Early this morning, after filling with diesel at the nearby Intermarche at 1.88euro/litre, we drove up to Strasbourg, and went to the municipal vehicle storage area, where we were meeting the Strasbourg police officer to inspect the van. This storage area contained hundreds of vehicles that had been impounded by the police or the Mairie for various reasons, such as stolen vehicles, proceeds of crime, involvement in accidents, unpaid fines etc etc. They ranged from very new, expensive vehicles to older, less expensive vehicles. They were in all sorts of condition, some in perfect knick, some accident-damaged, some burnt out and some just trashed. We pondered pensively as the police guy drove us through the compound to the van. We were relieved to see that the van was in relativly good condition. After we confirmed that the vehicle was ours (mainly due to contents still in the van, and to the cover-up paint job over the Morooco painting on the rear-side door), we followed the police car to police headquarters (me driving the van and Rita driving the Scenic), where we completed lots of paperwork about the vehicle and the theft. The only obvious damage that we noticed at first sight was the overpainted door and a broken side-light (with accompanying scratches from something they scraped along on the right side of the van).

While the cop (actually an undercover detective) was finalising the paperwork, we went into the old town of Strasbourg for some lunch and a little bit of sight-seeing. So while we didn't get there by boat, we did get there! It really is a very attractive city, with lots to see and do. So, while we have not succeeded in getting there by boat in 4 years, we will probably try again in the future.

After lunch, the cop took us to get replacement licence plates (which had been changed for German plates, along with a fake VIN number, and a forged set of ownership papers) and then gave us instructions for what we needed to do next. We were blown away by the efficiency of the Strasbourg police in finding the van, and for the friendly help they gave us today. Unbelievable! So by mid-afternoon, we were driving the van back to L'Isle sur le Doubs. Tomorrow we will take it to Auxonne where we will get a replacement VIN plate made by the Citroen dealer, and give the van a thorough cleanout. The only major things missing are our two eBikes and the TV that was built into the van. Over the next few days we will get a number of security upgrades for the van to reduce the chances of all this happening again! In the meantime, I parked Vanumbra near the Scenic under the light in the railway parking area.

That evening, I relaxed by following the 1st Semi-Final of the Speedway of Nations Team World Championship being held in Denmark. And I was pleasantly surprised when the Australian team (consisting of Jason Doyle, Max Fricke and Jack Holder, all Speedway Grand Prix riders) took out first place to proceed to the Final next Saturday, with tournament favourites Poland winning a race-off to finish third and just get into the Final. Strangely, despite having several high-quality riders, Poland have never won the Speedway of Nations Championship. Perhaps they will do better in the Final this year than they have in previous years.