Rest and relaxation without the Rhine

For the short trip to Colmar, we will hop on our bikes again this morning, as the buses pass by our hotel only rarely.

We stroll through the town and visit a few things, attend a church service - which is totally impressive because the French sing-song of the priest in St. Martin's Church is so beautiful that it doesn't matter that one of us didn't have French in school and the other never learned their vocabulary.

When tourists, who are bussed in here by the busload, annoy us with sentences like 'oh my, it's so crowded everywhere', we make our way back home and spend the afternoon in the hotel garden. Mario plans the last days of our route while Petra reads a tearjerker.

Luggage strategy:

The suitcase-packing specialists among you are probably wondering how to fit the luggage for a 2-week trip into exactly 2 saddlebags. Honestly, it's not that difficult after some compromises and decisions. First, say goodbye to the jacket, shirt, and little black dress. The matching shoes stay at home too. Only what is absolutely necessary makes it onto the packing list. 1 pair of shoes to be worn during the day and for the 'evening program', plus a pair of slippers are enough. There are various options for underwear. While Petra washes her panties from time to time - hey, I mean when the week's supply is worn! - Mario follows the strategy of delayed disposal: The 14 worst underpants made it onto the journey and are gradually discarded on site after wearing, thus forming a trail of worn-out, worn-out underpants across Europe.

For people over 50 who need aids to read, reading their own watch and the bike computer becomes increasingly difficult. You don't have to invent it anymore, it already exists: The cycling glasses with built-in reading windows and I can recommend them without reservation: Swisseye!

The eBike phenomenon:

Someone tells about their journey and the places they have visited and no one thinks of saying, 'Mallorca, oh yes, by plane' or 'South Tyrol, oh yes, by motorcycle', etc. Now comes the eBike phenomenon: In 2018, we cycled from Althütte to Venice and we often receive pitying, sometimes derogatory comments like 'oh, with an eBike' as a response. The comments were the same this year as well. Almost as if we were cheating or being dishonest. For us, traveling with an eBike is a pleasure, just slow enough to perceive the things around us intensively. And yet, fast enough to cover a certain distance per day. We are not aiming to participate in the next Tour de France or Ironman. We don't see it as a sport, but as our way of exploring the world. So it is completely unnecessary to feel sorry for us.