Saturday, May 8, 2010

Gluttony and tire repairs.


I started the day cycling alone from Laufenburg to Schaffenhausen along the Rhine (Serge was driving Paul to Zurich to catch a train to Paris, and I planned to meet up with Serge later). It was a very nice ride, the Rhine is slow and peaceful, the weather was great for a change, and gentle hills made it just enough of a challenge for day 18.


About an hour into the ride I came across a roadside stand where a nice Swiss woman was selling homemade cake and coffee. I stopped for a piece of appflekuchen and coffee. I couldn't resist!




I resumed my ride, my stomach content, yet lo and behold, no more than 30 minutes after the appflekuchen, I can across something even more irresistable, a large sign at a local brewery announcing “Samstag - Wurst vom grill” - and home made bread – I had a veal bratwurst (mine is the 2nd from the top), and it was fabulous.




My gluttony then took a break, and a detour for a tire repair. I had a flat, fixed it after some difficulty then found that my only other tube had a tear at the valve. Luckily I managed to get a nice German fellow and his wife to drive me to a bike shop in Germany (just over the Rhine) where I purchased a new tube, then was rolling through the German countryside back to Switzerland and Schaffenhausen.


Just as I was thinking of the bratwurst, and regretting that I had not indulged in a second one, I came across a fair in a small German town (Lauchringen) with a booth selling Haxen mit Bier vom Fass - translation: a slow cooked bbq pork shank (apparently a local specialty) and local beer. Naturally I couldn't resist. It was outstanding. A crowning culinary experience.





I then, believe it or not, pedalled the last 35 km to Schaffenhausen, yet another lovely swiss town. This is the view from my chair as I enjoy a kaffee mit milch (lower right corner)  in the warmth of the setting sun.





All in all, a copious day.





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