MAINZ TO KOBLENZ
We had a little trouble getting to Wiesbaden. It looked so simple on the map - if only we had taken the Theodor Heuss Bridge! We followed the cycle path down the left bank until we saw the Wiesbaden signs. We followed these under a huge concrete clover-leaf and out the other side. Problem: once out the other side, the Wiesbaden signs pointed back under the cloverleaf! We went about halfway back under the huge knot of concrete roadway to a spot where there was a flight of steps up on to a carriageway, followed by a spiral staircase (at least 3 storeys high!) which obviously went up to bridge level.
Our hearts sank to our boots when
we saw a local cyclist carrying his bike down the spiral stair!
The prospect of mounting those stairs at least twice, once with
panniers, then with bike, was mighty unappealing. We almost fell
upon the poor young fellow when he reached our level, demanding
to know if that was the only way up. It was the only way he ever
took, but he was kind enough to take his bike back up to the road
at the top of the straight steps and explore the possibility of
using that road to gain access to the bridge. He came back smiling
- yes, the verge turned in to a separate path just around the
bend. We thanked him profusely and struggled up the single flight
of steps, thankful we had been spared the spiral. We were actually
going up the down ramp of the autobahn, but we were separated
from the traffic and at least we were moving on again.
We reached the Wiesbaden youth hostel
about 1 1/2 hours later due to a number of wrong turns and another
flat on Louise's bike.Warning : Do not attempt loaded touring
on a bicycle equipped with 27"x 1 1/4" Michelin World
tour tyres! They will hardly take you 'round the block, let alone
around the world!
Our arrival doubled the overnight
occupancy at the hostel, so we got two 4-bed dorms and luxuriated
in the peace and quiet. On asking about the proximity of an eating
establishment one of the other guests kindly directed us to a
MacDonald's, about 2k distant. However, Denis had noticed a pub
on the corner before the hostel. We called in there for a pre-dinner
beer and went no further, as the pub was actually a beaut Greek
restaurant. The blokes at the bar were very friendly, and bought
us 2 rounds of ouzo to complement our meal. Then we were each
given a badge by the local piano maker, who was egged on by his
companions to personally pin one on Louise's red skivvy "an
der linksen Brust!" Luckily Louise can't understand German,
but the guys blushed and giggled when they saw I could ;-)
The next day (18/4) was a breeze.
After a detour via a large bike shop in Wiesbaden (in search
of the elusive Mr Tuffy's for Louise), we rode along the cycle
path on the right bank of the Rhine. Lunch stop was at Eltville
and the lovely walled gardens of the old castle there. We continued
along the right bank to Rüdesheim, where we took the cable car
up to the Niederwald monument, an immense statue of Germania,
looking southward to keep an eye out for any invaders rash enough
to try to wrest the Rhine from German hands ;"Am Rhein, am
Rhein, am Deutschen Rhein, Wir allen wollen Hüter sein!"
After crossing by ferry to Bingen
we found our way to the youth hostel, which, strangely enough,
was across the Nahe River, and up the hill. Who should be awaiting
our arrival but Elaine and Kim. They had reached there the night
before, after being told that the Mainz youth hostel was full.
Remember I said the Mainz guy was a blockhead? Well, to prove
it, Elaine had sent a fax from Bingen asking if we had stopped
there the night before. She had written it in English, and had
it translated into German before sending it. She got a fax in
reply welcoming her to Mainz youth hostel!
Anyway, it was good to be back together
again and we had another good night out, first at the Casablanca
bar, then at the Italian restaurant next door.
Roman medical instruments from 110 AD
Next morning E & K went across
to Rüdesheim while we visited the museum in the old tower of castle
Klopp. There was no-one to take our DM1 entrance fee, so we just
dropped it in the Taufstein near the door. We went down to the
Roman relics, then proceeded to the upper floors. When we reached
the third floor a little guy popped out of his office and demanded
DM1 per person. We told him we had left it downstairs, so down
he scurried. He must have found the money OK because he was quite
happy when he returned. He then asked if any of us spoke German
and proceeded to tell us about the exhibit in the glass case immediately
in front of us. It was (a copy of) the only full set of Roman
medical instruments ever discovered. The owner had studied at
the University of Alexandria, then had been posted as a military
doctor to the Roman garrison at Bingen. He had died in 110 AD
and his instruments were buried with him. They discovered them
in 1925 when they built the bridge over the Nahe River. The exhibit
is a copy as the originals are under lock and key in a very safe
place ;-)
On the way to Bacharach we visited
Burg Rheinstein. After chaining our bikes in the underpass we
climbed up to the castle. You need to be fit to be a tourist
around here, as every castle is up the top of an enormous hill!
The castle has been reconstructed to some extent, but is still
impressive just by the fact of its being there. The chapel on
its jutting piece of rock gives a definite feeling of impermanence
- quite in contrast to the 400 year old grapevine in the adjoining
courtyard!
We saw an interesting car on the
road on our way back down - painted matt black, it was decorated
with a shark's mouth, just like the old fighter 'planes. Then,
on the left rear flank, was painted a tally of "road kills"
- 8 cars, 3 tractors, 5 motorbikes, 3 dogs, and 1 cat. What,
I thought, no cyclists?
Youth hostel Burg Stahleck, Bacharach, on top of the hill
When we arrived in Bacharach, our
goal for the night was hard to miss! Burg Stahleck sits high
above the town, on the top of a HUGE hill. Up we go again!!
The castle is superb and is a tourist attraction as well as a
youth hostel. Our double room was down a winding stair in the
very foundations of the castle - what a treat for an incurable
romantic! Bacharach is a funny place though, come 17.00 everyone
disappears off the streets.
April 20 was a bright sunny morning,
although it was still a bit chilly for my liking, about 6 degrees
C. We had a quick look around Bacharach, where the railway line
runs right next to the outdoor cafes, then pushed on to St Goar
as the thermometer dropped lower and lower.
Everything was closed in St Goar
when we arrived (Sunday afternoon), so we had lunch on the supermarket
steps, the sunniest place we could find. After lunch we found
the best beerstein shop in Germany - Denis just had to buy the
one with the cyclist on it! We paid for postage and packing back
to Australia - I hope they arrive OK.
We then propelled ourselves UP to
Burg Rheinfels as the weather began closing in. Rheinfels is
a ruin, but is well worth visiting nonetheless. The sheer immensity
of the place is astounding. The threatening sky sent us scuttling
out after about 1 hour, and the snow storm began just as we were
donning our wet-weather gear in the car-park. The sympathetic
looks we received from the warm, dry, car passengers were enough
to melt our hearts ;-^
We descended the hill gingerly, and
headed for the St Goar youth hostel and shelter - the only problem
being that it didn't open until 17.00 and it was now only 14.30.
The weather was clearing a bit so we decided to make a run for
Koblenz, 30k up the river. It wasn't a unanimous decision.
After St Goar the cycle path becomes
a bit ordinary. Passing through the towns it is well maintained,
but between towns it becomes very narrow and broken, and quite
dangerous in parts. At one stage I though we would all get sucked
under by a huge tourist bus, but a determined wobble here and
there kept us all upright!
Passing through Boppard (full of
Beautiful People) we tried yet again to find some tyre liners
- unfortunately the response was still negative - don't cyclists
get punctures in Germany?
The cycle path along the Rhine in
to Koblenz is beautifully signposted. We knew we had to cross
the river to get to Ehrenbreitstein, so there was no trouble finding
our way - until we got to the underpass sign on the right bank
that said youth hostel to the right AND youth hostel to the left.
Of course this lead to a major argument, with 5 going right and
3 going left. We should have all gone straight ahead! Whichever
way we went, it was an enormous climb up to the fortress. We
got to the point where we left our bikes against a wall and continued
on foot, as we had no intention of pushing our loaded bikes up
that rotten hill if the youth hostel wasn't up there too! Be
assured, it IS up there, tucked away in the back corner. We
arrived too late for dinner, and were in no fit state to go back
down the bottom in search of sustenance, so the hostel receptionist
kindly arranged a pizza delivery for us.
The massive Ehrenbreitstein fortress
contains a number of things besides the youth hostel, and I am
sorry we didn't make time to explore the place properly before
taking off next morning, as its very presence invites curiosity.
 Mosel meets Rhine at Koblenz |
 The Mosel River and surrounding vineyards |
 Klotten an der Mosel |
KOBLENZ TO TRIER AND BACK
Monday 21/4 saw us head off up the
Moselle River by train, destination Trier. We had intended to
catch the 9.33 train from Koblenz, but there was not enough room
for 8 bicycles. The guard explained that the 10.17 had a baggage
car big enough to take all the bikes, and it arrived in Trier
only 11 minutes later than the other. Had we known this earlier
we could have spent some time exploring Ehrenbreitstein, but we
explored the Koblenz station instead.
The trip south to Trier was interesting,
and whetted our appetites for the ride back down the river. We
reached Trier around lunch time and headed straight for the youth
hostel. It was fairly full, but we still managed to obtain two
6-bed dorms, on the proviso that the spare beds would be allocated
to strangers if necessary.
Trier is over 2000 years old and
at one stage the city was second only to Rome. There are Roman
ruins everywhere, and the thermal baths are particularly interesting.
The Dom is Romanesque rather than Gothic, and the internal ornamentation
was quite different from other churches we had seen. A special
shrine has been built behind the high altar to house the cathedral's
most precious relic - believed by the faithful to be the garment
Jesus Christ was wearing before the Crucifixion. The cathedral
treasury has on exhibition some beautiful examples of the gold-
and silversmiths' art, as well as some very intricate embroidery.
There was so much to see in Trier
that we decided to stay the next day as well, which meant a drastic
alteration of Denis' and my plans for cycling in the Netherlands.
We were now four days behind schedule, and well aware that our
original plans had been far too ambitious. I was determined,
however, to meet up with our Dutch internet connections, come
Hell or high water!
The first night in Trier Denis and
I had found a great little pub, not far from the hostel. As usual,
Denis had taken note of the whereabouts of a number of hostelries
on the way in to the alt Stadt, so after a couple of false starts
(too dingy, too smoky), he knew there was still one to come before
we reached the hostel. And what a lovely place it was, the Gaststaette
"Am Ecken". We made the mistake of paying for our drinks
before we received them (the Australian way) and thoroughly confused
mein host, who then asked another patron, a uni student who could
speak excellent English, to explain the situation to us. Susan
was a gem and gave us lots of information about the pub and about
Trier.
We returned with the others the next night, for tea. Susan wasn't there, but Rosi (meine hostess ?) was in fine form. She asked for a postcard from Australia, and was tickled pink when I pulled a kangaroo postcard out of my barbag, and we all signed it there and then. I can't remember who had made the suggestion originally, but most of us had a selection of Australian souvenirs with us, to hand out to anyone who had been particularly helpful. It was a good idea, as it made us feel we could give people something in return for their kindness, and the recipients always seemed to appreciate it
:-)
Navigation for the next three days
was pretty simple - follow the Moselle north. The Moselradweg
signs are pretty comprehensive, and we only became "geographically
embarrassed" a couple of times when roadworks forced us off
the signposted path. One such instance was the entry to Bernkastel.
The last 300 metres of road before the town was under complete
reconstruction and a roadworker directed us back 200 metres and
up a walking path that must have been made by mountain goats.
Though not recommended for road bikes, those of us with MTB style
tyres had quite a good time once we had overcome the vertical
climb at the start!
Our first night on the Moselle was
spent at Bernkastel. I had found out at Trier that the youth
hostel was full, so we stayed at Haus Margret, Burgstrasse 90.
Margret was aghast that we had come so far on bicycles, but I
heard her proudly relay the story to her next door neighbour next
morning as she waved us goodbye.
Bernkastel is a quaint little town,
completed dominated by the beetling vineyards that are the hallmark
of the Moselle. Again we had a good feed in a small ethnic restaurant,
this time a Turkish establishment up river from the main tourist
area.
We had asked for an early breakfast
next morning, and a loud radio "just happened" to come
on at about 6.45 am. You can imagine my surprise when I recognised
the song as one of my favourites - "Live it up" by the
80's Australian band Mental as Anything! Breakfast was a tour
de force, as I'm sure Margret was feeding us up for the day ahead.
Today was my birthday, and the group
bought a large apple streusel and sang happy birthday when we
stopped for morning tea at Traben-Trarbach. How sweet! Beware
of Traben-Trarbach though - we could not find a public toilet
no matter how we tried - this time not even the train station
had one. We couldn't hang on 'til Cochem, so we were relieved
(as it were) to find accessible public toilets in a camping ground
about 10k further on.
The Moselle River between Trier and
Cochem twists and turns like a snake with a belly ache, so again
our distance calculations were slightly out. Presumably the distance
marked on the map is taken from the centre of the river, but the
path we were on always seemed to follow the outside bends, so
once again the projected 60k stretched out to 85k two days running.
Luckily the path is pretty flat, with most "hills"
being the approaches to the numerous bridges one has to cross.
The headwinds, however, can get a bit tiresome.
We were booked in to the Cochem youth
hostel, which happens to be situated across the river in Cond,
which was lucky, as we approached the town along the right bank,
and rode straight to hostel without even knowing where it was.
Our spirits sank a little when we
noticed we were sharing the hostel with yet another busload of
youngsters, but at least this time the teachers were in charge,
and the kids were all in bed by 21.00. It was our turn to give
them a hard time that night, as we had called in to a wine cellar
in Zell during the day, and we had 3 bottles of wine to polish
off before the night was through!
The next day (25/4) was one we had
all been waiting for. Today we would see Burg Eltz! We left
Cochem at 10.00 and sprinted down the river towards Moselkern.
We reached the town then followed the signs inland towards the
castle. About 3k up the road we left our bikes chained up in
the last carpark before the forest footpath begins. It's a lovely
walk through the trees, up and down the mountain side, and takes
about 40 minutes in either direction. It was while walking through
the lower reaches of this path that I heard my first real live
cuckoo - it sounded just like our clock ;-)
Burg Eltz is splendid, and well worth
a visit, no matter how you get there. It has never been conquered,
and never destroyed, and has been in the hands of the same family
for over 800 years! We were lucky that an American family of
four arrived at the same time as us, so we were given an English
tour. I have the whole spiel on my little tape recorder!
After coming back down the mountain
we had our last picnic lunch together. Russell only had six days
to go before leaving for home, and Denis and I had eight; and
we still hadn't reached the Netherlands. We were headed back
to Koblenz and the mouth of the Moselle, and should have had plenty
of time, except ..., you might have guessed ..., Louise's back
tyre decided to go flat yet again. Fifty minutes later we resumed
our journey.
Denis was adamant he didn't want to ride all the way up to Ehrenbreitstein again, so we started looking for a hotel. The others were not keen to spend the extra money, so after a beer and quick pizza downtown we said farewell to our companions. It was a bit scary to think that, from now on, it was just the two of us.