Another pretty uneventful day’s riding. The ground was pretty flat, chugging along by the river for the most part.
The scenery again was pretty, without being remarkable;
I have felt a distinct shift though in the river. Apart from being a lot wider here, from Basel on down to the sea, it is navigable and becomes a mix of leisure and industry – pleasure craft and barges. Previous to Basel the river was more of a natural force, carving it’s way between rocks, much more sedate down here.
I hadn’t really decided what to do in the evening yet, so I headed into Karlsruhe for a nosey round before deciding. Glad I hadn’t booked anywhere – this city is at best described as “administrative” – in the same way that Milton Keynes may be described as “functional” – It wasn’t pretty.
So I headed out of town to one of the worst campsites I have stayed on. Advertised on its website as having a “Bistro” and free Wifi, it had neither. The wifi was so slow and so limited in range that it was effectively unusuable. The Bistro had been closed for months.
So I rustled up a meal of pasta soup, complimented with packet rice and German sausage. It worked, just. Luckily they did sell wine, albeit pretty rank. I grabbed a bottle and spent a not unpleasant evening chatting to a Dutch guy who was there with his family.
He was a complete cycling nut job – one of those folks who throw themselves off mountains with a bike. But a decent chap and good company.
In general though, my advice would be to avoid Karlsruhe – it’s not pretty at all.