We head back to the Reitz Family: A day of train travel and bike riding - Exploring Germany, Czech Republic and beyond... on our Recumbent Tandem - CycleBlaze
We head back to the Reitz Family: A day of train travel and bike riding
We had a great sleep in this lovely hotel. We headed off early to have breakfast at the train station and to get to the platform early. The journey today on the train sounds really good, as long as the trains run on time and we are able to get on each of the trains with our bike. The stopover in Kassel is about 35 minutes, which allows us plenty of time to get to the next platform. Then, when we get to Frankfurt, we can choose any of the hourly trains that run to Limburg. We have now been on the road, cycle touring for about 10 weeks, and we both feel that we could carry on for a lot longer. It is always a conundrum how to stay in Europe for more than 90 days, the time allowed by the Schengen Agreement. On one of our future trips, we are going to investigate a way to allow us to stay longer, perhaps a temporary residents' visa for Germany. We have read about other cyclists doing this and being able to stay for 6 months. From all accounts it is a frustrating and time consuming endeavor to get the visa. For us, travelling slowly on a bike is an experience that gets better the more you do it. Your fitness levels increase, the daily flow of riding and finding a place to camp/sleep become natural, encountering new cultures, languages and currency are energizing and your desire to see what's around the corner never abate. In this vein, with these thoughts on our mind, we are excited by what we have seen on this trip, reflective that it is coming to an end, planning where to go next and excited to return to our friends in Limburg.
Arriving late the night before, and needing to leave early in the morning meant that we needed a hotel near the train station. This hotel was about 2 blocks away - comfortable, quiet and convenient. A good choice.
Halle has a grand old train station which has been modernized, yet keeping the charm of the old. We arrived early so that we are first on the train with our bike.
We will climb this set of stairs with our bike and gear to get to the platform in Halle. It should be the only one today as the transfer station, Kassel has a ramp instead of stairs - yeah!
The morning run is very quiet and this is good for travelling with a bicycle. This is train #1 of the day: Halle to Kassel with a 35 minute wait for the next train.
We arrive in Kassel and are thrilled to see the ramps that Georg and Cora had told us about. Many of the train stations have elevators, but we can't use them as our bike is too big - and that is why we love ramps. This allowed for a fast, smooth transition to the next platform and time for Barry to have a coffee.
We are back in familiar territory - Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof (Central Station). This huge train station is so convenient as all of the tracks are on one level. One more train to go - final stop Limburg! It will be exciting to return to this area as we love this region.
Travelling with your bike on a regional train (Regio) in Germany makes route planning so easy. The bike symbol on the car identifies where you should go and the big double doors and spacious storage area make access possible - even with a tandem recumbent. Capacity of bikes on board is limited - so we arrive early, travel during less busy times and avoid Fridays and weekends. The vast network of bike friendly trains in Germany sets this country apart from most European countries we have visited.
We are on the third train of the day on the final leg of our journey - Frankfurt to Limburg. We have mixed feelings as this represents the end of our cycle tour, but we are looking forward to spending time with the Reitz family before we fly home to Canada.
Justus and Cora met us in Limburg. It was great to see them - Cora rode home with us and Justus took our trailer and panniers. What a joy to ride on a bike free of extra weight
Cora leading the way home through the beautiful countryside of Hessen district. This region has stunning views and hills with great riding on quiet roads and cycle trails. We are grateful to have a local guide who knows the best routes.
Georg's commute to Bonn includes 2 trains, 2 bikes and over 50 km of riding per day. He rides a recumbent for one portion of the ride and uses this foldable Brompton for the part of the journey that includes riding on the high speed ICE train (which does not allow regular bikes). He can carry this on the train and stow it in the overhead rack, and then ride on to Bonn.
Dinner with the Reitz family - we feel so at home here....and we are looking forward to eating the delicious green sauce that is native to this region.
