Oberwesel to Rüdesheim

July 14, 2024

Breakfast was similar to other hotels, except there was caviar and champagne. We were in no hurry to leave because the hotel allows a noon checkout, and today is our shortest day of the trip.

It was interesting to look around during breakfast at all of the rich Europeans. They all had a casual comfort with their surroundings while I, the rube from Iowa, tried not to gawk. "LOOK! There's caviar!" "Did you see the lion in the bathroom??" and "Do you have a spritzer in your bathroom too?!?"

At the entrance to the castle. You can kind of see how steep it is.

We reluctantly left this morning and started off with a long downhill. A family passing by offered to take our picture.

The trip down was much nicer than the trip up. I can't believe we rode up there.

One last look at the castle before heading out of town, this time from a different angle. You can see the silhouette of our balcony on the right side of the red brick building.

We were rarely on roads today (and with most days).

Pfalzgrafenstein Castle, a toll castle in the middle of the river, was built in 1326. Definitely worth reading the Wikipedia article.

At the risk of gross plagiarism, I'm pasting part of the wiki article:

"To ensure tolls were paid, chain booms were raised across the narrow river passage near the castle. If the toll was paid, the chain would be lowered and the ship could pass, or else the ship would be seized and the crew imprisoned in the castle dungeon. Passing ships could not use the wider channel on the other side of the castle due to a treacherous stretch of water downstream. The castle dungeon was a wooden raft at the bottom of a well. Prisoners were lowered by rope and would remain there until a ransom was paid."

Not bad looking for a 700-year-old castle.

For several miles there were wild berries growing alongside the path. We've seen a lot of patches here and there on the trip, but today it was solid for this entire section.

We spent 20-25 minutes just eating blackberries.

Heather wanted to get a picture of the sign because it's close to my last name.

In Bingen, we had a 10-minute wait as four trains passsed. Nobody seemed upset or in a hurry; they just stood around chatting with each other.

After two failed attempts we finally found the correct ferry, one that would take bicycles. There wasn't much of a wait since it left every ten minutes. This picture of our ferry was taken 3-4 hours later. After we paid and were crossing, there was some real confusion about our ticket because the guy who sold it to us must've had the wrong date or time on his device. The second person who came around checking tickets thought we had missed our ferry, or were going on a round trip.

Our hotel was just across the river, Breuer's Rüdesheimer Schloss.

After we checked in, they offered a free glass of local riesling (theirs, because they own a winery).

And we each got an apple strudel and some ice crearm.

...with a view of people drinking riesling and eating apple strudel.

After cleaning up, we took the cable car from Rüdesheim to Neiderwald Park, a very pleasant, slow 10-minute trip

The views overlooking the Rhine were grand. You can see our ferry on the river, center right.

This 12-meter bronze statue of Germania was built after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. The information boards were particularly interesting because they explain how this statue, which symbolizes German nationalism, is so controversial because, considering the horrific problems nationalism caused, Germans are understandably very wary of it. One of the boards reads "The monument is therefore charged with historical symbolism that needs to be contextualized and explained today."

The ride is advertised as "gliding over the vines," and was smooth and relaxing.

We had some trouble finding a place to eat because Rüdesheim is a touristy area, and a bit crowded compared to other places we've been. We ended up at Terrasse 14 where the food was great... pizza for Heather, fish for me.

This was on the menu. There was probably something lost in translation.

We've been using the Google Translator app. You can have a conversation and it will translate as you go. Unfortunately, it has some trouble with my voice. In spite of speaking clearly at a normal pace and holding the phone close to my mouth, this is how it translated "Are the scoops vanilla?" Fortunately, the waiter didn't hear it. Or pretended he didn't.

The answer? Vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate!

We enjoyed our time in Rudesheim, but would probably stay in a different town if we were coming through again. It's very touristy, and crowded. The influence of tourists was evident by the fact that when we paid for our meal at Terrasse 14 there was the option of adding a 5% or 10% tip. It's the first time a tip was even an option.

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Today's ride: 17 miles (27 km)
Total: 218 miles (351 km)

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George (Buddy) HallRudesheim is indeed a touristy area. I often crossed the river from Weisbaden to Mainz, rode up to Bingen and took the same ferry as you to cross over to Rudesheim and then rode back on that side to Weisbaden. Rudesheim is a popular setting-off spot for day cruises along the Rhine, and tourists drive there, or take the train there, spend half a day on a Rhine cruise, then spend time in Rudesheim. What I did like about it is that there were often small concerts in town - a weary cyclist could enjoy a beer and listen to music while resting a bit. But definitely a tourist area.
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2 months ago

Mark BinghamTo George (Buddy) HallThere weren't any concerts that we saw, but there was live music on the patio under our window where we ate the apple strudel. It wasn't bad, and it floated up into our room until they stopped around 9:30. One somewhat annoying thing in that same area was the giant clock tower, an amusement for most people which lasted a few minutes every hour. It was amusing, but only the first time you saw/heard it. Fortunately, although it was near our hotel room we could barely hear it because of the angle.
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2 months ago