Dipping into Switzerland: Basel to Luzerne (8 - 13 June 2016)

Our "Welcome to Switzerland!" consisted of a great stay in Basel courteous of Barbara, a Warm Showers host, and her family.  We would now cycle onwards to Luzerne, Switzerland, where Jeff's brother Jason and wife Sonja live in a small town called Horw. Our last visit together was in 2013 when Bodhi was 3 weeks old to celebrate Jason and Sonja's wedding.  Along the way, we would stay with a colorful series of friends and family from both the north of England and Switzerland...

In Basel we were hosted by a great family who also run an artesenal knife-smithing shop...

They specialize in Damascus steel knives.

Our generous host Barbara got on famously with Bo.

The girls all together.  Sina, Barbara, Katy and Anna.

Bo tears up the block in Basel. 

We first rode out of Basel following the Rhine as it snakes through the city...

... but we got bogged down shortly later in the industrial morass east of Basel, Pratteln-Augst, a never-ending nightmare of pharmaceutical plants and riverside factories.  

In Rheinfelden we were hosted by Stephen and Simone, family friends of Katy's from the same village in the north of England (Nenthead, Alston).  They are likewise an international family (Simone is from Brazil) and have had similar visa/immigration issues with the UK - their solution has been to move to Switzerland.  

Simone gave birth to their second son, Jacob, one week before our arrival.

Bodhi and Gabriel playing together.  They were born 2 months apart in 2013 in the same hospital in Newcastle.

This fab photo required nearly 10 minutes to get it right!

Bo munches some ice cream in Rheinfelden.

The Rhine at Rheinfelden, between Germany and Switzerland.  Running high from the absurdly rainy springtime.

Switzerland is a good place for bicycles: loads of bike paths and well-signed bike routes.

After leaving the Rhine we cycled up through small villages...

... including one sizeable climb to 569m...

... before descending down to Brugg on the River Aarau...

... and then Windisch.  Here we were to be hosted for a night by Stephen's brother, Douglas, who has been an expat in Switzerland for nearly 25 years...

We arrived to a welcome of cold beers and the first match of the 2016 Eurocopa (France-Romania).  The boys chilling.  (L-R: Stephenj, Bodhi, Douglas, Jeff)

Moving on towards Luzerne, we cycled the Seetal valley with its twin lakes, including the one above: Baldeggersee.

A sublime scene here: stork nest with baby stork, backed by the distant snowy Alps.

The Seetal is loaded with kites.

Nearing our destination for the night, Ballwil, we witnessed clearing skies and the great massif of Mt. Pilatus at dusk.

In Ballwil we were hosted by Sonja's parents, Sepp and Anita.  The evening included a gourmet dinner, many drinks including artesenal pear schnapps, and plenty of storytelling to fill in the three years since we've seen each other!  On Sunday morning we headed out on a short walk around the village...

... where Bo explored some artful gardening.

A wonderful moment before we would move along to Luzerne and Horw.

Sepp and Anita accompanied us on bikes from Ballwil to Eschenbach...

... where Anita tried out hauling  Bodhi.

Entering the Reuss valley.  Waving the Swiss flag for solidarity,

Some fanstastic wood-carving along the Reuss river trail,

Entering Luzerne on the Reuss...

... with its amazing riverside medieval installations.

Now above Horw, the house pictured is where Jason and Sonja live, backed by the beckoning Mt. Pilatus.

That's Uncle Jason!

Original chalkboard art by Jason and Sonja to mark a belated birthday party for Bodhi...

... including a Fish birthday cake covered in strawberries...

... and the featured gift: Bo's first real bike, courtesy of Jason and Sonja.  

Bo taking the bike out for an initial test.

Curious moment in Horw.

Jeff, Bo and Jason: boys, brothers, bench and bikes.

Wild rainbow seen from the kitchen window.

Katy and Sonja catching up.

Re-Doing the Doubs (along the EuroVelo6): chez André (Côte d'Or, Burgundy) to Basel, Switzerland (18 - 30 May 2016)

In this post we start off at one of the most influential and special of our WWOOF stays from two years previous: Chez André (Sourire et Nature), where we would witness the evolution of André's projects and celebrate Bodhi's 3rd birthday together with André.  We would then follow the Burgundy Canal as it snakes through the heart of Burgundy - briefly stopping off in Dijon - before carrying on until it merges with the Rhine-Rhone Canal at St. Jean-de-Losne.  Here we would reunite with the EuroVelo6, riding (as we had in 2014 in the opposite direction) the great river meanderings of the Doubs, including a triumphant return to Alsace (thus completing our full bike circuit of France!)... and onto Basel, Switzerland,

André's lower house, where we would be staying for a few nights.

La piece de resistance: Le pont-coeur (heart-shaped bridge): begun by Jeff and André in August, 2014...

... with its fantastic mosaic surface.

Bodhi taking some tips from the seasoned master.

Jeff pitches in a couple of days of work to help Andre's newest embellishments along: cascades on either side of the bridge emerging from heart-shaped cavities...

... in progress, a brick knee-wall to shape the splash area of the planned cascade.

Bodhi turns 3!  

Happy birthday  partiers: Jeff. Katy and André.

Bo has a go with some of his birthday gifts: a sword and a dragon.

Having departed André's, we linked up with the Burgundy Canal and headed towards Dijon.

The canal-side village of Vandenesse.

Bo stretches his legs on the canal towpath....

... pulling abreast with Katy....

... and witnessing lock-action with Jeff.

Idyllic canalside riding near Le Pont d'Ouche...

Bo helps Katy fill her water bottles with this manual pump.

In Dijon on a rainy Saturday; in the background is l'église St. Michel de Dijon...

... where we spotted a stained-glass version of Raphael's "Victory of St. Michael"...

... and Bodhi lit a candle for St. Jacques whilst reminiscing about our walk on the camino the previous summer. 

Gargoyles on the Dijon Cathedral...

... and St. Joan of Arc inside the cathedral.   A little ironic, since it was the Burgundians who sold her to the English (who then burnt her at the stake).

In Dijon we had been invited to stay in an apartment owned by André's family, and our neighbor there was André's niece, Ananda (pictured with Katy).

Departing Dijon, we faced muddy towpaths after the rains.

L'eglise de St.-Jean-Baptiste of St. Jean-de-Losne, with its multi-colored rooftiles, a trademark of Burgundy architecture.

Just beyond St. Jean-de-Losne, end of the Burgundy Canal and where we rejoined the EuroVelo 6, we began to follow the Rhone-Rhine Canal - completed in 1834 and meant to connect the North Sea with the Mediterranean.

In Dole a friendly local let Jeff try out this fancy urban electric bike designed for transporting kids or work materials.

Dole, on the river Doubs.

A good look at a cuckoo, which you hear incessantly bur rarely see!

Camping on a wild stretch of the Doubs, near some horses...

Crossing paths with a large cycling family along the Doubs.

Post-picnic pause.

Bo and Jeff, just before Besancon.

Fountain of the Dames, Besancon.

The birthplace of Victor Hugo, on Plaza Victor Hugo.

Heading up towards the Citadel, Besancon's most famous landmark, designed by...

...Vauban, Louis XIV's military architect, who carried out fortifications for over 300 French cities in the late 17th century.

The Citadel of Besancon is one of Vauban's masterpieces...

... with extensive views over Besancon and the Doubs River.

The Citadel is a kids' wonderland, as Bo climbed on dragons...

... watched baboons...

... and witnessed Siberian tigers.  

Onwards along the Doubs!

Bo makes friends with another 3 y.o. near Baume-les-Dames and they tear up the paths together.

Guess who the naked one is!

Bo was asleep when we encountered this guy... what appears to be a Montpellier snake...

...And this guy, too (a chamois).

A classic shot of the Doubs as it meanders...

... and passes picturesque villages.

Another Bodhi favorite: giant snails.

Jeff and Bo having a dip on the only warm day of  spring thus far.

Our campsite along the Rhone-Rhine canal, where we survived a night of furious winds, incredible thundershowers and blasting lightning.

The Chateau de Wurttemburg of Montbéliard.

Less than 5 km from Montbéliard we made a pause at the above former canal home...

... to drop in on Phillippe and Stephanie, who had hosted us for a night's camping nearly 2 years previous...

As luck would have it, it was Mother's Day in France (L-R: Phillippe's mom, Phillippe and Jeff).

Bodhi having a go on the trampoline, even in the rain.

Headed towards Mulhouse, Bo leads the way.

A fantastic series of descending locks as we approach Dannemarie.

We have now ridden back into Alsace, nearly 2 years later, and after 5000km of accumulated cyclng in France!

Only 59km to Switzerland.

A canalside swan's nest. perhaps not the best location, as bikes and walkers pass all day at just centimeters distance!

Exiting the forgettable city of Mulhouse we connect with the Huningue Canal to continue onwards to Basel.

Our last wild camp before leaving France, 15km southeast of Mulhouse.

Canalside architecture in Kembs.

At Kembs we had some great canal wildlife sightings: swans....

... geese....

... and nutrias.

A short time later, a Greater Scaup was spotted near Huningue.

Here the EuroVelo 6 is also the EuroVelo 15, otherwise known as the Rhine Cycling Route, which goes from the source of the Rhine at Andermatt, Switzerland to its mouth at Rotterdam, Holland (future project!).

The Three Countries Bridge, for pedestrians and cyclists, spanning the Rhine just outside Basel.

This kind of sign gets you dreaming of further adventures.