Rhine Walk --a summary of costs....

Total distance walked:                                                             1039 kms.
Total walk duration:                                                                     58 days.
Days 'on the road'                                                                       49
Rest days:                                                                                     9
Average distance walked:                                                           21 kms.
Longest stage walked in a single session:                                     37 kms. (Oppenheim to Worms).
             
Total paid for lodging:                                                                2476Euros/ $Cdn. 3169
Avg. cost per day lodgings:                                                               43E.        /  $C.54
Total cost of meals purchased:                                                        832 E    /  $C. 1064.
Avg. cost per day for meals/food.                                                      14E     /  $C.18
Other miscellaneous expenses 'on the road'                                     374E.    / $C.478.
Avg. cost per day misc. expenses.                                                      6E.        / $C.8


Cost of the walk 'on the road' portion:                                            3682E   / $Cdn.4712
Avg. daily cost 'on the road':                                                               67E.  / $85Cdn.

Other costs:
 Airfare one way to Europe                                                                    $C.665
Luggage buggy                                                                                              90
Health insurance:                                                                                          248
Rain gear                                                                                                     133
Hostel membership                                                                                        33
Travel bags (2):                                                                                             32
Hiking boots                                                                                                118
                                                                        Total 'other' costs:    $Cdn.1286

Grand total for walk:                                                                         $Cdn. 5998.          

The last day--# 58. The Rhein Falle.

              Wake at 7.30 am and lay blinking  in bed hardly able to believe that my walk from Amsterdam to the Rhein falls at Schaffhausen is finished, behind me, history. Perhaps I can relax a bit now and enjoy it in retrospect treasuring the fun times and forgetting those rotten days when the road, and the pouring rain seemed never ending. Anyway, to let those leg muscles down gently, I decided to walk the final 7 kms in the grey and overcast along the northern river bank westwards down to Neustadt the location of the Rhein Falle. These Falls, or really a cascade, are billed as the highest cataracts in Europe and on a nice sunny day would be picturesque as well as impressive. Pity the bus loads of shivering Chinese tourists who dutifully stood, their backs to the Falls, for their trophy picture.
           Interestingly the region of the Falls was the birthplace of the Swiss aluminium industry from 1880 onwards, drawing on the ample hydro-electric resource of the fast moving river. On both banks at the Falls, are major manufacturing plants and the local planners appear to have done a good job of combining industry and tourism around this natural asset.
             Tomorrow, it's a morning train to Zurich for several days relaxation in that major city.

              This is the last posting to this blog, and I thank those who have been regular readers for their interest. Should you like any additional walk details, please contact me at:  traveller66@gmail.com

              Warm thanks to my family for their kind support, especially to my wife Jian who has has to bear the burden of my absence. Many thanks to Jeannie for releasing my brother in law Keith, who accompanied me for 250 kms and for the laughs that we shared en route.

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Day # 57 Eglisau to Schaffhausen.

Mission achieved--Schaffhausen.

            Grey and damp again in northern Switzerland. Left my bed & breakfast (with no breakfast offered ) at 9.00am for the 15 km stroll up river to my final walk destination of Schaffhausen. Never quite sure when I start in the morning in these (Swiss) parts exactly how easy they will be to execute. On and off main roads and on & off bike & pedestrian tracks---a real mixture. Today was in fact, notably straight-forward on well formed cycle paths and I made Schaffhausen by 12 noon, where I made a bee-line for my youth hostel accommodation to ensure a bed for the night. That hurdle overcome, I decided, rather than to hang about, plus being inspired by a parting of the cloud cover, to walk back down the hill sans my buggy to take a stroll around the town.  Luckily, I procured a map that included a walking route of the town with explanations of the key features….so much more satisfying than merely stumbling blindly along. I am well aware that on this walking tour from Amsterdam, I have regrettably not spent sufficient time to learn the “story” of the places through which I have passed, such has been the pressure to maintain pace and mileage.

           An ‘army’ style meal at this hostel this evening, some laundry chores and off to an early night. Strange how at the end of a project one feels more fatigue----something to do with the adrenaline ceasing to pump. Anxiously awaiting next week and meeting my sweet wife Jian in Milan for a very long anticipated second honeymoon.

15 kms. walked today per Google Maps.
1035 Cumulative kms. walked.
Type of overnight lodging: Youth hostel.
Cost of lodging: 35 E.

Day # 56 Waldshut to Eglisau.

The easy part of trail walking.....

            It started out as a day of promise unfulfilled. The worst breakfast in 50+ days on the road---and I told the hotel manager. Pathetic. My plan today was to follow the well marked tracks on the German  (northern) side up river to Eglisau. Somehow, coming out of my overnight location of Walshut, I became side-tracked onto the bridge and ended up on the Swiss (southern) side. I quickly discovered that the Swiss tracks are not as well sign-posted or groomed as in Deutschland. In fact, after a pretty good first few kilometres it started to deteriorate rapidly and with the fallen leaves covering the slippery banks, I was at odds to determine exactly where the track actually was. My fear was that I could lose the buggy and even myself if we slid down the bank and into the river. Not a joke, as in these parts the Rhine moves along very rapidly, with whirlpools and boulders until the next lake that backs up behind a hydro-electric dam. Anyway disaster averted, but not with out the sacrifice of a lot of energy. As my 1950's loco-spotter friends would have noted: much tractive effort required to drive forward! My 20 km march today seemed like 35 on flat track.
           Anyway a beautiful pathway, and I saw it in absolute isolation--never saw or passed another soul for maybe three hours. Plenty of large bird life, hawks, heron, swans and evidence on the tree stumps of beaver activity.
            Interesting bit of modern  historical residue on the Swiss river bank, are the massive concrete defensive blockhouses that were constructed about every kilometre. The structures so indestructible they will likely be left for ever to blend into the trees and river bank foliage. Difficult to imagine that the Swiss actually feared that Hitler may try to invade.
           At this point the Rhine is entirely in Switzerland and I stay the night in the small bridge crossing town of Eglisau, last stop before the final official leg of the walk into Schaffhausen, site of the Rhine Falls, the largest water falls/cataracts in Europe.

22 kms. walked today per Google Maps.
1024 Cumulative kms. walked.
Type of overnight lodging: Private lodging house.
Cost of lodging: 65E. No breakfast.

Day # 55 Bad Sackingen to Waldshut.

Laufenburg, looking
 across to Switzerland.

         Definitely a cold & damp feel to the morning air as I left my lodgings at 7.45 am into a (almost) dark world. Navigated my way through still empty streets to the pedestrian/cyclist route for points east along the #34 highway. Such was the temperature at about 7C, that I was barely able to remain warm. The up-side of this frigidity, was that I burned up the kilometres and the signposts indicated that I had covered 10 kms before 9.30am. Will have to watch out for those lurking speed cops!!
       For only the 2nd/3rd. time this walk, I had to share the main highway with really heavy traffic for a two hour spell before re-connecting with the pedestrian trails. Certainly received my share of horns and stares questioning what kind of man would wheel a baby & carriage onto such a busy road! Luckily no problems with the  traffic police on this section. In fact, since I have been in Germany, I don't think that I have seen a single police car on the highways.
         Feeling energetic in the low temperatures, I decided to push on to the next large town of Waldshut, by- passing my earlier tentative target landing point.
        As part of my route to day, I passed through Laufenburg. This small town, spread out on both the Swiss and German sides of the Rhine seemed to encapsulate all that I think of in terms of the style of idyllic German villages nestling at the foot of mighty mountains. Certainly a place to mark down for a revisit on a day when it is warm & sunny.
           Only two days walking left & I should reach the Rhine Falls in Schaffhausen, the highest waterfalls in Europe and the point where the Rhine cascades over rocks as it begins it's trip down to the sea.
           Reached 1000 walking kms. today, so should be just about spot-on with my original projection of 1100 kms. for the walk.

29.5 kms. walked today per Google Maps.
1002.2 Cumulative kms. walked.
 Type of overnight lodging: Hotel Schwannen
 Cost of lodging: 45 E.

Day # 54 Rheinfelden to Bad Sackingen

Shooo---I said "shoooo"!

             No great rush to day as my first port of call has to be the bike shop. Happily this particular bike retailer was of the punctual 9.00 am opening time variety ---not 11, or even 2.00 pm which is not unusual in these parts. The retail margins must be massive in Germany to enable 2 hour lunch breaks and such short working hours! No wonder Walmart got chased out and had to leave the country.
                 Purchased tyres from said retailer and dutifully installed one to replace yesterday's trouble-maker. Finally rolled out of Rheinfellen at 9.30am, into a fine dry morning albeit with a thick grey mist hanging in the air 500ft. up. Opted on the footpath routing that generally followed the main line train track, coming at points very near the river. I experienced several  times having a German ICE train (the equivalent of the French TGF) pass me only 3/4 metres away travelling probably in excess of 125 mph. A truly frightening and very noisy experience that set my knees a knocking.
              At this up river point, the Rhine is no longer navigable by commercial shipping and as such had devolved into a sanctuary for water birds. Part of my route this morning took me through a very quiet and heavily treed section, right along the German river bank. It was one of those sections of the walk where I sometimes do not see another human being for an hour at a time. In this quiet and treed section, I found that my foot path was blocked by perhaps 50 very large and mean looking swans. Turn back or confront these beasts?
            I tried banging and shouting in the hope that they would all jump into the river and leave my way free. Like the proud birds that they are, they totally ignored my gestures and stood their ground. I decided to continue walking straight towards them and just accept their presence with a polite "Guten Morgen". It worked ---I made my way through the flock without incident, although I was not sure what some of the (German) hissing meant!
         Arrived in Bad Sackingen towards 1.00 pm and lucked onto an acceptable gast haus for the night.
Tomorrow, I plan a rather longer stretch to Koblenz on the Swiss side, so will arouse myself early ready to hit the road with Jack.

17 kms. walked today per Google Maps.
972.7 Cumulative kms. walked.
 Type of overnight lodging: Delphi Hotel
 Cost of lodging: 40E. No breakfast.

Day # 53 Basel to Rheinfelden.

A pleasant spot for an afternoon snack... 

          With a full buffet breakfast available at 6.00am there was very little excuse not to make an early start for the bridges, highways and byways---except that it dark until just before 8.00am. Basel is a city of a major river and many bridges, it was important to select the correct bridge crossing to hook up with my planned route along highway #34 on the north (German) Rhine bank.                  

           Weather, for the sixth day in a row, is perfect, not a cloud in sight, mild, no wind and a mid-day temp at about 22C. The east-bound walk today was an assortment of riverside trails and foot paths along the busy #34 highway. To the north of the river are steep hills so the possibilities of even this navigator getting lost are limited, as the Rhine at this point is rarely out of the walker’s view.

        Everything on this perfect Sunday morning was rolling along fine just 3 kms out from Rheinfelden, with a projected arrival time at Rheinfelden of just after 12 noon. At this point my right buggy wheel tyre cover went into seizure and left it's seating on the rim, exposing the tube. I re-seated the cover, --- 100 meters it happened again, and yet again another 100 metres down the road. For some reason, the tyre cover has expanded and no longer fits the rim. My initial thought was that I had installed it counter to the direction of rotation—this proved not to be the case. Luckily, I was able to ‘two wheel it’ into Rheinfelden and quickly found a hotel. Being Sunday, the “zwei rad” (bike shop) near the hotel was closed—so first thing tomorrow morning, I will be their first customer.

           After relaxation (aka: a snooze) and some hand washing, strolled crossed the river & the open border point into twin town of Rheinfelden, Switzerland. A very attractive large village, quaint and high end (as in expensive) like everything else in Switzerland. All things being equal with the tyre situation, tomorrow it’s off eastwards again, along this final leg of the  trail.

22 kms. walked today per Google Maps.
956 Cumulative kms. walked.
 Type of overnight lodging: Danner Hotel
Cost of lodging: 66E.

Day # 52. Rest day in Basel.

It's a tough life..........

            What a beautiful day. Constant warm, golden sunshine of the October variety. A great day to wander into the city old quarter, camera in hand, ever ready to snap the picturesque and quaint. Up one street and down the next. With an absence of pubic conveniences in the central city, was forced as a refugee, to Star Bucks, for the price of a $5 cup of regular coffee---it was worth it!

           The Saturday crowds were out in force and on the surface, one would have to say that the shopping masses were not hurting too much. Prices in Switzerland are very high and noticeably higher than euro denominated Germany, just about 4 kms away from central Basel. The price differential created by the strength of the Swiss franc, especially along the border regions, has apparently created a difficult situation for home grown Swiss retailers. Local residents are always very quick to border hop if they sense a  better deal on the other side. About 3 months ago, the Swiss pegged their franc to the euro in an effort to control high Swiss prices. Having said all this, Swiss chocolate is still a tremendous bargain—I bought a 400g bar of excellent quality milk chocolate for just 2.60sf---about $2.00 Cdn.

           As I had a free 3 day city bus pass, courtesy of Swiss youth hostels, I decided to ride a couple of routes. A chance to view the new ‘European’ airport, shared by three countries, Switzerland, France and Germany servicing dense local population centres in nearby regions. An excellent example of multi-national cooperation.

             Tomorrow, Sunday my least favourite day on the road, as a support services like shops, etc are closed, I shall resume serious walking for the final week, with my target being the river town of Rheinfelden, due east of Basel and directly inline with my walk goal of Lake Constance, aka Bodensee.

Type of overnight lodging: Basel youth hostel.
Cost of lodging:  45E.

Day # 51 Lorrach to Basel.

Basel ferry. 21st crossing of the Rhine so far
.....the ferries are getting smaller!

From high on the hill on which Lorrach youth hostel perches, it was an easy roll down into the town and a case of a sharp left turn and a 12 km amble straight into Basel. On a trip like this, that does require a modicum of planning and effort,  would appreciate it if  the authorities could at least arrange a small welcome--- like a welcome cup of tea, as I enter their territory--or in the case of the Swiss, a chocolate bar would have sufficed! As it was, the border was, to my surprise, totally open and passport control not even manned at 9.00 am.
What happened to all those folks carrying machine guns that manned borders points in the sixties? Switzerland is not part of the EU, but it does appear to have very relaxed entry controls from friendly neighbouring countries. This may support the recent comment I heard, that 40% of Switzerland's labour force is now immigrant. One is certainly aware of multi-culturism as one walks the streets of Basel.
         Booked into my youth hostel with typical Swiss efficiency and in addition to being provided with free wi-fi was presented with a gratis 2 day pass to the region's bus & tram system. A nice touch to encourage visitors to move about & spend time & money. Wonder if Toronto might ever consider this during these tourist challenged times of an expensive Canadian dollar. I remember when I used to attend the Cologne trade shows in the nineties, that they did the same thing.
           To access the "Alte Stadt", old town necessitated crossing the Rhine once more--my 21st. Why use the boring old bridges when for just a euro, I could take the smallest and most rickety  wooden ferry encountered so far. Because the river was flowing fast at this point, we were literally catapulted across in about 30 seconds on the tether rope.
        Tomorrow, a rest day, to enjoy a pleasant Saturday, around the pleasant streets of this major city. Hopefully the weather will again cooperate---today was perfect--sunny and about 22C.

12 kms. walked today per Google Maps.
934.7 Cumulative kms. walked.
Type of overnight lodging: Basel youth hostel.
Cost of lodging:  45E.---Includes b/fast, dinner and a city wide free travel card.

Day # 50. Rest day in Lorrach.

         A pleasant sunny Thursday day to relax and enjoy the local attractions. Feeling much better today, after a couple nursing a heavy head cold. Even the weather cooperated, being warm & sunny. Basic housekeeping and yes, even time to catch up on the laundry. Walked down the big hill from the youth hostel into the town. Lorrach is not particularly picturesque, as at this point the Rhine valley has narrowed considerable and most of the small towns have main line and commuter trains running through their central areas. Lorrach is a good example.
           Installed hopefully the last pair of tires on the buggy, the expectation being these will carry me to the end of the Rhine river trail in Bodensee. Pretty adroit at tire replacement---two wheels replaced with tube protection strips inserted --- 20 minutes flat.....practice makes perfect.
    Accommodation confirmed in Basel.

Type of overnight lodging: Lorrach youth hostel.
Cost of lodging: 35E.

Day # 49 Neuenburg to Lorrach.

Lorrach youth hostel. Very pleasant.

            A sunny early morning, bright but cold, welcomed me to the (German) world  as I slipped hotel moorings at 7.45 am ---hardly light, in this neck of the woods. Sometime in the next few weeks there is going to be a one hour shift to daylight saving and with trains and planes to catch in my near future, I shall have to watch that.

         My walk apportionment today was a little less, 16 kms, than originally planned and takes me to the border town of Lorrach, only 10 kms from Basel, Switzerland. Still suffering from a heavy head cold and related symptoms, I plan to spend a second day, tomorrow, in Lorrach based in the very modern and large, (albeit empty) youth hostel at the edge of town. Not sure yet whether Lorrach is touristically significant, but it will provide an extra day for my walking strength to recover. Anyway, a good excuse relax & to while away a couple of hours in a coffee garden!

        The walk today out of Neuenburg was unexceptional: fields waiting for the field corn to be harvested, gradually transforming into warehouses, factories & stockyards.

       The densely populated border in this area between Germany and Switzerland is convoluted. Basel itself is like a finger sticking into Germany, and France is only two kilometres to the west. No wonder they refer to Basel locally, as the city of three cultures. Apparently, a lot of local Germans cross the border to work in Switzerland due to higher wages and return to Germany to live, for the lower rents.

        I remember as a kid reading stories of escaping Jews & British prisoners of war successfully making it to the Swiss frontier and freedom, only to blunder back into Germany and recapture, as the border switched back---looking at a local map, I can certainly understand the problem they had on dense forest tracks, at night.

16.0 kms. walked today per Google Maps.
922.7 cumulative kms. walked.
Type of overnight lodging: Youth hostel.
Cost of lodging:  34E.

Day # 48 Breisach to Neuenburg.

Rhine flood control barriers at Breisach.
Note: river 'straightening' measures.

        Emerged from the French (west) bank of the Rhine (Neuf Brisach) into a bright, sunny, but crisp and cold morning. It is the first time that I have seen morning frost on roofs and on parked cars. For those that have interest, it may be interesting to Wikipedia “Neuf Brisach”. The old town, laid out in a grid pattern, is completely enclosed within a massive fortress designed by Vauban. The information board notes that the fortress and town have changed nationality five times in the passed 150 years.

       I am currently suffering from an extremely heavy cold and cough. The attendant temperature has subsided and for this reason I believe that I was wise to curtail my walking to approx. 50% of the distance to Neuenburg. The train ride into that town took all of about 8 minutes---interestingly for Canada boosters, I noted that the train, a diesel, was manufactured by Bombardier—likely in Germany. Anyway, rapidly located a gasthaus on the main street, attached to a restaurant and holed up early to sleep & to try and shake off this bug that maybe affecting the amount of oxygen that I absorb at my habitual 6000 steps per hour walking cadence. Last thing I want is a stroke. Scott of the Antarctic, I am not.

         Depending on how I am feeling in the morning, I plan to walk to Lorrach, which is only about 15 kms from here, and the last stopping place before I reach Basel, Switzerland. From this point on my walking stages become increasingly moderate, few more than 20 kms—4 hours max. on the road in a session. Definitely on the down slope now. Gone is the pressure I felt to build mileage as there was back in the early weeks, when one feels that they have to maximise efforts to reduce the overall size of the total distance mountain that confronts daily.

7.0kms. walked today per Google Maps.
906.7 cumulative kms. walked.
Type of overnight lodging: Gasthaus.
Cost of lodging:   48E.

Day # 47 Malterdingen to Neuf Brisach, France.

Part of the fortifications of
 the walled city of Neuf  Brisach

          Although now more than 6 weeks into this trip, this was a day of several firsts, but first a brief recap of today’s walk. I left the rather unfriendly Rebold Gasthaus, capped off with being told, “You will sit here” for breakfast. Not the most productive way of addressing Wilkinson so early in the morning. Of course, I sat where I liked further upsetting the asst. manager, who last night had wanted me to sit out side in the rain for 90 minutes and wait for the official opening time of the hotel at 4.30 pm.

         Anyway, emerged at 8.15 am into a cold damp morning with leaden skies that threatened a wet day for my long walk today. The precipitation, in fact, held off until the very last hour of the walk when I was on the outskirts of Briesach Germany, just before the crossing of the Rhine once again to France, for the night. My hotel on the French side was selected on Booking.com and it added another 7 kms to a very full days walking, as the town of Neuf Brisach actually lies back from the river some distance. I had not appreciated this fully when deciding to stay here and resolve to be more careful examining the map for the precise location of any hotel. Anyway, it was a good way to get reacquainted with the Rhine that I had not seen since leaving Strasbourg, 4 days ago and a chance to see and photo the massive lock and dam system in place at Breisach, that not only controls the flow of water, but also lifts and lowers the large barges that ply the waterway from Holland up to Basel.

             A word on the ‘firsts’ for this trip that occurred today.

1. I was required to ascend my first hill of any type, in the approx. 900 kms walked since Amsterdam. As I swung westwards towards the river I had to actually ascend a rising valley, before dropping down into Briesach and the crossing to the western French side.
2. For the first day, today’s stage was mostly off the omnipresent segregated bicycle lanes that are built into German roads. In short, I was walking into the oncoming automobile lanes with the attendant dangers. No time to gaze around pondering the meaning of life. Heads up and watching every single approaching vehicle and be ready at a seconds notice to leap into the hedge or ditch. Shades of my England & Wales walk in 2010!
3. Heavy head cold. Not pleasant, not serious.
4. Painful right ankle. Not sure why this should be giving me trouble today after nearly 50 days on the road. Anyway, took a 400 mg Ibuprofen and it seemed to do the trick. Soak it in the hot shower tonight. 
   
   
   

31.6 kms. walked today per Google Maps.
Cumulative kms. walked: 899.7
Type of overnight lodging: Two Roses Hotel
 Cost of lodging: 52E.

Day # 46 Lahr to Malterdingen.

Lahr town centre.

         Awoke at 7.30 am, time to pack and be ready for 8.00pm hotel Sunday breakfast. Emerged into a world of gentle rain and leaden skies. Rain gear unpacked and at the ready and with only a 50m walk to the corner, was again on route #3 heading south. As part of my route preparation, I have found that writing down a list of the names of the small towns and villages that I can expect to pass through, or nearby, is an effective tool to have in hand as locals often know the name of the next village, but will indicate total lack of knowledge of a major city perhaps 30-40 kms down the road. Today, I had a list of 6 villages and it seemed to make the kilometres slip way quicker being able to mark off as each point arrived.

             The weather, mild, dickered around the point where it is difficult to decide whether it is worth pulling on full rain gear, or putting up with general dampness. Last night at the hotel a guest told me that in Germany, October is considered to be the ‘golden month’. It is certainly not the case this year, after such a golden September.

             Exiting Lahr, I passed what would have been the former Canadian airbase, the vast area now contains 10’s of thousands of late model used cars all parked neatly in lines. Apparently Lahr is a main assembly point for the shipment of used vehicles to Russia, Middle East and Africa. Another German export industry.

            The miles went by quickly and I arrived at 1.30pm at my overnight pre-booked Malterdingen guest house and restaurant. The assistant manager told me that it was hotel rules that guests could not have their rooms until 5.00pm. How did he expect me to kill 3 hours on a rainy afternoon in a deserted village, after having just walked 25+ kms? Yours truly went into serious, but friendly Kraut bashing mode---result I got my room in 15 minutes flat and was even supplied with a very tasty sample of the local beer. Germans are very quick to say: “that is a German law”. My advice in dealing with them, is to push back hard, but keep it friendly and good humoured and they mostly concede the point.

         Anyone travelling in Germany with an eye to design and manufacturing excellence, has to be very impressed with the superior quality of their goods---especially in their use of metals. Yesterday evening in Lahr, I rode the bus from my hotel to the town centre area to search out my evening meal and noted that it was a Mercedes product (the bus that is!)--- very quiet & comfortable inside with excellent ease of access & exit. An extremely large vehicle that was handily manoeuvred through the narrow medieval streets. Could not help comparing the Lahr bus to the rattle-traps I sometimes use in my home town of Mississauga. German faucets and windows are other products that have caught my eye for their design excellence.

26.4 kms. walked today per Google Maps.
Cumulative kms. walked: 868.1
Type of overnight lodging: Gasthaus Rebold
Cost of lodging: E.39

Day # 45 Offenburg to Lahr.

A Kippenheim wine princess.

        At 6.45 am the weather gods smiled after several days of rain. Awoke this morning to a crisp, cold day. This good start was a precursor to the entire day. Navigation was simple and direct, meaning that I was quickly able to locate the right pedestrian pathways and made rapid progress towards my target town of Lahr. In general, l do not carry any route maps, as these are mostly printed for motorists and useless for walkers. German cyclists and walkers are segregated from vehicles on pathways that frequently follow very different routes. Google Maps are interesting and especially useful in cities where the streets have recognizable names. Ask in the English language in  small German villages for directions to the 'K5436' and you are sure to get a blank stare!
       Lahr a regional centre with a population of about 40,000, was host to a Canadian air force NATO base from 1966 to 1996. Interestingly, 25% of the population of Lahr list their place of birth as being the Soviet Union. These people were the 'Volks Deutsch that were originally settled in the Volga River region of Russia by Catherine the Great, and were expelled by the USSR, post 1945. My innkeeper said that he had fond memories of Canadian service personnel in Lahr and remarked that a considerable number, especially females, had married locally and remained behind in Lahr when the Canadians departed
      Observation #1. The country side and small towns of the German Rhine region are almost devoid of the refuse and litter that blight so many other regions of Europe & North America. Plastic bags and other non biodegradable rubbish just do not clog countryside drains and ditches. There seems to be social consensus that rubbish is carried home and not thrown from car windows.
      Observation #2.  In about 600 kms of walking through German fields and along the river banks, I have yet to see any small animals run across the path ways---foxes, rats, moles, mice.

20.7 kms. walked today per Google Maps.
843.7 cumulative kms. walked:
Type of overnight lodging: Am Westend Hotel.
Cost of lodging: 65E..