Day 1. 25km from Bad Bellingen to Basel.
What a beautiful sunny day with a pleasant temperature. Couldn’t be better for starting our cycle trip. We drained the van and emptied the fridge and parked it where we were instructed and off we set.
I immediately directed us onto higher ground parallel with the Rhein (I’m going local with my language). As a result we had to cycle straight up three longish inclines......if you think Janice is looking unsure in the photo it’s because we had gone up the hills but after that we were on the flat by, or near, the river. We crossed the Swiss border without any checks taking place and into Basel. The Altstadt (old town) is mainly on the south side of the river but we stayed on the north. We will get a chance to see the city when we return in a few days time.
We found the Bahnhof (railway station) and got our ticket to Konstanz with a change at Singen. Much of this route is part of the Eurovelo 6 that I have previously cycled and I constantly bored Janice by telling her “I’ve been here.....I’ve been here”! Travelling with a bike on trains can be tricky because you have to carry your bike up and down stairs to get to the correct platform and when you get on the train it isn’t guaranteed to have space for the bikes. The first train was fine we got on first and had room for the bikes. The second train from Singen was a bit of a dash as we had two minutes to get off and on to the train which was already pretty full. One man was sitting in the spaces for bikes and despite the fact that other seats were available he didn’t offer to move leaving us to hold our bikes for the following half hour blocking the carriage. Never mind, the scenery was lovely and we soon arrived at Konstanz and found the hotel.
It is a traditional style hotel....I’m looking forward to Frustuck (breakfast) in the morning.
We changed and went out for a walk in the city. Konstanz is situated on the west side of Lake Constance (known as Bodensee in German).
There is a lot to like about the city. Lovely riverside, lovely harbour on the lake and fine old town buildings and cathedral. It is very cycling friendly...a bit too friendly as the cyclists are all over the place and you have to be careful where you walk. We enjoyed the afternoon strolling around and sitting in the sun every now and then. I was particularly drawn to the female statue in the harbour, I’m not sure why! The thing in the sky above the statue is a zepplin hot air balloon, they make them near here.
Back to the hotel for a shower. We dressed for dinner!! We have a very limited casual clothing selection, ie one pair of trousers and a couple of non cycling shirts. The trip will certainly not be a fashion parade.
We had a meal at Wirtshaus, a nice bar overlooking the Rhein.
We managed a couple of biers and...you must guess what my meal was. Answer tomorrow, if I remember. We’ve had a great day but we will be stepping up the cycling from now on.
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