Wednesday, July 29 - Stage 7 - 29 miles, Day 13 - Schaffhausen to Bad Zurzach - Water

We both love being outside, 24-7. The fresh air. Direct light. Gentle breezes. Moonlight. Stars. Sounds of running water, birds, wind, animals, etc. These elements, and more, sum to a rewarding experience and great way of life. I can understand the attraction of a nomadic way of life, such as the Native American's lived, in the wild and moving camps to follow the game, surrounded by your community.  

But, living outside 24-7 also has its down side, usually associated with the weather, in particular, water. Today, we immersed ourselves, literally, in water, both airborne and in pools. 

The forecast this morning is for rain, starting about 11:00 am and continuing for four or five hours. As we pack, we take special care to make sure everything is inside plastic and our rain gear is on top and easy to get to. 

 We are locked in at this campsite. They close and lock the gate at 10:00 pm and don't open it until 7:00 am. This will work well for us, as long as they are actually here at 7:00am, because we want to get on the road. But, this is Switzerland, land of watches and time keeping. They will be on time. They aren't. I grow restless and start walking the perimeter of the campground like a caged animal looking for a hole in the fence. I find one, and enlarge it for our bikes to fit through. As I walk back to get Sally and the bikes the owner appears and starts opening gates, so I leave the escape route I created and glide through the now open gate. 

As I roll through the gate I swing my foot up over my bike to mount it. As I do the handle on the gate hooks one of the stamps on my sandle and I come to a complete stop half on-half off my bike. It takes a few seconds to awkwardly back up my bike while balancing myself and the bike with one foot, the other foot is attached to the gate. I finally get my foot released from the gate and ride away, embarrassed, but laughing. That doesn't happen everyday. 

 Our first stop is the Rheinfall, where the whole Rhein river plunges over a falls. We visited it in 2009 when with Gallus, however this year we are on the opposite bank. It is only 8:30 am, so the tourist shops are closed and the area is very quiet, with only a hand full of people. Many photos later we pull ourselves away. 

Every time we cross the Rhine, it is steep downhill as we drop into the river and then a steep climb out of the river bottom to continue downstream. Today was no different. Sally struggles on the up hills. I ride my bike to the top, then run down and ride her bike up while she walks up. Pushing her bike strains her back-not a good thing to injure when out on a physically challenging trip for six more weeks. 

Our route takes us up and down hills and through small towns on the German side of the river. About 10:30 am, as advertised, the rain begins. It has been cool all morning (55-60°) and I have been wearing my Goretex shell to keep the wind off me. I stop along the road and slip my rain pants on. Sally left the campsite with full rain gear just for warmth. Now the route levels off and we cycle at a steady pace through fields of corn, sunflowers, wheat and hay, passing through the occasional small town. Noon comes and we are hungry for lunch, but there is no dry place to stop and eat. Nature starts screaming at Sally. We try to find a WC, but are denied 3 times. Finally, a grocery store in a small town has a toilet and the world is set right. They have a covered area outside their doors.  Sally and I have a perpendicular snack of a nectarine and a baked pretzel.  The rain stops for a few minutes and we are hopeful. But, before we can get our bike helmets on the rain picks up to a down pour again. Off we ride, our glasses a smear of rain drops. As we enter our destination town, Bad Zurzach, I notice a Chinese restaurant. Warm, dry and vegetables. What could be better. We locked up our bikes and sat down indoors to a wonderful shared meal. 

I would like to report that our rain gear worked magnificently. After three hours of riding in the rain we were warm and dry. Our plan for the afternoon?  Get wet. 

Bad Zurzach boasts a thermal bath. It is huge with four swimming pool sized pools, each at a different temperature, an underground salinity pool that is dimly lit for floating and isolation therapy, a nude coed sauna, steam room, and nice restaurant. Their system for monitoring patrons is amazingly high tech. Upon entrance, you are given a wrist band with an IR chip. You swipe it upon entry and it records how long you are in the complex. You are charged by the hour. Also, if you want other services or to buy something from the restaurant, you just hold your wrist band up to a scanner, like Apple Pay, and it adds the cost to your bill. At checkout they read your band and bill you for what you did. 

So, even though we spent all morning awash in water, we rode directly to the thermal baths, donned our wrist bands and spent the next four hours soaking, being bubbled, swirled, brined, steamed and saunna'd. 

About 6:30 pm we dragged our now limp bodies from the pools and cycled 2 miles back through to town to the campground, registered, pitched our tent, made and ate our salad for dinner and crawled in the tent to blog and rest when two gentlemen appeared outside the tent flap and stared in. And this presents the problem I am having writing this blog. 

When Sally and I conceived this trip, we did so without an itinerary. No plans for where we would be each night. As Indiana Jones says, "I'm making this up as I go along!"  We left it intentionally open so we could have the flexibly to meet people and if the chance presented itself, spend time to get to know them. So far, this has worked perfectly. Every night in the campground we meet someone or someones wonderful and talk for hours. Aldi  and Skynee in Chur, Gabrial and Lillian in Leichtenstein,  the Swiss couple in Wasserburg and now Eddie and Willi from Munich in Zurzach. 

Eddie has cycled the Rhine route before. He retired 29 days ago from AT work. Willi has been retired for 6 years. He was a BMW motorbike designer and engineer. We crawled out of our tent and joined them at the campground community picnic table and talked until after dark across a wide range of subject. It was fascinating and fun. 

We got back in the tent about 10:30 pm, beneath a nearly full moon. The last water of the day, dew, started to collect on the nylon fabric of our tent beneath the clear and cooling skies. Forecast tomorrow. Clear skies and cool temperatures. Perfect.  

Tuesday, July 28 - Stage 6 - 35 miles, Day 12 - Wind

So much of what happens in life is about timing. Racing for a departing bus only to have the doors close can set a chain of events cascading into the future. Missed bus causes late arrival that causes cold dinner that causes hurt feelings . . .  Often we try to time our events to avoid mishaps or gain advantage. We know rush hour begins about three. We move our schedule around to be off the road by that time, making a cross town trip at midday even though we would rather do it in mid-afternoon so we can combine it with a visit to a friend's house. Timing. We can use it to our advantage. But it doesn't always work as planned. 

Yesterday, Sally and I got a late start, especially compared to our normal schedule. We like to be up at 5:30 am and on the road by 6:30 am. It is cool and quiet at this time of the morning. We hit the tourist areas before anyone else is there, ride the streets before the traffic builds and enjoy the beauty of the early morning light. But, our car ride to the train station in St. Gallen was not possible until about 11:30 am, putting us on the road a little before the afternoon. This put us out in the full force of the afternoon wind, which we fought for 13 miles up the lake shore. 

This morning we were intent on improving the timing by rising early and getting miles down before the winds rose as the day progressed. We were up at 6:00 am, quietly whispering to each other as we deflated the sleeping pads, stuffed the quilt and packed the tent, trying not to disturb the 10 occupied tents within 30 feet of ours. As we swung our legs over our bikes and pushed off we noticed that the wind we had hoped to avoid was already rustling the leaves in the trees overhead. So much for timing. 

We were only a mile short of the city of Konstanz at the end of the Bodensee, and we were anxious to see its towering cathedral and the building the pope was confirmed in back in the 1500s. We were in the city by 7:15 am and found both locations. As a bonus we found the farmers market setting up and bought a pastry and some plums. Utilizing the GPS, we found our way back to our cycling route, the Eurovelo 15, and we were on our way again. For the next 15 miles we rode along the south shore of one of the arms of the Bodensee, headed for the town of Stein em Rhine, the best preserved gothic city in Switzerland. 

We had hoped our early start would translate into wind free cycling until noon. This was not to be. The wind was as tenacious as yesterday afternoon, blowing against us every inch of the way. Resigned to our fate, we kept our head down and pushed on. We made a number of stops along the way, as usual, to see enjoy a snack, examine something that caught our eye more closely or scan the view. 

We reached Stein em Rhine, walked the Main Street and enjoyed lunch of bread, cheese and fruit on a bench in the street, the wind swirling down the street through the crowds of tourists. Stein em Rhein is the best preserved medieval city in Europe, and a Workd Heritage Site. During this time we met Eric, a 42 year old film professor  from the Baltimore area, our first American since Paris. He has a childhood German friend that he has visited in Germany every other year. He now brings his family of two pre-teen kids. 

The Rhine has been a lake for the past 35 miles, but at Stein em Rhine it begins to visibly flow again. For the rest of the afternoon we cycle next to its banks, occasionally moving inland and rising over a low ridge before descending to the river bank again. 

Finally, we see Schaffhausen come into view and know the Rheinfall is just a mile downstream. We have been traveling on the north side of the river since crossing at Stein em Rhein, but here we cross to the south side  and backtrack a mile up river to our camping platz for the night, but not before stopping at a grocery for onions and cabbage to add to our soup for dinner. 

The sky looks threatening as I put up the tent and layout the sleeping pads and quilt. Sally takes a nap while I head to the showers to get rid of today's accumulated sweat. 

A sprinkle of rain sends us into the tent just before dark, all our gear hiding under the front vestibule out of the weather. 

Today's 35 miles could just as well have been 50, with the wind we bucked the whole day, but we are positioned well to visit the Rheinfall tomorrow morning before the crowds, plus it was a beautiful day of cycling and scenery.  The wind has died off, but there is rain in the forecast for tomorrow. 

Monday, July 27 - Stage 4 - 23 miles, Day 11 - St. Fallen to Koblenz - Thankful

I was lifting weights with Guy and Dale a few weeks before we left for this cycling trip to Europe. I was discussing the trip and the plans for cycling. Both Dale and Guy told me I was going to have to stop dragging Sally on these trips, that we were getting too old. I giggled and told them I was not dragging her, she and I both liked going, and if anything, she was the instigator more than I. They did not believe me, in spite of my insistence.  I still giggle today about that conversation. If they could see Sally on these trips they would know I was speaking the truth. 30 times a day she spontaneously cries out about how awesome the scenery-people-camping-swimming pools-history-architecture-towns-route-bike trail-water-shoreline-weather . . . you name it . . . is.   She comes alive on these trips (if it is possible for her to be more alive than she is every moment of her life!). You'd have to be with her, here, to understand it. Ten times a day we remind ourselves how lucky we are to be able to do this and how thankful we are for this opportunity.  

Gallus had a doctor appointment this morning, an hour in the opposite direction we needed to go to get back to our bikes. We told him he and Claudia should both go together, and we would look after Stephan in their absence. 

We had bought Stephan a solar car kit as a present for our arrival, but he had not put it together yet. He and I worked on it this morning, assembling it in about half an hour. The sun was playing hide and seek through the clouds, but we found it worked well when the sun was out, zipping across the pavement. We played the Swiss equivalent of "Chutes and Ladders" until Gallus and Claudia returned. We had our bags packed and ready to go, but we first had lunch, then helped Gallus and Claudia plan a trip to the U.S. to visit us, either this next summer or the summer of 2018. 

We had a tearful goodbye at the train station, thankful for knowing Gallus, for meeting Claudia and Stephan and for their generosity and friendship. We mounted our bikes and negotiated some road construction to get away from the St. Gallen train station.   We made a few wrong turns while getting oriented, but were soon zipping the 8 miles downhill to the Bodensee lake shore and back to our route. Once on the lake shore path we discovered the afternoon wind. It was fierce, blowing a steady 20 mph with gusts far in excess of that number, making our progress difficult. We were thankful we had not encountered it too often on our trip. Soon we were back in Romanshorn, this time arriving by bike instead of boat. A quick stop at the water closet and the store and we were back on our bikes. We were hoping to get to Konstanz, at the head of the lake. The information brochure we picked up at the train station showed a campground just short of town, right on the lake. 

The route stayed close to the lake shore, sometimes right on the water, other times inland, through farms, neighborhoods and small towns. 23 miles from Gallus's house we pulled into the campground, about a mile short of Konstanz. We staked the tent on a patch of grass. Sally took a quick nap while I worked at the blog. Sally loves to swim. The pool at the campground was calling. While I continued to write, she went for a long swim. Upon her return, I went for a shower, then rode to the nearby store for a few dinner items. We cooked up some chicken broth, noodles and carrots in a soup for dinner, then walked over to visit Fran and her family. Sally had met Fran at the pool while swimming. Fran is from the Bern area of Switzerland, and biked across the U.S. in the early 90's. We enjoyed meeting her family and talking about biking, life and kids before we excused ourselves for the night, as it was now 10:30 pm. 

What an amazingly opportunity we have to do this trip. Life is good!

Sunday, July 26 - Stage 4 - 0 miles, Day 10 - The Alps

Sunday, July 26 - Stage 4 - 0 miles, Day 10 - The Alps

A few blog posts back I mentioned we were leaving the Alps behind, and so we are. But, the car can quickly reverse our course and carry us backward. Gallus wants us to see the "Seven Summit" region of the Alps, an hour's drive from his home in Niederburen, outside St. Gallen, and so do I. 

On the drive out, Gallus is pointing out peaks and hills and describing his hikes to the tops of many of them. I ask him who owns these peaks, which leads quickly to a discussion of property rights. In Switzerland, a landowner cannot deny you access to his property, even if you wish to walk between his house and barn on your route. Also, you have the right to camp on his property, but you must ask him first. When I tell Gallus that in America such actions could get you shot, he is in utter disbelief. He soon bemoans the poor American, caged on his own piece of land, unable to walk across his neighbor's property. "How can this be!?", he asks in disbelief. This leads to a discussion of property rights trumping individual rights, and again he is aghast. I jokingly relate the "Get off my Goddam lawn!", Clint Eastwood quote from Grand Torino, but it misses the mark as he has not seen the movie. There are very few public lands in Switzerland, whereas much of the western U.S. is BLM, Forest Service, National Park or state park land. I show him the green areas on a map on my iPhone, how extensive they are and explain that this is the people's land and they are free to travel across it on foot, bike or car as they please, as long as they obey the rules. He feels better about the situation and sees relief for caged Americans, but is still perplexed at the closed nature of land in America. 

Gallus and Claudia have given much thought to our activity for the day, trying to accommodate Sally's need to avoid walking much and Gallus's desire to show us the countryside. We arrive in a mountain village and stall for a few minutes, waiting for Fritz, Maria and Fritz's 19 year old son, Hans Rudi to join us. 

The plan is to take a cable lift up to a restaurant, get Sally situated comfortably, and then to go on a hike for a few hours. Fritz decides to feed his family at the restaurant, so Sally has lots of company while Stephan, Gallus, Claudia and I head up a trail toward a towering peak. 

We follow a trail up through "meadows", which are beautiful, but what we in the U.S. would call a very steep cow pasture. Cows with bells are everywhere, as is their excrement. We are traveling across someone's land which is being employed as pasture, but Swiss property laws give us free passage. This is not public land. The landscape and trail soon steepen and we leave the cows below, and enter the realm of the sheep. The sheep are elsewhere, and from the looks of the tall grass, have been so for quite awhile. We reach our destination, a park bench on an overlook about 1000' above the restaurant below. Gallus and I both look up at the next thousand vertical feet and the pass at the top of the slope. I jokingly comment we can be there in 20 minutes, and he bites. Claudia decides to return down to the restaurant. Stephan, Gallus and I head up to the pass. 20 minutes turns into 40 minutes, but we do top out at the pass. 

From here we can see the additional 1500' to the summit, but we know our time leash is to short. We explore the watering troughs, bags of salt for the animals and fencing. We also not the Rhine off in the distance, the stretch of river Sally and I cycled through on Wednesday. 

Stephan, at age 13, is a Swiss mountain goat. He is up on every rock promontory and scampering up and down the trail. Gallus speaks with his brother by phone and finds he can stay until 4:30 pm, but then must leave to tend to his milk cows back on the farm. We quicken our pace and arrive back at the restaurant a little before 4:00 pm, enough time to have a bite to eat and a Coke (no Pepsi in Europe) with Fritz before it is time to leave.  

There are three ways off the mountain, (1) ride the cable car back down, (2) walk or (3) rent a pedaless coasting bike and zip down on the paved road. Sally and Claudia ride the tram down while the rest of us mount our scooter bikes and let gravity return us to the base of the lift. The bikes are a hoot. Instead of a seat and pedals, there is a platform to stand on as you coast down the paved road. The action is very much like skiing. 

We drive back to Gallus's house, shower and head out for dinner, mine and Sally's treat. We have a wonderful meal, finishing about 9:30 pm.  From there it is back to the house, and to bed. 

It was great fun to get my feet on the ground in the Alps and it whet my appetite for future sojourns into these famous mountains. Over dinner we talked about future plans and trips. Hopefully, they will come to pass. 

Saturday, July 25 - Stage 4 - 0 miles, Day 9 - Total Immersion

When we returned from our 35 day long travels in Europe in 2009, we were asked over and over again what we considered the favorite part of our trip. It was easy to pinpoint. It was the time we spent with Gallus, in Switzerland. During our extended weekend with him we became totally immersed in the lives and culture of his family and country.  He invited us to his brother's farm on the slopes of a Swiss mountain to join a birthday party for his then 7 year old niece Tanya and we spent the afternoon on the farm with his family.  It was the highlight of our trip. 

This morning we woke up in a real bed on the third floor of Gallus's new home in Niederburen, near St. Gallen. We came downstairs to find a huge breakfast prepared and waiting on the table. Fruit, meats, breads and cheeses and Claudia's home made Swiss-German knotted bread. There goes the diet plan . . . again. 

During and after breakfast Stephan tried very hard to converse with us in English. We were super impressed, not only at his English, but at his tenacity to continue trying. By the end of the day, I was jokingly asking Gallus where he picked up this sweet English boy to live in his house. 

We loaded in the car and headed for the town of Appenzell and the surrounding region. This is where Claudia grew up. Our plan was to see where Claudia grew up, visit this touristy town and stop at her father's grave.  He died in 2003 and was buried next to the beautiful church on the hillside. 

Driving through the Swiss countryside is a treat, especially when you have three native Swiss in the car pointing out the details and giving background. Again, we are so impressed with the picture postcard perfection of the landscape. Neatly trimmed fields and farm in luxuriant green, tidy barns, traditional Swiss houses and towering peaks, all without a blade of grass out of place. Stunning. 

First, we stopped at a hillside restaurant for coffee. Plans were to start walking, but Sally wanted to save her strength for the biking to come in the days ahead and said she would read in the car or restaurant while we walked. Gallus would not hear of Sally waiting in the car while we went for a walk, so we settled for coffe and cokes, then returned to the car and headed for the church. 

We arrived at the church, a huge structure in comparison to the very small community that built it. We skirted the church for the time being and walked down some steps to Claudia's father's grave. There, we found her mother and her brother, Marko. 

Claudia left an unhappy marriage of twenty years to start a life with Gallus three years ago, and her mother has not spoken to her since, a fact Sally and I were not aware of. In fact, this very traditional mom had only been near her daughter twice in the three years since Gallus and her have been together.  This was the third. Sally, Gallus and I chatted with her mother and took a group picture before her mother and brother left. After they were gone, Gallus pointed out that the mother never talked to Claudia, and never acknowledged her existence. Thinking back to what had just transpired, we found he was correct. It had rattled Claudia a bit to encounter her mom, and hurt her again that her mother was shutting her out, but she hid it well. Family dynamics can be hard at times. 

Stephan and I played on the playground toys in the church/school playground for a few minutes while Gallus, Claudia and Sally talked. We then entered the church. As with all Swiss churches, this one has ornate sculptures, woodwork and paintings adorning its interior. 

After the church we headed to the valley below that holds the town of Appenzell. Here Gallus and Claudia bought a gift for 11 year old Michelle, one of the birthday celebrants the party was for tonight while Stephan and I played outside with soap bubbles. Walking through town, we stopped at a bakery to have a pastries and coffee in a bakery. 

During our conversations on the drive and over pastries, we are learning about the culture and dialects of Switzerland. Swiss-German, spoken by Gallus, is quite different from German. He says if he traveled to Germany and spoke his language they could not understand him. But, Appenzell, where Claudia grew up, only 15 miles from St. Gallen, Gallus's hometown, have equally different dialects and are inhabitants of the two towns find it hard to understand each other.  Switzerland continues the tradition of different dialects in neighboring regions, even with the advent of radio and TV. It was interesting to have Gallus help us to speak words, occasionally giving the German, Swiss-German and Appenzeller-German versions to ponder. No matter the dialect or region it comes from, both Sally and I are abyssal at speaking the language. We were a constant source of amusement to Gallus, Stephan and Claudia as we tried to roll our Rs and make the guttural sounds required to speak German. 

We returned to Gallus' house about 4:30 pm, in time to prepare for the coming birthday party. Sally slipped upstairs to take a nap before the expected late night. I succumbed to Claudia's Chocolate Mousse and ate three helping, much to her delight and amusement. Claudia speaks no English, but her bright eyes, infectious smile and body language communicates her thoughts without verbal language. After my mousse feast, I joined Sally for a nap. 

The guests began arriving a little after 5:00 pm. Sally and I woke and came down stairs about 5:45 pm. Gallus had told everyone that two "Americans" we're coming to the party. Everyone was anxious to see what an American looked like and how we acted. 

We were introduced to Doris and Bernadette first. Both ladies were very friendly. Doris had lost her husband a year and a half ago to a long battle with cancer. She had prepared a wash tub full of exquisite potato salad and three deserts. Bernadette and Doris are good friends of each other, and Claudia. 

Gallus and his business partner, Bruno have started a dry ice blasting business. They use dry ice pellets in place of sand to clean parts, machinery and wood. The dry ice has the big advantage that after it has impacted the surface to be cleaned, it turns to carbon dioxide gas and floats away, unlike sand which can become imbedded in machinery or ends up lying on the floor. It is Bruno's birthday tonight, so the party is in his honor, although at midnight, the next day begins and then it is Michelle's birthday. Bruno is a quiet man who says little but always wears a happy smile and is quick to laugh. He is a great problem solver, one of those "jacks of all trades", and a master of each one. 

About an hour into the party, Gallus pulls me aside to tell me that everyone is disappointed in us as Americans. "Why?", I inquire, a little hurt. "They expected you to look different, to be more fat," he says, his eyes smiling at me in amusement. I felt better. I told Gallus I felt like a celebrity. He did not understand the word, so I explained I felt like Arnold Swartzinegger or Keanu Reeves. He laughed and agreed with me, we were the talk of the party, although we didn't know what was being said as it was all in Swiss-German. Only Bruno and Gallus can speak and understand English.   

Gallus's brother, Fritz, and his 16 year old  daughter, Maria, also came. We had met both at Tanya's birthday in 2009. It was good to see them both again. Fritz loves to laugh and is really fun. He speaks no English, but I could tell he was glad to see us again. I started to hear comments about "Chocolate Mousse" (it sounds the same in English and German) and soon learned my conspicuous consumption of large quantities of chocolate mousse early in the day was a source of amusement. 

Gallus grilled beef and pork on his open fire grill, and we all ate dinner inside their covered sun room on the back of the house, adjacent to the kitchen.  

When it came time to sing happy birthday to Bruno, both Sally and I were surprised to hear it sung in English, followed by a repeat in German. We thought perhaps they had done it for the "visiting Americans", but Gallus said no, both languages is the tradition. 

At midnight the singing was repeated, this time for shy 11 year old Michelle. Her mother, Susan, knew of the surprise midnight celebration of her daughter's birthday and had to work hard to keep Michelle there until that late hour. 

About 12:30 am, Sally and I said good night to each guest individually, as is the custom we observed with some who had left earlier, and retired to our third floor bedroom. The party continued until 1:00am. Gallus and Claudia got to bed about 2:00 am after cleaning up. 

What a wonderful day! We felt totally immersed in Swiss culture and Swiss lives. Gallus and Claudia are absolutely wonderful people, kind, caring and thoughtful. They treated us like royalty and friends throughout the day and evening. And Stephan is a polite, happy, adorable 13 year old boy that Sally and I instantly fell in love with. Total Immersion is delightful. 

Friday, July 24 - Stage 4 - 13 miles, Day 8 - Gallus, Claudia and Stephan

In June of 2008, Sally and I were in Yosemite (no surprise to anyone!) at Toulumne Meadows. We met a man in his late 30's trying to find a place to shower. We got talking a bit, discovered his accent was Swiss and after a half an hour of talking invited him to hike to Half Dome and climb the cable route with me the next day. Sally suggested it, worn out from previous hiking and hoping to get rid of me for a day or two and get some rest. 

Gallus and I spent two days hiking into the base of Half Dome from Tuolumne Meadows and climbing it early in the morning. Along the way, we talked a lot. He said he had a son, Stephan, age 7, but was divorced, his x-wife taking custody of Stephan. He was heartbroken, he loved his son but did not see him enough. Gallus is a warm, sensitive man who dreamed of a large, loving, close knit family like he grew up in. He was in the U.S. on business and to sort through his life while traveling across the U.S., from Florida to California. After Half Dome, he camped with us a few more nights before we parted, he back to Switzerland, his vacation and business finished and us to more hiking.  We told him we were hoping to come to Europe the next year and would love to visit his home. He was excited at the prospect. 

We toured Europe by rail the next summer and spent a delightful extended weekend with him. We did not get a chance to meet his son, it was not his visitation weekend and his former wife would not give him up. 

It has been six years, but when planning this trip we contacted Gallus about the possibility of getting together again. He was excited about our visit, so we planned to visit him. He told us that 5 years ago, totally by surprise he received custody of Stephan. Gallus was thrilled, and changed nearly all aspects of his life; his job, his home and relationships to bring his beloved Stephan into his life. He also found a life partner in Claudia since we last saw him. Needless to say, we were excited to meet his son and Claudia and reconnect with this happy, laughing and kind man. 

Today our ride was short, just ten miles to Friedrichhausen, where a ferry would take us across the Bodensee (Lake Constance) to Romanshorn where Gallus would pick us up in his car after we had secured our bikes in storage. Friedrichhausen is the home to the Zepplin, in particular the Hindenburg and other ridged frame airships (blimps) of that era. There is a museum in town that chronicles the history of these massive airships that we hoped to visit before crossing the lake. The short ride was pleasant and we were in Friedrichhausen before noon, having slept in a bit and not started our ride until 8:30 am this morning. 

Locking our bikes outside the museum, we spent two hours learning about the Zepplins. The pier for our ferry was right next to the museum. We purchased our tickets and boarded the 1:40 pm ferry. The 45 minute cruise across the lake was delightful. The breeze was cool and the views stunning, although haze in the air clouded the views of the surrounding mountains. The city of Friedrichhausen now owns the zeppelin works and Zepplins fly from the city daily for tourist flights. We saw one traveling over the lake as we cruised across. 

Once in Romanshorn we looked for a place to store our bikes, such as the storage facility in Lucernce. We learned there was none here, but St. Gallen, a half an hour by rail did have such a facility. 

We had arrange for Gallus to pick us up in Romanshorn, but, luckily, we had delayed contacting him until our bikes were secure. We contacted him, and told him he could pick us up in St. Galen instead, a much shorter drive for him. The tickets for our bikes and us ran $50, an unexpected cost, but 40 minutes later we were on the platform in St. Gallen and  meeting Gallus and Stephan. We had to wait until we walked to his car to meet Claudia. Gallus had parked in a forbidden zone and she was guarding the car while they went to find us in the station. 

Stephan spoke a little English, that which he had learned in school and Claudia spoke none. Gallus speaks English well, although he had not used it for the past five years since changing jobs. We caught up a bit on the way to his house and got to know Stephan, a bright eyed happy 13 year old who skipped a weekend with his mother to meet "the Americans".  Stephan told us stories in his broken English, aided by his dad, and we soon got to know him better. I felt badly for Claudia as the conversation was in English and she was left out. But, Gallus would fill her in periodically so she wasn't totally out of the picture.  

The language barrier meant it took us longer to get to know Claudia, but as the afternoon and evening progressed we learned what a kind, talented, fun and warm person she is. I was thrilled to see Gallus and her so happy together. They obviously adore each other and snuggle, laugh and work together. The three of them are very settled and happy. 

Claudia is an exquisite cook and baker, having grown up in the farmland hills above Alpenzell. We had raclette for dinner. Raclette is made at the table by each diner. You take a small metal pan, put a slice of raclette cheese in it, add onions and mushrooms and slide it into a oven in the center of the table. The cheese melts, then you use a spatula to scrape it onto your plate, then eat it with a fork. Delicious. You also add nectarines and pineapple to the cheese to be melted, also delightful. On top of the oven pork was fried and new potatoes had been boiled and served. It was a great dinner. We spent over an hour making and eating our food while catching up and learning more about Claudia and Stephan. 

Right after dinner, the hot day (90° is hot for Switzerland!), the thunder and lightning began, followed by three hours of torrential rains. We were very happy to be sleeping inside Gallus and Claudia's home rather than our tent. 

Tired, we slipped off to bed about 10:00 pm, happy to see Gallus so content with his son and new life partner. 

Thursday, July 23 - Stage 4 - 28 miles, Day 7 - Border Crossings

Today, Sally was reminiscing about her solo trip to Europe at age 19. These thoughts from the past surfaced as we started crossing country borders like jumping hop scotch lines. Back in the 70's, each time a border was crossed, your passport was inspected and the money in your pocket was worthless until exchanged for the currency of the country you were entering. Today, we have to closely inspect a map to figure where the border was, as we probably crossed it without notice. Except for Switzerland, who held out from joining the European Union, all currency is the Euro and all borders are open and transparent. With the Swiss Franc and the Euro at nearly par for value, ($1.04 & $1.10 respective to the U.S. Dollar) most places in Switzerland accept the Euro, although they prefer the Franc. 

We started the day in Kreissen, Switzerland, heading north, with the Rhine just to our right. Somewhere, just past Au, Switzerland on the Rhine delta where it enters the Bodensee, a huge lake (sometimes called Lake Constance) we crossed into Austria. We cycled east along the beautiful waterfront park area of Bregenz, Austria, then followed the lakeshore as it turned north. Somewhere on the outskirts of Bregenz we passed into Germany. 

Although the borders were transparent, we could tell we had left Switzerland. Everything was suddenly dirtier and grimier, and the people were not as friendly. I know this is a subjective observation and comment, but we did not realize we had crossed a border, yet we felt something had changed. Weeds now sprouted in the cracks of the roads and curbs.  The chain link fences along the railroad were full of weeds. The area between the railroad ties were weedy. People we passed on the path responded to our "Gooten Morgan" with a frown or no response at all. The clerks and workers in the stores were sour and dismissive instead of smily and helpful. It was weird. Of course, not everyone was like this, but the percentages swung drastically higher with our new territory. 

Riding around the Bodensee is the most popular bike route in Europe. Once we started to circle this huge lake the number of cyclists we encountered went way up. There is a designated bike trail for many parts, and quiet back roads for some. Regardless, not a moment went by that we did not see another cyclist and usually we saw 10 or 20 other cyclists. 

Our goal was a campground near the medieval island town of Lindau, 10 miles up the shore from Bregenz. The cycling path was delightful, often right on the shore of the lake, sometimes through orchards just inland from the shore. When we reached the campground a few miles before Lindau, we felt it was too early to stop, so we scanned the map and found another campground 5 miles past Lindau, in Wasserburg. 

We reached Lindau about noon and were surprised to find it a very popular tourist town. We explored its narrow streets and shops on our bikes, dodging the horde of people, and visited its ancient harbor on the lake. The town prospered as a trading port, located between Nuremberg and Italy. 

We entered the town on a bridge on the south end and left via a causeway for bikes and trains on the north end.

More delightful cycling brought us to Wasserburg and our campground, about 2:00 pm. Most businesses close between 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm for the mid day meal. We took the opportunity to ride the 0.5 kilometers to town and enjoy a pastry at a sidewalk bakery and plan our next moves. 

We registered to camp with a stern German woman who softened and became very friendly the more we talked. With the tent pitched near the restroom in the shade, we rode out to the peninsula that was an island in the old days (hence the name "Wasserburg" - "water city") visited the church and settled into a restaurant on the harbor for a beer and a Coke. We spent an hour enjoying the sea breeze (remember, this lake is huge!) and passerbys before cycling back to our site for dinner of a salad. 

Sally spotted a VW Westfalia and went to talk to the owners. They were a retired Swiss couple in their 70's that summer in Greece for 9 months and return to Switzerland each winter for three month of skiing. Both have a keen interest in medieval churches and travel to sites in Greece and elsewhere to study them. The conversation turned to American politics, in particular how wonderful they thought President Obama. They could not understand what was wrong with the American people who disliked him. They also were as disgusted with Donald Trump as we were. They were scared of the Republicans because such a bad man (their words) as Trump was leading the polls for the Republican party.

It has been fascinating, the attention everyone we have met, pays to American politics. They follow it closely, perhaps more than most Americans, and feel the impact of America's decisions in their own lives.  

After dinner, we showered and read a little about tomorrow's distances and objectives. We only have a single border crossing tomorrow, when we take the ferry across the Bodensee from Friedrichhausen (Germany) to Romanshorn (Switzerland) to connect with our good friend Gallus near St. Gallen.