Day 18: Burgstadt to Lohr am Main

May 17, 2014

Our choice of a wild camp spot turned out fairly well. The only glitch was that we seem to have chosen a spot by the river favoured by evening fishermen, and some turned up near our tent to try their luck. They (improperly) brought one or two cars onto the radweg, and the sound of these moving about was a bit disturbing in the tent. Still, we loved our riverside spot, its picnic table, and garbage can. Later in the day we read one of many panels explaining features along the route (in German) and noted that after listing all the overnight amenities (guesthouses, hotels, camping grounds, etc.) they mentioned that wild camping is "verboten" all along the river. Oh well, good thing we don't read German! (Actually, we prefer organized camping places or guesthouse when we can reasonably find them).

Our "stealth" camp by the rver, early morning

This is only part of a bike path map of Bavaria. Wow!

The fact that the middle ages are somehow not that long ago in the towns along the river is a big attraction for us, and for tourists generally. In Freudenberg this was helped a lot by explanatory panels all along the river front. The story they told was of a walled town, in a narrow and crowded strip along the river. Four gates controlled access. The town is pressed up against a cliff, on the top of which looms the castle. It would generally not be a good idea to put your house outside the walls, but limited space caused some to go across the river, to the "suburb" of Kirschfurt. A bridge was built to Kirschfurt, not sure when, but in 1945 the retreating army blew it up. It took some years to replace it. The new bridge is nowhere near as elegant as the original.

All along the way are panels like this explaining the bike route. It makes the cyclist feel very supported - because you are!

Part of an art installation on the bridge. It was all witches and knights from some folk tales we know nothing about

There are quarries here for this red sandstone. You can see the blocks in churches, walls, and other structures hereabouts

After Freudenberg we cycled for a long time along super smooth pathway, beside the river, and among fields of grain, grass, or corn. It would be hard to find a more pleasant situation. As always, we encountered dozens of other cyclists, 90 percent of whom we guessed to be multi day credit card people.One or two were more heavily loaded single males. We don't know their stories, because they never slow down, let alone stop!

The fishes of the Main. It seems to be quite a healthy river. We even think we saw one of the fishers catch something - unike France, where they seem to sit all day and never catch anything.

A rare trike rider. This was two wheels in front. He was going too fast for us to see if it was a Scorpion.

Look Violet. This is not a unicorn, but close!

Again we passed by numerous small towns, each interesting but not earth shaking, until we came to Wertheim. Wertheim is probably our biggest thing, until we reach Wurtzburg. Before entering the town we followed signs to tourist information and were able to get some good maps of the rest of the Main. This is important for me, since I hate not knowing where we are. We can not carry two sets of detailed maps, so picking stuff up along the way is important.

Passing by the tourist information put us coincidentally beside a feature of the town that began our visit with something of a downer. To its credit, the town had documented the fate of its Jewish population, not only during WWII, but through history. They note that the first Jewish school to be found in the town was destroyed in a persecution in 1349. A synagogue built in 1381 was destroyed in 1447. Others were built, and destroyed. The final one was built in 1799. It was "profaned" in 1938 and demolished in 1961.

The highest number of jews in Wertheim was in 1900, when the figure is given as 201. In 1933 there were 109. All but 45 had fled before Kristallnacht, after which the number dropped to 19. These were deported to the east, where only four survived. The town lists the names of each of the victims. In addition, they have marked the boundaries of the old synagogue on the ground, of what is now mostly a parking lot.

Interestingly, one building from the Jewish community still survives. This is the Mikveh, which is a ritual immersion bath. This building was first documented in 1662! I made a photo of it, which is interesting to compare with an old photo they had from before 1971. You can see how much the buildings have been renovated. On the other hand, rather than a memorial, the building now houses an art gallery.

Some of the long ago dates, like 1662, on the mikveh were only a hint of what was to be found inside the main town. This was one of those places where there are beautiful and interesting sights at every turn. I haven't looked at the photos yet, but it would be hard to go wrong. Just aim and shoot, anywhere!

Not only was the town beautiful, but this being Saturday, it was a hive of activity. The main street had bread, cheese, and bratwurst vendors set up in the middle, and along the sides were the bakeries, eiscafes, and other stores. It was absolutely wonderful to push our bikes through this, and in these surroundings.

Aside from the regular vendors this day, there were also reps from various political parties set up. The main ones, from left to right on the political spectrum are the Greens, die Linke, the SPD, and the CDU. The CDU are the ones who currently have the Chancellor. This election, coming May 25, is not for the national government but is only municipal and for the European parliament. Of these, the municipal contests seem to be viewed as most important. In these, the party politics are not central. Personalities dominate. We learned all this by asking each party what they were about. Who would we vote for? Well, die Linke gave us a pen and some gummy bears. The CDU gave us each an apple. I think we will lean slightly left and go with the gummy bears!

At the river front in Wertheim, several of the extra long riverboats were docked. One of these was the "Esmerelda". Later she came abreast of us as we pedalled up river. The Grampies are not competitive, but its a bit harsh to be passed by a slow riverboat. It was nip and tuck for a while, but then, ha ha, the Esmerelda ran into a lock. Not only that, but there was a lineup to go through. The Grampies whizzed joyously into the lead.

The castle presides over tour boats at Wertheim

The synagogue is now just a line in the parking lot, Wertheim

Bratwurst in the street features top quality bun and sausage.

The CDU team. They failed to buy our "vote" with apples.

This is the first use of blue like this we have seen.

In Austria we will be actively tracking down Sacher Torte, my favourite chocolate cake. This attempted clone was actually not bad. Real Sacher torte, to be honest, is rather too dry.

More and more cycle route maps. We want them all! (But not to carry, right now.)

Esmerelda really had a hard time, because as we sat here, happily installed at a table by the river at the Main Ufer camping, she came gliding along. "Hey Esmerelda, we have been here for hours", we whooped.

Indeed, we had cruised up to Lohr quite nicely, and got a nice piece of grass beside a large tent filled with tables. That is pretty much Grampie heaven. Check in tomorrow!

The castle goes up, for defence. Presumably the church goes down, to make it easy for the congregation. However, we have seen churches high on hills in other places.

Bridges usuallly are graced by the figure of a saint, if they are going to have a figure. Fr some reason Lohr has a wild pig?

The Esmerelda attempts to sheepishly sneak by us at the campground.

Today's ride: 76 km (47 miles)
Total: 1,103 km (685 miles)

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