The Hills Are Alive

Day 2 – Laon/Molsheim

We survived the night, I actually slept reasonably well. Thank goodness for the sleep kit. I notice Booking.com rates the Premiere Classe hotel as “pleasant”. I think they omitted the un.

Breakfast was a porridge pot which tasted of cardboard, it went straight in the bin.

Undaunted, we decided to embark on a tour of Laon. First stop, the cathedral. Oh my. If you’ve ever read “Pillars of the Earth” you’re in for a treat. Laon cathedral brings the book alive. It’s an early gothic cathedral and the craftsmanship is incredible. The stained windows are also amazing, in particular the Rose window. It’s one of the most important cathedrals in France yet I’d never heard of it.

Next, the knight Templar’s chapel. The knights Templar were basically a vigilante group who protected the pilgrims on their way to Israel. They were very savvy as far as money was concerned and became powerful through their banking acumen. Unfortunately King Philip IV became very jealous of them and wiped them out.

On to the citadel. Turns out there is not much left of it but we enjoyed a walk back to our abode, wandering past the old castle walls.

A quick stop at Aldi for supplies (well the shopping was quick but not the paying for it)and we were on our way to Molsheim in the Alsace wine region.

At first, we began to think this was a re-run of the rose fields in Bulgaria. We passed row upon row of corn fields but no vineyards. I began to imagine corn tasting instead of wine but as we drew closer to Molsheim, we saw grapes being harvested. Phew!

We are staying at the Bugatti hotel. Bugatti cars are still manufactured here and prices start at around £2million. Our hotel is definitely not swanky but does have a certain style.

Tired from our drive, we faffed around for a while before heading out for dinner. We had made a reservation at Chez Claude which promised a set dinner of 22euro pp. After a tedious walk we eventually arrived to blank expressions from the waitress and manager who claimed no knowledge of it. We cut our losses and went to La Guinguette where we ate delicious burgers and quaffed mediocre wine.

Tomorrow we hike the 4 castles route and maybe do some cycling.