Day 15 - Europe 2011

Mirrors on the bedroom ceiling

Mirrors on the ceiling in the hallway

Day 15 - Wednesday, June 8, 2011 - Schwetzingen to Rastatt - Trip 106.3 kms Time 7:02:51

Had a pretty good nights sleep. Some cramps in my legs but nothing to serious. Got up at 7:00 and went up to dining room for b'fast. Had a big bowl of granola cereal with fruit cocktail and a strawberry yogurt and an apple and a packaged pastry to go.
I asked about a laudromat but none to be found. As a matter of fact I've been looking for one since I left Brussels. I guess the Germans are all very well off and can all afford washing/drying machines so no need for landromats. Had there been a laudromat I would have stayed on another night to give my butt and my legs a rest.
It was overcast while I loaded my panniers on my bike so I decided to put my rain gear on and cover my panniers also.
I set off for Rheinsheim (my GPS couldn't find Phillippsburg). It started drizzling. Good thing I had put on my rain covers before setting off. I had decided to stick with GPS navigation and roads. No cycle paths today. The roads were good and smooth, not to busy, so I was able to make pretty good time. I stopped for lunch at a Gastate and ordered some goulash with bread and tea with lemon for 5.20 E. The waitress was reluctant to let me set off again in the rain. She suggested I should take the bus!!! I convinced her it would be OK since I had already cycled all the way from Amsterdam.
I arrived in Karlsruhe at 2:00 PM but decided to push on to Forcheim as hotels in K would be quite expensive? At 3 PM I started looking for a place to spend the night. I tried every hotel/pension between Forchheim and Rastatt before I was finally able to get a room (smoking) at 5:30 PM at a Best Western @ 92 E/night with b'fast. I said I didn't want b'fast so ended up paying 82.50 E with Wi-Fi which turned out to be pretty flaky. I had to go down to the reception to ask for help with getting on the Internet. I seemed to be getting a much stronger signal at the reception and was able to establish a connection.
Earlier in the week I had gotten stung on my right breast while riding along the Rhine just before arriving in Koblenz. It left a large red splotch on my chest. Today, after checking into my room and taking off my arm warmers, I noticed I had a rash on the inside of both arms at the the elbow joint. I also had a rash on my knees. It was very itchy!!! I put on some "Calmoseptine" ointment that was given to me by Christina on my Quebec trip last summer. It seemed to help relieve the itching a bit. I also took two Paracetemol tablets. They helped a bit too.
I washed a couple of outfits before going out to a Burger King just across the street for some good Ol Merican food. The BK was attached to a gas station which also had a convenience store so I was able to get a Dominikaner Pils for .99 E for .5 L to go plus .25 E deposit.
Once I got back to my room I settled in for the evening and was hoping to get caught up on my blog but had trouble getting on the "Free Wi-Fi" which kept crapping out. I started typing Day 13 and about 3/4 of the way through got cut off. I thought I had lost everything but luckily because of "autosave" I was able to recuperate most of what I had typed. I kept getting knocked off the Internet so eventually gave up and went to bed at 10:30.
Cheers, Roly

Day 14 - Europe 2011

Scenery along the Rhine

Nuclear power plant where Polizei came out of nowhere to check on me!!!

Day 14 - Tuesday, June 7, 2011 - Erfelden to Schwetzingen - Trip 86.95 kms Time 5:03:34

The church bell kept waking me up every hour on the half-hour but I finally did manage to get some sleep after midnight. There was also more rain during the night. I got up at 7:00 and went downstairs for a shower. The workers had all left earlier. After my shower I went down to the garage to collect my laundry. It was all dry except for the socks which were still a bit damp. I finished packing my panniers and carried them down the very steep, narrow stairs. Herr Maul was waiting for me in the courtyard to collect the 27 Euros for my night's lodging. I went into the garage to fill up my water bottles at the laundry tub. Herr Maul insisted I fill up with bottled water that he got from a nearby fridge. He wasn't such a bad guy afterall. Later on when I went to take a drink from my water bottle it exploded in my face!!! It was fizzy water.
I set off at 8:30 with overcast skies but since I hadn't had b'fast yet I quickly found a backerie and went in to see what I could find for a suitable b'fast. It was the usual assortment of breads and pastries. I picked the healthiest looking pastry I could find and a Capri-Sona to wash it down with. I went out to sit on the front step to eat my b'fast but the manageress came out and told me I should sit on the chair inside the shop.
I eventually set off for Manheim. I managed to get on the cement cycle path along the dike along the Rhine. There was not a lot to see as the dike hid the Rhine from my view. I must have covered over 30 kms from Klein-Rohrheim to Manheim and only encountered 3 male cyclists, one rather buxom jogger and a POLIZEI car that came out of nowhere to check on me as I passed a Nuclear Power Plant!!! I crossed over to Worms hoping to find a Snell-Imbiss for lunch. A couple of workmen pointed me towards a grocery store just 500 M away. I was able to buy some fruit and when I looked for something to eat I once again ended up in the attached bakerei. I was able to get some tea and a pizza Margerita. Yuk!!!
I decided it was best to cross over the bridge again continue on to Bruhl. Somehow I ended up in Schwetzingen!!! But luckily I spotted a nice looking hotel with a huge banner outside advertising rooms at 40 Euros/night. Of course all the 40 E rooms were taken but there was a room available at 55 E which included b'fast and free Wi-Fi. I checked in. I was having difficulty getting on the Internet so went up to the reception to ask for help with registering for a "HOTSPLOTS" account. Davida, the receptionist, was most helpful. She also informed me that the price of the room also included dinner. What a bonus!!! The hotel was very flamboyantly decorated with mirrors all over the place including the ceilings. The lighting was also quite spectacular. The halogen bulb hasn't made it to Germany yet.
I sat down at a table in the dining room to make sure I had the Internet working OK and ordered a beer while I checked my e-mail. The next thing I knew I was being served dinner which consisted of a cold pasta entrée and a snitzel with pommes croquettes. No salad. No dessert. Although when I asked Davida about dessert she brought me a coconut yogurt. Paid for another pils which I took back to my room in the basement and worked on Day 11 & 12 of my blog. More rain during the night.
Cheers, Roly

Day 13 - Europe 2011

The Frau Maul Gastezimmer

The church bell that kept me awake!!!

Day 13 - Monday, June 6, 2011 - Winkel to Erfelden - Trip 68.06 kms Time 4:17:03


Got up at 6:30. In spite of last night's thunderstorm my room was still very hot and humid. Went down for b'fast at 7:30. No one else about except for me and the waitress. Asked for orange juice and black tea. She brought me a huge glass of orange juice and a nice pot of black tea. Before leaving I also asked if she could fill up my 2 water bottles. She got the Gourmet Water out and used up 2 bottles filling my water bottles. No charge. I also made myself a ham and cheese brotchen sandwich with the 3rd brotchen. I set off for Eltville at 8:40 AM. After going only 3-4 kms I came upon an "umleitung" (detour) and missed a right turn. I ended up going up a very nasty hill (5 kph) for about 2 kms when my GPS started beeping at me "Make a U-Turn if possible". I turned around and went down the hill at a much faster clip!!! I found the right turn I had missed and continued on to Eltville/Wiesbaden. It took about an hour to get throught Wiesbaden. Once again I missed a turn and ended up in Hochheim. I stopped at a Bacherei and went in for a cold drink. They had Gatorade and some Danish pastries that I couldn't resist. I bought a second Gatorade to fill up my water bottle and made sure I got my deposit back on both bottles before setting off for Ginsheim which turned out to be 5-6 kms further down the road and nearer to the Rhine. Most of the time it is difficult to stay by the Rhine mostly due to heavy duty industry and small rivers that feed into the Rhine. So today's ride was mostly country roads usually with a paved path alongside. I passed through Astheim on my way to Erfelden. Just after lunch it started pouring. I had to stop and put my rain covers on my panniers and my rain gear. I made it to Geinsheim where I found shelter at a Backerei (it was closed) under an awning. It was really tipping down. A lady arrived at 1:30 and opened up. I went in for a cold drink and a strawberry parfait!! I asked about hotels but she wasn't from the area and didn't know of any hotels. A customer came in and told me I would find an hotel in Leeheim. Not!! I pushed on to Erfelden. Passed a "Zimmer Frei" sign. Stopped and rang the door bell. A room on the 2nd floor with 3 single beds cost 27 Euros. No b'fast. No Wi-Fi. Great cable TV though. It was all very clean plus there was a huge garage where I could store my bike and hang up any wet clothes that needed drying out. I washed 2 outfits and went down to the garage to hand them out to dry. Herr Maul, who was sitting at a desk at the very back of the garage, spoke to me very gruffly in German. I explained that Frau Maul had told me that I could hang out my wet clothes to dry. He seemed to be satisfied with this explanation and went off to finish dealing with his laundry.
I went out for dinner and while looking for a place to eat ran into Frau Maul who was out walking her grandson in his stroller. She pointed me in the right direction. Went in for a pils (2) and a Zigeuner Snitzel with pommes frites and a salad. It was far to much - the snitzel was huge. I had quite a struggle finishing the whole thing. I walked back to the pension. There's not a lot to see in Erfelden. There were several guys hanging out in the courtyard. They appeared to be workmen from a nearby construction site who were staying at the pension. Watched a bit of TV then went off to bed at 9:30. The church bell rang every hour on the half hour. So much for getting a good night's rest!!!
Cheers, Roly

Day 12 - Europe 2011

Day 12 - Sunday, June 5, 2011 - Koblenz to Winkel - Trip 79.46 kms Time 4:38:06

Slept poorly!!! City Hotel Metropole has to be the noisiest hotel that I've ever stayed at and I've stayed a lot of hotels all over the world. I think there was a taxi stand right under my window and not one of the taxi drivers could talk in a normal voice. Everything had to be shouted at a level that the whole city could hear. In spite of all the noise I did manage to get a few hours of sleep, but... Got up at 7:00. Did some packing. Went down for b'fast. Very busy. Quite a crowd. Had a full b'fast including a ham and cheese sandwich which I wrapped in my serviette and stuffed in my handlebar bag for later including a hard boiled egg and a small packet of cheese. Went back to my room and finished packing. Carried my panniers to the elevator. It was busy. Finally managed to get my panniers down to the reception. I asked for the key so I could go "find my wheels". The other cyclists had already gone ahead with the key to fetch their "wheels". I was able to catch up to them before they entered the labyrinth. We collected our "wheels" and returned to the hotel. The other cyclists were headed for the Banhof to take the train back to Aachen. I loaded my panniers on my bike and set off for Spey. I tried to follow the directions in the Rhein-Radweg guide but just got totally lost. The directions are from the south of the Rhein to the North and I was having to follow them backwards. Eventually I gave up and set my GPS for Spey which got me headed in the right direction. I had only done an extra 4 kms or so before setting off on the correct route.
I stopped several times to admire the scenery, for lunch, for snacks, for photos, etc. I met a group of classic cars on a tour including a 1965 TR4A, Ford Model ?, 1960s Cadillac. Even saw Elvis who was sitting in the back of the Caddy. It was a very nice cycle route most of the way to Bingen where I decided to take the ferry over to Rudesheim (no charge?). As it was only 2:30 PM I decided to go on for a bit. I saw a nice hotel in Winkel called "Schorsch Eger's Weinstadl" at 3:30 PM. Went in to check it out. The manager/manageress spoke French. It was 45 Euros for a single room with b'fast. The owner of the establishment turned out to be a very famous German musician. He had an unbelievable collection of musical instruments, pepper mills, paintings, old flat irons, etc. The place was just covered with memorabilia. I had a couple of beers (a bit warm) before going up to my room which turned out to be a tad warm also. There was just no air circulation in spite of the window being wide open. While I was waiting for my room to be prepared I noticed some locals who had come in for dinner had ordered a dish done up and served in a frying pan. This looked really good. Later on when I went down for dinner I decided I would have to try this dish but first of all I had to get the waitress to help me identify what it was called on the menu. It turned out to be "Putensteak (Chicken) mit Frischen Champignons Sauce Hollandaise und Kase Uberbachen auf Pommes Frites inder Pfanne Serviert mit Gemischtem Salat" all that for 13.50 Euros. I was terribly thirsty and asked the waitress for some ordinary cold water to drink. She brought over a fancy bottle of Sodenthaler Gourmet Water compliments of the house!!! I had also ordered a 1/2 L of red wine. The owner uncorked a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. The portions in Germany are just huge and it was very tasty. Earlier when I was checking in I had told the manager that I was from Canada and had cycled all the way from Amsterdam and was making my way down the Rhine, to the Danube and hopefully would cycle all the way to the Black Sea. He was most impressed and must have told the owner about my adventure. I had also shared my photo of Elvis in the big honking Cadillac with the owner as knowing that he was a musician he would appreciate my sighting of Elvis.
I was able to connect to the Internet and wanted to cut and paste my Day 10 Blog but wasn't able to do this so I had to re-type the whole darn thing. (Thanks for the tip Heinz re using Open Office. I will have to try that next time). It was pretty stinking hot in the room. Later on there was a huge thunder/rain/lightning storm during the night. This did help cool things off a bit and I was able to get a few hours of sleep.
Cheers, Roly

Day 11 - Europe 2011

Day 11 - Saturday, June 4, 2011 - Bad Godesberg to Koblenz - Trip 67.65 Time 4:17:44

Had a fairly good night's rest in spite of yesterday's long and difficult, at times, ride. No cramps during the night. I started packing my panniers and took one of the rear panniers and my trunk bag down to reception then went for b'fast which wasn't served until 8:00 AM on weekends. There were a few other guest already having b'fast - very unusual. Once again there was a full assorment of goodies so I really pigged out.
Before setting off for Koblenz I decided to take a quick tour of Plittersdorf (former American community) where I stayed in an apartment on my fist posting to Bonn in 1977-81. I was able to find the Bonn American School, the "Baseball Park". the Elementary School, my apt. at 13 Europe Strasse. There was someone in a big black Mercedes parked out in front. But I couldn't find any signs of the American Cinema, PX, Garage, etc. As I was leaving Plittersdorf I passed the Hof Von Holland which sure brought back a lot of memories of kuchen and pommes frites their specialty and many a glass of Kolsch after baseball games, etc. Now that's where I should have spent the night!!!
I rejoined the Rhine and set off for Koblenz at 9:45 AM. I had also planned to pass by Blumenau Strasse in Rungsdorf where I lived on my second posting to Bonn in 1993-97 but somehow missed the turnoff at the French Economat which I thought met with the Rhine. Oh well I was running a bit late so best to get on with my trip to Koblenz. There were quite a lot of people out on the very wide path along the Rhine - people riding their bikes, roller blading, walking their dogs or just walking. There were several rough patches i.e. cobble stones, crushed stone, etc. As I was crossing a covered wooden bridge a couple who were on the bridge were looking over the side into the stream below. The gentleman spoke to me and all I managed to understand was the word "forellen". Which I knew meant rainbow trout. I stopped to have a look and sure enough there were 7 or 8 foot long trout just treading water in the shallow stream. And I thought he was giving me s--t for riding my bike across the bridge!!!
I arrived in Koblenz around 2:30 PM hot and very thirsty. I found a hotel just around the corner called City Hotel Metropol. A single room with b'fast cost 65 Euros. No Wi-Fi. But I was told their was an Internet Cafe just across the street. First I had to put my bike in the garage. I was given a set of instructions in broken English (perhaps I would have been better off with the German instructions) and a key. After half an hour I was finally able to locate P 124 on level -2 (not 2) and with much apprehension parked my bike. There were all sorts of expensive cars in the underground parking including a Z4 so surely my bike would be OK. I had to go back later with my lock and sure enough there were 7-8 more bikes parked with mine. At least "Rocky" wouldn't be lonely. I looked for the Internet Cafe, finally found it after asking twice for directions, had a couple beers, checked my e-mail, updated my blog (Day 9), etc.
Went for a walk-about, found a Chinese restaurant with a nice patio where I could sit and watch the people go by. There were several groups of young ladies who were out for a stroll. They were wearing sashes and seemed to be in some sort of beauty pageant or something.
Took some photos and went back to my room for an early night.
Cheers, Roly
PARKING FOR BICYCLES
1st = Please go back, cross the road to the zebra crossing and turn right
2nd = IRISH PUB on the go by
3nd = 2nd Glass doors open (it was a barred glass door)
4th = Follow the corridor to go six small steps down
5th = green door open to a deck 1
6th = go trough a Deck 2
7th = go straight to the parking lot (left side) with No. 124!!!
and your wheels are on the right Toward the wall and seal it. Thank you

Day 10 - Europe 2011

Day 10 - Friday, June 3, 2011 - Kohlscheid to Bad Godesberg - Trip 116.05 kms Time 7:07:15

I heard Tina arrive on her Harley at 6:30 AM but decided I would have a lie in as I had asked for b'fast at 8:00 AM. Did a bit of sorting before going down to b'fast. No one else around except for the cleaning lady, Tina and myself. Tina had already prepared a ham omelette for me, It was swimming in grease - typical German cuisine - I ate the whole thing as I didn't want to offend her. There was also cheese, cold cuts, juice, tea, fresh from the oven hot buns, jams, etc. I quickly finished my b'fast and went back up to my room to finish packing my panniers as I wanted to get as early a start as possible. I wanted to get to Bonn - Bad Godesbert and I had a feeling it was going to be over 100 kms.
After paying 48 € for my room and b'fast Tina presented me with my beer coaster from yesterday with 2 marks on it which meant I owed her for 2 beers. This is the German custom for keeping tabs on how many drinks one has consumed. Tina helped carry my panniers out to the garage where my bike had been locked up for the night. I removed the broken pump bracket which I kept catching on my inner thigh, loaded my panniers and set off for Duren at 8:50 AM. My GPS had calculated a distance of 31 kms but by the time I got there I had done 40 + kms including one very serious climb. I thought I was going to have to get off at one point and start pushing my bike up the hill. By this time it was getting quite hot and I had worked up quite a lather. It seems there is never a direct route with the GPS. Its always zig zagging through all the back/side streets.
I stopped at a gas station (they seemed to be the only places open where one could get a cold drink and a snack) and downed a bottle of Gatorade. I also bought a brotchen with mozarella cheese, tomato, lettuce and some other unrecognizable ingredient. It all tasted quite good although the brotchen was a bit crusty. I stopped at a 2nd gas station, again for a cold drink. This time they had provided nice comfy garden chairs in the shade so I was able to sit and have a pleasant break. This time I took my empty bottle inside and was given a .60€ refund. I had just tossed my Gatorade bottle in the trash bin at the previous stop!!!
On the outskirts of Bonn I stopped at a fresh fruit stand and bought 2 large oranges and ate one on the spot. Boy was it ever refreshing. I also sampled a cherry and a strawberry. Both were very tasty. For some reason fruit always seems to taste so much better after cycling in the hot sun all day.
I didn't fancy staying in a hotel in Bonn so kept on going hoping to find something more reasonable in Bad Godesberg which I was more familiar with having lived and worked there for 7.5 years. The first hotel I tried was fully booked for a bridge tournament. It was suggested I try the Park Hotel just around the corner. It was 80 € for a single room with b'fast. No amount of haggling could get her to lower the price. It was getting rather late, 6:00 PM, so I decided I had to pay the price. When I asked about storing my bicycle I was told I could bring it into the hotel. What a struggle I had getting it up the front steps and through the glass doors. The receptionist finally came to my aid and held the door open for me. After removing my panniers I was able to store my bike in a storage room just opposite the reception area. Once settled in I went downstairs to the reception to ask about Wi-Fi service. I was told it would cost 4.95/hour for the Internet. I decided to go and get something to eat and update my journal while waiting. I found a Bavarian restaurant just around the corner and although I had to wait for quite some time before getting any service I did manage to get a nice cold frosty beer and a Chicken Cordon Bleu dish which was nothing to rave about but I was so hungry it didn't really matter.
Must get an early night's rest as it's off to Koblenz bright and early tomorrow.
Cheers, Roly
Because I had no Internet service I thought I would be clever and type this up in NotePad then just cut and paste it into my Blog. No way. Notepad is a .txt document and my Blog is HTML. Tried to cut and paste and save my document in Word but that didn't work either. Anybody have any clever ideas about how to prepare an HTML draft???

Day 9 - Thursday, June 2, 2011 - Tongeren to Kohlscheid - Trip 65.71 kms Avg 14.86 kph

Had a bit of a rough night due to leg cramps. I guess I have to lay off the alcohol!!! I was up at the crack of dawn and went down for breakfast. No one else in the dining room. Everything was fresh. You get what you pay for. Was even given the choice of decaf coffee plus orange juice, cereal with banana, etc... I was about to take a hard boiled egg for later on my way out when I noticed a sign which said "these eggs have not been cooked yet". Grabbed some BabyBel cheese instead.
Before checking out I wanted to find an ATM where I could get some cash to pay for my hotel bill. I was told to go about 10-15 minutes walk to the Town Hall and there would be an ATM behind it. I set off on the cobble stones and walked for about 10 minutes and once again asked for directions from a local who was about to have his morning cuppa coffee. He said I needed to keep going another 500 metres and I would find a bank on the right. Found the bank but the ATM spit out my card. Went inside and tried a 2nd time and was able to get some cash. Back to the hotel on the cobble stones, pay the bill, collect my panniers and my bike and set off for Bonn at 9:15 AM. Oh by the way, I did manage to talk the hotel receptionist into reducing my room rate to 80 €. A savings of 10 €.
Lots of loooong hills plus steady head wind made for slow progress. Lots of cyclist, hikers, etc. Must be a holiday? Stopped in Maastricht for lunch. Saw a very nice BRG Triumph TR3 and a guy with a set of whiskers that could win any moustache contest hands down.

Passing through Kohlscheid I was running low on water so decided to go into a hotel/bar and get my water bottles re-filled. It turned out to be a biker bar. The manager, Tina, was all dressed up in Harley Davidson gear and had her HOG parked out front. I had managed to cycle 65 kms at this point so decided if the price was right I would stop and spend the night in Kohlscheid. A room with breakfast turned out to be 48 € so I parked Rocky and went in for a beer. Only problem was, because of the holiday (Father's Day) the bar was very noisy and full of smoke. But it had Wi-Fi which I was eventually able to get set up after Tina gave me the proper code.
NB Ron & Tony & Lynda: This bar also featured JagerMeister on tap. A total of 4 l in the chilling tank and 3 l in reserve on top.

Fortunately the "Fathers" went home early and the Oompahpah noise died down around 10:30 PM so I was able to get a good night's sleep.
Tchuss, Roly