Day 12 CAEN 17.08.2022

Today we drove from Rouen to Caen. The distance was not very far (about 130 km) and we had no problems on the highway. In general, it must be said that the highways here in France are in very good condition and all drivers adhere to the speed limits. The maximum speed is 130 km/h and most of the time you can only drive at 110 km/h or 90 km/h. Our 'Wild Hilde' loves this speed and with the relatively few trucks, it is a very relaxed drive.

However, we could only check into our hotel after 3 pm, so we parked the car in a public parking lot across from the hotel (max fee of €25 for 24 hours) and went to the nearby tourist information. A young man explained to me in French what there is to see and paused his speech so that I could translate for Karin. We found German explanations very rare along the way! This city still has some of its medieval charm, as it is the final resting place of William the Conqueror, one of the greatest promoters of Normandy. A large part of it is one of the most prominent castle complexes in Europe (we recently read about something similar in Bornholm?!). It is located in the center and when we could look out over the city from the upper fortifications, we noticed once again that countless church spires shaped the cityscape. We walked across the entire city, from a women's monastery that is still active in the east of the city, to the former men's monastery with the most beautiful church and the tomb of William. The reward was a free organ concert in this church 'Saint Etienne', where the organist let loose in all pipe and volume variations. Amazing! It was noticeable how the city filled up in the afternoon, perhaps because the weather was not so hot and unbearable again. We don't need to mention that we found the best raspberry cake on the way and took another relaxing break! Fortunately, on the advice of the hotel owner, we had reserved a table in a bistro in good time, because in the evening all the places were very crowded. With over 25,000 students living here among a population of 110,000, the city life is shaped by the students. After the delicious meal, Karin had foie gras as an appetizer and tuna as the main course (although it was raw, it tasted excellent), we treated ourselves to a Calvados, because after all, Caen is the center for this drink!