Being so close to Colmar, I also wanted to take in Neuf-Brisach, a fortified town right near the German border, and whose walls were designed by the famous French fortification builder, Vauban. The key feature of the town is its symmetrical star shaped outer wall, with a precise criss-cross road pattern within the walls.

Easy parking was a good start, and as the town walls are the main attraction rather than the simple town within, we focused on these. There was an installation art exhibition taking place in the moat, so that provided added interest, plus we did a little walnut collecting 😉.

We then continued towards Germany, with my plan being to overnight on the French side of the Rhine. In an attempt by the SatNav to take us down an inaccessible road, we found ourselves back in Germany. Whilst there we actually followed a motorhome parking sign and ended up at Breisach am Rhein in a car park jam-packed with motorhomes. Not our idea of fun, so we were straight out of there. Breisach is clearly a place on the river where cruise boats pull in, so that was interesting.

Back in France, and after a word with the SatNav, we arrived at the hydroelectric dam at Fessenheim. After sussing out both sides of the large canal there, we plumped for the West bank, using the Park4night there, but taking the liberty of driving further along the canal bank, where we saw another motorhome had set up, and away from the hydroelectric interpretation centre.

It was a great spot to watch the cruise boats and barges pass by, and promised to be an ideal location for the night.

After a great night’s sleep, we had the usual leisurely morning, and continued to enjoy the passing boats. Then, after taking advantage of the nearby town’s motorhome facilities, we were on our way.

In all honesty we weren’t sure exactly where we going, although this does describe most days for us, when I think about it. One thing we were sure about was that we were keen to now move on from “German themed” France and get back to “proper” France – nothing personal 😉.

I just had a vague idea of direction and so we just drove through some mainly uninspiring industrial areas, until we reached some more pleasant countryside. The SatNav took us down a very dodgy forest track towards the end of the day, where the local walkers seemed surprised to see us. We even had to cross a train level crossing without a barrier, and so had to check before going over. As is often the case, that route was totally unnecessary, but we survived 😉.

Our final stop for the night was near to a reservoir at Michelbach. After a little persuasion, Sophie agreed to a walk down to the water. On return we discovered new neighbours, but that was fine as they were well behaved.

*** Just to mention that our blogs can be up to a few weeks behind reality, as we’re always in catch-up mode ***