Day 5, Karlsruhe to Strasbourg, 92 km

Along the trail

stunning Strasbourg Cathedral

lovely Strasbourg

Today was supposed to be a much shorter day--yes and no. It was at first hard getting out of town. I had my phone talking to me and giving cues, but there were soooo many paths. It was confusing. I had to course correct a number of times. By 8:10 I was on Eurovelo15. By 9:10 I was taking my first tea after taking a ferry to the west bank of the Rhine. By 10:10 I had my first French bakery stop, where I discovered my German phone stopped getting data. No more mother ship to help with directions. Okay, I'll just follow the signs.

After Selz, things got complicated. I was on the path by the Rhine and somehow ended up follow a road into cute little French villages. The signage was all Eurovelo15, with the countdown to Strasbourg. I was thrown because these little towns weren't on my map, until I noticed I was away from the river. I intentionally backtracked to get back by the river by Drusenheim.

At a certain point my paper directions said I'd be passing by a gravel factory. I literally passed through a gravel factory. I knew I shouldn't be there. It was surreal, so I took a turn away from the path into a town and continued to follow the road. 

Again at a certain point I tried to hook up with the cycle route by the Rhine--which put me within 12 km of Strasbourg. Within 40 minutes I was heading toward city center. I had no idea how great this place is. The cathedral is super impressive, rivaling the one in Speyer. Both Romanesque in design, though the Strasbourg one is more complete. I was able to tour the church, buy postcards and trinkets, lose and find my wallet ( left in a shop), get a mini map, connect to WiFi and my host, plus eat a chocolate bun. 

My Warm showers host gave me good tips for tomorrow and the next day into Frieburg, and leaving there. I've decided to ditch my booklet paper instructions and stay on the German side after leaving Frieburg. 

Outside of getting lost in the gravel piles, today ended up pretty great.