Is it France or is it Germany?

Reinach (Basel), Switzerland to Neuenberg, Germany to  Diebolsheim, France

Day 55 - Saturday - August 6
After a night of rain could that really be sunshine??

Norbert and sons Luca and Fabian, the group we cycled with to the campground. They are headed to the Basel Zoo today. Then they will head back to their home on the Switzerland/Austria border. These boys are tough riders based on the way they attacked the hills yesterday. We wish it hadn't rained so much last night so we could have visited more.

Our own Swiss flag for our last day in the country.

We headed to the Basel train station as we knew we could find a Rhein Route map there.

It was a really busy place and we did find the map. It showed that Eurovelo 6, our old friend, would be a good route out of the city.

We also found Starbucks! Thus the big grin.

We still had a ways to go to get out of Basel. Time and distance bear an inverse relationship when it comes to navigating big cities.

The river is a busy place. This is a small people ferry.

As opposed to these very, large cruise boats.

These guys were enjoying their morning swim.

A more decorated version of the people ferry landing.

Into Germany again. We ended up crossing Germany and France's borders several times on our way out of Basel. It must have the most complicated border ever. Does this mean we've been to France 4 times?

A market, with a handy table outside, in Rosenau, France was our lunch stop. It was actually nice to make our own sandwiches for a change.

Are we in Iowa??

Nope....not Iowa. There are no 400 year old tile kilns in Iowa.

This tiny chapel is across the road from the kiln.

Note the smiley face on the speed sign. It liked our leisurely pace and the smile made us feel quite welcome in this town. It actually frowns if a car is going too fast. We started looking for a place to stay since Saturdays are often difficult. The first place was full, there were no campgrounds, the second hotel was closed until 4:00 and rain was imminent. A passing cyclist told us to head to Neuenberg across the river in Germany. He had stayed there last night and knew there were several hotels to choose from.

We found our home for the night there. We walked to the market to replenish some supplies and get food for tomorrow.

Day 56 - Sunday - August 7
The thunderstorm started at 6 am and it was still going when we went to breakfast. Nature had declared a rest day, a good time to catch up on the blog.

We did take a break to check out the pastries and ice cream across the street.

We've been saving this peanut butter for a rainy day and it has arrived. Doug's been carrying it since Lisbon. It is the last place we've actually seen peanut butter. It's all been Nutella since then. It rained off and on until evening. It was a good decision to stay.

Day 57 - Monday - August 8
What a different morning. We had a nice tailwind and, though there were storm clouds to the east and west, our sunny spot stayed with us. We passed these crucifixes every few kilometers all day. Each one was a little different.

That top symbol will be our guide for awhile as we follow the Rhein River north.

Neuf Brisach is a fortified town of the Vauban era, that has the most complete wall still in place. 

The Colmar Gate (1701) is part of the wall surrounding town.

We decided that the peanut butter was too valuable to really carry in the water bottle cage but it fit really well!

Lunch on the park bench in the town square. The church  behind Doug was destroyed in 1945 by Allied bombers, then rebuilt using the original plans so it looks old but really isn't.

After lunch our sunny spot abandoned us. Bus stops make fine shelters from the rain and this one was particularly big so there was even room for the bikes.

We missed a turn soon after the rain let up and happened to notice a "Gites" sign on this house. Gites are part of a bed and breakfast organization in France. Even though it was only 2:30 we decided to call it a day. The owner must have felt sorry for us because she only charged us 22 euros for our room. In exchange we used our sleeping bags and made our own breakfast.

And Doug had a whole courtyard for bike cleaning and maintenance.

But there were only twin beds. So much for the honeymoon part.