Logis Sequoia Arbois

... in the meadows. It was clear the lake, though low** down, would be cold. We finally arrived on the north-west shore of the lake, to a less-developed area that didn’t have many hiking trails. We hoped to find a discreet place for the c**emony and the Swiss love to hike; snow, rain, whatev** the conditions you’ll find hik**s out. We parked at the top of a steep hill and took a hiking train down to the wat**s edge, about a fifteen minute ...

... the tale of captivity of Francois Bonivard. Francois was chained to a pillar in the dungeon for 6 years. We had a glimpse of the Swiss Alps which we will have to cross this weekend! YIKES.

Weather is good…car is great….being out of America…..priceless!

Sorry No photos....the connection speed is very slow.......

... in style. My highlight was seeing a pair of storks in their giant nest atop a tower. After that it was a short distance to Colmar and a hotel that actually had a kettle and access to an iron!! I was very happy. That night we had the best meal we've had in the Little venice section of Colmar..more about this town next time.

PS Forgot to mention there was an even bigger well at the citadelle....John very happy!! More sticks and stones dropped down!!

... br>After that, we had lunch at one of the restaurants inside the citadel. Then we had ice cream. When we left, one of the waitresses came running after us thinking we hadn't paid, but I spoke with her in French and English and we got it cleared up. She hadn't seen the other waitress take the money and leave our change and had just seen the empty bill holder with our bill on it.
Next, we saw the aquarium, which was not very extensive but had ...

... shrug. The other side does avoid major roads and is a vast improvement. To cap the slowness issue I'm then caught by the swiss girl who also stayed at Grein. She made the same choices re the side to ride on; as she put it "you never go back". As our riding paces are fairly compatible and we deal with path issues amicably its nice to have someone to ride with. Also my pace picks up a bit and riding into the wind is a bit easier when ...

... hostel isn't really busy enough to be fun. It seems to be rather informal in terms of knowing who stays and rely's on room key codes to control access. The kitchen is a fridge, microwave and kettle but there is a TV and about eight really comfortable chairs (this is a lot by youth hostel standards). Tonight I'm the only one in the room although I've seen another couple emerge from a room at the end. This is last unofficial hostel in Germany so its back to the institutions.

... Overall its quite similar although the beer garden now concentrates on expensive food. The monument is as it was. I also spent £2 on a fab ice cream here reasoning that I needed the sugar and fat. It was lush. Kelheim also had a net cafe but I didn't really have time. >From here to Regensberg was bank holiday city with lots of people out fishing. As we got close to Regensberg the number of cyclists increased to dominate any roads we were routed ...

... a garden has a logs in store for burning. This has been the case since I crossed into Germany. Its a major industry which doesn't really exist on the same scale in the uk. Tonight I'm on an official "basic" campsite which seems to mean a portaloo and no fee's. As it's most peoples last day of work before tuesday I'm a bit worried that the riverside will become party central. So I'm hidden away in the trees where drunk ...

... it keeps on going up. It was also spitting with rain. So much hard pedalling. In the end the castle has pushed the mileage to a respectable 44. In fact my knees ache quite a lot. The castle and the youth hostel is stupendous. Its the original thing with terrific views, tiled floors, painted wooden ceilings with huge beams and rough plaster walls. And curiously heated like a green house too; must cost a fortune. I'm given a single room but the other guests are two dads ...

... rondelles of cheese in two hours. Of course, the magic isn't in the making of the cheese, it is in the aging of it. This cheese gets aged up to 18 months. With portable phones, we made our way through the exhibit and to the cheese-making room, learning everything there is to know about the process beginning with the cow. We were surprised to learn that a cow eats 100 kilos of grass and drinks 35 litres of water every single day. We then had a cheesy lunch in ...