Day 95: Neckargerach to Mannheim, Germany

August 22, 2012

We again got up quite early and left the campsite by 6:30. We cruised into Neckargerach looking for the bakery. When we found it, it was closed, though the sign on the door gave the hours as from 6 a.m. We steeled ourselves to make it to the next town, but became alert as we could smell baking, somewhere nearby. In this way we found the “real” bakery, adding “by nose” to the guidance resources we are using on this trip.

The bakery had sweet buns shaped like mice and like hedgehogs. We bought two mice. It was hard (for me) to know whether to bite my mouse in the head or the bum. Dodie mercilessly just twisted the head off hers.

Whenever you look up in Germany you will see some sort of castle on the hill. We looked up and saw one (Wolfs-schlucht) in the mist near Zwingenberg. The heat of yesterday was still in the air, and a heavy haze obscured the hills. Our little camera really could not capture the scene, but as we drew closer, we did get some reasonable shots. We have no real reason for photographing castles on hills, except for the classic “because they are there”. Usually we have no idea about the castle’s history or contents. Still, they add to the mystique of the landscape.

Our way continued along the river, passing Eberbach and generally following the river on shaded pathways. A special place, though is Hirschhorn. There is a pronounced loop of the river there, creating almost an island within the loop. At first we thought the neat old town would be found on this island. But that, of course, is 21st century thinking. Thirteenth century thinking puts the town on the hill overlooking the island. So as we rounded the river loop we could look over and up at the old town. Just because we have places to go and things to do, we did not cross into the town for a closer look. No problem, though, a poster display told us that we (and you) can read all about it, at www.hirschhorn.de .

Hey, if this catches on, we will not need to cycle the Rhine, or Holland, or anything, if we can find the right web sites!

At Neckarsteinach we had a crack at another castle on a hill. We then left any forested paths and began to wend our way on shared roads with cars, heading for Heidelberg. All we really knew about Heidelberg was that it is a university town and that there is a beer named after it. So it was possible that we were heading into heavy traffic and high rises.

We were very pleasantly surprised to find a place something like Salzburg, though smaller. The town naturally faces the river, and has a large castle on the hill behind. There is an old bridge that creates the de facto centre of the town, and the bridge street leads to two major churches and the market square. The high street runs at right angles to the bridge street, all of which is logical and predictable.

The bridge street and the especially the high street were filled with tourists, to an extent that really was reminiscent of Salzburg. Although every famous town has its share of low quality souvenir shops, Heidelberg had a few more than normal. On this day, anyway, the markt platz contained only such sellers.

The high street, however, had its share of upscale retail operations. By far the greatest category of enterprise on the street was cafés and restaurants. As we passed by, we could see a good selection of yummy looking salads, pizzas, and hot dishes being enjoyed by the patrons at the outdoor tables.

It was too hot to go inside a café, and now our ability to tolerate the cigarette smoke that wafts all around the outdoor tables has been overwhelmed. We did turn up a shaded table slightly out of the way, and were able to enjoy an eiskafee. Unfortunately, the place that had this good table did not have apple strudel, or any similar essential.

We had thought about camping near Heidelberg and sending a day exploring the city, but in the end decided on just a circular stroll walking the bikes. Down the high street, Dodie remarked that if we cast our gaze upwards, over the heads of the people, we could easily imagine that it was 500 years ago. However, if we looked straight ahead it was clearly the 21st century, with a large proportion of the tourists being from Asia.

It’s funny about the Asian tourists. As we crawl through the pathways and small towns we do not see them at all. Then in a place like Melk, or Vienna, or Salzburg they pop out of the woodwork and are everywhere. It must be a function of the way tours are organized, but it would be safe to say the people from Asia are not clamouring for a kayak tour on the upper Neckar, but love to take each other’s photos on an old bridge or in front of a church in larger towns.

We too, of course, like the old bridge, and the church. We also like half timbered, huddled houses, and church interiors. So have a look at our quick circle tour in Heidelberg. There is the bridge street, the high street, and two churches. You will also see part of the old university, and the old bridge.

Over the old bridge is Neuenheim, which also has some picturesque bits, plus some great views back to the bridge and the castle above the city.

We stuck to the north (right) bank of the river for most of our approach toward the camping near Mannheim. We had no special reason for going that way, except that our map somewhat recommended this as the main route. It turned out to be a good choice, because on the right bank is Ladenburg. Ignorant as usual, we stumbled into Ladenburg old town (to the extent you can “stumble” on a bike). This old town is a little jewel, with numerous half timber design houses. We were just gawking our way through when we decided to go sit at one of the sets of outdoor tables, in front of a place with a simple name, like Ladenburg coffee house. There we sat by a house that was labelled “Built 1480”, and others of the same age. All had been completely restored, making the most pleasant possible place to sit. We ordered meals, that came quickly and were excellently prepared. And we saw the waitresses carrying some really great looking tortes and cakes to other tables. The menu even cited Sacher Torte, at 3 euros. Sadly, with evening falling and no idea when or if we would find the Mannheim camping, we gave it a miss.

Within 10 km and with not too much casting around, we came to the camping that was marked on our map. It’s kind of ugly, but people are well spread out. That means we can watch “TV” without bugging anyone.

We have to plan our route from here a bit, and it may or may not include the actual point where the Neckar enters the Rhine. What is clear is that early tomorrow we will cycle off the end of our Neckartal (Neckar valley) Radweg (bike way) map. So we will have “done it”, from about page 3 where we came in, to page 26. It’s amazing what you can do at 10 kph, with enough patience!

<< photo captions coming ... real soon >>

Neckargerach is a normal looking village. It does, though, have everything for a pleasant life - bakery, grocery, pharmacy, etc. Just one of each.

A lot of German can be deciphered from its similarity to English, but you can also go far wrong. Is this the way to the nudist swingers?

Sort of a gefahr - risk of peeing in the wrong place!

A pottery studio randomly along the path

Apple trees have been everywhere, in Germany. Some are clearly part of orchards or farms, but many seem wild. Often you can pick the fruit from your bike. Only a few are actually ripe yet, though.

Gefahr for crossing the dangerous street - use the tunnel

Dodie says forget the tunnel and let's get on with it!

Heidelberg. The Asian tourists seem to only pop up in selected cities, and then only at the rathaus, highstreet, or on the bridge.

Heidelberg. Souvenirs for sale directly in front of the church? Hmmm, maybe a throwback to church sponsored markets.

Beer mugs in a souvenir shop. Mugs like this come in infinite designs and are a German standard.

However this mug seems to be a British Columbia specific one.

I can't remember if Sandra told us to try or not try schneeballs. We tried them.

We found schneeballs to be too oily and crumbly. We did not finish our sample one.

A rare nun. This is a white one, not a black one or two-tone one.

The gate to a university square. The universities are very important in this town.

A look back to the bridge and the castle

Neuenberg - other side of the river from Heidelberg

West of Heidelberg - an area of university buildings

We met Ursel among the university complexes

Ladenburg - a newer house, but with nice design touches

Dodie helps a fellow camper plot a route

Today's ride: 75 km (47 miles)
Total: 4,715 km (2,928 miles)

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