Rocking up the Neckar: Heidelberg to Hassmersheim

September 5, 2016

We started the day with a great breakfast at the Perkeo, although some of it was spent fussing with electronics. Keith's elderly iPhone (it's 3 years old folks) is slowing to a crawl so he was trying to dump anything he doesn't absolutely need to free up some memory. We are of the generation where something three years old still feels new so it is baffling to us the way things are so utterly disposable now.

We dawdled until 10 AM as we wanted to check out the book store which was directly across the street. Then a quick visit to tourist information where we got a free map to keep the GTW happy and we were on our way. One hilarious morning moment...Keith has his heart set on a pair of rain legs (you can google them) and yesterday while walking in Heidelberg we saw a store we thought might carry them. It was directly across from Nordsee. This morning we walked up while waiting for the book store to open and the store had disappeared overnight. It wasn't until we were in the book store that I deduced there might be two Nordsee...so back we went on the bikes, and sure enough there were. Sadly though, no rainlegs. He won't need them for a week or two anyway from the look of the weather forecast.

Our bikes resting comfortably on their own private balcony last night.

This is the same fabulous server we had last year, Felix. He helped us with our route back to Frankfurt last year and was great company last night.

This is the sort of thing that slows us down in the morning. We were first in the breakfast room today, but not the first to leave.

What a beautiful ride today. There were lots of surprises. I wasn't expecting castles on the hillside on a regular basis, but there they were. There are charming little towns too, and since the river is so twisty they sneak up on you. You come around the corner and wham, another picturesque village appears.

Starting up the Neckar. Can you find me in the picture?

It was eye candy at every bend in the river.

There were lots of other bike tourers today too. We spoke with several and played leapfrog with one gentleman going in the same direction. It is clearly a popular route. We stopped for coffee and met a couple on their way to Heidelberg with dog in tow. The dog clearly loved his trailer and the couple were having a great time.

We turned a corner and this is what we saw. It doesn't get much better in terms of surprises.

We had already given this fellow one apple. He told me he wanted more.

I loved the 'take your dog on tour' concept. This dog and I bonded over coffee, but after he hopped into his trailer to carry on he let me know in clear barking that it was his space and to back off! It was pretty funny. He didn't want to share.

As we rode into Hassmersheim we spoke with a group of young men from Cameroon. We asked them what the buildings we saw were. Yup, a refugee camp. It was yet another reminder of just how lucky Keith and I are. We wished them bonne chance and they wished us bonne journee.

A reminder of how incredibly fortunate we are.

We arrived in Hassmersheim and found a bike shop. The very helpful proprietor directed us to a great hotel. We then asked if he had any duct tape. One of my beloved Arkel panniers has split at the seam (I thought they were bulletproof) and while that isn't an immediate problem with the weather we are having, I certainly don't want the split to get worse. One of my panniers now sports duct tape, and once we buy our own roll we will apply more. My Canadian panniers will look more Canadian than ever.

We are happily tucked in at the Hotel Gasthof Zum Ritter, have indulged in beer and dinner. Tomorrow we leave the Neckar for the Kocher-Jagst Radweg.

Today's ride: 67 km (42 miles)
Total: 438 km (272 miles)

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