Sigmaringen to Munderkingen to Ulm

PAUL

Two days for the price of one. No wifi last night, no blog. 

We started our ride of from Sigmaringen with a visit at the castle. We joined a group that was about to start and were given English reading guides. They showed only 8 roomies of the castle. The castle belonged to the Hohenzollern family but dates back to 11C but Roman artefacts indicate earlier inhabitants. The last extension was completed 1902. 

No photos allowed, but we did convince the cashier to allow us to photograph a printed sheet used in our guide. The red room was used to entertain visiting dignitaries. 6 Latin verses were used as scrolls on the ceiling. The second, Moderation Conquers All, was a theory as you traverse the rooms. No moderation at all. 

We set of for Munderkingen. A relatively dry trip of 57kms. Flat farming country, corn, wheat, some kind of bean and a good bug, nitrogen fixing mix. 

When we arrived we set up camp quick due to possible rain. It came, it stopped, and we cooked dinner, tinned goulash and pasta. We went to mass, but if forgot to drown load the English mass which made it a little difficult. We went to the town fair and then went back to the tent. It rained all night. We woke about 7am and decide to pack up while the rain abated. The owner arrived at his campsite and we paid €14 for the night and set off for Ulm. 

Another day of flat pastoral cycling. Lachlan and I lamented that we miss the hills. Today was the first day without any sunlight. We had only 30 mins of rain for the day. 

Our accommodation is in a multi-story B&B. Too many good bakeries in town to spend in a hotel.  

We went for a walk tonight and will ascend the cathedral in town and find Mozarts birthplace and feature. 

Stay safe. We are!

Photo Latin scroll

 

Nearly Step Brothers

Jesus under the red light. Solariums must be OK

Today's country side. 

Tuttlingen to Sigmaringen

PAUL

We were the last to leave our $5 campsite this morning, we returned our keys and went into town to get a Bavarian EuroVelo 6 map. Got it! In German! The maps are still the same, the info is interpretive. 

We rode 57 km today with only 1 km on road. Undulating country. Lachy was disappointed with the mighty Danube. Photo tells a thousand words. The EV6 is well sign posted and it was not too hard to follow. 

We stopped for lunch beside the Danube, where an art installation had been installed in the river with two chairs and a table and a bird sitting upon it. No photo sorry. Bread roll and jam. Fresh bread daily from the bakerie. We passed through a town where Lachy asked for pretzels. They were good whilst riding. No chocolate version sorry, G. 

The rainforests we are riding through contain deer, squirrels and other marsupials/lizards that we cannot see, but can hear. 

We passed through a fortified town near Nickhof the contained and old church called Klosterkirche. An unusual feeling passing through. You could compare it to passing through a private property thinking you were doing the wrong thing.  The town wasn't deserted but is was an eirey feeling. We couldn't work the door knob out to look at the church which we suspect that was built late 1800 a small niche with Mary and sweet baby Jesus built 21 Oct 1893. 52 years before mums birthday. 

Another church located 10 km from Dickberg but closer to Oberhausen contained two rows of pews that was more for travellers than congregations. A beautiful fresco filled the wall behind the altar and at the entry to the church. A worthwhile stop. Looking forward to Church Sat or Sun. 

The bikes are coping well. We are carrying an extra 1000g of dirt and looking intently for an auto lavage to cleanse our beasts. 

On other family co-inhabit our campsite tonight. A five and two year old from Spain on a towed bike and baby carrier. Twenty to thirty k's a day. 

Tomorrow we will go to the castle, before we head off on the ride. With a dedicated route we can plan our rides a bit better. Looking forward to Ulm for our rest day. It is supposed to be a historic town with good sights. 

Stay safe! We are!

The nighty Danube

St Marius Chapel 

Clouds, no rain. 

Another Bridge

Beware the Roman Stork. 

We didn't stay here ;)

.

Scaffhausen to Tuutlingen

PAUL.

We got away early for what turned out to be a big day. The first part of the trip was not on EuroVelo 6. Our first stop was a town called Stein am Rhien. This town had restricted access. No buses or cars came into the fortified part of the city. Pedestrians and bikes are king. Older style buildings with old names on many of the buildings many if the structures were painted. This was the same at Scaffhausen. We enjoyed morning tea and set off towards Tuttlingen. We rode beside Lake Konstanz. From Lyon to Scaffhausen we saw a handful of cyclists on trips. Today we saw at least 200 cyclists, out of the Alps I suppose. We continued to follow the EU6 and lost it at a town call auSingen. We followed Garmin to our destination. Lachlan had a bit of trouble today but it wasn't until we stopped riding and he said that we covered 90 kms today that I realised his concerns. His muscles are getting bigger though. 

Another family arrived at the same time we did to the €5 campsite. Mum, dad and two daughters aged 8&6. They are doing the west to east EU6. The 8 year old is riding a 16" gear bike and the 6 year old's bike is attached to mums like a trailer. They swap from time to time. How good would it be for families to ride on cycleways in Australia without motorist concerns! Not recreational suburban routes but nationwide tourist routes. 

We have run out of metho so our first night in Germany saw us get a meal, two beers and a coke for €30. Switzerland is expensive. The cycleways are good though. 

Forgot this on yesterday. Our first EU6 photo. The tree in the background is in focus :(

Stay safe we are!

Snaps of the trip today

Eagles rather than crows. The crows were 500m away

Stein au Rhien

St Michael protect us

EuroVelo 6

The Schaffhausen on the Rhine

Lake Konstanz

https://www.dropbox.com/s/t9k1o7fiduv7gcg/2014-06-26%2012.14.12.jpg

.

Zurich to Scaffhausen

PAUL

We left Zurich this morning with a 50 km ride to the Rhine Falls and Schaffhausen. 

We had a quick climb from Zurich past the airport and into farming territory. Wheat, corn and a type of bean were the three main staples. We have gone away from the slashing machines and hay bailers. We followed the Rhine river for a lot of the trip today. 

We stopped for a blow at a lookout near Murkathof a beautiful green river 150m below.  

We took some photos of plants in a town called Winkel that Kristy will like. 

We returned to the cycle track and stopped by the river to skim stones. 

We crossed another timber bridge that looked good at Rheinau and then  a 5km ride to the falls. The falls were not as busy as I thought they might be. Normal summer flow is 600m3 per second. There is a rock located in the middle if the falls.  A boat drops you off to to climb to be in the middle of the falls. 

It was a relatively. Short ride today with no directional issues

We are leaving Switzerland tomorrow after 880 kms and 51 hours riding. According to our planned route we should have only done 670 km. that's four days extra riding so far. About 70 km in the rain and only a couple of disagreements. All is going good. Into Bavaria we go looking for good schnitzel and cheaper accommodation. 

Highlights to date would be the scenery. Changes at every corner, even for the same landmark. 

I found another sore muscle today, that's one per day. Not many muscles left. 

Stay safe. We are!

 The cloud that produced ten minutes of rain. 

Green/aqua rivers everywhere. 

Dripping with nectar. 

Another timber bridge, outside and inside. 

The Rhine falls. 

Schaffhausen. I liked this town as well. 

A couple of photos and links for Monut castle built in the late 1500's

https://www.dropbox.com/s/28rmuyxiq4jemh8/2014-06-25%2016.59.35.jpg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ay9c7st7a1dgg8x/2014-06-25%2017.00.40.jpg

Manliness is very important. 

Lucerne to Zurich

PAUL

We had to park our bikes in an unusual spot (for Australians anyway) overnight the hotel receptionist told us to park at the railway station, it was safe. We were very unsure about this. 50m down the road was a parking area for velo and motos. We locked both bike together and hoped we would see them in the morning. Most corners in Lucerne had these and some bikes weren't secured to an immovable object and some not locked at all!

This is our spot,

It rained for most of the night and most of the morning. Because it was a short day we left the hotel late. We rode around the city and had morning tea at a coffee and cake shop. The strawberry tart I had was good and Lachlan was unsure of his apple tart. 

We made our way in heavy rain along the Swiss velo 9,4 route through a forest along the Rhone. The river coming out of Lucerne as Lachlan indicated was crystal clear. Another river flowing into it was filthy and for a long distance the river flowed in two colours. Soon after the colours merged to brown. The attraction of the waterway diminished. We rode for about an hour and came across a caravan in a freeway parking area selling food. Fortunately they took euros as that is all we had. 

The rain stopped not long after this and we were able to ride a little freer. It tracks and roads were undulating. I think will be the same for the rest of the trip. 

We went through some scenic paths and areas. Sometimes the cycle ways can take you away from the towns but today's routes kept us in towns. We did take a wrong turn that added to our distance today. We knew this would happen from time to time. 

We arrived in Zurich on a cycle way that took,us along the river for about 25kms. After Lachlan's fall on gravel he is a little cautious. I'll ride that out of him I hope. 

The hotel has been done up recently. It is very nice. The neighbourhood isn't as nice. Slight to high red light. The building across from us is erotica 0500-0400 daily. 

Had nice Thai for dinner. We left and looked for ice cream but none was found. Back in the room looking at soccer. The rides take it out of us, so walking for ages is not always easy to do. The part of Zurich we are in is not as picturesque as Lucerne. Only a few photos. 

Stay safe, we are. 

I lichen the walls of this passage to Kristy's photos at Triberg. 

.

Night shots Lucerne

I went for a walk at 1000 pm, got a couple of shots. Stay safe. We are!

.