Leaving France One Last Time

Diebolsheim to Drusenheim, France to Mechtershein, Germany

Day 58 - Tuesday - August 9
It was a very quiet night. One other couple spent the night as well. They didn't speak English and we didn't speak French so mostly we all just smiled at each other.

More traffic circle art. The teeter totter is powered by water so they really do go up and down .

Since we didn't have any breakfast food with us we stopped at this bakery in Friesenheim for breakfast.  It consisted of a monster soft pretzel smothered in melted cheese and bacon....not lowfat.

Our breakfast entertainment was watching hundreds of baguettes making their journey from dough to finished product.

That is one monster dough hook!

It was easy to see the timber framing construction technique in this building. It is hard to tell if  you are in France or Germany just looking at the houses, with good reason. We found out that the Alsace region of France has gone back and forth between the 2 countries 5 times in the last 150 years.

The French version of hay bale art. Reminded us of similar art we saw in New York 4 years ago.

Chappelle Notre Dame du Chene built in the 15th century.

This gets our vote for best school zone signing.

Following the Rhone Rhine Canal made our entry into Strasbourg fairly easy.

It also gave Doug a high point (bridge) to take this picture.

It is only 11,000 kilometers to Vancouver, BC from this spot. It felt like we did half that distance going in circles trying to find our way out of Strasbourg!

We finally found the route again. We still don't know where we lost it.

We didn't have a good regional map so we just took pictures of these signs to use as references if we got confused about the route when there wasn't a map at a critical junction. We still took a wrong turn occasionally.

We did finally make it out of town. Right outside the city was this very nice park.

We think this was a former railroad bed.

World War II era bunker

At 90 inches this tree fossil was an indication of the kind of forest that was once in the valley of the Rhein River.

We reached Drusenheim at 3pm and stopped at a local bike store so Doug could buy a new water bottle. The clerk told us about the hotel in town. We decided to check on a room. We checked in and then started second-guessing ourselves because it was so sunny and early in the afternoon. Just about that time the thunderstorm struck with rain, hail and high winds. We counted ourselves lucky once again.

Day 59 - Wednesday - August 10
Our gracious hostess for the night. She followed us outside to see us on our way and wish us a safe journey.

He claims he got a more effective draft off this bike than he does following Donna! However, he also says the view isn't as good.

One very sturdy bus stop.....we've been taking notice of bus stops since they've been our best source of refuge from recent deluges.

This time it really is goodby to France as we continue to head north into Germany along the Rhein River.

Out for a ride with Grandpa. This was a pretty common sight in the little towns.

More corn......still not Iowa.

There is more and more barge traffic as we head downriver. Doug is setting the camera up to take the next picture. 

The post did a nice job.

We came across another rider with the same 1945 model German bike that Adolpho let Doug ride when we were in Spain.

This one is being used as a touring bike by this father/son duo. 

Mom is just starting up the hill with daughter in tow.

Hold my beer and watch this!

Some international signs need no interpretation.

Just north of Hordt, we came across this scene.

He was trying to start this very nicely restored old tractor without much success. We didn't understand most of what he said but we are pretty sure there was some cussing involved. He was having to heat the manifold with a blowtorch. It never did start while we were there.

Even though the surface looked smooth, the river has a hefty current.

We arrived at the hotel late in the day, tired but dry for the first time in days and in need of clean clothes. The daily special in the Biergarten was 1/2 a chicken, potatoes and salad bar for 7.95 euros. We ordered 2 and ate everything!