We had signed the visitor's book, taken photos and were ready to leave before 9am so we were also able to drop Margo at the doctor’s before heading south.

Margo had mentioned the weather forecast was not as good for today but we did not expect the absolute downpour we got near Frankfurt . As it was 4 lanes going south with temporary road markings it was lucky it was not the first day. We bypassed one of Margo’s suggested stops as there was no point in going there for the view in pouring rain. It is still strange to see signs that say slow down to 120 kph.

The Tom-Tom plus the clear signs made the trip straightforward. The weather improved and we were doing 140 in the middle lane – the fast vehicles were in the 3rd lane. At one stage three Porche sports cards raced passed us as if we were standing still, at possibly 200kph!! We have a good system going. John drives and I look after the water supply, the air con, monitor the Tom-Tom instructions and watch for traffic lights in the towns. JB has a saying to make sure he is on the correct side of the road - "Keep Christine in the gutter where she belongs".

(Chris has a new nickname – 'Colin’. It comes from her ‘pronunciation’ of Koln (pronounced ‘Kerln’) i.e. Cologne, when speaking with Margo . I am working on her accent but without much luck…. – JB)

We went into Baden Baden because the weather was better and just strolled around the centre and checked out the spa in case we decided to return. There were modern statues of people reading, playing sport, shopping etc. We were caught in our first traffic jam on a long bridge over the Rhine behind a couple in a sports car from the UK. We could see their GPS and the woman also had a map (‘Colin’ was very jealous coz she likes maps – JB)!! In front were three car-carriers and a concrete-mixer truck.

We knew we were in France because the exit signs now said ‘sortie’ (not ‘ausfahrt’) and the speed limit was 130km/hr but otherwise there was no sign of anything to say we were in a different country. Then the very exit we needed was closed off!! The Tom-Tom came to the rescue again however.

When we got to our BnB it was the same one that we had stayed in before with Robert and Brian Pawson, but this time we have an even nicer view . We have a table in the room, access to a fridge and a small balcony with a view over the village. We were a choice of rooms but had no trouble deciding. There is no internet here though. There is no real sun either but it is not raining and that is a bonus after the weather we drove through.

We went for a drive to get diesel, tea and a couple of caches. We went down roads that were only just wider than the car – and they are 2 way. It is a lot of fun as the area is not really in full season yet so there are not that many vehicles. We did have a tractor approach us but it was on a wide bit of road fortunately. (Some roads are too narrow even for a bicycle, even if you remove the handle bars and seat!%^- but Colin and I made it through coz we’re tuff!!! - JB )

John wants me to say how economical the car has been. We filled up for 47 euro after doing 800 km Even then we still had almost a quarter of a tank left. Of course a lot was on the autobahn but we also did some narrow roads in Germany . Fuel is cheaper in France than in Germany, but Germany does not have toll roads.

We found 4 caches all by the same person so we started to have an idea of his style. The first was in Mittelbergheim itself and the second in a village we discovered that is renowned for its food. We checked out a restaurant and had a 2 course ‘Plate meal’ that was both nice and reasonable. I had pork – nearly as nice as the pork in Germany with three sorbet scoops – and John had wild boar with a cherry cake .I did try my basic French but they also had an English speaking waitress so we were in luck. We are not sure how old the building was – one date on the wall was 1728 – and the beams were anything but straight.

At 9.45 the sky is still light and we are looking at the view over the village as the lights are slowly appearing. It is a hard life……