Day 23 . Rheinfall- Konstanz 60 km

After some very heavy overnight rain, we woke to grey skies and cold temperatures but luckily the rainfall had passed by.

We breakfasted in the guest house bar. Other locals were also in there for coffee and chats; we were the only ones not smoking!

It seemed odd to us, as we’ve not been in a smokey bar for years.

We set off at 9am, with the idea of getting to a bike shop. My chain had been jumping the cogs, making a scary din, and I was worried it had become stretched and needed replacing. We quickly found an open bike shop with 3 people who were all mending bikes.

We carried on along the Rhine on the border of Switzerland and Germany, not sure what country we were in. You could only easily tell by looking at the parked car licence plates, either a D for Germany or CH for Switzerland. The border doesn’t always run along the centre of the river, that would be far too simple!!

The great thing about this trip has been that you never know what to expect around the next corner. The map said we were coming into another town called Stein am Rhein.

I knew it was going to be different when I saw tourist buses with toilets in the car park. There were lots of people ahead so we had to push the bikes through the arch to see some amazing decorated old buildings.

10 minutes later we were at our lakeside apartment, and the beach. It sounds grand, but it’s very sparsely furnished: one glass and one bowl to share!!

At least the bed is comfy.

Here for a day of rest before setting off tomorrow for the final few days.