Day 27: Drusenheim to Erstein

May 9, 2022

We had arranged to have the bicycle shed opened at 7:30, and had repeatedly refused the petit dejeuner, which despite the 12 euro each price tag we know for sure would be "petit". At 7:15 I brought our bags down, and found the whole reception and restaurant area to be dark and deserted. At 7:20, Dodie was jumping up and down, "Let's go, let's go". But I held her back until 7:30:00, when we descended into the morgue like first floor. Now we know why morgue is a French word!

But wait, sure enough from the depths of the building there were stirrings, and soon the rather sleepy patron appeared, and we were free. Our breakfast ace in the hole had been a Lidl nearby, but amazingly it did not open until 8:30. We did not jump to the conclusion that all French people sleep late, because we know most bakeries open at 6. And since every town of any size has one or more bakeries, we would have no problem.

Just down the road Dodie spied what she took for a large worm on the bike path, and she asked me to rescue it and put it in the grass. It in fact turned out to be a garter type snake. But it lacked any real markings. ID, anyone?

At the bakery, I think even Dodie was impressed by the eclairs with fresh fruit inside. Ths was so much so that she bought one for breakfast. We were also able to get, for the first time this trip, sandwiches made from baguette. We chose ones with brie, egg, and lettuce. These were super yummy.

Our breakfast town, like all the others in this region, had a wealth of super cute houses, with fachwerk, but not the same as in Germany. One easily spotted difference is the use of colour. And one that you see below also had painted shutters showing people in traditional dress.

We are finding (remembering) that here in France while cycling is not particularly dangerous and with bicycles usually having a designated place on the road, there is not the same separation of bikes and cars as in Germany. And for us, in the villages we traversed today, there was enough gentle traffic that the cars often drowned out attempts to converse, and they generally tired us out.

So it was a relief when we reached the Robertsau Forest outside of Strasbourg. This is said to contain a very large number of tree species, but we mainly noticed the peace and quiet, and the giant Plane trees.

Little Dodie down there puts the tree size in scale.

Strasbourg is a city of canals, and we quickly came to the first of them. We think people live on these boats and in principle can travel around France on canals.

Something that is completely atypical for Strasbourg is the All Saints Russian Orthodox Church, which is very stylish in a Russian orthodox way. It was only built in 2014, and does look fresh and new.

More typical are swans, but this bold one was nesting practically on the bike path. She was busy feathering her nest with down, but kept a wary eye on me. Down in the water, a much larger Mr. Swan was also monitoring my intentions!

Strasbourg now revealed itself to be a place with a really unique vibe - created by water, fachwerk buildings, wide squares, and people everywhere - many on bikes - and often sitting in outdoor cafes and restaurants.

Somehow Strasbourg had not triggered any thoughts or memories for us as we planned our circuit of town, despite our having been here before. But it all came flooding back as we entered the street with the cathedral at the end. This starts with souvenir shops, featuring stuffed storks, and dolls in Alsatian dress. This we remembered!

The cathedral, especially the exterior, is a full fledged over the top architectural wonder, with great height and many stone carvings and statues.

But it is the square in front of the cathedral that we really love. There is that unique brown house on the corner, and so many restaurants and ice cream shops, with people sitting out and enjoying it all. That is, except for cheapskates Grampies. Our standard for ice cream is 1 euro per scoop. Admittedly that's the German price from a few years back. This year it is about 1.40. But here in Strasbourg they want 2.50, for one boule, really?

Another feature of the square is a certain number of beggars. Some will just pester you, but there are other strategies. One was a blind man singing Italian songs. He got my coins. Then there was this lady with a very prone position. I did not see her attract any donors.

We took a peek inside the cathedral, and found it to be not as exciting as the exterior or the square. Here is some of the background:

but I liked this expressive Madonna and Child the best

We set off down some side streets, all of which were full of people and restaurants. Had this not been off season and still with covid, I bet these areas would be just jammed.

At the end of this alley where you see Dodie, is the lovely canal scene in the next photo!

The way out of town, and in fact our main route toward Basel is the Rhein to Rhone canal. This should have been an easy straight shot, but no. It was interrupted by detours that sent us spinning on side excursions. Of course, detour signage never holds up, so we had to ask directions at least twice. People were very good about helping out, and their directions were accurate. Still our planned shorter day ended longer. One side benefit, we stumbled on a Super U grocery store. That produced some excellent pre-packaged salads and puddings!

By the way, almost surely the name of the store is "U", so it is Supermarket "U". However I take the name to be "Super U", and I always sing out "Super U"! when I see the store or a sign for it. I love Super U for the house salads and also house chocolate bars.

The canal as many in France where they have not been culled due to disease, is lined with Plane trees.

See the deviations from the straight blue canal?

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Our hotel tonight is sort of ok, with a bit of space between the end of the bed and the wall, and enough electrical outlets. But the one window does not open properly, the water is cold, and the internet sucks. All that we can absorb, but this time as feared, we have a grotty tucked in blanket. That tore it for Dodie. She has booked for tomorrow in Germany, and we will cross a bridge just to get there -Breisach. Then we will cross back to continue the trek!

What gave Meaning to Life for today: Elegant City of Canals

Today's ride: 63 km (39 miles)
Total: 1,595 km (990 miles)

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