Thursday, May 15, 2008
Day 1 - Konstanz to Schaffhausen (52K)We took a series of local trains filled with bicyclists down to Konstanz early in the morning. Arriving at the shores of Lake Constance (the Bodensee), we enjoyed leftover eggplant in peanut butter sauce. After visiting the house that Jan Hus lived in while waiting to be murdered by the Council of Konstanz, we immediately crossed the border into Switerland and headed to Stein am Rhein.
First Swiss bike sign!
Stein am Rhein. We enjoyed a lunch of vegetarian roesti (for S) and fish and ice coffee for B. The food was great, but not exactly cheap. It turned out to be a good move to have a satisfying lunch, though, because only two minutes out of town, B realized that his rear tire was losing air. We immediately turned around, desperately searching for fellow bikers who might have a pump to fit the tire, but to no avail. The tire was worn entirely through. As we were searching for the tourist information to find a gas station, we passed - miracle of miracles - a bike shop, OPEN on a SUNDAY during PENTECOST. This may seem no big deal to the American mind, but in Europe, this is like finding the Holy Grail. Responding to our urgent entreaties, they agreed "als Ausnahme" (exception) to replace the whole thing - immediately. 61 SFR later, we were good to go. At 5:45, we finally left for Schaffhausen.
By Schaffhausen, only 20K later, we were hungry again. We started searching through the center of town looking for an Asian Imbiss (fast food), only to give up and settle for a generic Italian place when we realized that we were locking our bikes outside a Thai place called Bambus. If you are ever in Schaffhausen, GO! It is delicious - by far the best Asian food we've had since, well, Asia. We shared a vegetarian Tom Kha (galangal) soup, a green mango salad with Thai onions and peanuts (Yam Ma-Muang) and some popia (spring rolls). Wonderful. We biked across the Rhine again, still in Switzerland, and found a campground.
Our teeny, tiny tent. (It weighs less than 3 pounds, so it's good for bicycle camping. Unfortunately, some people were celebrating Pentecost in a rather raucous fashion until late at night next to our tent, so we got almost no sleep.)
Schaffhausen - the Munot fortress.
Schaffhausen - the Munot fortress.
Day 2 - Schaffhausen to Bad Sackingen (68K)
No grocery stores were open the second day of Pentecost either (Monday), so our delight when we happened on a COOP gas station was considerable. We bought ingredients for breakfast, then bicycled another 6K along the Rhine to the famous Rhine falls, where the Rhine - for no discernible reason - suddenly falls about 23M. A perfect location for breakfast.
We spent the first part of the day crossing in and out of Germany and Switerland through rolling landscapes, sometimes within sight of the Rhine, sometimes not. We were making much better time than the day before as we adjusted to our bikes.
Rapeseed (for oil) is an important and pretty crop.
We made it to Waldshut (in Germany), where we ate very uninspiring, but cheap, pasta for lunch. About 2K outside town, we passed one of the enormous power plants that dot the now tightly controlled Rhine. We biked for a while on sandy roads, and just as we were returning to the main bank, we, or rather B's bicycle tire, encountered the corner of a tiny piece of glass. PSSSHHHSSSHHHT. Luckily it was the other worn-out tire, rather than the brand new one.
This happened just outside Albbruck, which thankfully has a train station. We had decided to continue to Rheinfelden by train and wait there for a bike shop the next day, which would be a regular business day. We were dreading the 6K walk from Rheinfelden to the campground, however. While waiting for the train, we got to talking to R and P and their child Phil, who had also experienced a flat tire and were breaking their excursion. R, in a completely unprecedented move, invited us to stay at his place in Bad Sackingen for the night. We enjoyed take-out Indian and a tour of Bad Sackingen, with its famous wooden bridge (below).
We spent the first part of the day crossing in and out of Germany and Switerland through rolling landscapes, sometimes within sight of the Rhine, sometimes not. We were making much better time than the day before as we adjusted to our bikes.
Rapeseed (for oil) is an important and pretty crop.
We made it to Waldshut (in Germany), where we ate very uninspiring, but cheap, pasta for lunch. About 2K outside town, we passed one of the enormous power plants that dot the now tightly controlled Rhine. We biked for a while on sandy roads, and just as we were returning to the main bank, we, or rather B's bicycle tire, encountered the corner of a tiny piece of glass. PSSSHHHSSSHHHT. Luckily it was the other worn-out tire, rather than the brand new one.
This happened just outside Albbruck, which thankfully has a train station. We had decided to continue to Rheinfelden by train and wait there for a bike shop the next day, which would be a regular business day. We were dreading the 6K walk from Rheinfelden to the campground, however. While waiting for the train, we got to talking to R and P and their child Phil, who had also experienced a flat tire and were breaking their excursion. R, in a completely unprecedented move, invited us to stay at his place in Bad Sackingen for the night. We enjoyed take-out Indian and a tour of Bad Sackingen, with its famous wooden bridge (below).
Day 3 - Bad Sackingen to Ottmarsheim (84K)
The next day, after B repaired his own tire at a shop, we said goodbye and crossed the bridge back into Switzerland.
We biked along shady, forested paths by the Rhine until reaching the old Roman settlement of Augustus Raurica (Kaisersaugst), the oldest Roman colony on the Rhine, founded by one of Caesar's field marshals.
There are ruins strewn about the place. The amphitheater has been partially reconstructed, and we ate lunch in it. The area has been under excavation since the 16th century.
A short while later, after a meandering tour through suburbs and past the EM stadium, we reached Basel. We ate ice cream by the cathedral where Erasmus is buried, tried to procure an allergy shot for B (almost, but not quite, successfully), and quickly crossed into France.
Marked as Route 2 in Switzerland, the French have a different sign.
We headed north through the Petit Camargue Alsacienne (a nature reserve along the Canal de Huningue) on spectacularly pleasant bike paths, easily the best we saw on the entire trip. We were now tired and hungry, but knew we needed to reach a certain point on the French side to eat before crossing the Rhine again to camp in Germany.
We biked along shady, forested paths by the Rhine until reaching the old Roman settlement of Augustus Raurica (Kaisersaugst), the oldest Roman colony on the Rhine, founded by one of Caesar's field marshals.
There are ruins strewn about the place. The amphitheater has been partially reconstructed, and we ate lunch in it. The area has been under excavation since the 16th century.
A short while later, after a meandering tour through suburbs and past the EM stadium, we reached Basel. We ate ice cream by the cathedral where Erasmus is buried, tried to procure an allergy shot for B (almost, but not quite, successfully), and quickly crossed into France.
Marked as Route 2 in Switzerland, the French have a different sign.
We headed north through the Petit Camargue Alsacienne (a nature reserve along the Canal de Huningue) on spectacularly pleasant bike paths, easily the best we saw on the entire trip. We were now tired and hungry, but knew we needed to reach a certain point on the French side to eat before crossing the Rhine again to camp in Germany.
We reached the small Alsatian town of Ottmarsheim, pulled on city clothes over our biking outfits, and looked for a place to eat. When we walked up to the restaurant below, we saw a sign in the window advertising rooms for around 30 EUR for the night. We exchanged one glance and booked a 28EUR room for the night, then went downstairs to see what was for dinner.
We enjoyed a completely and totally French countryside meal for an unbelievable price (3 courses were 11-12 EUR each). There was little or no choice, but the kitchen was happy to whip up a vegetarian main for S. She started with radishes with the most delicious, creamy butter (eaten with salt on bread), while B enjoyed a plate of cucumber and carrot salad. For a main, B had beef with beans, carrots, and French fries, while S had white asparagus with fried eggs. For dessert, B had simple strawberries with sugar while S had a piece of cheese. The whole experience was like a lovely dream, and even the bathroom down the hall was sparkling clean and used by no one but us. We slept for almost 10 hours from sheer exhaustion, before enjoying a breakfast of coffee, crusty baguette, and butter. No plates were on offer - one simply cut the baguette over the table and wiped the crumbs to the side at the end.
Tempted by last night's success, and with our backends not entirely adjusted to days on the bicycle, we called it in early and decided just to stay in Colmar. This time, we found a hotel just outside town (called, curiously, the Sun King - Roi Soleil - but offering nothing reminiscent of him) for 37 EUR. On the way, we passed one of the great French landmarks.
At first, B thought it was an ironic statement of French consumerism modeled on an American prototype (because the Statue of Liberty was located in a roundabout in a strip mall). More prosaically, it turns out that the designer of the Statue of Liberty was a native of Colmar, and that the statue above had only been erected in 2004 to celebrate that aspect of greatness.
After visiting it, we put in the final 15K to Sasbach, a small and inviting village where we enjoyed a final, delicious lunch of fried Camembert with salad, fried fish with salad, and ice cream, accompanied by local drinks. Full, happy, and tired, we took seven different regional trains home with nary a mishap. At 9pm, the rain finally started.
We enjoyed a completely and totally French countryside meal for an unbelievable price (3 courses were 11-12 EUR each). There was little or no choice, but the kitchen was happy to whip up a vegetarian main for S. She started with radishes with the most delicious, creamy butter (eaten with salt on bread), while B enjoyed a plate of cucumber and carrot salad. For a main, B had beef with beans, carrots, and French fries, while S had white asparagus with fried eggs. For dessert, B had simple strawberries with sugar while S had a piece of cheese. The whole experience was like a lovely dream, and even the bathroom down the hall was sparkling clean and used by no one but us. We slept for almost 10 hours from sheer exhaustion, before enjoying a breakfast of coffee, crusty baguette, and butter. No plates were on offer - one simply cut the baguette over the table and wiped the crumbs to the side at the end.
Day 4 - Ottmarsheim to Colmar (73K)
From Ottmarsheim we biked to Neuf-Brisach, a Vauban fortress built on orders from the Sun King himself. where we indulged at a bakery. (All this biking takes energy!) We then left the Rhine route and biked across the countryside to the town of Colmar, a gorgeous, if rather touristy, Alsatian wine town.
Tempted by last night's success, and with our backends not entirely adjusted to days on the bicycle, we called it in early and decided just to stay in Colmar. This time, we found a hotel just outside town (called, curiously, the Sun King - Roi Soleil - but offering nothing reminiscent of him) for 37 EUR. On the way, we passed one of the great French landmarks.
At first, B thought it was an ironic statement of French consumerism modeled on an American prototype (because the Statue of Liberty was located in a roundabout in a strip mall). More prosaically, it turns out that the designer of the Statue of Liberty was a native of Colmar, and that the statue above had only been erected in 2004 to celebrate that aspect of greatness.
We've visited the town twice before (to see the Grunewald crucifixion) so after a picnic in the park, we retired to our hotel to watch the UEFA Cup final, where St. Petersburg deservedly humiliated the Glasgow Rangers.
Day 5 - Colmar to Sasbach (46K)
The weather forecast: rain, rain, rain. Fearing inclement weather, we decided to head back to Breisach am Rhein in Germany to be near a train when the rain started. Of course, as anyone might have predicted, the rain never started. But S's knee was hurting and B's hindside too, so a shorter final day was probably in the cards regardless.
The weather forecast: rain, rain, rain. Fearing inclement weather, we decided to head back to Breisach am Rhein in Germany to be near a train when the rain started. Of course, as anyone might have predicted, the rain never started. But S's knee was hurting and B's hindside too, so a shorter final day was probably in the cards regardless.
Enjoying the beautiful sunshine, we left Colmar for Breisach, a town on the edge of the Black Forest surrouned by vineyards. The cathedral towers over the town.
After visiting it, we put in the final 15K to Sasbach, a small and inviting village where we enjoyed a final, delicious lunch of fried Camembert with salad, fried fish with salad, and ice cream, accompanied by local drinks. Full, happy, and tired, we took seven different regional trains home with nary a mishap. At 9pm, the rain finally started.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
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