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September 17: Strasburg to Neuburg

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After breakfast at the hotel, we take a short walk through the Little France section of Strasburg, which straddles a canal. Germany 152.jpg (190081 bytes)  Germany 151.jpg (180590 bytes)  By 10:30, we've retrieved the bike and are preparing to leave.  Since our hotel is on the cathedral square, a small crowd forms to see the bike.  With the exception of a couple from New Jersey (some of the few Americans we encountered on this trip), no one in the crowd spoke English, but we've picked up enough French and German to describe the bike and our tour.  We ride across the square accompanied by applause and "bon voyage".

It's another pretty day and the miles pass easily.  Our plan is to follow the Rhine north, staying in France, but having the option of crossing to Germany.  We pass remnants of the Maginot Line, defensive fortifications built by the French after WWI to keep the Germans out.  Of course, in 1940, the Germans took France by entering through Belgium and bypassed the Line entirely.Germany 164.jpg (387277 bytes) 

When we reach Lauterbourg, France, we find the only hotel in town closed.  With Germany only a kilometer away, we ride across the border and begin to search for lodgings.  There's nothing in the first village, but signs for two guesthouses in the next, so off we go (it's only 4 km - all villages are 4 km apart).  Unfortunately, both are closed, but the proprietor of one refers us to the next village.  Unfortunately, they're not accepting guests either and refer us on to Neuburg.  We roll into Neuburg around 6 pm.  Spying "Gasthaus zum Sternen" painted on the side of a building, we pull to a stop.  They're open!  And they have a room!  Jayne is happy...   Germany 182.jpg (160623 bytes)

A Multilingual dinner...  As we enter the restaurant for dinner, the owner's wife tells the waiter "They're Americans, all they order is schnitzel."  She is surprised when we order a couple of pasta dishes.  Tilo, the waiter, suggests a local pinot noir (at $10/bottle) that is comparable to many fine California pinots.  We're the only patrons in the restaurant, and Tilo's English is pretty good, so we  begin to visit.  Hugo, the owner, stops by and tells us the history of the hotel (Hugo's English is limited, so Tilo translates as needed).  Originally a butcher shop and restaurant owned by Hugo's wife Christel's family, the building had been renovated  over the years into it's hotel/restaurant configuration.

Dinner is excellent.  As we continue to talk with Tilo and Hugo, Jayne mentions that since we live in Texas, we have to speak a bit of Spanish.  A few minutes later, Hugo introduces us to Natalie, another guest at the hotel.  Natalie is from Spain, and her company has brought her to their plant in Neuburg for several months of training.

Germany 181.jpg (199359 bytes)  Germany 183.jpg (266314 bytes)

We have an interesting, wide-ranging conversation with Tilo, Natalie, and Hugo, switching between English, German, French, and Spanish as our vocabularies stretched thin.

On to Dammheim

Up ] Map ] Mainz ] St. Goar ] Muden ] Reil ] Lunguich ] Palzem ] Metz ] Nancy ] Heming ] Strasburg ] [ Neuburg ] Dammheim ] Speyer ] Worms ] Frankfurt ]