Maginot Line

Municipal Campground in Metz

We headed out to camp in far Eastern France. This is an area we frequent because it's closest to the Czech Republic by car. We got a late start so we stopped in Germany for the evening. It was a good thing because it started to rain quite a bit that night. I was driving around looking for a campground or hotel and we saw a campground but it was part of a small amusement park. We continued on.
     After a while we found a nice old fortified village called Iphofen that was very picturesque. I was surprised there were no tourists. Some of the dwellings were incorporated into the town wall.

Iphofen towerss

Iphofen wall

We eventually found a small hotel close-by that was above a meat market. The nice woman who gave me the key said she might be in her brothers meat market helping in the morning when I would look for her to pay for the room. We began calling it the Hotel Schweinefleisch. Across the street was a beverage store where I bought some drinks just before the man closed then we talked for a few minutes in English before I got back to the room. In the morning there was a cafe across the street also for coffee and croissants.

    One great thing about Germany is that they always have McRib, not just for a limited time.

Schweinefleisch indeed

    We stopped for a couple of these on the autobahn. We also like a rest area restaurant I call Segways because the real name is similar and the sign looks like a guy on a segway. For Segways you actually have to stop and look at the food in the serving line to see if it's fresh.
     I've spent a bit of time driving on the autobahn and it isn't at all like the mythical place as depicted in the car commercials. Maybe there is no speed limit on some sections and in fact I'm sure I drove on some but the reality is it's crowded and usually difficult to remember what the speed limit is because it changes every few kilometers based on traffic and road conditions and also weather.

Autobahn outside of car commercials

When we got to Metz we camped and enjoyed a walk in the town and stopped at a top rated restaurant from tripadvisor. Most of the patrons were French but a few were english speaking. It was gooood.
    In the morning we drove to visit the Maginot line.

Maginot line tunnel

Kitchen with dummy cooks

Munitions train we rode on

Generators

In the evening of our second day an antique car group passed though the campground for a night.

 

Here's a car we saw when we were driving through a village one day.

Here's the Centre Pompidoue in Metz. We failed to go inside because we ran out of time.

 

On our way back through Germany we stayed in a place called Weinforum Franken in Eibelstadt where we ate a very good nettle soup and I had a special fixed price menu with fish wrapped in ham, curry potatoes and several glasses of wine. The food was very good and our room was huge and modern with a view of the square. The building was remodeled by a group of architects who occupy the top floor of the building with their studio. I know this because they were struggling to get a new plotter up the stairs in the morning.  I recommend room 10 if you go. 

We also stopped in Zurndorf to visit the Playmobil Funpark on our last day. This was a lot of fun. I spent a lot of time eating the great food.