Cycling: German Danube

Day 48: Saturday 20th June
Donauworth - Menning (105km)

Meet Taiwanese bike tourists at the camp and shared coffee with them in the morning. They had individual cup coffee filters from Taiwan - genius. It was good to catch up with other cyclists and find out about places they had ridden. The couple had done NZ and also the island of Hokkaido in Japan. They thought Japan was an excellent place for cycle touring, with campsites and food being better quality and more reasonably priced than Europe. The younger Taiwanese guy (who was riding alone) is the only person we have met travelling more than ourselves. He had started in Paris, rode through all the mountain passes in Switzerland and gone up the Donau through Austria.

A txt message confirmed we would meet our friends Sean and Adrienne in Ingolstadt for lunch so we raced off. Blitzed a hilly section passed lederhosen clad locals to the town of Neuburg. Neuburg had an impressive schloss (castle) but time was short so after admiring the courtyard we rode on. The Grunau hunting palace (Germanys answer to Chambord) was impressive but looked unloved in recent years.

We arrived at Ingolstadt on time and headed to the local campsite to check in. The municipal campsite was more of a trailer-park (in the American sense) so we abandoned that idea and headed to the Bahnhof to meet our friends from Munich. The afternoon was spend listening to um-pah music, and enjoying food and drink on the market square. It was great to catch up with Sean and Adrienne (who are living and working in Munich). Amazing how far their German has come since we met at Oktoberfest last year.

After an evening stroll through the streets of Ingolstadt we parted ways and headed to Vohburg 20km down the river. The light was fading so we cranked up the pace. We missed a badly signposted crossing of the river and ended up on a "No Bikes" highway for much of the way. Used the dynamo headlamps for the first time, which was like riding with the brakes on. Susan gave up on hers and I rode behind. At 30km/hr she was lit up like a spotlight. The free Vohburg camping looked seriously dodgy so we rode up to Menning where at 10:15pm we couldn't rouse the owner. We wandered past fireflies in the darkness to camped in the empty tent-siute/backyard anyway.

Day 49: Sunday 21 June

Menning - Kapfelberg (58km)

Awoke early and slipped away. A puncture slowed our departure but after switching inner-tubes the generosity of a local meant Mark could pump up the tyre with a proper racing bike pump, instead of slogging away with our mini-pump for ages.

At Neustadt we found the only open bakery for miles (being a Sunday). We rode through farmland to Weltenburg abbey with its impressive church interior (Sean had enlightened us on Baroque designs by the famous Asam brothers).

The next stretch of river surrounded by cliff is often conquered by boat. We, being purists, ended up on a goat track over the hill. Skidding down the other side we arrived at McDonalds, which is about the only place in Germany that sells meat that looks like meat instead of dog-roll. The old town of Kelhiem was nice but a bit samey so we didn't linger.

Highlights of the afternoon were the marble, life sized replicas of the Pantheon and Parthenon. These monsters, apparently created by the same Ludwig who created the fairytale masterpiece of Neuschwanstein, look impressive but totally out of place in the forest clad Barvarian hills.

We camped at a nice spot by the marina at Kapfelberg. It was the first spot on the river where we have seen jet-skis etc. We spent until sundown enjoying beer, schnitzl and sausages at a riverside diner.

Day 50: Monday 22 JuneKapfelberg - Straubing (82km)

We started the morning with a true Barvarian breakfast - weiss wurst, salami, cheese, ham, pretzel, buns, butter and cherry jam. We rode to Regensburg with its impressive old sprawling old town and bridge. We poached some wifi and updated ourselves on emails.

The afternoon was spiked with intermittent thunderstorms, but at least it was warmer than the

Felt exhausted arriving in Straubing, and even though it wasn't a particularly long day fatigue set in early. We have been eating well but put exhaustion down to lack of reserves left on our bodies. Mark for example has lost about 10kg since the start of the trip - while at the same time puting on a lot of muscle. That means we are more efficient at riding, but must be more careful about when we eat since the reserve energy just isn't there anymore.

Day 51: Tuesday 23 June

Straubing

Rain through the night and woke to persistent drizzle. Susans eye looked sore so we found an eye-doctor in town and procured some antibiotics. The rest of the day was spent trying to atay out of the rain so ended up holing up in McDonalds, visiting a cathedral (Asam brothers again) which paled in comparison to Weltenburg abbey, and visiting a museum with a Roman horde of treasures that had been discovered locally. The Roman stuff was amazing, this being one of the main outposts on the Donau at the frontier of the ancient empire.

Cycling: Donau source

Day 42: Sunday 14th June

Markelfingen - Immendingen (91km)

We rejoined the EV6 route and headed north away from the lake. We had decided a trip along the Donau (Danube for the uneducated) wouldn't be complete without a trip to Donaueschingen and the official source of the great river.

After traveling north for about 20km we decided to cut north-west and make for Donaueschingen. We had no map of the area and used a fair but of guestimation combined with the odd stop at service stations to peruse their maps. Our route took us on a major road that paralleled the autobahn. A 6km incline took us up 300m to a saddle with spectacular views back to the alps. The sun was beating down and we were seriously cooking by the time we reached the top. The ride down the other side was a breeze and took us to Geisingen where we joined the Danube and tracked upstream (west) for a few km to reach the source.

We were elated at reaching the spring and with 2160km on the odometer this marked a major milestone on the trip. After a brief break to cool down and throw 2c into the spring (1c each for good luck) we rode back down the river to a campsite with free tenting for cycle tourists. We were the only people to stay the night there and apart from a brief storm we had a quiet night.

Visiting Donaueschingen was worthwhile but we were surprised the town was in the middle of an immense shallow basin, not a mountain valley as we had imagined.

Day 43: Monday 15th June

Immendingen - Riedlingen (112km)

Immendingen is the sight of the Danube sink where much of the river (all of it when we visited) disappears through the gravels and reemerges in near the Bodensee. We had hoped for swirling whirlpools like the maelstrom but were disappointed there was very little to see.

Light rain persisted throughout the day. The scenery became increasingly spectacular as the river valley narrowed to gorge its way through the limestone. Castles and fortifications guarded both sides of the valley around us and the hanging cloud added to the atmosphere.



Later in the afternoon we reached Sigmaringen with an impressive castle to rival the Chateau of the Loire. The castle was already closed at 5:30pm and campsite looked packed with school groups so we stopped in town to wring out our socks and have a €3.50 margarita pizza. We must have looked in a bit of a state because the Turkish shop owner took pity on us and gave us each a cup of hot tea for free. We were suitably impressed and quickly ordered a kebab to fuel us for the evening ride. Mark became inspired to write a book about kebab shops starting at Nordkapp and riding to Turkey stopping at each kebab shop on route (passing several more kebab shops the next day made us realise this may be lengthly journey) - anyone keen to join in?

We hummed along at 30km an hour to reach Riedlingen where the first campsite seemed non-existent. The second was a patch of lawn across the road from a farm. The farmer was friendly and after parting with E10 we set up for the night. The main feature of the campsite, apart from excellent hot showers, was the beer vending machine. All our small change was used procuring Radler (basically a shandy at 2.5%). Mark honed his bushcraft skills and after gathering enough sodden wood took about an hour to get a fire going for dinner. We were down to our last gas bottle with gas largely unavailable in Germany.

Day 44: Tuesday 16th June

Riedlingen

The fire was still smoldering in the morning so Mark stoked it up and prepared bacon and eggs for breakfast. The campsite was nice, and we were the only people there, so we elected to stay another night. A day trip into Riedlingen and some soccer keep us occupied for the day. Washed our cycle gear and dried it in the sun.

A highlight was buying a German-English phrasebook. It was enlightening to find out the meaning of words like Zelt (tent) and that Geoffnet means open, not internet.

Day 45: Wednesday 17th June

Riedlingen - Riedheim (105km)

Woke refreshed at 9am- Broke camp and departed around 10:30am. Rode to Rechtenstein and saw stunning clifftop castle ruins, then on to Ehingen where we turned off the main trail and up the Blau valley.


We rode up the valley past the Liebherr factory (birthplace for many of the worlds cranes) alongside crystal clear streams to reach the Blautopf. En route we passed an intriguing looking stone age cave, but it was only open one day a week.

The Blautopf itself is a 20m deep karst spring. We had expected it to be crystal clear but instead it was a dark shade of blue. Very impressive but fenced to deter keen cyclists from having a quick dip (frustating on a 30+ degree hot day). The tour buses of oldies and German chavs sped us on our way down the other end of the valley and to the city of Ulm.

The Ulm cathedral, at 162m, is apparently the tallest in the world. Mark tested his stair climbing ability and managed to pump up 150m in about 7 1/2 minutes. Felt a bit lightheaded at the top, but muscles were fine.

Ulm itself was nice but uninspiring so we pushed on to a campsite on a farm. It was a long day in the heat, especially with the late start. There had been no other campsites en route as we are moving away from the main tourist trail.

Day 46: Thursday 18th June

Riedheim - Donauworth (78km)

Slow start so back on the trail by 10:30am. Easy to get caught in the trap of finishing riding at dusk and therefore being unable to get going early the next day.

Trail followed forest 4WD tracks on very loose gravel. We ignored possible detours and made good progress. We stopped to eat cherry buns at an old Roman temple in Faimingen and refill our water bottles.

We rode the early afternoon through light industry to the castle at Hochstadt, site of the 1704 Battle of Blenhiem. The museum (€3) had just enough information in English for an interesting visit. It made us realise how ignorant we are of history beyond the middle ages in Europe. It was a worthwhile visit and made more sense of our recent visit to Blenheim Palace in England, which was built for Marlborough after his victory.

Lazy afternoon riding to Donauworth were we camped at the local canoe club. €10, on the river and beer vending machine made for a rewarding end to a hot day.

Day 47: Friday 19th June

Donauworth (6km)

Rain in the morning, and the promise of a decent internet cafe to update the blog convinced us to stay an extra night. Our rides have also been getting progressively longer, with 75km/day being more common than the planned 50km. The distances between campsites means either very long, or very short, days.

Cycling: Rhine to the Bodensee

Day 36: Monday 8th June

Besancon - Beaume les Dames (38km)

After a week relaxing we resumed our trip at Besancon. Having visited the fort earlier we had no need to linger. We set off up the Doubs river on well paved cycle paths.

Late afternoon we narrowly avoided being drenched by a long downpour and holed up in a supermarket cafe, using wifi to plot the next leg of the trip. We had guidebooks for travel down the Danube but had yet to decide how we would reach the river several hundred kilometres away. The Eurovelo 6 website has some nice glossy graphics but is fairly hopeless when trying to work out the actual route in detail.

Once the storm cleared we crossed the river and were easily upsold to a E55 wood cabin, complete with fridge, hob, shower, bed etc. (for reference we have spent most trips at campsites that typically cost E10-15 per night).

Day 37: Tuesday 9th June

Beaume les Dames - Mulhouse (120km)

We awoke refreshed and reluctantly departed our nice cabin. Riding was fairly easy over a small saddle to Mulhouse. Much of the trip has been flat so we measure gradient by the size and frequency of the locks we pass.

A lot of work was being done on creating additional cycleways and the route will look different at the end of the summer construction season.

The day was uneventful but tiring. We pulled into the municipal campsite at Mulhouse narrowly avoiding another massive thunderstorm.

Day 38: Wednesday 10th June

Mullhouse - Mohlin (74km)

Late start but we enjoyed fresh tarmac on the EV6 trail... while it lasted. We ended up making our way along increasingly dire tracks until we arrived at a rubbish dump. Very lucky not to puncture tyres as we rode over screeds of broken glass.

Leaving the rubbish dump we turned south along the azure water of the Rhone am Rhine canal. Most canals have been a dark shade of brown but this looked almost inviting for a dip.

Riding south for a while we found ourselves in Basel and at the end of our EV6 maps. We crossed the Rhine into Germany and a few minutes later crossed a second border into Switzerland. Border crossing is easy these days but we were surprised even Switzerland didn't have any controls on its boarders, just a faded building marked the edge of the country.

Basel was an interesting mix of old, new and industry. The old town towards the east looked intriguing but by that stage we had seen enough city and were keen to explore the route ahead.

The EV6 trail was well signposted, but took a long and hilly route out of the city. It became apparent we were being taken on a detour to a Roman Museum. Great if you were expecting it, but frustrating if you are trying to exit the city to find a campsite. Not knowing the route of the EV6 were reluctant to deviate, should we lose it for several days.

Mohlin had a suitable campsite. A mix of the good (pool next door), the bad (waste water treatment plant also next door), and the ugly (old shower block that had been renovated on the inside only). The campsite was on the south of the river and therefore in Switzerland however they were happy to accept Euros.

Day 39: Thursday 11th June

Mohlin - Lienheim (67km)

Heavy rain overnight. We took the advice of the campsite owner (avoid Swiss gravel forest trail) and backtracked slightly to cross onto the north of the Rhine at one of many hydro stations on the river to the German side. The asphalt trail then led us east to Bad Sackingen and the worlds largest covered wooden bridge.

A massive cafe meal had us primed for an afternoon riding and we enjoyed visiting several beautiful towns on the Rhine.
Our planned campsite at Waldshut looked nice but full of energy we pushed east to a small camp on the north of the Rhine. All the shops were shut for a public holiday so we gladly tucked into some E3.50 wienerli and enjoyed a couple of 500ml beers at E2 a piece.

Day 40: Friday 12th June

Lienheim - Markelfingen (105km)

Also staying at the campsite were a couple of German cycle tourists. We hadn't seen many other cyclists camping so tried to get some tips on the route ahead. Their English was worse than our German so after a some waving and map pointing we gave up and headed on our way. The sun was shining so we were gone by about 8am.

We grabbed a picnic lunch at Hohentengen and then backtracked to cross the Rhine at Kaiserstuhl. Here we rejoined the EV6 trail east along the southern (swiss) side of the river. We paused at a stunning bend in the river where a tributary joins. When the kids there on school camp started to throw rocks at the swans we decided it was time to move on. The incline out of the valley was steep and long.

Hilly roads took us east to the Rhinefalls. We had previously visited back in 2006 and thought we would take another peek. Its a fairly impressive phenomenon being the biggest waterfall on the Rhine. The Rhinefalls are not very tall but the sheer volume of water is impressive - think Huka Falls and multiply that by 10.


After the Rhinefalls we negotiated 20% inclines on gravel trails to the east. We crossed the river to the north side just before Schaffhausen, passed through some stunning little towns and arrived at Stein am Rhine, where the Bodensee becomes the Rhine. Stein am Rhine was awesome. The main square was back from the river and packed full of cyclists. Artworks painted on the buildings added to the atmosphere.
Riding on over rolling countryside we followed the shores of the lake to the north. We stopped to much on more ill-gotten cherries and picked up fresh fruit and veggies from a roadside stall. Our planned campsite was closed, only the mini-golf remaining, so we continued east to Markelfingen where we found a lakeside camp spot full of German holidaymakers on a Friday night.

Day 41: Saturday 13th June

Markelfingen (6km)

The blazing sun and a crystal clear lake made the decision to stay easy. Susan spent the morning spotting trout in a nearby stream.

At lunch we biked to a supermarket and overstocked as usual - its feast or famine on a cycle touring adventure. A cyclist was hit by a car at the supermarket intersection minutes before we arrived. Police and ambulance were already on the scene and a chopper arrived about 15min later and landed in the intersection. It was a good reminder to have rest days as concentration does lapse after hours of riding, day after day.

The afternoon was spent swimming, sunbathing and sucking back on some great local beer (Markel..something) at 35c per 500ml bottle.

Cycling: Burgandy and Besancon

Day 22: Tuesay 26th May
Palinges – Verdun-sur-le-Doubs 120km

Another early start (8:30am) along canal roads, easy riding and relaxed progress in good cycling weather (light clouds and breeze). We rode up 20 odd locks and back down another 20 on the Canal du Centre. Finally being off the plains we had great views of the rolling Burgundy hills.


In the afternoon we considered our planned camp in Santenay but elected to pushed on along the canal-side Voie Verte. The cycleway was great with the only exception being Chalon sur Saone which was a nightmare for navigation. After frustrating u-turns and lots of compass-work we left the city on busy roads and some mixed section of Voie Bleu to arrive at camp at 6:30pm.

Today was our greatest distance yet and while it wasn't easy it certainly wasn't hard. The muscles etc felt normal at days end!

Day 23: Wednesday 27th May
Verdun-sur-le-Doubs – Seurre 29km

Most civilised breakfast yet – banana, orange juice and baguette on picnic rug (we usually pick up breakfast en route). We had a late start and after an unsuccessful attempt at the marked Eurovelo route we reverted to roads for easy riding to Seurre.

After an espresso, croque monsieur and free wifi at a local cafe we decided Seurre was a great little town and pitched camp. We spent a relaxed evening updating blog, cooking sausages and sipping rose on the riverside.

Day 24: Thursday 28th May
Seurre – Dole 57km

It was a late start after deliberating route plan to coordinate meeting up with Marks parents. We had agreed to meet them for a week in Burgandy from 1 June but our rapid rate of progress would have us over the border and into Switzerland if we didn't change plans.

We passed through small empty towns in the morning, the architecture and landscape changing with classic burgundy roofs (shiny bright coloured tiles) on churches etc


The afternoon travel along well maintained canal paths was a breeze and a nice ride (no need to take marked detour). Dole, on the banks of a river, looked like a pleasant stopping point and we rolled into camp early.

Day 25: Friday 29th May
Dole – Besancon – Dole 133km

Some last minute planning had us riding unladened bikes to city of Besancon for a day trip. The 60km up river into 25-30km/hr headwinds made for slow and painfull progress. The scenery however made up for it with delightful villages and changing landscape into the hilly French Comte.

It was great riverside riding and Besancon only came into view after the vista of its hilltop fort. The cycle trail followed a canal tunnel cut under the mountain and we enjoyed riding the biggest tunnel yet. Besancon has a great city atmosphere lots of cafes, squares and red roofs in the old town which is bounded by a bend in the river. We visited the UNESCO fort which coincidentally housed a menagerie of animals – Ethiopian highland baboons, mongoose, kangaroo amongst others. There were great views from the fort.

It was a quick 3hr trip back down river with a rewarding tailwind, and we arrived just in time to buy dinner back in Dole, exhausted!

Day 26: Saturday 30th May
Dole

Dole was humming in the morning with a Medival fete for pentecost weekend so we were allured into spending the day wandering the streets and taking time off the bikes. Another leisurely afternoon sipping beer and lounging by the pool in the summer heat.

Day 27: Sunday 31st May
Dole – Santenay 97km

In the morning we started back along the canal towards Burgandy and our meeting point with the family.

We turned across river at St-Jean-de-Losne and found our way through forest and sleepy towns on the burgundy cycling loop. We hit the pleasant tourist town of Nuits-St-Georges just before the Cote d'Or and enjoyed splashing some water on ourselves from a local fountain. There were no cycle signs so we made our own way through the vineyards to Beaune.


South of Beane we found the main cycle route, and groups of day-tourists riding through the vineyards. This was delightful riding through pretty towns and vineyards with pauses to pick wild cherries. We stayed the night at a vine-side camp ground in Santenay at the southern end of Cote D'Or.

Day 28: Monday 1st June
Santenay - Molinot 20km

A hilly mornings ride up to the quiet farming village of Molinot, where Marks parents had booked a small Gite for a week. Great to have a bed, washing machine and fridge for a week.

Days 29 - 35: Tuesday 2nd June - Sunday 7th June
Molinot

A week of resting the legs and sampling the local wines. Our trip resumes from Besancon, the furthest point east reached a few days prior.