As those who have travelled in Europe will know, a key aspect of the culture in the 6 countries we visited (Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, France & the Netherlands) is that getting around by bicycle is a normal way of life for vast numbers of people - all ages, shapes, sizes, types of bikes, and clothing.
Some places swarm with cyclists and there are bike lanes, cycleways alongside arterial roads, parking facilities, signage, etc, everywhere. The infrastructure provided for cyclists is fantastic.
And there were lots of people like us travelling from place to place carrying panniers or doing day trips, using the extensive signed cycling routes linking towns & cities by way of paved & unpaved bike paths, forest tracks, backroads, etc. Some areas in particular were thick with touring cyclists: the route around Lake Constance (Bodensee) and in the Rhine River gorge.
The collection of photos below shows various aspects of the cycling culture. But it doesn't really capture just how pervasive it is in terms of the numbers of cyclists we saw while we were cycling or when we were just walking around the many villages, towns & cities in which we stopped overnight or for a few days.
(Clicking on a photo should bring up a larger version)
FRANKFURT
We flew into & out of Frankfurt, catching trains from there to Andermatt in the Swiss Alps to start our ride then back from Amsterdam at the end.
Some bike parking in Frankfurt's shopping district, which has lots of cycleways running alongside pedestrian paths (as pedestrians we quickly learned to be careful here & everywhere else not to stray onto a cycleway, due to the risk of collision):
Main entrance to Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof (central station) - the 2nd photo shows one of the bike parking areas nearby:
Extract from the "Frankfurt Information" tourism brochure re the 65km cycling track through the green belt surrounding the city (Greg rode part of this):
Kids outside the ticket office at Frankfurt central station with their loaded touring bikes, waiting for their parents:
TRAIN TRIP FROM FRANKFURT TO ANDERMATT IN SWITZERLAND
Bike storage carriage on the train from Frankfurt to Basel (this purpose-built carriage comprises racks & hooks forming16 horizontal or vertical bike storage spaces and an adjacent seated area where our reserved seats were):
Our bikes (red, blue) & others in the bike storage carriage (we booked our rail tickets, bike spaces and seats on the Deutsche Bahn site a week before we left Australia, as well as tickets & a day bike carriage pass for the connection from Basel on the Swiss Railways SBB site):
Our bikes in the storage area on the Swiss train from Basel SBB to
Göschenen via Lucerne:
Bus outside Göschenen station with storage racks for 6 bikes at the rear (many buses in Canberra carry bikes at the front but can only fit 2 in a horizontal rack):
Our bikes in the storage area on the train from Göschenen to Andermatt (on the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn line through the mountains):
ANDERMATT SKI RESORT (1444m)
Road cycling & mountain biking route signage opposite Andermatt railway station (Swiss bike route no. 2 is the Rheinradweg - Rhine bike route - that we followed; it's also Eurovelo route no. 15):
Some detail from the 'SchweizMobil.ch' sign, which covered routes for road cycling, mountain biking, hiking & skating (with text in German, French & English):
Cover of a 46-page brochure providing information on 8 mountain passes near Andermatt (it's not cycling specific but is clearly partly aimed at road cyclists - this page has a photo showing a lone cyclist on Oberalppass: www.faszination-alpenpaesse.ch/de/alpenpaesse/oberalp ):
Extracts from the brochure's pages on Oberalppass (Greg rode over this mountain pass & into the upper Rhine valley, catching a train back to Andermatt; the 2046m crest at Oberalp village is about1.5 hours' hike from the source of the Rhine at Lake Tuma):
Toni outside the bike storage garage at our Andermatt hotel (except for Rotterdam & Amsterdam - see further below - the 2 & 3 star hotels and B&Bs we stayed at had secure or semi-secure overnight bike storage in a garage, luggage room, etc - fortunately we carried locks, because some storage areas were in a hotel car parking station):
ILANZ TO SCHAFFHAUSEN
A close-up of Swiss signage for the Rhine Cycle Route:
A touring bike parked (unlocked) outside our hotel in Ilanz (the owner was nowhere to be seen):
More cycle route signage - road & mountainbiking:
Undercover bike parking next to the Rathaus (town hall) in Chur:
Bike parking outside a swimming pool near Bregenz, Austria (on Bodensee / Lake Constance):
Cyclists at a level crossing near Landau, Germany (on Bodensee / Lake Constance):
Sunday afternoon at the beach in the city of Konstanz:
Other bikes on the 20km boat ride from Stein am Rhein to Schaffhausen:
BASEL
Cyclists crossing Wettstein Bridge on a separate cycleway:
5 photos showing various bike parking areas on the southern side of Basel SBB railway station (there is also a vast bike parking area on the northern side of the station):
Bike on wall advertising a nearby bike shop:
Large bike route sign near the centre of Basel:
BASEL TO STRASBOURG
French cycle route sign:
Toni next to bike 'Fix It' station near the Rhone-Rhine canal bike path:
Close-up view of the label:
An array of tools is attached to cables:
Route sign on Rhone-Rhine canal:
Another example of French cycle route signage & information:
STRASBOURG
Indoor bike parking station near Strasbourg central station:
Tourism brochure & route map for visiting cyclists:
Extract from the brochure:
The brochure also includes the Strasbourg bicycle charter:
STRASBOURG TO XANTEN
Cyclists line up on the German side of the Rhine to board the Neuburg ferry for the crossing to Lauterbourg in France:
Information sign re the Rhine cycle route, on the Neubourg (German) side of the border (the text is only in German & French):
This information sign on the Rhine Cycle Route near Mainz (Germany) includes German & English text:
English text from the sign:
Sign outside riverside bar at Mainz (it asks cyclists to park bikes in the racks outside):
On the cycle path near Mainz:
Sign on a hotel in Bacharach indicating that it provides cyclist-friendly accommodation under the scheme administered by ADFC (the German Cyclists Association, an advocacy group that aims to improve conditions for everyday and touring cycling):
Extract from sign at Bacharach re the long distance east-west Hunsrück Cycle Route (which runs from Saarburg to Bacharach):
English text from another sign at Bacharach (re the 1040km Rhineland-Palatinate Cycle Route):
Vehicle of commercial cycletouring operator Backroads, at Bacharach:
Extract from English text re Upper Middle Rhine region:
Extract from English text re the town of Spay:
Bikes parked next to riverside cafe at Bonn:
Cyclists on Rhine cycle path near Cologne:
Bike parking at riverside markets, South Cologne:
Bike storage carriage on train from Cologne to Xanten:
Example of German cycle route signage:
MILLINGEN (NETHERLANDS BORDER) TO AMSTERDAM
Cyclists after alighting from the ferry after crossing from Pannerden to Millingen
(the Netherlands):
Other cyclists on board the ferry from Millingen to Pannerden:
Dutch information sign on Pannerden side re the Rhine Cycle Route (with German, French & English text as well as Dutch):
English text re Rhine Cycle Route:
Example of Dutch cycle route signage:
Bike parking near a beach on the Rhine near Pannerden:
Sign outside the indoor bike (fiets) parking station in the new Arnhem railway station:
Bikes in the Arnhem parking station:
Bike shop inside the parking station:
Bike parking on either side of Culemborg railway station (the town has
only 28,000 residents):
Main street of the village of Wijk bis Duurstede:
Long line of cyclists awaiting the ferry from Schoonhoven to Gelkenes:
Bikes on the 20km ferry trip from Kinderdijk to Rotterdam:
Cyclists lined up at a major intersection near the Rijksmuseum:
Crossing the Rijksmuseum intersection (we were very surprised to find that motor scooters & some motor bikes are allowed on the bike paths in the Netherlands):
This series of 5 photos shows bike parking areas near Amsterdam central station:
The entrance to the indoor bike parking facility:
The multi-storey outside bike parking station near Amsterdam central station:
Extracts from a bike hire & tour brochure (Greg did a bike tour of Amsterdam with this company - see photos further below):
Organised tour of Amsterdam on hired bikes:
Greg during the tour:
FRANKFURT (RETURN)
The hotel we stayed at either side of our tour (NH Frankfurt Niederrad) stored our Qantas bike boxes in their large luggage room until we returned (we booked on this basis - and have done this for other tours in the UK, Italy & France as well as on various tours in Australia):
