Great ride along the canals of the Saar: Saarlouis through Saarbruken to Mittersheim
What an amazing day. Kathleen here. We started our day at the hotel Ratskellar with breakfast. It was a six or seven jammer. Good, but not over the top. The jams were prepackaged and the presentation didn't warrant a picture, but more than adequate.
We forgot to mention two incidents yesterday...one with a happy ending and one not. While cycling through the forest on the unpaved section of the path Keith hit a bump and I saw his iPhone go flying by on my right. I hollered and we backed up to find it resting happily on the grassy verge, un damaged. We feel so lucky I saw it. I could easily have been in front of Keith. It made us realize how much we rely on that little device. Lesson learned. It is now zipped in his bag. The other incident is the mysterious loss of my Sugoi high visibility windbreaker. I loved that jacket. We have photographic record of me wearing it in the AM and we made no stops in the 20 km to Trier so our theory is that I didn't stuff it far enough into my pannier pocket and it caught on a bramble and flew out. We will never know. At least it gives me an excuse to browse the Salzburg bike shops.
After I got so hungry yesterday that I ordered a butter pretzel, the chief navigator insisted on a slight delay as we headed out of Saarlouis. We had to stop to load up fuel to ensure the ponies didn't run out of gas. We made three different bakery stops before he found the right one.
Keith got us out of the center of Saarlouis and onto the bike path without a mistake. What a ride. First was the very industrial area of Germany, and while not necessarily attractive, it was fascinating. Some of the buildings were huge and industry and the most exquisite looking farms would be neighbours across the Saar. The ride through Saarbruken was another lesson in how bicycle infrastructure should look. It was impossible to get lost.
It was clear sailing all day. We were in France before we knew it. I twigged that we were in France by the change in language on the signs. This area of France is beautiful. We have a quaint little hotel in Mittershiem run by the nicest people. What a fantastic day. We will show you with the pictures.
Julie and Bill, after meeting your guard geese we were hesitant to pass these guys on the bike path. And then they asked if they could be Hund of the Day! Cheeky geese. They don't even have four legs.
Then we came across this spot where we have a lovely room and are being treated like royalty. Veal scaloppini in mushroom cream sauce on the way. May have to take a picture!
