May 10, 2022
Day 28: Erstein to Hochstetten
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I had a look at the French breakfast on offer for 12 euros, and was a little surprised to see some cheese and meat, however meagre it was. We were happy enough sticking with puddings we had picked up at Super U, until we would run into a bakery on the road.
There wwere some twists and turns to get out of Erstein, but very soon we were back on the canal. It really is a beautiful sight.
In the little towns around Strasbourg we have half jokingly been looking for a place to buy. We did see some suitably humble Alsatian style houses for sale, but the towns all lack bakeries, and that is a deal breaker!
The locks on the canal are now self-serve, making the profession of lock keeper obsolete. The lock keepers houses can be purchased, it seems, and Dodie spotted this one. But of course, no bakery!
Our first major destination was Marckolsheim, but first we had to travel through a plethora of other "heims". It seems every town in this area ends with that. The reason we were noodling through the "heims" was that the official Rhine Route (EV 15) departs from the canal and does those noodles. We were not sure if this meant that the canal path disappears in spots, but anyway we had lots of time and wanted to see some towns. At first this was really nice, as we pedalled along quiet roads in the country assessing the progress of the crops of corn and grains. But we noticed two things - the towns had no commercial activities, and while the traffic was light, the drivers always came way too fast.
As we neared Marckolsheim this fast traffic was really bugging us, and we considered just going back to the canal. But we had developed the idea of a "plat de jour" in Marckolsheim, and that spurred us on into the town.
When we got to town, the first thing we hit was the first of three bakeries, and we decided to go for a bakery in hand vs a restaurant down the road. I have always admired the French bakery chicken sandwich, which is invariably made with real chicken. So we asked for that, and it was made to order. Dodie also got the spargel quiche. We decided to check the next bakery on for desert, and that yielded two yummy fruit tartelettes. So going into Marckolsheim paid off.
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Marckolsheim did have a cost, though, as it is quite a busy town, with a fair bit of traffic. We left town on what was actually the EV 15 routing, but the road had no shoulder and too many fast drivers.
On the track, you can see us suddenly taking a sharp left and abandoning D468 in favour of extensive twiddling east of there. This really saved our day, because we were already hot and frazzled enough.
Then came our next dash for "freedom", as we jumped over the bridge and landed in Germany. Note the Ukrainian flag banners on the bridge.
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So here it is, what we detoured 10 km to find - a bed with fluffy quilts!
We also went all out and got supper at the restaurant in the hotel. Dodie was starting to get a migraine, from the day's heat and noise we would guess, and she must have been dehydrated. In such a condition, the restorative effect of salad, and spargel soup, and especially cold mineral water is tremendous. We sat out on the terrace in perfect temperature, and recovery was swift. But What Gave Meaning to Life today was clearly water.
Today's ride: 66 km (41 miles)
Total: 1,661 km (1,031 miles)
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