Alpine Tour of Normandy
Some see the car as little more than a set of wheels for getting from A to B – but this takes no account of the vast range of experiences a stretch of road can give. Dieter Stegmeier, HIP Coach and Kurtz Ersa employee for more than 40 years, has many stories to tell. One of these is from 2016, when the passionate Renault Alpine fan embarked on an unforgettable tour through Normandy.
My fascination with the Renault Alpine goes back a long way – many years ago, I had to extend my barn to house my car collection. But it was not hard to choose the right car for our 11-day tour last year: my A310 V6, built in 1982, which I have been driving for 33 years now. From Spessart, the route took us through Oostkamp in Belgium to Calais and then Dieppe, where the original Renault Alpine was made. Keeping to the coast, we made a number of stops in picturesque villages, and particularly enjoyed Étretat, famous for its impressive rugged coastline, and Honfleur with its old harbour and artists’ quarter with lots of lovely little shops and galleries.
The real highlight was the monastery at Mont Saint-Michel, which is exposed to some of the strongest tides in Europe and since 2015 has been regularly cut off to become an island once again. We spent a night there, and so were able to see for ourselves the unique display of ebb and flow. The eleven days passed all too quickly, but our indelible memories will be with us forever! It’s amazing how many likes in the form of thumbs-up gestures we received during our tour through France – the Alpine is a real part of French mythology, comparable with the Porsche 911. Our journey home brought us back through Paris, Verdun and Saarbrücken, some 3,000 km of travelling with plenty of lovely scenery along the way!