Day 14: Being tourists then back down the Rhine.....
Wednesday July 10 - Day 14 - 30miles - Total 567miles
We slept late this morning to allow our bodies time to heal from pushing it hard the prior afternoon. We got up about 9am and Vera made us a wonderful breakfast of breads and various spreads and yoghurt. There was this one spread, which was basically pureed cookies in caramel... it was good! We headed out on the bus to the capital of Liechtenstein, Vaduz. We wanted to be tourists for an hour or two. We walked around the capitol, hitting all the main points. We went to the tourist office to get our official Liechtenstein passport stamps! We picked up some postcards and headed to the Postal Museum. Liechtenstein is known for its collectable stamps, so we went and got to see some of the original artwork the stamps were made from and some antique postal equipment, including a bright yellow bike! We saw the new parliament building, but we bypassed the museum of modern art, because it was a bit crowded. A tourist shop or two later and we were back on the bus to Vera and Thomas' house.
Back at the house, we packed up and spent an hour "re-jiiggering" our panniers (bags) to try and even our the load and reduce the weight as much as we could before hitting the foothills of Bavaria in two days time. Thankfully Vera offered to donate the few pieces of clothing and supplies to a shelter down the street, so nothing will go to waste. Several pounds lighter, we headed off down the road towards Feldkirch, Austria, a beautiful old town that Vera and Thomas recommended we visit on our way out of Liechtenstein and into Austria.
We quickly left Liechtenstein on this small road, and were back in the European Union! We cycled through Feldkirch and picked up some supplies at the Spar grocery store. We were then cycling through the woodlands of the Rhine flood plain and after a couple more miles were back on the river path - this time on the Austrian side heading back towards Lake Constance. We made good time despite a bit of a head wind and the surface changing from decent asphalt to cinders to gravel and back again. We actually went back into Switzerland for a couple of miles due to an oxbow in the Rhine which left one Swiss town on the east bank of the Rhine.
Back in Austria (again!) we stopped for an afternoon coffee and snack in the town of Lustenau before heading on for Bregenz. We saw several grocery stores and decided to get a couple of cold beers for the campground tonight.
We found a campground pretty quickly on the shores of Lake Constance (again!). Still a little pricey (but not quite as bad as Switzerland!) and after setting up the tent (and applying bug spray!) we went swimming in Lake Constance. Even though we were at a public beach there were a whole lot of boobies on display... and you know that they are never the ones you want to see... wow... Andrea then made a wonderful dinner on the shore front while we watching the sunset over the lake.
Now, back to the tent (jumping in quickly so as to not let in the swarm of mosquitoes hovering outside. To sleep another night, wake up early and off into Bavaria tomorrow!
The World is Ours!
Wednesday July 10 - Day 14 - 30miles - Total 567miles
We slept late this morning to allow our bodies time to heal from pushing it hard the prior afternoon. We got up about 9am and Vera made us a wonderful breakfast of breads and various spreads and yoghurt. There was this one spread, which was basically pureed cookies in caramel... it was good! We headed out on the bus to the capital of Liechtenstein, Vaduz. We wanted to be tourists for an hour or two. We walked around the capitol, hitting all the main points. We went to the tourist office to get our official Liechtenstein passport stamps! We picked up some postcards and headed to the Postal Museum. Liechtenstein is known for its collectable stamps, so we went and got to see some of the original artwork the stamps were made from and some antique postal equipment, including a bright yellow bike! We saw the new parliament building, but we bypassed the museum of modern art, because it was a bit crowded. A tourist shop or two later and we were back on the bus to Vera and Thomas' house.
Back at the house, we packed up and spent an hour "re-jiiggering" our panniers (bags) to try and even our the load and reduce the weight as much as we could before hitting the foothills of Bavaria in two days time. Thankfully Vera offered to donate the few pieces of clothing and supplies to a shelter down the street, so nothing will go to waste. Several pounds lighter, we headed off down the road towards Feldkirch, Austria, a beautiful old town that Vera and Thomas recommended we visit on our way out of Liechtenstein and into Austria.
We quickly left Liechtenstein on this small road, and were back in the European Union! We cycled through Feldkirch and picked up some supplies at the Spar grocery store. We were then cycling through the woodlands of the Rhine flood plain and after a couple more miles were back on the river path - this time on the Austrian side heading back towards Lake Constance. We made good time despite a bit of a head wind and the surface changing from decent asphalt to cinders to gravel and back again. We actually went back into Switzerland for a couple of miles due to an oxbow in the Rhine which left one Swiss town on the east bank of the Rhine.
Back in Austria (again!) we stopped for an afternoon coffee and snack in the town of Lustenau before heading on for Bregenz. We saw several grocery stores and decided to get a couple of cold beers for the campground tonight.
We found a campground pretty quickly on the shores of Lake Constance (again!). Still a little pricey (but not quite as bad as Switzerland!) and after setting up the tent (and applying bug spray!) we went swimming in Lake Constance. Even though we were at a public beach there were a whole lot of boobies on display... and you know that they are never the ones you want to see... wow... Andrea then made a wonderful dinner on the shore front while we watching the sunset over the lake.
Now, back to the tent (jumping in quickly so as to not let in the swarm of mosquitoes hovering outside. To sleep another night, wake up early and off into Bavaria tomorrow!
The World is Ours!