Black Forest Gateau

Switzerland is hilly! We can both testify to this but we had a great trip from Chamonix to Basel full of the usual up’s and downs. Col de Croix was a constant 3 hour uphill struggle gaining 1300m in height over 22km. A chilly but spectacular camp at the top made it all worth it and the following day saw us down the other side in around 20 minutes. At first glance Switzerland looks like a childrens fairytail with picture perfect houses and beautiful gardens, not a blade of grass out of sorts. Even the cows look to be having a lovely life each with its own bell- the sound of which can be heard across the lands! Very different to Morocco where you can usually always hear the braying of a distressed donkey.

Along the way we were introduced to Mrs Nagali, Lilo’s manakin (with her own wardrobe). Lilo we met, whilst cooking dinner outside the library. She insisted we come and stay at her house instead of camping in the forest (we eagerly agreed). A retired actress, she was full of hospitality offering comfy beds, showers and a tasty breakfast.

Reaching Basel in under a week we were reunited with JoJo (who we met in Morocco) and warmly recieved with swiss cheese and beer. Our escapades included watching Joel in a boxing demonstation (also saw an apple kicked off a mans head- Gerard was amazed), a Ukranian house party, floating down the Rhine with an inflatable fish drybag and a BBQ with Mark (Devon school friend) by the riverside. Great to see you guys again!

Two days cycle up the Rhine and we arrived at the Waldmuller’s home and our third helpex! The three weeks in Bahlingen Germany was a very happy time. We fell in love with the childeren: Liselotte (6) Baltazar (4) and Ottilia (2) all mad and energetic kids! Ottilia’s “mea more” and “baby brm brm” always made us laugh. We were invited to Liselotte’s first day of school (in Germany a very big event) along with all the family. We made good friends in Steffi and Sebastian, who have also travelled by bike and we shared many stories over a few beers (and irish coffees!). They kindly involved us in all events including a weekend wedding party in the Black Forest, Bhalingen Hoselips festival (local wine), trips to the lake and even a day out at Sebastians school where we were the teachers for his English lesson! We went through our blog and of everything they were most amazed by the youtube video clip of Bigbury sea tractor near miss!! We hope to see you all again soon.

We sadly said goodbye last weekend, got back on those bikes and began our journey to Munich. Bit of a nightmare trip so far but some good times rolled in! The cycle paths across the Black Forest, although beautiful for the most part, were bitty and zigzagged us East making progress slow for the first two days. Brilliant camp spots along the way and great weather 🙂 Getting onto the Danube valley trail was much easier and we started to make headway. Bumping into fellow cycle tourer Christian from Austria (on his return from North Cape) we found a companion for the day. Alas disaster stuck as Gerard crashed into Christain after a sudden stop. Years of falling of skateboards as a kid meant only a few cuts and bruises. Christains bike (top of the range tourer) came off lightly but poor “Niamh” (Gerard’s bike) was not so lucky as the impact bent the fork, and smashed the pannier rack. Limping to the closest bike shop the mechanic suggested manually bending it back into place (unsuccessful). Christians fluent German secured us a camp next to an “Outlaws” motorcycle club and free use of the showers kitchen and toilets. A once in a lifetime experience we received great hospatility from these bikers. Many a beer and random shots were consumed that night and an introduction to German bagpipes was even on the cards.

We got the first train of the trip after having no sucess in the nearby bike shops. We are currently in Ulm awaiting parts and hoping the insurance will pay up!