Friday, October 26

Train travel is civilized, especially here on the ICE train from Basel to Frankfurt airport.  All the seats have fold down trays or, like where I am sitting, tables facing the seats opposite.  I elected not to reserve a set on this train, and therefore I have had to move to accommodate those who did.  No problem, there was a very nice young man who volunteered to put my 23 kg suitcase up on the storage shelf and then bring it down when we reach the airport.

There was nice young steward who came by with a trolley with coffee and snacks -- reminds me of Harry Potter, but the selection was not nearly as interesting.  Wifi is complimentary on the ICE (inter city express) and most people are talking to their phones or computers.  In addition, you can connect to the ICE site and select from a number of books that they will read to you as you sit back and relax.  Nice!

The next part of this adventure involves flying to Sweden this afternoon and meeting up with Rich, Jenn and the 2 sweeties tonight for supper.  We have a hotel for tonight and then are on a flight early tomorrow to Gran Canaria where we will be in a two bedroom apartment on the beach.  We booked all inclusive so that everyone gets a vacation.  Sounds grand.

Standing at the Lufthansa counter reminded me that the one and only time either of my parents made a trip back to Germany, it was my father, in 1963 (just after the Cuban missile crisis), who flew Lufthansa to Frankfurt where one of his brothers picked him up.  Dad didn't recognize him after 10 years. For us kids, the highlight was all the Lufthansa freebees that were brought back.  What a long time ago.

Tuesday, October 23

Not often do we get to step into someone else's life.  Visiting usually means a disruption of regular routines and putting on special meals, going places one would not normally go.  How the other person really lives, is lost in a flurry of trying to impress, or trying to show them everything there is to see or do in your area.  It is an artificial situation for both the host and the guest.  Now, some people go visiting for that purpose, to be entertained or catered to.  I have always felt very uncomfortable in that kind of a situation.  In university, I could not go to visit my best friend's family because I felt it was too much of an imposition.  As a young adult and then parent, I enjoyed entertaining, but it was the totally artificial situation I described.  I was not content in it, because, honestly, I felt no one went out of their way for me like that.  I thought that was the mark of true friendship.

How wrong I was!

In the fall of 1986, I agreed to canvass in my neighbourhood for some foundation -- I think it was liver.  It involved knocking on doors on my street and asking for monetary support.  I detest asking other people for money, but felt it was a civic duty.  I did not know all the people on the street, especially the ones at the other end who had moved in more recently.  But the knock on one door changed me.  The lady who answered it had recently moved from England with her husband and two boys, one of whom was in the same school as my son.  I don't know why we clicked, but we did.  Soon we were shopping together, walking together, talking on the phone (my kids always said they knew who it was when I was on the phone for more than a few minutes as I normally hated long discussions and ended calls as quickly as possible).  She took care of my house when we were away and I took care of hers.  We ended up buying vacation condos in the same complex in Collingwood.  They took my daughter to concerts, I helped her son with cooking.  She moved away in 1996 and I was sure that our friendship would be over, but no.  I visited her several times in England and then in France when she moved there.  The most remarkable thing is that we pick up as though no time has passed since we were last together.  We both have grandchildren and compare notes and insights.  We both had aging mothers, mine has just passed away this summer, hers just celebrated her 90th birthday. 

We are now both gray and we laugh about that.  We have to remind each other to start relaxing and we laugh about that.  We compare concerns for our kids and how to love them but not smother them,  and we laugh about that.  We look at each other's grandchildren pictures and the funny things they do and say, and we laugh about that.  As you can tell, we laugh a lot!  There is no pressure to change oneself, each is accepted as they are and valued as that individual.  Friendship is a wonderful thing and I am truly blessed to have Rhonda as my friend.

Sunday, October 21

Yesterday was a train day, from Mainz to Basel, via Mannheim.  The train system may be a few minutes late at times, but then they make it up.  The ICE train that delivered me to Basel at 14:50 had left Amsterdam at 8:05.  That's fairly impressive,  considering the track problem just south of Koln which had meant that the train could not use the express corridor (where, I was told, it hits speeds of 300km/hr).  The fastest I saw on the monitor was 200, and it felt so smooth.

Rhonda was at the station in Basel and we step so easily back into our friendship.  It is wonderful!

Today I attended church with Robert.  He goes to a nice little church here in St. Louis.  A few years ago they got a new priest who is bringing in new people especially families.  I was told that the style has changed and the music, though still liturgical with lots of responses and chants, definitely has a modern feel.  My french is good enough that I could make out most of the singing (it was printed in the bulletin).  My oral language is much poorer, but I was able to figure out on which Gospel passage the sermon focused.  There were new members welcomed to the parish and we were all invited for a glass of wine in the foyer.  We did not stay.

Instead, this afternoon we visited Neuf Brisach, a fortified town built in an 8-point star.  It has 3 rows of trenches making it virtually impossible for attackers to survive.  The walls are impressively thick and very well preserved, considering it was built in the last of the 1600s. Today tourists are welcomed not only by the ancient fortifications, but also various art installations in the moat.

This will be a week to relax -- a welcome change from last week's rush.  But I love both!

Frrrrriiiiiiiidddddaaaaayyyyyy, October 19

Yes, it was a very long day -- perhaps not more than actually 14 hours since I got up, it just feels that way.

It's still dark at 6:30, actually the sun didn't come up till 8 am, but I get ahead of myself.

So I spent last night at a winery in Nierstein which has some rooms for tourists.  According to the lady who laid out my breakfast for 7, it has been in the family for 4 generations.  They have 65 hectares of grapes and she thought they produced about 75,000 bottles of wine -- Riesling.  We spoke of the low level of the river and she told me it had been June 4 since there had been a significant rain.  They have irrigation capability for the grapes, but it was so dry, that the vines reabsorbed liquid from the grapes and the ensuing grapes were quite wrinkled but very sweet.  She was very concerned about the climate change. 

This is a picture of the Roter Hang (Red Slope) which is quite famous, I gather.  However, the lack of rain may make it impossible to grow Reisling here much longer due to mineral accumulation.  I have found the Europeans in general much more aware and concerned about climate change that most North Americans.

The ride to Mainz went well and I arrived just after 9.  Could have made the 9:20 train, but there was no spot available for the bicycle when I did the booking on Wednesday.  So it was the 10:20 train, which was delayed 45 minutes.  The was a fire on a train last week and that has made part of the express route in the Rhine corridor unavailable at this point, so that accounted for about 10 min of the delay, and then there was a medical issue on the track.  

Anyway, I got to Koln at 12:45 and that gave me 4 hours to ride to Dusseldorf.  It is only 40 km, but if you have to hold your phone and check you position every few minutes, it does take quite a while.  Sometimes I got tempted to follow a sign rather then the phone and usually had to backtrack.  However, I made it to the train station just after 4 pm.  WC stop and pick up a snack for the ride back.  Oops, my train is not noted on the board, well, check with the information.  Oh yes, the train is on time and by now I have to hurry -- run through the station with the bicycle and up the stairs because I can't find a lift.  Thanks so much to the young man who helped with the bike.  The train arrived about 1 minute after I reached the platform.  Wait, I have to be in car 6 for my reserved bicycle spot and that car is way down the line.  Dash, I made it.  The bike has a spot, but there are so many people that I had to stand the 2.5 hours back to Mainz.  

Familiar spots rushed by the windows--Koln cathedral, the Mauseturm in the middle of the river (now on a substantial island thanks to the low water level), Koblenz and Ehrenbreitstein castle, the Lahn river, the Loreley.  How lovely to have memories of all those places, from a couple of different trips!

I had hoped to finish the whole Rhine on this trip, but the section from Freiburg to Strasbourg will have to wait for another time.  After a season of not much riding, my legs are quite tired after 6 days -- it was 62 km again today.  But, the bike is locked in the garage downstairs.  My handlebar bag and pannier are with reception and I am eating a soup and drinking a beer in my room.  All the hotels on this trip have been great and the support from Eurobike has been good.  I would travel with them again.

So, I have to ponder why I have enjoyed this river so much over the years.  I think I came here to find a part of myself and my heritage that I did not know.  I recognize some of the unique turns of phrase. I love the different advertising and foods.  My soup is an eintopf -- which actually means ' one pot', so it is very much like a stew.  My favourite has been lentil with little sausage pieces -- a memory out of my childhood.  Every other time I went back and shared the pictures and memories with my Mom.  Not this time.

Thursday, October 18

The Loreleri song has a line about 'ruhig fliesst der Rhine'.  Well, the critical thing currently is not if the river is flowing gently, but rather that it is flowing low.  I mentioned the low water previously, but today it was really hammered home. 

After a 60 km (yes, wrong turns again) ride, I anxiously arrived at the Nierstein ferry.  Having passed this morning another ferry spot that was abandoned,  I was really hoping that this one was operating.  I had passed a cyclist who indicated that two days ago, it had been doing the traverse of the river, and he had not heard otherwise.  The ferry was doing its back and forth between Kornsand and Nierstein, but there was a catch.  On the bank, there was an excavator straddling water and sand, dredging the docking area of the ferry.  Impossible to say how long they will be able to keep this up!

Construction is not a Canadian exclusive.  There were several detours today to the route, some I negotiated well, others put me way off the desired path.  About 50% of the ride today was on gravel path.

Need to mention the people that one meets.  No one brushed off my questions and requests for help.  More common, was the well meaning individuals who wanted to tell me how to go for the whole day and the next 10 km.  Sorry, can't digest that much -- just need to know the next two turns, especially when I get back into regular cycling territory where there are signs.  Oh, thanks for the signs -- gave me a couple of short cuts, really appreciated after some wrong turns.  Thanks, Google, especially in finding my hotel once I get to the final city

I will need to use google tomorrow.  Just before I came over here, I bought something called pocket juice (a battery to recharge the phone on the go) which I think will come in handy tomorrow.  Early to bed.

Wednesday, October 17

Yes I have checked in to Asgard -- Hotel Asgard, that is, in Worms.  I don't know if the mythical creature is holding my bicycle to the ground or vice versa, but there are more of these blue dragons around this city.

Today's ride was about the shortest of this tour -- 45km.  It travelled along the Neckar river a while before heading overland up towards Worms which lies on the west side of the Rhine.  Again, there were fields and farms and lovely countryside all going about their daily and yearly routines.  Cows were being milked, asparagus was going yellow in its rows. 

I got to Worms early in the afternoon, affording me time to do a little historical sightseeing as well as my usual shopping adventure.  "Here I stand."  was Martin Luther's statement to Charles V in this place where he would not recant his doctrines.  The bishop's palace is long gone, but the monument stands as remembrance. 

There are some very fine churches in town pointing to the importance of this location in religious history -- Diet of Worms always brought a chuckle.

The home improvement giant Bauhaus is no longer in this city, but is replaced with OBI which features many of the same OOH and AAH kitchen, baths and renovation ideas which have long impressed me about Europe.  Often I think that North America is very far behind.  This is the most amazing corner cabinet I have ever seen!

I have been trying new drinks from the grocery stores.  Today's Frau Rauscher's apfelwein at 5.5 % is a definite winner.

Tuesday, October 16

It may be close up, but the HD does not refer to Hi Def.  It is Heidelberg! and that's where I landed after 60 km today. 

Yes, it was only supposed to be 50, but a wrong turn took me a good distance out of the route, but I saw nice fields of beets and potatoes and strawberries and winter wheat and some ordinary towns.  I think that is what this trip is really showing me.  I don't have the time or energy to do the regular tourist things in the cities I am visiting.  When I am finished riding for the day, I need a nice shower, rinse out some of the riding clothes and go in search of supper.

Today, I also managed to wander around the city for a bit.  I visited the university student's quad and saw the old bridge and the castle on the mountain side -- regular tourist stuff.  But I also sat on a small greenspace beside the river Neckar and watched the traffic -- road and ship.  I saw for the very first time a child's car seat with a 4 year old in the passenger's seat -- just looked wrong.  I don't know about the legality of that here.  There was also a gentleman in his Mercedes sports car with a huge bandage on his left ear.  There is a very famous hospital right on the south bank of the river, next to the university.

I have to mention the signage.  There are large signs which give destinations and distances, but the sign I like to see most is the little green arrow.  It gives turns and adjustments to the larger cycle paths, and, most comfortingly, it shows you're on the right path.

Monday, October 15

It is raining and getting cold at home, but this area of Germany is experiencing lovely almost summer-like weather with sun and temperatures in the low 20s.  It makes for lovely riding. Falling leaves look like sparkles under the trees.

And that is enhanced by riding through forests and fields, along a levee protecting the countryside from highwater on the Rhine. (Actually, the Rhine level is uncommonly low forcing the ferry which I was to use today, to abandon its crossings of the river).

So, there was a detour needed and to shorten it, I pushed the bicycle up 41 steps and over a water regulatory gate.  It was beside a huge power plant outside of Karlsruhe.  But the trustworthy Europaradweg (European cycle path) brought me to my destination. 

Germersheim is a fairly sleepy town with a fortress remains in its heart.  A walk about showed me a monument for soldiers of the 1870-71 war with the French, a sculpture part from a symposium in 1997, and a condo renovation in a barracks building complete with shooting holes.  But I must admit, I spent the most time at the local grocery store -- Penny.  I do love seeing what other people buy and use to feed themselves.  Included in that are kiwi berries, grown in Germany, which are like mini kiwis where one eats the whole berry.

Yesterday's ride was a total of 71km.  Today I went 62.  Those are the two longest rides of this tour and it is going well on the bike.  There don't seem to be too many people going in the direction that I am, but I pass cyclists going the other way usually every 5 min.  Late fall riding is great!

Starting again

After a long travel day (Toronto - Iceland - Frankfurt -Saarbruken - Strassbourg) and a great night's sleep, it was time to pick up the bicycle and start on this, the last big chunk of cycling along the northbound Rhine river.

Strassbourg is a hopping city -- it is after all the seat of the European Parliament.  There were lots of people out on Saturday night and a city express grocery store.  (too bad I didn't realize that this morning.)It is the destination of many weekend tours -- I met the members of one at breakfast this morning.  I took no time to sight-see.  I may have time for that next week after this tour is done.

There was lots of riding on cycle paths and the dam lining the river.  Little transport on the river today, perhaps Sunday is still respected there.  It certainly is in the towns and cities that I have visited today.  In fact, there is no grocery store in Rastatt that is open today, so supper is scrounged from a little bakery.  At about the 39 km mark, I took the ferry across the Rhine and continued along the German side. 

The guidebook I received this morning was quite good in getting me around, I only made a few wrong turns and one ride back and then retrace my steps as I was right in the first time.  The phone does come in handy when there is a question about where I am.  The bicycle is a heavy 7 speed, step-through commuting item, but I have all the gear for repairs and bags for the back and the handlebars.  It runs along in 5th or 6th gear quite nicely at 20 - 21 km/hr.

European TV -- quite interesting to hear the British news and then, of course, German TV.  Today there was an election in Bayern (south east Germany) and the surprising results of the Green party up to 18% and AfD (the far right) is up to 11%, show a growing polarization of the electorate.  Yesterday there was a huge demonstration in Berlin for human rights.  I encountered protesters in the Frankfurt train station.  There is unrest here.

After 70 km today on a strange bike, I am tired, but I am delighted and excited to ride again tomorrow!