The Old Europe Bike Tour

19. Day: Mo, 21.6. Säckingen - Colmar, 123 km

The last few kilometers of the Rhine-route towards Basel offer no extraordinary sensations. After Rheinfelden the Rhine gets navigable by ships. Just there we meet the Suisse North-South-Route(3), Basel - Chiasso. We reach Basel not along the shores of the Rhine but along the tram line number 14. And then I am where I was more than a week before: at the middle bridge. Meanwhile I have surrounded nearly all of Switzerland and have won so many impressions. And those are still not enough?

No! Let us leave the construction areas and lorries of Basel. For orientation we use the Michelin-map, and it is a learning experience to act self dependent again. I foresee the next progress on mainroads. After some distance at Rosenau I detect the Canal Rhone du Rhin. And there is a comfortable path along the dam of course, remember our French cycle friends as they enjoy their Sunday-race-excursions. So farewell roads and traffic. One can start on this path at Basel if one knows about it. And what's about the wind? I won't tell you more if you see me flying along.

Soon there are signs towards Mulhouse. Since Kembs, the mouth of the canal into the Rhine, the path is even tarmack. At Mulhouse we fall into the roaring traffic again. At a roundabout three of for directions lead on motor-ways. May be there are nicer routes to Colmar than on the D 201 via Battenheim. But fianlly there are some side roads and nice villages like Oberentzen - Niederentzen and Oberhergheim - Niederhergheim. And what was to be seen at Ste. Croix en Plaine? No memories at all!

Colmar

Petite Venice

But at Colmar we wipe our eyes. Sun and colorfull houses. At first I ask a woman with daughter for the information bureau. They come some steps with me to give a better explanation. The information is near the Dominikanerkirche. I can choose a cheap hotel around the corner. There is no luxury and there is a big parking place outside of the window of my room. But it is very central.

Today we have our dinner at a pizzeria again in spite of the famous Alsatian cuisine. Sauerkraut, Cheesecake and Gugelhupf? I enter the La Doles or Le Sereno - I cannot remember - and order a pizza with seafood as far as I know me. And then the roaring Colmar kicks off. There is a music festival today. At every place or corner they have established bands and pop groups and all play as loud as possible. The old houses seem to tremble. And I feel it by myself as the pleura or something else vibrates. Nice feeling! Some actors have no instruments but an amplifier or booster with a CD- or disc-player. They turn at the buttons of their apparatus up to the limits of the speakers and woofers etc. I walk around until about 10 pm and nearly get lost. But then the noise soon gets down and everyone dismantles his environment.

20. Day: Th, 22.6. Colmar - Strassburg, 97 km

At the morning I must look for Petite Venice and a photo. I saw it yesterday but cannot find it today. Finally the city map helps. Now the last day is provided for the Alsatian-Vine-Route: La Route des Vins de Alsac. There are about 20 vine-villages like pearls on a string and one more beautiful than the other. They often have a veteran of a vine-press in front of their estates as decoration. And so many flowers, the villages mostly have the add on ville de fleurs or so. Unfortunately we have some rain today and no colors, but more rests instead.

Once a man comes down from the church and asks what's about. He was at Colmar yesterday as well for a visit of the festival. "I wonder that I got an accommodation" I say. "The most visitors are from adjacent areas" he says. Yes, he had been at Braunschweig in the 80ties. Then there would be a cycle path from here to Emmendingen, Germany (cycle-path Villé - Elzach). But of course I stay to the vine-route.

At another rest I succeed to produce the only photo of myself during this tour. This is because one hesitates to give a brand new camera in other hands and I had not practised the self-timer and automatic release before. Always afraid to loose parts of the greatest treasure after a tour and this is the amount of photo material. Now there is a display window of a bank like a mirror - so let's have a try.

At Obernai the vine-route ends somehow and so I turn west towards Strassburg. I should have known that there is a European bike-trail from Molsheim to Strassburg - Offenburg. But so I ride on the D 392 and this is not so nice. As I pass the Airport Str.-Entzheim I get the idea to spend the evening and night at Strassburg instead of Offenburg. Moreover I know the hotel already and will not need the tourist information: Hotel Vosges at the railway station. I was there ten years ago and may be it still exists?

It does. There is the old fashioned elevator in an iron basket. I introduce myself as an old regular guest. And really I am stored in the computer. I hope that I behaved properly at that time - so this will be no problem. The room is towards the place in front of the railway station. This was a big construction site 10 years ago. Today it is a vast and dull grey desert. There is not one single plant- or flower-tub. This is unexplainable in such an attractive town. Only late in the evening the lighted railway station looks nice.

But I go to the information-desk at the station and ask for the timetable of a connection back home. But they cannot find any connection inclusive bike transport. After some time I give up and decide to cycle to Offenburg tomorrow and get a train there.

I then do the mandatory walk: Place Kleber, Gutenbergplatz, Petit France. We have a fine sun and so good conditions for some nice photos. At dinner I visit the Chinese just aside the hotel. Something with calamares or crevettes. Thereafter the legs are stretched - they had a lot of work since now.

21. Day: We, 23.6. Strassburg - Offenburg, 97 km

From Strassburg I know the signed European bike trail and find it after the border bridge at Kehl. It leads along the dam of the river Kinzig. A demonstration of a degenerated river area as all is canalised and within dams. So they managed to create new areas for farmland, settlements and industry. But the inhabitants of the towns down the Rhine who get all the highwaters shooting down from here may say thankyou. But the cycle paths are signed properly.

At Offenburg I get a connection within the next 30 minutes with the IC Bodensee from Constance to Stralsund. I must change at Hannover. After some time we have about 15 bikes in the train. And I have no reservation. But no one kills me and things work well.

So the tour is over. Three weeks are a long time for a cycle tour. There are so many impressions. This is the cause that I always write about it for otherwise it will fall through the sieve of memories one day. May be it is not everything so interesting, may be you had some fun with them.

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