Change of Plan

 

When we first talked about our trip to Germany - sometime back in late spring or early summer 2024 - we had planned to go to Scandinavia, especially the West coast of Norway, in order to see the aurora borealis. It was a good year for seeing the Northern lights, even as far south as here in Northern California. The closer we got to our departure date, however, the more we got into the "unplanning" phase and said that we would play it by ear when we're there - depending on the weather in Norway.

We were very lucky to see the aurora borealis during our flight, somewhere over Canada (photo on top). During the summer, Kaefer had seen the Northern lights from the German island of Juist. So when we looked at the weather forecast for Norway for the following two weeks after our arrival, we quickly decided that the Norwegian West coast is most probably not a very good destination in the middle of fall - there was nothing but rain in the forecast and zero chance to see the fantastic spectacle in the sky that we had hoped for.

So we changed our plan. Instead of to the North, we turned to the South, the Southwest to be precise. The beautiful country of France. In one of my brighter moments, I had not only learned Norwegian before we left for Germany, but had also refreshed my French which now, of course, came in quite handy.

Aachen in the very west of Germany - the cradle of Europe - was our first destination followed by an overnight stay in Charleroi, Belgium. Then we travelled to Étretat in  Normandie (Normandy).

Falaise d'Aval seen from Falaise d'Amont

In 1980 my then-boyfriend and I did a tour through Normandie by bicycle. One of our destinations was Étretat because I had seen pictures of the cliffs and we thought it would be nice to see them "for real". At that time, Étretat was already a tourist destination and somehow it felt depressing to us, so that we left after only one day. Now, 44 years later, I was curious whether I would still feel the same. 

I pretty much did. Étretat is still a tourist destination but even worse, and I still thought it quite depressing. The view of the famous cliffs, however, is still amazing. Thankfully, nature lets us seldom down.

None of us was too excited about Étretat, so we left after a couple hikes up the cliffs. We ended up in Honfleur, a charming old town on the estuary where the river Seine meets the English Channel. 

In 1978 or 1979 my Parisian friend Evelyne and I spent a day in Honfleur during one of my annual Easter visits to her family in Paris. I liked this beautiful little town back then and I did this time as well. It seemingly hasn't changed very much over the past 4 decades - there are the same old buildings, the port, the street cafés on the quay, the small restaurants and a more relaxed atmosphere. 

The port seems to be the heart of the town.

From here we explored the town with its ancient buildings and very narrow streets and alleys.

In one of those narrow streets was the little appartment we had for the night. It was quite an adventure to drive those cobblestone streets and around the narrow corners. The appartment itself was small but lovely, and felt like a jungle.

It was in close walking distance to the centre ville (downtown), so perfect for us. After we explored the town we were tired and hungry. However, the French eat rather late and the restaurant we wanted to visit didn't open before 7:00. So we were hanging out near the old-fashioned merry-go-round, watching the little kids and the changing colors in the sky.

But the wait was worth it. L'Absinthe is a beautiful old restaurant and the food was delicious.

We had a three-course meal - I forgot what my appetizer was, but my main dish was salmon with cider butter and vegetables and as dessert I had créme brûlée. French cooking is just wonderful.

I didn't take a picture of the bottle of white wine that we shared between the three of us, but I need a drink for Bleubeard and Elizabeth's T Tuesday. Here's some rosé sparkling wine that we had last Thursday for my birthday - cheers!