Biking through Germany and France

Since Strasbourg is across the Rhein River from Germany we have had the opportunity to do several bike rides up and down the shores and explore both countries. Thanks to the EU, traveling between the two countries is extremely easy and nothing changes except the language (similar to driving from Georgia to Alabama).

Our first bike ride was to the north of Strasbourg for a delightful lunch in a charming little suburb of Strasbourg, then across the Rhein into Germany, and then south back home.


We chose a fruity Rosé wine to go with lunch. With what we were expecting to be a leisurely bike ride home ahead of us, ordering a carafe seamed appropriate at the time.



However, after lunch our "quick jaunt up to the nearest bridge" turned into quite the excursion. Finally, we got to the dam and boat locks and crossed over into Germany, but not before checking out some of the highlights there.

Here you can see the Rhein River, behind Whit, as it flows north:

The barge in the background was pulling into the locks. I was pressed against the fence to avoid the German drivers, who apparently just exited the Autobon and did not seem to care about slowing down.

As Whit was admiring the wild flowers, I was searching for the bike path home while simultaneously dodging on-coming Germans in their BMWs.

After crossing over into Germany, our French was no good anymore, but luckily we found the bike trail that follows the river south, although it wasn't paved, it was a beautiful ride along the river...for 15 miles.


What started out as a nice little Saturday ride through the country became quite the exploration. After returning home and recuperating we headed to our favorite Thai restaurant for a little reward. (In addition to the spicy, delicious menu, we love this restaurant because the owners have a Bernese Mountain dog named Chanel No. 5 who is always there to greet us.)


ROUND TWO:
Our most recent long haul bike ride was to the Black Forest, which is located in Germany, about 25 miles east of Strasbourg. We prepped for this one a bit more, including packing a superbly delicious lunch prepared by Whitney.

Unfortunately, France doesn't sell German bikes maps and the german bikes maps are in German....

but another great thing about Europe is that biking is universal and all you have to do is follow the "little green bicycle"....


En route to Offenburg, our destination, we passed through some charming Germany villages.
Just like in France, summertime means each town is full of beautiful flowers.....even the roundabouts are floral displays:



Whit found this fountain that commemorated the founding of the village Hellerstat...in 1308.


Whit made us a great lunch, that we ate at the foot of the Black Forest. She takes a fresh baguette and adds Nutella and bananas. It's pretty much a staple for any picnic that we have.

Simply terrific...


On the way home we decided to stop for a coffee (or café) in a small German village. The only open place we could find, was a small bar. We were the only customers, probably because the regular crowd doesn't show up until after 5 or 6 pm.

We ordered two coffees and after finishing them I graciously thanked the bartender (in french and english for good measure) and said that the coffee was delicious. He didn't seem to understand, so I gave a thumbs up sign and nodded with a smile. In response, he nodded his head and disappeared into the kitchen. He returned with two more cups of snake oil that he claimed was coffee...Oddly enough, apparently in German, "delicious" means two more cups of strong coffee with whip cream, please! Whit took one for the team and drank the second round to avoid seeming rude.


I on the other hand, opted for the local Pilsner instead to avoid a caffeine overdose.