From the Black Forest to the French Alps

After our return to Sasbachwalden from our ride on Tuesday, we headed south to Maleck, the home of one of Mark's GG-Grandmothers who emigrated to the United States.  It was a tiny village, smaller even than Sasbachwalden.  There we stayed at an old hotel that had some nice grounds.  We didn't arrive until late in the afternoon, so we abandoned our plans of cycling around the area so that Mark could see where his ancestors (which I had previously researched) lived.  Instead, we just drove around a bit, then headed back to the hotel for dinner.

Breakfast at the hotel in Maleck.  (I didn't actually eat all that bread.)

We got an early start the following morning - yesterday.  As predicted, it was overcast and hazy for most of our drive down to and through the heart of Switzerland.  We couldn't unfortunately see the mountains on the other side of Lake Geneva, but the sun did come out as we found a place to pull over about five kilometers east of Nyon.  

We changed right there on the side of the rode, then got our bikes out and rode into Nyon, a gorgeous old town on the shores of the lake, complete with a chateau.  

Nyon (a picture from the Internet)

After finishing our ride, we went back into Nyon, where Mark took a quick dip in the lake, then we headed on toward our destination:  Le Freney d'Oisans, about 60 kilometers southeast of Grenoble, in the French Alps.

As if on cue, the clouds started to break up just as we commenced our drive up the valleys through almost sheer walls of rock.  It was spectacular.  We drove through Bourg d'Oisans, then on higher yet to our destination.

Where we are staying - I took this pic shortly after our arrival late yesterday afternoon

The view from our window, early yesterday evening

Le Freney

As I write this, before we head out for our rides today, we are sitting in our room with the window open. We hear the sound of the stream running below us and, every 15 minutes, the sound of a church bell ringing somewhere in the valley.  The sky is blue.  We are ready for the adventure that awaits us (I hope I live to tell the tale).