April 23, 2013

Mengen to Munderkingen 41.27 kilometers (148.27 km total)
☁ 14C to 19C (57F to 66F)
Garni Hotel €69 ($89) per double room incl. breakfast


Hiro was front man today. He kept us going at a good clip as we wound on gorgeous cycling paths through farmland and villages. At all times we could spot several picturesque churches or chapels perched on hillsides, indicating town-center of distant burgs. And to add to the already fantastic atmosphere, on the hour, the sounds of church-bells came from all directions. Gilded or wooden statues of Jesus on the cross were a frequent sight on the edge of farmlands.


...It was a super day with only two killer hills. The guide book warned of the bad hill just beyond Zweifaltendorf calling it very steep with a very uneven surface. We came to the hill to discover it is now nicely paved. It is still very steep, probably the steepest we've ever encountered. It was steeper than the killer hill in front of our old house on Kamakurayama. One by one we each burned out and had to get off and walk. It took quite a bit of body lean just to push the bikes up. Near the top, a sign warned of the 10 degree slope. Fortunately, the day up until then was mostly flat so we all had plenty of energy still. The hill up to Obermarchtal was just as high but it has a gradual incline and everyone rode it to the top.



We had our picnic lunch just outside Munderkinden.

Our hotel was lovely place run by a friendly couple. All the rooms have different themes. Dave and I had the penguin room. Junko and Hiro had the oriental theme room. Both rooms are lovely but the cool Antarctic blue in our room made it feel cooler.






After little rest we walked around in the old quarter of Munderkinden with its historic town square, timber framed buildings and gothic church which dates to 16th century. Lovely painted wooden shutters or Biblical scenes decorated many of the older homes.

The church is decorated with a statue of a bishop carrying a staff in his right hand and another head, which looks like his own face, in his left. It reminded me of the very similar painting of a holy warrior in the Sikh Golden Temple in Amritsar, who also carried his own head in his left arm. Humm, the Sikhs and the Christians are not that different after all. Scary.


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References: 

....1) The Danube Cycle Way; Donaueschingen to Budapest by John Higginson
... 2) Bikeline Maps & Guides; Donau-Radweg 1, (5 books in the series)

Our plan in a nutshell; 2900 total kilometers at 50 km per day - 2 days riding for 1 day off for a total of 58 riding days & 90 total days - April to July, 2013 :)