Switzerland

This is Kenzie.
This is one of our unbelievable hikes.
This is Chrissy with Mary K, Kenzie's mother.

Switzerland

These are some cool looking things at a market in Bern Switzerland.
This is in Bern.
This is where we stayed with our good friends Kenzie and Mandel Kaufmann. They live in this house in Grindelwald. Grindelwald is a small town nestled between the intense peaks of the Swiss Alps not far from Interlaken.
Chrissy is standing in front of the door to the guest room were we stayed.

From Low to High

Days 6 and 7 as we rode our bikes to Switzerland.

Nothing like the quaint, colorful, flowering, straight beautiful villages and vineyards of Alsace to lift the spirits. So much fun biking through these little towns that you don't mind the hills you may have to climb to get to them. This post covers two days, but there's not a lot to say. Chrissy and I were sort of speechless during the whole experience.
That is until approximately one hour after this picture was taken, when I needed Chrissy to say yes to a rather important question.

She did.

Here's a video we showed at the wedding. At 6:42 into the video, after all the sappy hey look at us we're in love, stuff you can watch France Bike Trip 3 of the trilogy (it's called paris2switz.blogspot.com) Then it goes back to the wedding. You can just drag the cursor to 6:42. No, seriously it's bad.

The Low Point

After enjoying Strasbourg for most of the day we got back on our bikes pretty late. It was about 5 pm. We wanted to visit Germany since we were so close. So we mapped out a course through some small German villages and would plan on arriving back on the French side where we knew there was a Campground at a town called Rhinau. Germany was fun because we realized very quickly that we didn't know a single word of German. Asking people for directions became interesting. But we got along. I noticed that a lot of the houses in Germany have a standard size and shape. The brown Stick work on white is also a very popular color scheme. Another difference was that all the highways seemed to have bike paths next to them.

It was getting later and later and I was getting tired and grouchy. Poor Chrissy was trying to keep my spirits up. I wasn't doing all that well. I was tired and cold and ready to be in the tent. That's when we thought we were at the low point. I could see a light ahead and knew we were close to the Rhine river and that just on the other side we would find our camp. Unaware, we soon realized that there was no bridge, but only a ferry that doesn't run at 12 midnight. After the conference at the mound, we decided the only thing to do would be to backtrack a solid 30 km to take the other crossing. It was 2 am when we found our campground. It was 1 am when a cold, windy rain started. We had to take a picture.

The Sabbath

We got all the way to Metz to find out the next morning that the train we were planning to take to strasbourg in time for church did not accommodate bikes. So instead we had to find the church there in Metz. The irony was that the one family I wanted to see at church in Strasbourg was visiting Metz this week. This is sister Lanoux. I was also able to regain contact with another family I'd been seeking as well. The Lord was with us and our righteous desires.

We did catch the afternoon train to Strasbourg which began the Alsatian part of our trip. Alsace is a region of France situated next to Germany. There are German influences in the architecture and the food. On Monday we ate a Choucroute which is random parts of the pig laid atop a pile of sauerkraut. And our favorite, Tarte Flambee which is like a thin crust pizza with sour creme instead of red sauce.

Day 4

Day 4 began with a trip to the grocery store to stock up on our main staples of baguette, cheese, biscuit cookies, Orangina, and water. We also stopped at the Boulangerie for our favorite breakfast, Pain au Chocolat and other french pastries. Then we were on our way to Verdun. When we arrived in Verdun we were tired and exhausted but happy to have lunch in our sacks.

Our goal was to be to Strasbourg for Church on Sunday. It was already Saturday afternoon. I guess we decided we weren't quite tired enough because we decided to bike another 50 miles to Metz before hitching a ride on the train to Strasbourg. Even though we were in a hurry we still had time for this little old man and his apples.

By avoiding hills and having a little wind at our back, we made great time. The sun set and it was dark dark. About 15 km away from Metz we asked a group of boisterous people where we might find a Campground close to Metz. His name was Daniel and I can't remember the rest, but they invited us in for drinks and cookies. Hey more cookies! They also let us use their Internet. Daniel was intensely energetic, he collects antiques and is a Train Conductor or Engineer we call them. He's super excited for is retirement at 50. He's doing it sooner than expected because the new right winged President Sarkozy is planning to take away early retirement altogether.
They did help us find our camp ground.

Day 3 came to a close with a solid 40 miles in the afternoon and into the night as we finally got away from the scenic hills and got down into the plains. At about 6 pm we realized we didn't have much for food left in our packs and we wouldn't be able to find anything to eat that night or the next morning unless we hauled the additional miles to a campground. The campground was near a town large enough to have a little grocery store enabling us to purchase breakfast. It was also somewhat out of our way. We arrived after 10 pm to a very wet with dew camp.

Champagne

After a night in the Hostel we went south from Reims along the "Route Touristique de Champangne" At the base of Les Montagnes de Reims were perched a serious of quaint towns and acres and acres of beautiful orchards and vineyards. Grapes were fun to eat as well.

Here we stopped for a drink of water next to a WWII bunker. These bunkers are real common in the northern part of france. In this picture, if you click to enlarge, you can see my handywork. I went to the hardware store in preparation for the trip and rigged up that 1.5 liter water bottle holder as well as the brackets holding the lock and the hook on the handle bars holding the day bag.

Day 2

Because of the late start we managed to get into the city of Laon after dark. While stopping for a snack at a round about a driver stopped and directed us to a campground not far down the road. Day 2 began with french pastries and hot chocolate and ended again after dark, this time in the city of Reims. It turns out there is no public camping anywhere near Reims but there is a nice Hostel with a bike garage. The fact that we arrived in Reims only after 2 days of biking confirmed my initial guess. Riding with someone makes you more interested in seeing and experiencing things as a tourist and decreases the amount that you bike each day. However it increases the number of days you want to ride. This way is much better, no doubt.

Apple Picking

Chrissy loves to eat apples. Apple trees were abundant and without stealing any apples we found it fun to knock on doors and ask the residents if we could pick one or two. Of course the answer was always yes and we managed to learn things as well. Like the fact that Anne rents the 15th century castle from a couple that lives in Belgium, and the fact that Monique was super shy.

Day 1

After waking up late, undoubtedly because of jet lag, we had lunch with Pascal and began our trip later in the day around 3 pm. We were well rested, well fed and ready to face the road ahead. Hey that rhymed. The picture shows us in the Town Center of St. Quentin where we bought a Michelin regional road map.

Pascal

Pascal lives in St. Quentin, a 90 minute train ride north of Paris. I served 6 months of my mission in the town of 30,000 and we became great friends. He owns a french pizza place called Buonjourno Pizza and laughs at American Pizza because "no matter what you put on it, it all tastes the same" The pizza he made for us had gyro meat, creme fraiche, and goat cheese among other stuff. It's always amazing chez Pascal. Pascal might be my favorite person in the world. He's the funniest guy I know with a capacity to love the size of Miami.

A Day in Paris

Navigating the streets of Paris on a bike is one of the most exhilarating things. I can't seem to get enough of it. My observation is that no one uses a turn signal despite the overabundance of merging and compromise that takes place on the fast-paced chaos-esque rodways. What they do instead is subconsciously everyone is watching everyone's eyes. They're hyper alert. As far as I'm concerned it's really safe for bikes because it's real easy for them to see your intentions.

So we spent a day in Paris cruising around the big sights before catching a train to my our buddy Pascal's house.

Arrival

Probably the most awkward part of the trip is leaving the airport with a really large and awkward shaped bike box in hand. You have to carry all your bags on your shoulders and the box in your hands to the information booth to get oriented, on the shuttle, and then just far enough to find a dumpster where you can leave the cardboard remains. Putting the bike together while everyone is watching like they've never seen it done before is the fun part.

Introduction

In 2005 I took my bike on a plane to Paris and navigated my way down through the Loire Valley and finished my small bike tour just beyond the city of Tours. I was overwhelmed by how easy and entertaining it was to bike long distances through the unbelievably scenic roads of France. I knew it wouldn't be the last time I would do such a trip. In 2006 a cheap flight found the day before, launched me into another two week trip. This time the bike portion lead me from Paris through Normandy with the coastal wonder of Mont St. Michel as the destination. I couldn't help but heed the pulse of the rolling hills and winding roads of France to do it yet again in 2007. This trip is different in several ways. We are starting just north of Paris in St. Quentin and traveling through Alsace to finally end up in Switzerland. I'm more prepared than on previous trips, and the most important difference is that Chrissy Thompson is with me. We are going to write this blog together.
Here are videos I created documenting the previous two years of my Journeys in France.

2005


2006

Preface

This Blog is set up to give anyone that's interested in the latest bike adventure a chance to know at least what we're up to. Our understanding of this whole blog concept is new and vulnerable so have patience.