Travel report: Cycling along the Rhine & enjoying good wine
From our guests Barbara, Trix and Steffen
We started our 500-kilometre cycle tour along the Rhine in Constance on Lake Constance, where we picked up our perfectly adjusted e-bikes directly at the Radweg-Reisen branch.
The first day of cycling in early October was very wet and cold, but that didn't stop us from setting off on the tour into Switzerland as border cyclists with helmets, rain trousers and shoe covers. The wooden bridge at Diessenhofen (photo 1) enchanted us with its water reflection even without sunshine. An absolute highlight right at the start of the tour was to climb the "Swiss rock in the roaring surf" in the evening sun at the Rhine Falls in Schaffhausen by redeeming the voucher (photo 2).
Photo 1 - Wooden bridge Diessenhofen
Photo 2 - Schaffausen Rhine Falls
Although the "German Tuscany" did not live up to its name with its low temperatures of 2 °C to 6 °C in the morning hours, we saw blooming tobacco fields, cornfields as tall as a man, rows and rows of Hokkaido pumpkins and brightly colored vegetable patches.
Take a little more time to visit the trumpeter town of Bad Säckingen and cycle over the impressive 204-metre-long covered wooden bridge with a border crossing in the middle of the bridge (photo 4) and visit St. Fridolin's Minster and the adjoining castle park. We were surprised by a storm here, but whether it rained or hailed, we kept on cycling...
A wonderful view of fish ladders and the pristine Rhine struggling forward in the wild riverbed can be enjoyed from the two viewing platforms on the Rhine riverside path near Rheinfelden (photo 5).
Photo 5 - Rheinfelden discharge platform
Photo 4 - Bad Säckingen border bridge
While cycling through the Black Forest vineyards around Freiburg, we were extremely fascinated by the fully automatic grape harvesting machine, which uses a blower to suck in and shake off the berries, leaving the stalk of the grapes still on the vine.
For fans of modern bridge constructions, the Dreiländer-Brücke bridge in Basel and the Zwei-Uferbrücke bridge in Kehl are an absolute "must". Despite their enormous steel masses, these structures impress with their filigree designs, as they cross the Rhine in a winding or sweeping manner.
Three-country bridge Basel
Photo 9 - Europe sculpture Breisach
The small town of Breisach (photo 8) as a Roman imperial residence with its small colorful old town, St. Stephen's monastery and the Europe sculpture (photo 9) is also worth a "cycling break".
Here we had a fantastic accommodation in the Hotel Le Caballin (photo 10) on the French Rhine island Vogelgrun.
The hotel rooms absolutely thrilled us with their innovative wooden architecture and the French breakfast is highly recommended.
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Photo 8 - Breisach
Photo 10 - Vogelgrun Le Caballin
And don't forget the good wine on this trip.... At the Kaiserstuhl, a detour to the Leiselsheim stalls is worthwhile. A ripe vine scent permeates the air there and invites every cyclist to take a break under the large chair.
On arrival in Kehl, it is worth climbing the 210 steps of the silver fir tower on the southern Old Rhine with a wonderful view of the 3 bridges between Kehl and Strasbourg and its cathedral shimmering on the horizon.
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White fir tower - Kehl
Conclusion:
The trip is a scenic and culinary delight and with a good glass of wine the tired cyclist falls asleep faster...
With best regards and looking back on wonderful vacation memories Steffen and Trix as well as Barbara.
