RAGE ON THE RHINE

Following our visit to Normandy we took a TGV clear across France to visit the beautiful border city of Strasbourg.  This place is fantastic and we’re glad we decided to fit it in.  We paid a visit to the Old City and Petite French quarters of the town.  The place is a charming mix of old, French and German influences.

 

So with Strasbourg done it was time to head north to follow the beautiful Rhine River downstream to Bonn. The plan called for us to follow the Euro Velo 15 trail. Euro Velo, for those not into cycling, is a series of premier cycling routes that take in the best of Europe using cycle only trails or quiet country roads. Well it sounded great in principal but in practice was a complete debacle!  Perhaps my bike falling over by it’s self that morning should have been taken as a warning and not a moment to meter out some motivational coaxing to get it going.

Let’s start with Day No 1. It would appear that there are no route maps available at local bike shops or downloadable for viewing offline, sign posting of turns with the official Euro Velo 15 logo was optional, and zig zagging to unnecessarily double the straight line distance between points appears to be the name of the game. So with 120km in the legs and the speed approaching 30km/h we race to try and beat a fast approaching storm to that night’s campground.

After being comforted by the reassuring glow of the neighbouring Phillipsburg nuclear power plant the previous evening, we set forth the next day, with a vigour not seen before on this trip? Giving the Euro Velo the benefit of the doubt we picked up the trail again and headed onward to the city of Wiesbaden. We came across another couple of cyclists not far into the day and tagged along with them for a while. I asked them if they had met with any navigational difficulties along the way and they replied YES. Well, I thought to myself, I can’t be a complete knob if someone else is having difficulties too. That chuffed mood lasted for about the next hour! As many of you know, I am a patient person, not one to lose my temper easily. So after losing touch with any form of cycle route signage and the GPS showing me I was approaching the English Channel in lieu of the romantic Rhine I calmly took stock of the situation. As we were solely reliant on our bikes for transport, throwing mine onto the adjoining train line was not the first option. I scoured the surrounding area for a dog to kick but was out of luck with that option too. Vikki, for a brief second, looked like a viable target to unleash the building rage but I must be getting old. Without saying anything I consulted my map and began cycling to the nearest train station. Within half an hour we were on our way to the town of Bingen.

Now if you’ll excuse the language, I have coined a new saying on this trip, “Things have gone from shitty to pretty just by turning a corner” and that’s exactly what happened when we stepped off the train.   We had gone from a Rhine River flanked by gravel pits and industrial sites to a Rhine River as seen on postcards. A wonderful water front boulevard graced the banks and art work was scattered along the adjoining gardens. We proceeded to catch the ferry to the north bank with its terraced vineyards and overlooking statue of Germania. This place was truly worthy of an unplanned day’s stop over!

  

Stepping out the next morning we explored the village of Rudesheimer. This place was packed with aging what I like to call ginger “bread houses”.

Although being very touristy, this place is well worth a look. We caught a chair lift to the ridge line above to take in the statue and a wonderful view of the Rhine valley below. Walking tracks thread their way through the accompanying forest and these offered some respite from the increasingly warm temperature being experienced in Germany at the moment.

  

It was off to the city of Koblenz the next day and we would be riding in the hottest temperature of the trip so far, try 40^oc! At least the temp over here is not accompanied with the humidity that would be found back home so as long as you were moving you stayed cool.   Vikki’s patients with my constant stops for picture taking was starting to wane. “How many bloody castles do you need to take pictures of” was heard on more than one occasion, but this place is a veritable smorgasbord for those both crumbling and those now restored.

Besides the castles there were the picturesque villages and accompanying churches as well as another statue, this time of the watery nymph “Lorely”. This statue depicts an old Rhine sailor’s myth that talks about a naked, wanton young tart that used to lure poor unfortunate boatmen onto rocks and a watery demise. Sounds more like the real life story of courtship and following married life to me!

Upon reaching Koblenz we find a hive of activity taking place along the water front park that marks the confluence of the Rhine and Mosel rivers. People setting up food stalls, sound stages and amusement rides, we have stumbled upon Rhine en Flammen! After having flash backs to our last overseas trip and being shut out of Dublin because of 7, yes 7 concerts all being held on the same weekend (Robbie Williams, Eagles, Guns and Roses, Metallica, etc.) we quickly made our way to the campground to try and secure a site. All booked out for camper vans and 3 tent sites left, phew.

The following day started with a visit to a museum I termed the “Uber Museum”. Having lured Vikki here on the pretence we were visiting a Toy Donkey and Puppy exposition we arrived at a rather unassuming industrial shed not far from the camp. For the exorbitant price of 0€ each and the flashing of a passport, we made our way inside. What lay inside was a treasure trove of German military equipment all crammed into a space the size of Dick Elmer’s Furniture Warehouse. While I spent 3 hours marvelling inside, Vikki spent 2 and a half hours outside on a bench stating it was really too warm inside for her.

 

That afternoon, as a reward for her patients that morning, I treated Vikki to a scenic cable car ride across the Rhine River and to guess what, an old military fortress, I really spoil her sometimes! Anyway turns out there’s not too much military stuff there anymore but an eclectic collection of the region’s history, culture and manufacturing achievements.

In the evening our campground provided us with front row seats to a wonderful fireworks show and illuminated flotilla for Rhine en Flammen.

 

It was then on to the town of Remagan, our base for exploring Bonn and Koln. Remagan was made famous for being the site of the only intact bridge across the Rhine to be captured by the Allies in WWII.

It collapsed 4 days later and the towers on either side of the river remain as a memorial to Germans and Allies alike.

Off to Bonn the next day, the birth place of Beethoven. For 8€ a piece you could see inside the house where he was born and then, for another small fee, on to a nearby church to see his baptism font, how could one refuse? I don’t know but I did and the savings paid for lunch that day.

The following day it was off to Koln. You can tell when you have been on the road for too long, all of a sudden each city begins to look like the last. Apart from Koln’s rather massive and I must say impressive cathedral, it looks like any other modern city back home. What has become apparent as we have made our way further down the Rhine is that the large cities took an absolute pounding from bombing during the war. The ancient town centres, which I think are the soul of a city, have been destroyed and replaced with rather sterile bland replacement buildings and street scapes, pity!

  

Our next leg of the trip takes us south to the tiny country of Luxembourg, so until next time stay safe stay well.