Motoroaming Miscellany

Our two day stop-over in Colmar meant we now had just three more nights of our summer holiday to go........the clock was ticking down, but we were determined to see just a little bit more of continental Europe before we headed home. Ordinarily, I've passed-by Colmar many times on the final day of our holidays, heading for Calais in one drive (a distance of 400+ miles) making for Strasbourg, picking up the A4 toll route to Metz, then going toll free through Luxembourg, Belgium and finally making for Cite Europe ready for the Euro Shuttle the next day. For many, I'm sure the distance involved is too much of a chore, however, I enjoy the drive (Belgium roads apart) and if you can get away early morning Cite Europe is easily reachable by late afternoon / early evening and certainly within sufficient time to conduct a last shop in Carrefour and use up those excess euro's! However, on this occasion time was on our side and so I thought it best we make a slight detour...

Eleven nights.........that's how long our stay at Camping Manor Farm in Interlaken had stretched out to; clearly a measure of just how much we had enjoyed the campsite, the weather and the surrounding area. It was certainly not the length of stay we had originally anticipated and as such (with only 5 more nights of our holiday left), it put paid to the Italian leg of our tour for another year at least! It was Monday 29th August and we had to be back in Calais (for our train home) by Saturday, a distance of approximately 550 miles. The weather had turned for the worse and the mid-range forecast for Interlaken did not look too promising either......this was a good excuse to say our goodbye's and set a course for home. It was nearing lunchtime before we got our wheels in motion and onto the A8 out of Interlaken, but no matter, we only had 130 miles to travel to our next port of call....aptly the address of which was Port de Plaisance de Colmar! Our route to the Motorh...

The weather in Interlaken was fantastic, Camping Manor Farm was excellent and we were enjoying ourselves far too much in our lake-side setting to consider moving on to pastures new. With a new found sense of commitment it was decided that we should venture out and take in some more of the wonderful Bernese Oberland region. Undoubtedly, the destination highlight of the region is the 'Jungfraujoch - Top of Europe' the highest railway station in Europe located 3,454 metres above sea level. However, at 204CHF per person for a return journey this is clearly not a cheap day out on the trains.....particularly if you have a family in tow! Thankfully, those thoughtful Swiss folk have presented visitors with a 'less-expensive' option to visit this unique destination that really does provide great value for money....and it is called the 'Good Morning Ticket' (GMT). On the face of it, the GMT (priced at 145CHF per person) is still an expensive purchase, especia...

The town of Interlaken is easily accessible from Camping Manor Farm with several transit options available to visitors of the campsite. For cyclists there is a very easy and mostly flat cycle route into the town of approximately 3 miles. There are a couple of variations to the route, a scenic tour through the forest and alongside the river, or the more direct route along the main road. For those without bikes there is a very efficient and regular bus service that departs from outside of the campsite which will have you into Interlaken West (or alternate destinations if you choose) in no time at all. Bus timetables are readily available in the campsite information room, which in my view betters many a tourist office! There is also the boat option, which is provided free to guests of Camping Manor Farm, that departs from the boat launch area of Hotel Neuhaus just a short walk from the campsite. This is a return service (if you wish to utilise it) that takes you directly into Int...