Hey amigos...
So yeah, this time I had a map (thanks again Gilles), but did I look at it enough before leaving???
No... not at all...
On the suggestion of our project manager I rented a GPS/SATNAV for the car...
With less than 90 seconds to familiarize myself with it, (and with less time than that route planning with the actual map) I started off!!
To where?? Trier of course (thanks again Gilles)... I had flown from Montreal to Luxembourg through Zurich...
And now from Luxembourg to Lutzerath, through Trier... I had no idea how to even exit the airport...
Well I had figured that I'd be able to change the language on the GPS/SATNAV ( I am after all a systems engineer)... but the sub 90 second prep-time yeiled no resutlts... So I accepted the active default language, Itallian (go figure)... Sinistra, is left, I think... adretta, right... maybe, oy is and (perhaps??) and other words which I'm sure meant "you went the wrong way again idiot"
Well before I realized that by mistake I had it set to give directions to return me to the airport, it made getting out of the airport very difficult, and kinda frustrating in sort of a loop-di-loop fashon... especially when simply reading the highway signs would have easily gotten me to Trier...
Then, once i figured how to activate a programmed destination, it defaulted to the fastest route (not the prettiest). This didn't suite me, as I had intended to drive to Lutzerath via the Mosel Valley... Following in Itallion I got myselfe to Trier...
After Trier... my solution was to set the destination to very close villages along the Mosel, and either reprogram it as I arrive, or continue along the valley...
In the latter case listening to the the system find new ways to get me back to the old (surpassed) destination, and continue to insult my driving/orientation competancies...
Well not 20 minutes folowing the Mosel north (I thought) it dribbled to a small stream, then creek, then kinda a broad marsh... All the while on really spectacular roads... This was decidedly not the way it looked though when I pre-visualized the trip on GoogleEarth... Not travelling the the right direction for sure...
Imagine my surprise, when I finally got it speaking english, programmed it for Lutzerath, and relaxed my exigence on the pretty route, when I got on the major highway and I saw signs to Trier, and Luxemberg... I had been heading south-ish???!!! WTF???
Any how...
Got myself to Lutzerath (which is apparently very near the Nuremberg Ring Course, see (for historical reference), booked into A1 at Hotel Maas, and had a wonderful meal (including some really nice glasses of Mosel white wine)... well on my way to gaining 10 pounds in 2 weeks for sure... I even said hi to Steffie for Gilles...
I've decided instead of swamping your inboxes with attachments, you all can visit my flickr page, found here.
And in particular the Travels set. which currently has entries from this trip only... once back to Montreal I'll upadate it with other destinations...
Engaged friends, enjoy, marrying friends enjoy even more!!! Single friends enjoy even even more!!!!
All the rest of you...
BeWellStayOuttaTrouble!!!
And keep in touch...
V, send my your phone number and I'll be sure to call you when I get back!!
P.S.
This reminder from Gilles who is a wealth of world history (and reams of other old-world knowledge), who received a quick preview of my story...
"GPS in Italiano?
No wonder ragazzo, you’re on the march of the Holy Roman Empire !
The Germanic tribes that Romans called Marcomanni, who battled the Romans in the 1st and 2nd centuries were simply the "men of the borderlands." Constantin left Augusta Treverorum and the Mosella to found Constantinopolis in 330, remember?"
I wish I had...
Love ,
roy