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June 2008: Germany - Rhine, Mosel and Saar.
Switzerland - Mittelland and Lakes routes
June 2009: Switzerland - Rhone and Rhine routes
Germany
Our
short ride in Germany was a circular means of reaching France after
landing in Frankfurt, and we started by riding the Rhine from Bingen
(reached by train) to Koblenz. The ride was easy enough, although
not as scenic
as hoped, possibly also because the weather was gloomy and dull.
On another occasion, we rode a short section of the
Rhine south of Mainz, from Worms north
to Oppenheim; once again, the ride pleasant enough but unspectacular.
Oppenheim is the prettiest town on that section and well worth a visit.
The Mosel, which looked marvellous in the literature, was rather plain
from Koblenz south until the tourist centre Cochem, which is very
pretty and worth a stop. Southwards it became a nicer ride, with our
favourite town being
Bernkastel-Kues - where we
found the best and cheapest icecream we have yet eaten in
Europe! We
followed the Mosel until just after Trier. The Mosel was
more
attractive than the Rhine, but to get those tourist-brochure views of
the vineyards you will have to make detours up the hills.
The Saar, ridden from Trier towards France, is a much quieter river, less touristed, and
prettier for being more rural. But from
Dillingen to Saarbrucken, it became quite industrial and the cycle path was in poor
condition, often requiring detours.
Switzerland
There
is a well-laid out network of official cycle routes across the entire
country. The website is very comprehensive, (http://www.veloland.ch). It is available in English, although official guide books are not. (Buy them in bookshops such as Payot). A
map or guide is essential on the route, because occasional signposts are missing or
facing only one direction. The website
map could be printed, but lacked info on
gradients, distances and unpaved sections. It would be worth it to buy the guide if riding the entire route.
The
route information provides profiles and recommendations of where to
use public transport in bypassing busy or steep sections. We followed
the suggestions a couple of times, but another occasion stayed on the
route and found it to be well worth while the push-ups. It does make it
easier knowing the profile to expect! We found the routes to be
thoughfully laid out along quiet and scenic roads.
The organisation also publishes an accommodation guide. Unfortunately,
it is not all-encompassing, and includes few B&Bs. Furthermore, the
'reasonably' priced Swiss
hotels are usually situated on main roads, and heavy smokers have
occupied the rooms before you! Other sleeping options include the much
cheaper "Schlaf im
Stroh' or sleeping in straw - haylofts made available by farmers. We
rejected this option because a sleeping bag is required, and I had
visions of sharing the barn with other groups of cyclists, who would no
doubt be champion snorers. 
The prices preclude a long holiday in Switzerland. Previously, when I had done Internet research, accommodation was listed around the SFR 60-70 mark. Bargain! Converted, this was on
a par with France. My big mistake was that French rates are for
two - in Switzerland, per person sharing, which made it twice as expensive. This went for just about everything. The only reasonably priced Swiss products are
cheese and chocolate. Swiss wine isn't too
bad either, when bought in supermarkets; in restaurants, the prices revert to stratospheric.
in 2008, we rode parts of the Mittelland and Lakes (or Seen) routes. We
had arrived in Geneva by way of train from France, and, following bad
advice, set off to cycle along the lake. It was a fine Sunday
afternoon, and so every resident within 100km was at the beach, with their
cars parked in the cycle lanes along the pavements. After Nyon, we hopped on a
train to Lausanne and began the hunt for the official guides to the
cycle routes. Despite the comprehensive route network, no Swiss, not even the cyclists, appeared to have heard of the system.
After many dead ends, we finally found the books at a regular bookshop, Payot,
and set off.
The
Mittelland route
didn't live up to expectations. We had been further badly advised - by
Swiss - to ride it because it was flat. It wasn't. The route takes you
up hills to avoid the highways, and on one we nearly got taken out by a
very aggressive driver overtaking another car in the rain.
The part we rode, from
Lausanne to
Biel, went past lakes, but the view was
mainly of the back yards of Swiss wooden holiday cottages. None of the
chocolate-box scenery I had been looking forward to! Things came
to a head on the third night in Switzerland, in a B&B outside
Biel/Bienne (not in the guidebook), a festering dungeon last
cleaned in the previous century. The night was
so disgusting that I declared on
waking that I couldn't carry on and wanted to do something
drastic, such as pack up and go home.
 I
was
persuaded that it would be better to change direction, so we bought
a new route guide in Biel and caught the train to Spiez, to pick up the
Lakes route - the one which we had considered doing in the
beginning but been discouraged by various Swiss cyclists.
From the ridiculous, we had arrived at the sublime. Heading
out of town, we serendipitously took an incorrect road up a hill,
with amazing views. The route took us to Interlaken, Meiringen, and
then on a short train ride up the precipitous Brȕnig pass. From
the top we whizzed down to Lungern, where we spent the night at the welcoming Haus St Josef. What
a difference! This day, assisted by perfect weather, stands out as my
best day of riding, ever, in my life.
From there, the route remained
wonderful. It was scenic and interesting - routing on small roads with perfect views,
through shooting ranges, cycling tunnels, and over a military
airfield. We rode between fields that assailed us with the intensely... farmy aroma
of liquid manure, crossed turquoise lakes on bridges, passed
cycling nuns, and pushed up intense green hills amidst clanking cow
bells.
Even the Universe looked after us, making sure we were riding past a
restaurant with undercover space for the bikes, just as a volent
thunderstorm hit the Vierwaldstattersee. We sipped coffee in dry
comfort while heavy rain lashed the windows and a gale whipped up
breakers on the lake.
The route took us to the Rhine, where we crossed over to the opposite
bank, just to say we'd ridden in Lichtenstein! We left the
route where the Rhine entered the Bodensee and
turned into Austria, to skirt the lake back to
Lindau in Germany.
In
2009, we entered Switzerland at Martigny, having ridden over the Col de
la Forclaz from France - easier than expected, even for us two
middle-aged touring cyclists. We were headed up the
Rhone
- normally
we avoided riding up rivers, but the gradients looked fairly gentle.
The first day was very flat along the river and through apple orchards.
We found a nice B&B in
Rechy, having done research on the Swiss B&B
website ahead of time, having been disappointed in 2008 with the
official
accommodation guide.
The second day was just a grind through towns and industrial areas. We made a mistake after
lunch of staying on the main road, as advised by our hosts the night
before, and ignoring the official route, which went up the
hillsides. It was
just as much of a climb and had heavy traffic. Swiss drivers are much
more aggressive than the easygoing French. We had to cross over the
river and push the last 2km up into Ernen, realising we had missed out
on great scenery. We had a good night though, staying in a B&B in a
500-year old wooden house in Muhlebach, and walked back to Ernen to eat
at the St Georg restaurant, where we ate outstanding food (the Friday night special menu) for
unsurpassed value for money in Switzerland.
The next day the cycling was better through the
flower-filled meadows most of the way to Obernach, from where we caught
a car train to transit the Furka Pass.
Tip:
The car train costs half
the price, as you only have to pay for your bicycle. (Swiss trains
require a full ticket for your bike in addition to yourself) You don't
even
have to crouch behind a car's bumper on the open coaches either - there
is a closed motorbike coach at one end with a few seats!
The
car train dropped us just the other side of the tunnel and we rode
about 20 chilly km to Andermatt. From there, we took a passenger train
to the top of
the Oberalp Pass - luckily the weather had cleared on the north side
for a spectacular descent, which started above the snow line!
This was the beginning of the Rhine
route, a pleasanter ride than the Rhone, although it had fairly long
sections of gravel tracks which slowed us down a lot, at one stage
having to push up a steep slippery slope where the path had collapsed.
The route took us through many charming villages and along one
spectacular corniche road. Finally, along the river, it intersected
with the Lakes route. Our last night we slept in Altstatten, in the
Gasthaus Ziel, where the accommodation guide failed to mention it was
3km out of town up a steep hill! But it had a great view and excellent
breakfast. The next morning we continued up and over the
mountain, on a regional cycle route, for variety from last year. Steep,
but fortuitously we had stopped for the view every time racing bikes
came past us, so they did not spot us puffing up the hill at a snail's
pace!
Tip: Peruse your guide
carefully for hotel closures, both weekly and annual. Many private
Swiss hotels appear to close for the holidays....!
Recommendations for Switzerland? Pick your route carefully - on the correct routes, the
scenery is unsurpassed. Take extra money, extra memory for your camera,
and extra sense of humour!
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- Bikes, equipment
and Transportation
- Planning, Accommodation and Security
- Impressions of France
 Germany and Switzerland
Other Extras:
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Linux
Advice
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Self-Catering Accommodation, Wilderness
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Aviation Humour
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