WEDNESDAY, 30TH AUGUST : ASCHAFFENBURG to HIRSCHHORN

We're settling in to the motorhome and spent some time this morning doing so, before leaving at 11ish for the drive to Hirschhorn, with a bit of sightseeing planned along the way.  

Driving through the countryside 

 

Our first stop was at the Englischer Garten

Knowing next to nothing about the place, we imagined it would be all rose bushes, cottage gardens etc. but it wasn't....not a rose to be seen!  

There were lush grassed areas surrounded by woods

Deer

Castle ruins

 A very large gander

a large lake

Buffalo

Interestingly shaped fungi

A couple of warthogs who didn't seem to like each other very much!

Ruins of old Roman walls

and a Roman Obelisk

It was most unexpected but interesting and enjoyable.  

It was a lovely sunny afternoon driving around the countryside, took a couple of wrong turns....our GPS doesn't know we're in a motorhome which isn't designed for narrow country lanes and tries to send us down impossible routes at times, this results in the odd u-turn and back track, but, we find our way eventually.

An historic landmark of civil engineering in Germany, the Himbachel Viaduct in Ebersberg opened in 1881 and is 259 metres in length and maximum height is 43 metres.

We drove through this tunnel to arrive in Hirschhorn where we are staying tonight 

after strolling into the town 

a lock and weir system at Hirschhorn in the Neckar Valley, built in 1933.

 TUESDAY, 29th AUGUST : BAMBERG to FRANKFURT to ASCHAFFENBURG

Because the lady at the railway station yesterday told us that the train was fully booked and there may not be room for the bikes, we decided we'd get to the station early to make sure we could get on the 9.26a.m. and not have to wait two hours for the next train.  It worked, we secured space for the bikes and seats for ourselves and left on time.  The journey took three hours, with a slight hiccup, we didn't realise that we had to change trains in Wurzburg.  There was an announcement made but not being fluent in German, we didn't understand.  Fellow passengers tried to help us but being dumb Ausssies we didn't catch on at first, until an  English speaking young man finally got through to us and we managed to get the bikes off in time to make the transfer. 

Scenes from a speeding train

Coming into Frankfurt

It didn't take long for the train to empty

We took 11 or 12 days to ride from Frankfurt to Bamberg.

It took this train 3 hours to bring us back!

(The bikes were way more fun)

After playing dodgem with the crowds inside the Frankfurt Railway Station, we took to the streets on the bikes and returned them to the bike shop, a 5-1/2 half km ride, stopping on the way at a bakery for coffee and cake.  Mike rang for an uber to take us to the motorhome rental place, where we collected our home for the next couple of weeks and we set off for Aschaffenburg for our first overnight stop.  On the way we stopped at an Aldi for supplies and are now mostly self-catering.  

 MONDAY, 28TH AUGUST : In BAMBERG

As we are staying in Bamberg tonight for a second night, there was no need to rush this morning and so we didn't.  After we'd had breakfast in a bakery cafe near the river, we went walkabout through the old city, a good time to do it as, although there was very little open, there were also very few people.  We strolled around for a couple of hours or so and took many photos.

Yesterday, a hive of activity...this morning hardly a person to be seen

We topped off a happy morning's rubber-necking with a delicious f.a. cake and good coffee!

In the afternoon we took the bikes out of the garage and rode to the railway station

where we bought tickets for us and for the bikes for our return to Frankfurt tomorrow.

Then, we rode to the Dom Bamberg also known as the Cathedral of St Peter and St Georg

and marvelled at the magnificence of the architecture and the workmanship of hundreds of years ago

The beautifully laid out Rose Garden is nearing the end of its blooming days but still worth the visit

The Bamberg Skyline

On the way back to the hotel we encountered large crowds enjoying the end of the festivities but we were able to find a nice, quiet cafe/bar for a light meal and a beer.