A week has passed without internet, but not without rain. It was cloudy, rainy and sometimes even pouring wet. But nevertheless we have some spectacular days behind us. From Prato alla Stelvio in Italy we cycled up the Ofen pass (Passo de Fuorn). We soon entered Swizterland and stopped at Tschierv (alt. 1700). We wanted to camp, but as it started to rain very hard we decided to take a room in the local hotel. After breakfast we had to wait until it stopped pouring, but at nine we took off and reached the pass (alt. 2149) at about noon. More or less dry, dark skies but beautiful. Then down to Zernez (alt. 1375) and up again in the valley of the river Inn to Madulain (alt. 1700), a small village just before St. Moritz. We camped next to a wine barrel which was so big that we used it as our dining room. A very rainy night followed, but in the morning it was dry again. The climb to the Albula pass started immediately, very steep in the beginning. Again at about noon we reached the pass (alt 2315), again dark skies, temp 9 Celsius. The descent was marvoullous: at a certain point the railway of the Rhaetische Bahn emerged out of a tunnel and made its way down the narrow valley, using 3 winding tunnels and lots of (120 year-old) bridges. Now and then a train passed and it was astounding to see the same train go by on different sides and levels several times before it finally dissapeared completely. We camped at a small campsite at Tiefencastel, where a hestitant sun warmed us up for the rest of the afternoon.
From there we rode through a spectacular Schlucht down into the Rhine valley and Chur. A nice town, but one of the wettest camps we ever had.
From here we decided to follow this valley to the Netherlands, still some 1200 kms to go. It is possible to follow the Rhein Radweg (Rhine bicycle road) which runs along this river from the source, upwards from Chur until the North sea near Rotterdam in the Netherlands).
Next stop was Triessen in Liechtenstein, where at 19.00 hrs everything closed. It was the prince’s birthday, and really all Liechtensteiners were off to the capital for the national party. Cf. our Koninginnedag (queen’s day). Not very convenient for us at that moment, since we still had to buy our food. But there are kind people everywhere, so we were helped quickly. Then Hoechst at the Bodensee was our next stop. After that came Konstanz, very beautiful old city centre. Next stop was Schaffhausen, where we admired the Rheinfall, a waterfall where the already mighty river Rhine drops some 20 meters. A tourist hot spot, and with good reasons. From then the weather turned better and now, again 2 days later, we are enjoying a day of non-cycling in sunny and warm Basel. A city with beauty. We will, among other things, visit the Vitra Design museum, for which we’ll have to cross the border into Germany again. Tomorrow we’ll set off for Colmar, then Strassbourg and further north through the Rhine valley. In about 10 days we hope to reach home again.
The tracks from Orado alla Stelvio till Basel:
Download 2010-08-11Prad-Tschierv-
Download 2010-08-12Tschierv Madulain
Download 2010-08-13Madulain Tiefencastel
Download 2010-08-14Tiefencastel Chur
Download 2010-08-15Chur-Triessen
Download 2010-08-16Triesen Hoechst
Download 2010-08-17Hoechst Kreuzlingen
Download 2010-08-18Kreuzlingen Schaffhausen
Download 2010-08-19Schaffh Wildshut
Download 2010-08-20Waldhut Basel
The climb to Tshierv (Switzerland), halway the Ofen pass:
The profile:
From Tscherv to Madulain, across the Ofen pass:
The profile across the Ofen pass:
From Madulain to Tiefencastel, across the Albula Pass:
The profile of the Albula crossing (with a strange failure, max height 2315 alt.):
From Tiefencastel to Chur on the river Rhein:
The profile:
Chur – Triessen (Liechtenstein):
The profile:
Triessen – Hoechst (Austria, near the Bodensee):
The profile:
Hoechst – Kreuzlingen (near Konstanz), along the shores of the Bodensee:
From Konstanz to Schaffhausen, along the river Rhine:
From Schaffhausen to Wildshut, crisscrossing the river and the border between Switzerland and Germany:
Waldshut – Basel: