I am permanently knackered. I never sleep well but some comfort is that I used to think that my general 'unwellness' was down to lack of good diet on this trip, but recently I have been eating royally and I still look exhausted. But I can't make a full night sleep and I seem to still continue, nay thrive, when I am on the bike so not going to worry about it. I am 55 years old, it's the way such a body works.
I left at 8.30 this morning and as usual, took me a few missed turns to get out of Möhlin. But I was so happy, waking up in the campsite in decent weather with such lovely neighbours made me do a little dance inside. I am getting the camping thing now and just so happy to connect with different people who were all so lovely, warm, open and nice. That's campsites for you and any residual procrastinating I had about carrying all this extra stuff was removed.
As I cycled out, the family from the Netherlands and a couple of others cheered and clapped as I set off. That was a moment, it felt so so good.
I was bitten or stung on the neck as I was leaving the pool yesterday and what was an ugly red blemish has turned into a white swelling all day. I start to envisage all sorts of bad things happening and then I just relax and realise that none of them will happen. One of my ongoing negative concerns is if I get stung in the throat, it swells and I can't breathe.
I didn’t' really check the forecast, but there was definitely an air of foreboding and I considered hanging around a bit for any deluge to pass. The lovely Spanish family had had a bad night as one of the girls had got sick. He had also checked the weather forecast which predicted torrential rain, so they had decided to stay put for the day. The rain part did get me worried as he didn’t seem to be the kind of guy to get things wrong. But in the end, I just went for it. As I left, everyone in this small campsite waved me off and I felt on top of the world.
Quite easy to follow the routes just by looking at the signs, which all seem to vary a bit but mainly have the green bike on a white background. I remember that this bit was supposed to be achingly beautiful as it hugged the banks of the Rhine, although the very first bit through the wooded areas were a big of a pain as they were gravelly. But I did see flashes of the river and by God, it was swollen. As I continued upstream, there were a few weirs that were absolutely raging and if you fell in whilst crossing one of the bridges that formed part of the weir, you wouldn’t have a chance. It truly was awesome to watch the sheer power of nature in action, the roar of the torrent as it mercilessly tore down its length.
I was really looking forward to getting to the Rhine Falls at Schaffhausen. I remember from various blogs that you could just flip between Germany and Switzerland by crossing bridges and I did my first one at Fridolinsbrücke or the Fridolin Bridge in English to get over to Bad Säckingen, which turned out to be a super lovely town with a twin towered church called Fridolinsmuenster that had the same kind of paintings on it as the town hall at Mulhouse.
I hardly covered any distance but decided to still have a coffee and womble around. Particularly loved the wooden bridge that crossed the river, the longest roofed wooden bridge of Europe. I quite liked the name of the place too.
As the morning progressed, the weather looked more inclement. I passed onto Laufenberg which was another super pretty town separated on two sides by a gorgeous stone bridge.
But the clouds were so intense and the Rhine so full that it didn't have the picture postcard look one would expect. But that was OK. I know that this stretch of the route is stunning, but the clouds just got heavier and I wanted to press on.
I got as far as Küssaberg where I stopped for an unhealthy kebab thing and nervously looked at the heavens. I should have just stopped, taken a look at the forecast and got a hotel there and then. But I didn't, I pressed on and the rain started. I arrived at the most depressing campsite, Camping Hochrhein, a few moments away. The shitty weather didn't help but it looked so grim that I just did not want to spend my time locked away there, so I continued on.
Head down, rain getting worse and no lights. I pass by some guy changing his inner tube and realise that there is always someone else worse off than you. At least the signage for the route is good and I draw from internal reserves of stubbornness to just keep going. Silly, it's just too wet. I pass by some sewage treatment works that really enhance the experience and every now and again stop to check booking.com. I panic slightly and just want to choose the closest place, and if that means a campsite, then so be it.
I stupidly cross over a weir back to the Swiss side - even in the rain I marvel at the sheer volume of water crashing through the gates - and my wheel gets jammed in a tram track and I fall over. God how depressing.
The rain got even worse and there was nowhere for me to shelter, until I found a small gateway to a private house and essentially just stood inside their property. I could hear the sounds of laughter and making merry, which heightened my nightmare situation. I got a signal and found the closest hotel I could find on booking.com, quite honestly I would have paid anything. I even felt wet on the inside. As ever, the universe was with me and I found the Hotel Kreuz a short distance away.
As I slopped my way through a packed restaurant, the waiter / manager gave me a look that suggested they were fully booked, but with some relief he cross checked a few papers and log books and brought me up to my room, which was gloomily furnished with heavy, dark wooden furniture which only heightened the overall sense of doom caused by the crappy grey weather outside. But the shower was warm, the bed dry and I have never felt happier to be inside.
I had missed lunch and was ravenous, so went out to some local pizza takeaway place for the most expensive pizza and can of beer I have ever bought in my life. Still, the owners were Turkish, super friendly and interested in my trip when I told them I was on my way to Istanbul. And after this day, I couldn't have cared less about the expense.
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