September 5, 2014
Gerolstein - Wasserliesch
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
So, we're in Gerolstein, probably most celebrated for Gerolsteiner mineral water, on the Kylltalradweg [Kyll valley cycle trail], in the Eifel mountains, in the state of Rheinland-Pfalz, [Rhineland-Palatinate] Germany. We'll be in the same state this evening, but on the right bank of the Mosel or Moselle. Barbara has booked a hotel by means of her smart phone.
The day started misty, but the sun soon broke through, the breeze was at our backs. If I could whistle, Ode an der Freude [Ode To Joy], the EU anthem, would have been on my lips, as we set off down the valley. I say down the valley, as we were, for the first 25km, but at Kyllburg, we were in for a shock to the system. The railway line which we had been following, [even shared a tunnel with] along with the river, plunged into another, longer tunnel. No room for a bike rider this time. We had to climb out of the valley, up a long granny-gear ascent, before dropping back down to Bitburg-Ehrdorf station. There followed some more sharp ups and downs, in and out of woodland, until the trail settled down near Speicher.
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
We stopped to eat near Auw-an-der-Kyll, in warm sunshine, as warm as we'd been on this trip so far. Later in the afternoon we stopped for coffee in Daufenbach, sitting in the sunshine again, outside a typically pretty Gasthaus in a typically pretty village, if we hadn't booked ahead, I 'd have been tempted to stop-over.
After Kordel, the trail took us through the industrialised outskirts of Trier, along the Mosel left bank until we turned for the bridge to the other side. Trier is Germany's most ancient city and the birthplace of Karl Marx. We never gave it a look. It was late. A shower and a meal were waiting for us upstream. I'm a bad tourist sometimes.
Still, Barbara was very taken with the view from our riverside bike path, sun glinting on the broad water, all of that. We crossed the Saar, our route tomorrow. Our hotel, the Gasthaus Scheid [no comment, it means watershed] was just off the trail under the main road. I still rode past it, looking the other way.
| Heart | 1 | Comment | 0 | Link |
We ate outside in the courtyard, salmon for Barbara, lamb shank for me, accompanied by a lot of Bitburg beer, I like to drink local. Attached to the rear of the hotel is the other part of their business, the bakery. Before going back to the room, through the window giving onto the courtyard, I watched the bakers in action. One weighed out loaf size pieces from the large lump of pre-mixed dough, passing the would-be loaves onto a workmate, who rolled them into rounds, one in each hand. He then dusted them with flour and placed them in small wicker baskets to prove, all done at impressively high speed. I occasionally bake my own bread. I have a lot to learn.
Today's ride: 98 km (61 miles)
Total: 532 km (330 miles)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 2 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |