Ulm, Universitätsstadt

Ulm might be best known for being the birthplace of Albert Einstein, but for our group of eight, it was significant for another reason. This is the place where we finish our ride along the Danube, and then begin the next stage of our adventure.

After the drizzling wet weather of the previous day, it was relief to awake to the sounds of silence. Although it was still very cool, at least the rain had stopped, and the forecast was that it would remain fine for the remainder of the day.

Unfortunately, we had experienced a sort of a medical emergency the previous day, in the form of a relapse in Maggie's bad back. This had prevented her riding yesterday, but she was determined not to miss out on the final day of riding on the Danube.

Although she was still in a great deal of discomfort, she loaded her pannier onto my bike (along with every other heavy item she could find). She figured that, with her bike thus unencumbered, she would at least be able to ride slowly. As I loaded the bulging panniers onto my bike, I started to wonder if I would be able to ride at all.

We were offered two alternatives for the route. One of these was about 10 km longer than the other, so it was immediately rejected as a serious option for Maggie. We this divided into two groups, with six riders taking the longer route, and Maggie and I (with my seriously overloaded bike) taking the shorter route.

After a short but steep climb out of Ehingen, the path soon settled into a glorious and smooth trail through farmlands and small villages. The weather remained fine and cold, and there was absolutely no wind. Although Maggie was finding the going very hard, we did manage to maintain a reasonable speed.

Just as we were about half way to Ulm, we encountered a "speed bump". The bike path was blocked by a fire truck. The attendant explained that we would have to make a detour. "It will only add a few extra kilometres", he added. This was not what Maggie needed, but we had no choice but to comply.

As soon as we started the detour, we realised just where we were. This was the site where Maggie had an unfortunate accident on our 2016 ride. As she was recovering from the fall, we went in search of a coffee shop for her to recover, but we could not find anything. At the time I classified the place as a "rubbish town".

Seven years later, my opinion was the same. The traffic was continuous, making it downright dangerous to ride or cross the main road, and there was still no coffee shop. We rode on, following the detour signs, until we were back on the trail again.

On the outskirts of Ulm we made a most unexpected discovery, Riding through a deserted technology precinct, we stumbled upon a large modern complex with a huge restaurant attached to it. We parked the bikes and entered.

It really was a strange place. Virtually all the diners were enjoying some sort of high tea, complete with multi tiered plates, sandwiches, scones and cakes. It enticed us to do the same. We took a seat and then explained to the well dressed waitress what we wanted. It took some doing, but the message must have gotten through, because a few minutes later we were both having the time of our lives, dining like kings and queens.

After lunch we availed ourselves of the toilet facilities and found them to be the cleanest and most sophisticated toilets we have ever experienced. We still have no idea what the place was, but it certainly came at the right time.

We then only had about 7 km to ride until we reached our destination hotel in Ulm. As soon as I turned the final corner to the hotel, I realised it looked familiar. And it should have. I had stayed in that same hotel back in 2013 on our ride from Ulm to Vienna. Although the hotel had been modernised a lot since then, it was still a great place to stay. The location in the centre of the city was absolutely perfect, and the friendly lady at the desk made us feel very welcome.

Not only we arrived we were met by the other 6 riders who had done the longer ride. It was time to strip the bikes and empty the panniers. We had all found these bikes to be fantastic, and we were sorry to see them go.

Tomorrow we have a free day in Ulm, and the following day we make our way to Constance, to begin stage 4 of our trip.Read more