EV15

Ettlingen. Wait, what? How does this line up with Colmar and Strasbourg? Where is that and what makes it notable enough to stop there?

Well. It is about 10k south of Karlsruhe but its claim to fame for this trip is the Hotel Erbprinz, which has been highly recommended to me and thus, Ettlingen is on the map.

The morning

Again, a wonderful and restful night. Breakfast was a buffet, really well made and delicious food, even the bulk scrambled eggs which I usually have only contempt for. Lots of quick carb options, energy levels up.

Day 2. After a very restful day yesterday and getting into a proper sleeping pattern, things are hurting a bit. Let’s see how this goes today.

The morning

Voila! Le Croissant, le Baguette, le Gugelhupf! Delicious, filling, lots of simple carbs for quick energy with good coffee and orange juice. Excellent way to start the day. Packing up and getting back into it! On y va.

The ride

Let me quote myself from not quite 24h ago…

So, Day 1 finally arrived and this journey started with the first step. How satisfying it was to put the out of office message in, delete teams and outlook from my mobile and get into the swing of things!

The morning

I woke up at 5.40am at Zurich Airport in the Hyatt Regency hotel. For some reason not a restful night, but perhaps it was the anticipation. The Hyatt is a great hotel a stone’s throw from the airport and is my go to hotel for when I have to catch an early flight. This time it was where the car with all the kit and the bike was parked. So in the morning, after doing a final packing check (and still forgetting things…), I checked out and drove to Basel, from where my cycling trek was planned to start.

So I am about to do a thing. Cycle from Basel to Cologne and then back to Mannheim for relaxation and to switch off from work. This trip is going to start on Wednesday, May 28th 2025. For that I am starting this blog, so I can keep a diary for myself and whoever it may interest.

There is a network of pan-European cycling routes, called the EuroVelo network - and I am going to go loosely along a majority of number 15. From Basel to Karlsruhe, I am staying on the French side, then I’ll switch over.