Day 27 - Ibersheim to Heidelberg and the Glauers - Planned Spontaneity

July 18, 2018

Day 27 - Ibersheim to Heidelberg and the Glauers

All's well that ends well

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Today was a real struggle at times but ended so well with a sweet reunion with the Glauer family.

First, some pictures taken before we got back on the trail:

These are the maps we picked up when in Frankfurt (except the Rhine Tour one which we already had)

A really nice breakfast fixed just for us. Everything about Ellensburg gasthaus was very nice.

Here I am laying in the route that will be part of the subject of today's blog

The bikes had overnighted in the secure and easily accessible garage

When we arrived last evening Frau Ellenburg had not yet made it home. We were quite happy resting on her bench in the shade while we waited the few minutes for her to arrive.

They have obviously put in a lot of work. Even the cabin at the back of the property can be rented. If all the rooms are full they will even let you pitch a tent.

Anyone know what kind of shrub/tree this is? Erika would love to look for it in Canada.

First we backtracked about 8 km to get to a ferry crossing. We wanted to see the other side of the river and not go through the industrial riverfront of Worms again

Just exiting the pretty little town of Hamm am Rhine that we went through in both directions

We saw another stork but I couldn't get steady enough to get a good picture

Cute little restaurant in a very old house next to the ferry landing

This appeared to be a fairly new ferry boat

The landing we are heading for is center of picture in the distance

Packed dirt trails are fine for riding on. It is heavy, loose gravel or sand that we really dislike.

There is a beautiful beach right off the path

Part of me was dying to put on a swim suit and jump in!

Very cool secluded place to come with a family

The path, though gravel is still pretty good as we head toward the power stations that were across the river from us last night

This will be the closest I have ever been to one of these

Paving stones can be a bit bumpy but these were not too bad.

Again, I just love the trees, the irrigation, the crops. Path is still good

However, now it devolves into an old cement path with a bump every 5 metres or so

The day was getting hot with little shade and then we came upon : The map tells me it was reaching 32 degrees until we stopped in the shade.

The Bench of the Day! In the shade and even a table! Just when we were really needing it. This bench was placed by a private home in front of their house. So thoughtful and so appreciated.

I was noticing lots of recreational boating along here

A couple of deer were chasing each other around in circles. These were the first wild dear we saw and they were sure spunky considering the heat.

Path was a little rough at times but not too bad and not for too long

Even the shade provided by a bridge can be brief but welcomed relief.

Some of the bumpiest paths are asphalt where roots have had an impact.

Still on the path that RWGPS picked out for me

As we approach Mannheim things can get confusing. With islands and delta channels as the Neckar joins the Rhine it is hard to tell where you are heading. To make things more challenging, you should know that I haven't found the time to download the maps of Germany for loading on to the Garmin, so when i am following a route on the Garmin, all I see is a single line representing the route I am following. So it is easy to slide off of a route by accident when two roads meet at an acute angle. This happened somewhere in the first part of Mannheim, and by the time it was clear that we were not on the same route, we had passed the mistake by quite a ways, the going was still good and we were running pretty much parallel to the route we were supposed to be on, we just hadn't crossed the river like we were supposed to. It seemed ok and we stopped for a nice lunch.

Well, it turns out there was a good reason to cross the river where we were supposed to. Mainly because staying on the north side of the Neckar was trapping us into really rough paths for a long time

First I'm thinking OK, this isn't too bad.

Now I'm thinking "This isn't half bad ... it's mostly bad"

Now it's ALL bad! Temperature went up to 38 while we walked through this gravel (worst trail of the trip!!! did not like - Erika)

Eventually we emerged from the industrial wasteland and into nice city scapes

It wasn't too long before the path we were supposed to be on came back across the river to meet us

Once we were on the path RWGPS had picked for us we had smooth roads and beautiful farmland to go through to get to the north side of Heidelberg.

Dairy with cute calves. I felt so sorry for them. No mamma's and they were all male so you know they were just going to be grown for meat.

Those boxes and the pens were what those little animals lived in.

Lots of fruit and vegetables being grown around here

Fruit trees seem to be planted where ever there is space.

Erika noticed the bleached vs not so bleached areas where the shutters open up. She was also impressed with the curve of the building.

Tiefburg, a medieval, moted castle in the district of Handschuhsheim, Heidelberg. Just a 10 minute walk from the Glauer's home.

We first met the Glauer family 4 years ago when we did our first cycle trip in Germany. We had decided to give Warm Showers a try and what a treat it was to meet this wonderful family.

Today's ride: 75 km (47 miles)
Total: 1,172 km (728 miles)

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