European Family Road Trip

I just love a road trip; loading up the car, seeing interesting destinations along the way, and usually some beautiful scenery as well. I have fond memories of summer family road trips when I was a kid; we’d all pile into the big Plymouth Fury, arguing about who got stuck in the middle, whether we wanted the windows up or down, and just about anything else. Dad always drove, and mom nodded off not long after we hit the road. There was no air conditioning back in those days, so on hot days we had the windows wide open as we sped down the freeway. Once my older sister and brother we rough housing in the back seat, and her glasses went flying out the window. That made for a long vacation for her. Dave Barry has this to say about family travel: And that’s the wonderful thing about family travel; it provides you with experiences that will remain locked forever in the scar tissue of your mind. Ha! Not really, but with a large family like mine, and siblings that argued; hmm, no wonder mom always slept.

We have enjoyed many road trips over the years, most recently with my sister, brother-in-law, and their two kids. They are in Europe for the summer and we met them last month in the Alsace region in France, visited a little corner of Germany, and several locations in Switzerland. Here are the highlights of our precious time together.

Our first stop was the tiny town of Lesseux, France where we rented a house for several days. It was great to be in the same house, and to spend time together. We laughed, talked, played games, cooked, visited several castles, got caught in a torrential downpour; it was a great time.

While in Alsace we visited several castles, our first stop was Château de la Roche. I wasn’t able to find out much about this interesting castle other than it was built in the late 12th century. In the 14th century it was destroyed by the Duke of Lorraine and the Bishop of Strasbourg who forbade any rebuilding. A staircase and fortifications were added in the 19th century to allow visitors to experience the ruins and the amazing views.

This was where we got caught in a torrential downpour. I was slowly making my way down a steep hill (damn arthritis) to catch up with everyone when it started to rain. I took shelter under the trees to wait it out, only to find that the rain got heavier and heavier, so I decided to head back to the car. By the time I got there, I was as wet as after taking a shower. Slowly, everyone else arrived, equally drenched, but laughing at the experience. It was clear and sunny by the time we arrived back at our vacation home, so the kids decided to take a swim, since they were already soaked.

Château de Haut-Koenigsbourg was also on our agenda while in Alsace. Located high on a hill with a commanding view of the Upper Rhine Plain, this medieval fortress draws many visitors every year. Due to many invasions, wars, and fires, it was pretty much in ruins by the mid 16th century and left to be overtaken by the surrounding forest. German Kaiser Wilhelm II ordered the rebuilding in the early 19th century.

We drove through a small corner of Germany on our way to Switzerland and had lunch near a beautiful lake in Titisee. It was a fun experience for the kids to get to visit three countries in one day.

Basel Paper Mill and Museum of Paper, Writing and Printing, Basel Switzerland. This fascinating museum tracks the history of paper from its origin in 200 BC in China to the present. There are so many interesting displays here, from moulds, machinery, and bottles of chemicals used to make paper, ancient documents, manuscripts, scrolls, hieroglyphs, and more.

In the middle ages, paper was made from composted linens and other fibers. Rag men and women would collect old clothes, rags, linens, and other cloth items and sell them to paper mills. This was not an easy task; you can read more about this here.

I found the watermark display to be quite compelling. Papermakers would choose a watermark to identify the paper as their own.

This is a great museum for kids with lots of hands on activities, interactive exhibits, and engaging workshops. Tickets prices and opening hours vary; click here for details.

We also visited the Botanical Gardens at the University of Basel during our stay there. I wrote about the gardens last week. Click here to read that post.

In Lucerne we strolled across Chapel Bridge, enjoyed a nice lunch at a restaurant on the river, and had a drink at an elegant hotel with amazing views of the city.

Chapel Bridge is the oldest covered bridge in Europe, dating to the 14th century. The panels were added in the 17th century, and depict images of Swiss history.

It was so great to have an extended amount of time with my sister, brother-in-law, and the kids. My sister and I are very close, which made our time together even more special. Here are a few photos of us.

We had great fun on our road trip. I would love to hear about your favorite road trips, so please leave a comment if you’d like.

Wishing you grand adventures,

Tricia