Day 10, Rhein Camping to Stein am Rhine, 82 km

Depending upon which country you're in, the spelling for the river changes. Sometimes it is Rhine, Rhein, or Rhin.

No mattet, it has been quite the journey. Like most trips I've done, I'm going in the wrong direction. Most people start in the Alps, at the source of the rivet and make their way DOWN, to the Hook of Holland. Also most people go in the summer, though, to my thinking, this is the perfect time. Not too hot. Only just now has the weather turned and there's a nip in the morning air. Also no crowds. Mostly in mornings and evening fast-track commuters. I've seen very few cycle tourists. Occasionally I see a rider with one or two small bags ostensibly going hotel-to-hotel for one or two nights on an eBike. Bot hardly any fully loaded tourists, and none going my direction.

Last night I was exhausted. I was tired of getting lost, being at hyper alert for signs, and all the language/communication difficulties. Also my legs were sore from the climbing recently introduced to the ride. I slept 8 hours in my little room. At 8 a.m. I was off, going over the bridge into Koblenz, Swiss side, and immediately climbing away from the river. There was definitely a chill in the air. A misty fog hung over the rivet and the hills were shrouded in low clouds. The roads seemed empty, maybe because of the weather. 

I had locked in turn by turn directions from the camping hotel to Eglisau. There I asked a lady pushing a baby carriage up hill for directions to a cafe; I needed to warm up. She told me to go down hill and across the river to the German side. I didn't want to because I would only have to come back up and I'd already buried my Euros thinking I was done with them. I asked her for a hot spot, and together while her baby was fussing and our limited tech and language skills, she got me up and I downloaded the next bit of the route. Later at the Eglisau rail station, where I was warming up with my thermos of tea, I saw her again after pushing the carriage completely up the hill. We gave each other a thumbs up.

I was beginning to wonder if the sun was ever going to break through and the day warm up. After Eglisau the path went right by the sleepy rivet and through pine woods. All around me was a wooly hush aside from cow bells and the swoosh of a passing regional train. The trees were turning, with glimpses of gold, yellow, red, and orange. Leaves blanketed the gravel path. There was not a soul around. 

I did a lot of climbing in what felt like typical Swiss countryside. I was sure I was nearly at the top of something when I turned a curve and encountered another rider. Something in the way he said hello made me pull over for a chat. He was British and had started his Rhine River tour up in the Alps and was winding his way to the Hook of Holland and then ferry home to England. He told me I wasn't far from the Rhine Falls. He'd had the Falls all to himself that morning while firing up a coffee with his maker. He was fully loaded and using an eBike. When he saw I was doing the trip all on my own power, he exclaimed, Blimey!

I was 2 km from the falls when I saw a food truck selling Thai food. I wasn't sure how much it cost; I saw no signs just pictures of dishes. The lady began to fill a Styrofoam container with rice, three kinds of curry's one vegetable, one beef, and one chicken. She piled on shrimp plus a couple of egg rolls with a dipping sauce. I couldn't stop het. She was like a Thai grandma filling my plate. Finally through Google translate it was explained that I pay what I want. I stuffed a 10 Swiss Franc into her little cash box. I only ate half and took the rest with me--but not before she threw in two more egg rolls.

I was almost to the Falls and could hear them, though there was still a serious climb and descent to get there. I enjoyed a hot tea at a picnic table right next to the Falls. 

By now it was 2 pm and I was perhaps an hour or so from Stein am Rhine where I was to finish my tour. Directions took me right by the Rhine and again on gravel paths. I'd heard I must see Stein am Rhine as it was a bit of a fairy tale town. Not in the way of all the other fairy tale towns I'd been in. Not because it was old and had the timber and plaster houses, it did, but because the building facing the platz were decorated with highly colorful stencil drawings. Think: graphic novel. I arrived, blitzed the town taking pics, and then got a coffee and WiFi at a cafe. I scouted out the way back to Monica's house. It would take 2 trains and a bus, leaving in one hour.

I rode to the station and bought tickets for myself and the bike for 44 Swiss Franc. The train hugged the Bordensee before turning inward while the sun set. Monica was there to meet me at the little Unterwasser station. My journey complete!