Riding Day 11- Today two tourists toured

Hello all. Day 11 was a great day! It was the first day that I really feel like we were actually bicycle touring.  Today we biked from Altdorf to Aarau a total of about 65 miles, and we were able to actually take our time.  We made great time while riding (thanks largely to the fact that the route was relatively flat, if not downhill at times), which meant we were able to stop and have coffees in old towns or stop and smell the strawberries (and subsequently eat a carton of fresh strawberries).  We also had great weather today.  It was cloudy and cool with a bit of sun, but never any rain, which was fantastic!

 

The route we followed took us along Lake Lucerne for many miles, before boarding a ferry (I spelled it correctly this time, we did not take a fairy... that would be weird) and crossing to Lucerne.  The views along this lake shore side road were stunning, see picture below.  The roads were also really smooth and had well marked bike lanes which just made it all the better.

We eventually made it to Hertenstein where the ferry was and make the quick cross to Lucerne, which was also beautiful.  In Lucerne we grabbed a "quick" lunch (it took about 1.5 hours), and then got back on the trail.  The best part about the riding yesterday was that we were following a well marked bike route the entire time so we were able to just ride.  In Sursee we stopped for a coffee and passed sometime.  We were a bit ahead of schedule and we were not meeting our hosts for the night until 6:30 in Aarau.  After the coffee it was a quick ride through the Swiss countryside weaving among different farms.

At one point we were biking along a bunch of strawberry fields which were smelling delicious.  We then came across a little strawberry stand on a small road, and decided to stop and eat some fresh strawberries, which were amazing.  It was funny to watch the strawberry fields because people could come and pick their own strawberries and then pay for them by the kilo, what made it funny was that it seemed like everyone who showed up to pick strawberries brought a special pair of black shoes to change into before going into the field. 

In Aarau, we met with our hosts and settled down to have a nice dinner they cooked for us.  Our hosts were very kind to cook for us and provide everything we could need for free.  After dinner they then led us on a little walk around Aarau to see the town and to grab a beer at their favorite little pub.  All in all Day 11 was just great, Ben and I agree that it has been our best day of riding so far.  Hopefully Day 12 will be great too, but sadly it is looking like rain is in the forecast.  Luckily we only have 35 miles to ride on Day 12 so we will just take our time and try to avoid getting too wet.  Anyway that is all I have for now so best wishes and until next time.