Northern Vosges biking roads & executed secret agents: Vosges History Roadtrip Part 4

Grimness warning: this video includes a tour of a concentration camp.

I’ll take you around some of the awful history of the Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp before heading into Germany via some de-restricted Autobahn, and along the way I’ll find out whether the Northern Vosges region has biking roads to rival those in the south. Thanks for watching this four-part series, and for sticking with it through the darker parts.

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Hello and welcome back to the channel of mod bik nonsense I’m Tim and I’m halfway through a long weekend around Europe the idea being I can show how much fun and naughtiness you can have in a long weekend over in Europe now I’ve already done part one of this video where I

Explored the voge mountains in the AL SAS region of France today I’m going to go North to do a northern v a bit of history and also get into Germany although this will mostly be a French video of a little bit of Germany at the end so yeah we’re all aboard the BMW

M000 I’ve got 207 horsepower I’ve got a tank bag I’ve got a rock sack I’ve got a camera I’m going to take you along for the ride and it might get a little bit dark in this episode apologize for that but there are some things in this area

That I think are worth seeing and we have to take it seriously so yeah let’s get going I’ve just realized how knacked and awful I look I keep getting offered like collaborations with like facelift schemes from China I might actually take them up on the offer look at those bags

Anyway look at those bags let’s hit the road hello from The Woodshed of m1000 R dreams have I taken the dis lock off I have right let’s hit the road to the northern V oroa Alan and you’re very very nice Airbnb I had a place for 10

People all to myself which sounds like some kind of massive flex but yeah if you’ve watched previous videos you’ll know I wasn’t actually meant to be alone on this trip I was meant to be here with my father but he had a bit of a a bit of

A mishap on the way to Euro tunnel anyway let’s stick the BMW connected navigation screen up cuz that’s what I’ve been using cuz my Garmin has sh itself right yes the plan for now is a little half hour ride to something called or a place called Nats Villa Nats Villa in German Nats

Vier and you know when the Germans have uh changed the name of a place from its local dialect to their own they probably did something bad there between 1932 and 1945 and that is no different in this case and that’s why was one of the smallest concentration camps the the

Germans set up and it set up on French soil and the kind of bit between France and Germany anyway and it was one of the first to be discovered by the Allies at the end of 1944 I think and it’s uh yeah if if you’re British there’s a bit of a

Link there for you as well because it is the place where I think it’s for female Special Operations executive agents s soe agents they are the the sneaky beaky sort who are managed from office on Baker Street and then dropped in Behind Enemy Lines to basically spy organized resistance and Sue

Descent uh four female ones met their end in the crematoria at this Camp so I’ve read a big book about it um years ago and essentially this it’s obviously a horrible period of History to deal with anyway but it’s an especially Grim story for for these ladies the way they

Were found out and met their end and uh there’s a there’s a great book I’ll stickly name of it up because I can’t remember it about this lady who essentially was the Handler for these agents and she I think she managed like 80 120 something like that female agents

To drop into enemy territory in World War II and at the end of the war she came over to Europe immediately as soon as the war ended to try and work out what happened to her girls as she saw them and that’s where she ended up following a trail to

Natsa uh found some Witnesses from other prisoners in the camp and found out how they met their own so anyway that’s where we’re going sorry immediately immediately depressing but I think this stuff is vital to learn about so it doesn’t happen again look there’s a train up there there you go that’s a

Nice little diversion anyway we’re going to do some country roads undoubtedly and I’ll see you there I’m on the right side of the road aren’t I yes well I’ve only come about 3 miles down a diret road since I last saw you but it’s it’s spat me out on this oh yes

Just getting to places is fun in this part of the world look at this super smoo tarmac H proper sweepers ah Happy Days loving life even with that van coming across me it’s like the old joke isn’t it what happens if you’re walking through the forest and you come across a lion wipe

It off and say sorry wow I bet this is popular with local bikers you can probably just get your knee down left right left right this at this point in the morning that I wish YouTube had smell a vision because it smells like the inside of a pine Furniture Workshop here it smells

Very very refreshing it smells like one of your Nan’s fancy candles right I’ve just made it to Matt’s VI strutto concentration camp and this was one of the smaller concentration camps in the evil Nazi Empire it was opened in 1941 when uh Hinrich himler realized

There was a rich vein of pink Granite on the Mountaintop nearby they wanted to mine it for building projects within the Third Reich um so this was built but it later became a place where mostly French Resistance Fighters were sent and to be disappeared to be executed as part of

What was called the nak nabal program kind of a what’s it night and fog um so just complet disappeared brought out here and uh executed either by hanging firing squad or as a gas chamber as well so they think about 20,000 people died here or

Within one of the 70 sub camps of n Dru Hof so yeah they kind of spread out into Germany sub camps of this location now it’s often tempting to think of these places as as kind of done deals they’re restored they’re here for generations to look at but this place is still giving

Up it secrets back in I think it was 2019 I was checking to a guy at the gate they had a girl working here on a summer job and she was down at the bottom in the ash pit kind of preparing the ground for the planting of new flowers and she

Found a silver bracelet which had the name Hab could on it and that belonged to an RAF Lancaster crewman who was captured in July I think 1944 he bailed out his Lancaster crashed and the Garo brought him straight here and executed him but apparently they were in a rush

Getting ready to to evacuate the camp in the face of the Allied advance and they never really properly hid his remains so yeah they found the family the habg good family they live in London now apparently and they came out here I think in a special ceremony in

2021 to well commemorate where their relative was murdered by the Garo so this place is still giving up its secrets and the chap that works here he said in Winter once the ground has frozen and then soord stuff comes to the surface as the ground softens so he’s

Found coins buttons and all sorts since he’s been working here so um yeah history is still still coming to the surface quite literally so hopefully you can see these big patches of brown that’s where the the Barrack blocks were there were two on each tier going down

With these roll call squares in the middle and the roll calls were OB especially awful times that’s when anyone who died during the night had to be carried out and uh and and be counted essentially and that’s also where he had to stand for hours three times a day to

Be counted to see if anyone had escaped but obviously so when they would also meet out punishment as well so occasionally they would bring out the Gallows um and apparently would randomly pick people to be hung that’s where they would meet their end and everyone had to

Look at attention and stare at the person being hung they’ be beaten if they didn’t then they all had to file past one at a time now I’m not really sure how steep these steps look on camera but they are incredibly steep these were built by prisoners using Granite from the nearby

Quarry where they were mining the pink granite and I I wouldn’t feel particularly great about having to walk up them as a reasonably fit adult now but imagine being completely malnourished to almost work to the point of death well work to the point of death and then having to March up and down

These as a form of punishment ah it’s just again unspeakably grim and over here we’ve got the symbol of the French Resistance to represent the the resistance Fighters and the machis ads who met their end here and just taking away and disappeared all right we’re at

The bottom of the camp now and down here we have the ash pit so uh the ashes that weren’t used for fertilizing The Gardens of the SS were dumped into this pit along with all of the the toilet waste the the you know all the human waste

From the camp as well and this is where that um silver bracelet was found a couple of years ago by a girl that was sorting out these flowers all right we’re now in something called the bunker which is kind of like a prison within a prison you got 20

Cells in here where people would be sent not for solitary confinement cuz they would fit 20 people into each one of these then I go in one you can see they’re pretty small spaces for 20 people and again they would have been starved for days at a time beaten

Flogged and they had a special bench for beating people on which we’ll get to in a second now if that wasn’t Grim enough being put into one of those cells each one of these metal doors hides I can’t remember what they call them but little squat spaces where you couldn’t stand up and

You couldn’t sit down and you were just forced to sit there in solitary confinement I’ve seen these outs before and it’s basically the ultimate form of solitary confin and Punishment so we’re about to go into the crematorium at the bottom of the camp so half of this was used for accepting new

Admissions into the camp they had showers they would be disinfected they would have their head shaved in there and this half is where they burned the bodies of the dead and those head cells for executions as well and this is where the four S soe agents female s soe

Agents met their end by lethal injection although one of them didn’t fully die by the time they got her in the crematorium and she burned to death instead so just going to have a quick look so each body was given 30 minutes to burn during which point it heated

This water tank up here to feed the showers on the other side we’ve got Memorial over here as well to the four SE soe agents Andre barell veret Sonia oesi and Di Ren and I guess this is the the Hoist for win and corpses up from the Morg just honestly this place is mindboggling hopefully it’s not been too Grim but if you’re never going to be able to come here I thought I’d just show you what it is oh okay back on the bike heading to the north of the V mountains now to

Explore that part of the world cuz I’ve just never been there then I’m going to hop up into Germany God there’s still so many uh remnants of concentration camp buildings here that’s the Quarry down there now one thing that that did strike me that I’ve seen both in the uh the

World War I trenches in the video before this and also just to um not drov just now it’s every everywhere there is a message along the lines of people came to this concentration camp from 30 countries or were sent there from 30 countries in Europe and

All of them say well most of them seem to be saying that is only once they’re in a concentration camp they considered themselves European because they were all pushed together and all forced to exist together and um there’s lots of there’s lots of stick about how

That is a good basis for perhaps a European Union but now as interesting is that how like uh the second world war brought Europe together in a way that hadn’t been before and they thought oh you know do you know what being together is better than being separate but anyway I no

Way this lbby I’ve got history with this Labby not in a sexual way where it is slightly sexual it was one of the best days of my life this is the car park where I brought this is a massive clang which you’ve probably been bored of if you watched the channel

Before just about here I parked up in a batti shiron and the police came and had their photos taken with it I’m just going to get a photo of this what are the chances probably quite high but whatever oh phone’s on the bike phone’s on the bike thought i’

Recognize these roads that was October 202 one just before uh drive trive went bus I lost my job I got invited out to Bugatti to drive a shiron p Sport and um yeah just took out on these roads and treated like any other Supercar except one with 1,500

Horsepower and it was it honestly it almost made me tear up a little bit almost maybe a little bit emotional cuz it felt so good to drive it felt really connected to the road like a the very best Porsches but also it made you feel sick and between Corners the amount of

Torque that it had four turbochargers an 8 L engine and it was uh it was very it was a very special day it kind of felt like I’d peaked in the world of car journalism I’m never going to get to do that again and I was aware of that at the time and

Um it was so much fun it was so much fun on these roads it felt really alive and really usable for something that costs uh the one I drove was4 million4 million with the options and all the stuff it had on it and it was I had to

Share the driving not share the driving I had to be um accompanied by a bigatti test driver who was a an ex French Formula 1 driver from the 1980s not a very successful one admittedly I don’t think I can’t remember his name and he he took us out first he warmed the tires

Up cuz it was a cold October day and it was on cup two tires really track Focus tires and he warmed the tires up by launching from zero to 150 m an hour whatever that is in kilm now 200 something and um and back to zero again

Hard on the brakes on a road like this so on a straight like this you’d be able to get up to 150 and back down easily fine I could do it on this bike as well but this is a car we’re talking about and then I I took over and had a

Go and it was just oh you kind of felt comfortable pushing it booting it out of Corners overtaking everything in sight as if you’re on a motorbike I me was amazing rushing noises and the Turbo sucking air in and turning it into Ford momentum is I it it felt alive it felt

Magical and it’s prob the most special car I’ve ever driven and you see them and you think oh I wonder if that’s boring to drive it’s not it’s incredibly intense and very connected to the road as well anyway not a car Channel motor Channel and I’ve got lunch and 47 km

When we hit the northern V mountains not mountains the northern V region I don’t think there are any mountains I think it’s Rolling Hills but I don’t really know we’ll see when we get there so there’s definitely been a change of scene as we head northwards it’s all

Flattened out a bit got lots of these big wide valleys between Rolling Hills and Fields of sunflowers which are mostly wilted cuz I guess it’s been so hot maybe they’re just done done with life there’s a few bright yellow ones in the mix but it is 30° and there’s no

There’s no Shelter From the Sun here at all in this Valley we’ still got some mild twistin though the roads are a little bit narrow though and the surface is not the best but it’s s a lovely place to come on your motor bicycl will be with their paty

Tach no make it look very dramatic on my GoPro well no bang my GoPro on the tank P not very good at drama how delightful oh look at this how beautiful it’s a Vineyard and some Rolling Hills with an unnecessary swoopy Road through in the middle of it lovely I should take a

Photo really but I cannot be bothered I’m too hot this is a very pretty town it’s got a fortified Church apparently I don’t know if that it it’s a Sunday so everything will be shut so even the Fortified church God two churches greedy town you had never

Normally come here really but it’s just beautiful place to pass through it’s just different isn’t it see see in the world seeing different slightly not massively different ways of life to what we have in the UK but is different all the same lots of flowers and the GoPro that is

Itself as I hunt down um a unique dish that is only made and produced in this area and I’m very excited about trying it I’ve heard some great things it’s um a mixture of chips and a burger I think they only sell it one particular local brassi type place like

A French version of natalian Tratoria and it’s said to be so delicious it can make you cry which is very oh oh was McDonald’s I’m just going to go there say what you want about McDonald’s and the golden arches but uh their air conditioning is always good and their

Food is always exactly the same everywhere which is sometimes we need so I filled up I’ve got petrol I’ve got Nuggets all I need now is to go carve up some twisties on my way to Germany through the north of the V mountains now because I am basically an unreformed

Child I am leaving France via VIA I’m going to and um once I’ve gone through oh I need to make sure I’m 100% in first that’s an old Porter Robinson reference for anyone that listens to Old EDM music I’m going to go to Tria on the autoban hopefully there’s

Some D restricted sections cuz I do quite fancy trying to Max this thing out because I’ve had it up to um 150 and I want to see if it will go any faster which is exciting for me probably not to watch just G past the sign welcoming me

To the region of the northern R mountains and as soon as we came over the hill where time was instantly some some hills and some Woodland and it’s kind of like a bit flat here but some hills in the distance so I still really don’t know what to expect I’m not sure

Which way I’m heading but I’ve set a route kind of straight through the middle yeah bear with us we’ll be playing a bit by here if I see anything super pretty I’ll stop I’ll send the Drone up and try to make it look nice okay I’ve just picked up the d133 I

Think west of dosim the Heim where you go to Doss and it feels like one of those classic kind of Valley bottom roads that I think follows a river just because it gently sways this way and that very smooth tarmac this is Sunday it’s pretty empty prob a couple of

Cyclists I don’t know it’s not it’s not spectacular but it’s better than anything I’ve gotten s super smooth like a baby’s bottom one that you’re happy to ride your motorbike on if you want to ride motorbikes on your baby’s bottom it’s it’s against NHS guidelines I believe Child Protection might come and get

You this feels a lot like some of the roads near zerber ring in deuts Land wheelie off that Crest delicious this bike is so damn easy to ride the brakes are so good the chassis ah as Udo a feedback big big fan of bm1000 now the blipper is is is solid as a rock look at that gorgeous rock face or Rock

Overhang it reminds me of my jaw line in some ways not many ways right we’re about to turn right onto the d178 I need to not go sailing past that if you can’t tell by my voice I was a bit underwhelmed by this part of the northern voge I do need

To go back and have a proper explore but I know for sure there are way more interesting biking roads about 50 minutes north just outside Kaiser Lon in Germany so I’d recommend doing that Instead ah that was a jolly little musical interlude I think the lady behind me who pulled up in a BMW X3 wondered what the hell I was doing with a drone and a camera some solo dogging maybe that’s what it’s called have to say I’ve been analyzing

The motorbikes that go past here they’re predominantly German and predominantly tiger 1200s or V4 multi sters haven’t seen a single GS in a half hour since I’ve been here which is a little bit surprising I have to say that’s the thing I’m enjoying about this tour it’s

The first tour I’ve ever done on my own I kind of built up in my head to be something a bit um not worried about but you know being left alone my thoughts for 4 days is not usually the best thing but it’s been absolutely lovely just

Being able to stop off wherever whenever I want for as long as I want to get some footage to get some photos to create some content man and then just go wherever I want in between no arguments about lunch no arguments about overtakes dodgy or not anyway let’s keep cracking get to

The yeah impressions of the northern V so far it’s not perhaps got as many iconic mountain roads this is the southern V it definitely doesn’t but it’s got more of a black forest vibe to it it feels very German I guess it has been German before and then at various

Points in history shall we say and the road surfaces are kind of these Stones pressed Loosely into the to MAAC sort of thing which isn’t really my jam for having loads of confidence but it’s uh it’s popular with bikers I see why you do have the odd um the odd hairy pin

Which is lovely if you like that sort of Thing yeah it’s just not as dramatic as the northern Bo so I see why everyone goes to the the bit I was in the previous video cuz it’s prettier and I think the roads probably there’s more decent roads with fewer towns but down there but still if you want a way to get

To Germany or to start coming home this is not going to boore you this is the historic town of uh sandal I believe as it twinned with Croc I don’t know I’ve kind of bollocks this Junction exit up nice we’re coming in hard into until the bottom end of obviously I had to

Stop and get the I’ve got 99 problems but the uh the road sign isn’t one of them but anyway let’s go to Germany it’s time Northern V it was fine it was good there’s some good riding but it’s just not up there with the southern V mountains hello

Hello on the wrong side of the road all because of a stupid joke I had to take a photo of right so I’m an hour and a half away from Trier Which is my tonight I’m going to head straight there the quickest route cuz it is getting so

Hot and I can’t handle any more town riding on this thing it kicks out a lot of heat does the m000 are when you’re doing 30 mph through town and it’s 30° a temperature 31 it just starts roasting your bum and to be fair that could be

Quite handy cuz I think I’ve got a bit of a wound on my ass from this bike and it’s it’s being quarterized and heat sealed by the by the inline fors shift cam Majesty what was it lady’s bottom I just saw a big cast iron lady’s bum hole

Oh my God my bum look there you go can you see the ladies lifting up their dresses how Saucy very very French side there’s some remains of the Mao line the big defensive line between France and Germany uh I don’t really have time to

Stop and have a look at it but if you’re coming back here there’s loads of that stuff to look at some probably some more bunkers to get lost in which is always a joy isn’t it in life why haven’t you got any phone signals trying to get you home for your

Dinner oh sorry I stuck in the meas new line and we’re in Germany the air already smells more efficient and look at this bridge just like that’s showing off isn’t it it’s like Welcome to our fantasti land here is a very simple bridge that we spent €

10 billion on well it’s been turning left left in a second right I need to get petrol before I get to Alo Barney now I have a tradition whenever I come to Germany and it’s to look at chryler PT Cruisers and no way it’s to drink a delicious bottle of

Spitsy it’s Coke it’s orange weirdly through this window I can see an advert for an s1000r for sale Naked Bike €12,000 to top what am I doing I’m egg there used to be a um I’m sure there used to be a craft work song about the autoban can’t remember what it’s called

Though is a classic German slip Road get your KNE down Lads soon as it goes destricted I’ll give it a go not promising anything I know it’s not very exciting to watch it’s only exciting to do in short best but we’ll see otherwise I’ll see you in tree air right shall we

Go for a bloody R not a bloody one hopefully let’s go for it let’s have another go shall we I’m not going to lie I’m getting a slightly s neck sitting at 120 I saw 260 km an hour I think that’s all my neck can take with a tank back on

Don’t know what that is in miles there but on a Naked Bike it feels quite quite fast I’m not going to lie but it felt super stable you can’t actually sense the Wings doing their thing love it love it anyway that wasn’t consumer advice let’s do something else talk about

Stunning Auto gear hopefully you can see that I think that’s the Mel Valley lots of Vineyards and the moo river running down it I have to say I’ve only done about 60 km since filling up but I’m already down to 100 km left in this tank so yeah

Doing 60 km at those speeds used up about 120 130 k to the fuel I’ve also just been reminded of another reason touring in Europe is great just saw a German ambulance go past with it sirens on and the Doppler effect on those things is hilarious it’s

Like kind of sounds sad as it goes past you where is the car park for Z Odell I think it is z I am a parking space okay in which case I will bloody use you right I’m now in downtown Trier I’m on my phone now the only reason I actually

Stay in Tria is not CU it’s a beautiful Roman city but because there’s a banging burger place called Burger I’m going there now it might look about as revolting as refried brains but this is actually delicious go and check it out if you’re anywhere near Trier that’s

Still one of the best burgers I’ve ever eaten in my life it was so good man to get some peanut sauce on the side right anyway I’m going to head back to my hotel room do proper wrap up but if you ever come to Tri a probably don’t go to

This place I’ve been there before they only serve potatoes everything is with potatoes they do lasagna but with potatoes instead pasta sheets and it’s uh it’s mostly awful and depressing and very German but anyway I’m going to go for a quick walk burn off some calories

And I’ll see you back in my hotel room for a wrapup of the motorbike trip oh no I’ve accidentally ordered some chocolate spaghetti ice cream yeah Tria is definitely uh definitely not either it has got that slightly modern retro look of many German cities for reasons that don’t have anything to do

With the RAF lovely Fountain prob gusher right we’re going to round out this Tri a tourism guide with this the penegra the black gate this was actually awarded by the Romans to the Germans in 1983 to celebrate Nina’s hit 99 lft Balloons she did pretty well didn’t she

Right I slightly ran out of time yesterday to do a proper outro so here we are in my slightly messy hotel room and Tre I just want to say thank you ever so much if you’ve watch this video series I don’t know how many videos it’s

Going to be cuz I filmed way more stuff than I should have done and uh hopefully the non-motor bike bits were interesting as well cuz I’m big history nut as I said I just felt I should include some of the stuff rather than just being like

Oh here’s a road here’s a road here’s a road here’s a motorbike So yeah thank you for tolerating me thank you for watching and if you could like And subscribe this video that would mean the world to me this trip came together with literally less than a week’s notice I’ve

Been thinking about it for months trying to get friends together just all fell apart we were meant to be to Wales at one point I’m glad we didn’t cuz the weather there has been awful and I just love coming to Europe and for me it’s nearly as affordable and as accessible

As going to somewhere like Wales and I’ll do a full Roundup video like I did last year of the costs and everything once I’ve got home but yeah today I’m just going to blast home on the motorway stop to do a little bit of filming in

Belgium but other than that the trip is over it’s been a great long weekend it’s now Monday morning I’ve got work tomorrow but yeah it’s been it’s been real pleasure and thank you to BMW for Lending me the m100r to do the trip on what a bike it’s not for everyone and

It’s certainly not for the uh the delicate of anus but it’s been a great thing but anyway I’ve been Tim thanks for watching I’ve got to tidy up and uh the rest of it and I’ll see you soon goodbye oh yeah go down your comments leave me the German word for yogurt

Field bread roll because I’ve seen some disgusting breakfasts in the Hotel this morning cheers