RHEINGAU RAMBLE June 9-12,2011

Car Drive






RHEINGAU RAMBLE
June 9-12,2011

After breakfast at our B&B hotel we set off, by car, to explore the beautiful Rheingau region of Germany. We have several days to play before our return flight.

We decided to go to Rudesheim because the Hertz guy said lots of Americans go there,

Rudesheim is on the other side of the Rhine River, and looks pretty much just like what we have seen for the last several days.

Huge barges travel up and down the river carrying tons of freight, stacked high with sea-land containers, coal, steel. Tourist boats also travel the river. On both sides of the river train tracks carry more freight and passengers. The trains are frequent, running about 20-30 minutes apart all day and most of the night. Lots of train traffic.

We went to the tourist information center to book a room for the night, only to be told that there was an event for the weekend, so we might possibly get Wednesday night, but no hope for anything more. The woman booked us into a place way up the hillside, and only for one night.

Our zimmer was quite modest, although our hostess was very nice. We had comfortable beds in a small, modest room with douche and WC. Rather pricey at 46 Euros a night.

After putting our bags in the room we set out to explore the area and get some dinner.

First we went to the ridge line where a gondola runs people up to a monument which commemorates the first unification of Germany after the Franco-Prussian War in 1871.

Then we drove around the hills, enjoying the scenery. Don took some photos of Kloster Abtei Sankt Hildegardis in honor of our neighbor.

We had bratwurst for dinner, thinking of Ingrid Pearson, and it was very good and the kartelhoffen, with some kind of a sauce, were delicious.

Back to our zimmer for a good sleep.

FRIENDS FROM PONT CHATEAU June 11, 2011

FRIENDS FROM PONT CHATEAU
June 11, 2011

Rain was predicted today, so we planned some alternative activities. After breakfast we walked into town to see what was shakin’ at the Festival Francais.

It turns out Nassau is gemimillo (sister city) with a small town in Brittany, Pont Chateau. To celebrate their friendly relationship they were putting on the Deutsch-Franzosische Partnerschaft event in the town square.

In the morning there were hundreds of tables set up, just like you see in travelogues about Oktoberfest, and the food booths were beginning to cook, but there was nary a soul at the event.

We went up to the tourist information center to find out where the Citroen exhibition was located, only to find that the exhibit is just a dozen photos of Citroens. How disappointing.

I left Don at the TI center to do some computer work and I went back to our apartment to do some laundry.

When Don returned we went for a drive to check out some local sights. First we went up the hill to visit Berg Nassau, the local castle. There were lots of cars there and we were surprised to see so many because it is a small castle without a lot of interesting furniture or a museum.

It turns out that the castle is popular for weddings. One wedding ceremony had just concluded when we arrived and the bride and groom and guests were having photos taken. Many of the guests were dressed in period costumes, kilts and clan plaid of green, black and blue, so I guess one of the members of the happy couple was Scottish.

We climbed up in the tower, and thank goodness the stairs had been redone, so I didn’t have to cope with the uneven surfaces of stumble-stairs. Along the way we stopped in a side room, where the city official was waiting for the next bridal party to arrive. The room was set up for about 30 guests, so it has to be a very small wedding.

At the top we had fabulous vistas of the surrounding countryside and the town.
Next we drove through the green hills to Kloster Arnstein where we strolled the grounds and visited the church.

Back to the house for lunch and then we put on our French chapeaux, Don his stocking cap from Pont Chateau (1989 Cyclo Cross World Championships) and I my Carrefour bike cap, and we went back to town to see if there was any action at the festival. And, yes, there was. The tables were filled with people cheerfully chowing down on bratwurst, escargots, ratatouille, and of course, spargel mit kartelhoffen.

The charming maidens of Pont Chateau, dressed in traditional outfits, were dancing some folk dances, so we went up close for photos. Then the dignitaries got up on the stage to give their speeches and exchange gifts. I couldn’t make out everything they said. It was mostly “so happy to have this alliance and hope it will continue for many years to come” and “thank you for inviting us to share our culture”, but at one point they started talking about the “black American president”. They didn’t call him by name, but identified him by color and nationality. I wish I could have understood in what context they were referring to him and what they had to say.
As the dignitaries were finishing up patting each other on the back, one fellow came back to the tables where the mucky-mucks had been sitting. This is where we were sitting now. He noticed Don’s Pont Chateau had and was very surprised and commented on it, asking if we had every been to Pont Chateau.
We explained that this had is from the 1989 World Cyclocross competition held in Pont Chateau, and that Don takes this hat with him on all of our trips to keep his ears warm. This guy was the French event organizer and when the mayor of Pont Chateau came back to the table we were introduced as American friends of Pont Chateau. The cheeses got a big kick out of the fact that there was anyone at the festival that had been to Pont Chateau, and especially an American visiting Germany. We had a nice chat with the French dignitaries and took our leave with the whole table chattering about this unexpected meeting.

Back to the TI center, where we Skyped Pauline and Jerry, and then home to bed.

WANDERN IM BAD EMS June 10, 2011

52.5km





WANDERN IM BAD EMS
June 10, 2011

We had a very comfortable first night at our new fowo, so we decided to stay for the rest of our last week in Germany. It is two large rooms with a nice, modern TV and plenty of space for computers, and a huge sauna. A steal at 33 euros a night.

The first night Don fell asleep watching the German version of American Idol, with all performers competing in a yodeling fest. Later he opened one eye to watch 30 seconds of the Lemans 24 hour race before he fell back to sleep.

The weather was partly sunny, partly cloudy, so we packed up our rain jackets and some lunch, set up the bikes and headed out for a ride along the River Lahn.

Right off the bat we had some mechanical problems with my bike and found that my shift cable was crimped beyond repair, so Don took my front derailleur off and now I can use the middle 7 gears, which is good enough for riding along the river.

There is good bike path along the river and we easily made it to the town of Bad Ems. This is a big tourist attraction because of the thermal waters. Lots of big hotels and convalescent hospitals, blue-haired tourists and walkers here.

We continued through the town and along the river path on to where the Lahn feeds into the Rhine, This came out just across the Rhine from the Hotel Kripps.

We stopped at the junction of the rivers for photos and then turned back, through Bad Ems again.

In the square a quartet was set up on the bandstand playing lovely classical music. We stopped and sat for awhile enjoying the lovely music. The fellow sitting in front of us was enjoying the performance, humming along and waving his hands, happily serving as informal conductor for the musicians. As we sat there enjoying the music I could imagine beautiful debutantes and their beaux swirling around a dance floor at a cotillion. It was that kind of music. Really lovely.
When the band stopped for a break we put some money in the yellow piggy bank discretely placed in the middle of the bandstand steps, and got back on our bikes for the ride back to Nassau.

We stopped at the tourist info center to get the code for their internet, and then home for a shower and some dinner.

Later that night we went back to the tourist info center to log on and get our email, but we had to sit outside and it began to drizzle, so we made short work of our computer time and returned home for the evening. I couldn’t keep my eyes open, so I went to bed by 9pm.

SPARGEL UND SUSS KIRCHEN

56km


June 7, 2011

After breakfast we packed up and again set off along the Rhine River, going south, which is upstream. The route was pretty good and we made good headway as we watched hundreds of barges laden with sea land containers three high. There is lots of industrial traffic along the Rhine here because in addition to the river traffic there are railroad tracks on both sides of the river and the trains are frequent, about 20 minutes apart all day and into the night. Lots of freight moving up and down the Rhine.

About every half mile there is another majestic castle perched upon the craggy cliffs lining the river. I think Don stopped and took a photo of every one of the 105 qe passed. So there should be some good castle photos to post here.

After several miles of typical river canyon, with steep walls rising up sharply from the river, the terrain suddenly opened up into broad agricultural plains with fields of wheat turning gold and orchards and other crops. At this time of year, early June, there are two very important things--spargel and suss kirchen.,

Spargel are the white asparagus and are a special favorite in Germany. Most restaurants and cafes feature a special spargel menu at this time of year and one day we did partake. Don had the special spargel mit schwein und kartelhofen. This is several spears of white asparagras, artfully arranged on a special plate and then potatoes and pork. I had spargel suppe.

The suss kirchen are sweet cherries. The cherry trees are laden with fruit ripening in the sun. We stopped at a driveway stand and bought some, but I was tempted to pilfer a few from the trees that line the bike route.

Before long we were riding through family vegetable plots and the next thing we knew there was a big freeway overpass! We tried to ride along the river past the big city of Mainz, but that didn’t work, so we turned around and Trixie led us right into the city. We had hoped to fined a nice zimmer along the river, but had made a reservation at the Mainz B&B Hotel, just in case. We rode along, my worst nightmare, right into the heart of the city. Of course the B&B Hotel is in the industrial sections and Trixie wants to route us the shortest way, so we had lots of city streets and some traffic. Luckily there were lots of bike lanes and that helped a lot.

Finally we made it to the hotel and checked in, stowed our bikes, took a shower and now I feel much better.

It is bittersweet that this is our last day of point to point riding. Tomorrow we get our rental car and set off on an unscripted week of exploring Germany.

ROMAN TEMPLE

15.3km




June 4, 2011

Today was another nice, sunny day and we decided to visit the Roman Temple at Martburg. We rode our bikes over the bridge and up the mountain on good trails. When we got to the top it was like a plateau, with grassy fields as far as could be seen.

The temple was built in 50ad and was actively in use until about 400ad. Before the Romans built the temple there was an old Celtic temple on this site, which was in use from about 300bc until the Romans took over.
This temple is dedicated to Mars and has been fully restored to it’s original style. The archeological digs are finished now, but this site was studied extensively for 20 years. The temple building looks very modern and I found it distracting because it does not look ancient.

The happy, helpful docent showed us many photos of the dig project and artifacts discovered at the site. We enjoyed his dissertation and then went for a visit to the temple building and other parts of the display.
In the temple building we saw colorful murals and a carved wooden statue of Mars, hand held out for tribute.

After our visit we returned to the little café where we bought a couple of beers and a piece of homemade cherry kuchen. We ate our lunch at the picnic tables and enjoyed the cake very much.

Then we went over to an overlook and we could see that although the plateau looked as if it went for miles, it is actually split by river canyons. We looked down on the village from the overlook .

We rode down the hard packed dirt road into the town, passing by Saint Castor’s Church. We stopped at the little museum there to see the artifacts found at the Mars Temple and also some very old hymnals which were hand printed and illustrated by monks in the 14th century.

COCHEM

June 3, 2011

Lots of people have arrived along the river for the big holiday. We have been told it is Father’s Day, but I think there must also be some state holiday. People get Thursday off and they take an extra day off for Friday and make it a four day weekend.

As we have been riding along the river we see lots of big green fields that stretch for miles. These are campgrounds. As the holiday weekend began the campers started pouring in. They park their camper and then set up a fancy cabana in front. These cabanas are room-sized, quite large, and have sun protection and mosquito netting all around.
I think they are mainly used as dining rooms. By the end of the day there were thousands of campers crowding the shores of the Mosel. Outside the cabanas the barbeques are set up and the big parties are beginning.
Today we took the train back up river to the town of Cochem. With all of the vacationers there June 3, 2011 Lots of people have arrived along the river for the big holiday. We have been told it is Father’s Day, but I think there must also be some state holiday. People get Thursday off and they take an extra day off for Friday and make it a four day weekend. As we have been riding along the river we see lots of big green fields that stretch for miles. These are campgrounds. As the holiday weekend began the campers started pouring in. They park their camper and then set up a fancy cabana in front. These cabanas are room-sized, quite large, and have sun protection and mosquito netting all around. I think they are mainly used as dining rooms. By the end of the day there were thousands of campers crowding the shores of the Mosel. Outside the cabanas the barbeques are set up and the big parties are beginning. Today we took the train back up river to the town of Cochem. With all of the vacationers there are thousands of people everywhere. We decided to take the hike up the hillside to the viewpoint. The weather was muggy and hot and the hike was arduous. I had to take extra care on the uneven surfaces and Don was very good about helping me, especially on the stairs. The view from the top was quite stunning. We could look down on the town and the river, all of the miles and miles of campers, and across to the hills on the other side of the river. There is a chairlift and we considered taking that down, but we decided to hike down. We took a different route down and decided to catch boat back to Treis. Before we left we joined the throngs of people and strolled through the town. There were lots of motorcycles parked in every square and the sidewalk cafes and walkways were crowded with people. The boat ride was a nice change, with a refreshing breeze flowing off the river. Along the way there was a bit of excitement when sirens blared and fire engines rushed down the road to put out a dramatic car fire. The boat dropped us right in our town and we hiked up the hill and back to our apartment for a shower and a glass of wine. are thousands of people everywhere.
We decided to take the hike up the hillside to the viewpoint. The weather was muggy and hot and the hike was arduous. I had to take extra care on the uneven surfaces and Don was very good about helping me, especially on the stairs.

The view from the top was quite stunning. We could look down on the town and the river, all of the miles and miles of campers, and across to the hills on the other side of the river.

There is a chairlift and we considered taking that down, but we decided to hike down. We took a different route down and decided to catch boat back to Treis. Before we left we joined the throngs of people and strolled through the town. There were lots of motorcycles parked in every square and the sidewalk cafes and walkways were crowded with people.

The boat ride was a nice change, with a refreshing breeze flowing off the river. Along the way there was a bit of excitement when sirens blared and fire engines rushed down the road to put out a dramatic car fire.
The boat dropped us right in our town and we hiked up the hill and back to our apartment for a shower and a glass of wine.

ELTZ CASTLE

Afi-Treis 50 km





June 1, 2011

After breakfast we headed out under gray skies. Our goal for the day is to find lodging for the holiday weekend, hopefully with internet. We have not had internet since we left France.
The ride along the Mosel continues to be pleasant, with very good bike path, excellent markings and directional signs and nicely paved. The locks have been under repair, so water traffic has been limited for much of our ride, but now they must be open again because we are seeing huge, long barges moving upriver.

The weather started out gray and cloudily, but by the afternoon the sun was out and weather was warm.


We arrived in Karden where Don found a tourist information center. The very helpful lady, who spoke good English, arranged a nice apartment for us for the 4 day weekend. The downside of the apartment is it is up a steep hill.
We crossed the bridge and rode up the hill part of the way, and then pushed the rest of the way, until we arrived at the very nice house of Agnes Kaufmann. There we were shown to our spacious apartment, with two bedrooms, large living room, dining area and kitchen. All this for e45 a night!

Agnes Kaufmann
Forststr. 53
56253 Treis-Karden

We put our bikes in the garage, carried our bags upstairs to the room, and took our showers before heading down to the grocery store for some supplies.

On the way home we stopped for dinner and ordered the special, although we didn’t know what it might be. It turned out to be 5 very large ravioli and they were served very hot. I ate about half and snuck the other half into a baggie I had in my daypack. Salad bar and dessert were also included in the price of e6.90, a good value.

The next day we took the bike bus up the hill on the other side of the river to visit the castle Burg Eltz. We were surprised as we traveled along in the bus, to find the top of the hill to be almost like a mesa, with lots of flat or gently rolling terrain covered in wheat fields.

The castle is nestled into a canyon and is in pretty good condition. Of course there was a big crane and scaffolding marring the view. These things seem to be in a constant state of repair.

We wheeled or bikes down to the castle entrance, parked and locked them, paid our entry fee and began to explore. The first room we visited was the treasury and the collection is extensive. There were armaments, sabers, suits of armor, etc., and fancy china and glassware, some jeweled belts and adornments, lots of reliquaries and boxes.

Next we took a guided tour of the castle. The presentation was in English. We learned that the castle is still owned by the founding family, so it has been continuously owned by the same family for 850 years. The family resemblance was quite obvious as we looked at the portraits of the Dukes from the first, a relative of Maria Theresa or Austria, of course, right on to the family photo of the current Duke. All of the men looked very much alike.

On our tour we saw dining halls and bedrooms and the kitchen. I liked that the rooms were furnished with original pieces, some 1000 years old.

After the castle visit the idea was to ride back down the hill on our bikes, but we couldn’t seem to get to any designated bike trail. Don’s guide book said there was a bike route, but we ended up lugging our bikes down several sets of stairs, over a bridge and then a hiking trail. The trail could possibly be ridden with a mountain bike, but I didn’t feel secure enough to ride it on my Bike Friday. Besides, being a holiday, there were lots of hikers on the trail. So we walked our bikes until we hit the road. The hike was quite nice, in shade and along a brook.

When we came out onto the road we were able to ride back down the hill, over the bridge and made a stop at the supermarket before crunching our way up the hill to our apartment.