22 Aug 2011

Marktoberdorf to Saulgrub (71 km)

Gabby wins the Hostess with the Mostest award thus far on our trip.  Owner of the Cafe-Hotel we stayed at in Marktoberdorf last night, she couldn’t seem to get enough of helping us, like a border collie puppy following us around looking for a job to do.  It started with her insisting on carrying our dusty panniers into the lobby.  This coming from a woman running a hotel in her nice clean blouse and skirt.  While we were still sorting through that stuff, she was back outside picking up our much dustier and definitely dirtier bikes and carrying them down the stairs to the storage area.  Still oddly enamoured with us, next she was putting us and all our bags into the elevator, pushing the up button, and wishing us a nice stay, her smile having never left her face.

Now one could read into that that she was just trying to get us filthy cyclists out of sight of her other guests in this beautiful new hotel she had built, but based on her behavior this morning, I would say that would be an incorrect interpretation.  It’s 7:30 am and there she is again, huge smile on her face, Good Morgen! she says brightly, coffee?, tea?, taking our dishes, offering us more coffee and tea, and now she’s appeared once more, carrying panniers outside for us, still smiling from ear to ear, shaking hands, and wishing us a good swim in the Forgensee.  Such a nice, nice lady and a lovely way for us to start our day.

This day would be another one of searing heat but one that we didn’t manage to medicate by taking a swim in the Forgensee.  It was certainly beautiful, shimmering beneath the clear blue skies, reflecting the encircling alpine peaks and Disneyland castles.  And we probably should have taken that dip to cool ourselves off rather than endure that midday meltdown that had Gina, our little Gina who always always always wants to do more and go farther and extend that hike, bike, or holiday just a little longer, pondering whether or not we should do that extra loop through the Alps or just call it a day, a short, hot, I can’t go any farther kind of day.  The only thing that saved us?  A petrol station.  Where there are no McDonald’s, which is most places we’ve been biking through, there may instead be a petrol station, and petrol stations – unlike supermarkets – keep a stash of drinks in a cooler.  One Coke Zero and a few cow crossings later, our little Gina had her stamina back and we were back on route for the Alps.