Orient Express Day 11 Sigmaringen to Ulm - 105km

Little did we know when we set up camp last night next to a German school group that the children would play and shout til around 9pm and that the group of 5 teachers would party loudly through the night til 4am!! It was difficult to sleep with all that racket and, on a couple of occasions when I rolled over, I had that awful dizzy feeling in my head that I feared might worsen when I arose.

As anticipated, I got up around 6.15am and was a little unsteady on my feet and a bit dizzy. I had this problem a few years ago and it was never really diagnosed - the general consensus then was middle ear infection. Whatever the cause, I knew I would not be riding the bike today.

Ricardo  redressed my wounds as the rest of the Group ate breakfast and, as they were preparing to bike out, I cheered them on with a bout or dry retching which at least cleared the dizziness. Ricardo wanted to be sure that I did not have concussion so, after he helped me pack up my tent, we headed to Ulm where I paid a visit to the emergency room at the Hospital in Krankenhaus-strasse, right behind the Park Hotel where we are staying. The beautiful Dr Lindner did the usual checks and confirmed that I was not concussed. When I invited her to check my ears she declined on the grounds that she is not an ear doctor but she did invite me to return the next day should I still feel ill...

I checked into my hotel room after leaving the hospital and proceeded to unpack and hang out my tent to dry. I enjoyed a luxurious hot shower and, after putting on some new bandages, I headed out for a walk around Ulm which is famous for two things - the birthplace of Albert Einstein and the highest Church spire in the world.

The old town of Ulm from across the Donau

After a spot of shopping for more antiseptic bandaids, snacks and a drink, I headed back to the hotel where the last of the riders were arriving. They all seemed to agree that it was an "average" day's cycling with no particular highlights and certainly not as interesting as the previous day. So, all in all, it was a good day to take off. With a full rest day ahead, I hope to back on the bike Friday.