The Orient Express train began in 1883 as a luxury train
travelling from Paris to Istanbul. Over the years, there were a number of variants
of that original route, but the advent of air travel and high-speed trains led
to the demise of the line, which came to a final end in 2009. Its passengers
included royalty, diplomats, and wealthy business magnates, especially during its
first few decades. Because of its storied history, it has been featured in dozens
of books, movies, and television shows, including Agatha Christie's Murder on
the Orient Express (book and film) as well as From Russia with Love, where
James Bond battled a spy on the train.
The idea of taking our annual long bike trip on a route
approximating that of the original Orient Express intrigued us. We read up on
the history of the train and put together a route fairly close to that of the
1883 train. Our route begins at the Gare de L'Est in Paris and travels through
France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey,
with overnight stays in major cities along the train route: Strasbourg, Munich,
Vienna, Budapest, Bucharest, and Istanbul.
Our bike ride began today (Sunday, August 17). We started
the day by taking a short train ride from the Gare de L'Est to get out of Paris,
then biked 58 miles through beautiful towns and countryside to our destination
of Epernay. Epernay, a town of 24,000, is in the Champagne region of France,
and plays a central role in the champagne wine industry. Numerous champagne
wine companies are located in the town, where they bottle the wine and keep it
aging in cellars built into the chalk rock on which the town is built. We ended
the day as "real" tourists, with a champagne cellar tour and tasting.
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One of several towns on our route |
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A friendly group of bikers passing by |
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A wonderful lunch stop |
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Epernay town hall. The town is trying to become a UNESCO Heritage Site. |
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The Castellane champagne winery where we toured and tasted |
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The end to a great first day of our bike trip |
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