BLACK FOREST & BODENSEE (Aug 24-29)

We are back in Germany! Land of deliciously hearty breads, generous servings of beer and cyclists everywhere. The contrast with France truly is striking in that the service is outstanding in Germany but people are more reserved in greetings and general interactions (perhaps because of the large number of cyclists the sense of being part of a specific biking community no longer exists).

Leaving Freiburg we headed into the Schwarzwald (Black Forest) and were immediately drawn into the splendid landscape of coniferous trees, farmers fields and rather steep "rolling hills" - the German bike paths did not disappoint in leading us through one of our favorite scenic tours thus far. That first day was pretty much all uphill (some grades as steep as 12 percent) and we ended up cycling some 60km to Titisee (approximately 900m above sea-level). The town itself was touristy but situated on a beautiful lake.

nearby Schluchsee

And who could resist the thousands of signs advertising Schwarzwald Kirschtorte (black forest cake)?!

The next morning we headed pretty much downhill over the other side of the area. Instead of taking the fastest route (east) we decided to meander south towards the Rhein instead. A great decision as we got to see another beautiful vista with the river on one side and alpine forest on the other; we were riding down a ridge-side road for approximately 10km. Awesome! Plus we find ourselves particularly relaxed and happy to be in a new country, new landscape, with a rejuvenated zest-for-cycling following our somewhat blah previous week in France. We have stopped for kafe and kuchen almost every day :)

on the road...

After 100km we found ourselves search a bit for accommodation but luckily this time around rather than being sent 30km further we were kindly directed to a guesthouse 2km back on the route we had just came from. It was a lovely setting, hidden away long the Rhein where we took in some regional cuisine: Eigenfisch (local river fish) and pork schnitzel (again culture trumps ethics here on the vegetarian front) while sitting on the terrace during a warm summer evening.

Our third day of cycling through this region was a happy surprize in that the Rhein cycling path is much more picturesque and diverse than we had anticipated. An earlier portion we had experienced way back in early July (from Neuenburg to Basel) was dead flat and unbelievably boring. This route from Guggenmuhle (our guesthouse locale) to Konstanz (Constance) on Bodensee (Lake Constance).

our lovely Gugenmuhle Inn

This is a truly great lake with cycle paths circling its 270km circumferance. And so many cyclists! Many are day-trippers but there are a lot of people like us with panniers doing shorter stints (weekend jaunts) in the area. All in all a splendid three days of cycling!

We decided to take a substantial break from cycling in Konstanz to give our muscles a break (before heading into the Alps!) and also to take in a music festival (Rock am See) on Saturday with Oasis head-lining. One of our hopes has been to get in a major music fest (in lieu of Hillside) and this was our chance. Arriving in Konstanz, we found most accommodation already spoken for given that Germans in this region are still in full-out-holiday-mode. Oddly, however, we were approached by a gentleman offering us a furnished apartment for one-third of the price of the only hotel left available in town. We jumped at the chance (although in the back of our minds, as we followed him on his bicycle to the flat, we were running through "axe murderer scenarios") and it turned out to be a glorious, comfortable, centrally-located flat - perfect for our needs and even more so for our budget! Thank you, Mr. Xavar Bar, for spotting us outside the tourist info office!

With two whole days and three nights to relax in one place, we took advantage. Peter ran errands, played in a poker tournament (didn't win...) and dunked in Lake Bodensee (a city-side feature). Alice read, relaxed, did laundry, sat by the lake and also went for a swim. It was a nice break not to have to think about leaving right away.

A cultural highlight was the garish, provocative "Kloss von Konstanz" sculpture found in the city centre that caught our attention and you can see why from the photos:

On Saturday, we luxuriated at home and then prepared for the concert. It was a full-day concert featuring bands, none of whom we knew, with names, such as:

• Mando Diao
• The Hives
• Kasabian
• The Sounds
• Sugarplum Fairy
• Killians

We were semi-excited to see Oasis, the headline act. Though we are not huge fans, we were certainly interested in seeing them live.

It was beautiful day with perfect weather. The festival was in an open air soccer stadium, and we are guessing about 30,000 people were in attendance. It was crowded, but not overly so. The food was typical german festival food fare, including crepes, schnitzel, spaetzle, pretzels and beer. Most of the remnants of the said food ended up on the ground, so that by the end of the evening people were lounging in a field of garbage. It was a sight (not) to see.

Nonetheless, the music was quite good. A number of bands stood out, for example the pop Deborah Harry music of The Sounds; the post-punk vibe of The Hives and the eclectic sound of Mando Diao. All of these groups deserve a further listen and we intend to do so when we settle into Freiburg.

Of note, we noticed a number of references to the term 'deep purple' throughout the festival, though we did not decipher the code to understand what that meant. Until, of course, after 9 hours of build-up, Oasis did NOT appear, and in their stead, the early 70's hard rock group, Deep Purple did. Apparently Oasis broke up the night before and Deep Purple was playing a 70's revival festival nearby and...voila.

We listened to the one hit Peter knows of Deep Purple, which was sung perfectly horribly and left, somewhat disappointed though still satisfied from our festival experience.

Schwartzwald and Bodensee grading:

• weather (A) – sunny everyday with the rain coming only after we finished riding for the day. And Alice is happy because she gets to sleep in a bit more as the termperature is not quite as hot as it recently has been.
• landscape (A) - The ride down from Titisee to the Rhein was one of our favourites and the ride along the Rhein was waaay nicer than we anticipated.
  
• cycling challenge - moderate
• physical and emotional response (A+) - Loving it and very relaxed.
  
• food (A) - Surprisingly good pasta in Titisee and Alice got to eat Black Forest Cake in the Black Forest
• accommodations (A+) - Alice is thrilled to be back in the land of the duvet and Peter is happy that the sleeping temperature is more conducive...to sleeping. Also, having a regular apartment in Bodensee (Konstanz) was a treat and a thrill for us. Like being at home, almost. Also, our unexpected inn at Gugenmuhle was an absolute hidden gem. We would return just to stay there again.
  
• other people – (B+) - Thought there are fewer smiles at large, we did have a few interesting conversations with young men at the music festival. Thank goodnes most german speak english so well. It is a bit embarrassing that we (Peter especially) do not speak German comfortably, but hopefully that will come along as we spend time here.
• entertainment – (A) - Finally got out outdoor music festival under our wing, but it did make us miss Hillside quite a bit.
  

Overall Grade: A