To - Konstanz
Distance - 67km
Time - 5 hours
Total - 1612km
Three weeks done! May I thank you for a) reading the blog and b) making contact by email, text or Skype. I appreciate all the contact as it helps me to think about something other than what I should eat next.
My update from last night - I stayed in the hostel and had a chat with some of the other people. It turned out that a Canadian couple weren't quite Canadian. The man had joint nationality between Canadian and Czech. His partner was Czech and they both spoke Hungarian and English and worked in Switzerland. It's a small world. An English girl called Rebecca was taking an extended holiday to travel independently through Switzerland and Germany before she reached her 30th birthday. I told her I was cycling across Europe for exactly the same reason. She looked convinced, for at least half a second!
I quickly realised why German red wines are not well represented on the supermarket shelves in the UK. I tried to palm it off on the others but they were too wise. I ended up drinking on my own again. It wasn't so bad that I would throw it away. No, I don't drink a whole bottle, it lasts two nights!
The sleeping arrangements at the hostel were dormitories for 10 people. It was not 10 in a bed, so don't let your imagination run away with you! There were only 6 in the room but unusually the room was mixed sex. The night passed without incident, in fact we were all in bed by 10pm and surprisingly the bunks were not the normal squeaky variety that creak every time you turn over. The hostel itself had lots of character, the lounge had walnut panelled walls and the staircase was spiral like in a castle.
All that and I haven't even started on today.
The breakfast was really good again, especially considering it was in a hostel and not a hotel. I got away around 9am. The journey was fairly short. I know that I put photos of various towns I pass on the blog and they look good but it doesn't properly represent the beauty of the places. Every town and village is lovely and I could take numerous photos in all directions and in different streets and they would all be great. The grey weather doesn't help much either with the photos. The weather has managed again to stay dry and a little warmer each day. I risked cycling in my shorts again.
The route took me through the lovely Swiss town of Stein am Rhine where I bumped into a Swiss family who had been at the hostel last night. They hadn't really spoken last night but they spoke to me in the town in perfect English. It's nice meet nice people. Whilst on that subject I have been running a psychological test of my own over the last few days. Most of you will know that I did a years psychology course with he Open University and I am very thorough about my tests! I have been testing out what proportion of German cyclists respond to a friendly 'hallo' whilst I pass them. I am sad to say that less than 30% actually respond and almost none say 'hallo' to me without me initiating the friendly comment. I must say the French were better with their 'bonjours'. There doesn't seem to be a camaraderie amongst cyclists here like there is back home. Having said that, there have been a lot of cyclists about and it becomes a bit of a chore saying 'hallo' to them all. Cycling is a big deal around here and lots of people use them for their daily transport. The railway stations have loads of cycles parked up presumably used by people who catch a train to work.
On a different note I haven't had a schnitzel since I entered Germany. I know you may be concerned about this but I will let you know how I go on!
I left the route of the Eurovelo 6 to head towards Konstanz, that means the end of the Rhine and the beginning of Lake Constance named Bodensee by the Germans. I had a picnic lunch myself at Radolfzel, which was a town of character. There were market stalls and I bought a chocolate and raspberry tart from a stall, yum yum!
Konstanz was my final destination and from what I have seen its a large bustling town. Lots of cycling and cycle paths all over the place. The old town is good, maybe not the best I've seen but a nice lake front with ships offering trips on the lake. The word lake doesn't do it justice, it's more of an inland sea and it is approx 200km around, it makes Windermere look like a tiddler.
The guest house I am at is right in the middle of the old town. It is clean and practical. The prices are certainly better than France and breakfast is included in the price. I popped to a supermarket to get a few provisions for tomorrow because 1st May is a public holiday (thanks for tipping me off Matthew). Tomorrow could be my hardest cycling day so far, I believe there is a lot of climbing so I will need my energy and an early start. First I will have to retrace my steps to rejoin the Eurovelo 6 route.
I notice from the Internet that I have been overlooked again for the British Lions tour to Australia. Warren Gatland called me earlier in the week to tell me that he thought my cycling was commendable but it wasn't the fitness preparation he was looking for for prospective Lions! Dreaming again eh!
Just back from a lovely meal at a harbour restaurant. I had asparagus and salmon suppe and then pork steaks with vegetables in a creamy mushroom sauce. I haven't had many vegetables since i started! Still no schnitzel! I had a walk around town and some shops are still open and the bars are doing good business. There appears to be an absence of 'riff raff' which makes a nice change. I can image this place being really busy in he summer.
Photo 1, Stein am Rhine.
Photo 2, First view of Lake Constance - sorry its a bit grey.
Photo 3, Radolfzel town.
Photo 4, Konstanz Munster.
Photo 5, Harbour area at Konstanz.
Photo 6, Gasthouse Gretel, where I am staying.
No comments:
Post a Comment