Ode to a bicycle

A bicycle. It is amazingly simple. I never thought I would see the day again when I would get overly excied about riding a bicycle. But there have definately been these days (sunny days preferred) for Maria and I over the past week. Bodensee is a huge lake. Europe's third largest. Looming on the shores opposite us are Austria and Switzerland, the giant alps launching upward behind the small towns. Maria and I bounce around almost daily on 3 or 4 hour bike rides. We've both surprised ourselves as we had forgotten how efficient and effective bike riding truly is. We'll step off our noble steeds after an hour of riding only to discover we've gone 15 kilometers. It is fantastically easy and enjoyable, and we both feel sort of like kids again, playing around, killing time, and riding bikes. I even attempt riding a 'wheely' from time to time, but I've sadly come to realize that while one may never forget how to ride a bike, one can certainly forget how to ride an impressive wheely. I used to look smooth and polished while leaning backwards, wooing the ladies as I careened my bike forward, balancing on the rear wheel. Now I fear it looks like I'm wrestling a cow to the ground as I never quite acheive lift off with my front wheel. No worries though, it is enough for us to ride along trails, across bridges and through the never ending apple orchards of southern germany. It is truly a bit of paradise. When I reference a map, I notice that in perspective, we haven't explored much of Germany at all, just a tiny section. But on our bikes, I feel like we've discovered a hidden country along an immense lake, full of perfect little towns with brick pavers for downtown streets and beautifully colored tiles that adorn the tops of old churches and even fire stations. These towns are every few kilometers or so, stretched along the banks, all accesible on our bicycles, a few pedals away. It helps that the paths are completely geared towards cyclists, making navigation easy and safety a near guarantee (provided you don't endanger yourself trying to attempt a wheely).
A few days ago, one of our friendly neighbors offered to take us to a nearby town where we could spend the day walking around. It was a rainy morning, and he gave us the option of staying in the apartment or going along with him and his wife. As Maria weighed out weather to stay or go because of the rain, Mr.Gonner reminded us that 'there is no bad weather, only bad clothing'. I loved that quote, it may be my favorite of the trip. One other favorite quote came from our second day here. We were talking with Ute (another friendly neighbor) about how beautiful the sunset had been the prior evening. Ute said "we're only given a sunset like that once a year. If it happened every night, people wouldn't see it anymore."