It was a much better sleep at the Zur Burg Eltz Hotel. I went to bed at 7pm, totally exhausted after a big day on the bike plus a 10k hike through some of Germany’s most beautiful forest to see the great Burg Eltz. I slept soundly for five hours, then worked two hours writing and posting the blog, and fell soundly asleep again at 2am until the alarm at 7am.
Natalee, the young adult daughter of the owner, looked after me extremely well. She cooked the dinner just for me (I was the only guest) and again prepared an excellent breakfast table just for me. She even carried the heaviest of my bike bags to the room. She was a real gem, and when the time came it was hard to say goodbye. Natalee and her parents are Polish, and moved from Poland to Germany in 1989 as soon as the Berlin Wall was ‘down’. She is early 20’s maybe, and speaks three languages.
The bike was loaded by 9am, and within minutes I made my way slowly through the few narrow cobbled lanes of Moselkern, this time turning left back to Koblenz, the reverse of the journey from the previous afternoon. The day was cool, in fact it sat on 8C all day. It was overcast, making it a fairly gloomy morning. It wasn’t before long that it started to ‘spit’ with rain, which kept up all day until the run into Linz in the mid-afternoon. The river was on my right all morning until Koblenz, a distance of some 35k, most of it on glorious bikepath which enabled the bike to roll extremely easily, maintaining an average of 20kph for most of the day.
My plan was to cycle easily today, without exertion. It was a very solid session yesterday, so today was to be a recovery day. Ironically I was maintaining a steady 20kph, the same average as the previous day but without any sense of exerting myself. The Mosel River was looking stunning this morning. Perhaps a combination of the cool temperature and the complete lack of activity on the water made the surface like a mirror. The beautiful landscape of the opposite shore was perfectly mirrored on the surface of the water for the 35k back to Koblenz.
I wanted to make good time, but the enchanting scenes of the opposite shore made frequent stopping compulsory. Despite the cold, I developed the habit of riding with no glove on my right hand, my ‘camera’ hand. Otherwise it was also irritating to keep taking off the glove and squeezing it back on again. I have painful arthritis in both hands (a major problem for touring cyclists – good hands are critical!) so even pulling on gloves is an ordeal.
I really enjoyed the Mosel River. It is the kind of River experience that anyone could do – fly to Frankfurt, get a luxury ferry to Koblenz in a day, hire a bike at Koblenz, and take as long as you like to cycle as far as you like and back up the most beautiful of all river valleys in Germany. The villages are only a few kilometers apart, so you could do as few or as many kilometers per day as you choose. Hotels and ‘zimmers’ are plentiful.
I arrived back at Koblenz. It was a long run in around the river, the path now zig-zagging around factories and boatyards. I stopped to see some beautiful swans – one was so friendly that it came right up to me at the bike as if to want to chat for a few minutes. They are lovely. The path became tricky as I got right back to the confluence of the Mosel and Rhine. I ended up down a few dead-ends, but eventually found the path which was now a narrow suburban street, passing through a neighborhood of narrow streets and very historic housing. I stopped for morning tea and a donut. I was half way, and it was still only late morning.
Life had now changed. The beautiful UNESCO listed ‘Middle Rhine’ was now behind me, a memory though that will stay with me. I was now in the industrial area of the northern Rhine, the industrial heart of Germany. It was obvious. The river seemed lined on both sides by large (and ugly) industrial plants, some spewing steam from their chimneys. However, this too was patchy. As the path leveled out and found the river bank again, there were long stretches of lovely rural Germany to enjoy.
My goal for the day was Linz am Rhine, at the 78k mark as it turned out, and also on the opposite shore. There were no more bridges, so my hopes were invested in the ferry that was marked on my map. I passed numerous ferry ports but those ferries seemed to be closed for the winter. I lived in hope.
I passed through some lovely forests, which still being autumn the leaves were now a lovely coloured carpet, and very good for photos. I passed some lovely fields under plough, and also for the first time a large field of corn just waiting to be harvested, the first corn field of my trip thus far. It was all very lovely and very enjoyable. The path switched repeatedly now between the shore of the river and the railway, and also the now major highway that was built high up above. This involved quite a few tunnels underneath, with tight twists and turns to get down and to come up again. On one of these I came to grief as the bike balanced the wrong way as I tried to ride at crawling speed to negotiate the tight 180 turns as the path wove its way down under the railway line. Anyway, nothing broken, scratched or bruised except the pride!
The town of Remagen is on the opposite shore to Linz, and the signs for which I was following. The kilometers were now in single numbers, which means I had passed 70k so far. For some odd reason my nose was bleeding, which made life a little difficult, my trusty glove the only thing between blood streaming down my face and any hope of it being managed. My hopes were now in the ferry. Would it be operating? What will I do if it too is closed for the winter.
I could see the beautiful historic village of Linz am Rhein looming into view across the river. I was quite excited to see it, and to see what a museum of German history it was appearing to be. The signs were saying that Remagen was still 4 k away, when I came quickly over a rise, emerging from a heavily treed edge of the river, to suddenly be confronted by the ferry dock which I didn’t expect to see until Remagen. This beautiful, large ferry was already docked and filling with cars, so I put the hammer down and rode straight on to the ferry, which happily cost me about $2 for the lovely experience of the crossing of the Rhine.
My home for the night was the Hotel Burgklausse, which was located in the ancient cobbled plaza adjacent to the Linz Burg, a beautiful ancient palace around which the village of Linz had grown over the centuries, and which is fully in view from my first floor bedroom window. The Hotel was just stunning, an example of beautiful historic German architecture, with lovely flower boxes at the windows.
It was nice to be inside. It was now rather wet outside, although still only just lightly ‘spitting’ rain which was no problem while cycling. The room for the night is neat, roomy and with cable TV which is a boost, although all channels except CNN are in German. In unloading the bags from the bike (in the rear wine cellar!) I was concerned to see that the rear rack (that holds the heavy panniers) had snapped just above where the main support is bolted to the bike at the rear axle. Unfortunately this is not a minor problem at all, but what could I do. The only staff person on duty assured me there was no bike shop in town.
Apart from that, it was a very pleasant, enjoyable day, but nevertheless it was a hard work day again on the bike. It is good training, but would not like to give the impression that there is a lack of physical effort in a ride along a river bank!
I showered, enjoyed ‘kaffee’ in the dainty restaurant, and then spent the final hour before dark exploring this museum of ancient German architecture, the cobbled heart of the village of Linz, before enjoying my first schnitzel, which itself was the size of a very large dinner plate! Tomorrow I press on to the city of Cologne, staying in my first Youth Hostel for this trip. Looking forward to that!
With that I send my love from the beautiful village of Linz, on the edge of the Rhine River.
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