France, Germany, My GPS and Me - Day One

The Beach du Peu Ragot on Ile de Re in western France.  Photo: Janice McDonald

It was the sort of cosmic coming together.  Two European friends of mine who don’t know and probably have never heard of each other (but should be new best friends) planned their weddings in what happened to be a week a part.  One - on an island off the western coast of France.  The other - in a castle in Bavaria.

Now how could I say, “No?”

The first wedding? September 5 in La Couarde Sur Mer on Ile de Re about midway up the western coast of France.

The second – the following weekend in an 800 year old castle called Burg Rabenstein in the heart of Bavaria in Germany.

The initial thought was fly into Paris and out of Frankfurt or Munich and then trains to connect the various points while tossing in visits with friends in between nuptials.  It became apparent a car would be the most economical option both time wise and financially (yes, that many connections in Europe can add up, even with a Eurail pass).

Logistically, this proved a bit challenging given the obvious problems with trying to read maps solo in two different languages while driving across uncharted territories.

Car rented. Now what?  I own a Tom-Tom GPS unit.  I went online and found I could download maps of Europe(as well as other continents and areas of the world.  This is a service also provided by Garmin and Magellan.).  My GPs didn’t have enough memory, but all I had to do was insert a camera memory card and voilá!  The maps were there!  

I was able to go to the “map preference” option on my unit while still sitting in the comfort of my home in Atlanta and switch to auxiliary maps. From there I plugged in all of the addresses I needed from the time I arrive in Paris, to my Frankfurt departure. 

This included my hotel on Ile de Re to the wedding location to my hotel back in Paris, my friend’s house in Weimar to the wedding in Rabenstein and so on.  As soon as I rented my car in Charles de Gaulle, I turned my unit on and found myself being guided out of the labyrinth they call a terminal and through nightmare Parisian traffic.  A few hours later, I was pulling into the parking lot of Hotel la Plage in La Couarde dur Mer for the first leg of a week long Franco-Germanic adventure.

Ah, the confidence that comes with knowing your way around while not necessarily knowing the language.

http://www.tomtom.com

http://www.garmin.com

http://www.magellangps.com