The Middle Rhein......Castle Heaven

Mechtersheim to Nierstein to Bacharach

Day 60 - Thursday - August 11
Two months under our wings already!
Going through Speyer, we thought this was a strange place to park a jumbo jet. 

Then we came around the corner and discovered that it was an museum about aircraft and other technology.

The cathedral in Speyer.

This is a pretty typical set up for European bike tourers. They were doing as we often do....leave one person outside to watch the bikes while the other one takes a look inside.

The bike path is under reconstruction. This is the very bumpy dirt detour.

Shaving our lunch. It made a great sandwich.

Just a little heavy industry on the other side of the river, one of the reasons we chose to ride on the west side of the river. 

St. Peter's Catherdral in Worms. Martin Luther gave one of his most important speeches here.

The main square was a busy place.

Germany also has a substantial number of vineyards and wineries.

This looked like a nice place when we arrived at 6pm after a 65 mile day. However, the door was locked, the clerk took forever to open it and then seemed really reluctant to have customers. After a few more less-than-satisfactory interactions, we actually checked out and moved to the small hotel across the street. They were very welcoming and the service was incredible.

Day 61 - Friday - August 12
They were adding on to the hotel and this is how they moved this little machine over a wall.  The woman at the motel told us that this is the coolest and wettest summer they've had since 1974 when she was pregnant with her son. We didn't take off right away either because it was raining again.

Wet dirt....the gear guy is not going to be happy.

Now it is narrow wet dirt and gravel.

In Mainz we found the biggest bike store we've ever seen anywhere.

It was time for new gloves so we went inside.

It was overwhelming! The clerk said they have an even bigger store up north.

The power line corridor was occupied by garden plots. Each one had it's own garden shed, varying from simple to ornate. Some plots were filled with flowers, some with vegetables and some a mixture.

Today's lunch spot....any flat surface will do.

In Bingen, the river valley changed dramatically to more of a gorge. We have entered what is called the Middle Rhein. There are so many historically significant sites that 26 miles from here to Koblenz have been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

If you like castles this is the place to be.

Weirs like this one occur at regular intervals on this side, directing the flow of the river to keep the channel navigable on the other side.  The birds liked the shallows created by this system.

Castle #?...........we've already lost track.

Loading the barge with gravel.

Has the rain stopped yet? Tunnels under roads or railroad tracks are good refuges too.

The castle in Bacharach is now used for a youth hostel.

We knew that we had picked the right place when we saw this sign in the window.

This is the part about hotel's that is more complicated than camping....getting 10+ pieces of gear to the room, especially if there isn't an elevator!

Time to look for postcards and maps.

And do a little sight-seeing around town.

The Werner Chappelle was an active church from 1289 to 1430.  They hold small concerts here now. 

It started raining again while we were here so we zipped back to the hotel as fast as our tired legs would go.

Our view of one of the watchtowers as we approached the hotel..........mist-i-fied by the rain.