Travel report: Cycling along the Rhine & enjoying good wine
From our guests Barbara, Trix and Steffen
We started our 500-kilometer bike trip along the Rhine in Constance on Lake Constance, where we picked up our e-bikes, which were perfectly set up for us, directly at the Radweg-Reisen branch.
Although the first day of cycling was very wet and cold at the beginning of October, this did not stop us from starting the tour to Switzerland as border cyclists with helmet hoods, rain pants and shoe covers. The wooden bridge of Diessenhofen (photo 1) enchanted us with its water reflection even without sunshine. An absolute highlight right at the beginning of the tour was climbing the "Swiss rock in the middle of the waterfall" in the evening sun at the Rhine Falls of Schaffhausen (photo 2).
Photo 1 - wooden bridge Diessenhofen
Photo 2 - Rhine Falls Schaffausen
Even though the "German Tuscany" with its low temperatures of 2 °C to 6 °C in the morning hours did not live up to its name, we saw fields of tobacco in bloom, fields of corn as tall as a man, Hokkaido pumpkins arranged in rows and colorful vegetable patches.
For the visit of the trumpeter town Bad Säckingen you should take some more time to cycle over the impressive 204 meter long covered wooden bridge with border crossing in the middle of the bridge (photo 4) as well as to visit the minster St. Fridolin and the adjacent castle park. Here we were surprised by a thunderstorm, but no matter if it rains or hails, we continue cycling...
A beautiful view of fish ladders and the primeval Rhine, struggling forward in the wild riverbed, can be seen from the two viewing platforms on the Rhine bank path near Rheinfelden (photo 5).
Photo 5 - viewing platform Rheinfelden
Photo 4 - border bridge Bad Säckingen
While cycling through the Black Forest vineyards around Freiburg, we were extremely fascinated by the fully automatic grape harvester, which sucks in the berries with a blower and shakes them off so that the stem frame of the grapes still remains on the vine.
For friends of modern bridge constructions, the Dreiländer bridge in Basel and the Zwei-Ufer bridge in Kehl are an absolute "must". Despite the enormous steel masses, these structures impress with their filigree designs, as they spiral or sweep across the Rhine.
Three-Country Bridge Basel
Photo 9 - Europe Sculpture Breisach
The small town of Breisach (photo 8) as a Roman imperial residence with its small colorful old town, the St. Stephen's Monastery and the Europe sculpture (photo 9) is also worth a "bike break".
Here we had a quite fantastic accommodation in the Hotel Le Caballin (photo 10) on the French Rhine island Vogelgrun.
The hotel rooms absolutely delighted us with their innovative wooden architecture and the French breakfast is highly recommended.
Photo 8 - Breisach
Photo 10 - Vogelgrun Le Caballin
And not to forget the good wine on this trip.... On the Kaiserstuhl, it's worth making a detour to the Leiselsheim vineyard. The scent of ripe grapes permeates the air there and invites every cyclist to take a break under the large chair.
Once in Kehl, it is worth climbing the 210-step Weißtannenturm on the southern Altrhein with a wonderful view of the 3 bridges between Kehl and Strasbourg and its cathedral shimmering on the horizon.
Weißtannenturm - Kehl
CONCLUSIONS:
The trip is a scenic and culinary delight and with a good glass of wine the tired cyclist falls asleep faster ...
With warm regards and looking back on wonderful vacation memories Steffen and Trix and Barbara.
