Day 30: Saint Louis/Huninque to Allbruck

May 12, 2022

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We really liked the apartment hotel, with its mini kitchenette. One would think that our position on the third floor would make us immune to smokers camping by the window. But actually some did manage to fumigate us a bit, as they sat out dining down below. I developed the idea that I could put out the cigarettes by dumping a bucket of water out the window. That was vetoed as too hostile for a position 100 m from Switzerland.

By morning our quiet street was jammed with traffic. We figured out that these were people living in France for the lower prices but working in Switzerland.

Our hotel had a fair selection of books in the lobby, and we noticed that this included children's books. It was fun seeing French versions of favourite classics.

Once across the border and into Switzerland, we somehow had to cross the river twice to penetrate into the Basel old town.

From the river we got a good view of the Basel munster, actually a better view than from closer up. Note the fancy roof tiles.

Even with the river crossings, we still had to fight our way to the old town. The environment we found ourselves in was one in which cyclists, cars, and trolleys were all thrown in together, each jockeying for position. The cyclists were brave, and darted this way and that, while the trolleys at least were constrained to their tracks. Yet they could fly silently toward you at any time. The pedestrians, also caught in the mix, we found to be both rude and crabby. Interfere with one in any way, including having them step into you, and you would earn at least an angry frustrated look, or more commonly some harsh words. Dodie took to responding in English, "I can't understand a goddamn thing you say". This would normally elicit a continued tirade in whatever language. We know it's wrong to use national stereotypes, but we have seen this on past trips as well. The Swiss of Basel are crabby and frustrated about something!

At one point there was a faded bike lane symbol painted on the road. But this mythical lane was overtaken by the trolley tracks. Not only are these prime for getting a wheel caught, but pretty soon a trolley will sweep you off the road. The local cyclists just whizzed between the tracks and were gone before any trolley could get them.

We did reach the Munster square, and found it very pleasant, and free of the urban hustle and bustle. The church itself was closed until later, so we missed seeing what might have been inside. The square itself, as you see, does not include any of the customary cafes or souvenir stands. There was a pedestrian street leading to the square, but this did not have cafes either, just high end shops. As it happens the entire street was also ripped up for some kind of sewer works, something the shops could not have been thrilled about.

From the Munster platz we found the markt platz. There are beautiful buildings all around it. They are vaguely Parisian and vaguely Viennese, but do seem unique to here. One in particular had elaborate frescoes, something we know we will also run into elsewhere in Switzerland.

We had a pile of Swiss francs, left over from a previous trip and that we had brought from home. I tried to get rid of some at one of the three bakery trucks that were at the market. I spied a suitable little raspberry filled bun, and decided to first ask the lady the price. 4.80 francs. Hello? That's $6.25 Canadian - for one little bun. I returned to Dodie and ranted a bit about this. Look, this other truck seems a little cheaper, leave it to me. She went over, but came back empty handed. The lady says our money is too old and we need to use a card, was the report.

This turned out to be all true. In 2021 the Swiss National Bank recalled its notes (the 8th series) and they were no longer legal tender. But the bank would still exchange them for the latest series. It seems to be about combatting money laundering and terrorism financing. We must fall into one of these two categories!

We left the market square with no goodies purchased. Deciding we had had enough fun, we headed for the exits. Of course there were still things to see, like in the four photos below. The fountain of goofy moving iron spray parts was fun, and relief from the rest of the city, which seems to lack any parks, or almost any trees.

As we passed through town I spotted a massive Credit Suisse building, and thought this could house good people to deal with our obsolete money issue. But to me they seemed closed and/or I could not see a way in. Once again we iced our second line - Dodie - who waltzed right in and came back with a pile of new currency. But we are still not going to give the lady 4.80 for a bun!

Here are some other amazing sights on leaving town.

The trolleys draw power from overhead wires. I am not sure what function this truck does, but it raised itself off its wheels, and used the tracks and wires to proceed on its way.

You would think the Swiss would pile up the floors in a more orderly way. Maybe they are still working on these?

A view of the Basel area from across the river

We now started to cycle along the north side of the Rhine, heading east toward the Bodensee. This is mostly in Germany, and we took advantage of that by jumping into an Aldi store. Dodie came out with a large amount of salads, puddings, buns, and a banana. Total cost - 12 euros. Cool!

Cycling in this area, we are still adjacent to the Black Forest - it's south side. In towns, Black Forest post cards are abundant.

Black Forest post cards. We bought two about cuckoo clock making.

Since we were back in Germany at this point, I made it a point to check out the eis price. My brother in Quebec on reading this blog went out to get some ice cream near where he and Francine live, in Montreal. They paid $5.86 (including tax), but he did say the scoop was generous. Here is my evidence from today:

Our way passed through a variety of towns. Some were just suburban type scenes, but others were really special. Here is an example of one, but right now I am not sure which! (Maybe Laufenburg).

Before Bad Sackingen we met a Swiss couple that were sporting Da Brim visors, like ours except the larger size. They said hey got them online, but that they can be found in Germany although at high cost. These were some of the few touring cyclists that bothered to stop and talk to us. Georges, as I think the man is called, said he favours talking to people. Maybe, he thought, you could say something that makes their day, maybe gives Meaning to Their Life for that brief moment. He has a web site that yet to figure out. It's www.bycycle.ch

Bad Sackingen turned out to be he jewel of todays cycling. Dodie began by helping a toddler make a wish with coins in a fountain.

The town has lots of walking street, with cafes and eis, of course.

But he real treasure is the St. Fridolin church, from 1698. This is the first one this tour that has been truly properly decorated.

I was really just looking for cherubs to photograph, since they are one of my metrics on how well a church is decorated. But here I alsoo got St. Sebastian. According to Wikipedia:

Saint Sebastian (in Latin: Sebastianus; c. AD 256 – 288) was an early Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocletianic Persecution of Christians. He was initially tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows, though this did not kill him. He was, according to tradition, rescued and healed by Saint Irene of Rome, which became a popular subject in 17th-century painting. In all versions of the story, shortly after his recovery he went to Diocletian to warn him about his sins, and as a result was clubbed to death.

Charming!

Laufenburg was another interesting town, and there were lovely views from there across the river to the Swiss side.

Our stopping place tonight is a former train station house, now with a restaurant and about hotel five rooms . It's a shared bathroom situation and no breakfast, but quite cheap. We are finding prices that often are sky high, and are trying to go down market a bit. Tomorrow we are shooting toward a youth hostel.

What gave life meaning today? A properly decorated church with gold, and pink marble.

Today's ride: 63 km (39 miles)
Total: 1,795 km (1,115 miles)

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Sandra LawnHi Steve and Dodie
Thanks for the information about your Swiss Franks …..just checked my leftover foreign currency stash, 140 Swiss Franks, I bit of a miscalculation last time I popped in and out like you have been doing, I do plan to briefly visit Switzerland again on a future tour, will head straight to a bank to offload my 140 …..that’s quite a few coffees then? My son has completed an extensive family tree and found a close family tree member came from Bern…. so coffee in Bern then.

Enjoying your journal it’s bringing back good memories and a longing to visit again the little piece of Paradise you are in.

Cheers
Sandy
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2 years ago

Georges BycycleHi Steve and Dodie

It was a real pleasure to met you… and to see other two having DaBrims on the head! :-)

Congrats for your blog…. I like your writing style!

Who knows… we might meet again on the road?

Cheers

Georges with Bellona :-)
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2 years ago

Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Georges BycycleHi Georges and Bellona,

We checked out your blog as well. Really good pictures from Strasbourg!

It was really fun talking to you on the road. Like we said, not many will take time to stop!
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2 years ago