Switzerland by bike Pt.2

Early last week we returned from our recent cycling foray in Europe, taking in parts of Germany, Switzerland and Italy. It was a good holiday, we really liked the cycling, and after the first few days our lives in London seemed so far away. However as we've started to notice, a second visit to a place that we had considered 'amazing' the first time rendered it 'nice' the second time, which isn't a great way to preserve good memories. We seem to be finding that if we're not presented with something new on each trip, we're bound to end up unimpressed. Classic Generation X.

We began our trip with what is becoming the all-to-familiar ceremony of a night sleeping in an airport. This time we were well equipped with sleeping mats and bags so it wasn't as bad as it has been in the past. Our flight arrived at Baden-Baden airport around 10am on the Saturday morning, and once we had put the bikes together we began the mad race to find the nearest post-office in order to offload the bike bags to our favourite postal service - poste restante. On the way we passed an ice-rink with two signs on it 'Baden-Baden curling club' and 'Bikers welcome'. Not two hobbies you'd normally think would have much in common, but those Germans... .

Having found the post office, and more importantly the bakery, we began our journey south along the Rhine. Unfortunately there were distance markers every 100 metres which didn't help us feel like we were getting anywhere, although they did aid our investigations into why our speedometers were measuring distances differently, even though they were both calibrated the same. In the end we didn't work out what the problem was, but it kept us occupied for long enough to get to Kehl.



After a good nights sleep we headed east into the Black Forest, which is actually green (the 'black' bit relates to the density of the canopy apparently). We were following a cycle route which took us past some nice scenery, although at times it was hard to work out which way to go as ironically there were too many signs. As we got further away from the river the hills became steeper and steeper - Chris even had to use the small chainring on his bike - quite possibly a first for this bicycle. After a very steep uphill when we were just about flipping over backwards thanks to the weight of the panniers on the bike, we left the tarmac and started to head into the forest offroad. Within a couple of miles we realised that we hadn't read the map that we'd been studying for a month properly, and the track we were following was in fact a national mountain bike route. What's more the section we were on was almost all uphill and very slow going.

We eventually arrived in Schonach-im-Schwarzwald on a Sunday evening to find there was no campsite and the shops were closed (is this sounding familiar?). Fortunately Vonny had the language skills to find us a free campsite next to the local recreation ground where the locals were having an aftermatch function. As cold beer was the only thing we hadn't lugged up the hill with us, we took the opportunity to sit in the stands and have a few wheat beers. In retrospect the situation turned out remarkably well, although sadly somewhere along the way Vonny lost her sunglasses, which she'd had for 10 years.

The next morning a nice lady in a campervan parked nearby made us a cup of coffee - apparently she and her husband used to hitchhike around Europe when they were our age and they knew what it was like when there was a lack of decent camping facilities. It was a good start, but things got worse before they got better as we didn't have much of a choice but to continue to follow the offroad route for another hour until we could leave it. Just to top things off it started raining. All up our bikes weighed around 25kg, which combined with our weight on them and the fact we were riding on road tyres, meant some of the tracks like this one were a bit hairy.



We manged to make it to our next destination alive however, and it was a dated but fantastic campsite on the side of a lake called Titisee. Although everything was old it was meticulously clean, and the shower and toilet blocks were not only warmed but had piped music. Vonny was particularly taken with the play list at SWR4 Baden-Württemberg, and if you click on the link you can listen to it online. It's a mix of oldies and pop, a lot of which is in German. The serenity of the site allowed us an excellent sleep, and after a lot of going downhill the next day we were on the Rhine again and basking in the sun.

In the morning we crossed into Switzerland, although things didn't have the best beginning as we were heading in the wrong direction from the moment we got over the bridge. Fortunately it didn't take that long to realise our mistake, and we saw a lovely field of poppies on our the way.



It was a long day of riding, but we managed to join up with the North-South route across Switzerland which was eventually going to deposit us on the Italian border. The next few days were relatively uneventful as we headed towards Luzern, eventually intersecting with the Lakes route we had completed in 2006. The reunion didn't last for long however, as rather than heading west we were going south across Lake Luzern to Brunnen.



The following morning as we approached The Alps, the hills started to rise around us. Anyone who's seen Hawks Crag in the Buller Gorge in New Zealand would have been equally impressed by this overhang.



Unlike our previous cycling trip in Switzerland, this time we seemed to be riding on the road a lot, and we really noticed the number of large trans-European trucks that were passing us. The Swiss have a plan to get road-freight through-traffic off the roads, and just out of Amsteg we saw evidence of the most ambitous part of this plan, the Gotthard Base Tunnel. The intention is to put the trucks on trains and move them across the country by rail on a Rolling Highway. Because The Alps are in the way they are digging two parallel tunnels of over 55km in length in order to level the rail route from the north to the south of the country. What to us is equally amazing to the engineering feat, is that they should embark on a project that will take over 20 years and cost over USD6.5 Billion in order to protect the alpine environment. We couldn't help but think you'd be unlikely to see that kind of foresight anywhere else in the world.

For now however we had to stay on the road with the trucks and get oursleves up into The Alps, and the road that was going to get us there was steep and winding. At some points the going was really bad, as underneath those roofed areas the road was very narrow and there was very little room for us.



We stayed the night in Andermatt, where the campsite was run by a couple who had very yodle-ish accents, even when they spoke German. The man told Vonny that he started the day with a strong cup of coffee 'mit schnapps', but we didn't have as much luck - we couldn't even get petrol for our cooker. However before we could make it to Italy for an espresso we were heading off on a detour leaving the North-South route to head over the Oberalp pass into the Romansch speaking section of the country.

It may have been the first of June but there was a group of snowboarders determined to continue the winter fun on a small slope at the top of the pass, and we also saw someone skiing.



Chris had always wanted to ride a bike in snow and had the chance here, but a heavily laden bike with thin tyres didn't quite glide across the piste as he had dreamed, and there was a lot of sinking up to the axles. Just behind Vonny in the photo below is a little trickle of a stream called the Rein Anteriur, which is the source of the massive river seen in the photo at the top of this blog which runs all the way to Rotterdam. It certainly picks up a lot of water along the way.



It was a cold ride down the hill to where we were spending the next night. As we'd been on the go for over a week we were stopping early in order to do some washing and take it easy for the afternoon. The campsite we stopped at was a Swiss Touring Club one, which meant great facilities. There was even piped music in the buildings, although this time it was a bit more upbeat than Radio Baden-Württemberg.

The next day started blissfully with clean clothes and a late departure, as we were convinced that it was going to be all downhill to our next destination, although we were soon to discover that it more an undulating route.



Chris nearly screamed like a girl when a bird-of-prey he had startled flew out of the grass and nearly dropped a large half-skinned but still moving snake on him. It was like a moment out of a Carlos Castaneda book, and later we both couldn't help but think there was some significance to it, as things went wrong and we got lost in a forest whilst trying to take a short cut. We had to ride for over an hour uphill in stifling heat just to go most of the way back down again to the campsite.

That experience put Vonny off riding and the next day she opted to take the post bus up the hill from Thusis to Splügen. It worked out well as Chris got to race up there as fast as he wanted, and upon arrival the campsite was organised, the tent pitched and there was ample opportunity for a sit-down. On the way he passed some young men also on bikes, and they ended up camping next to us. We were amazed at how much stuff they were carrying, as if they had packed from an expedition list in a boy scout manual. We'd opted to leave the hammer at home, but these guys weren't taking any chances with their tent pegs (or erd nagels as they are called in German, which means earth nails!).

The riding the next morning was great as we climbed and crossed the San Bernardino Pass. The weather cleared for us and it turned out to be one of the best days we had, despite the uphill. On the way we saw some ideal Swiss scenery which made it all the more pleasant.



Although the road wasn't particularly steep, there was a definite difference in the speed with which we rode up it. In order to pass the time those who arrived early amused themselves playing in the snow that was lying on the roadside, although the later arrivals didn't necessarily see it as a time for mucking about.



The pass was very pretty with snow and a lake, and also busy with people. We managed to put one of them to good use and get a photo taken of us - always a risk, but this lady was a natural when it came to photography.



From the top at 2066m, it was all downhill, and on the way we went through something like 50 hairpin turns. We passed a sign for cyclists coming the other way saying that the road rose 1500m in 25km, and both agreed that we'd tackled the route in the right direction.
After crossing the pass the language had changed from German to Italian, and everything else seemed to change as well. The roads were badly maintained, there were no cycleways, and the drivers seemed to be paying very little attention to what they were doing. It was really hard to believe that we were still in the same country as the difference was like chalk and cheese. It made us wonder what it is that unites Switzerland, and ponder the relationship between language and culture.

Two days later we were in Lugano to pick up the bike bags from the post office. We had originally planned to bike from Lugano over to Lake Como and do a bit of looking around before riding back over to Lake Maggiore and down to the airport near Milan. However time was a bit tight for a detour that long, and the lack of camping sites was enough to put us off the idea. We decided to settle on a day trip to Como for lunch instead, during which we would complete the North-South route by passing through Chiasso and into Italy.



Despite the incessant rain it was a successful day, and we had a great pizza in a place with a lovely view of the lake. After a bit of window shopping we headed home, this time catching the train for half the journey to avoid a bit of busy road.

The next day was marked for R&R, and we arrived at the campground around midday for an afternoon of sitting around and doing nothing. We'd left Switzerland for good, and were on the Western side of Lake Maggiore in Verbania, where we were keen to visit the botanic garden ; something we did the next morning. It was great to walk around and do something normal for a couple of hours rather than being tied to the bikes.



On the way back to the ferry we stopped off in town to get the stamps for the postcards. Chris managed to complete the transaction entirely in Italian, however throughout the trip we had deferred buying postcards until we could find some we thought were good enough. This might explain why you may not have received a postcard as we never found any, holding out hope until the last moment when we were sitting in the departure lounge.

As it happens however our next holiday is to Italy, and we have the stamps for the postcards already, so you are practically assured of recieving one. This time we'll be walking up in the Dolomites, which promises to be spectacular and should make for a great blog. Watch this space!