Today, we’re off to Wittenberg Lutherstadt as it now seems to be called everywhere. It’s 100 km away and there is only one point of interest in-between – Torgau. We had thought of passing via Leipzig but the photos on google images aren’t very encouraging. We get off to a false start because our Radhaus in Niederlommatzsch doesn’t take Visa card and we have to drive about 10 km to get some cash.
Hartenfels Castle was built in 1534.
The first thing we see when we approach Torgau is Hartenfels Castle overlooking the Elbe. We park in the shade and put on our straw hats because it is already 28°C in the shade at 11 am! As soon as we walk into the walled town, we see preparations going on. A Renaissance festival like the one we accidentally went to last year in Neuburg on the Danube is obviously in the making.
The unexpected bear pit
Unfortunately, the castle is undergoing renovation but we walk towards the courtyard which is open to the public. We go across a moat and I look down. What do I see? A brown bear! Poor thing, it looks very hot, even in its pool. It reminds me of Bern in Switzerland which also has a bear pit. We later see there is a second bear who is also completely flaked out.
Marienkirche – you can see some of the Renaissance festival preparations
We visit Marienkirche in which there is a mural tombstone of Katharina Luther who died in Torgau. Now that’s an interesting story. Katharina’s parents were of noble birth but had fallen on hard times, so they put her in a convent at the age of 5. When she was 24, she and 11 other nuns escaped from the convent to Wittenberg, encouraged by Martin Luther’s denunciation of convents and monasteries. There she met her future husband, 16 years older than her. They had six children and lived happily ever after. Five hundred years later, there is a Katharina’s Day celebration just for her.
Mural tombstone of Katharina Luther
Torgau is a pretty little town with a large market square. A white rathaus takes up most of one side and is flanked by well-retored buildings around the other three sides. There is a lot of renovation going on and it’s obviously trying to capitalise on nearby Wittenberg and the Martin Luther connection.
Torgau Rathaus
After a nice cold Diet Coke (Coca-Cola Light in German), we continue our route to Wittenburg. Stay tuned.
We’ve left Meissen for the best day weather-wise. It’s already 16°C by the time we set out at 9.45, taking the ferry in front of Elbklause, our “bike hotel” across the Elbe, and the sky is bright blue. It’s 14 km to Meissen mainly along the river. The castle can be seen quite a long way away.
Meissen from the cycle path on the east bank of the Elbe
Marktplatz, flanked on one side by the Rathaus (town hall) and on the other by Frauenkirche church, is our first stop. We hear the porcelain bells chiming. Unfortunately the church is undergoing renovation so we can’t visit the inside.
The Town Hall (Rathaus) in Meissen with its sundialThe bell tower of Frauenkirche with its porcelain bells
We wheel our bikes up to the late Gothic Albrechtsburg Castle. We pass several historical houses on the way. On the right of the gatehouse, I see what looks like a great restaurant for lunch.
The entrance to Albrechtsburg Castle.
Built in the 15th century, the castle is considered to be Germany’s oldest castle. There is a double sundial on the façade which also has a spiral staircase with a Renaissance-like gallery that reminds me of Blois.
Castle façade with its double sundial and spiral staircase
The most striking feaures are the vaulting and the wall paintings. There is no furniture. There are not many people so our extra 2 euro per person to take photos proves to be worth it.
The main banquet roomThe smaller vaults on the right are most unusualA royal wedding for political reasons – the bride was 9 and the groom 17!One of several porcelain stoves. There are practically no fireplaces.
Meissen, of course, is famous for its 300-year old porcelain faatory. There are several showcases throughout the castle displaying a fine collection. We initially thought we’d visit the factory but after seeing the pieces displayed here, we decide not to go.
One of the porcelain showcases in the castleThe buildings on the right of Dom Platz leaving the castle with one of the sundials on the right.
By now it’s after 1.30 pm but that’s not a problem here. It seems you can get a meal any time. We locate the restaurant I saw on the way up and take a table overlooking the city and river.
The view from the Burgkeller which is also a Romantik Hotel
Although the waitress doesn’t speak any English, the menu has a translation so we order pork medallions with chanterelle mushrooms (pfifferlings – isn’t that a great word?) and potato cakes. A bit salty, but otherwise excellent. We had our usual Meissen white wine which tasted like riesling.
Sheep grazing right on the edge of the Elbe opposite Zadel
The weather is as warm as promised – 23°C. We’re soon back at our hotel, eating Schwarzwald (black forest) ice-cream sundaes on the shady terrace of the hotel restaurant. Tomorrow we’re off to Wittenberg. And to help you locate the different places we go to, I’ve added a Google Map widget on the right.
We’re up early due to the lack of shutters – it’s light at 5 am at the moment – so we have breakfast, pack up and cross the bridge to Neustadt or New Town as opposed to Altstadt or Old Town where we’re been staying. On the way, we see a wonderful trompe l’œil building. The Germans love painting their façades but I haven’t seen anything this sophisticated before.
Trompe l’oeil house along the Elb on the Altstadt side of Dresden
After reading Anda’s post about the singing drain pipes in Travel Notes and Beyond, I am eager to see Kunsthof Passage in the student district. We are not disappointed.
The entrance to Kunsthofpassage
To quote Anda, “Kunsthofpassage is one of Dresden’s best kept secrets. The passage is actually a series of five small courtyards – not visible from the street – that were turned into an art experiment, called the Ginkgo project.A group of artists – sculptors and designers – took a bunch of old buildings and redesigned their façades, giving each building and courtyard specific motif and a theme of its own. The project was completed in 2001.” I shall let you read Anda’s post for more details and just provide a few photos.
The Courtyard of the Light decorated with metal mirrorsThe Singing Drainpipes that make music wwhen it rainsThe Courtyard of Metamorphoses
We walk through the passage and out onto the other side, then turn left twice. On the way, we see lots of other fun street art. We are reminded of Budapest in particular.
The façade of Louise’s which appears to be a kindergartenMore artwork in NeustadtA wonderful way to decorate a blind wall
Our next destination is Pfund’s Molkerei, founded in 1880 and said to be the world’s most beautiful dairy shop. Its hand-painted tiles and enamelled sculptures are all handmade by Villeroy & Boch. You can buy wine, cheese and other dairy products and eat in the upstairs café restaurant. It is, indeed, very beautiful.
Inside Pfund’s Molkerai dairy shop
But next door is more fun – a brush and broom store. I could buy half the shop. Germany is a very clean country and I can see why. There is a broom for every household task! We settle for some wooden clothes pegs, a nail brush and a sort of mini-rake to clean Velcro. The saleswoman is very enthusiastic about all her products and gives us several demonstrations.
Inside the broom shop
We go back to the car park further along the street where there is another exceptional example of trompe d’oeil. It seems wasted on a parking lot!
Trompe l’oeil all in the parking lot on Bautznerstrasse
As we drive towards Meissen, we see a very impressive mosque which is surprising because I haven’t seen any women in veils or other signs of Muslims, but then, we haven’t ventured any further than Altstadt, Neustadt and Renault! I learn later from Anda that Yenidze is a former cigarette factory that functions now as an office building. “Yenidze” was the name of a tobacco company that imported tobacco from Yenidze, in Greece. So there you go!
Yenidze, once a cigarette factory and now an office building
Bürsten-Manufaktur Dresden, Bautzner Strasse 77, Dresden Neustadt, www.buerstenmanufaktur-dresden.de
Pfund’s Molkerei, Bautzner Strasse 79, Dresden Neustadt
Kunsthof Passage, between 23 Görlitzerstrasse and 70 Alaunstrasse, Dresden Neustadt
We reach Elbklause, our Radhaus (bike hotel), in Niederlommatzsch around 12.30. Our room is new, large and airy with a wonderful view of the Elb. The wifi works immediately and doesn’t require endless codes. We are directly on the bike path.
Our bike hotel on the bike path
The hotel’s restaurant on the river looks very inviting. We order two local white wines – a Muller-Thurgau and a goldriesling. We prefer the Muller-Thurgau. I work out from the all-German menu that pork is the local speciality so we order pork cutlets. They are king-size and served with a large variety fresh vegetables – one of the best meals so far.
The view from the terrace of the restaurant and from our window
We set off on our bikes for Riesa, theoretically 14 km away but we end up doing 36 km there and back due to a detour. The ferry is just outside our hotel so we begin with the east bank. Having gone for two days without cycling in Dresden has improved my saddle soreness. Good thing because the initial paths are a sort of crazy paving which is even worse than cobblestones.
The cobblestones are bad enough but the crazy pavement (not shown here) is worse. Sometimes, we have to take our bikes down a steep slope with a bike runner
The countryside is very tranquil and takes us past back gardens with their own machinery exhibitions, a surprising building that turns out to be a sawmill with a crane, a renovated windmill without sails and an absolutely enormous chemical refinery that employs 1400 people. I find it very colourful – typically German – but Jean Michel explains that the different coloured pipes are compulsory and indicate what they contain. Ah well. You learn something new every day!
The sawmill and crane built in the late 19th century and recently restoredRestored windmill of the Dutch type – note the patriotic carWacker chemical refinery, mostly connected with silicone
Riesa, our destination, is obviously a new town that drains the refinery workers and its only redeeming features are the biggest wisteria I have ever seen, the town hall and an amazing blind wall with a music store painted on it.
Magnificent wall of wisteria in RiesaA musical wall in Riesa
We do however find an excellent eiscafé where we manage to order icecream and mineral water in German. The East Germans, who are obviously not used to foreigners, understand my German even less than the Bavarians! I’m amused by the fact that a man stops me in the street and asks in English where the police station is. Jean Michel knows of course so sends him in the right direction.
Rape and wheat with wild flowers on both sides
Having crossed the bridge at Riese, we are able to cycle back on the other side of the river, through cultivated fields lined with wild flowers. We see corn, wheat, barley, rye, rape, sunflowers, potatoes, peas, sugarbeet and runner beans, and a few sheep and cows. We also smell numerous pigsties. Also an incredibly long barge.
An extremely long barge
It’s nearly 8 pm when we get back so we finish off the sweet wine we bought in Bad Schandau followed by a cucumber, tomato and cheese salad. We eat the cherries we bought along the way for one euro outside someone’s house. We sink thankfully into bed at 10.30 pm after an unsuccessful attempt to find a hotel for our next stop at Wittenberg.
Breakfast at Elbklause, the best yet, according to Jean Michel
It’s next morning and we learn the downside of our river view. The curtains are thin and the windows are facing east which means maximum light from 5 am onwards. There is also a street light outside which seems to stay on all night. So after the best breakfast so far according to Jean Michel (the usual cold meats and cheese but a better selection, boiled eggs, very compact dry bread, cereal, yoghurt, tomato, butter & jam and fresh fruit), we decide to stay at home to catch up on our travel log and blog and deal with such mundane things as washing and repairing Jean Michel’s inner tube.
Jean MIchel picking cherries along the way but they weren’t very good
We have lunch again at the hotel restaurant overlooking the Elb. Jean Michel chooses some sort of pork and sauerkraut and I have duck with cooked shredded beetroot which is excellent. We have the Müller-Thurgau again and try the Weissburgunder (white burgundy) but it’s a bit green.
At least there’s a view after that hilltop climb
As we’re keeping Meissen for tomorrow, we choose to go west of the Elb to Lommatzsch. I don’t think I’ve ever climbed so many hills in such a short time. I’m as red as the beetroot I ate at lunch.
Town hall in Lommatzsch
Not much to see in Lommatzsch. The town hall looks exactly the same as the wooden village I had as a child. I feel I deserve the ice-cream at the Konditorei more than other. We’re amused to see that it comes from large containers of Carte d’Or ice-cream.
Jean MIchel picking cherries along the way but they weren’t very good
The ride home after shopping for dinner at Netto is much easier, mainly downhill of course. Jean Michel stops at practically every cherry tree along the way to see if the cherries are edible. He can never resist free food, particularly in the country. All he manages to do is to get stains on his shirt …
Three combine harvesters all in the same field of barley
We’re amazed to see three massive combine harvesters in a barley field. We also see a hare.
Our Meissen weissburgunder aperitif on the window-sill
For our apertif we try the Winzer Meissen weissburgunder (pinot blanc) we bought in Reise for 11.50 euro the day before in a most unlikely looking shop. It’s much better than the one I had a lunchtime – certainly not as green – but no nose to speak of.
The idea is to go to the Tourist Office in Dresden to find a hotel. I’ve already done some research and there doesn’t seem to be much on offer in the old town apart from the Hilton and a couple of Ibis Hotels. I’ve seen something called Aparthotels on booking.com, a bargain at 58 euro, but there is no indication of parking possibilities, so Jean Michel thinks it will be better to check it out first.
Neumarkt Platz
We get to Dresden about 11 am. After parking the car in an underground parking lot, we head for Neumarkt Platz and the Tourist Office. I see the sign for Aparthotels so we go in to inquire. The only thing left is a suite at 95 euro so we decide to take it. The very helpful girl at the desk who speaks excellent English tells us there is above-ground parking at 3 euro per 24 hours about 5 minutes walk away. We get the car and drop off our luggage and she says she’ll send an SMS when the room is ready. That’s what I call service!
Our suite in Aparthotel Am Schloss, taken from the brochure because I forgot to take a photo myself!
Well, when we see our suite, we are pretty amazed. Enormous, stylish, with two large rooms, a kitchen with dishwasher on one wall, large comfortable sofa, table and chairs, desk, two TVS (not that we ever watch TV) and a bathroom with a washing machine!
Sunset over the Elbe
It is not until about 11 pm that we start looking at next day’s accommodation in the vicinity of Meissen. I find what looks like a great hotel but it’s not available until the day after. Why don’t we stay another night in Dresden? We’d like to see the famous baroque treasure in the Grünes Gewölbe museum. We check booking.com and there is one apartment at 58 euro left in other Aparthotel on Münzgasse next to Ayers Rock on the other side of the Frauenkirche. We take it.
Our luggage trolley
It’s next morning and we go down to see the friendly girl on the desk just in case there is a room available our own Am Schloss Aparthotel. No, there isn’t but she checks our Münzgasse booking and tells us we’ve been upgraded to a suite. We pack up and put all our luggage on the neat luggage trolley and I wait and chat with the girl on the desk while Jean Michel goes to get the car.
The breakdown truck – German only
My phone rings. “On a des problèmes”, says Jean Michel. The battery’s flat. We later discover he had left a light on inside the car. Good thing it wasn’t me! He phones our travel insurance and they send us a breakdown truck. We then go to Renault because Jean Michel thinks we should change the battery. I know who’s going to have to communicate and am dreading it. Also it’s nearly midday. I bet they close for lunch. “Guten tag”, I say, “Do you speak English?” “Moment”, replies the man and off he goes.
PIcnic view
He comes back with Julia whom I instantly take a liking to. She speaks real English having worked for six months in a garage in Brisbane of all places. She is our life saver. By 1.30, the battery and one of the injection coils (imagine having to converse about that in German) have been changed, we’ve been to the local supermarket on foot to top up supplies and had a picnic on the Elbe at Julia’s suggestion. Our new room is waiting for us. The repairs were even cheaper than they would have been in France.
Our Aparthotel suite in Münzgasse
Our next apartment does not have the same chic as the first one, but it’s still very nice. We have a separate kitchen, bathroom (with washing machine but a bath and not a proper shower), hallway, living room and bedroom, all with absolutely stunning views of Neumarkt Platz. All for 58 euro! I put on a load of washing (what luxury!) and ask for a clothes horse, ironing board and iron to be sent up. That’s domesticity for you.
The view from our room at Aparthotel Münzgasse
Then we go off to do something more interesting. Sun and rain alternate so we take some brighter photos on the way.
The Pretiosensaal in the Historisches Grünes Gewölbe
I used to be an avid museum goer but an ongoing foot problem that occurred about 8 years ago has made me very selective. Our choice goes to the Grünes Gewölbe historical museum which contains over 2,000 masterpieces made of gold and silver, amber and ivory displayed in eight beautifully decorated rooms. No photos allowed so I’ve taken one of our travel diary.
The Dresden Opera House
The sun’s out again so we go back to the Zwinger gardens to take some more photos but they are so crowded with groups that we don’t bother. On the other side, we discover the Opera House and visit the very plain interior of the Catholic Cathedral, badly bombed during the war.
Cathedral
It suddenly starts raining so we head home for a cup of tea. I realise that I haven’t received confirmation on hotelinfo.com for our next hotel booking. I try to ring the hotel but am stumped by the recorded message in German. I find a toll free number for hotelinfo.com and am told there is no reservation. I make another one, which is now confirmed. Ouf! Our next stop is only 45 minutes away so we’ll be able to have a full day of cycling – weather permitting!
Our personal concert
In the meantime we have an excellent quartet just outside our window.
Dresden was once one of Europe’s great cultural capitals. One thousand fire bombs devasted the city on 13th February 1945 killing 40,000 people and leaving 900,000 homeless. Many of the main monuments have been rebuilt but not the historical houses that give a city its character. It was overcast when we arrived and rained most of the afternoon which made the city somewhat mournful. However, there seemed to be lot of things going on whenever the rain stopped. For an idea of what the city is like in the sun, I recommend Andrea’s photos on Rearview Mirror.
This was practically the first thing we saw in Dresden – dressing down on a Sunday morning!If I hadn’t been a little cold, I would have joined her!Frauenkirsche built in 1726A building detail on Neumarkt PlatzLanger gang built in 1586 on one side of the King’s StablesFrieze depicting the Procession of the Dukes – 202 metres long (1906) – made of 24,000 Meissen porcelain mosaic tilesThe Cathedral or DOM with the Schloss (castle) on the leftEntrance to the Schloss which now houses 4 museumsInside the schloss with its Renaissance gallery and glass roofLunchtime menu in the form of a gazette.Dancing in the street!Bubble blowers in between showers of rainImbiss ((snack bar) in an ancient red 3-wheel truckThe German Rococo style Zwinger palace, inaugurated in 1719, also contains several museumsAn unlikely restaurant in the middle of Dresden where we ended up having an excellent evening meal – it was a nice change for the mostly stodgy Saxon food
Weather report: sunny in the morning but storms in the afternoon. We decide not to cycle but to visit Battei Rocks in the morning and Honigstein in the afternoon, despite the fact that it’s Saturday and both places will no doubt be full of vistiors. It’s 11 am by the time we reach the closest parking lot to Battei Rocks but it’s not full, we’re relieved to see. We walk the couple of kilometers to the start of the various lookouts.
The viewing bridge at Bastei Rocks built in 1851
All the paths are very safe and easy but I can’t help it, my old fear of heights resurges. The rocks look like a mini version of the Grand Canyon where I think my fear first started over 35 years ago. I go slowly, applying the method an Australian psychologist friend taught me and manage to approach near enough to the fences to take photos.
Bastei Rocks
They are nothing like the magnificent autumn photos that Anda published in Travel Notes and Beyond last year but it is very hard to do justice to such stunning natural scenery. Fortunately, the sun is out but the result is somewhat hazy.
The Elbe seen through the rocks on Bastei Bridge
The visit takes about an hour and we head back down to the Elb for lunch at Stadt Wehlen, the little village with the unusual sundial. We find a restaurant called Hotel Café Richtel on the water and order our usual glass of weiss wein. Jean Michel chooses matjes, which seems to be the house speciality and turns out to be salted herring. I choose baked lamb and dumplings. It’s good to have a meal that’s not deep fried.
Our view at lunch in Stadt Welhen. The steam boat startled us when it blew its horn!
Afterwards, we head off for Honigstein, a 13th century fortress which is one of the largest in Europe and contains 50 different buildings. We leave the car in the Parkhaus and take the little train, thus saving 40 minutes on foot in each direction.
The Konigstein fortress from below
Set on a rocky landscape, Honigstein overlooks the Elbe and offers stunning 360° views of the surrounding countryside, including one of the loops in the river that we cycled along the day before.
Left view of the loop in the Elbe from Honigstein
Once again, our photos are hazy but Anda’s photos of Honigstein taken in autumn are perfect. They will also give you an idea of some of the buildings.
Right view from the loop in the Elbe
As it’s still early and sunny (we’ve had a couple of very short spitting spells but no storms), we go back to Bad Schandau to collect our cycling maps for a quick ride to the Czech border 8 km away before dinner. Bad luck – Jean Michel has a puncture, probably the first either of us has had since we began our cycling trips several years ago. The pump won’t work so I ride off to a cycle shop Jean Michel remembers seeing in the town to buy another one. I can’t find the shop and the entire town is shut down except for eating places!
View from the side of Honigstein
He changes the inner tube and gets the pump to work which makes us think there may be a problem with the valve on the old tube. By then it’s starting to spit very lightly but we decide to take a chance.
The ferry over to the bike path that goes to Prague
The ride towards Czech Republic takes us past an amazing number of holiday rooms and flats with vacancies. We still don’t understand our difficulty finding a place to stay. After we leave the town, the river views are not as impressive as they are towards Pirna. As we approach Schmillke, we see there’s a ferry and we understand why when we reach the Czech border where the bike path abruptly ends. Crossing the ferry takes you to the path on the other side that goes right to Prague.
The bike path ends at the Czech border
By now the spits have turned into light rain so we don our capes and ride back to Bad Schangan where our weiss wein is waiting in the fridge in our lime-green pension. Was is das? The wine is sweet! I check out the dictionary which provides an answer for once: Riesling Spätlese lieblich, it says – sweet late harvest riesling. Sigh …
We wake up in our lime green and yellow pension in Bad Schandau (bad means bath and hence spa) and the first thing we do is check the weather and the temperature. Yesterday we were in transit between our spacious comfortable flat in Kobern-Gondorf and Saxon Switzerland on the Elbe River. Theoretically the 550 km should have taken about 5 ½ hours plus rest stops but we were held up for 1 ½ hours in a traffic jam due to roadwork on the motorway.
A little word about the German motorways. Unlike French motorways, they are free, and form a vast network that crisscrosses the country. The only problem is the way the people drive on them. The speed limit is 130 kph unless indicated otherwise (by which I mean less than 130 of course). If there are three lanes, the trucks and drivers who respect the speed limit use the right hand lane, the vast majority who drive at 130 to 140 kph (including us) mostly stay in the middle lane while the left hand lane is reserved for those who whizz past at a speed I wouldn’t even dare to calculate. I’ll leave it up to you to imagine what happens when there are only two lanes. I let Jean Michel drive in Germany.
So it was about 5 pm when we reached our destination and went straight to the tourist office to find ourselves a flat, passing a German soccer flag seller on the way! All that was proposed was a very decrepit looking building on a very busy road so we went back again to the tourist office to ask for a hotel room with wifi instead. Perhaps it was because the weekend was coming up but the only place available was our pension. By then it was raining lightly. The room is nothing much but it’s very quiet, quite large, has a stunning view out of all three windows and wifi that connects to my laptop provided I sit fairly close to the door. The bed is OK and the flimsy curtains don’t encourage us to sleep late. Maybe that’s a good thing …
So back to the weather. It’s about 14°C and sunny, with 23°C expected in the afternoon. By the end of an uninteresting breakfast, we’ve gained a degree. I decide to be German and wear socks with my sandals rather than be hot in walking shoes when things warm up. I can take them off later. It turns out to be an excellent solution. Jean Michel assures me that I don’t look too terrible.
Today we’re going to Pirna, about 25 K along the Elbe towards Dresden. The bike path is the sort we like – close to the river and free of traffic most of the way. We have wide sweeping views of the Elbe.
Our first stop is Konigstein, with its famous castle which we will visit by car another day. It’s a long way up the hill on a bike. We cross the Elbe on a small ferry with a large number of other cyclists. The cycling population has changed – a little younger and a little fitter. We don’t see many electric bikes either. Also, everyone seems to be German.
We cycle round an S-bend to Kurort Rathan and take another, much bigger ferry, pulled by a cable, and cheaper. Up above us soar the famous Bastei Rocks, with their incredible formations, that we will also visit by car another day.
The next village is Stadt Welhen with an attractive central platz completely taken up by restaurants except for the Rathaus (rat means council and not a little rodent as you would imagine) with an unusual sundial that is adapted to summer time.
The cycle path takes us past riverside homes with beautiful gardens and alarge number of ferienwohnung (holiday flats), many of which are frei (vacant). We wonder why there was so little available in Bad Schandau.
By the time we reach the centre of Pirna, it’s about 1.15 pm so our first priority is to find somewhere to eat. We ignore all the fast food places and turn down a side street with an inviting-looking restaurant at unbeatable prices. As usual, there is a bike stand at the front. We choose pork medallions and mushrooms which turn out to be quite tasty and are not deep fried. A change from schnitzel.
The pretty main square – Marktplatz – turns out to be just at the end of the street. We get a few brochures from the tourist office for our travel log and visit St. Marien Kirche with its stunning vaulting that reminds us of Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. Maybe it was a source of inspiration.
Fortunately our transit day seems to have improved my saddle soreness and the remaining 25 K aren’t nearly as bad as I feared. It starts spitting after a while but we’re not too worried because we have our capes. It turns out we don’t need them.
On the way back, we decide not to take the ferry at Kurort Rathan, and treat ourselves to an ice-cream Sunday. The young waitress speaks good English which is a reilef. There are so few foreign tourists here that everyone naturally talks to us in German. The lady who runs the pension doesn’t speak any English at all.
Our ice-creams stand us in good stead because the bike path from Kurort to Konigstein is like a roller coaster. Then we have to sprint down to the landing stage to catch the ferry. This time, there are only a few bikes and cyclists. I wonder where everyone has disappeared to?
We arrive back at the unusually early hour of 6 pm and have a glass of trocken riesling and pistachios in our room followed by cheese and salad and some delicious cherries we bought on the way home.
Tomorrow, we’re off in the other direction – to Czech Republic – but our bike map stops at the German border so we’ll see how we manage!
We’re off to a late but chilly start today. After we leave the car a few kilometers out of Koblenz to avoid the usual large town parking problems, we both put on our windcheaters and don’t take them off for the rest of the day. This time I didn’t forget our rain capes …
As we cycle over the bridge over the Moselle and get our first view of Koblenz we remember why we try to avoid cities! It’s big and noisy and full of cars. We also know that the old town was completely destroyed during the war and there isn’t much to see. The name Koblenz means confluence and this is where the Moselle joins the Rhine on its way through Germany so the big attraction is the Deutsches Eck or German Corner.
Along the way we see some amusing facades such as the night club above. Jean Michel who’s fallen a little behind catches me up, “you missed something back there” he says so I ride back. I look up and burst out laughing.
We keep going towards the Eck, passing lots of cruise boats, one of which has walking frames lined up on the quay! “There but for the grace of God” as my mother used to say. The best view of the confluence is from the huge monument to Kaiser Wilhelmina I erected in 1897. The equestrian statue was destroyed in 1945 just before the end of the war and rebuilt in 1993. We think the flags are regional.
We follow the beautiful Rhine Promenades past some lovely late 19th century homes and some surprising modern buildings.
Eventually we find ourselves on the outskirts of Koblenz and are getting hungry. We decide not to eat at a Biergarten obviously set up for World Cup enthusiasts. I bet it’s popular at night.
Our bike path lies between the Rhine and a railway line and takes us past Stolzenfels Castle built in 1250 and destroyed during the Nine Years War in 1689. It was restored in 1838 by Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm which explains why it’s not made of granite like all the other hilltop castles in the area. I accidentally put my new iPhone 5S on black and white so the photo isn’t quite what I expect.
There are no places to eat near the castle so we push onto the next town called Rhens. By the time we arrive it’s 1.30 but in Germany you can get a meal at any time, we have discovered. We see an inviting Biergarten and choose a riverside table. Below is the view from the Ladies!
However it turns out to be too cold so we eat inside the restaurant which is across the road. Note that I’m still in black and white mode.
During lunch where we order the inevitable Wiener schnitzel and chips (it’s that or pizza) with a side salad and trocken riesling, we’re entertained by a little boy on a trike without pedals and his older sister who comes through occasionally playing Jingle Bells on a whistle and softly hitting a drum.
We decide it’s not warm enough to cycle any further down the river and head back towards Koblenz. I finally get a photo of a patriotic car with no owner around. Check out the rear view mirror! Good thing I’ve worked out how to take colour photos again.
We find another Biergarten in Koblenz but are told we have to go inside the restaurant for coffee so we keep going. Good thing we did because we accidentally found a local institution – the Weindorf. Created in 1925 for the Reich German wine exhibition, this “wine village” is the perfect place to have a glass of wine or real cappuccino.
As we haven’t had dessert, jean Michel thinks we should try the cakes. I can definitely recommend the apfel strudel … Not to worry, it’s an intermittent fast day tomorrow.
By the time we get back to the car, we’ve cycled 34 km which is kinder than yesterday’s 49! Tomorrow we leave Kobern-Gondorf for the Elbe and Swiss Saxony, about 570 km east of here. And I’m hoping for a proper wifi connection so I can use my laptop again! See you there.
We’ve cycled along the Rhine on two previous occasions – on our way back from Croatia when we visited the Rhine Falls and Stein am Rhein, both very memorable experiences – and last year after cycling along the Danube, when we spent a few days at Lake Constance and visited the Rhine Falls and Stein again. The Rhine starts in Switzerland, flows through Germany and eventually empties into the North Sea In the Netherlands.
Today we begin in St Goar a 40 minute drive from our flat in Kobern Gondorf. We start with an excellent cappuccino opposite Loreley, a famous rock at the narrowest place on the Rhine. Loreley is also the name of a feminine water spirit, similar to mermaids or Rhine maidens, associated with the rock in popular folklore and in works of music, art and literature.
The bike path takes us along the river alongside a main road – not nearly as attractive as the paths we experienced along the Danube but the scenery is still lovely with vineyards climbing up the hills and little villages and hilltop granite castles along the riverside.
We arrive at the ferry stop that will take us across the river to Kaub, passing in front of the famous Pfalzgrafenstein toll castle erected in 1338. A chain across the river forced ships to pay the toll. If they didn’t cooperate they were thrown into the dungeon!
On the other side on the outskirts of the village we find a local restaurant with a view of the river where the waitress only speaks German. We learn that trocken means dry as in dry white wine and order a viener schnitzel and a cordon bleu because it’s easier than trying to work out what else is on the menu! A mixed salad arrives first and our veal and chips are excellent. We finish with an espresso and pay the bill – 30 euro.
We continue towards Lorch on a bike path which is a little in need of maintenance but more pleasant because there is less traffic. On the other side we see a town With an extravagant number of towers and a gutted gothic church. I study it with my binoculars.
At Lorch we cross the river on another ferry and start cycling back to our starting point. When we get to Bacarach we suddenly find ourselves in a very popular tourist destination. It turns out to be the town with the gutted church and has all sorts of historic buildings and the obligatory craft shops.
We go back across the Rhine at Kaub for free, completely ignored by the ferry man who stays resolutely in his little tower. The bike path on the other side is alongside the road again but in good condition. We see the Rhine gorge and the Loreley rock from the other side and get a closer look at the somewhat surprising 16 foot mermaid statue.
By the time we get to St Goarhausen, I am feeling the effects of the 40 km we’ve spent in the saddle and we’re both ready for an Italian ice-cream. We can see the ferry that will take us back to St Goar and the car and decide to try and catch it. Ice-cream in hand we cross the road and walk our bikes down the ramp and onto the ferry just in time!
I can tell you that I am glad to get back to the car and sit in a more comfortable seat. We drive along the river to Boppard and cross the high plateau between the Rhine and Moselle via a road with very tight hairpin bends. The view of the Moselle is worth the trip.
