Saturday May 13, Emmendingen

A sunny Saturday in the village

Yes, we are still here! It has been a gloriously lazy sort of a day. Woken at 5am by the crows and daylight, but shut the windows and went back to sleep. It has been so warm today, not sure of the temperature but guess in the mid 20’s. The free Wi-Fi here has been a bonus so spent this morning catching up with family in New Zealand, before getting the bikes out. We are really enjoying the freedom of the bikes, and the distance you can get without much effort. We were trying to work out and Ian thinks that he was a teenager when he last rode a bike…and that is many years ago! Went into the centre of the town, getting used to using the bike lanes and working out how to cross at the lights and roundabouts but made it without any issues.

We pedalled along the cobblestones and into the centre where there was a market, fresh vegetables, fruits, meat, cheeses, bread and flowers. Bought some bread rolls for lunch, and picked up a few other things then meandered through the little lanes in the centre of town. The only downside is that I don’t get as many photos as I used to when walking. Need to stop and get my camera out to grab shots. At this stage I have a pannier on the back of the bike but will try and get a small one on the front that I can put my camera in.
I do notice people looking at Ian in his bike – I am sure they are thinking he is an invalid…I am the caregiver!!!!!

We just kept biking, and thank goodness Ian has a much better sense of direction than me, I had no idea where we were! But after about 17kms we got back to Ruakiwi, very hot and very much ready for a late lunch, and a cold beer.

Tomorrow we are heading into France and the Alsace region so spent this afternoon getting all the books and maps we have on France and starting to get our head into a new culture. During last year’s travels as we went through a number of different countries, we always found it difficult for a few days getting used to things like the different supermarkets, road signs etc. French motorways often have tolls so we will be avoiding them where possible. It will be a whole new ball game and really looking forward to it.

A soccer game at the near by park

A line up.