Our route takes us through three different countries. We start in Switzerland, but at the northern end of Basel we cross into Germany. However, that only lasts about a half mile as we cross the Rhine back over into France. After just a handful of miles backtracking the way we came, we follow the EV 15 and the Rhine River to Neuf-Grisach. Total miles to date 182.9.
Leaving Basel on our three-country odyssey.Our hotel is not open for check-in when we arrive in Neuf-Grisach. Fortunately, there is a nearby watering hole. We don’t know the correct way of saying it, but we use our French to ask for “two big beers.” That seems to work.
Day 2: Neuf-Brisach to Strasbourg, 43.5 miles
The temperature has warmed up during the day, but our ride is mostly an easy one. It is quite literally all downhill. We lose about 400 feet in elevation over the course of the ride because we are riding along the Rhine River or its nearby canals. Total MTD 226.4.
Part of our ride today is in the shade and on a nicely paved trail.Bike touring along the Eurovelo route is definitely scenic. But bike touring also is a lot of work when it comes to packing and loading up every day. With so few clothes with us on the trip, every so often we have to take time to hit a laundromat. In order to wash everything that is dirty, we walk to the laundry in our rain gear. It’s a sunny day so they are like a sauna.Our “rest” day in Strasbourg doesn’t start off as easy as we expect. First, we decide to climb the 330 steps to the top of the Strasbourg Cathedral. Turns out that until the late 15th century this was actually the tallest building in the world……Then we have a van tour of some Alsace wineries. But we misread the meeting point location and end up sprinting (ok, jogging and gasping) to get to the right place on time. But we enjoy the wine and the tour……and later enjoy a traditional Alsatian dish called Tarte Flambée (the thing that looks like flatbread).Strasbourg’s historic center is bisected by numerous canals.
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