Kreuzwertheim to Wurzburg: Never sleep with a Sharpie
I am starting the blog early today, while sipping coffee over a ten jammer breakfast. Last year in Germany we had a breakfast with ten pots of jam, and this has been the standard by which we have judged breakfast ever since. Breakfast does not actually need to have ten pots of jam to qualify for the designation, just a variety of delicious things. Today's breakfast had a wide variety of fruit, which was such a treat, cheeses, meats, yogurt and more. Keith was even able to have a scrambled egg instead of the usual boiled egg. To complete the picture there was a full carafe of coffee on our table just for us. The hotel owner's daughter, who was making sure we were happy (and we were very happy) was as cute as could be and spoke excellent English. What a great way to start the day.
Last night we had an excellent dinner in the hotel restaurant. Pretty much everything about this hotel was perfect, including the view of the castle out the window of our room. It was lit up at night and quite a sight.
Our day today didn't exactly start out as planned though. I had a wonderful sleep last night, but as I was blissfully asleep, Keith was having one of those nights where your mind starts churning and he was wide awake. He decided to do some route planning, and somehow fell back asleep without capping the Sharpie pen he was using. A red one. When he woke up in the morning the fitted sheet looked like I had murdered him in the night, which was bad. His lower body was also covered in blotches of red ink which was hilarious. We are now in Wurzburg, he has had a second shower, and he still looks very odd.
He confessed with many apologies to the proprietor of the hotel, and while it was an expensive mistake, we felt that they dealt very fairly with us, and it was clear Keith felt badly. I almost didn't mind paying for a new sheet and mattress cover as I had such a good laugh. I would have taken a picture of him, but it wouldn't have been appropriate.
What a ride today. I don't really know how to describe it, but there are some days when the biking is just pure pleasure. I like to think as close to flying as a human being can get. Today was one of those days. We knocked off 35 km almost without effort, and stopped for coffee and a pastry overlooking the Main. We met two German cyclists out for a day ride and had a great conversation. We would have lingered longer, but we were on a mission. We were wanting to get to Wurzburg to meet our friends Wolfgang and Anna. The next section of the Main we had a tailwind, I was rocking the tunes on my iPod and the scenery was stunning. Vineyards and random old stuff, and the joy of being on a bike. We are so lucky we can do this, and that we both love it.
We stopped again for lunch at about 60 km and did a wander through several of the charming towns along the way. We arrived in Wurzburg at about 5 PM. I will confess that I am writing this at 11:30 at night after a delicious meal with Wolf and Anna, and a great deal of red wine. It was so good to see them. Because of all that red wine (and some beer too) pictures and perhaps more details will be added in the morning. I need my beauty sleep. We are meeting Wolf and Anna for breakfast, and then they are on their way back to Berlin. They are driving home from a bike tour in Italy. What an amazing day this has been.
Our hotel. Dinner was delicious, the room was spacious and they were very understanding.
Poking through one of the many villages along the way. Keith somehow manages to take these pictures while riding. I would fall off my bike or run into a building if I tried that.
Our first real stop was about 35 kms in and we both wanted a coffee. We sat by the Main and met these two German cyclists who were day tripping and having fun. They had beer, not coffee, and were great company.
We had picked apples earlier. I am feeding one to this horse who was anxious to have the apple, but very shy of the electric fence. I was being very careful.
Crossing the Alte Mainbruke, constructed between 1473 and 1543. The statues of the Saints were added around 1730. It is a pretty spectacular entrance to a city, and part of the Main radweg.
