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08-06-2011 Wednesday
Mittersheim to Saverne
4hrs. 40min. 60kms Total 482kms
We were very happy the
tent stood up to that heavy thunderstorm last night. At one point we
even woke up from all the thunder. It continued to rain through the
night and was still drizzling when we were packing up to leave.
By the time we said our goodbyes with Aafke and got on the road it
was just before 10:00.
We got on the Canal des Houllares de la Sarre for a bit before
getting off on the D93 and followed it to Sarrebourg. After
Sarrebourg we got on the Canal de Marne au Rhine which cuts through
the hills of Foret Dom. de Phalsbourg and goes on to Saverne.
The ride today was very good, even with the weather being overcast.
And the town of Lutzelbourg was very beautiful with the canal
cutting through.
At Saverne we looked for the tourist office and got directions to
the nearest camping but also noticed that the canal we've been
following goes all the way to Strasbourg. That gave food for
thought.
The camping is difficult to get to as there is a good climb to get
to it.
Once their we noticed the familiar Jack Wolfskin tent of the Dutch
couple we've been running into from day one, Annie and Jan. They had
taken a rest day here yesterday and being higher up and more exposed
took the brunt of yesterdays storm.
It was nice to see them again and they brought over a bottle of wine
and we had a nice chat.
Camping here is very good, but a difficult climb to get to it.
1 Canal des Houllares de la Sarre
2 Monique overlooking Sarrebourg from the hill above.
3 Canal de Marne au Rhine goes through the hills under the
town of Arzviller.
4&5 The cycling path goes through the old section of Canal de
Marne au Rhine. There is a new section of the canal but only for
cars.
5 through 9 The new canal section going through Lutzelbourg.
09-06 Thursday
Saverne to Kehl
4hrs. 61kms Total 544kms
Last night we decided to
change our plans of following the Onbegrensd fietsen route to Basel
and take the canal to Strasbourg and follow the Rhine to Basel. We
just didn't want to do any more hills for a few days.
So after packing up and saying goodbye to Annie and Jan we made our
way into Saverne at around 09:00 for some supplies and got on the
Canal de Marne au Rhine heading for Strasbourg.
The ride was nice and flat, the weather was great even with the
threat of rain later in the afternoon.
Who needs rest days when riding
on a canal with nice
weather and listening to Buddha Bar on the mp3 ;-)
Strasbourg was very busy and it took a while to find our way out of
the place and across the river to Kehl.
Camping at Kehl is still the same as we remembered and after setting
up camp we went into town for a Doner kabob and beers.
1 through 5 Saverne
6 through 9 Canal de Marne au Rhine with the ever present
threat of rain.
10&11 European parliament building.
12 On the Passerelle Mimram over the Rhine, linking Strasbourg
and Kehl.
10-06 Friday
Kehl to Breisach am Rhein
6hrs. 20min. 85kms. Total 629kms.
We got up early after a
good nights sleep and were on the road by 08:00. The whole day we
rode along beautiful and quiet cycling paths next to and atop dykes
along the Rhine.
About 95% of the cycling routes are hard packed dirt easy enough on
35c tires, on thinner ones fully loaded (as we've seen other
cyclists) it might be a bit rough.
The weather started out clear and warm but later on it began to get
cloudy and cool down a bit.
The camping is situated a couple of kms out of town behind this nice
hotel. It's best to get some information at the tourist office in
the center of Breisach.
I've stayed here in 2005 on the way to Greece and it was nice then
and still nice now.
As soon as we set up the tent it started to rain. It didn't last
long and in the evening we checked out the hotel restaurant and had
a couple real good steaks. The camping and hotel restaurant are
highly recommended.
1,2&3 Cycling paths along the Rhine.
4 Climbing trees to get some cherries (a couple of kilo's)
they wee delicious.
6 We even found a yellow cherry tree. I never knew they
existed. The cherries were delicious.
7 This canal goes from the Rhine to Freiburg. We followed it
in 2006.
10 Old entrance to Breisech am Rhine.
11-06 Saturday
Breisack am Rhein to Reinach
6hrs. 10min. 83kms Total 712kms.
After another goodnights sleep we got our stuff together and were on
the road by 09:00.
The route along the Rhine was great. We rode through wooded areas
along the Rhine, the place seems to be on long nature reserve.
After stopping next to these rapids for lunch we talked about the
tour so far and Monique said that her heart was really not into it
100% anymore. I had to admit that mine wasn't either. Neither of us
wanted to continue anymore.
The decision to stop and turn back home was made. We were
carrying too much emotional baggage from what was happening at home
and in our lives at the moment that it made it very difficult to
continue on to Nice.
There were a series of signs (indecision about our route, forgetting
things home) leading up to and during this tour (not wanting to
cook, often changing our route along the way) that we didn't notice
at first and when we took the time to talk about it, it was clear.
It's a shame about loosing the money for the flight home but touring
should be fun and when it isn't anymore we think its best to stop.
We don't have the luxury of time where we could just chill someplace
for a week to gather our thoughts. Last year when we had 6 months
off, we would have just taken an extended rest.
The new plan is to cycle back along the Rhine until we become bored
or the weather changes than take the train to Aachen, Germany before
cycling the last 30kms back to Maastricht.
But now that I write this page (over a month later) I can safely say
that if we had the time we wouldn't mind doing this tour again. Just
to show how ill prepared we were physically and mentally.
Since we were about 10kms from the Swiss border we decided to go
as far as Basel, Switzerland find a camping and start back tomorrow.
There was supposed to be a camping near town but we failed to notice
on the map so we ended up going a few kms out of Basel to another
town called Reinach.
There the camping was OK but extremely expensive at 34 euros. Its
nice how they can charge so much when there is nothing around but a
very long suburban sprawl. I don't have to say AVOID this camping at
all costs.
3 The rapids were we took our break and decided to change our
plans and return home.
5 The cathedral in Basel.
12-06 Sunday
Reinach to Neaunburg
4hrs. 20min. 61kms Total 773kms.
We got on the road just before 09:00 and headed to Basel via well
signposted cycling paths.
We tried for the cathedral but even being a Sunday, a religious
holiday (Pentecost Sunday) and a few buses of tourists it was
closed. Oh well, perhaps next time we're in town.
We rode out of Basel heading towards the French border because
yesterday the German side had road works and it was a bit hectic to
get over the bridge.
Following the Rhine few kms into France we found another bridge that
crossed into Germany were we turned left and headed down river this
time.
We just followed the river back along the same cycling path as
yesterday to Neaunburg.
Camping here is ok for a night.
1 Cathedral in Basel.
2 Panorama from the Cathedral.
3 Panorama overlooking the Rhine river valley towards the
French side.
4&5 Cycling paths through the woods along the Rhine.
13-06 Monday
Neaunburg to Ettenheim
5hrs. 76kms. Total 849kms.
We got on the road before 09:00. It had rained last night and there
was still drizzle coming down while we were breaking camp.
We found the Rhine easy enough and continued down river. The whole
ride today was quiet, we had seen everything just a couple of days
earlier so we just put on our head phones and rode along.
Ettenheim is a very clean and pretty village and the camping also,
and we wouldn't minded staying longer. But the plan now is to head
home. If we are ever in the area we would definitely like to come
back.
Pictures of the day.
14-06 Tuesday
Ettenheim to Stollhofen
6hrs. 25min. 98kms. Total 947kms.
Again on the road by 09:00. We rode into town for some supplies and
headed for the Rhine.
The ride was good but we've seen it all till Kehl a few days before.
Right after Kehl we had to ride through this industrial area but no
problem the cycling path was well signposted. After Kehl it started
to rain and it was the first real rain we had to ride through on
this tour.
Somewhere along this route and in the rain we decided that tomorrow
we'll look for the nearest train station and just go home, we have
had enough.
Later on at camp we found out that there is a station at Baden-Baden
which was a few kms down the road.
We also found out that the weather was changing for the worst and
the whole area was expecting rain for the next several days, sot the
decision was even easier to make.
Later on after setting up our tent this guy with his three little
kids came and set up next to us.
They were touring with loaded bikes, even the little ones had mini
mountain bikes with rear begs. He told us they made up to 50kms max.
per day on the flat sections and several hundred the whole
tour. We were very impressed with them as the youngest was 9 and
oldest 13.
The camping here is huge and very clean with many permanent family
trailers here. They have good food and even better beer.
1 These two guys were vying for the attention of the lady on
shore by swimming in cyrcles and one trying to look prettier than
the other. How cute is that :-)
2 Passerelle Mimram bridge over the Rhine.
3 Cycling path after Kehl, doesn't change :-)
15-06 Wednesday
Stollhofen to Maastricht
3hrs. 15min. 50kms Total 997kms
After saying our goodbyes to the man and his 3 kids we got on the
road heading towards the train station in Baden-Baden. The planed
route I planned was not good as bicycles were not allowed on that
road so we had to cycle past it a few kms and double back those kms
on a very busy National road.
At the station Monique went to get tickets and to our surprise she
got a deal for 60euros with the bikes all the way to Aachen nearly
400kms. But there was a catch we had to change 4 trains. For a
100euros more it would have been an hour earlier with only 3
changes.
The train ride was as expected from German efficiency. We made to
Aachen around 17:00 and rode the 30kms or so to Maastricht before it
got dark.
It has been a good ride, about a 1000kms with pretty good weather,
beautiful countryside and meeting many people along the way.
1,2&3 The way to Maastricht in the evening.
4 The mandatory beers after every tour ;-) |