We are alive and well (and having tons of fun)!

It’s been more than a week since our last post, and SO much has happened. The challenge has been finding the time/power/internet to write about it! We are cycling the Rhine and camping along the way, so our days have been very, very full with little time for anything other than “doing” the trip itself. We’ve been spending about 7 hours a day on the bikes. On top of that we have the time it takes to unpack bikes, unpack bags, set up tent/camp, shower, laundry, eat, sleep, break down tent and camp, pack bags, pack bikes, ride!

Here’s a super quick outline of our progress:

• August 27-28: Night train from Amsterdam to Ulm, Germany. Train from Ulm to Lindau.
• August 28: Explored Lindau and set up camp.
• August 29: Rode along the North coast of the Bodensee (Lake Constance) from Lindau to Friedrichshafen (28.6 km)
• August 30: Rode from Friedrichshafen to Meersburg, took the Ferry across the lake to Konstanz and rode on to Mammern, Switzerland (45.5 km)
• August 31: Rode from Mammern to Rhineau (40 km)
• September 1: Rode from Rhineau to Bad Zurzach (47.2 km)
• September 2: Rode from Bad Zurzach to Bad Sackingen (42.5 km)

That puts us at Today.

It is 9 am and I’m sitting in a hotel room. We opted for a hotel instead of the tent last night so we could have a place to charge all of our batteries (phone, cameras, computers, etc.) and have an internet connection to do this blog post! As soon as this is posted, we’ll pack up the bags and the bikes and hit the road. When time/power/internet allow, we’ll do real posts about our ride, so stay tuned!

The plan for today is to cross back into Switzerland and head to Basel and probably beyond. There are bike routes along the Rhine on both the German and the Swiss sides of the river. We’ve been crossing back and forth and using both. Today, we’ll likely be on the Swiss side.

We’re trying to cover more ground each day that we originally planned, as Mila’s injury and recovery period took a chunk out of the time we have in Europe. Our visas expire at the end of the month and we have a flight out on the 27th. More on that later…

Here are some random photos. Hope to have a connection that allows me to post more and some videos soon.

Swiss village

Cartwheels in Bad Sackingen

Up the hill again

On the road

The road ahead

That sweet Swiss water

Dinner and hotel in Rhineau

Castle at Rhinefall

Taking a break

Ice cream on the ferry

Konstanz

Love those delicious Swiss water fountains

Playground break

Stopping for refreshments. Hey, it’s only a liter.

Doggy airbrush tattoo

Riding out of Lindau

Arriving in Lindau

Bikes and trains

Our first views of Lake Constance Bodensee