Of Grapevines, Castles and Storks: Alsace by bike... Offwiller, Alsace to Basel, Switzerland (21 July to 27 July, 2014)

After a nearly 3-week stay in Offwiller, we hit the road again heading south.  We travelled most of the length of Alsace in this leg.  Due to an upcoming family engagement in the UK (Katy's older brother's wedding), we needed to reach Basel, Switzerland and the Euro Airport.

Our ride began through a series of charming Alsatian villages off the beaten path.

We rode from Offwiller directly to Strasbourg, and the second half of this ride followed a canal bike path.

Our picnic spot along the canal.

now in Strasbourg, this is the E.U. Parliament building.

seen at the edge of Place de la Republique

Bodhi's got a new smile recently, a squinty-eyed old man's smile, smug and cheerful at once.

Strasbourg is a visual phenomenon...

Our fabulous WS host, Cathy, put us up for 2 nights in Strasbourg.  Cathy is also an accomplished cyclist, having ridden a large amount of South America amongst other things.

The you-gotta-see-it-to-believe-it Strasbourg Cathedral.  This is the principal facade.

inside the cathedral.

Bodhi having a look about in the plaza outside the cathedral.

the sublime views from the platform at the base of the belfry, a long spiral-staircase climb up above the city.

Bo checking out the panorama.

gargoyle spotted on the descent.

we ducked into a gingerbread shop, an Alsatian specialty...

but all this was extremely overpriced!

enjoying the weather and the scene in Petite France, the historic and touristic quarter of Strasbourg.

classic Petite France beauty.

leaving Strasbourg now, Bodhi is on form.

Alsatian sunset

this was inevitable... the evolution of a clothes line on the back of the Cougar.

you know its wine country when you've got grape presses converted into planters.

entering the enchanting village of Barr...

the atmospheric center of Barr.

.

Bo ends up in the fountain!

and has a look about the place.

now properly following La Route des Vins, a touristic cycling route through vineyards and charming villages.

these will be turned into fine white wine before too long.

the scenery in these parts is mind-blowing...

our campsite near Scherwiller.

feelin' strong in his new Wellies...

fantastic viewing of two storks in a rooftop nest in Klintzheim...

and the nearby church tower.

being somewhat lunatic, we cycled up to 850m Chateau de Haut-Koenigsbourg.  It was well-worth the effort, even though we endured torrential downpours upon arriving!  The castle, dating from the 12th century, offers rich insight into Alsatian history.

the fantastically decorated dining room.

the views from this height were surreal...

group-shot in the castle

here we are, gathering ourselves after a long steep curvy descent from the castle, and after cycling through pouring rain.

departing Ribeauville we saw loads of storks in the agricultural fields...

we stopped up for a night in Colmar and were hosted by WS host Olivier and family.

a morning break heading from Colmar to Basel.  Bodhi explores the corn processing structure.

we met up with the Rhine River cycling trails and followed them all the way into Basel.

here's the great Rhine itself.

monument to Franco-German friendship found in Chalampe.

we picnicked here in Chalampe, green roof and all.

this route into Basel forms part of the EuroVelo 6 route, one of Europe's premier long-distance cycling routes.

now in Basel, Switzerland, our sixth country visited on this trip.  This phenomenal building is the Marktplatz...

these characters decorate the facade of the Marktplatz...

whilst inside these ghouls rule the show.

Basel's Munsterplatz.

Katy slips past a great depiction of George and the Dragon.

From Basel we caught a plane to Manchester and would spend nearly 2 weeks in the UK...