Austria, Bodensee and the Rhein Valley between Germany and Switzerland

By Deborah and Johan - We have been everywhere man.... everyday we cross a border at least 3x - somedays it’s hard to know where you are, when. It’s difficult to know who you’re talking to - what their native language is (mostly it’s German, which secretly I have quite an understanding for 🤣🤣) so tonight it happens to be France. The night before Germany and before that we slept in Switzerland because that was convenient! The countryside is always different but very the same. I’ve learnt a lot biking around! Questions arise and haunt you so you track that shit down... I must say Austria was my most challenging ride yet - stiff uphills, sharp downs and not much in between. We did travel one trail made by a Roman guy Claudia Augustus, he contracted to the Roman emperor of the time. Clearly he cut corners because that trail went straight up quite a few times. I have a few words of wisdom for Claudia, starting with ‘switchbacks’... anyway not many cool photos because I was just sweating and swearing my way across this part ❤️ to be honest I found it beautiful but hugely challenging

Cruising down to Austria into the rubbish weather and beautiful slopes. We went down to Landeck after coming over the Reschnen pass. A very steep fast downhill at times. 

Castles on every high corner

The great valley of Landeck. We had mostly cloudy skies and some rain while in Austria and the 13 to 15 degrees Celsius was a big drop down from the 35 degrees in Italy just a few days earlier. Mountains are always tricky when it comes to weather; it really can change drastically overnight. 

When it rains, water falls - the little Zammer Loch canyon on the north east side of Landeck is worth a quick visit if you are in the area. A steep narrow canyon with some steel walkways to see the action.

After Landeck we headed over the FernPass. Although we had noticed this “bump” on the elevation profile on our map, we hadn’t quite expected the very steep gravel climb and down hill. First time some walking was involved. Beautiful area but a bit tough on the legs. 

Teletubbie land. The hillsides amongst the Alps really are quite spectacular at times. Often you will see a town in the valley and then a whole separate world with its own villages a couple hundred meters above the valley. 

The hills are alive with music because the church bells toll at 6am and hourly from then.....

The lucern out of Lucern

I wondered what the crooked sticks hanging off the hay barns in Austria were - here in action - airing hay

We are always greeted!! This time with EU flags - some of the little towns around the borders between Germany, Switzerland and Austria are very cool. Riding in through city gates you suddenly find yourself transported back in time, we saw some real gems on this route. 

After a big downhill leaving the last of the Austrian hills, we cycled the northern (German) side of the Bodensee.  The cycle track around the lake is well posted and mostly flat. We took the Ferry from Meersburg to Staad and then continued along the (Swiss) Southern shoreline into the Rhein Valley.


Don’t be surprised if you see an ode to Baron Von Zeppelin when you are biking along the Bodensee. Fredrerickshaven was his hometown and used to be a major zeppelin port before the Hindenburg disaster in 1937 in New Jersey (US) put a bit of a damper on this mode of transport.  There are a few pretty large tourist versions flying around here now as a reminder of the good old days.

Following the Rhein between the Bodensee and Basil was a good call with a nice gradual downhill amongst the surrounding hills. Although the river is mostly wide and tame, the water moves pretty fast. 

Then suddenly (and unexpectedly) we bumped into the “Rheinfall” by Neuhausen where the river suddenly drops through some very large rapids. With its 23 meter drop and 150 width its the largest waterfall in Europe. 

Using lighter commuting bikes for a tour like this, you can expect some maintenance.  Deborah’s bike started making a lot of worrying noises. It got a lot worse... knocking and clicking and carrying on. The pedals had worn out and also the bottom bracket needed replacing. The local bike shop had the parts and lend us the tools so no drama; back on the road in no time. 

Stuff you never see at home; cigarette vending machines. They even take credit cards..

Arriving in Basel, Switzerland. We were thinking yeah, nice, but let’s move on. (I already told you we are not really city people).  Seemed like nothing special until I saw the lady with the dog. There seems to be a lot of swimmers on this fast running, shipping river. I guess we’re spoilt in NZ with our ocean swimming because we were a bit freaked out by seeing these people move through the river at this speed. I guess they take the bus or a taxi home afterwards. 

After Basel the Rhein makes a sharp turn North towards Strasbourg along the French border. So instead of swapping between Germany and Switzerland several times per day like we did on the way to Basel, we ended up bouncing between Germany and France. Gutentag- Grüss Gott and Bonjour all in a days work.