July 24- Tuttlingen to Mengen- 80km

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Day 21- July 24- Tuttlingen to Mengen (Alfons & Erica) 80km

We got an early start and started riding with the thought of riding to Alfons & Erika's place in Mengen. The ride started great but the day became more and more hot and there were a lot of bugs. Added to this was the disappointment of MANY more hills than we expected and it turned into a very tough day. However, the great part was that the scenery was just beautiful and the cliffs and smallness of the river was amazing. In between the hill trudges we had a great day overall and of course the ending was amazing. We stopped in Sigmarigin which was just lovely and a town I will return to I think. It had an amazing Palace and was of course pristine and perfect as most of the towns are. We called Alfons & Erika and within minutes we did indeed have an opportunity to stay with them. We cycled to Mengen & had supper and then started to follow the directions out to their home. We were so delighted to lookup just outside of Blockington to see Alfons on his bike to greet us and to guide us to their home. He even pushed us on his bike up the hill as we pulled into their place!

I have to say the happy coincidences like meeting Alfons and Erika will remain the highlight of the trip. As before, we were quickly settled with wonderful conversation, a cold beer & shower to make us presentable. We spent the whole evening chatting and sharing information. We learned so much about so many topics on this visit. We learned about farming, alternative energy, education (post secondary and public school), politics & many other topics. Alfons & Erika were incredibly patient in sharing so much and answering our many questions. It turned out they are both teachers and of course we know this is always a recipe for friendship! We climbed into bed with huge grins on our faces and slept wonderfully well in this beautiful home with lovely people.

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