AUTUMN IN THE PYRENEES AND GERMAN RIVERS: Fairwell via Frankfurk

Our last two days are spent in Frankfurt, Germany's 5th largest city, a combination Old World charm and no-nonsense modern architecture.  Known for its financial center, this is a city of 700,000, 25% of which carry foreign passports from 168 different countries. We see the diversity at our hotel every morning at breakfast. The room is crowded and often we share tables with people who speak languages we don't even recognize. 

Frankfurt is home of the European Central Bank.  The Banks's two silver high-rise buildings are called "credit" and "debit".

The main train station, handles 350,000 passengers each day; 24 platforms accommodate 1,800 trains daily.  It is a 12 minute train ride from the airport to the train station.

On both sides on the Main River are nine museums (more than the arts districts of Dallas and Fort Worth combined) along tree-lined streets.  The city devotes 11% of it's budget to the arts and culture.

We went on a self-guided walking tour using the audio device we rented from the tourist office. By lunch time we had wandered into Romerberg Square, the market square that was the birth place of the city - the first trade fairs were held in the 12th century. The Romerberg Hall (Center) was where Holy Roman Emperors celebrated their coronations; today it houses the city council and the mayor's office.

Romerberg Hall, center.  "Art" in the foreground.

We didn't pay to go in the cathedral (below) but did go in a Protestant Parish Church from 1150.

Protestant Parish Church, 1150

With this trip concluded, the blog will shut down.  Unless we change plans, there will not be a blog until next September when we lead a ride from Prague to Vienna, and possibly on to Budapest.

AUTUMN IN THE PYRENEES AND GERMAN RIVERS: France vs Germany

NOTE: I'll display some photos from Germany in this blog.

France vs Germany?  No, this is not a football (soccer) match, just some thoughts on these back-to-back tours in neighboring countries.  How would I compare them, is this even possible?

The bike rides:  France was more difficult (hilly) because it was near the Pyrenees.  But the rides were shorter in distance.  Germany was flatter going along the rivers but the distances were longer.  

There was a difference in the road surfaces.  In France, we were almost exclusively on small country roads with good surfaces. Most of the riding in Germany was on bike paths instead of roads. The paths could be concrete, asphalt, pavers, cobblestones, gravel or dirt.  The last three of these surfaces are not desirable for cycling, especially when it's raining. And it rained quite a bit in Germany. So France was certainly better in this respect.

The scenery:  Mountains or rivers? Which do you prefer?  The French scenery was consistent. In Germany our route started on the industrial part of the Rhine which we could have skipped.  But the Mosel was the prettiest of all.

Price/value: This is uncanny; both cost $183 per person per day.  In France, we had dinner provided 13 of the 15 nights; in Germany, no dinners were provided.  However, we had larger and nicer hotel rooms in Germany.

Food: Both very good but I might give preference to the French since I’m not particularly fond of German food.  I preferred the French breakfasts (e.g. chocolate croissants) but Brenda is on a gluten-free diet and preferred the German breakfasts.

Technology:  I’ve always considered Germany a high-tech country with Deutsche-telecom, Mercedes Benz, Porsche, etc. compared with France’s Peugeot.  But the last four German hotels had incredibly terrible internet service.  I don’t remember any problems with internet service in France.  So Germany is the sure loser here.

WC:  Many German toilets charged 0.50 Euro per flush.  I don't remember having to pay to pee in France.  

Many French hotel rooms had bath tubs, which I prefer and which are better for hand-washing laundry. Not one German hotel room had a tub; some had the smallest shower imaginable.

All in all, I'd go cycling in either country again.  And we've discovered a couple of towns we'd like to re-visit, Strasbourg and Trier.

GERMAN RIVERS: Tourist Day in Trier

Trier, Germany’s oldest city, lies at the head of the scenic Mosel Valley, near the border with Luxembourg.  An ancient Roman capital, Trier brags that it was inhabited by Celts for 1,300 years before Rome even existed.  A stop here offers you a look at Germany’s oldest Christian church, one of its most enjoyable markets, and it’s best Roman ruins.  We’re going to visit these sites today.

We toured Trier, walking for 6 hours.  This is much more tiring than cycling for 6 hours.  In addition to a guided walking tour we visited Porta Nigra, the cathedral, the basilica, the archeological museum and the Roman baths.

The Roman city of Trier (Augusta Treverorum) acquired its north gate in conjunction with construction of  a city wall, 160-200 ad. The gate has been known since the Middle Ages as Porta Nigra or “Black Gate” after small organisms darkened the surface of the white sandstone.  It was at one time a church but when the French took control 200 years ago, it was transferred to state ownership.

The archeological museum was a surprise.  I believe that only the museum in Athens and the British Museum contain more Roman artifacts.  We had just enough time to quickly peruse but should come back some day and spend time with the audio guide.

The cathedral is impressive from the outside but very plain on the inside. There are no stained glass windows and the alter is also plain.

You may remember one blog in France earlier this month when I told you that, according to our guide, a basilica is a church consecrated by a pope.  The Trier guide said too forget anything you’ve heard about the name “basilica” since this one was not even (or ever) a church.   My on-line dictionary gives an entirely different definition than either of these.  Anyway this basilica is noted for its very large expanse of roof without columns.

The Kaisertherman, “Imperial Baths” were begun in the 4th century but never completed because Constantine The Great shifted his activities to the east. 

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Tomorrow we're taking a chartered bus to the Frankfurt airport. Brenda and I have 2.5 days there. 'Not sure if I'll blog about Frankfurt or not but surely I'll write a final chapter about our month cycling in France and Germany.

GERMAN RIVERS: Bernkastle-Kues to Trier

(Published late due to poor internet service the last several days.)

Last night, in Bernkastel- Kues, we had a wine tasting at Anton Zimmermann winery, conducted by the owner, Herr Zimmermann.  His English was easily understandable and his descriptions of the grapes and the wine processing were very informative.  The wines we tasted were very good and the prices very low.  I asked about buying a case and shipping it to the US; he replied “Only pallets” - 30 or so cases.

This is the last day to ride in Germany.  It's cloudy and there's a 60% chance of rain but everyone is riding.  It's misting as we start, then gets harder.  A few riders stop to put on their rain pants after the first mile.  The rain stops and doesn't start again until the last mile.

The path is mostly asphalt today which is good.  In previous days we've also had concrete (when part of the road), pavers (not sure why anyone would take the time to install these), cobblestone (We hate this rough surface), gravel and dirt.  We're along the river and in vineyards today; a very picturesque day,

After wandering around Trier we arrived back at the river. At the second bridge, the Romerbrocke Bridge, we looked across the Mosel and there was our hotel.  The trip was over and everyone is safe and sound.  You may remember several days ago, when we had a lot of rain and unpaved roads, I told about falling while crossing railroad tracks.  I later learned that 5 other people fell that day.  But we were all going slowly and no one was hurt.

With the ride over, the usual priority is to disassemble the bikes and put them in their cases.  But we have a day and a half to do this so some of us go searching for lunch.  We stumble onto an incredible Italian restaurant - Italian wines only and opera on the sound system. We take a long and leisurely lunch, well deserved. Then Brenda and I pack the bikes, getting them both in their cases in less than 90 minutes.

GERMAN RIVERS: Cochem to Bernkastle-Kues

Koblenz, where we were yesterday – or was it the day before, is at the confluence of the Moselle and the Rhine.  So we’re now on the Moselle, which I think is much more picturesque than the Rhine.The Moselle is a river flowing through France, Luxembourg, and Germany. It is a left tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A small part of Belgium is also drained by the Moselle through the Sauer and the Our.

It's colder today - autumn started yesterday - and the forecast is 90 % chance of rain.  So more than half the "riders" ride the train and bus to Bernkastle-Kues. By the way, when towns on the Mosel have a hyphenated names like this, it means there are two sister towns, one on the north side of the river and one on the south.

Looking north and south from the bridge connecting Bernkastle and Kues.

As I write this blog at 3:00 pm I look across the river and the sun is out and hopefully those who rode their bikes are enjoying the weather.

GERMAN RIVERS: Koblenz to Cochem

There are three riding days left which is significant.  We carry three sets of cycling clothes.  So we have a set for each remaining day and don’t have to hand-wash our cycling clothes each night!


Photo, early morning in Koblenz.  The sun fights the fog and when we leave at 9:30 the fog is winning. Later in the day, the sun wins.

Capuccino at picturesque town of Kobern-Gondorf.

We detoured to visit Berg Eltz.  The detour was long because it's a 45 minute hike there and back plus the 45 minute tour. The castle has been owned by the same family for 30 generations.  I have difficulty learning about my ancestors three generations back and can't imagine 30 generations. Due to multiple technical problems, I only have one photo to show of the castle. Hopefully I'll add a couple of others in a day of two.

GERMAN RIVERS: Bingen to Koblenz

If anyone offers you a romantic dinner cruse with fireworks on the Rhine you'd better ask some questions:

• How long is the trip and when will we return to the hotel?  If the answer in 7 hours and 1:00 am, better rethink.
• Who will be your companions? If the answer is 500 of your best drunk German friends, better rethink.
• What will the environment be? If the  answer is loud German rock music, better rethink.

There were dozens, maybe 50 or more boats lined up on the Rhine for the fireworks display. And thousands more lining the banks of the Rhine. No one was disappointed in the 40 minute show from 4 or 5 locations.  But it sure was a long night for us on the boat.

Today's weather was promising and we're promised more towns and more sights.  After all, this is our last day on the Rhine.

The Rhine is a European river that begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps, forms part of the Swiss-Austrian, Swiss- Liechtenstein border, Swiss-German and then the Franco-German border, then flows through the Rhineland and eventually empties into the North Sea in the Netherlands. It is the second longest river in Central and Western Europe (after the Danube), at about 1,230 km (760 mi), with an average discharge of about 2,900 m3/s (100,000 cu ft/s).


The Rhine and the Danube formed most of the northern inland frontier of the Roman Empire and, since those days, the Rhine has been a vital and navigable waterway carrying trade and goods deep inland. The many castles and fortifications along the Rhine testify to its importance as a waterway in the Holy Roman Empire. In the modern era, it has become a symbol of German nationalism.

Cappuccino in Oberwesel

Lunch was in Boppard under the shadow of the church on the right, accompanied by an "Um Pah" band.

All in all it was a great day but finding the hotel in Koblenz was difficult.  You'll find, if travelling with other couples, there are at least four ways of finding directions:

1. Rely on your instincts.
2. Rely on maps.
3. Rely on the GPS.
4. Ask for directions.

GERMAN RIVERS:Worms to Bingen

Last night's wine festival in Bad Durkheim was more fun than most of us envisioned and was worth the 34 km van ride.  The closest analogy I can give is the Texas State Fair (twice as large as the next largest state fair).  There are 100,000 Germans who come each of three weekends for this annual event. 

This photo is on it's side but people riding these devices can't tell which way is up anyway.

This festival was mostly about food and drink - and lots of both. The smallest serving of wine was 1/4 liter, so we shared!

This morning we woke to rain as expected.  The rain is supposed to stop by 9:00 but begin in the destination town of Bingen at 3:00. Sometimes you can't win. And when I learned there were more unpaved trails today I was most unhappy.  Then someone mentioned the train.  So the Griswold's and Brenda and I took the train. We discovered that Bingen wasn't much of a town so took the ferry across the Rhine to  Rudesheim for lunch.

Rudesheim

It apparently didn't rain much if at all today so maybe we should have been on the bike. But the reports we got on the road surface indicate we made a good decision.  And, FINALLY, we see a castle - right our of our bedroom window!

GERMAN RIVERS: Rest Day in Worms

In yesterday's blog I forgot to mention that I went down crossing a railroad track in the rain. This was a deja vu moment; Brenda and I went down crossing railroad tracks in the rain in Italy in 2010.  Brenda was hurt (slight concussion and several stitches) but I escaped injury in both cases.  My helmet was cracked after yesterday's incident; better the helmet than my head.

The bikes are back to fairly normal condition.  I did bring the wheels to the room and wash the rims in the shower. You've never taken bicycle rims with you in the shower?  More fun than a rubber duck.

When we skipped the cathedral in Speyer yesterday it was partially because we had heard it was not impressive, other than at one time being the largest in Europe.  But today's was spectacular:

Is this the door to which Martin Luther mailed his principles?

As you'll see in the next photo we once again are in a real nice hotel and will also be tomorrow.

Tonight we're going to a nearby town which is having a wine festival - should be interesting.

GERMAN RIVERS: Germserheim to Worms

For the record, Germans pronounce the name of our destination with a "V", not a "W".


Worms is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, situated on the Upper Rhine about 60 kilometres (40 mi) south-southwest of Frankfurt-am-Main. It had some 80,000 inhabitants as of 2013.

A pre-Roman foundation, Worms was the capital of the kingdom of the Burgundians in the early 5th century and hence the scene of the medieval legends referring to this period, notably the first part of the Nibelungenlied. Worms was a Roman Catholic bishopric since at least 614, and an important palatinate of Charlemagne. Worms Cathedral is one of the Imperial Cathedrals and among the finest examples of Romanesque architecture in Germany. Worms prospered in the High Middle Ages as an Imperial Free City. Among more than a hundred Imperial Diets held at Worms, the Diet of 1521 (commonly known as the Diet of Worms) ended with the Edict of Worms in which Martin Luther was declared a heretic. Today, the city is an industrial centre and is famed as the origin of Liebfraumilch wine. Other industries include chemicals and metal goods.

The forecast was for rain all day and we weren't let down. A drizzle at the start turned into fairly steady rain all day.  Most of the time it wasn't "blinding" but when we came out of the cafe in Speyer (after cappuccino and cheese cake) it was raining pretty hard.  We had detoured going into town (looking for the cathedral, cappuccino and a toilet).  We achieved the last two of these objectives.

Getting out of Speyer, and other spots along the part, were difficult to navigate.  I think we ended up with 87 km instead of the advertised 78 because we were lost so much of the time.  The worst parts, and there were  quite a few  of these, were when  the trail turned to gravel - or mud. It reminded us of the DATES tour of England in 2007 although I think there were more paths with gravel and mud here than in England.  Our bikes and clothes were incredibly "dirty", if that's the word. (see photo of my shoe covers and below).

When we finally arrived at the fancy hotel - after 6 or more hours of riding in the muck and rain - we didn't want to enter and drip on their floors. But they said it was ok. We were tired and hungry )no lunch).  I did an initial bike cleaning while Brenda took a shower and we tried to get some of the muck off our clothes.  (When in England, we found a product at bike stores called "Muck Off".  We surely need some of that here.)

Eventually we got somewhat decent, went to the organizational meeting for tomorrow's events and had a great dinner at the hotel. Tomorrow it's supposedly sunny, but it's an off day for us. We'll do laundry, although we doubt our jackets will ever come clean.  And we'll work on the bikes. Most need brake pads. In wet weather, particularly if you ride in gravel and mud, the muck that gets on the brakes can wear out the pads in a day or two. Under normal conditions, they'll last for months.

So we've ridden up the Rhine for three days now and have rarely seen the river and what we've seen is less than impressive.  We've seen no castles. Today we saw an oil refinery.  BFD, we can see these in Texas any day - and not in the rain on a bicycle. It's bound to get better.

GERMAN RIVERS: Schweigen-Rechtenbach to Gemserheim

First, a photo from last night's wine tasting:

Several of us walked around this interesting village (see photo) looking for a

place for dinner. The only restaurant we found which was open was full with dozens of customers, possibly from a tour bus.  So we ended up back at the hotel.  The food was good but the service slow.

I forgot to mention that we crossed into Germany late in the day today.  After two weeks of managing French - Brenda is pretty good at this - now we have to deal with German and we don't even recognize food on the menu.

The ride to Gemserheim was not pleasant. It started last night when our Dutch guide Joppa suggested an alternative route on a bike path through vineyards.  I didn't think a route without directions or GPS tracks was a good idea but I was out voted.  It was drizzling when we started. 

We stopped by a pear orchard and ate some of the pears on the

ground. They were really good until the six foot farmer appeared and "talked" to us; of course no one knew what he said.  Were we going to jail? Then someone said "from the ground" and he understood and everything was ok.

Which way? Neither. We had to turn around and go back.

It was raining harder; tractors were crossing the road pulling grape picking machines and the roads were getting muddy.  At around 16 km, 10 or 12 of us came to a "T" in the road and didn't know which way to turn. In fact we couldn't even determine what town we were in. After about 10 minutes a local set us straight: we were totally lost - we had been traveling south instead of the intended north.  So at 16 km we were almost back to the hotel. Our guide had assured us the path was straight and well marked.  Bull shit; it was neither.  The uncertainty continued.  At one town, six of us got separated and Ron had a good suggestion: "Let's forget about the Wine Bike Path and use the roads".  The roads were better marked, better surface and less hilly. An easy decision. We had lunch in Landau but the rain was harder and when we came out of the cafe we were cold. When we finally got to Gemserheim we couldn't find the hotel. A Brit with a good sense of humor drew a map for us but that didn't get us there.  We asked a German getting on his bicycle.  He couldn't figure our how to give instructions so he led us there on his bicycle.

So, when you add in dirty bikes and wet and dirty clothes, it was not the best of days.  But I have to remember the motto which used to be at the top of this blog: "The worst day on the bicycle is better than the best day at the office."