Hot Days on the Riverside: From Flaach to Basel to Montbéliard
Elizabeth Sunday 28 June 2015: Flaasch to Basel My heart is thumping GOOD MORNING as I climb out of Flaach to the clamber and clang of church bells. It’s 9:45 am…
The Rhine Delta and Konstanz to Flaach- 26th & 27th June 2015 (Days 33 &34)
Friday 26 June 2015: The Rhine Delta to Konstanz The day is stunning and summery as I ride along the Rhine Delta toward Lake Constance (or the Bodensee as it’s…
The Rhine and Lake Constance … I’ve heard of those – 25 June (Day 32)
Aldi is called Hoffer in Austria and before leaving Bludenz I get an Austrian SIM card here for less that EUR 2. Sarah and Tobi had helped me research my…
Feeling Restored and Ready for What’s Next – Bludenz 24th June (Day 31)
When my train arrived yesterday evening Tobi was, unexpectedly, on the platform to meet me. I’ve found the guest/host relationship on CouchSurfing and Warm Showers – both web-based hospitality communities…
I’ve Ridden Over an Alpine Pass – Now what? Indecision in Austria (Day 30 – 23 June)
My first morning in Austria hasn’t begun well. It’s rained overnight and I wake to find a fairly significant puddle between the floor of my tent and the footprint (groundcloth)…
Climbing to Austria (Days 26 – 29, 19 – 22 June 2015)
Friday 19 June In Meran I seem to have left behind the last of the immigrants – everyone has been white and mostly German-speaking since I left that city for…
Visiting the Missing – The Merano Jewish Museum & Synagogue (Day 25 – 18 June 2015)
Thursday 18 June My tourist map shows a Jewish Museum. One of my goals for this trip is to explore my Jewishness and look our European history more squarely in…
On the Divide: The Cities of Trentino-Alto Adige/South Tyrol (Bolzano/Bozen & Merano/Meran)
Days 22 – 24 (15 – 17 June 2015) Monday 15 June – From Rovereto to Bolzano I wake to the sound of the nearby church bells striking seven and…
Bicycling Italy: Along the Adige River (Days 20 & 21 – Firenze to Rovereto)
One aim of my midlife gap year of travel was to visit old friends. I’ve spent the past few days doing just that in Firenze, and feeling sort of emotionally…
The Warm Embrace of Friendship Renewed – Firenze (Days 17 – 19; 10 – 12 June)
10 June 2015 – Wednesday It rains while I am on the train to Florence. A pelting rain slanting into the Tuscan landscape of green hills, fields of crops and…