It was overcast as we headed to the station with a brief detour via the patisserie for one last purchase of French bread and pastries. Trying to quickly board the train with our bikes and gear was challenging given the three steps up to the vestibule, but there was another couple travelling with bikes so between us we got all the bikes and bags loaded.  continued...

It rained heavily in the night but was fine and warm when we left.  We followed the Rhine for a while, then climbed into the hills. We passed through villages that were all deserted and nothing was open so we were glad we had lunch and dinner provisions. continued...

After a leisurely start we explored the old town of Schaffhausen, passing the Minster church with its cloisters and buildings with vividly coloured shutters.  The Landsknecht  fountain, the largest in the town was at the southern end of Fronwagplatz, the centre of the pedestrian zone.  The heavily armed figure on top of the column symbolises the fortified city of Schaffhausen. continued...

Another gorgeous, sunny day as we followed the path along the river out of Schauffhausen.  On the other side of the river we could see Diessenhofen with its large city church. It could be reached via the Rhine Bridge – a covered bridge that once charged a toll to raise revenue to maintain the crossing.  continued...

We had arranged to meet for breakfast at 9:30 and arrived to meet Mauritz’s wife,  Katrin, who was returning from walking Tila.  Eggert had expected the family back later in the day so it was a nice surprise to be able to meet her so soon. Her daughter, Milena, also joined us for breakfast and then her son Jascha appeared.  continued...

The forecast rain had set in and we kept a close eye on the weather radar hoping the rain would pass before we had to check out at 10am. Fortunately it eased and we crossed the bridge and headed out of town following the route to Radolfzell that we had driven the day before. continued...

Despite some rain in the night, it was fine when we awoke, and perfect for a day cycling round Lake Constance.  We had weighed up possible transport options and decided to cycle to Lindau and catch the ferry back to Meersburg.  This meant we would be cycling on the lakeside making it easy to stop for photos.  continued...

It was a showery morning so we departed in our rain coats, hoping that the day would improve.  Sure enough, by the time we reached Meersburg we were able to remove our rain coats and also pick up some pastries for morning tea.  We retraced our route from yesterday before heading north at Immenstaad following quiet country roads and generally heading uphill.  continued...

It was another wet morning as we departed, following winding paths through the countryside. We donned full wet weather gear just before a climb only to find the rain ease almost immediately so were sweating by the time we reached the top.  From there it was a lovely descent through green fields to the town of Biberach. continued...

A super slow start before we ventured out a little before midday.  First stop was Ulm Minster, where we arrived exactly at 12noon to the sounds of bells tolling.  We couldn’t enter the church as there was an organ recital in progress, which we could hear as we bought our tickets to climb the steeple.  This involved 768 steps up to the viewing platform just over 100 metres from ground level where there were sensational panaromic views across Ulm and towards the alps. continued...

Another drizzly morning, so we took our time packing up and queued for a while to buy bread and pastries at the local bakery, which was extremely popular.  By the time we were cycling out of Ulm the rain had eased and we had removed our raincoats.  continued...

We were woken at 6am by 10 minutes of tolling bells.  We weren’t sure whether this was a regular Sunday occurrence, or if it was in celebration of Whitsun, the holy day of Pentecost, which commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit.  continued...

At least we didn’t have to worry about rain as we awoke to perfect blue skies. We had managed to find a basement storage room for our bikes, as I wasn’t comfortable leaving them locked outside one of three massive tower blocks that looked like 1970s housing commission buildings.  The bikes survived their overnight stay and we were soon out of town passing Schloss Granau, built as a moated castle but now a hunting lodge.  continued...

With a shorter day, we made the most of our 11am checkout before retracing our route to Kelheim.  The ‘Face of a City’ sculpture greeted us as we approached the old town, followed by an eerie face in the water.  continued...

A rest day to explore Regensburg’s old town, a UNESCO world heritage site, and a combination of Roman, Romanesque and Gothic architecture. We had a slow start and agreed to follow the map which prioritised the highlights.  We entered the old city and made our way to the cobbled streets to the Golden Tower. continued...

After receiving some dirty looks for riding down what was apparently a one-way cycle path so we could detour to the bakery, we made sure we were on the right side of the path as we cycled through the park out of Regensburg. continued...

Our guest house was located directly across the road from Metten Abbey, a Benedictine abbey that is one of Bavaria’s original monasteries. That meant we could hear the bells clearly as they chimed each quarter hour, plus tolled on the hour.  It made for a disturbed night’s sleep – though we should be used to the sounds of the bells by now. continued...

With another hot day forecast, we didn’t linger too long over breakfast. Yet again I was unable to find an English walking tour, so downloaded an app that provided a reasonable walking route of Passau. continued...