Sunday 24 September 2017

Danube Cycle Tour Day 4


September 23, 2017
Ehingen to Ulm
44 km
Cool morning but sunny


  • Pleasant surprise of farmer's market in Ehingen square where we spread out and purchased picnic supplies
  • Visited  Blaubeuren museum of pre-history 
  • Picniced beside the Blaubeuren Blautopf - pool that is the terminus of an extensive underwater waterway
  • Bike paths to the centre of Ulm with our hotel in the shadow of Ulm Cathedral
  • Shopping in Ulm and then found Chinese restaurant which was welcome change to our trend of German cuisine









Blautopf, Blaubeuren


Ulm Catherdral (tallest in Europe)
Clint on outskirts of Ulm
Ulm from the tower

Danube Cycle Tour Day 3

September 22, 2017
Mengen to Ehingen
60 km
Cool morning but sunny

  • Lots of riding through cornfields
  • Set up our (now traditional) Plaid photo shoot
  • Lunch stop Blank Brewery and Gasthof Rossle
  • Clint buys an awesome Blank Brewery cycling jersey
  • Ehingen is home to several breweries so we sample a few starting at our hotel Ochsen
  • Fun time in the tiny beerhall singing 99 Red Balloons and Coming Home (two German based tunes that had airplay in Canada) with some locals



Cool cyclists
Stork's nest

Dyke top trail
Lunch stop at Blank Brewery and Gasthoff Rossle






The doctor anyone?
Rechtenstein and ruins of Hohwart castle


Obermarchtal Abbey church
Munderkingen
Kms of corn fields

The Plaids











Danube Cycle Tour Day 2


September 21, 2017
Fridingen to Mengen
57 km
Cool morning but warming afternoon
  • Foggy and chilly morning as we headed out but warmed up later
  • Fridengen to Beuron through beautiful  narrow valley with rocky outcrops, pretty farms and dotted with castles. Some hilly bits. One of the most beautiful sections of the route.
  • Tried the traditional Swabian soup for lunch 
  • Sigmaringen royal Hohenzollern palace - Lisa, Lynne and Clint did one hour guided tour while Randy visited the armory museum.
  • Most awesome cake at Sigmaringen - the original recipe Hohenzollern cake
  • Pizza dinner at Zur Alten Poste, where we were befriended by a kind local couple who gave us some tips, including to look out for stewed lentils with spaetzle on menus. The proprietor comped us a fruit brandy. Friendly, good value and delicious food. Just the type of place you hope to find in your travels. 
  • Hotel Rebstock, Mengen - chilly room, nice folks, good bike lock up in garage, good breakfast.


Cool morning
Fidingen half timbered barn/homes
Foggy 

Firewood stack
Danube canyon



Werenwag Palace


Swabian soup with meaty ravioli-like slabs of goodness.

Sigmaringen's Hohenzollern Palace

Waiting for the cake

Billed as "original Hohenzollern cake: layers of cherry confit, marzipan, white and chocolate cake, and possible a mild mocha or milk chocolate frosting. Life changing, says Lisa.


Shame we missed patio weather at this hotel.



Danube Cycle Tour Day 1

September 20, 2017
Donaueschingen to Fridingen
55 km
Cloudy and cool

September 19, 2017 was a rather big day...

This was the day we rendezvoused with Lynne (sister) and Clint (brother in law) for our third European bike tour together.  Two years ago we all cycled 360 km over seven days from Passau to Vienna along the Danube (Donau) river.  This is a quintessential European bike tour and we all enjoyed it very much.  This year we planned to do the upper Danube from its source in Donaueschingen to Passau which is about 600 km and gave ourselves eleven days.

September 19th is also the date of my 25th wedding anniversary to the love of my life and partner in adventure, Lisa.   

September 19th is also our mother Shirley's birthday.  She was born in 1925 and would have been thrilled to know that Lynne and I are following our dreams.  She is consistent source of inspiration and warm memories.  Deeply missed. 

As we travel along day after day I find there is so much stimulation and imagery that is is easy to forget or misplace events.  Over dinner a couple of times our team put our collective memories together to highlight things and I have recorded these (as best I could) in this blog.

September 20th - off we go!

  • Hotel Sonnes, Fridingen - newly renovated, large rooms, good dinner and breakfast (weak coffee) and nice folks.  Recommended.
  • Edi's Fahrrad-shop (bike shop) in Donaueschingen received and prepared the rental bike for us. Very accommodating and they also rent bikes themselves.
  • Weather cooler than I envisioned.  Wishing I brought along my cozy Patagonia fleece zip neck....
  • Lunch at little family run Brewerhof Inn in Immendingen.  Had the 'taglich menu' which consisted of salad and huge slab of delish lasagna. 
  • Coke Radler - Lynne and I tried this with lunch.  500 ml, half beer, half Coke.  Not a bad as it sounds.
  • Several bridge crossing of the Danube some on covered bridges.
  • Visited the "Donau sink" where the river disappears underground before surfacing 12 km downstream.  The sink, at the time of our visit, looks like a meadow with a few puddles.
  • Lovely ride through a nature reserve just before Fridingen.  Lynne fell over with the beauty of it.
  • Enjoyed a Hirsch (deer) beer in the little beer garden of our hotel at end of day.
  • Dinner at Sonnes Hotel - Randy stretches and goes for liverwurst and sauerkraut platter which maybe was too bold too early. Lynne and Lisa's "Grandpa's platter" was awesome.

    
Picking up our rental bikes which had been shipped here from Passau
Sort of looks like the last two teams from Amazing Race Germany

Donau Quelle - the spring which is the official start of the river
Covered bicycle bridge
Nature reserve
Lunch stop at Immendingen (note the Coke radlers)

Covered bridges
Clowning around at Hotel Sonnes, our stop for the night in Fridingen

Tuesday 19 September 2017

Caminho Portuguese Day 15

September 13, 2017
Barrientes to Villanova de Aurousa
20 km
Warm, sun and clouds

Walk through vineyards and small villages today ending back at the sea in the town of Villanova de Aurousa.  Stopped for a wine tasting on route at a small family run bodega.  Fun dinner with a group of fellow pilgrims that included a local flaming boozy drink.