Enfield in Berlin

Just yesterday I saw this Enfield on the streets of Berlin. It reminds me so much of India... and I would love to ride it on the bumpy roads. I haven't riden an Enfield before (only a modern motorbike) but would love to. I suppose it can't be so difficult. The bike is not mass produced and "has a soul". 

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Also, I remember the "kiss of the motorbike" which almost everybody gets at one point. In India nobody  wears heavy leather clothes just ordinary clothes when riding the motorbike. Then it happens, your calf touches the exhaust pipe and "ouch!" there is the "kiss".

The Enfield is a very fascinating motorbike and the sounds so very Indian. Since a few years one can also buy the Royal Enfield here in Germany. A company imports them.

But I think it's only half the fun to ride it on the nice roads here.

The info below is from this website:
http://royalenfield.com/aboutus/overview/

THE INDIA CONNECTION

Royal Enfield motorcycles were being sold in India ever since 1949. In 1955, the Indian government started looking for a suitable motorcycle for its police forces and the army for patrolling duties on the country's border. The Bullet 350 was chosen as the most suitable bike for the job. The Indian government ordered 800 of these 350 cc motorcycles, an enormous order for that time. Thus In 1955, the Redditch Company partnered with Madras Motors in India to form what was called 'Enfield India' to assemble these 350 cc Bullet motorcycle under licence in erstwhile madras (Now called Chennai). As per their agreement Madras Motors owned the majority (over 50%) of shares in the company. In 1957 tooling equipment was also sold to Enfield India so that they could manufacture components and start full-fledged production. The Enfield Bullet dominated the Indian highways and with each passing year its popularity kept rising.

Tomatoes on my balcony

This year I took on the adventure of planting tomatoes on my balcony. I bought a box with six plants. Two of them I planted in a bigger pot and the other four in a flower box (Blumenkasten). The ones in the pot really grew tall and slowly some tomatoes started growing, and grew bigger.

Unfortunately because of windy weather the pot fell and with it some tomatoes. :-(
 However some fruits survived and grew nicely. I already harvested them and they tasted very good in my salad. And now there are more tomatoes growing again ...

French Food

The best thing of travelling through France, is the food. The French just know how to cook. We really were in food heaven. At the end of a sightseeing day, we ate very well. Here some examples of our food discoveries:

salmon on vegetables

Choucroute... a very big portion of Sauerkraut with different meat and sausage on top

Choucroute is a specialty of the Alsace and a dish adapted from the German Sauerkraut and Eisbein. We also saw variations like choucroute au poison (on fish) and was also available in glasses.

And of course a dream desert .... amazing  chocolate cake a la maison with ice-cream.

 The dessert buffet at the hotel.

A good French breakfast, coffe and croissants. 

 Gugelhupf is famous for the Alsace.

 A good wine is a must.

 Escargots -  snails in garlic sauce

 Fish, sander in delicious sauce and with noodles

 Creme brulee

 A morning in the shopping market: We were amazed at the variety of  fish, sushi, cakes, pastry, cheese, bacon, salami, meat of course wine ...

The only problem with French food seems that it's rich and you have to take care not to eat too much :-)

Summertime - Vacation time

Finally the summer has hit Europe and the temperatures are more than what most people might have hoped for. ... We had around 30 C and even up to 38 C. Even though it cooled off the temperatures will rise again.

I'd enjoyed  my summer trip.
First point: Saarland

The famous "Saarschleife". The river Saar makes a loop. There is a view point up by Cloef which offers a beautiful view from top onto the river's loop. Of course you can also climb up but need proper closed shoos because the way is slightly dangerous, some loose stones etc. For us for a hot day and we didn't wear proper shoos, therefore decided to drive up to enjoy the view. The Cloef Atrium also offers a place for events and a restaurant. It so happened it was a tour of COBRA and lunch time for the drivers. The cars were on exhibit.

Next point: France... Vive la France!  Metz

Metz

The Saint-Stephen Cathedral 

 La porte d'Allemande

 This petite train takes you around the city. With the help of an audio set you'll get some information about the city. Was kind of fun, especially on such a hot day. :-)

On our route to Strasbourg we stopped for a coffee in this sweet little place Saverne

 Next point : Strasbourg
Strasbourg
The tower of the  famous cathedral can almost be seen from anywhere, so tall it is. Inside are two beautiful rosette window designed and a complicated astronomic clock.

 At Kleber place

 And la petite France

Next point: Wine route in Alsace

It's extremely beautiful to explore the route du win but not so easy. The sings are small and sometimes not visible on the first view.