Rheinfelden to Bad Bellingen, then Neuf Brisach and on to Colmar

A couple of late-breaking pics from Rheinfelden, on the older and more scenic Swiss side.







Rheinfelden is just east of Basel, and we'd decided not to stop there but instead pass through and continue on down the Rhein to someplace quieter.  Most of you know that we are not big fans of cities, and Basel is a big one.  Navigating through large urban areas is generally a challenge, and Basel certainly was.  As we approached the city there was construction that put us off the bike path and onto busy streets.  We endeavored to follow the cycle route signs, but eventually lost them in the middle of the city.  We cruised along for a while trying to find route markers, but eventually I became concerned enough that we stopped to try to figure things out.  I asked a person on the street for help, and it turned out we were only about two blocks from the Rhein where we were able to pick up our route once again.  There were still several more kilometers of urban riding, but we at least knew where we were and  that we were headed in the correct direction.  We had a long stretch on a bike path next to a heavily traveled two lane highway, but eventually dropped back down to a quiet path along the river.  Right at that point there was a small restaurant where we were able to stop for a break and some excellent kuchen and strudel.

From this point onward our route was an unpaved two-track following the Rhein.  Not exciting riding, but quiet and easy to navigate.



In this section the Rhein is paralleled by a large canal which carries the shipping, so the Rhein itself has some small rapids.





There is a large project underway to restore sections of this part of the Rhein, but I wasn't able to fully understand the signs describing the work.

By early afternoon we rolled into Bad Bellingen.  There is a large thermal pool and spa there, but in the heat of the day we couldn't get excited about increasing our already elevated body temperatures.  We found a nice Bette und Bike hotel and settled in while we waited for the temps to moderate a bit.  In the late afternoon we walked around the town.  Perhaps due to the thermal pools, it's a health center.  There are clinics, sanatoriums, and various therapists everywhere.  Very nice town park, and very peaceful.  Part of the town has life-sized sculptures of people in front of many of the homes.



Next day we continued north along the Rhein on the same unpaved path to Breisach am Rhein, a small city on the German side.  After a little lunch we crossed over into France and rode toward Neuf-Brisach, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site due to its impressive and intact 17th century walls and fortifications around the village.  New country, new signage conventions for the cycling paths.  Neuf-Brisach turned out to be much sleepier than we'd expected.  There is one small hotel (lucky they had a room) and a couple of restaurants.  After cleaning up we went out to see the walls.  There is a  wonderful art exhibit in the grassy area between the inner and outer fortifications, showing works created by area school groups, and running all the way around the village.

life size, made of chicken wire and straw

this guy on top of the wall is about 12 feet tall

yes, cars drive through this gate

this fellow is about 20 feet high, also made of straw

There were a large number of spirit creatures tucked into corners around the wall.

look closely: guy on the left is smoking a pipe, one on the right drinking from a bottle

After we'd explored this for quite a while, we walked back into town.  Another cross-border difference: while German restaurants usually open for dinner by around 5:30, in France it's more like 7:30.  We were pretty hungry by the time we ate.

In the morning we continued further into France, and away from the Rhein, to Colmar in the Alsace wine region.  Ellen and I were in Alsace a dozen years ago on a vacation with my parents, and remember it as a very attractive place for cycle touring.  France doesn't have the same extensive network of cycling paths as Germany, so a good deal of the time we were on roads, but the drivers were mostly very polite.

Could this be an old fortification from the Maginot Line?

We arrived in the center of Colmar, where we'd reserved a hotel room, by early afternoon.

We plan to spend several days exploring this wine region, so we rode to the Tourism Office to pick up maps and information.  Right away another tandem pulled up, with an English couple who came over to France in their RV and are doing some day touring in the region.  Theirs is an e-bike tandem (Bosch system) with disc brakes.  Very slick setup.  While we were talking with them, another cyclist walked up, an Australian who is about to set off touring in Germany on his Bike Friday.  Great conversation.

After dropping off the bike we walked around the city a bit as the room wouldn't be ready until 3.  When we came back to check in we met a woman from Tucson (Claire) who is touring here with her husband.   Spent a great evening talking with them.  Claire and Bob have biked extensively all over the world, including a lot of truly epic tours.  Fun and impressive folks.