Yesterday evening I had a dinner of aspargus and a schnitzel Wiener art…and as I was still hungry after, Ice cream with chocolat milk, not sauce…my German needs improvement. I woke up early as it would be a another long ride of 140 K. When I packed I noticed my second battery was not charged. As it was a flat ride I should be able to cover the distance on 1 battery but my range anxiety was stronger than myself….I put my second battery in the charger and went in search for breakfast whilst the battery would load enough to satisfy my anxiety…..
At 8.30, 1 hour later then planned but after a nice breakfast, I left Mainz. Today it would be about following the Rhine, the weather would be great , the cycle path signposted and Loreley waiting for me…To get out of Mainz I passed an Industrial zone and some highways….but soon I was cycling along the Rhine.
There is much more traffic on the Rhine compared to the Danube ; a lot of river cruise boats, but also a lot of cargo ships. The cruise boats modern and big,…A lot of cyclists on the road as well, often big groups on a cruise-cycle tour. Besides boats, cyclists a lot of castles. Every Rhine village has it’s castle, some big, some small…I think I passed around 30 castles.
In the afternoon I passed Koblenz, a rather big town at the confluence of the Mosel and the Rhine. I cycled briefly through the city center, which had a modern look (the town was mostly rebuild after WWII), I probably missed the nice parts of the city but Koblenz didn’t appeal to me. The Ehrenbreitstein fortress overlooking the Rhine, Mosel and Koblenz is though impressive. Getting out the city took a long ride along busy road roads, highways and cycling through industrial zones…I finally returned to the cycle path along the Rhine for the rest of the day.
In the afternoon I followed the left shore of the Rhine. At one moment I took a wrong road and cycled 10 kilometers through an almost non-existing path..Black Horse felt as he was on a trail in the Balkan.I was able to get back to society to find me on a busy road where I was not expected to cycle. After 2 kilometres riding on the shoulder of the road I was able to leave the semi-highway and reconnect with the normal cycling path…pfff…
On my way to the camping I was tempted to take a hotelroom in one of the many hotels. I did not, the camping was nice , the weather still fine and the camping pizzeria-restaurant was operational. I setup camp, had a Radler (or 2) and had a shower. At least 6 other cyclists camping at site. One of them is a German guy from Augsburg who is cycling towards Norway with a 12 year old retriever in a trailer. I passed the guy along the road but then he was not that talkative, in the evening he was in a better mood.
Tomorrow will be my last day in Germany. I have booked a camping site in Remersdaal. The camping restaurant has been elected in 2022 as the best Camping restaurant in Belgium…..not sure how big the camping-restaurant scene is…..I will be hungry, 130 kilometers and 1300 meters of climbing….
Lessons learned :
- Flies and mosquitoes taste all the same.
- The Rhine cycle path is nice then the Danube’s.
- There are a lot of pizzeria in Germany.
Song of today : Die Lorelei - Richard Tauber
Weeral een mooie dag gehad, je verhaal over de Rijn en de kastelen doet mij denken aan onze eerste reis met onze eerste auto en jij en jp erbij.
ReplyDeleteNu kom je echt dicht bij het thuisfront.
Nog prettige dagen met hopelijk goed weer.
Another nice day, except for the flat battery anxiety 🙃! Loved the photos and the views! You're getting closer to the end of your trip... enjoy your last moments!
ReplyDeleteweer heel mooie foto's waar ik altijd van geniet, dit was een streek die ik ook ken, geniet van je laatste dagen op terugweg naar huis en laat ons ook nog wat mee genieten.
ReplyDelete