June 1 - The Sun Rises in the East

Kudos to Rob. He is the navigation master extraordinaire. Meticulously calculating distances, tracking our progress, checking and rechecking the maps, well, frankly without him I would still be at the airport. They say opposites attract, and when it comes to navigation I must agree. Frankly, after the sun rises in the east and “I think the river is flowing that way”, I have to excuse myself from all conversations related to distance and direction. However, in my defence I have become quite adept at predicting the challenges lying ahead. If I say so myself, I am a master at reading the body language of approaching cyclists and correlating it to the degree of difficulty we are about to face. For example, should a big, strong French road warrior, with bulging quadricep muscles and a flushed face appear from the crest of the hill, it translates to a fantastic stretch of downhill ahead. Conversely, should an aged gentleman on a cruiser bike approach without so much of a bead of sweat on his face it means we are in for a big, big climb. Needless to say, my intuitive skills at reading approaching riders combined with Rob’s native ability to know exactly where we are equate to cycle touring gold. That’s my story, and I am sticking to it.

Route update

Today we paid the price for those long, flat canal stretches in France. We followed the Rhine River and began the climb to Lake Konstanz, and a climb it was, but definitely worth the effort. We arrived at the spectacular Rhine Falls, the largest waterfall in Switzerland. After cycling for miles along quiet country roads the spectacle of the falls and the tourist infrastructure associated with the site was almost overwhelming. Bus load upon bus load of people were flocking to the area, clamouring to get closer to the thundering water. Without hesitation we joined the crowd, and pushed our way to the front, bikes and all....and yes we grabbed a selfie!

Enjoying a lazy afternoon, we stopped to bask in the sun on the shores of Lake Konstanz, and enjoyed some good old fashioned people watching. Being a holiday weekend, the lake was a beehive of activity and we soaked it all in. 

Tomorrow, with a little luck and a lot of muscle we hope to say goodbye to the Rhine and dip our tires in the Danube.

Giggle 

After a long day of climbing hills, we arrived happy but exhausted at Campinggarten Wahlwies, a cute little campsite just north of Lake Konstanz in Germany. To our great dismay the entry sign said campsite full. Feeling disheartened we decided to visit reception and do our best “totally exhausted we have nowhere else to go look”. (Not a stretch) Skeptical the owner carefully inspected us and appeared to be turning us away, when Rob played the Herr Weiss card hoping his German heritage would bring us luck. It worked! “Welcome Herr Weiss, we are full but we may have something for you, follow me. The site is bumpy, with long grass, a hill and “mices”, but it might be ok?” Perfect we said!