Kembs

This morning the barge sailed to the small French village of Chalampe. That is where we commenced our last cycling day along the French bank of the Rhine River via Ottmarsheim and across the border to Switzerland..

Our final destination was the city of Basel, situated where the borders of Germany, France and Switzerland meet. Although the main city is in Switzerland, some of the suburbs are in France and Germany.

Basel also justifiably calls itself the “City of Gourmet” with more than 20 restaurants appointed a Gault Millau or Michelin rating.

Our view of Basel was a little jaundiced by the somewhat grubby area that the boat moored at. We found ourselves surrounded by a motley collection of old factories, overgrown paths and a rather weird circus. We never did figure out what this circus was really about as it seemed to be just a group of young dropouts having fun. It was a somewhat strange ending to the first stage of our adventure.

Tonight will be our final night aboard the MS Andante. Tomorrow we will be catching the train to Paris to begin the next part of our adventure.Read more