Fri, Sep 22 – Cycle Day 1 - Strasbourg to Ratstatt - 66.5 kms - App=266 meters (RWGPS=495 Meters) <<< Robertsau-Wantzenau Forest, Drusenheim Ferry, Lunch on the Rhine, Hot Chocolate with Schnapps >>> For the next 6 days, our routine will be to have our luggage to the hotel reception area every morning by 9:00. Anytime after that, a driver will pick it up and bring it to our next hotel. Given that we had done part of our outgoing route yesterday, it was easier to ride out of Strasbourg today, though there were a few miss-turns. We all breathed a sigh of relief when we left the city and enjoyed the rural views. We especially enjoyed the paved route through the Robertsau-Wantzenau Forest. In the late morning, we stopped at a bakery at Gambsheim for a quick energy replenishment. We stayed on the street by our bikes. I enjoyed a cute cat that was hanging around us. He was so friendly. Given that we had to cover 66 kms today, we did not give ourselves the luxury of sitting at a café. We crossed the Rhine River from France at km 37.7 at Drusenheim on a little free ferry, to Germany. We lined up our bikes on the right side of the cars. The ride took only a few minutes and I was able to talk to a woman in French through her open passenger window after she asked us where we were from. After having been in France for 12 days, it was my last French conversation for a while. Four kms later found us having lunch at a marina just before we got into the town of Greffern. We were right by the water and were able to observe the boat traffic on the river. We all had the schnitzel special along with some refreshing beers. It was great to sit on a chair and take a break from cycle seats that are not ours. I told Karen, Cam and John that for the first time in 12 days, I found it different to be in a country where I don’t understand the words. We all had a good laugh as they had not experienced that, having been in Paris for the few days before. We then cycled along the Rhine River until we turned east to get to Rastatt. We cycled to the Market Place and made our way a few blocks later to get to our hotel. We stored our bikes in their meeting room and checked in. We met a half hour later and walked for a bit on their pedestrian street and ate supper at the Schnitzel Bräu Rastatt restaurant. The concave ceiling was decorated very uniquely: https://www.schnitzelbraeu-rastatt.de/galerie We then wandered through an arch and saw the back of a castle. As we were walking back, we stopped at the Lehners Wirtshaus Rastatt restaurant that had been a casino for French soldiers when they occupied this area after WWII. It had very high ceilings and a fabulous large bar (https://rastatt.lehners-wirtshaus.de/galerie/?gallery=499#gallery_499&gid=1&pid=40) stocked with many bottles. It had become cool outside a bit, so Karen and I had hot chocolate with schnapps. When in Germany…….