Didn’t take long to get back into the routine of getting ready to go on today’s ride; was really looking forward to getting back on the saddle on a beautiful morning. I must acknowledge my host in Strasbourg, Stephanie, a nurse who had a 6am shift so wasn’t around when it was time for breakfast or to say farewell. She had not only left me a nice breakfast but also some ham and cheese to make a couple of sandwiches, which I made to take with me. I learnt my lesson well from riding in Germany previously, one just doesn’t come across shops or cafes riding through acres and acres of never ending farmland or forest. Like the scouts, always be prepared with rations. And no chai latte to boot.
The nice thing in Strasbourg is that you don’t have to dodge the cars as they have their road and the cyclist has a parallel path. I was quickly out of Strasbourg’s core and then spent the next 15 minutes escaping the suburban sprawl. But in an instant Strasbourg faded and I was trekking on a perfect path next to Canal du Rhone au Rhin, (cycling heaven)
riding along the west side for about the first 5km before crossing over to the east side for the next 15km when I turned east and headed for the Rhine River crossing.
The first I knew that I was in Germany is when I stopped to talk to a fisherman who couldn’t speak a word of English but I managed to get a conversation going with him in German. No, he hadn’t caught any but he was enjoying the tranquillity at which point I got the message and decided to move on. Then on to never ending perfect bike trails and never-ending farmlands. I didn’t realise, how big agriculture is in Germany. Out of the blue or should I say green I came to this weird town with gambling houses everywhere,, a mini version of Vegas, Baden. By now, I was in the Black Forest country riding through villages, with Freiburg in sight. The last 10km into Freiburg is a gradual climb and my accommodation is further a further 5km from the city centre, all uphill of course. The bright side is it will be all down hill form there to my last stage to Basle. Chose not to explore the town today so I could watch the Germany v/s Korea game on TV which the Germans lost meaning they are out of the world cup; didums. Not a happy atmosphere in the dining room where I had salad and sparkling water which was half the price of the salad; ouch!.
On the bright side the Swiss drew, and are through to next phase, so Mrs tank is happy.
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