The cockroach and much more
The final week of travel is inevitably approaching. The temperatures have returned to moderate highs, so we decide to blaze new trails and explore previously uncharted...
châteaugeschichten
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Zuletzt in Frankreich
I'm a Barbie Girl!
Published: 06.07.2026
Drive
Pariser Becken → … → Aube
300 km · Autobahn
Worth seeing
Aube
France
Attraction
Lac d'Orient
France
Worth seeing
Chavanges
Chavanges, France
Attraction
Église Saint-Nicolas d'Outines
Outines, France
Worth seeing
Outines
Outines, France
The last stage takes us on the highway for more than three hundred kilometers towards the east.
Three hundred kilometers through the Paris Basin, three hundred kilometers of endless expanses, huge fields, seas full of ripe, sun-yellow heads of grain. No hills, no trees, no bushes, no towns. As far as the eye can see, flat, boundless land. The view is only interrupted by countless gigantic harvesters, whose cutting width can reach up to twelve meters. On the fertile loess soils, wheat finds ideal growing conditions, while baguette grows on the hedge-free and tree-free terrain.
We cross France's most important granary.
Upon arrival at the destination, we are also greeted by the roar of the combines.
It was already in July three years ago that we appreciated the tranquility of the Dry Champagne. And the peace that comes when the harvest columns finish work.
The landscape here is also shaped by extensive agricultural areas. Not only wheat and barley grow, but also sugar beet, potatoes, corn, sunflowers, opium poppies, and quite a bit of hemp. No wine!
Now the wheat is being harvested, and strong gusts of wind whip up huge clouds of dust.
Touristically, the area is hardly developed. Lake d'Orient invites swimming, and on the Aube River, it's great for paddling. We spend a solitary day by its banks and regret for the first time not having brought our inflatable boat along. Although this circumstance probably saved us from a thorough check by the gendarmerie.
It would be nice to let the current drift us along the many bends of the river. The water is crystal clear and ice-cold. Kingfishers flit along the shore, orioles are singing their song, ducks and swans are making their rounds, and thick fish are splashing out of the water.
We relax and let our souls dangle.
Skillfully, we turn our backs to the burnt-out wreck of a car. If we've learned anything on our travels, it's to confront things we can't change with ignorance. Now we discuss theories about what might have happened here:
1. The poppy mafia made a competitor disappear without a trace.
2. A French couple had such secret and steamy sex between five and seven that the seat cushions caught fire.
3. A Park4Night user was at this spot one too many times and the locals lit a fire under him.
I side with number three; you know my opinion about this platform. The hero, on the other hand, is convinced of the second variant, which likely surprises no one.
We cannot definitively clarify the question, as we have to start our journey home.
The thick black smoke clouds rising behind the next row of trees are attributed to a burning harvesting machine, which can catch fire at high temperatures. Perhaps a brand new, million-dollar New Holland combine harvester is going up in flames right now.
Or is there perhaps another Park4Night secret tip?
Passing by small half-timbered churches in charming, very French villages, we approach the German border kilometer by kilometer.
The Kangoo valiantly and unscathed surpassed the three hundred thousand kilometer mark on this trip. At least half of that on French roads. We hope it can last a little longer, as the next trip is already in planning.
Oh yes, and here is the answer to the roughly one million times asked question of what this American, anti-feminist-capitalist consumer doll is doing in the daily status photos: we support the initiative 'Barbies for Future', which fights against the use of plastic in toys and child poverty.
No-no, that's a nice thought, but of course a joke!
At the first flea market of the tour, I rummaged through a box full of Barbie equipment. After searching for shoes, handbags, and glitter dresses for half an hour, the little Monsieur at the stand offered me the whole box for three euros. I exclaimed: 'Oh no, oh no, oh no!'
But Zappa buzzed: 'Of course!'
Now about 15 Barbies and many little shoes are traveling with us through the country and are intended for the strictly secret project of colleague Nadine. What she intends to do with them?
No idea! Really not.
But we had so much fun at every flea market!
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Answer (1)
KasiBy châteaugeschichtenabout 1 month ago
😆
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