What an absolutely Glorious morning to ride.  Warm, sunny and Sunday morning, Perfect.

Whether it is an easier ride because it is along the river and dikes, or because you can enjoy the scenery and not have to worry about where to go, whatever it is, it worked today.

Except for that pesky head wind!

We saw more people before 10 am, then we saw on the way into the city yesterday, on a Saturday afternoon.

This however, was unusual………..yes, these are scuba divers!

Next stop, Speyer, what an incredible city.

Whether you are planning a vacation, or a bike trip, this city should really be a destination stop; and highly recommend it on a Sunday morning.  I ventured into the (back of) the Speyer Cathedral,

close to the end of the service.

They were in the midst of a soprano solo that was the most incredible sound in the most perfectly acoustically balanced church; AND then there was the chorus and a pipe organ.  If it didn’t send chills through you, then you are not human or alive.  Incredible!

The town, too, is beautiful

filled with some very impressive buildings.

It also offers interest for those not enamored with churches and cathedrals.  This museum,

complete with an IMAX theatre, had alot on the outside,

inside must be crazy good.

We met wonderful people today, including this young man of 80,

that assisted us with directions and at the age of 69, biked from Holland to Denmark and back.  His words of wisdom “Arbeit es gut”…..Work is good!

We stopped for our 1:00 pm feeding…….

need we say more.

Twenty five (more) miles is much more difficult after lunch, AFTER noon and into the wind.  But is was such a beautiful day and the entire city seemed to be out enjoying it.
We had a brief ferry ride (note the ferry ‘turtleing’ into the current)

where we enjoyed a scoop of ice cream………always a good incentive.

About 10 miles from our destination, we met Manos and his (movie star) son, Nikulas.

Delightful and helpful.  Manos insisted on leading us into town.  There were many ways to get there, but “the nicest way was through the forest”.  It was indeed beautiful.  He offered us history and good conversation (in English) on our home stretch; great way to take the mind off the stressed shoulders and aching knees.  The forest ended at the back door to a castle……

there just are not words to properly describe the experience.  Everywhere on the lawns, people were enjoying their day off in the glorious sunshine.

Manos insisted on taking us around the entire castle to make sure we did not miss a thing.

As much as we did not want to part, it was getting late and we so wanted to find a room plus, young Nikulas was tired after his 35 mile ride today (he’s 10 years old) and his 40 mile ride yesterday!
Luckily, we did not have to travel far to find a hotel.  We quickly checked in, so we could get some pictures (and dinner, of course).  Unfortunately, “one of us” forgot to put the charging battery back in the camera.  So you will have to settle for a picture of the two of us taken on our arrival into Karlsruhe.

Maybe we can snap a few on the way out of town tomorrow.
But not tonight, 53 miles and we need to go to bed.

Out of the door at 7:30 am into the morning rush hour, cars and bikes.  We definitely had the better way of travel and seemed to weave in and out like we knew what we were doing.  Apparently we did, as we trekked the seven miles out of town without a hitch.  Once across the Rhein we were back on the bike trail with beautiful views of farmland    lakes,

the Rhein

and the forest; birds singing everywhere.

Around 10 am, we crossed the border into France (country #3) with a sign to prove it. With a long, straight, paved road ahead, we made good time.  A few hours into our journey we were instructed to take the ferry; the ferry obviously had not gotten the instructions that we would be there……it was not running.  We continued on along the bike path.

By noon, we had reached 40 miles and were ready to take a break.  Just sandwiches today, but it was a pretty stop.

After lunch, our course strayed from the Rhein winding through an occasional cute but eerily quite town

………very few cars and NO people; but mostly along the dike base.  Though the dike blocked our view of the Rhein, the stream beside us offered us pretty white flowers. Looks like snow, which we would have liked at this point.  It had proved to be a very warm day and we had already gone through our seven water bottles.

We crossed a bridge into the huge city of Strasbourg, France (Germany still has a very small slice of the city).  Without a city map and a bit parched, we stopped for a cold drink and got some general directions to the center of town.  Still odd, the lack of people on the streets, especially for such a large city.  Concerned it was a holiday and no one was in town, we asked a couple of young girls……”No one walks in this city, there is nothing to do, we have to stay home at nights, it’s not like the streets of Paris”.  So, there you have it!

Well apparently those girls had not made it to the center of the city.  Crossing another bridge

into the center of the city     everything comes alive; except Jerry and me; we were spent.  Then we spot a magnificent church    and suddenly we have more energy.  Even better, right around the corner is this beautiful and very posh hotel where we find a room.  Jerry worked his magic, got us upgraded to a larger room that just happened to have this view But there is more.  We strolled the beautiful streets that so typify what we think of, when we think of the streets of Europe.  And then we see another church spier in the distance   …..an INCREDIBLE most magnificent cathedral, Cathedrale Notre Dame de Strasbourg.

The stained glass in this church
is the most ancient (13 & 14th century) in Christianity history.

They really do not build them like they used to.

All this tourist stuff, we needed refreshment.  Found a great little pub with good food (not as good as Germany), drink and a cute dinner companion.It’s a tough city to say good night to, but after almost 61 miles, we needed rest.

We wanted an early start as we had a storm approaching and we really wanted to be checked into a hotel in the next town before the storm’s ‘noon arrival’.  But breakfast was not until 7:00 and we HAD to see what a french breakfast was like.  It was (almost) just as wonderful; all of the same trimmings, just no brochen (I could SO do a day without).

We joined the commuters at 8:00 am, but quickly lost them as most were heading into town and we were heading out.

Our first 22 miles was a fabulous, long straight bike path along the Rhein canal with an occasional retired river barge, the beautiful sites and sounds of the forest AND protection from the wind.

We were also treated to a few of the remaining locks on this canal (originally over 500)

the cute houses that sat adjacent and

a beautiful family of swans.

We had not realized how strong the wind was until our bike path ended and we were out on the road among open fields.

The advantage was the towns were very charming,

though still no people.

The wind was brutal and the clouds were threatening,

but we could see the rain on the mountains in the distance; we did NOT want to have wind AND rain, so we pressed on.

The towns, few and far between, offered little protection but good visual distraction.

The homes have their barns (for cattle, we assume from the smell) connected by a courtyard, all rather “close”.

We crossed the bridge back into Germany by noon. Without a stop for 4 straight hours of strong biking and 10 miles still to go, we had to stop.  A slight break in the clouds allowed us a ten minute breather and a quick snack break.

It was well worth it.  Unfortunately, our last ten miles was on a gravel path, so the going was slower (or was supposed to be), but we managed to check-in before the rain.  And what a charming town.

Finally, people walking around, flowers everywhere……’just lovely’!

We checked in by 1:00, seconds before the rain came.   A wonderful hot shower, good meal (goulash soup) and we head out between the raindrops for a quick look at the town.  Tomorrow the weather turns worse, but after 12 straight days of biking, the last four over 50 miles each, we are ready to take a break.  And obviously, we will have some great things to explore on our day off tomorrow.

Nothing beats a great night’s sleep, except maybe a great night’s sleep (of 10 HOURS) after a hard bike……definitely the ticket!  Though it was not raining as predicted, it was really cold and the wind was howling, great start to a deserved day off!

The town of Breisach is enchanting.

Every other block, there is a small courtyard of innovative restaurants,

lovely people (especially the little ones)

nice shops, flowers,

fruit and vegetable stands

and beer!

Straight UP the hill from town

is a castle

dating back to Roman times.

The architecture is stunning

and the views from these height are all encompassing.

Note the other half of the castle over the rooftops.

Also, in the same courtyard is their town hall.

The wind chased us into a restaurant just about lunch time (imagine that).

A couple more pictures of the flowers that are everywhere,

and lastly the one from our hotel window.

See you on the road tomorrow.

We were up bright and early and ready to ride.  Unfortunately, the 7:00 am breakfast didn’t actually open at seven, closer to eight.  Had to stay as we had not paid the bill, so might as well eat, too.

At the garage, where we store our bikes, we meet Mennno and Esther

a very nice father/daughter biking team from the Netherlands.  They were traveling down the the Rhein, so we shared information on which way to go, goods and bads, etc.  We could have chatted for hours with them exchanging stories, but we had a 50 mile day ahead of us and it was a late start already.

There are two route choices from here up the Rhein; cross the river and ride in France through small villages or stay on the Germany side and ride a straight (though quiet) bike trail all the way to Basel.  Given our experience with the lack of signs in France’s small towns and Menno’s recommendation, we stayed in Germany.

What a wonderful choice.

Yes, we missed small French towns, but the bike trail was anything but lonely.  Right away we saw dozens of swans

easily floating single file down the Rhein, enjoying whatever it is they eat for breakfast.

The trail was a high bank along the river, occasionally offering glimpses

of the narrowing river.

We saw deer …… we know, this doesn’t count as wild, but look at that face

……….. and sheep

with their shepperd as well as the real worker, the German Shepperd, amazing to watch (missed that picture).

We saw bicyclists all day (the most since Amsterdam), most of them touring and all of them enjoying themselves,

but were a bit taken aback when Vick and his 21 year old steed

pulled up beside us.   Turns out Vick rides bikes as well, but with a horse as beautiful and spirited as Derby, it would be tough to get on a bike.

Shortly after noon, we approached some pretty rapids,

since we’d packed a lunch, it was a perfect place for a picnic.

A few more glimpeses of the river,

before our course started us on our approach to the city.

With the exception of a swan and her ‘ugly ducklings’

the ride in was through a very industrial area.  Even the border crossing from Germany to Switzerland was under such heavy construction, there was nothing to photograph.

Basel is a big city

and though we reached it by one, it took us another hour to get to our hotel.  Finally out of the industrial and into the sightseeing.

There is a holiday today (can’t translate the details) and everything is closed.  So the usual umbrella lined cafes are missing and with it some of the magic.

But there is a cathedral!

Surprised though, that every single large church and/or cathedral we have been close enough to photograph has been under some kind of major renovation.

We try to shoot around the scaffolding.

The Münster Cathedral dates back to the 1100’s.

There is excavating under the cathedral and it’s a bit bizarre to see items from 900 A.D., just laid out neatly numbered.

One of the several bridges that join the city divided by the Rhein has a guardian dragon.

Maybe he’s checking out the people below.

That’s all the sightseeing for us today.  Tomorrow we continue up the Rhein but our direction in the next couple of days is up in the air.  There are many ways to connect to the Danube and sights “sort of” along the way.  Who knows where we’ll end up, we sure do not.  But the ride shall be interesting as Basel is at the beginning of the Alps.

It was a beautiful morning, overcast, but the green foothills reaching up behind the homes were very picturesque,
though I’m sure I’ll be cursing those foothills later.  Right now we were cursing the headwind, luckily there was not a pending storm we had to outrun, so we would take it slow (as if we had a choice).
We were only in Switzerland for a mile or two, then the trail crossed the German border.
We stopped in a bike store to see if they had a map we’d been looking for and he recommended we bike the Switzerland side, “much prettier”.
It wasn’t far down the road we found a hydro electric damn
and crossed the Rhein back into Switzerland.

Having biked on only flat land for the past two weeks, we really noticed any bump in the road.  These hills seemed like small mountains given our unconditioned legs, but the scenery was spectacular.

At the top of one of the hills coming into a town we ran into a bike problem.  Luckily, we were able to find a bike store that fixed the problem with only 40 minutes lost,
then ready to ride.
Switzerland’s east side of the Rhein was beautiful,

but there were several times the bike path was dirt and very bumpy,
at points we though we were not on the right path.  Luckily, these two pretty horsewomen pointed us in the right direction.
Saw a lot of swans

and on a couple of occasions, them coming in for landing.
Beautiful scenery
beautiful fields
everything perfect except the strong head wind.

After 38 miles we saw a way to get back to Germany, smoother paths and better bike signs and took it.

We had not seen a single biker for 38 miles and as soon as we turned onto the bike path in Germany, they were everywhere.  Entire families on tour, with young kids (probably as young as six) on their on bikes, some loaded with gear, but everyone smiling.  And we could understand why, just spectacular.

We made a sharp right turn and almost collided with this darling church.
Another sharp turn yielded a straight uphill climb, a least 14% grade, certainly not what we were ready for,
and the picture does not do it justice.
But the vista……Up one more hill and we were in the small little town where we had decided to stop.  Jerry had found this very charming hotel

that serves fabulous local beers and wines

and a “pretty” but scrumptious dinner.  Note: the German wines are much better than I would have ever imagined (not sweet) and as good as the best Californian wines we’ve ever had.

A quick walk around the two block town yielded farms

and flowers everywhere.

….and then to bed.

We apologize to all, our internet signal has been spotty at best, so if we do not respond to your emails, or post for a day or two, it is unpreventable.

Another overcast, yet beautiful morning.  The forecast was for sunny and 80’s, so we welcomed the 60’s and overcast to start.

What did concern us, as it always does, is the immediate downhill once we’d biked out of the small town of Lieheim.  As we’ve learned, what goes down, MUST go UP; and up it did.

Actually, we had a nice steady climb up (not easy, but not ridiculously steep) with beautiful countryside,

after our early downhill fly; this we could handle………‘this’ would not last.  Still, we cannot forget to mention the required churches nestled in every town along the way or

a glimpse of the Rhein.

Today is actually one of those days we should just let the pictures talk (and they would say it was an awesome day), but then you would miss out on the Incredibly steep hills we had to climb.

And you can’t have a really steep incline without a ridiculously steep fly down from the heights we had struggled to climb for so long.  But the view at the bottom was awesome,

unfortunately, the ridiculous amount of pictures we took of this waterfall at Rheinfalls,

will never do it justice, but we try, nonetheless.

The climb from the Rheinfalls was the toughest, 14% or better, and it went on and on.

But it was the only way out and there was so much more to see.  And if we forget, in all the climbing, to say what an incredible day of sights it was, please note that it was unbelievable!

Again, a day full of bikers and finally an opportunity to take a picture of some of the young ones.

We stopped for our picinic lunch on a bench along the road and took in the sights of Diessenhofen, Switzerland

from across the river.

okay, just one more…..

We crossed the German and Switzerland border numours times, luckily, they no longer check passports at every crossing.
Throwing in a little contemporary architecture,

before we return to the Enchanted Forest
and then Stein am Rhein…..this is where you should just click on the pictures.

Scattered among the incredible towns and beautiful fields

were steep but short climbs, then we drop to the Bodensee/Lake Konstanz, the start of the Rhein and one of our goals.

It is a huge lake

and we wound around through parks,

villages and farmland to our destination, Radolfzell.

Unfortunately, every single hotel (and there are dozens) was booked.  We decided to bike on to Singen, which was the direction we had planned for the next day.  As we followed the bike path out of town, the sign said we had 17 kilometers to go …….not good, we were tired. The highway sign, however, showed 10 kilometers.  Sitting at the intersection, apparently looking very confused, Michael

comes zooming to a stop beside us, asks if he can help and then leads us the shortest way into Singen.  It’s not a tourist destination stop, but it was a hotel, a hot shower and dinner, as we were hungry.
We were still trying to figure out which way to go;

>These are the signs we desperately cling to along the way <

and we were rather disappointed that we had reached the Bodensee and only spent a couple minutes there.

THE Bodensee is the beginning of the Rhein, the culmination of the beginning……if that’s not too grammatically and geographically incorrect…… We had actually completed the “Ride of the Rhein”.  The Bodensee, it’s where it all began and it was over in a flash.

So tomorrow morning we will start with backtracking the seven miles we did last night, and spend some time touring the Bodensee.