this, 3rd and 4th August 1944. This is after D Day and the FFI were established in this period. My understanding is they were predominently Resistance fighters who became much more overt in their actions after D Day taking on the Germans more openly and as formed units.

On another side of the memorial is this inscription.

View attachment 662809

This tested my French - or rather Googling skills. "Réfractaire Assassiné" means "murdered resisting" I think. The date is the same 3 August but he is not shown as a member of the FFI. Perhaps someone executed as a reprisal?

Another side shows this.

View attachment 662812

An FFI but also an FFF. I can't identify this one, I thought momentarily it might mean Free French Forces but of course the French for free is libre. The inscription reads "died in command service" so perhaps they were leaders of the local Resistance?

The saddest part of all this is such heroic resistance is no longer something from the past but is going on right now in Ukraine. :(

I think it means Resistance Fighter assassinated
 
FFI IS Forces Francaises de l’Interieure or resistance as distinct to FFF who fought with the Aliies from abroad against the Germans and you are right that in French these were FF Libres. There were Forces Francaises Femmes for the women but Felicien is a boys name! A conundrum for the time being.
 
Both the British and French SAS were active behind enemy lines following D Day to harass and disrupt the German retreat, as were the 3 man SOE Jedburgh teams - which were inserted into that area amongst others.Could it be that the FFF person on the memorial was a member of one of those? There were also severe reprisals taken against the civilian population as a result of those actions, which may explain the ‘Assassine’ notation?
 
Felicien Grillet - member of the maquis group ‘Pierre’ - possibly promoted posthumously? The memorial looks to be for some of those who fell in a resistance action on that day.

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