August 25, 2022
Day 3: EuroVelo 15 - the Rhine river (source to sea)
Bad Ragaz to Oberriet
I started day three with a clicking noise from the front wheel that seemed to go away after an hour or so. I'm no mechanical genius, but doing nothing fixed it ... just saying! Also, my Hammerhead Karoo GPS unit kept going into pause mode while I was riding - cold early starts might not be its thing. Also, after about an hour, it sorted itself out.
The ride through Bad Ragaz at 8:00 a.m. was otherwise uneventful. The backstreets were just as impressive as the town centre. I left this town feeling very envious of its inhabitants.
After a short ride on quiet country roads, I rejoined the Rhine where I left it yesterday. Europe is experiencing a drought, and Switzerland is not immune. Rivers and lakes here are at record low levels, and the Rhine is no exception. Still, it remains an impressive river, with a backdrop of mountains that looked stunning in the early light.
I'm feeling very Swiss. Having mastered "Guete Morge" (good morning), I've now shortened it to "Morge," similar to "Morning," which is how we greet people in Australia. We leave it to the other person to decide if it's a good or bad one. Now, I need to work on the Swiss version of Good Afternoon (so far, I've avoided eye contact after noon).
Not long after leaving Bad Ragaz, I briefly crossed into Liechtenstein - the second country I've ridden through on this trip. As I crossed the bridge over the Rhine, I stopped halfway at a marker dividing the river between countries. There, I met a Liechtensteiner (yes, I looked up what people from Liechtenstein are called) named Markus. He was incredibly welcoming and recently retired. After giving me a brief history of the country he clearly loves, he offered to take me on a tour of what I thought was Vaduz Castle. It was a generous offer, but it involved riding up more steep mountains, so I politely declined. I did offer to buy Markus a coffee, which he politely declined. I’m sure I’ll regret not taking him up on his offer. Update: I later learned that Vaduz Castle is the palace and official residence of the Prince of Liechtenstein. Markus did look suspiciously like a prince incognito, mingling with the common folk. Either way, Markus was a decent human being. Be like Markus.
After parting ways with my new friend, I headed into Vaduz city centre. My first stop was the Vaduz post office, where I got my passport stamped - remember when they used to do that? I asked if the stamp granted me access to the country’s generous tax rates but received no response … either it was a language barrier, or the answer was no. I noticed later that most shops in the mall also offered passport stamps for tourists - I felt a bit ripped off.
After a coffee and apple torte at a nearby bakery, I rode through the 135-meter-long Old Rhine Bridge (an imaginative name), built in 1901. Now, it's only open to bikes and pedestrians.
Crossing back into Switzerland, I rode along a great pathway atop a dike overlooking the Rhine, where I saw my first white stork, apparently a common sight in the upper Rhine region.
I arrived in Buchs by 10:00 a.m. and decided to ride for a couple more hours toward Lake Constance. Camping grounds (campingplatz) were becoming more frequent as I neared the lake, a popular tourist destination, so I didn’t think I'd have trouble finding accommodation. The route through Buchs took me through a busy mall with plenty of coffee shops. Since I'd eaten recently, I decided to keep riding - but I needed to fill my water bottles first. Most towns have public water fountains, often resembling horse troughs, but I had no luck finding one. After using Google Translate, I started asking locals for "Wasserfontäne." The first three people stared blankly at me - must have been tourists because my translation was spot on! Finally, I asked a woman who looked highly intelligent, and as we discussed where I might find water, she stepped aside to reveal a water bubbler directly behind her! Success!
The ride took me onto a narrow main road, but traffic was light. It was uphill - an odd way to get back down to the Rhine! But it turned out to be the best part of the day. I rode through farmland where dairy cows and maize dominated the landscape. It was a beautiful morning ride, only interrupted by farm machinery passing by or dodging the occasional cow pat!
Sadly, that section ended, and the next leg was the extreme opposite. I rode for what felt like endless kilometres, sandwiched between the Rhine and a motorway. It was so noisy, and by this time, the westerly winds had picked up, buffeting me head-on or sideways depending on the path's curve.
I finally pulled into the only shade I could find to check the nearest campingplatz. Campingplatz Bestelluna, here I come ... just another 7 km, even though my body was saying, “Enough!”
Upon arrival, the receptionist quickly fetched John, who became my interpreter. John works part-time as a lifeguard at the park, which is a popular local spot thanks to its large lake. The owners make more money from the lake visitors than from campers. After setting up my tent, I headed to the swimming centre for some lunch - underwhelming chicken nuggets and chips (don't ask!). The AU$25 price reminded me how expensive Switzerland is (I love you Switzerland but bring on Germany). Lunch didn’t hit the mark, but the staff’s friendliness made up for it.
There’s no shopping centre nearby, and I didn’t pass one on my ride in, so it’s a 2 km trek tonight to a local restaurant, or I’ll brave bratwurst und brötchen mit bier by the lake.
John, a Dutch national, stopped by to see if I had settled in. His girlfriend also works at the centre, though I didn’t dare ask if she was the chef! He had an amazing life story - burned out and spiritually lost in his early 20s, he travelled to India, where he lived in a small village near Manali (which I visited a few years ago) for seven years. The village was mainly inhabited by Tibetans who had never seen their homeland. Now, I know what you're thinking! I discreetly checked, and John was not Brad Pitt in ‘Seven Years in Tibet.’ After Markus, I wasn’t going to be fooled again. John eventually met a Swiss woman and moved back here. He now works part-time at a local refugee camp, though it’s currently in lockdown due to a diphtheria outbreak. He has nine weeks left on his contract there and won’t renew it, finding the work too emotionally draining. John is another great human being - be like John ... or Markus ... or both.
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