Golfe du Morbihan. France. 26-29 June 2010.

We have spent 3 days in Port Navalo on Golfe du Morbihan in Bretagne and  were surprised by a beautiful coast line there which rather reminds Norway than France. Hundreds of islands surrounded by a crystal clear water and not fewer sail boats. A place to come back. 

Midsummer celebration in Bretagne. 26 June 2010.

That day we witnessed a wonderful midsummer celebration (which we have completely forgotten about and it took us quiet a while to realize what they were celebrating there) in the traditional breton style. Lot´s of local traditional music, which sounds a lot like celtic, round dancing, pancakes (crepes), beer and of course a bonfire made our first night in Bretagne completely unforgettable.

This is how it started

Mont Saint-Michel, France. 25-26 June 2010.

Saint-Michel, the tidal island is absolutely amazing with its constantly changing tides. They say it is a place with the biggest tide change in Europe, and it seems to be true. It´s also pretty usual to find the warnings about parking or no-parking in the particular places - the chances to find your car under the water is pretty big here.

Mont Saint-Michel by night, France. 25 June 2010.

We took a walk with a tripod trying to capture the Abbey at night. 

More places along the English channel, France. 24-25 June 2010.

Continuing our way along the English channel with its beautiful small towns and hidden pearls.

The D-Day beaches, Normandie, France. 24 June 2010.

That was a day full of history - D-Day, the battle of Normandy, the Atlantic wall and much more that has happened on the norman coast back to June 6 in 1944, when the allied troops have landed here. The D-beaches are still referred to by their wartime code names:  Sword, Juno, Gold, Omaha and Utah.

Houlgate, France. 21-24 June 2010

After a stressful driving through the coastal cities of Normandie we have found our paradise just some kilometers away from the glamorous Deauville. With a beach just some centimeters away from the car and the biggest sea-view ever, this little place in Calvados region of Normandie has become a perfect location for relaxation for a few days.

Coming to France. 20 June 2010

The first day in France has not spoilt us with a good weather either. We spent our first night  in a garden/camping belonging to some mansion/pension and the next day continued our trip to Normandie along the Alabaster coast full of the white cliffs.

Brussel, Belgium. 19 June 2010.

We haven't become very impressed by Brussel, probably because of  the horrible weather. Have managed to city a little bit of the city sitting on top of the tourist bus the whole day. Loved the Atomium though!

Brugge, Belgium. 18 June 2010

Medieval charming Brugge would be absolutely perfect without that heavy rain following us everywhere.

Belgium. 16-17 June 2010

Belgium with its small beach towns has met us with a strong cold wind. It was  unpossible to avoid it even in our norwegian wind-proof jackets. The towns Knokke-Heist, Blankenberge and De Haan were nice though. The genious way to explore the belgium coast line is a coast tram, celebrating 125 anniversary this year. The tram goes through all of the coast pearls, beginning almost in Netherlands and stopping at the french boarder. The perfect activity to kill the cold day!

Amsterdam - a city of the boat-houses.

We are a bit fascinated by the idea of the boat-house and everything people can have on their roof tops.

Edam & Gouda, the cheese cities of Holland. 15 June 2010

It's difficult to avoid a topic of cheese being in Holland, especially when surrounded by the world famous cities of the cheese making - Edam and Gouda.

More of Holland. 15 June 2010.

The Amsterdam days are over and we're on the road again, exploring the corners of The Netherlands on our last day here.

A flower market in Amsterdam. 14 June 2010

Flowers mean Holland and Holland means flowers. The flower market in Amsterdam just proves it once again.

More of Amsterdam. 12-14 June 2010.

Football and canals - that's what makes Amsterdam today.

Amsterdam. Day 2. 11 June 2010

Really bad weather in Amsterdam makes exploring of the city pretty difficult, but we are trying not to give up. After the long hours walking under the rain, it feels nice hiding from it in dry and warm museums or pubs. Specially the last ones offer lots of fun showing the world cup on the big screens :)

Someone just has no shame...

It took us only 20 min to get our first pet in Amsterdam. This duck was begging for bread near and inside of the car for a really long time, not being shy at all.

Amsterdam. Day 1. 9 June 2010.

Amsterdam. The sin city.First day at the camping spot full of ducks, hens, goats and other farm animals, including some european junkies. But the city is absolutely beautiful (despite from being attacked by the local prostitutes for taking pictures of the Red Light District)

The Netherlands.8 June 2010.

Holland was welcoming us with rain, but it still has not deminished its charm. Endless channels,medieval villages, gardens and fabulous houses - this is exactly how we have imagined Holland. The first night in the Lowlands we spent in the small medieval village of Holwerd with the car parked between the church (ringing the bells every 30 min) and traditional dutch windmill. Idyllic sceneries and all the locals saying "Hi!" to us made the stay even more memorable.

Nieder Sachsen, Germany. 6 June 2010

We left Hamburg probably a bit too soon, but having enough time to be able to enjoy the Northern sea coast of Germany on our way to the Netherlands, stopping in Cuxhaven, a beach town, with no water in the sea because of the low-tide.
Amazingly enough, we have found a camping spot just on the shore which also had wireless internet (a big deficit in Germany by the way).

Hamburg. A city of the broken toe. 4-6 June 2010

Here we are in Hamburg. A door to Europe as they say. It took us quite a while to find a city center with our bikes, and after we have done it, something bad was supposed to happed and it happened - i have fallen down from the bike and oooops, have broken my toe, or at least it feels so, since i cant walk. Trying to do my best, we're continue exploring the city :)

Hamburg. Day 2. 5 June 2010.

Having only one foot to walk on, i didnt give up and we gave Hamburg another try, exploring it with my ESC colleague Anne, who lives here. Thanks to her, we got to see the places which we never could have discovered on our own. For example, a tunnel which takes the cars in the elevators and takes them under the Elbe river. Old technologies, but how charming they are! After it a beer in the beach oasis in the middle of the city was just perfect.

Luebeck and Ratzeburg, Germany. 3-4 june 2010

It was a bit sad to leave a quiet idylly of Fehmarn, specially wefelt it when we drove into a city-life of Luebeck, not the biggest of the German cities, but hecktic and busy enough. After spending an hour on finding a parking place, we cycled to the city already tired and hungry. So Luebeck became just a dinner-place for us. Another hour we spent on trying to find an internet. After that the energy was left just for biking back to the car and leaving the city, which by the way is full of history, has loads of attractions and beautiful photo spots. Well, well, another time maybe. Piece and quiet we found again in Ratzeburg, a small town on the island surrounded by Ratzeburg lake. The car is parked on the hill overlooking the lake. Wild and beautiful place perfectly hidden from tourists. A wonderful restaurant on the pier with the tables just 10 cm from water is perfect for enjoying the evening beer while watching sunset. Tomorrow is Hamburg )

Fehmarn, Germany. The island of rabbits and yellow fields. 31 may-3 june 2010.

The first thing you notice once you're here is the endless yellow fields and lots of rabbits, they are not even shy, just laying in the sun everywhere and jumping around the beach. We have cycled over 80 km through the fields, shores and beaches, enjoyed the sun and the rain, the flowers and the rabbits. The island is absolutely worth coming back here. Nature and piece live here.