EV6 day 27

Day 27 fell a day late! After day 26 I was under the weather with sore throat and some form of lurgy but was hoping to push through. When the proposed day 27 arrived Passepartout had also succumbed to the lurgy. We were forced to cash in a rest day ( that’s what the spare ones were earned for- emergencies). He stayed in the van on his campsite by the lake and I booked another night in my hotel by the airfield. Rest will hopefully have done us both a power of good.

I suspect that Mengen is quite a nice little town under normal circumstances. I had to walk to it from the hotel which is on the outskirts. I had no van and not even a bike. It is bank holiday Monday and I wanted to see if any of the restaurants were open- I had eaten dinner on day 26 and lunch on the rest day in the Cockpit restaurant cafe on the airfield! Having walked in and found the place mostly deserted I decided that at a 3 kms each way walk, on the chance that one of the pizza places might stay open late enough for dinner was to much of a risk. So schnitzel at the Cockpit, it is!

My little oasis terrace at the hotel.

The Old Posthouse at Mengen

The town hall

How about this for an old pub? Obviously it was shut when I got there!

Start is good. Passepartout arrives and we go to where we left off and away. Weather is good. The track mostly follows the river and it gets smaller and smaller and runs through tight gorges. We have to share space with the railway line- and other friends! There are groups of children camping by it, canoeing, and having fun. After a brief tea stop with Passepartout I start section 2. After a short while I reach Beuron, a small town. It is finally time to part company with our companion for 2500 kms, the Mighty Danube. It is sad to see her go but she is a mere youth here, happy and carefree with the children, yet to grow into the mighty and formidable icon that cruise ships take visitors to marvel at.

We leave the Danube but that means we have to cycle out of the valley and over a range of hills to the next system- deep joy! Just before I leave I meet a German couple having a weeks cycling holiday. They look at my bike and say ‘we dont see may of those anymore- they are all electric’ -lovely people that they are………..!

It is a right struggle up the hill to get over the top, but it is worth it. I see loads of eagles who are kings of the sky here and a low flying fighter plane- you don’t see many of them anymore either. Eventually I get over the watershed and my heart rate and breathing start to return to normal. It’s a bit switchback but a lot of downhill getting my hard won gains back. When I get to the bottom of the hill I notice vines again! Remember what vines mean boys and girls? Yes- slopes and hills! Soon we reach Lake Konstanz. It is lovely but the poor people are kept out for a while until some public beaches are reached. There are sailboats and all sorts of water sports being enjoyed.
Before I know it I am at the Swiss border – Schengen area now and I just cycle past a post telling me I am now in Switzerland. A good day done and another milestone as we leave Germany.