Sunday, July 14, 2013

Ilanz to Luzern

The Rhine was no longer this wide navigable rivet with flood protection running in a channel. It was white water. The banks went up steeply to high mountains.

I was disjointed with myself for not going on a little more the previous evening as I passed lots of nice looking hotels add I went up.

Soon I was climbing steadily and didn't really stop until the top of the Oberalp pass 60km and 1300m altitude gain later. Traffic up the pass was quite heavy, with lots of motorbikes. The top was wonderful but I was hardly alone. I guess I shouldn't have expected anything different, with it being Sunday and a beautiful weather.

Down the overside,  the centre of the town Andermatt was totally dominated by Harley Davidson. I left add quickly as I could after lunch and stayed on the North-South route. The cycle route and the road for cats was shared and very busy, a legacy of the day and the weather. I made a note to myself to find a car free road for such a similar tripping the future on weekend days.

Once all the way down I followed the shore of the Vierwaldstatter
See around to Luzern where I found a place in the youth hostel. I cycled 164km.

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Berlingen to Ilanz

The day stayed with a route along Lake Constance. After a couple of hours the Rhine appeared again on the other side of the lake. Again it formed a border, though with Austria instead of Germany, and later Liechtenstein. Mountains came into view and became more dramatic. For a few hours I sped up the river with a strong tail wind. A bit after Char the road started going up seriously as the Rhine went into the mountains. I ended the day with 191km at 7:30pm, it was a little difficult finding a room and the one I got was in a business type hotel and a bit expensive. The breakfast should be good though. I hope for something more family run tomorrow.

Friday, July 12, 2013

Basel to Berlingen

The first day of my long weekend of cycling. The train arrival into Basel was held up for an hour and a half, apparently by a woman going into labour. Sometimes it's a nice thing that makes you late.

The route until near Schaffhausen was nice but always closer to big roads and industry. The countryside was nice but expect it to get better. It was fairly easy cycling except for the mild headwind which played with my head,  making me worry about whether I'd be able to make my objective of the round trip, cycling ask the way back into Basel.

At Schaffhausen I saw the Rhine falls which are fairly impressive,  though not overwhelming. Clearly they have been a thing to see for quite a long time. There was a youth hostel in the castle that overlooked the falls. Had it been later in the day I would have seen if they could accommodate me. As it was I wanted to go on.

The next town Stein am Rhein was lovely with lots of prettily painted buildings, making me think a little of  Alsace.

I'd hoped to go further than I did but 176km isn't too bad for the first day. I stayed in a cheap but very comfortable hotel called Adler. Their Wifi even worked in the room!