I left Breisach this morning about 7:45 am and headed south to a bridge over the Rhine and into France. Somehow, there seems to be a crossing which doesn't appear on my map, because it's the one I took. It passed by the commercial locks on the canal part of the Rhine and then onto a hydroelectric dam. Once over the bridge, I headed south to pick up my route where is was originally supposed to be. No problem. I got to pass another nuclear power station. If memory serves, France has more than Germany, so I may wind up seeing a lot of them.
Milhouse was my destination to see the largest automobile collection in Europe. I wouldn't doubt it. The brothers Shlump made money in the wool business. One started collecting these cars in secret and eventually his brother became involved. They bought everything they could find including wrecks for parts and they kept a team of restorers busy for years till the brothers eventually went bankrupt. The collection was kept in tact and added to. Cars in the process of restoral were completed. Bugatti's were the passion, but the collection is quite eclectic. Only a couple of american race cars. Many pre-war French, Swiss and German cars. Well worth seeing; the collection, not the town. I might have stayed longer but the neighborhood was crummy and although locked, the bike and its bags make a good target.
I needed to put some miles behind me so I headed out of town. Easier said than done. Big cities are hard to get into and out of on a bicycle. It's lots of twists and turns and occasional backtracking. Sometimes it's wise to believe the GPS, but other times not. Sometimes it's directions seem biased to the way you'd route a car. Not very efficient on a bike.
On the way to intersecting the canal, I found about 5 headstones standing in a grassy area beside the road. No fence, no other indication of what this was except the stones were engraved with Hebrew lettering; remnants of a Jewish cemetery. I took a few photos and left a stone on one of the headstones (which is what one does), and we t on my way,
20 minutes later I ordered lunch completely in French. It was a salad and pasta with 4 cheeses. I haven't had 4 cheeses in 5 years let alone 4 at once. I can hear the artery closing. Mineral water, coffee and I was off.
I rode till 6:00 pm today before starting to look for a place which is a bit late. Eventually I stopped in a small town to have something to drink and asked in French if there was a room to be had in town. No. What about a bite? Yes, that was possible 3 km down the canal bike path on the right.
That's where I am now, but with one complication. Although the signs said Bite Ouvert, the caretaker requires a call to come unlock the bedroom. Shower, toilet and common room are open so I've gotten clean and comfortable. Mme Gehin will appear eventually. It's 8:55 pm now and I'm dead. She'll show up 15 minutes after I unroll my sleeping bag on the floor. At €12 what's to complain about?
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