Day 49 – Eberbach to
Karlsruhe, 117kms
Today’s ride was mainly flat along the Neckar River. We
picked up the River not far from the campsite and stayed with it for most of
the morning. It is a much prettier ride than the Rhine and you are close by the
river most of the time. There was no real bike route to follow so we stuck to
the road most of the time. The drivers were very good and there was often a
bike path beside the road. The villages along the way were very pretty with
lots of old houses and churches and very clean. We rode through the outskirts
of Heidelberg and found out later that Linda and Steve had gone there for their
rest days. The really enjoyed their stay.
We spoke to a couple of German bike tourists along the way
and they agreed it was a very pretty route to cycle.
We were talking to another local couple just making sure we
were on the right track, we were talking about what was happening in the local
area and said goodbye and the next thing we hear this noise and the lady has
fallen off her bike. She was at a loss as to why she fell off but we helped
back on her feet while her husband stood back and had a bit of a chuckle, she
patted her bottom and said something in German which we assumed must have been
did not hurt myself, plenty of padding. We felt awful and hoped we had not
distracted her, she rode off after we packed all her shopping back into her
basket.
One guy Chris spoke to was interested to hear we were from
Australia and not the USA, but was concerned that people disappeared down holes
in Australia! There are some funny ideas of Australia over here, last year we
were amazed to hear how there were snakes everywhere which stopped a lot of
people coming for a holiday. Honestly!
We dined in at the campground and managed to see a small
amount of the Olympics, were pleased to see the Jarred Talent won silver in the
walk.
Early night after a long day in the saddle.
Day 50 –Karlsruhe to
Strasbourg, 88kms
After a good sleep we set out for Strasbourg, we knew it
would be a long day but thought it would be a pretty flat ride.
We stuck mainly to the roads for the first part of the day.
Had a chat to one local at a bakery on our first stop who had spent some time
in South Africa in the French speaking area and said that was a good spot for
cycle touring, we had never thought of going there.
Again, lots of pretty villages and other bike riders out
today, it was in the late 20’s so pleasant for riding.
Not much to report today as the country is still very rural,
some farmers were working away planting new strawberries in large quantities,
others were still hay baling. There are a lot of apple trees in Germany along
the road side all well covered with apples. There are some orchards but a huge
number of trees not necessarily in an orchard.
We were checking the map at one stage and this fellow who
looked to have about 20years on us asked if we thought this was the way to
Switzerland. We said no you are going the wrong way, should be heading south
not north. He said the area looked familiar, thinks he rode over yesterday,
must have taken the wrong turn our of the ‘van park! He did have a map but said
he was too lazy to use it, perhaps he should be more keen to use it. He had
been touring around Germany but was heading back to Switzerland where he lived,
not sure when he was hoping to be home!
We crossed back in France near Strasbourg in the early
afternoon after following the Rhine River for 30 or 40 k. The camp ground was
through the city and out the other side.
Clem and Lesley have rejoined us and Linda and Steve are now
back in riding mode after their rest days.
Dinner was at the camp restaurant, not the best meal we have
had but we thought we would try their smoked pizzas. You never know until you
try it, maybe not our favorite pizza!
Day 51 Strasbourg – 10k
We all rode into town early to get some breakfast and spend
the day sight seeing.
I think we all agreed that strasbourg is a pretty city. Some
of us enjoyed a boat tour of the city on the River L’ill. We went through a
lock which was good fun, we had previously watched other boats going through
but this time it was us. Nothing too startling but good fun all the same.
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