26-27/04/2019: Rheims
Km travelled today/sum: 331km / 999km
Weather: Cloudy, 18 degrees, country road, highway

We arrived in Reims without any problems. On arrival there was supposed to be a key safe on the door… at least, that what google translate made out of our hosts comment… Well… there was definitely no key box on the door of this address. Based on previous experience, we ensured that we were at the right address (suburb, street and house number) and from the AirBnB message, we were. Strange!
After walking around I noticed there was a key safe next door… I entered the provided number and it opened. Yay! 😁

Later on we noticed that this was a side entrance used by the garbologists removing the waste bins. After we settled into the tiny apartment, we had a look at the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Rheims. I thought that the only Cathédrale Notre-Dame existed in Paris, but I was wrong. A clear indication was the fully intact roof on this one 😭.

It is impossible to show the real size on a picture, but here’s some pictures of the cathedral anyway.

The most impressive was the norther side with all of its intricate details:

Insided the cathedral there were beautiful led glass windows.

Anyway, this was enough culture for the moment.

The next day we went to Mumm, for a guided tour.

It was interesting to see where and how Champagne is produced and how it is stored. The cellar below the visitor centeres is huge, they had even a bicycle race down here. Apparently the track is 400m long (not sure how they stop at the end…?). Left and right from this passage, there are chambers full of Champaign bottles. On the picture on the right, there are bottles from 1895 (second shelf on the right).

During the tour we got some explanation how the riddling (changing the tilt angle) of the bottles works. The hole in the wooden rack has an odd shape, and so the angle of the bottle changes depending on how far the bottle neck is in the hole.

Okay, and at the end, there was finally a tasting!

I must admit, I liked the taste 😁

I also found a unique location for having another glass of champagne, a tree bar (Perching Bar) 😊. The bar is only accessible by appointment. After talking to the owner, it was clear why. The bar is located at a tree climbing facility and these guys do the maintenance of the climbing facility as well as the bar. So depending how busy they are, the bar might be closed. Anyway, we got an appointment and went there. The view was just stunning and the bar itself as well. This time we took Diddle, he had some champagne as well… Lucky Mouse! 😉

The next day, after some delicious cake

we had a look at the ‘Porte de Mars’, a roman triumphal arch. Unfortunately the area around is currently being remodelled so we couldn’t get close to the gate. Imagine it though, this gate is around 2000 years old… isn’t that amazing?!? Some of the carvings are still visible.

On our way back we found a variety of interesting buildings.

That concluded our stay in Rheims; the next stop would be Caen, where we’d take a look at the D-Day beaches.