Stuttgart to Freudental: A reunion we have looked forward to all tour
What a day! We woke up to clouds, I had a little problem with my bike and we ended in such good company, drinking great local red wine and so relaxed and happy. I hardly know where to begin.
Let's start with breakfast, my favourite meal. Our hotel provided a really good one, with some of the best and most charming service we have had all tour. The hotel was a pleasure, clean, quiet and with great staff. It was also close to both the train station and the historical centre of Stuttgart. First up as we left the hotel was another adjustment to my rear brake. It had completely quit again. The CN and chief mechanic got it working again. Maybe a little too well.
We left at about 9:30 AM. We got a real kick out of the man on the terrace. He was enjoying his first beer of the day.
We spent some time cruising around Stuttgart. It has the usual huge pedestrian zone and looked like a shopper's paradise. It also had the historical stuff, and we both enjoyed that. Perhaps the most stunning feature though, is the construction involved in the new train station. I have never seen such a large project in my life. We spoke to one of the supervisors...I was gaping at this giant hole in the ground in astonishment and asked him when they would finish. In the summer he said. I could only utter "Wow." He laughed and laughed. In the summer of 2021. If all goes well. They started in 2012. And when his contract is done, the station will simply be a shell, no electricity, heat etc. etc. That will be another contract. Billions are involved. What you can see from the train station is only part of it. There are tunnels being built under Stuttgart all through the city. It is absolutely astonishing. We saw the construction everywhere we biked.
Looking back at the tower of the cathedral. It had an interesting interior, quite modern because it was ruined during WW2 and they took a more contemporary approach to the rebuild.
It was a fantastic ride from Stuttgart. Although we climbed 726 m it seemed like a downhill ride...the climbs came in short, steep bursts. I should have been enjoying it more but I was really struggling. I just didn't feel great, pretty much from the time we left Stuttgart. I kept wondering what was wrong with me as everything seemed harder than it should be and I just couldn't keep up with Keith. At one point when he stopped to take some pictures I lay down on a bench, much to his surprise, and told him I was exhausted. I decided I must be coming down with something, or I needed a rest day or??? But I was sure it was me. At km 57 we came to one of those hills that is so steep it is completely unrideable. But I was even having trouble with the push. Keith came down to help, and as soon as he started to push the bike he realized he had cranked my rear brake in Stuttgart to the point where it was on all the time, and I had just ridden 57 km with a rear wheel that didn't want to spin. He couldn't believe it. Why on earth didn't it occur to me it might be the bike and not me??? Sheesh! We had to laugh, and laugh we did, because what else can you do? He readjusted the brake, and now I didn't have a rear brake anymore, but I didn't care and I couldn't believe the difference.
The fateful hill where Keith figured out the problem. When he could hardly push my bike he knew something was very wrong. When he lifted the back of the bike and went to spin the tire he couldn't believe it. We just looked at each other and then started to laugh. I am an idiot. I should have realized it wasn't me, it was the bike. Doh!
It was a great ride after that into Freudental, to the home of Jürgen and Marion, who were so wonderful after my accident last year. We were spending the night with them and it was just so much fun. They made us feel so welcome and we were so happy to meet their son and daughter, Cliff and Michelle. There was also their beautiful Australian Shepard, Sunny. I had heard about her from Keith.
We went out for dinner at the most amazing place...and ordered enough food for a small army. Sunny came too. I loved that. The restaurant is part of a special fall tradition in Germany and historically they were only open for a few weeks each fall, serving wine and food from the region. Jürgen does a better job explaining it. Communal tables, amazing atmosphere. It was a perfect, perfect evening. When we were back at the house we drank fabulous local red wine and saw Jürgen and Marion's pictures of Australia. They were there in May. It was just so much fun. Now it is their turn. We want them to come to Canada.
This is just for Keith. I had a fit of the giggles when it came, but then my dinner arrived and it was equally large.
