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Today was another long ride 123 km – because we are pushing to get to Kassel by Sunday night and also because there was no accommodation at our planned destination.

Before leaving Weilburg we stopped to have a look at this canal that goes through a tunnel under the hill – something we have not seen before!

The first part of the ride was along the Lahr cycle way, through Wetzlar, Giessen and Marburg. We stopped for some ice cream at Marburg, a bustling town.

The cycle path was very long and frustrating as it kept going back and forth across the river. So Kris took a short cut onto secondary roads from Marburg to Colbe.

Our short cut took us up a hill and through some wheat fields – all the wheat was green when we started our trip and now it is yellow and ready to harvest.

   

We took advice from other cyclists on our route to Rauschenberg – we first went via the cycle route to Kirchhain and then the cycle route to Rauschenberg. This was the best stretch of the day with the nicest cycle paths.

Unfortunately when we got to Rauschenberg the town was very quiet, with no tourist info. We went to the one hotel on the outskirts and she told us that they were full up, as was Kirchhaim, due to a dog show! She suggested that we ride on to Gemunden!

We were pretty tired, but it wasn’t so bad in the end, only about 10 km. At Gemunden the first hotel was full with a wedding in full swing. However we found accommodation at the second, which was actually in a railway carriage next to a beer garden!

We had a great time in the restaurant, which turned out to have excellent food. There were heaps of people there too. We sat for a long time drinking beers, eating pasta and salad and working on our computers (free wifi in the restaurant). We also chatted with the bus driver who had brought a bus full of people to the restaurant.

The room in the carriage was so small that we left all our luggage on the bikes (there was a bike shed). I slept very well despite being in a small hanging upper bunk with leather straps to stop me falling off.

   

Today we reached two milestones – Kris’s birthday and 4,000km on our journey so far!

Our bed and breakfast hostess served up a delicious breakfast and also some advice on the day’s route.

Our first ten kilometers or so, to Koblenz, was still along the Mosel. We saw some more impressive vineyards along the way. At Koblenz we reached the Deutsches Eck (German Corner), the spot where the Mosel joins the Rhine. There is a large and impressive statue of Emperor William the Great and a cable car going over the Rhine.

   

We passed fairly quickly through Koblenz, following the Rhine. There was an impressive amount of commercial traffic on the Rhine, including barges carrying scrap metal and tractors. We only travelled about 10km along the Rhine before turning off onto a cycle way along the Lahn river, which we followed for the rest of the day to Weilburg. This is a smaller river, also very pretty with regular castles and a fair number of cycle tourists.

There were also many groups of people out in canoes – we were told that motorised boats are banned from large parts of the river. Another feature of the river is very regular camping parks with caravans alongside the river – it is obviously a very popular holiday area.

Bad Ems was a very attractive town, with ornate buildings along the river front.

     

After Laurenburg, the signs became unclear as to whether the cycle path followed the river or went over a hill. We were advised that we could continue along the river but that we may have to get off and push in places so we continued on. The path deteriorated to little more than a narrow walking track. I hurt myself by smashing my toes against the rock on the side.

Just after this stretch we met a couple of helpful guys, out on a ride. Kris asked for directions and they offered to guide us to Limburg, where they live.

We rode with them for about an hour – this was nice and relaxing as we didn’t have to think about the route.

Here is a photo of Kris with our guides and the Limburg Cathedral.

Here is a new bridge being built alongside the old one. Our guides told us that a lot of the bridges in the area are being replaced.

This is St. Lubentius Basilica in Dietkirchen, which we passed by, still with our guides.

And after we had said goodbye to them we passed through Runkel, with its’ castle.

   

From here we pressed onto Weilburg, making it a long day at 124km. Here is the view from the Weilburg Schloss gardens, where we had picnic supper.

We had another fabulous ride along the Mosel Radweg today, in cool overcast conditions. We did 113 km from Bernkastel-Kues to Winningen. This was possible because of the ease of the route, being mostly flat or a gentle downhill.

This is one of the best cycle routes that we have ever ridden, up there together with the Loire Valley and the Danube routes.

Once again the cycle route was a well maintained track with good surface –  along both sides of the river for most of the way. There are many gaste zimmers and accommodation opportunities along the whole route. Also lots of camping parks with caravans along the banks

The highlights of the ride are beautiful old villages that are full of character. Every now and then you spot an old castle on a hill top.

We were also impressed with the spanning arches of huge bridges across valleys. We saw a cable stay bridge under construction, being elevated at least 100m up.

     

The most scenic part of today’s ride was through the river bends before Cochem, where we stopped for some juice and ice cream around midday. Another picture perfect town with a castle on a hill above the river.

    

The character of the valley really comes out through its vineyards – which we continued to see along the whole route again today. According to this cartoon, they are the steepest in the world (and we believe it).

Farmers have filled every spot on the hills. Some of them are so steep it is hard imagining anyone working on those banks.

This bridge was near the end of the ride – it is huge but what is amazing is the vines, growing hundreds of meters up alongside the bridge.

We stopped at Winningen, just short of Koblenz as it looked like a nice little town, just in the bend of the river – and we were getting tired.

The tourist info was open and found us excellent accommodation in a bed and breakfast nearby. She has a large well kept home with two rooms to hire out on the ground floor, totally separate from the rest of the house and very comfortable.

 

We continued along the Saar bicycle path today to Konz, where the Saar joins the Mosel. From here on we followed the Mosel river bicycle trail.

The weather was cool the whole day – an almost perfect temperature! It was overcast with occasional strong winds. It threatened to rain several times and we even got a few drops, but never got wet. It was very enjoyable to have a day’s ride without feeling overheated.

We did a side trip off the path at Trier to have a look at the Porta Nigra (Roman city gate dating back between 186 and 200 AD).

       

It took a while to get back onto the path again, as it took us through some semi industrial areas on the outskirts of the town and this was confused with road works.

From here the route became very scenic, as the river snakes back and forth through a hilly landscape.

       

The hills are all covered with vines, in some places you can hardly believe that they could cultivate on such a steep slope.

     

We saw rails set up along the vines – to help move grapes and equipment up and down these steep hills.

The villages we passed through were very scenic and all very neat. There were a lot of places offering wine tasting, food and rooms. There were also lots of cyclists along the route – it is very popular and rightly so. The bike path is of very good quality, mostly wide and tarred, and well signposted.

We stopped at Bernkastel-Kues, a beautiful town on the river, also with a ruined castle up on the hill.

        

We found accommodation in a gastehaus in the old town (the pink building to the right in the picture below). This was the nicest and best value accommodation we had in a long time. The room is large and in an exceptionally neat house in the centre of town. She has just three rooms to hire out, but runs it very professionally.

We spent some time walking around exploring the town, drinking a beer and buying some food.

               

 

The day started out well, with an early start. We were cruising along the Saar bike path when there was a huge bang. Kris’s outer tire had blown out and was completely irreparable. We were around 8 km from Merzig, the next large town. So Kris began to walk.

     

I rode on a few kilometres to Fremersdorf to check if we could buy a tire in that small town. I asked at a garage – the people there were very sweet and concerned but also confirmed that there was no place to buy bike tires in that town.

We decided that Kris would go ahead to Merzig with my bike, about 5km, and I would stay on the bike path pushing his bike. This worked out well, as I was almost at the bike path turn off to Merzig when I saw Kris coming back along the bridge with a tire. Kris replaced the tire on the bike path and we returned to the nearby Kaufland store where he had bought the tire.

The store is huge and sells everything, including food. We were overheated by this time, so we bought some ice cream and juice to cool down and get our energy up. Then also some pastries. We decided to buy and carry another tire with us, in case his other tire does the same thing!

It was after 1pm by the time we hit the road again and very hot. However this was the most scenic part of the ride, and we did get a bit of shade from time to time. The river narrowed and there were steep rocky cliffs alongside it in places.

       

At one point the path climbed up alongside the river to this cute little chapel.

             

We also rode past a huge quarry alongside the river.

We stopped at Saarburg and found a hotel near the river. It is a very picturesque town, with a castle up on the hill. This is the view just outside our hotel.

We didn’t pay the extra 10EUR for a river view, so our room faces the road. However, at least the afternoon sun was not shining in our windows. 

The weather began to change just as we reached the town with a strong wind coming up. Later on there were some brief showers and distant thunder claps.

We were both exhausted after the long hot day, and fell asleep early in the evening.

We had another early start, at around 8.15 am. The first part of our journey was not on any official bike path, but just making our way between the small towns – Shalbach, Veckersviller, Weyer, Wolfskirchen, Diedendorf. The countryside was gently undulating and it was a very pleasant ride. At one point we took a short cut along a farm road between Veckersviller and Weyer. Jenny thought maybe we should turn back but Kris thought they would connect, and he was right.

     

We also saw an interesting ruined 16^th century castle at Diedendorf, all abandoned.

     

From there we reconnected to the Eurovelo 5 alongside the Canal des Houilleres de la Sarre. This canal was a bit more muddy looking and slow flowing than yesterday’s canal. The bike route was very good and easy, being sealed for most of the way and we made good progress.

We also saw a few tourist boats and passed a number of locks, but not as many as yesterday. The first big town was Sarreguemines. It was after midday so we stopped to buy some ice cream and orange juice at the supermarket. It was hot, but not nearly as unpleasant as on previous days so we felt we could carry on. The temperature must have been in the low 30’s.

Our final destination, Saarbrucken was only about 18km away.

Here is some street art on the canal on the ride into the town:

     

The Saarbrucken tourist information were efficient and helpful in finding accommodation in a cheap hotel. We had time to ride around and look at the town, which is quite large with a wonderful wide pedestrian walkway at the centre.

         

We found a pub where we could sit outside and drink a beer (Weise Heffe on tap, our favourite).

We also ate some food from the street stalls for our supper.

Unfortunately the hotel room turned out to be very hot, with the late afternoon sun shining directly into our room. The wifi signal in the room was also weak so we ended up sitting in the (cooler) stairwell to access the internet. I also had some technical problems with my computer connecting to the internet which Kris fixed, so the day was not without its frustrations.

 

We got up very early, determined to beat the heat – our earliest start of the tour at 7.15am.

It was pleasant riding at that time and we picked up Eurovelo 5 alongside the la Marne au Rhin canal. This was a beautiful ride. There were quite a few people out enjoying the canal in the morning – cycling, walking dogs and fishing.

      

We had completed 50km before 11am and passed through Saverne – an interesting looking town with a boat harbour and some massive historical buildings.

After Saverne we saw more tourist boats on the canal as we passed through a number of locks. The canal was climbing steadily through a saddle between the hills. The town of Lutzelbeurg was very picturesque, with the houses and church directly on the canal. The heat was building at this point, so we wanted to keep moving. We stopped at one of the locks and asked if we could get some water (there was a garden hose). The lock keeper kindly went and got water inside as he said it was cooler, then he also got some ice for us.

Suddenly the canal path we were on came to a stop – the boats also couldn’t continue at this point. We went onto the road to try to find the way to Phalsbourg, the next big town near where we had booked some accommodation. We ended up doing an unnecessary hill climb (in the heat) to the town of St Louis.

We backtracked to Lutzelbeurg and got the correct turn-off to Phalsbourg. We did a gradual climb to Phalsbourg, a plain town where the shops were closed.

The last 7km to Metting were hard as it was incredibly hot on the road, with no shade and waves of heat coming up at you from the tar. There were also a few unexpected steep up and down hills. We were dripping with sweat when we arrived.

I had made a booking at a bed and breakfast through bookings.com, as finding accommodation can be tricky on Sundays. However when we got there, there was no one at home. We were worried that they may not have received the booking. Kris wanted to ride on, but I felt that I couldn’t go any further in the heat. It was past 1 pm.

I suggested that we go to the church, as we had seen a crowd of people there having a church lunch when we rode past. We were in luck, as Josephine was there. The people were very sweet and sent out a young man who could speak English and in a few minutes Josephine. She came to open the house up for us and also brought us some cake from the church lunch and gave us each a cold beer.

Later on she came back from the church with her 87 year old friend (still sharp as a tack) and another elderly lodger. They can all speak a simple German dialect, as well as French, but no English – so Kris could communicate with them. They are close to the German border and speak German, but do not speak fondly of the Germans. The younger people in the area can no longer speak German and all learn English at school.

We had a blissful nap in the afternoon. Josephine was a very attentive hostess and kindly made us some French pizza later on – we had enough snacks with us, but it was good to get some hot food.

Today we had a relaxing morning exploring Strasbourg, until around 2 pm, when it became too unpleasant to be outside any more. The heatwave continues and we stopped several times to cool down – at a fountain near the cathedral, a children’s water park and this water sprinkler.

The Ill river circles around the city, with tourist boats cruising up and down and bike paths alongside.

The Cathedral is a definite highlight.

         

         

The Petite-France area is very pretty.

        

        

The European Parliament is in the city, and is huge.

We reached Strasbourg after 90km on flat terrain along the Rhine. We had quite a bit of shade alongside the river for the first part of the ride. Unfortunately a bit in the sun later on. The river is very wide and slow flowing here. We still see a lot of swans – and enjoy seeing them putting their heads down and bottoms up as they explore the river floor.

The heat was slightly reduced from previous days but still in the high 30’s. We managed our ride by starting early, drinking lots of water and regularly stopping to wet our clothing – including in the river and in village water fountains.

The back wheel of my bike began to clack again, particularly as we rode into the outskirts of Strasbourg. We went to Decathlon in the late afternoon and they replaced the back wheel under warranty without much discussion! So now I have a new back and front wheel, practically a new bike – it looks like it should last for the rest of the trip. Not so sure about Kris’s bike though.

The accommodation we found is cheap and small, but has fridge and stove. So we spent it up buying steak and vegetables to cook in the frypan. We also bought some Pastis, a great drink in the heat – that must be served cold.

The heatwave continued today, but we took precautions by planning a shorter day. In the end we only did 59km from Weil to Breisach, arriving at around 1pm. We ditched our idea of going to Freiburg, as that would involve cycling away from the (cooler) river.

The first part of our trip was through some pretty small towns, until we found the path along the river. The path was unsealed but easy to ride along, and most importantly shaded for a lot of the way. We could only catch glimpses of the Rhine every now and then.

      

We met a German couple from Stuttgart who had been touring for two weeks. They were cutting their tour short and taking a train home because of the heat. We also met a group of four from Ecuador on their first cycling trip.

Breisach is an attractive town, with a cathedral on the hill above the Rhine.

We waited until about 9pm for it to cool down before we left our hotel to go out for a beer – the temperature had cooled down to 31 degrees at that time. We found a bar with a fan! There were a couple of locals in the bar that talked a lot of nonsense with Kris (in German). When we left at 10.30 pm the temperature had only cooled to 28 degrees.