Lake Constance and the Upper Danube— Eurovelo 6 - The bicycle from Atlantic to Black sea

Travel diary

EuroVelo 6 leaves the Rhine at Stein am Rhein and follows the shores of the Untersee to Radolfzell. From here, our route takes us to the Danube, the dividing line between East and West, which we will follow to its mouth on the Black Sea. The itinerary starts by following the Hohenzollern Trail, which links Lake Constance to the Black Forest. It involves a steep climb that is tough on the legs and on the bikes. After 60 kilometres we come to one of the most beautiful sections of this voyage along the rivers of Europe. At Tuttlingen, the route rejoins the Danube. Here, the EuroVelo 6 route is perfect for cycling, following the banks of the young river as it meanders along the steep-sided valley it has cut through the Alb Mountains between Tüttlingen and Sigmaringen. The route through the Upper Danube Nature Reserve is dotted with unspoilt fortified villages, most of whose magnificent castles and Baroque churches and monasteries are open to the public. Below Sigmaringen, with its Hohenzollern castle, the Danube widens as it flows through Ulm, a majestic town with impressive ramparts and an imposing cathedral. A tour of this town, with its fishing district and numerous museums, is a perfect way to finish this stage beside the young Danube.

Interviews
a Spanish biketourist

a Spanish biketourist in Riedlingen

A great many cycle tourists use Sigmaringen as a staging post at the end of the magnificent ride through the Alb Valley from Tüttlingen. The beautiful old town would be well worth a visit even without the stunning Hohenzollern castle that towers over it; therefore, I decided to spend the night here and started looking for a hotel or a bed and breakfast offering “Fremdenzimmer”, or “Rooms for outsiders”. I eventually found a bed at the “Traube” boarding house in the centre of the old town, right below the castle. The “Traube” boarding house dates back to the 18^th century and the Ewald family, who took it over at the beginning of the 1980s, obviously take great pleasure in welcoming guests, with or without bicycles. Offering a covered shelter for bikes, a laundry area, wholesome dinners for starving cyclists and walkers, simple, good-value accommodation and enormous breakfasts, the Ewalds do everything possible to help tired travellers regain their strength. That evening at dinner, a group consisting of several families were able to savour the specialities of Bade-Würtemberg. This was followed by a pleasant evening filled with games and laughter. The warm welcome provided by Sigmaringen’s hoteliers prolongs the harmony of a day spent beside the fledgling river that will soon become the beautiful blue Danube.

www.hotel-traube-sigmaringen.de

The disappearance of the Danube is described in every tourist guide and, although the phenomenon is no longer a mystery, it still raises the curiosity of cycle tourists. The Danube disappears at Immendingen, in a meander far from EuroVelo 6, so I have to get off my bike and walk the kilometre that separates me from this curious spot. The Danube’s disappearance is caused by the extreme porosity of the Jurassic rocks in this area, which allow the waters to percolate through the limestone and reappear twelve kilometres further downstream. Arriving at the designated spot, I couldn’t see anything untoward: far from disappearing, the Danube continued to flow joyously through the rich, green forest. A frustrated young Dutchman was paddling through the river, searching in vain for a sign of where the river was supposed to disappear. Heading back to the road, I came across the explanation on a notice board. In fact, the Danube’s disappearing act is intermittent, as it only soaks into the rock for about 155 days a year, when warm weather drastically reduces its flow rate. The day I arrived it had been raining heavily, as it had done for several of the previous days!