Surviving the German train system…keep calm and carry on!
Oh yes, we had it all figured out…first class tickets on the ICE high speed train with seats reserved all the way from Essen direct to Frankfurt airport. Ha, ha, ha, the joke was on us! Toni took us to the Gladbeck station where we caught an earlier train to Essen than we expected because the one be...
Another ride!
Such a beautiful day beckoned us back onto our bicycles to go for a lovely ride in the countryside around Gladbeck through forests and fields. There were lots of walkers and cyclists out enjoying the golden autumn day!
Full circle back
We arrived at the Gladbeck train station just in time for the rain! So we got pretty wet on the short ride to Toni and Lisa’s place and were very happy to get settled and dry out in their warm and comfortable home! Lisa had even made a big pot of soup…something I had been craving for days had finall...
A quick stop in Essen….
Well we survived the train ride from Basel, but cyclists take note…the bicycle coach is at one end of the train and first class seats are at the other…and the trains are VERY LONG! After we parked our bikes in their spot, we had to walk through 14 coaches which probably took 15 minutes(?). These ICE...
Pictures of our day in Basel
The Antiquities Museum…
The last ride…
Well we could not have asked for a better day! Warm and sunny with no wind! And a perfect cycle path all the way! As I was spinning along there was lots of time to contemplate the wonderful trip we have accomplished, the people we met along the way, the gorgeous scenery and the luck we had with the...
The sun is back!
Whew, with sun out and wind at our backs (again!) we made record time to Mulhouse back on the EV6. We didn’t stop much…having too much fun!
A lovely day for the ducks!
Today was another one of those days where you really didn’t want to go out into it! Lots of wind, scattered rain showers and about 9C! But we needed to get some breakfast supplies for tomorrow and the nearest grocery store was a few kilometers away. So off we go…and it wasn’t so bad so we carried on...
Another day of surprises!
We had such a wonderful stay at our ‘ancienne’ Alsatian timberframe house and very kind hosts, we were sorry to leave…but we need to press on as this holiday is coming to a close and the weather is becoming more brisk every day. Again we had a stiff breeze behind us and all down hill to Dannemarie o...
A ‘down’ day…well sort of….
Well we decided to build in a down day today in light of the weather prediction…so I actually have some time to get up to date here. The first surprise of the day when we left Pompiére Les Doubs was the railway crossing was closed and gates across locked! So we managed to bump and lift our loaded bi...
Sailing along!
Well 2 days of tailwinds and not as much rain as forecast makes 2 happy cyclists! Leaving Besançon and then Ougney the past 2 mornings had us fully kitted out in rain gear as there was some Irish mist coming down. Well about an hour after departure we were peeling off the layers and later having a p...
Sunday in the city
Well here we are in Besançon once again, but this time we are staying for 2 nights. Saturday was a busy day downtown, but Sunday has been a joy to wander around enjoying the architecture and art. We attended an art show with some interesting paintings and incredible sculptures.
Another great ride on the Doubs River
Lots of fishing….
The importance of salt!
Yesterday we had another short ride so we could visit the ‘Saline Royale’ in Arc-et-Senans. For a change from the river/canal/rail trail riding, this was on backroads. It definitely rated in the top 10 of rides. It helped that we had perfect weather and very little traffic! A memorial to some French...
Best Gîte ever!
As seems to happen, the best gîtes are always at the top of a hill. Just what you need at the end of the day! Anyway, the ride was a pretty easy one and as usual through fields and forests…gorgeous scenes of changing fall colours! We were very happy to be able to stay for 2 nights and do a short day...
La Val d’Amour
Yesterday we left the Sâone River and made our way to the Val’Amour. We were mostly on backroads and some cycling specific trails…all paved! I don’t seem to be able to get the map part of this program to work without a lot of frustration so today I am posting our route as mapped by another app I use...
Auxonne
Today we did a day ride to Auxonne where we visited the castle where Napoleon did some of his military training.
Cool mornings, warm afternoons
Well just to let folks know that if you are trying to follow along on the map, I cannot seem to get it to be very accurate…but at least you can get an idea of where we have been. We have been following the Eurovelo 6 through Dôle and over to Sâone River, sometimes we were on the Doubs River and othe...
Losing track of time…..
Well I guess I should write an update…it seems it’s been a few days since my last entry. This morning we are enjoying a beautiful view of the Doubs from our cottage. Behind us are the limestone cliffs, the Eurovelo 6 runs between us and the river. It’s a bit chilly so we have the wood stove fired up...
Dramatic scenery on the Doubs!
It really is quite lovely to stay in the small towns that dot the Doubs River along the Eurovelo 6. So quiet and peaceful! Monday night we were in a gîte in Pompiére-le-Doubs. The only issue is getting groceries (especially on Sundays!) to make our dinner, lunch and breakfast. These towns rarely hav...
From Moselle to the Doubs…
On our way from Vincey to Golbey we watched a huge barge pass through a lock…with mere inches to spare on each side as well as fore and aft! The captain was a one man show! Well we said goodbye to the Moselle from our lovely apartment in Golbey which was a short ride to the Épinal train station yest...
Foggy mornings and surprises!
It’s another foggy morning along the river, but there are patches of blue and the sun is slowly burning it off. Today we are enjoying our morning coffee in the sweetest gîte we have found to date! A wall of windows give us a view of the backyard garden where the birds are happily chirping! The other...
A remote corner of the Moselle.
Back in 2017 on our first trip up the Moselle, I had no idea that when we went through Nancy we were on a canal, not the actual River. When researching this trip, I found a cyclists blog online that described the Moselle River through Toul. It forms a huge oxbow around Nancy and there is a lovely pa...
Cycling heaven!
We walked into the main square of town last night to get some groceries and dinner. After a great breakfast and a stroll around the abbey, we head out of town back on the Voie Bleue riding along in the sunshine, sometimes with water on both sides…between the canal and the Moselle River! We take brea...
Sunshine !
Hooray! Finally a mostly sunny day! What a fabulous ride today! There are way fewer people on the trail this way on the Upper Moselle as opposed to the Lower Moselle nearer the Rhine River. The area we stayed in last night near Juoy-aux-Arches was a crazy maze of big box stores and some kind of gian...
Google streets
Ok, now check this out…the voie bleue is all recorded on Google streets…it looks like Google sent a guy on a bike along the trail to record the whole thing! I have hi lighted a small section of our route today… The maze… We stopped at a nursery (pépinière) along the way….after we breezed through Met...
A ride in the park!
After a lovely stay at the Chateau, including some of the best coffee of the trip so far, it’s time to hit the trail. Everything is pretty easy here on the Moselle as there is fairly good signage along the way. The bicycle path is mostly smooth pavement or concrete and it follows the river or the ca...
Schengen
We got a late start today as we were waiting for the downpour to subside. Meanwhile we continue to watch the water level of the now muddy Moselle rise by the hour. We did have to dodge some raindrops, but arrived at our destination considerably drier than I expected. For this trip we finally found s...
Onwards we go….to the Moselle!
Today we had the wind at our back which made the ride go pretty quickly! Down the Sauer to the confluence with the Mosel(German) or Moselle(French). Now we are heading up towards it’s source. The scenery has changed to vineyard covered hills which are busily being harvested. And harvest season it ce...
A much needed REST!
After a leisurely breakfast we went for a stroll around town and the gardens of the Abbey. The church across the square from our hotel.
A drizzly day.
A quiet night in Diekirch at the Hotel du Parc. Waking up to a grey wettish kind of day, we check out some indoor activity in Diekirch and came across an interesting sounding museum… a museum of military history of WWII…which was a truly amazing collection of artifacts, and stories and life size dio...
Back to the top and down the other side!
OK so now we have seen the top of the Vennbahn from both directions and either way it’s still a tough climb with a full load…but we made it! Next we arrive at the train station in Troisvierges, where a train was waiting for us. When we asked the conductor if we could buy our tickets on the train, he...
UPS and DOWNS!
Well the train ride today was the easy part, then there was the uphill from Troisvierges which was fairly gruelling! Thought it might be a good idea to top up the tires since the opportunity arose. The Burg Reuland Castle The castle's origins can be traced to the 9th and 10th centuries. The entire c...
Off the beaten track!
It is a lovely morning here in Vielsalm (Belgium). We decided to try out another rail trail that runs west off the Vennbahn further into Belgium yesterday. Well, it’s not actually a ‘continuous’ rail path as it sometimes has to zig zag, up and down around major highway crossings, industrial and subu...
Easy Riders!
The ‘almost’ detour! Water buffalo! The Vennbahn from above! The view from our balcony at Hotel Eifelland in Butgenbach!
A busy few days!
Phew, finally a few minutes to catch up. Sunday was a beautiful day to ride the Vennbahn with Lisa and Toni! It was about a 2 hour drive from Gladbeck with the 4 bicycles on a trailer to our hotel in Roetgen which was very handy to the cycle path. We had a picnic lunch in Lammersdorf and then contin...
Mornings in Gladbeck
The mornings here are absolutely a joy. With our coffee we sit out on the back deck listening to dozens of songbirds flirting about in the canopy of mixed deciduous and conifer trees! With our Merlin App we have been able to identify them by their call or song. Here is a sample of this morning’s col...
More local scenery
Wittringen Castle
Today’s adventure took us to Wittringen Castle right here in Gladbeck. Its roots go back to the 13th century. We were first taken there 10 years ago on our first visit to celebrate Toni’s mother’s 75th birthday where we met his large extended family and had a beautiful meal and party. On the grounds...
Aerobatics?
Well today we found our way to small airport which is the home airport of a very famous fellow named Walter Extra a German aviation engineer…. Walter Extra is a German award-winning aerobatic pilot and chief aircraft designer who founded the aerobatic aircraft manufacturer Extra Flugzeugbau. Extra w...
Local exploring
Yesterday we managed to install new front tires and tubes on our bicycles which were sorely needed after all the kilometres we have ridden. Last year Mark had his rear tire blowout at a rather inconvenient time, so I had mine replaced shortly after as a precaution. It was a warm and sunny day so we...
Serious rain!
We are so thankful to be tucked into our lovely suite at Toni and Lisa’s! It’s raining cats and dogs and about 15C! Today we will sort through and organize our panniers and put some new tires on our bicycles. And go for a walk to test out our new rain gear! For the moment we are enjoying our morning...
Train Day
After 3 lovely days in Cologne, it’s time to hop on the German DeutscheBahn and on to our friends Toni and Lisa in Gladbeck. We are on a high speed train most of the way but we’re a bit concerned about making our connection in Essen, and rightly so, as our train is running a bit behind schedule. Whe...
Invaded by the Irish!
Well today is a big game day here in Cologne as Germany faces Northern Ireland in a football(soccer) match for a playoff spot in the coming World Cup! The town is overrun with Green shirts…the drinking starting early morning to late at night all weekend. Here is a shot of some of the shenanigans…. A...
Getting into the swing of things
A gorgeous day in Cologne today had us heading out on the Rhine Cycle trail. We walked over to the bicycle rental shop by the train station and got set up with a couple of smooth riding city bikes. It was quite a challenge weaving our way through all the pedestrians but as we got further out of the...
Shrinkage!
Hmmm…is this what happens when you go through those security screening devices?