July 22, 2014
Day 84: Horb to Neckarhausen
If you are going to blow your money on a guesthouse, it helps the conscience if it at least is raining. Our room at the Goldener Adler was on a corner of the building and had windows that could create a cross breeze. We had these open during the night, and slept particularly well, listening to the sound of heavy rain with our subconscious.
In the morning,we were in no hurry to get going, since the rain was still falling. However it tapered off and we started on our list of things to do in Horb. Aside from looking at the handsome buildings, this included finding a good map for the Neckar Radweg, getting Dodie's glasses fixed, and mailing off home another huge box of paper junk.
We needed the map because we had somehow mailed home the one we came with. We needed the glasses repaired because they had a screw loose and Dodie was holding them together with electrical tape (in proper nerd fashion). We needed the mail back because we are continually picking up free maps, town pamphlets, and church descriptions, and just can not part with them.
Horb is built on two levels, with the rathaus and market square to be found up a fairly big hill. We went up there, and while it was pretty, it turned out all the things we really needed were down at the river level.
We walked in to an glasses shop called Optik-Reinhardt and met a very charming man - Axel Ostertag. Axel very patiently peeled off Dodie's tape, and set about installing a new screw. This is not a major surgery, but you need to have the right screw and, as Axel said, three hands to do it right. Axel must have had some cycling experience, because he seemed quite perceptive about our cycle tour. Also, after using at least 20 minutes of his time - no charge.
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When we set out along the river, it seemed quite normal, though high. However, not too far down we found at least one tributary entering as a torrent, and soon the Neckar itself had changed character. Now it was muddy and filled with trees and debris - all moving very fast. After a time we came to a place where the radweg passed under a bridge - but that was flooded out. Now through the day we variously splashed our bikes through flooded sections, or avoided some, all the while watching the river rage past. We had no idea whether those watching TV news would be well aware that a flood peak was coming, or whether what we were seeing was regarded as no big deal.
At one point water covering the car road (in this case - coming down from the hills rather than up from the river) had caused a horrific accident. The bike path ran below the car road, and some drivers were attempting to bypass the accident congestion by driving on the bike path. Dodie was having none of it, and made at least one back up a long way. When we reached the actual place of the accident, I took no photos, because this was really serious, with one person still lying in the street, and emergency workers looking at how to extract another from a crushed car lying between the road and us. Lots of emergency vehicles were heading for the scene, and soon a helicopter was brought in.
This was during just moderate rain, but with deep water on the road. Later, there was an hour or two of really heavy rain. In In an underpass we took advantage of the shelter to refold maps, and briefly considered waiting it out. But no, on we went. Our rain jackets are holding up well, and we are putting the hoods over our helmets, zipping up really high in front. It kind of feels like being in a tent, and one can enjoy the protected feeling of that. On the other hand, our feet got totally soaked. Also, Dodie had mailed home her waterproof pants, because they just weren't doing the job. So now her whole bottom half would be wet. Top half - good though!
The first major town we came to was Rottenburg. This is a really lovely town, whose houses are not fachwerk but rather are tall, with pastel shade facades. The main square features St Martin's Cathedral, with a tower made in the tracery style of Strasbourg.
We stopped at a bakery, and bought rather more stuff than we needed. It felt good to have lots of food in the "pantry" though. Then we went about looking for a spot to eat some of it - in the rain, it has to be someplace under cover. We chose a large bus shelter. Bus shelters are a big help to cyclists here. Then we set out to explore the town a bit. It was charming. Aside from the main square there were numerous small squares and streets - all quite free of cars, and with small stores, with churches or monasteries, and of course dwellings. All very pleasant.
We checked out the cathedral, of course. How disappointing. First off, it was just church sized, not cathedral sized. And inside, it was modern - with pale wood choir seats, and few ornate touches. Such old statues as were there looked much out of place. We read that they did have a relic of St Martin here, and set about looking for the expected ornate gold box set in an ornate shrine. We found nothing. But at the back we did find a child's guide to the church (with quiz!) and in there found where the relic was. It is mounted on a pole, in something that looks a lot like a smoke detector. Weird.
Our poor reaction to the cathedral, it turns out, was shared by its first bishop. He wrote "..Does it not make one's heart sink the moment one crosses the threshold? Indeed, unlike the most humble village church, its choir is not even properly aligned to the nave. No elaborate proof is required to come to this conclusion, all it takes is a fleeting glance and good common sense!" ... and that was before they pulled out most of the nice decoration!
One very good thing about St Martins was it's bishop in 1938, Johannes Baptista Sproll. He oppoed the Nazis, and got banished from the diocese. He returned in 1945, dying in Rottenburg, in 1949 (age 79).
After Rottenburg, and before arriving at Tubingen, we came upon a young woman by the roadside. This was Anna - a student at Tubingen, on her way to Rottenburg by bike, but stopped by a flat tire. So this is where touring cyclists like us can shine, since in principle we had the tools and knowhow for this situation. Well, unfortunately, not so fast:
Anna's bike had a rear wheel configuration I had not seen before. The right side had a regular derailleur, but the right side had a cable and chain, entering the hub, like on a Sturmey Archer 3 speed. Only, this was two speed, and I could see no quick way to detach the cable/chain.
This turned out to be no matter, since the wheel was held on with standard bolts, and we have no standard wrench. I tried my little pliers, but a gorilla must have tightened the wheel last time, and I could not budge the bolts.
Next, the valve - neither Schrader nor Presta, it was some other configuration.
Just to get going, I tried inflating the tire - by removing the valve and putting the pump onto the threaded housing. This could inflate it, alright, but how to keep the air in. We had some go 'rounds with pulling the pump off and getting a thumb over the opening, and from there screwing the valve back in. But we (even we three - six hands!) were never fast enough. I suggested we practice, and build up our speed - like an Olympic event. This made Anna laugh! It was Dodie who solved this one - treat it like a Presta (by setting up our pump for Presta) and see what happens, she said. What happed was that it worked!
Yes, but the flat was still not fixed. Here we got a break - the pumped tire leaked where we could hear it. Dodie found and pryed out a piece of glass. So with the wheel still on the bike, we pulled out the section of tube where the glass was and patched it. In the end , we sent Anna on her way to Rottenburg. Hurray!
Tubingen is a university town, and it certainly had lots of young people all around. One of its best known things is a fleet of shallow boats, that punt up and down the river. Not now, though, because the river was really raging. In fact, even the swans were having a tough time. We watched one, who is supposed to glide elegantly over the water, trying to fight its way upstream. It was practically having to do the butterfly. Very ungainly.
We know that having decided on this Neckar side trip, we have to move along at some minimum pace to get to Frankfurt in time. So, having dawdled about waiting for the rain to stop in Horb, doing errands there, and then have poked around Rottenburg, we did not dare explore Tubingen. Instead we proceeded pretty directly down river, and quit at Neckarhausen, where our map showed the "Hotel Garni" Kiefer. We have been wondering what "Garni" means in German. By inference from the Kiefer, it means "high price for not much reason." Oh well. Tomorrow we will cheer up at the Ritter Sport Factory!
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Today's ride: 68 km (42 miles)
Total: 4,203 km (2,610 miles)
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