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October 22 Sunday sunny Bicycle touring Germany We cycled along the flat Rhine River bike path. In the morning we pedalled along Lake Constance. Sherry went and stuck her hand in to check the temperature, but I didn't see her diving in for a swim. We stopped along the river by some rapids for a bite to eat.
Several people passed on bicycles. Lots of horse riders out today,
too. As we got ready to continue our bicycle tour, two people who had been to Canada stopped to talk about Jasper and Banff and regaled us with tales about the wonderful time they had in western Canada. In the past 24 hours we've cycled through Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein and Switzerland. We're still cycling along the Rhine River, so the route is flat but we're surrounded by mountains. We have a soft tailwind and it's made the day's cycling a breeze. As the sun ducked behind a mountain range a long burst of rays exploded from the very peaks, sending out trails of sunlight and shadows. We are camping in Switzerland for the night. We rode off the bike path and into the town of Severin. There were a few farms before the town. We pulled our loaded touring bicycles to a halt at one farm to ask for water but a trio of dogs barked ferociously and scared us off. Canines definitely have a universal language. It's not too difficult to sort out friendly yips from aggressive yaps. The odor of pig manure was eye-watering. We cycled down a country lane and stopped at a house where the dogs sounded more friendly. I knocked on the door and asked a woman if we could set our tent on her lawn for the night. She didn't speak English but through sign language and a couple of words of German she got the message through that it would be all right. We set the tent up and got inside to make supper. The farm woman came out partway through our preparations and kindly asked if we would like tea. We accepted happily and said we would be in as soon as we finished eating. But, a few minutes later she reappeared, delivering tea and cups and warm hazelnut cake heaped upon a silver platter. Talk about luxury and service! |
