KOBLENZ, GERMANY: 67 kms

Wednesday, 27th and Thursday, 28th June, 2018.

We have spent much of Wednesday recovering from the journey here from Down Under, both very tired and probably still jaded from the stress and exhaustion of our month at home.
Suffering from jetlag and unable to sleep, we decided to go for a walk down to the river Mosel.  It was about 3a.m. and cool so we donned fleeces over our pyjamas and enjoyed a quiet and peaceful amble along the riverfront.  With little sign of life about, it was vastly different from the hustle and bustle of the day and helpful in our quest for sleep.

While at home we hardly had time to ride, managing only a couple of short rides and are now feeling quite unfit.  We rode about 12kms along the Mosel River today,  stopping at a beach sporting  half a dozen food and beverage kiosks to eat our lunch and watch boats on the river, which we found to be a most enjoyable and relaxing pastime.

Also in Koblenz, we were able to sample the ice cream which was so popular with the masses, only this time there was no queue.  Though the ice creams were excellent, they were also cheap which may be the major cause for their popularity.
Tomorrow we will leave Koblenz to follow the Rhine north and ultimately into Holland.

When we left Germany on 27th May, the blog was a few days behind, due initially to poor wi-fi connection and later to trying to deal with the shock of my sister's sudden death, the stress of organising transport home as quickly as possible and later, the very difficult, exhausting task of clearing out her small paraphernalia filled unit with the valuable help of my younger sister from Tasmania and on a few occasions, Judy's close friends.  The Op-Shops have been the beneficiaries of ten or so car loads of hoardings.

Before beginning a blog for the resumption of the bike ride, I shall play 'catch up' with accounts of the two days of riding from Trechtingshausen to Koblenz.

TRECHTINGSHAUSEN to ST GOARSHAUSEN : 23 kms

Thursday, 24th May, 2018.

It was overcast with light drizzle falling when we left this morning, having ridden to the castle on the hill and admiring the fabulous view

before returning to the hotel to load the bikes.  The sun appeared before long and when we came to a car ferry a few kms along the path, we decided to cross the river and ride on the eastern side for a while, because we could!  We did a little tour of the town of Lorch,

then continued on to Kaub where we stopped for coffee.  The cycle path was good, the weather was wonderful , there was lots of traffic on the Rhine to watch go by, we reached St Goarshausen in the early  afternoon, stopped at a cafe there where we waited a long time for our lunch orders to arrive and then checked into our nearby hotel.  It was a simply magic day!

After walking to the supermarket for a few supplies, we decided to cross the river by ferry to St Goars for an evening meal, choosing an Asian Fusion restaurant located in a cellar

and afterwards bought ice creams to eat on the stroll back to the ferry.

ST GOARSHAUSEN to KOBLENZ : 43 kms

Friday, 25th May, 2018.

Another lovely day filled with sunshine and easy riding with stops along the way to watch boats, look at castles, drink coffee

 and when, on arrival in Boppard Mike spied a chair lift sign, we immediately followed directions and went for a ride to the top of the 'hill' and though a little hazy up there, the view was stunning and well worth the detour.  

About 10kms further on we reached Koblenz, found our accommodation with help from the tourist office and spent the afternoon strolling around the lovely old town, intrigued by the number of people eating ice creams while sitting on steps beside a church, standing in an extremely long queue of 70 or 80 to buy ice creams, and walking through the streets eating ice creams, all from a small shop on the edge of a square.

We assumed that there must be something special about these ice creams but weren't about join the queue to find out!  We opted for cold beer instead.

That evening, we received the message which prompted our return home and the next couple of days were spent arranging travel and travelling, from Koblenz to Frankfurt by train and then home via Dubai, always a long and tedious journey but one we must endure in order to see what we can of our world.

To quote Scarlet O'Hara "Tomorrow is another day".