Lost in Lausanne: Stone Fences, Medieval Towns, and Waterfalls

With our return date fast approaching we’re rushing see and do all that we have on our list for this year. It makes us do crazy things like bike from Lausanne to Schaffhausen via the Jura Mountains - 200 miles (320km) in two days. It’s clear that we’ll have to come back to finish our to-do list.

Last weekend we packed up our trusty bike panniers and set out at 7am from Lausanne, heading up the now familiar regional bike route 22 to Yverdon, continuing along the vineyards bordering Lake Neuchatel, then turning west up into the Jura Mountain range. We followed route 22 to Les Chaux-des-Fonds, and then followed the national bike route 7, which takes you up and down the hills, occasionally on dirt roads, alongside and sometimes inside cow pastures, through electrified gates (trick, push it to the side with your water bottle) and charming stone farms. The first day seemed relentlessly up…which was confirmed with the day’s total of 8,000 feet (2650 m) of elevation gain. We were rewarded with a long descent into the Medieval town of St. Ursanne, and a tarte flambée at the Demi-Lune restaurant along the Doubs river.

Vineyards leading down to Lake Neuchatel

Castle along the route

Heading into the Jura Mountains

Typical Jura stone fences

When the road turns to dirt...

Ahh...so many baby lambs and cows

St. Ursanne bridge

The Doubs River in St. Ursanne

Alsatian Tarte Flambée from the Demi-Lune restaurant

St. Ursanne at dusk

The next day we started out early again, knowing we had a full day of riding, and three big climbs to do before we arrived in Eglisau via Basel. It was a gorgeous, warm and sunny day, but a storm was supposed to hit the Schaffhausen area that evening. The road started going up almost immediately, but the views were so beautiful we didn’t seem to mind. We found a great place for a coffee in Lucille, where the road briefly crosses the French border, where we met another cyclist stopping for a break. He was from the Basel area, and spoke German and Italian, and although he said he didn’t speak French, he did well enough that it was our common language. He advised us against going up and over the third pass into Basel, and wrote out the towns to follow to cut out the busy city so we could get directly to national bike route 3 heading toward Schaffhausen. The next thing we knew, we were being escorted by our new friend all the way to through the southern outskirts of Basel. After a quick exchange of emails, were headed in the right direction, saving us a least an hour of time. Thank you Werner!

View from the top of the Jura Mountains

We arrived in Eglisau after exactly 102 miles, and I was so excited to show Doug the area where my great-grandfather lived. It was just as beautiful as I’d remembered, and Gabrielle Odermatt just as welcoming as ever at her charming and beautifully decorated chamber d’hôte. The large Jacuzzi bathtub and “muscle relaxant” bath salts were just what our legs needed after our long ride. Her breakfasts are served on beautiful thick blue ceramic plates, with hearty brown breads and braids, cheeses and meat that you see in the German areas of Switzerland.

Open-aired sitting area at Odermatt B&B

View of the Rhine from our room at the Odermatt

Typical red-timbered houses in Rudlingen

Rudlingen vineyards

Our stay ended with a visit to the Rhinefalls and to the town of Schaffhausen, where we were surprised to be riding into the town with hundreds of other cyclists during their annual “Slow Up Schaffhausen.” People of all ages and modes of wheeled transport where careening down the cobblestone streets of Schaffhausen –it was a sight to behold!