Day 10 - 27 September 2012 - Donaueschingen to Oberndorf - 66k

Day 10 – 27 September 2012 - Donaueschingen to Oberndorf – 66k

It rained, heavily, all night. Last evening we dined at the Riedsee Bistro, the eatery/pub at this incredible caravan park. All camping grounds that we have stayed at have been rather on the top end of luxury. The shower blocks are heated, the toilets and showers are very clean, and the facilities are excellent that always includes a licensed restaurant with plenty of activities for young and old.

This Reidsee Camping ground is some 3-4k into the dairy country to the east of Donaueschingen. It is a caravan ‘city’ – numbering more than 500 permanent vans that look more like a small town with streets, neat roads and street signs. The camp ground is alongside a massive lake, with swans and other birdlife that make it a magnificent setting for a holiday.

Last night we were the only diners in the Bistro. The German woman who looked after us could not speak English, and the menu was all in German, but somehow we managed. Julie ordered ‘Sweinn” and I had the ‘chicken thing with the long neck’ (this was the German girl’s explanation of turkey at the pub at Freiburg). The meals were superb. The German lady couldn’t do enough for us, all smiles, taking my computer to charge it while we ate. I offered her a tip at the end, and she flatly refused to take it. As it turns out, she was also the cook and took great pride in looking after us. She was the boss of the bistro, but for us that night she was a servant to us.

We woke to a very wet scene. The rain had stopped, but the grounds and tent were extremely wet. Our little tent is excellent though. It is a ‘3 man’ with good space, a separate bedroom area with an outer vestibule for sitting and eating if it is cold and/or wet.

We ‘dined inside’ for breakfast this morning, being both wet and cold outside. Julie slept snugly, but I was on the chill all night for some reason, and for some strange reason had one of those nights where thoughts could not be settled. We were all packed and ready for departure just after 9am, dressed for what was likely to be a cold day ahead.

We turned east out of the campground, and headed for a nearby village where the Danube picks up its name for the first time. We were then to pick up the bike path that headed west back to Donaueschingan, and then north to pick up the source of the Neckar River at Villingen –Schwenningen. Sadly, we had only gone about 1k to where we had to ride over the railway line into the nearby village where the bike path started, and workmen had blocked the entire rail crossing to do major repairs. They couldn’t care less about two Aussie cyclists who had no idea of an alternative route. We needed that bike path over the railway line. They just waved clearly with ‘no way’ and basically ‘don’t care’.

We turned back to go all the way back the long way to Donaueschingen, where hopefully we could find the path. All this was precious time ticking away with a long day ahead, and threatening weather. We made it to town, and with the map we had we made it through town but with so many bike path options, we were finding they were not clearly marked which one was for what direction. So we lost much time mucking around, doubling back, standing at bike crossways wondering which direction to take.

Eventually we felt confident that we were heading north, and found ourselves in open farmland of such incredible beauty. I promised Julie a downhill run all day today (rivers run downhill) but these fields were rolling so the bike path over them was more like a gentle roller coaster, with speeds sometimes up to 35kph, a pleasant change to the 12-15kph up the Rhine. We couldn’t complain though, except we wanted to keep stopping for photos, thus losing more precious time!

The country scenery was beautiful, with the sight of distant villages standing out against the dark distant back drop of the mountainous Black Forest skyline. We got to Villingen-Schwenningen but then lost the scent of the bike path through the town. These are large towns, with lots of bike paths that cross each other, and easy to get off on the ones going in other directions. This was our problem all day today.

We found the spring where the Neckar has its source, and then felt excited that we could now follow it as it gets larger. However, I don’t think we saw it again until mid afternoon. Leaving the town, we had help to find the path again, and then promptly lost it, so we followed our hunches and rode the roads as much as we could and headed for the next major town on the now growing Neckar river, called Rottweil.

We could not believe our eyes when we finally came into the main city square of Rottweil. It looked like something out of a movie set. The buildings were all coloured with lovely drawings on most of them. Everywhere we looked it was just a splendor to the eye.

At the Information Centre we also learned that Rottweil is also the home of the Rottweiler breed of dog! The old town was absolutely stunning, and we were reluctant to leave.

We were originally headed for Horb am Neckar, but we had lost so much time that we were thinking that we would have to find a place to stay along the river somewhere. Even leaving Rotweil with a map from the Information centre we got lost trying to link up with the right path. We asked another cyclist who was superbly friendly, who actually asked us to follow him (all in German, mind you!). It was a very hilly town, and he flew, making both Julie and I with our loaded bikes work overtime to keep up with him. The riding then became even more glorious. We were now tracking with the neckar, and we could sense the gradual dropping of altitude as the bike path tracked through think forest with dense, wet undergrowth, across open farms and fields, and even down massive slopes and around through dense forests on dirt muddy tracks – wherever the Neckar flowed, we followed it.

We were watching the signs to Oberndorf getting closer, which would give us about 66k for the day, so we decided that when we got there we would find a place to stay. We passed through numerous tiny villages with spectacular views of church spires and always the backdrop of the high thick dark trees of the Black forest. Following the path was now mostly easy, because the river was always in sight, small as the river is still at this point.

Rolling finally into Oberndorf, we found the Information centre. The staff we find have just minimal English, but enough to answer our questions and understand us. We scored our first ‘Zimmer’ right in the centre of town, and right on the bike path for an easy departure tomorrow morning.

Just as we checked in it poured for about an hour. We felt so grateful to be inside. Actually, Julie rode really well today, the last nine days of cycling being good training. Both of us tonight though feel quite weary, so instead of eating out, we feasted on whatever we had on board. As I type, she is sleeping soundly. I am not far off either. We are both well, and happy being together.

I have thought a lot today about the lady who served us and cooked for us in the bistro last night. She was the boss, but we would not have known. She didn’t have to tell us she was boss, but she took the part of a servant, and we had such admiration and respect for her that we would have done anything for her in return.

It has made me think about the words of Jesus. When the mother of two of his disciples asked for special privileges for her two sons in heaven, Jesus spoke about those in authority who ‘lord’ it over others. Looking at his own disciples, he said “it is not so with you – whoever among you wishes for greatness shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave”. (Matthew 20:25).

Genuine greatness  is not in needing to remind others that you are boss. Like the lovely lady last night, her servant attitude and humble manner elevated her to greatness in our eyes. It was a great example for reflection upon today.

From the lovely hamlet of Oberndorf high up along the Neckar River in the Black Forest, we send our love.

Kelvin and Julie