Heidelberg #3 - Side trip to Schwetzingen

It is an absolutely beautiful day today. No clouds, sunny, and pleasant temperature. Kim told us about a nice place she and Billy visited yesterday - Schwetzingen - a nearby town and palace. It is just 10 km. from Heidelberg so we take a taxi arriving in front of the palace about 9:45. Schwetzingen is Germany's asparagus center although no asparagus at this time of year. There is a big festival here in the spring and local restaurants feature dishes with asparagus. 

Schwetzingen is famous for its Schlöss, a formal palace constructed as a summer residence by the Palatinate electors. The rose-colored palace is imposing and harmonious and is surrounded by an extensive park that blends formal French and informal English styles. It even has a exotic mosque and a "classical ruin" that were de rigeur for this period. 

It is quiet and peaceful and we are among a small number of people walking around these beautiful grounds. The palace itself is closed for renovation. You could wander for hours and never cover the same territory. There isn't a lot in bloom now but we walk through open grassy areas with fountains and statues and into woods with ponds. The mosque and the "ruins" are interesting. The buildings are particularly pretty in the morning light and it is an ideal time to take pictures. We leave the palace grounds and have lunch at a restaurant just outside the palace gate that makes its own beer. We have sausages, sauerkraut and potato salad for lunch. I think I have had enough of sausages and sauerkraut at this point good as they are here. Kathy, John and Dave return to the palace gardens to walk around some more but I choose to sit on a bench for awhile and then walk on the small pedestrian street scouting out ice cream places. That is what we do when we get back together. Love that gelato! It is quite warm and we have had enough so take a taxi back to our hotel for a rest and packing for tomorrow.

We are tired of German food so walk along the Hauptstrasse until we find an Italian restaurant. It turns out to be an excellent choice. It is tucked away in a pretty courtyard adjacent to a museum. We sit ourside where It is quiet and we enjoy our last meal together sharing memories of the trip. According to my Vivofit, I walked 8.5 miles today.

This will be my last entry for this trip as we fly home tomorrow. We'll get a shuttle here in Heidelberg to the Frankfurt airport for our 5:25 p.m. flight home. It has been a wonderful if challenging and tiring trip at times and I am extremely grateful that I was able to come. I travel in a bubble on these trips shutting out any worries or concerns at home and just live in the present enjoying each moment and the stimulation of all my senses. Who knows what next year will bring but I will always have the memories of this trip to relive no matter where I am or what my circumstances. 

                                        The Palatinate palace at Schwetzingen

                              Sculpture commemorating the asparagus grown in this area

                                        The palace is immense

                                           Inside the mosque grounds

           Linda and Dave at the classical "ruins"

                                       Kathy and John in the window of the mosque

Exploring Heidelberg #2

The day is cloudy but no rain forecast. It is a comfortable temperature for walking. We have learned to stay out of the many bike paths that traverse the city. The bike paths run right alongside the walking path with the only designation being a reddish color for,the bike path. Germans use cycling as a major form of transportation and move fast along the cycle paths. After breakfast, we find our way to the Philosopher's Path, a trail on the other side of the river that climbs up the side of the mountain so that we have spectacular views of the city below. The trail is tree lined and well marked. We climb steeply uphill until we are far above the city. It is a lovely walk. The end of the path comes out by the historic Alta Brücke Bridge. On the other side we find a coffee shop, relax and have a snack. 

We walk around on some of the side streets and check out where to get a boat if we want to do a boat ride tomorrow. As we stroll along the Hauptstrasse, we pick out a place for lunch and sit in an open window where we can people watch and enjoy a good lunch. After lunch, Dave and I go back to the room to rest and do some email.  We meet again at 4:30 to walk to the Heiliggeistkirche for a half hour organ concert. I love hearing the organ in the big church. The program is a combination of Bach and a modern piece orchestrated by the organist who was playing. I am distracted by the man sitting in front of me who has an enormous skin (his skin) pouch hanging from his left cheek. Poor man. Is there nothing they can do? I must concentrate on the organ and not him. It is early for dinner so we walk to the end of the Hauptstrasse where the street narrows and there is student housing. The buildings are very interesting. I buy some beautiful handmade chocolates for a few people at home.

When we are ready for dinner, we decide to return to the same place we had lunch. We enjoy our dinner, stop for gelato on our way home and call it a day. It has been a nice, relaxing day. I have walked 10.47 miles today according to my Vivofit.

                                           The Hauptstrasse

                                   Walking on Philosopher's Way

                                     Four bozos resting on a bench

                              View from Philosopher's Way (note the Alta Brücke Bridge)

Exploring Heidelberg - 9/14/14

We see that it behooves one to get to breakfast early at this hotel. We arrive at 8:00 and do get one of the last tables in the rather large dining room. Shortly after though huge groups of German tourists arrive en masse and it is a mob scene. The breakfast is actually quite nice for a Holiday Inn Express. 

After breakfast, we walk to the old town and get the train to the Schlöss which is the huge castle on top of the hill you can see from all over town. It is Sunday morning and everything is very quiet. Hardly anyone is in the Hauptstrasse, unlike yesterday afternoon and evening. We ride the modern train up the mountain to the Schlöss and buy tickets for the 10:15 English tour of the castle. We go,inside with our guide and see areas one can't see on one's own. This castle has had a tortured history being eprepeatedly destroyed, rebuilt, destroyed, etc. It is mostly ruins now with just a small part restored that can be used. There are no plans to restore more of it. Money is being put into stabilizing and preserving the structure that is left. It is a big tourist attraction after all. 

After we are finished at the Schlöss, we take a much smaller cogwheel train up to the very top of the mountain. Glad we aren't riding our bikes up this sometimes 40% grade although we do see bikers at the top. We suppose that there is a more level path to ride up albeit level being a relative term. There are probably many switchbacks. It is a little cloudy and overcast today which affects our views some but we can still see far below and I am very happy with the overcast for comfortable walking around. 

We go back to the bottom of the mountain to have lunch. We eat outside in the Markplatz right next to the Heiliggeistkirche, the big church that dominates the Hauptstrasse. After lunch, we go into this church and are surprised that it is so light and airy inside in contrast to the rather dark exterior. 

We start looking for,the Student Prison Museum which we are intrigued with after reading about it. It takes some walking around but we finally locate it. It turned out to be really interesting! Who knew that students were put into this special prison for misbehavior in town. You can see the small cells where the errant student had to spend 2 days to 4 weeks. He was given bread and water for the first two days. Then, others could bring food in, he could attend his classes and socialize with the other student prisoners but was not allowed to leave. The walls are covered with graffitti made by the students. There is also a small museum to visit about the history if the Unicpversity of Heidelberg and one can visit a very attractive lecture hall with paintings and sculptures.

Back to the room for a nap before meeting Kim and Billy for dinner. They have arrived in town today. We go to the Schnitzelbank Restaurant recommended by our hotel. It is an old style German restaurant housed in a former wood carver's workshop. It has a lot of atmosphere. We are seated on benches at a long, wooden table that is covered with initials and carvings. A young couple sits at the end. Turns out he is Canadian and she German and they are traveling in Germany. It is fun to visit with them for awhile. The wait staff are friendly and welcoming and we have a fun evening together. We order traditional German food - schnitzels and sausages and such - and think it delicious.

                                    Reading together

                                                         The Schlöss

                                          John at the gate

                                Part of the Schlöss. Most is in ruins.

                                            At the very top of the mountain

                                        View of Heidelberg old town from the top

                                   The funicular that took us to the top of the mountain

Baden-Baden to Heidelberg

It is still drizzling and overcast when we wake up this morning, but it starts to clear up. We enjoy a delicious breakfast at the beautiful buffet breakfast at our hotel. Jeannie and Frank will be leaving this morning and they join us join Kathy and John and I. After breakfast we get packed up and sit in the lobby of the hotel to catch up on email and such because it is the only place we can get a decent wireless signal  It is getting brighter outside so we go out to walk and take the pictures we couldn't take yesterday. Baden-Baden has a six foot wide red carpet throughout the old town to show where to walk. It is easier to walk on the red carpet than on the cobble stones but it also enhances the luxurious, expensive image of Baden-Baden. There is much shopping here but all seems very expensive.

We get a taxi to the train station for our 12:45 train to Heidelberg. We buy sandwiches to eat on the one hour train ride. Google says it is a .1 mike walk to our Holiday Inn Express hotel which seems simple enough. However, the tangle of streets outside the station is confusing. We stop and ask at the tourist office and go the way the man has pointed. However, it is the wrong way and we have to backtrack with all our luggage. Finally, Kathy and I wait with the luggage while John and Dave go to find the hotel. We finally make it to the hotel which is much farther than .1 miles. It is a new Holiday Inn Express and everything is quite nice. Yes, I know. Not quite old world charm, but, hey, the woman at reception is very friendly and efficient, wireless is free, and it works in our rooms, breakfast comes with the room, bathrooms are beautiful, beds comfortable, price is right. We are glad to take advantage of the amenities. There is some construction around the hotel and it's on a big street with the tram line so not a particularly scenic location but our rooms face a courtyard and are perfectly quiet. Goos air conditioning keeps the room comfortable. It is about a mile walk to the Haupenstrasse, the main shopping street that runs into the old town.

We walk to the old town and pedestrian street, Hauptstrasse with all it's many stores, restaurants and shops. Being Sarurday afternoon, it is crowded and filled with people. We walk along the river and onto the famous Alta Brücke Bridge over the Neckar River. It is this bridge that Dave and I remember from our 1981 trip here with Anne and Steve. We eat dinner at the Kulturbroerie Restaurant recommended by our hotel. Typical German style restaurant and they make their own beer so Kathy and John are happy. We sit outside in a beer garden type area and have a delicious meal. We are just a little chilly. We stop for a gelato on the way home.

I have walked 8.47 mikes today! Our legs feel strong after all our biking.

                                  Walking the red carpet in Baden-Baden

                                                     Dave and Friend

                                              Fountain in Baden-Baden

                                               Our hotel in Baden-Baden

                                  Walking along the Lichtentaler Avenue in Baden-Baden

Exploring Baden-Baden and Post Trip Rest and Relaxation - (written on 9/14/14)

We wake to rain this morning. What good timing for the end of the bike trip! We had beautiful weather on this trip. Not more than a few drops of rain. Breakfast today is the end of the bike trip, always an emotional time for me. We will be saying goodbye to our fellow travelers with whom we've shared the past twelve days almost as a family. Good part is that most of these people are good friends now and with whom we will travel in the future. Saying good bye to our intrepid guides is particularly hard. They make the trip so smooth and pleasant for us. Joan has already left so we said goodbye to,him last night. Philipp and Gwendal will be driving the van with the bikes back to Italy, a ten hour drive.

After our good byes, we go to the casino, the Kurhaus, for a tour. We arrive at 9:30 for the first tour and are the only ones so the woman does the tour for us in English. When we finish, a large group of Japanese tourists are crowded into the lobby for a tour. We are so glad we arrived early! What an interesting place! So elegant and with such a rich history. I can just imagine all the intrigue and dramas, both small and large, that take place there now and in the past. Our guide tells us about the meeting there of Obama, Merkel, Sarkozi, Brown and Berlisconi. 

Next, we go to the Frieder Barda Museum. What an interesting and beautiful building in which to display the collection of modern art that belonged to Frieder Barda, a magazine publisher. Works by Gerhard Richter, Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and others, and a room of late Picassos are exhibited in a building designed by Richard Meier specifically for this collection.

 Baden-Baden is known for its thermal waters and the rich and famous have come here for years to "take the waters." The traditional spa, Friedrichsbad, has 20 some specific steps to follow all sans clothes while the "modern" spa, the Caracalla, offers a variety of pools and saunas with bathing suits. After a much needed nap, Kathy, Dave and I choose the latter and head to the Caracalla Spa. On our way out of the hotel, we run into a rosy cheeked, smiling Don returning from his visit to the spa looking healthy and relaxed. We spend a most enjoyable couple of hours relaxing and soaking in the various pools. What a beautiful place. The pools are large and spacious with plenty of room to move around. Our favorite spot is sitting in the pool outside in the rain. A unique experience. The rain kept us from getting too hot. One pool has a current running through it so you are swept along in a circular direction. At one point, I am almost overrun by a large German man floating on his back!  I'm nt a big fan of saunas but we at least look at the three or four different ones available. We go into the Aromatique sauna where we take out bumpy mats to sit on on benches and then use little,hoses that squirt out cool water (to off set the heat of the sauna) that have an aroma. Kathy and I think it quite funny squirting Dave simultaneously with the aromatic hoses. 

When we get back, we sit in front of the fireplace in the sitting room of the hotel, the room where we had our wine and snacks last evening. Such old world charm with rain coming down outside, us cozy together here by the fire having cappuccinos and glasses of wine. How good is that? It has rained steadily all day. Us Californians have kind of enjoyed the rainy day since it's been a long time since we've had rain at our homes. The only downside is that our picture taking of this lovely city has been limited. 

The final activity of the day is dinner in the hotel dining room with Frank and Jeannie and the four of us. We did not want to venture out in the rain again today so had a delicious meal at a table near the windows where we could enjoy the view of the green trees and pretty flowers and watch the people go by with their umbrellas from inside instead of outside. 

All in all, it has been a very relaxing, satisfying post trip day, a day to rest up, reflect on the trip and spend time with good friends, and contemplate the next part of our travels.

                    The Frieder Burda Museum - building designed by Richard Meier

                                            Sitting by the fireplace on a rainy afternoon

                                     A final cozy dinner at our hotel with good friends 

                                    The Caracalla Spa in Baden-Baden 

Sent from my iPad

Day 12: Ride to Baden-Baden and End Of Bike Trip - (written on 9/13/14)

Will write more later...

Our last day of riding. The end has come so suddenly! We have just 31 km to ride today. Today was shortened because we rode further two days ago. This has been such a nice place to stay but Experience Plus! probably won't come here again because the ride here is too long. I'm glad we got to be here though. The breakfasts at this hotel are fabuluous!! As is everything else. I wouldn't mind coming back here some day. We have a late start at 10:00 because of our short ride which we all appreciate.

We ride downhill on the Tour de Murg bike path out of Baiersbronn until Forbach. It is an absolutely gorgeous ride through forests along the Murg River. At Forsbach, we become confused by Philipp's arrows at one point. We all gather for extended discussion and someone goes ahead to find the next arrow. It is an up,and down ride through the streets of this town mostly on cobblestones. At one point, we ride down a very steep, uneven cobblestone street which intersects a busy road which we have to cross on a blind curve. Hopefully, they can find a better way next time. From here, we start the climb to the Roe Lache, a beautiful but long climb of 390 meters. The road is rather bumpy and the climb gets tiresome after awhile. Glad to be at the top where there are beautiful views. From there, it is a downhill ride on a bumpy road into Baden-Baden the last kilometers of which are along the famous tree-lined Lichtenthaler Avenue. It is a beautiful day and we pass lovely gardens and hotels. We reach our hotel, the Park-Atlantic, about 1:30. Sadly, we turn in our bikes for the last time. Joan removes our pedals and seats and starts getting the bikes loaded up on the van. He and Philipp will drive them back to the "farm" in Italy, Experience Plus! European headquarters after breakfast tomorrow morning. 

We are really hungry so gather on the outdoor patio of the hotel restaurant for lunch. This is a beautiful hotel!! Our rooms are lovely and the staff are gracious and helpful to this rather ragtag looking bunch of cyclists completing their 500 km ride. 

We start repacking our bike gear and get cleaned up. We meet at 6:00 in the sitting room of the hotel which has old world charm to it. We have a wine tasting with delicious snacks served by elegantly dressed wait persons. Philipp has made arrangements for us to taste some German Rieslings and Gewurtztraminers that he has had his father-in-law ship from his favorite winery. Joan gives an overview of the new Portugal trip Experience Plus! Will be doing next year. We walk to a restaurant nearby for our last dinner together. Food is good but way too much!! I have the pleasure of sitting next to Philipp for a nice last visit.

                                Lichtenthaler Avenue in Baden-Baden

                                        Frank and Jeannie, Linda and Dave

                                                  Philipp, Dave and me

Day 11: A Hike, Culinary Tour and Rest Day -(written on 9/12/14)

Today is a rest day and I am glad not to have to get back on the bike after the long day yesterday. We have an absolutely beautiful breakfast at our hotel! Wish I had brought my camera to take a picture. After breakfast, we meet in the hotel lobby for our culinary hike. Our guide is Hilda and since she doesn't speak English, Philipp is our translater. We start walking uphill with frequent stops for Hilda to tell us about the Black Forest. The Black Forest was deforested in the 1800s and then replanted with mostly fast growing fir and pine. They now are trying to diversify the plantings with deciduous trees. We keep walking uphill and eventually come to a culinary snack stop. A white coated server serves us slices of bread with different kinds of meats and toppings. As we continue on, we see piles of neatly stacked wood. People from the town can come and take what they need for the winter. It gets cold here in the winter though there has been less snow in recent years. The dense forest opens to wide open vistas where we can see the homes below. The hike ends with lunch at a restaurant on top.of the hill. We have hiked about six miles, a lot of it uphill. My legs are tired what with biking so far yesterday. "Rest" day may be a misnomer.

Some are going to the nice pool and spa at the hotel but I return to the room for a nap and some down time. Also, since we are up the hill from the hotel, it isn't as convenient to use the pool. 

Dinner is on our own tonight and we go with Sarah and Thomas, Linda and Chas, Kathy and John to a restaurant right across the street from our hotel. Other than the 2 star Michelin restaurant, this is the only choice. It is a typical German style restaurant and we have a table in the bar area. Thomas manages to translate the ten page menu in German the best he can. A gargantuan effort for sure! This performance will go down in the annals of our trip memories. The waitress tips over a glass of red wine all over Sarah with some on Kathy and me as well! Sarah runs across the street to change her clothes and try to get the wine out. Our food arrives just as she comes back and turns out to be quite delicious. Our conversation is lively and fun and we have a most enjoyable evening together.

                                          Philipp and our guide

                                       Hiking in the Black Forest

                                  A mid hike snack. How about that?

                                    A new building hand carved by a local wood carver

                                            Beautiful vistas

                   We had lunch at this restaurant at the top of the hill as part of the hike

Day10: Cycling from Freiburg to Baiersbronn - (written on 9/11/14)

What an incredible, amazing day of great cycling, physical challenges, and gorgeous scenery. Experiience Plus! had to find a new hotel for us to stay in since when Philipp called to confirm our reservations at the scheduled hotel, it did not seem to be in existence anymore!! He found a four star hotel including a 2 star Michelin restaurant that could accommodate us but unfortunately has added an additional 12k to our already long day of 98k.

Dave and I leave Freiburg at 8:45 in foggy, overcast conditions. The cool temperature suits me on this long day of riding. We will need to keep moving to make it to the next hotel by 6:30. Getting out of Freiburg is easy. We are mostly on bike paths and we are soon out of the main traffic. 

Baiersbronn is famous as a center of haute cuisine in Germany, having 8 Michelin stars in total. According to the New York Times, Baiersbronn has the same number of Michelin 3-star restaurants as London and twice as many as Chicago. 

We enter the depths of the Black Forest today. I never realized that Black Forest actually refers to the mountain range in this area. It owes it's name to the Romans who called the area of the Vosges and the Black Forest left and right of the Rhine "silva negra" because the primeval forests were so dense no one dared to enter.  All kinds of myths and legends surround the Black Forest and it has a supernatural reputation. By the 18th century, the Black Forest had been almost completely deforested with wood being shipped up the Rhine to the Netherlands for shipbuilding and for timber framed houses. Eventually, the populace realized what they were losing and in the 1900s it was reforested with pine and fir. These quick and very densely growing trees made the Forest "black" again and almost impenetrable. The region spans over 11,400 square kilometers and borders both France and Switzerland. It is a sub-mountainous region occupying part of the continental divide between the Atlantic Ocean drainage basin (drained by the Rhine) and the Black Sea drainage basin (drained by the Danube.) Mark Twain wrote about the Black Forest in his travels through Europe.

We have a relatively flat ride for the first 25 km. Then, we begin a long climb of mostly 6-8 % grade until the last 2 km which become impossibly steep. I manage to ride the whole way and am greeted by Philipp at the top who points to a sign and informs me that I have just ridden up an 18% grade!!! If I had known that ahead of time, I wouldn't have done it. The guides have purposely not told us ahead of time knowing this. After a rest, we start down 10 km of steep downhill. I like downhills but ride cautiously on this one with its hairpin curves and steep decline. Finally, we are back on flat ground. The hills we are riding today and in subsequent days of the trip take us from one valley to the next.

Dave and I have picked up sandwiches in the town of Elzach and now stop to eat them in a little park in Wolfach. No two hour lunches in a restaurant for us today. We need to keep moving! Jeannie and Frank join us. The scenery has change drastically from the Alsace wine villages and grapevine covered hillsides. We ride through dense woods opening into broad vistas of green forested mountains. It is beautiful! So different from the Alsace wine villages. The four of us ride together and briefly lose the arrows coming off the bike path and backtrack still not seeing any arrows. We decide to return to the bike path and there the arrow is. Don't know how we missed it.

After lunch, we start gradually going uphill again. I am thinking that maybe I can do this second hill as I am motivated and feeling good today, but when we reach Bad Rippoldsau at 77 km at the base of the steepest part of the climb, Philipp highly recommends shuttling to the top as there are still 40 km to go with some short, but steep uphills to do. When I realize that it is already 4:15, I agree. Jane, Jeannie, Linda Boss and me are shuttled to the top. We decide we need to keep going rather than waiting for the guys. I am thinking that I will ride with the three women but they soon lose me going downhill. Then, my jacket comes off the back of my pack so I have to carefully stop, turn around and ride uphill a short distance to retrieve it and by then they are long gone. I ride by myself for the next 20 km. About 9 km from the end, I see the van. Gwendal has picked up Carol and wonders if I want a shuttle in, too. I say no, that I want to ride in. Peter, Carol's husband is standing by the van. We ride together and he kindly waits for me to walk, or ride slowly up, the very steep little hills on our route. I appreciate his company. It is an absolutely beautiful ride all on a wonderful, smooth bike path along the river in the woods. I am so glad I didn't miss this part of the ride. Exhausted but happy I did so much today, we arrive at our hotel in Schaumberg at 6:15. I have 108 km on my computer.

Our hotel is just beautiful!! Hotel Sackman is a four star hotel with a 2 star Michelin restaurant. Three couples of us are staying up the hill in apartments associated with the hotel. A van takes us there. We are greeted by a four floor stair climb to our apartments!! No elevator! Not appreciated after a long day and long ride! However, we have a whole apartment with a lovely little balcony that looks out over the hills and valleys. Picturesque hardly describes the scene. The houses look just like you would imagine in Germany - half timbered, whitewashed walls, flower boxes on the front, etc. Schwarzenberg is a small place surrounded by forests and green mountains. Dave gets in around 6:45.

The hotel itself is beautiful. We have the most delicious meal of the trip. Waiters are in suit and tie and service is impeccable. This is not the 2 star Michelin restaurant on the premises but nevertheless is 2 star food! The chef stops by briefly to ask us if we are enjoying our meal. Everyone at this hotel is elegant and so helpful.

It has been a challenging, but enormously satisfying day and arrival in this beautiful setting at this lovely hotel makes all the aches and pains fade away (well, almost). There is a lovely pool and spa facilities on the lower level of the hotel but I do not have a chance to use them. I'm glad we don't have to ride tomorrow and glad we have two nights in this lovely place. Unfortunately, I didn't take time to stop much to take pictures. I must say that the Black Forest is just as I have always imagined it.

                                  The landscape,has changed!

            Can't believe I rode up an 18% hill!!

                        Our apartment is in the building on the left

                                       Our beautiful hotel

Day 9: Exploring Freiburg

Another beautiful day. The loop ride today is a very, very difficult one and just two people choose to do it. The rest of us are content to have a rest day and time to explore this lovely city. Freiburg has a nice ambience with its pretty streets, it's little "Bächles" and interesting buildings. There is great shopping here. Unfortunately, all the museums here are closed on Mondays. 

We join with Kathy and John, Kim and Billy and Linda Boss for a walk around town. We stop at the Tourist  Information Center hoping to go on a walking tour but English tours are only given on Fridays and Saturdays. We are given a map, however, with a self-guided tour and we start on that route. We go to the extensive market in the square in front of the cathedral. Dave and I find some little gifts for Kai and Makenna. 

The cathedral is beautiful and imposing with its salmon colored stone, sculptures and spires. Some of the gargoyles are fun and interesting. Hmmm...Actually some are rather obscene. The inside of the cathedral is dark but the stained glass windows are beautiful with very intricate designs. We enjoy listening to the organist practice on the organ. Our hotel is on the edge of the cathedral square and we can hear the ringing of the bells to tell the hour very clearly. Some find this annoying but I rather enjoy it. It tells me I am in Europe. At 7:00 a.m. there is even a little extra music to go with the time. Guess they want to be sure you don't sleep past 7:00. The hotel staff straighten up your bed, turn down the covers and put earplugs and a little package of gummy bears on your pillow. Isn't that considerate of them? 

Speaking of the hotel, this is a very nice one. It's in an old building with lots of wood, but the rooms are completely modern and updated while maintaining the old character with many special touches such as a vase of fresh flowers and a plate of fresh fruit. Breakfast is in the hotel restaurant and offers a nice selection. 

We stop for lunch in the MarktHalle which has the feel of a food court with many selections of all different kinds of food. After strolling around the charming streets awhile longer we go back to the room for a rest. Philipp has been talking to me about e-bikes and wonders if I would like to try one. I can rent one at the train station and we can do the short loop ride for the day. We meet at 3:00. Jeannie wants to try one, too, so she comes along as do Kathy and Dave with their regular bikes. We walk to the train station where we rent the bikes. They are of the large, big-tired city type bikes. It is an interesting experience to ride one. Jeannie and I zip along in Eco, Tour, Sport or Turbo mode. You have to be pedaling for the motor to engage. We do the 20 km or so route which is mostly flat, but there are a few little rises where we can get the feel of zipping uphill. The bikes are big and cumbersome to handle when on land and I don't especially like this part. Philipp says the e-bikes Experience Plus has to rent are more like a traditional hybrid design and have more updated technology than these. They are nevertheless 20 lbs heavier than the regular bikes so not lightweight by any stretch of the imagination, anyway, it is something to consider. It may be the way I can keep on riding.

 

I am so tired and fall into a deep sleep when dinner is finally over.

We have a long, hard day tomorrow so hope I can sleep well.

                                          Beautiful cathedral

            Some stores like to put a little decoration on the Bächle outside of their stores

                              One of the charming streets in the old part of Freiburg

Day 8: Cycling to Freiburg

We leave Colmar this morning on a bright, sunny warm morning. All is quiet since it is Sunday. The landscape has changed drastically. It is flat and we are back to cornfields. No more charming Alsace wine towns. Our ride today is flat except for one short, steep hill and is just 44 km. The last city we go through  in France is Neuf Brisach, a fortified town from 1698. The city's layout was that of an "ideal city" with a regular square grid street pattern inside an octagonal fortification giving it a star shape. We pass through two,of its large gateways in its principal curtain walls. As we ride through town, we come upon some kind of celebration. People are dressed in medieval garb and some are on horses. Guess this is the end of a week long celebration of victory in a battle with the Germans which occurred some 200 years ago.

We cross the mighty Rhine River into Germany leaving France behind. The Rhine is Germany's longest river and, with the Danube, one of Europe's most important commercial rivers. Along with the Danube, the Rhine formed the northernmost border of the Roman Empire. The Rhine rises in Switzerland and flows 820 miles to empty into,the North Sea in the Netherlands. 

As we reach the edge of Freiburg, we stop for lunch at a small place off the bike path where we are riding. There are no other places around and we are hungry. Philipp, Frank and Jeannie, Billy, and a couple of others are with us. We are the only ones there. The proprietor seems happy to have us. Several of us have pizza. It has really gotten warm and it feels hot when we start again after lunch. Beautiful community gardens can be seen just off the bike path. People take great pride in these small garden plots. They may be given, or rented? to people who come out from the city proper to garden. We continue our ride into Freiburg, mostly on bike paths. These paths are well used and well maintained. They are a major means of transportation for people. We arrive at our hotel which is very nice. Don't know if it is the warm weather or we are just tired, but Dave and I zonk out immediately after getting to our room.

Freiburg is considered to be one of Germany's most beautiful cities and many people would like to live here. It has beautiful colorful, houses, a big cathedral, and good shopping. Everywhere, you see the old "Bächle," an unusual system of gutters, or little canals, that run throughout its center. They are narrow troughs of water that run on both sides of the street. They were once used to provide water to fight fires and feed livestock. They were never intended to carry sewage and, even in the Middle Ages, such use would result in heavy penalties.

Dinner is on our own tonight and we join Linda and Chas, Jeannie and Frank and Kathy and John to go to a very nice German restaurant just around the corner from our hotel. It has been an enjoyable day of riding and we are glad to see John back on his bike though still not feeling quite up to par. Philipp seems to be feeling better, too, and we enjoy having him ride as sweep today.

Tomorrow is a rest day and we will explore Freiburg further so I'm sure I will write more about it tomorrow.

                             One of the gate of Neuf Briasch

                                Celebration in Neuf Briasch

                                           Crossing the Rhine River

Day 7: Beautiful Munster Valley, La Maison du Fromages

The day dawned beautiful and sunny. The fresh morning air felt wonderful and I love the morning light. We climbed a pretty steep hill right out of Riquewihr, then rode on rolling hills through green hills and vineyards. It was beautiful and it felt great to be back on the bike. We all met up at La Maison Fromagre at 10:30 for a tour of this place where Munster cheese is made. It seems like a tedious, repetitive lifestyle but boy is that cheese good. I have completely changed my concept of what Munster cheese is. I don't think I can ever again buy what they have in Safeway. 

After the tour, we buy cheese, meat and bread and have one of our famous, delicious picnics on the grounds of the cheese place. Yum! Yum! Yum! So good and so fun. I like this way of having lunch the best. We have just another 20 km or so to Colmar for a total of 40 km for the day. We ride on many very nice bike paths.

Colmar is quite a large city and there is quite a bit of traffic and riding on cobble stones, but at least some is on bike paths. We arrive about 2:15 but some rooms are not ready yet so we sit in the courtyard of the hotel visiting with Gwendal and Philipp. Our room Is the last to be ready, not til 3:15. The one day I arrive early is the day my room is last to be available! No matter. We have enough time to clean up and walk around town. It is a lovely city with canals and flowers and half timbered buildings. 

We want to see the Retable d'Issenheim (Isenheim Altarpiece) but it takes some doing to do so. It is supposed to be in the Musèe D'Unterlinden but the museum is being renovated and we have been told that it has been moved to a church. We go to a big church but it is the wrong one. Finally, we find the museum and there are signs directing people to the famous altarpiece in the church right next door to the museum. We rent audio guides so as to better understand this piece. It is a 24 panel altarpiece depicting the Passion. The panels have been separated to preserve the pieces and it takes looking at a model on the wall of how the whole thing worked to really understand it. I am glad we persisted in finding the model It is quite magnificent. There are layers with doors that open to reveal each layer. The altarpiece was painted by Matthias Grünewald at the beginning of the 16th century for the high altar at the monastery at Issenheim which was founded in 1298 and devoted to curing ergotism, also known as "St. Anthony's fire". It was caused by a virus in grain. 

This will be our last day in France. Only bad news is that John was sick the past two days and wasn't able to ride today. Philipp also has a touch of it, too, an intestinal bug of some sort. Hope both are better soon. Just hope the rest of us don't get it. We are all washing our hands frequently.

We have a delicious dinner together and are ready to call it a day.

                                     Getting ready to leave Riquewihr

   Looking back on one of the many Alsace wine villages we have seen the past couple of days

                                 Touring La Maison Fromage

                   The cheese must cure for at least 21 days to be called Munster

                              Linda, Gwendolyn the Cow and another cow

                                          Yummy picnic!

                                                    Beautiful Colmar