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Well, what should have been a straight forward 2 hour ride from Konstanz to Baden Baden turned into an frustrating 6 hour ride due to road closures and diversions which took us
round and round in circles!
We set off from Konstanz looking forward to a short hour ride until we started on the famous B500 glorious route through the Black Forest, some 3 hours later we arrived in Fruedenstadt after encountering numerous road closures and what seemed like a circular detour; not helped by the fact that both the normal road signs and diversion signs were the same colour. At some junctions the 'proper' road signs had been covered with gaffer tape and it was obvious not to follow them, at other junctions it was not so clear. The German's also assume that you know where you are going without the need of road signs and numbers!
Eventually we arrived in Freudenstadt and stopped to pick up a picnic lunch. As we left through the centre of the town we recognised that we had stopped here on a previous tour.
The B500 was as amazing as advertised and made more enjoyable by the fact that as we started along it from Kneibis, the road had been closed for a photo/video shoot of a new car which we passed (the car was covered, so we have no idea what sort it was!) as we joined the road we came across a long line of cars, vans and lorries; skirting our way to the front of the queue we arrived just as the man in charge waved the traffic forward so ourselves and four other bikes set off and had a clear road in front of us- fantastic!
The B500 is a wonderful road with sweeping bends- but predominantly in the flat through the forest, the height gain and loss is very subtle.
On arrival in Baden Baden we discovered the road up to our hotel was closed due to resurfacing! As we pulled over we parked next to 3 other British bikes, the first we'd seen all holiday. Eventually we made it to the hotel via many one way streets.
When we went out exploring the town we realised that we had in fact been here before, one spring time, as we returned from Morzine. The town was very different then, I remember being cold and the town being closed and a distinct lack of people -very different from today. There has been a music festival on all week and we were very lucky to see 'Elvis Presley' performing!
My phone ran out of battery, hence no photos of our stay.
We went for a walk along the river and through the park. The rose garden in the park was just as amazing as the one on Mainau island with hundreds of roses in bloom and full of scent, just heavenly. I have told Colin that we need to plant more roses of the same variety together to get the impact, his reply was, we need a bigger garden somewhere less wet than the Northwest of England- sounds like a plan to me! We have been able to sit outside every evening of our trip in the warmth, apart from 2 nights in Bulgaria, something which wouldn't be possible if we spent August at home; even if it wasn't raining,'it would be too cool, unless I was sat in a fleece and gloves! We acclimatised very quickly to the heat, now when we stop riding instead of seeking shade, I stand in the sun to warm up, Colin says I'm like a reptile who needs to warm up their blood before becoming agile- the cheek of him!
After our meal tonight, the waiter commented that we were lucky to have had the hot day today as it was not the norm. We had commented on the fact that the town wasn't set up for hot weather, the lack of air conditioning in our room and cafes, and also no fans in the outside eating areas, a huge contrast to the countries from Hungary onwards we had visited where all the cafes had both and the fans were water misters to cool the air. We are hoping our luck holds out and the next two days riding is also in the dry as we make our way through France and Belgium, fingers crossed
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