In Germany a detour is not a suggestion: Mainz to Worms
We actually made a reasonably early start today. We were in the breakfast room by 7:15 AM (a record for this trip, but it is only day four) and were rolling before 9 AM. The Hotel Am Stiftswingert was a terrific place to stay. We forgive them for putting us on the third floor (no lift of course) because we think it is an unwritten rule of European hoteliers that bike tourers, whenever possible, should be on the top floor at the end of the hall.
The first part of the day was as perfect as bike touring can possibly be. It was just so beautiful, the sun was shining and the pedalling was easy. We rode along the well marked Eurovelo 15 with the river and vineyards to keep us smiling. The vineyards are our favourite rides. You are up a bit and so you get the vines and views and pure happiness.
Looking back at Mainz. Isn't that a beautiful bike path?
Here we go. It was so hard to decide which vineyard photos to include. They are all beautiful. The chief navigator does a fantastic job of the photography.
Once in Nierstein we stopped for coffee at a charming spot right on the bike route. It struck Keith that one of our favourite wines in Canada is a Niersteiner...could it be? We made a quick trip to Tourist Information in the Rathaus and five minutes later we were visiting the winery. Talk about instant gratification!
That is Nierstein in the distance. I am drinking a Niersteiner wine as I write this. More on that later.
If you think you are seeing a lot of wine related photos in this blog, you ain't seen nothing yet. This is called the Mainz Deutsche Wein Strasse - Speyer, also referred to as the German wine route.
Are you getting the impression that we were having a perfect day? We were. Never get too smug though, because the next thing we knew we came upon the dreaded umleitung (detour). Now we have had experience ignoring these signs, and in France this seems to work out, but the Germans really mean it. I am officially the GTW (Go This Way) navigational device and occasionally over ride the GPS. Keith's navigation skills are amazing, but his listening skills are still developing. I saw the sign redirecting us just as he saw a man come from the direction of the original bike path...on a bike. He developed selective hearing and the next thing we knew we were down to single track.
Then this. Finally we were on a path by the Rhine but it was so rough I was worried about my fillings. We also had to dodge a couple construction vehicles and then Keith said we had to do 16 more km. Fortunately, almost immediately after that the bike path appeared and we weren't being vibrated to death.
We arrived in the little village of Hamm am Rhein and I was starving. There was a wonderful restaurant called Panis et Vinum where I had the best curry ever. The best food I have had in Germany. Vegetables! Check it out at www.panis-et-vinum.de. Yum, yum, yum.
I am waiting for my delicious lunch and looking at pictures of Sardenia where Michael spends two months a year.
Then we did the final ride into Worms. Worms lived up to its reputation of a very industrial town as we approached and I was somewhat sceptical about staying here. Keith had scoped out the Hotel Boos online, and it has turned out to be terrific. It is right by the old town (which is rather new, due to WW2) and quiet. We are not the only bike tourers here which is fun. We have explored the Dom and spent a great deal of time finding the best deal on a new power bank for Keith's phone. It was quite the quest actually and the CN said I wasn't to mention it! The old one was toasted by a leaky water bottle in Mainz. Worms has a gigantic pedestrian zone and it has been a great evening.
Carol and Ron, you took the wrong bikes to St. Malo. There are two carbon fibre bikes here which belong to two men from the Netherlands who are doing 140 km a day! There are also two electric bikes, our Surlys and one solo tourer. Breakfast should be fun!
