Selection and preparations

This had started almost a year in advance when some of my friend began to plan (and book) the travel to Spain for the eclipse. I was unamused by the kids because I already saw the eclipse in 1999 in Czechia, whole 96% B-) and I had been to Spain recently. Resolved.

Fast forward to 2026 and another group of friends asked me whether I’d join their road trip to Spain. I presented them with my resolution but they countered with an XKCD strip. That curve and the prospect of seeing lots in France convinced me.

I left the astronomical preparations to astronomers and only focused places desirable to visit along the path (which was defined by booked accomodations for each day).

Recorded path

Diary

Day 00 (2026-08-07)

  • sleeping: Heilbronn, Monteurhaus
  • Leaving after lunch, traffic in Prague is still OK, ride on highway, driving duties around 2 hours.
  • No border control to Germany (how unusual despite the Schengen area).
  • Heilbronn (out of limits)
    • industrial city (carbon power plant, Fujitsu skyscraper (actually Neckarsulm))
    • historical (rebuilt) center around the river, possibly a port
    • vineyards in the north
    • dinner at fine restaurant, evening trip to Warteberg

Day 01 (2026-08-08)

  • sleeping: Nancy

  • cool (not hot) morning, direct ride to Lux
  • Luxembourg (out of limits)
    • cheap gasoline, free public transport
    • surprisingly picturesque town, like Český Krumlov
    • design/architecture visible in everything (train station, public transport)
    • partial trams (battery powered)
    • sun and temperature were bearable
  • Nancy (Nanciaco?)
    • impressive square and Hôtel de Ville
    • videomapping

Day 02 (2026-08-09)

  • sleeping: Lyon
  • bad sleep (neck/headache), compensated with morning run along the river
  • headachy drive to Besançon, rain shower before arrival
  • Besançon (Vesontio)
    • town has compact center with weird basilica,
    • the pinnacle is the Citadela fortress
    • other: (small) Roman theater, birthhouse of Victor Hugo
    • lunch and a dose of coffee fixed the headache
  • afternoon ride with hundreds of roundabouts to Lyon
  • a stop in Saline Royal, not much to see for free
  • Lyon (Lugdunum)
    • multiple cathedrals, Roman excavations,
    • evening walk down from basilica, crossing two rivers, Saône and Rhône

Day 03 (2026-08-10)

  • sleeping: Carcassone
  • Roman aqueduct, then climb to Massif Central
  • swimming in volcanic lake
  • (free) highway after curved descent, followed by one more ascent above Millau
  • Millau view point was best experience
  • Carcassonne (Carcaso)
    • (late) evening walk Carcassonne
    • it’s a UNESCO tourist attractor, so very crowded even very late
    • fortress is now full of restaurants (and fake crusaders)

Day 04 (2026-08-11)

  • sleeping: Andorra la Vella
  • quick ride to fountain of (naturally) variable flow,
    • hitech (water supply)/lowtech (hole) toilet nearby
  • castle Montseguir
    • pinnacle of the day
    • prominent hill, great outlooks, mysterious history
  • further ride, quick coffee while refueling in France
  • climb to Pas de la Casa: awful place (shops)
  • Port d’Envalira
    • highest point, weather change, start of rain
    • descent to Vella
  • Andorra la Vella (unreachable)
    • modern compact city on the steeps of the valley
    • clean, rich, lot of Spaniards
    • cheap gasoline (again)
    • (I shouldn’t have had 3rd coffee für dinner, could not sleep)

Day 05 (2026-08-12)

  • sleeping: Alcorisa
  • morning run in Andorra, great, it’s like a village few vertical meters up from the main road
  • La Seu d’Urgel (Sedes Urgelli)
    • Olympic Channel
    • seat of Andorran co-prince
  • a swimming stop near Oliana dam
    • high waves but low water (level)
  • lunch in 39°C of Torrente de Cinca, menu for 15€ with locals and AC
  • Monastir de Ruenda
    • impressive, sumptuous
    • cool place to wait for the eclipse (in the hot weather)
    • 16m water wheel (Ruenda == wheel)
  • the Eclipse
    • an hour till (partial) start and parking place is full
    • meeting with friends from Barcelona
    • threatening clouds in the east
    • up to 40°C
    • totality
      • awaiting the full eclipse, total eclipse is phase change
      • surprisingly low brightness but not as low as night :-)
  • evening ride to Alcorisa, roads empty, late dinner (11 PM, still open)

Photo End of the total eclipse (notice the pearl and edge of conic shadow)

Day 06 (2026-08-13)

  • sleeping: Bordeaux
  • dessert-like or wild-west-like Spanish landscape
  • Canfranc
    • Brenner vibes
    • former railway station on international tunnel, the tunnel serves for underground cosmic detectors these days
    • apparently a popular hiking spot
  • descent to Bordeaux, along some forest fires, queues on arrival, late arrival ~20.30
  • evening program: an Italian restaurant, kids serving, kids celebrating
  • Bordeaux (Burdigala)
    • night walk through Bordeaux, utilizing pass soir till maximum
    • estetic tram power
    • submarine docks

Day 07 (2026-08-14)

  • sleeping: Dijon
  • pure ride to cover the distance, only stop for lunch in Boucherie with weird bell-ringing mantra
  • F1 hotel very minimalistic, positive is AC
  • Dijon (Divio)
    • it’s smaller but it has also many architected sights, mainly Place de Liberation

Day 08 (2026-08-15)

  • sleeping: Strasbourg
  • Colmar (N/A)
    • the town is like a smaller Strasbourg
    • birthplace of Bartholdi
  • castle of Königsberg
  • Strasbourg (Argentoratum)
    • the city is little bit more dirty
    • public transport is free, including parking at P+R (due to environmental emergency)

Day 09 (2026-08-16)

  • sleeping: Prague

People and culture

  • popular videomapping in France (Nancy, Strasbourg)
  • a flyer (paraglider) above Millau
  • turquoise guard (pensioner) of French tourist club or similar
  • Barcelonian friends at the eclipse mirador
  • Alcirosa – evening (12 PM) concert at a square, kids around
  • proportion of people of African origin is higher in France (than in Czechia)
  • anectodal: (partially) shave out haircuts on women

Food

  • crème brûlée – curious method of preparation
  • “Indurian” – dish (based on pork) offered in Pas de la Casa
  • TODO

Nature

  • rivers
    • Rhein (Speyer)
      • Mosele (~Nancy)
    • Rhône (Lyon)
      • Saône (Lyon)
    • Loire ((Viaduc du Lignon), Le Puy-en-Velay)
    • Ebro (Mequinensa)
      • Valira (Andorra la Vella)
    • Garonne (Bordeaux)
  • passes
    • TODO
  • up to 40°C outside, thanks for the (preparatory) heat wave in Czechia
  • forest fires (visible from distance as smoke, closed roads in vicinity, depends on wind)
  • animals
    • mainly carcasses on road
  • the eclipse

Technologies and man-made sites

  • Roman aqueduct with level bricks and surface cobblestones
  • Safran Landing Systems (Pyrenees–Bordeaux)
  • Canfranc railway station and tunnel
  • castle of Königsberg
  • Canal du Midi

Lessons learnt

  • both cycling and driving is about time, not speed (car speed ~ 4x velo speed on average)
    • backpain from car vs arsepain from bicycle
    • accommodation not so different from cycling trip (B&B, F1 near cities/roads)
  • AC in rooms overnight is convenient but draft sucks, fans are also OK
  • it has helped me to have some lenience to drivers
  • cabin fever possibility after several days in car (the larger the group, the better)

Driving

  • France: no highways means lots of roundabouts
  • Spain
    • six points for smoking in cars (because of fires, not the driving)

Equipment

  • day and night backpack + food bag

Close misses

  • submarine docks in Bordeaux
  • TODO

Misc

  • daily routine
    • evening quick planning of the next day
  • pass soir tickets for public transport, useful for the road-tripping tourism
  • Czechia is really small country, cf many central cities in France
  • I’m continuously surprised how my friends use LLM chats for everything
  • the travel was mostly in former Roman empire
  • how come they have such a good urban layout without assanation?

Statistics

Date Distance (km) Highest point (m) Lowest point (m)
2026-08-07 480.0 615 170
2026-08-08 410.5 420 100
2026-08-09 434.3 590 169
2026-08-10 541.3 1310 10
2026-08-11 210.7 2400 110
2026-08-12 339.1 1054 70
2026-08-13 573.8 1210 10
2026-08-14 628.4 550 10
2026-08-15 354.0 710 140
2026-08-16 640.7 615 110
sum 4612.8    
mean 461.3    

(Credits to L for the map & stats)

  • TODO add kg CO2 stats