Allensback, Germany to Langwiesen, Switzerland
The weather didn't look any better this morning as Birget sent us off full from breakfast and with sandwiches for lunch. It was cold, enough for tights and a vest for most of the day. The wind was blowing hard from the west and that is where we were headed. The rain stayed away until we reached Stein am Rhein around lunchtime where we wanted to call it a day and stay at the hostel. As our luck or lack of it would be, it was now 2:30 and no one was around until 5:00, so we continued on. It didn't take us more than a few km's before we were lost again. John assumed his all too familiar pose of being crouched over the handlebars studying the map and figured we must have missed a bike route sign. We turned around, found the sign we had missed and made our way to Gailingen, Germany, where we bought supplies for cooking dinner. From there it was another 8 km's to the campground. Cleaned up and dinner cooked, we ate on a bench on the bank of the river. As we go to sleep the rain ha!
s returned.
Kms 52.06
Time 3:48:39
Avg 13.6
Max 42.9
Total 2378.3
Thursday, July 5, 2007
25 June 2007
Ruederbomm, Switzerland, to Allensbach, Germany
Rain was the theme for today. Last night we left the rinsed clothes hanging out to dry until we were startled awake by a clap of thunder around 11 P.M. We scrambled out of the tent, collected the clothes off the line between the trees, rolled the bikes under cover, hung the clothes on the bikes and dashed back into the tent just as the rain began. The storm blew through pretty quickly and things were dry in the morning. Today was a short riding day as we plannned to stay in Allensbach with a warm showers contact. As we approached the island of Reichenau, a UNESCO world heritage site, the sky turned dark and a few minutes later, while eating some expensive "bio" fruits and veggies, the light rain began. Well, there wasn't much else to do but deal with it, so we rode across the street and visited St. Georg church which has what are believed to be the oldest church paintings north of the Alps dated around the 10th century. From there it was a short ride in the rain to the visit!
or center where we stashed the bikes under cover and spent some time reading about the history of the island. There was quite alot of info in English. There are 3 new museums on the island but, since it was Monday, they were all closed. Who knew. We still had a few hours to burn, so we decided to change out of our riding shoes and walk around in the rain to visit the other sites. There was another church (Munster) 100 meters or so from the visitor's center, so we had a look and then decided to walk to the supermarket for lunch. It was 1:15 when we got there and it was closed from 1:00 to 3:00. Go figure. So we walked back down to St. Georg and had a long lunch in the bakery across the street. We revisited St. Georg for some pictures and then walked back to the bikes. We had just enough time to ride our bikes out to St. Peter and Paul's church before catching the 5:15 ferry to Allensbach. There were no other passengers for this short ride. Birgit was waiting for us at the fe!
rry dock and we walked the short distance to her place. After unloadin
g our gear and locking the bikes at the train station, we settled in and enjoyed the company of a fellow traveler and wonderful host. Since Birgit was leaving in the morning for a trip to Salzburg, she suggested that we dine out. So we walked, in the rain and strong wind, to a nice little place to eat. A friend of hers joined us for a very nice evening.
Kms 26.82
Time 2:10:44
Avg 12.3
Max 29.5
Total 2326.20
Rain was the theme for today. Last night we left the rinsed clothes hanging out to dry until we were startled awake by a clap of thunder around 11 P.M. We scrambled out of the tent, collected the clothes off the line between the trees, rolled the bikes under cover, hung the clothes on the bikes and dashed back into the tent just as the rain began. The storm blew through pretty quickly and things were dry in the morning. Today was a short riding day as we plannned to stay in Allensbach with a warm showers contact. As we approached the island of Reichenau, a UNESCO world heritage site, the sky turned dark and a few minutes later, while eating some expensive "bio" fruits and veggies, the light rain began. Well, there wasn't much else to do but deal with it, so we rode across the street and visited St. Georg church which has what are believed to be the oldest church paintings north of the Alps dated around the 10th century. From there it was a short ride in the rain to the visit!
or center where we stashed the bikes under cover and spent some time reading about the history of the island. There was quite alot of info in English. There are 3 new museums on the island but, since it was Monday, they were all closed. Who knew. We still had a few hours to burn, so we decided to change out of our riding shoes and walk around in the rain to visit the other sites. There was another church (Munster) 100 meters or so from the visitor's center, so we had a look and then decided to walk to the supermarket for lunch. It was 1:15 when we got there and it was closed from 1:00 to 3:00. Go figure. So we walked back down to St. Georg and had a long lunch in the bakery across the street. We revisited St. Georg for some pictures and then walked back to the bikes. We had just enough time to ride our bikes out to St. Peter and Paul's church before catching the 5:15 ferry to Allensbach. There were no other passengers for this short ride. Birgit was waiting for us at the fe!
rry dock and we walked the short distance to her place. After unloadin
g our gear and locking the bikes at the train station, we settled in and enjoyed the company of a fellow traveler and wonderful host. Since Birgit was leaving in the morning for a trip to Salzburg, she suggested that we dine out. So we walked, in the rain and strong wind, to a nice little place to eat. A friend of hers joined us for a very nice evening.
Kms 26.82
Time 2:10:44
Avg 12.3
Max 29.5
Total 2326.20
24 June 2007
Lindau, Germany to Ruederbomm, Switzerland
It has been a while, but this morning the sky was mostly sunny and it stayed that way until mid evening. It was a glorious day. We dragged our sore bodies (hiking uses different muscles than cycling) out of the tent and again deviated from our original plan. Instead of simply going around Lake Konstanz, we decided to go about 15 kms farther around the lake this morning, head south into the mountains and then back north to rejoin the lake later in the day. We were going along the busy lake trail fairly well and then got a little mixed up as to where we were when we began to head south. We were stopped and looking at the map (a very familiar pose on this trip), when along came Mannfred. We showed him where we wanted to go and, although he thought we were crazy for wanting to ride up the hills, he insisted that we follow him. John was not convinced that he would get us where we wanted to go, but before we knew it we were blindly following him. Marie and Mannfred were wr!
apping in German and having a good old time while John tried to figure out where we were on his map the whole way. Mannfred was so excited to hear that we are from Milwaukee because in 2005 he visited Chicago, Milwaukee and Canada.
Well, even though we had our doubts about good old Mannfred, he ended up getting us to the Swiss border at the town of Au, the place we wanted to be at the base of the climb ahead. Thanks, Mannfred!
Once Mannfred left us on our own, we were not able to find the bike route we were looking for but found another bike route that climbed into the hills. We started with a 7 km climb out of Berneck, then a short descent, another climb into Oberegg followed by a long descent into Heiden where we sat and ate our lunch. We did a lot more climbing and descending before getting to the city of St. Gallen. Here we got very frustrated because we were unable to find the bike route we wanted and ended up on a busy road right through town. Eventually we found an alternative to that busy road which took us on a very loose gravel path for a short distance before rejoining that busy road that now had a bike path next to it.
Eventually we made our way back to the lake and the trail that goes around it. We were pretty tired and were ready to stop at the first campground we had scoped out on the map just north and west of Romanshorn. We stopped to check it out and didn't like it. The camping area for tents was right on the grass beach which at 4:30 was still full of picnickers and swimmers. There were 2 more campgrounds a little farther on, so we continued. We stopped at what we thought was a campground attached to some sort of beach/recreation area but couldn't figure out how to get into it. Frustrated, we continued on. The 3rd place was a winner. It was a farm which had rooms to rent and camping. They had a nice grassy area, bathrooms and showers, so we were in. We were both quite hungry, suffering from our usual "everything is closed on Sundays" famine, so we set up and showered quickly and then walked into "town" to find a restaurant. We walked up a big hill and looked at the traile!
r park's restaurant which wasn't thrilling. We walked through town and back down the hill where were found a very expensive hotel restaurant and a place with hot dogs and hamburgers. So we walked back up the hill to the trailer park place which we found out was a self-serve restaurant. This meant there we no waiters. You just place your order and they call your number and you pick it up. The choices were limited and the food was nothing to write home about and expensive. After eating we took a walk down by the lake and then headed back to the campground. Again we are frustrated because we are not able to make a phone call from Switzerland. We tried everything we could think of to get our phone card to work with no success.
Kms 84.00
Time 5:42:19
Avg 14.7
Max 50.00
Total 2229.4
It has been a while, but this morning the sky was mostly sunny and it stayed that way until mid evening. It was a glorious day. We dragged our sore bodies (hiking uses different muscles than cycling) out of the tent and again deviated from our original plan. Instead of simply going around Lake Konstanz, we decided to go about 15 kms farther around the lake this morning, head south into the mountains and then back north to rejoin the lake later in the day. We were going along the busy lake trail fairly well and then got a little mixed up as to where we were when we began to head south. We were stopped and looking at the map (a very familiar pose on this trip), when along came Mannfred. We showed him where we wanted to go and, although he thought we were crazy for wanting to ride up the hills, he insisted that we follow him. John was not convinced that he would get us where we wanted to go, but before we knew it we were blindly following him. Marie and Mannfred were wr!
apping in German and having a good old time while John tried to figure out where we were on his map the whole way. Mannfred was so excited to hear that we are from Milwaukee because in 2005 he visited Chicago, Milwaukee and Canada.
Well, even though we had our doubts about good old Mannfred, he ended up getting us to the Swiss border at the town of Au, the place we wanted to be at the base of the climb ahead. Thanks, Mannfred!
Once Mannfred left us on our own, we were not able to find the bike route we were looking for but found another bike route that climbed into the hills. We started with a 7 km climb out of Berneck, then a short descent, another climb into Oberegg followed by a long descent into Heiden where we sat and ate our lunch. We did a lot more climbing and descending before getting to the city of St. Gallen. Here we got very frustrated because we were unable to find the bike route we wanted and ended up on a busy road right through town. Eventually we found an alternative to that busy road which took us on a very loose gravel path for a short distance before rejoining that busy road that now had a bike path next to it.
Eventually we made our way back to the lake and the trail that goes around it. We were pretty tired and were ready to stop at the first campground we had scoped out on the map just north and west of Romanshorn. We stopped to check it out and didn't like it. The camping area for tents was right on the grass beach which at 4:30 was still full of picnickers and swimmers. There were 2 more campgrounds a little farther on, so we continued. We stopped at what we thought was a campground attached to some sort of beach/recreation area but couldn't figure out how to get into it. Frustrated, we continued on. The 3rd place was a winner. It was a farm which had rooms to rent and camping. They had a nice grassy area, bathrooms and showers, so we were in. We were both quite hungry, suffering from our usual "everything is closed on Sundays" famine, so we set up and showered quickly and then walked into "town" to find a restaurant. We walked up a big hill and looked at the traile!
r park's restaurant which wasn't thrilling. We walked through town and back down the hill where were found a very expensive hotel restaurant and a place with hot dogs and hamburgers. So we walked back up the hill to the trailer park place which we found out was a self-serve restaurant. This meant there we no waiters. You just place your order and they call your number and you pick it up. The choices were limited and the food was nothing to write home about and expensive. After eating we took a walk down by the lake and then headed back to the campground. Again we are frustrated because we are not able to make a phone call from Switzerland. We tried everything we could think of to get our phone card to work with no success.
Kms 84.00
Time 5:42:19
Avg 14.7
Max 50.00
Total 2229.4
23 June 2007
A day off the bikes in Lindau, Germany
As promised, Joerg and Giovanna picked us up at the campground at 8:30. The weather didn't look too promising, but we drove 74 kms to Bruck in the German Alps area called Allgau. There was a steady rain coming down, so we stopped in a small bakery and had some cake and coffee. Then we put on the rain gear and headed to the trail going to the Imberger Horn at 1656 meters. The rain stopped after about 15 minutes and we could then hike comfortably without that awful rain gear. After about an hour we made a brief stop at a family farm warming house where they had flush toilets and a farmer selling his bergkase (mountain cheese). He cut us a half kilo from a big wheel and it was tasty.
From here the real climb began. We climbed up to the first summit and then went down a bit before summitting the Imberger Horn. It was windy and cool at the top and Joerg had been hopeful the whole day that the sun would come out when we were up there, but it didn't. It had cleared considerably, though, from this morning and we had a really nice view as we enjoyed the lunch our hosts packed while sitting out of the wind.
The trail up had been quite muddy in certain parts and the trail down was the same. We took it slowly and carefully and still made it down much faster than we made it up. For the second time today we stopped for cake and coffee about 15 minutes from the end of the trail. These Europeans sure know how to hike. They have plenty of food and toilets available on their trails.
They drove us back to the campground, stopping at a supermarket for us so we could get some food for tomorrow (remember all stores are closed on Sundays). We said goodbye to our new friends that treated us like royalty. We hope that they receive such hospitality from Americans as they ride their bikes down the West coast later this summer.
As promised, Joerg and Giovanna picked us up at the campground at 8:30. The weather didn't look too promising, but we drove 74 kms to Bruck in the German Alps area called Allgau. There was a steady rain coming down, so we stopped in a small bakery and had some cake and coffee. Then we put on the rain gear and headed to the trail going to the Imberger Horn at 1656 meters. The rain stopped after about 15 minutes and we could then hike comfortably without that awful rain gear. After about an hour we made a brief stop at a family farm warming house where they had flush toilets and a farmer selling his bergkase (mountain cheese). He cut us a half kilo from a big wheel and it was tasty.
From here the real climb began. We climbed up to the first summit and then went down a bit before summitting the Imberger Horn. It was windy and cool at the top and Joerg had been hopeful the whole day that the sun would come out when we were up there, but it didn't. It had cleared considerably, though, from this morning and we had a really nice view as we enjoyed the lunch our hosts packed while sitting out of the wind.
The trail up had been quite muddy in certain parts and the trail down was the same. We took it slowly and carefully and still made it down much faster than we made it up. For the second time today we stopped for cake and coffee about 15 minutes from the end of the trail. These Europeans sure know how to hike. They have plenty of food and toilets available on their trails.
They drove us back to the campground, stopping at a supermarket for us so we could get some food for tomorrow (remember all stores are closed on Sundays). We said goodbye to our new friends that treated us like royalty. We hope that they receive such hospitality from Americans as they ride their bikes down the West coast later this summer.
22 June 2007
Biberach, Germany to Lindau, Germany
It was time to hit the road again and Joerg said he would escort us 25 km's down to Bad Waldsee if we met him in the town square at 9:15 when he was done with work. How lucky are we to have an English teacher as a host! So we had to keep that date. The sky didn't look all that pleasant as we set off for town and just as promised Joerg showed up. As we headed out the rain came down. It was light at first and then heavy enough to force us into our rain jackets. If it had been just the two of us, we probably would have waited it out. Joerg led us to Bad Waldsee without missing a turn. We said goodbye for now and told him we would call him and let him know where we were tonight so he could pick us up tomorrow for a hike in the mountains. What a great host!
Now we were on our own to find our way to Lake Konstanze {Bodensee}. The rain had let up, but as we approached the town of Vogt it began again and we rode 5 km's in some moderate rain before ducking under the cover of a gas station as a downpour hit. We were rather chilled and wet, so when the rain eased up we rode into town for some soup at a restaurant. That warmed us up a bit and as we proceeded on our way things dried up but there was always the threat of a shower. Through a combination of regional bike routes we finally made it to Lindau on the lake. After puttering around town a bit we headed off to the campground as another shower hit. We were only about 2 km's away but we took cover to keep all of our gear dry. Twenty minutes later we were set up in camp. This campground is about a 1/4 mile from Austria so we crossed the border to finally send the trip updates and take care of other phone business because using a payphone to call to the U.S. is for some reason very e!
xpensive in Germany even using prepaid cards. We even put Marie's friend, Patty, to work trying to find us something reasonable and if she couldn't find something then it can't be found.
Kms 88.76
Time 5:38:49
Avg 15.7
Max 46.1
Total 2215.3
It was time to hit the road again and Joerg said he would escort us 25 km's down to Bad Waldsee if we met him in the town square at 9:15 when he was done with work. How lucky are we to have an English teacher as a host! So we had to keep that date. The sky didn't look all that pleasant as we set off for town and just as promised Joerg showed up. As we headed out the rain came down. It was light at first and then heavy enough to force us into our rain jackets. If it had been just the two of us, we probably would have waited it out. Joerg led us to Bad Waldsee without missing a turn. We said goodbye for now and told him we would call him and let him know where we were tonight so he could pick us up tomorrow for a hike in the mountains. What a great host!
Now we were on our own to find our way to Lake Konstanze {Bodensee}. The rain had let up, but as we approached the town of Vogt it began again and we rode 5 km's in some moderate rain before ducking under the cover of a gas station as a downpour hit. We were rather chilled and wet, so when the rain eased up we rode into town for some soup at a restaurant. That warmed us up a bit and as we proceeded on our way things dried up but there was always the threat of a shower. Through a combination of regional bike routes we finally made it to Lindau on the lake. After puttering around town a bit we headed off to the campground as another shower hit. We were only about 2 km's away but we took cover to keep all of our gear dry. Twenty minutes later we were set up in camp. This campground is about a 1/4 mile from Austria so we crossed the border to finally send the trip updates and take care of other phone business because using a payphone to call to the U.S. is for some reason very e!
xpensive in Germany even using prepaid cards. We even put Marie's friend, Patty, to work trying to find us something reasonable and if she couldn't find something then it can't be found.
Kms 88.76
Time 5:38:49
Avg 15.7
Max 46.1
Total 2215.3
21 June 2007
A second day off in Biberach, Germany
Since last night was a late one, we all slept until 10:00 except for Giovanna who stayed up even later than the rest of us working on a school assignment and was gone in the morning way before the rest of us slackers got out of bed.
As we ate some breakfast a big thunderstorm came through. We were thanking our lucky stars as we had originally planned on leaving on the bikes today but really couldn't because of the brake pad situation. Once the rain stopped, Joerg walked us back into town to the bike shop where we again had him translate so we now had what we needed. The bike shop guy was able to get the original pads we bought on, but it was not easy for him. So instead we exchanged the replacement pads for the whole brake assembly with new pads.
After finishing at the bike shop, we enjoyed some free internet use at the city hall sending out some emails to warm shower contacts coming up on our route. We have been going back and forth trying to decide on our route from here. Marie is dying for some mountain scenery which we could do now if we deviated from our original plan of cycling up the Rhein River. But we're pretty sure that we are going to stick to that plan. Joerg has offered to meet us on Saturday down by the Bodensee, where we will head tomorrow, to take us on a hike in the Austrian Alps. We are looking forward to that and hope the weather cooperates.
John put on all the new brake pads and rotated the tires on the bikes.
Since last night was a late one, we all slept until 10:00 except for Giovanna who stayed up even later than the rest of us working on a school assignment and was gone in the morning way before the rest of us slackers got out of bed.
As we ate some breakfast a big thunderstorm came through. We were thanking our lucky stars as we had originally planned on leaving on the bikes today but really couldn't because of the brake pad situation. Once the rain stopped, Joerg walked us back into town to the bike shop where we again had him translate so we now had what we needed. The bike shop guy was able to get the original pads we bought on, but it was not easy for him. So instead we exchanged the replacement pads for the whole brake assembly with new pads.
After finishing at the bike shop, we enjoyed some free internet use at the city hall sending out some emails to warm shower contacts coming up on our route. We have been going back and forth trying to decide on our route from here. Marie is dying for some mountain scenery which we could do now if we deviated from our original plan of cycling up the Rhein River. But we're pretty sure that we are going to stick to that plan. Joerg has offered to meet us on Saturday down by the Bodensee, where we will head tomorrow, to take us on a hike in the Austrian Alps. We are looking forward to that and hope the weather cooperates.
John put on all the new brake pads and rotated the tires on the bikes.
20 June 2007
A day off in Biberach, Germany
What a couple of snoozers. As our hosts went off to the jobs early in the morning, we slept until 10:30. By the time we had done some chores, Joerg and Giovanna were home. Again Giovanna made us a huge lunch with pork chops, 2 different kinds of sausages and potato salad. Then we and Joerg walked into town to get some needed bike parts. Joerg gave us a tour of the town and acted as our interpreter at the bike shop to help us get what we needed.
Upon arriving home a little after 6:00 we enjoyed pastries and coffee. Later John worked on the bikes and discovered that he wasn't able to get the replacement brake pads he bought onto the bikes. This meant a trip back to the bike store tomorrow.
At 10:00 we ate sandwiches. This was our first experience with the European eating schedule that we had read about, a large lunch with cake and coffee in the late afternoon and a light dinner in the late evening. Very interesting!
Again we spent the night talking. However, tonight we had an added guest. Our hosts had asked their neighbor if we could use his telephone to send our logs home since our hosts had only a cell phone. He brought his cordless phone up to the flat. We tried sending, but it didn't work. He stayed until about 2:00 A.M. as some thunderstorms rolled in and we talked about politics (mostly Mr. George Bush) and many other things. It was enjoyable for us and the neighbor, but poor Joerg had to spend the whole evening translating for both parties.
What a couple of snoozers. As our hosts went off to the jobs early in the morning, we slept until 10:30. By the time we had done some chores, Joerg and Giovanna were home. Again Giovanna made us a huge lunch with pork chops, 2 different kinds of sausages and potato salad. Then we and Joerg walked into town to get some needed bike parts. Joerg gave us a tour of the town and acted as our interpreter at the bike shop to help us get what we needed.
Upon arriving home a little after 6:00 we enjoyed pastries and coffee. Later John worked on the bikes and discovered that he wasn't able to get the replacement brake pads he bought onto the bikes. This meant a trip back to the bike store tomorrow.
At 10:00 we ate sandwiches. This was our first experience with the European eating schedule that we had read about, a large lunch with cake and coffee in the late afternoon and a light dinner in the late evening. Very interesting!
Again we spent the night talking. However, tonight we had an added guest. Our hosts had asked their neighbor if we could use his telephone to send our logs home since our hosts had only a cell phone. He brought his cordless phone up to the flat. We tried sending, but it didn't work. He stayed until about 2:00 A.M. as some thunderstorms rolled in and we talked about politics (mostly Mr. George Bush) and many other things. It was enjoyable for us and the neighbor, but poor Joerg had to spend the whole evening translating for both parties.
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