Riding the Rhine ..Strasbourg - Breisach

Another change of plans meant that we were stuck on the boat for the morning as it sailed down the river to Rhinau. When I awoke the boat was already underway and then as I did yoga it passed back through the Napoleonic era lock while there was a very attractive sunrise. Finally, however we made it to Rhinau and then there was the bikes to unload (interestingly it was the Ghostriders who help with the unloading not the German guests who just waited for their bikes to come ashore and then just buggered off!!!). It was 1230 by the time we were finally ready to head off and the day was warm and windy. First off we left the boat which was actually moored at a lock near Diebelshiem and headed in to Rhinau where we crossed the river by ferry and then headed back up river passing through the Taubergiessen Nature Reserve which was declared in 1979 and comprises 1,700 hectares of meadows, forests and waterways and was really rather lovely. Some of the riders (including Kirstin) decided to stop by a stream to lunch and in Henry’s case a swim. I continued on however, riding through Weisweil where I became totally disorientated looking for the mythical coffee shop (following the pink signs as per Dagmar’s instructions), I ended up following the rwrong route and doing about 10km extra along the Rhine levee into the wind! Finally, I sorted, myself out ending up on the outskirts of Sachbach where I found a beer garden where I ate my lunch and enjoyed a clensing and cooling beer. I then continued on – it what was a bit of a hard slog in the 32-degree heat and the strong headwind - finally reaching Breisach in the late afternoon – I took a brief detour to the supermarket for more wine and then made my way to the boat for dinner (Salad, Broccoli soup, fish and veggies and gateau). I was surprised to beat the rest of the group back although it was only by 20 minutes. When I arrived, we were “double parked” alongside another boat and we had to cross their sundeck and then take a ramp down to the MS Andante.
Kirstin on the other hand had followed the prescribed route from Weiseil through Whyl am Keiserstuhl and Sachbach – memorable incidents of her day included David having an intimate encounter with a strange mammal in his knicks and Henry’s fully clothed swimming experience. She also enjoyed a meeting with some French guinea pigs at a café where they stopped to get a refreshing drink.Read more