Cycling along the Danube

When Matt and I first got our jobs in Tokyo for this upcoming school year, I had big plans for our summer break. I thought that as it will be a while before we would possibly come back to Europe again and that once we got to Tokyo our lives would be very hectic, I imagined doing a lazy driving tour across some of the Mediterranean countries drinking wine, swimming and generally lazing about.

Matt had other ideas. Actually, sometimes the problem with Matt is that he has too many ideas and then irrationally changes his mind every minute about which idea is best. He wanted to something with some ADVENTURE and something DIFFERENT. When we finally decided to do a bike ride, it took some convincing that because we were unfit riders and that our language capabilities are not that great, that riding in Germany along the Danube would be best. Then I had to convince him that we wouldn’t be able to ride 3000 odd kilometres during our 3 and a bit weeks break all the way from Donaueschingen (Black Forest) to the Bl

ack Sea. What is it with men and lengths?

The ride along the Danube is quite easy, if you go the right way. There are not many steep hills and you can usually just cruise along at an easy pace. We tried not to pack too much  for our journey to minimise the weight of our bikes (but we did pack a tent and sleeping bags and mats just in case we didn’t find accommodation once we decided to stop.)

Day 1 – We go the wrong way… Not just a slight mistake, but a HUGE *&^%$^#%)&*(*) mountain kind of mistake. As we pushed our loaded bikes up an impossibly steep hill, we thought of people we passed along the way and felt for them. It was not until after much sweat and half an hour later that we knew what we had done. We were going to be the only riders going this way today and probably for the year.

Having done very little exercise in the previous weeks (I had sprained my ankle and Matt was just lazy, I mean busy…) this hill climb really took it out of us. Getting back on our bike at the top was not something I really wanted to do. Luckily for us, a nice local German man was able to tell us where we were and how off track we were (“You climbed ze mountain wiz your bikes???). Now that we knew where we were, all we needed to do was go down the mountain again. We couldn’t go down the same way. The track we had come up on was rocky and uneven. We went down the fast way…down the highway.

I’m not a speed demon. In fact, I don’t like to go too fast, especially when my brakes are not tuned properly. Matt on the other hand loved it. I nearly had a heart attack just watching him go down the mountain. He had no helmet but he had plenty of balls as he screamed down the mountain winding his way in record speed to the bottom. I, on the other hand, tried to mimic the actions of ABS braking systems as I rode down the mountain. The gradient of the road was so steep (and my brakes were that bad) that even when I clamped down hard on my rear brakes (my knuckles were white), my bikes still slid down the mountain at good speed. Luckily I still had front brakes but I really didn’t want to be thrown over the top of my bike so I used on and off, like ABS. By the time I got down the mountain, Matt was so concerned about me that he looked like he was about to come back up to find me in case I had an accident.

There are many little towns along the Danube, some bigger than others and some more exciting than others. During our trip we generally stayed in cheap little B&B style accommodation which were fine for what we were after. Most of the towns, however, were closed and deserted by the time we arrived so for most nights it was an adventure trying to find dinner and then going back to our room to watch CNN and BBC. Exciting stuff eh? Our favourite accommodation places included a philosophical and theological conference centre in Beuron, our Japansese sized bedroom which just fits a double bed and a shower cubicle room in an eccentric Spanish woman’s hotel in Ulm and JC’s old town apartment in Regensburg (JC’s place was free, accommodated hot pot dinners and he had great beer!).

Unfortunately for Matt and myself, our inability to read maps and follow directions was not the only thing hindering our ride. We had to replace a couple of tyres and a pedal crank on Matt’s bike. Luckily for us, we were close to big towns when the mishaps occurred but we still had to wait as small towns seemed to love their long lunches and were closed accordingly. For these things to happen to Matt’s bike is particularly funny for me as he was always telling me my bike was a piece of poo. My bike survived the whole trip and I was the only one carrying a spare tyre!

In addition to our bike problems, the weather god was not on our side and after a few days of riding in the rain after Ulm, we decided to give up. The forecast was not looking good for the rest of the week and it was our summer holiday after all. So we finished our Danube journey in Regensburg and rested our laurels at our good friend JC’s place. Being in a great place with great beer and a great host was a fitting end to our cycling journey.

Bobbing in Basel

The Rhein river runs through the city of Basel. This is the same river which I saw outside of my window in Düsseldorf for nearly 2 years. However, there is something a little strange about this river in this town…it has people bobbing in it!

The Rhein is quite a big river and has a lot of boat traffic upon it. In Duesseldorf, I often saw huge barges and ferries going up and down the river. In Basel however, if you are daring enough, you too can throw yourself in and bob along in the fast flowing current next to the pleasure and transport boats. All you need are some swimming skills and enough guts to get yourself out again.

You may be asking the question, ‘What do I do with all my stuff?’ Well the answer is simple. You carry it with you in the river. All you need is a waterproof bag. If you are cheap, then you can improvise using regular rubbish bags. Thankfully for us, I was already carrying a waterproof sack in my luggage and we bought a ‘Wickelfisch‘ to carry most of our belongings. The waterproof bags are great as they can hold your stuff inside, but they also act as a great floatation device for when you want to just lie back and watch the riverbank go by.

When I arrived in Basel, the weather was already unbelievably warm so it was no problem donning the swimsuit and jumping in the Rhein. Surprisingly, the water was not that cold and provided some much needed soothing coolness to the body. Luckily for us, Matt received a waterproof camera from ISL as a leaving gift this year so we took the camera with us and filmed some of our adventure in the river.  The following clip has been edited very quickly so you’ll have to put up with the amateur quality. Matt says that he’ll do a proper edit when we get to Tokyo.

 

Getting in is relatively easy. Getting out of the river is a little more stressful. Firstly, you have to decide which area you would like to finish your ride. Secondly, you have to execute your plan in front of many onlookers. (Don’t forget that we are right in the middle of town here…) The current in the Rhein is pretty fast. I don’t think the footage really captures how fast we were bobbing but it’s pretty fast. There is no one to help you out…you are on your own. Then, there’s the boats, jetties and buoys on the side of the river you need to navigate around. When you find a nice looking set of stone steps on the bank, you have to direct yourself to it and then use your feet to anchor your body on some of the sharp stones on the river floor. As I did this, I struggled for a while to balance as the current was relentless in wanting to push me further down the river. However, I won the battle against the current and was able to climb out (most ungracefully) of the Rhein. (Btw…Matt did too.)

Bobbing in the Rhein was great fun and I thoroughly recommend it to everyone. We have kept our Wickelfish for the next suitable river we come across and can’t wait for the next time. Maybe if you have a great river for us to bob in around your area, let us know.