Day 23 - Albbruck to Schaffhausen

 71.4 km - Total so far 1,283.90 km - Route pedalled.      Relive Video (with pictures)

Video of the day: Europe Day 23

We are safe and secure in Schaffhausen, Switzerland.

Last night we had a nice meal at the hotel restaurant and a very restful sleep. We were not at all bothered by the sound and the building shaking from the high speed trains.

We got an early start (8 a.m) because we had 72 km ride into the foothills of Switzerland. Not big mountains but a lot more climbing than we experienced to date.

Our moving time on the bikes was 5 hours 25 minutes.  After an easy start from Albbruck, it was a whole day of up the hill, down the hill, pass through a village on the hill side, go down to one in the valley, pass by the Rhine and repeat till we got to Schaffhausen.

For the first time, we had to stop at a depanneur to get groceries. Today is Good Friday and everything is closed except for gas bars/depanneurs. Tomorrow Saturday, we have to shop and carry food for Sunday (stores closed every week) and Easter Monday (all stores closed).

We were hoping to see the Rhinefalls but could not. The EuroVelo 15 path leads you right to the falls. Once there, all you can see as a cyclist is 'No bicycles'. Most outdoor attractions let you push the bike around but not at the falls. It is a no bike zone. Hélène did a walk about and informed me that there are line ups everywhere and it is not free. Since we have seen the falls in Niagara, we decided to give these a pass.

It was easy to find out way the Backpacker Federnhut hotel (something like a hostel). We have a nice room, no fancy, but nice after a hard day of cycling.

Our next destination is Tuttlingen 80 kms away. It's uphill all the way and after today's experience, we decided to get there by doing 2 x 40 km vice 1 x 80 km. We will give up a full day break to make up the kms. As you check the map of  EuroVelo 6 from Tuttlingen, you see it's downhill all the way to Vienna.