June 3, 2014

The first half of our day is spent cycling along the south shore of Lake Constance.  The Swiss sign-posting is exactly as you would expect – very efficient.  The railway line runs alongside us, making it feel like we are on a ‘Swiss Railway Journey’.  Trains pass us every few minutes, little ones, big ones, cargo trains, luxury tourist ones.  We make our way through holiday resorts on the shoreline, past prime luxury properties with automatic lawn mowers buzzing around on their own, through manicured gardens and parks, past marinas full of expensive-looking boats, everywhere has a holiday feel about it.

After lunch we have a complete change of scene as we reach the inlet of the Rhine at the far end of the lake – we turn southwards away from the lake following the river once more.  The Rhine is no longer a navigable river, but is now a shallow mountain river with the characteristic milky looking water, full of minerals, tumbling over gravel and boulders.  The cycle track is empty running along the top of the bank alongside the river.  We have left the crowds behind; it is just us and the river now.  Looming ahead are the snow-capped mountains, giving us a sense of anticipation.

We were fortunate to find the camp-site in Buchs relatively easily, given that we have no map to follow now.  We were also fortunate to have pitched the tent just before a clap of thunder when a torrential downpour started.  During previous visits to the Alps we have noticed that most days around 6 or 7pm there are thunderstorms.  We need to make sure we stop earlier than we have been doing to avoid getting everything saturated.