Auntie Helen and PippaG go to Germany!
- Thread starter Auntie Helen
- Start date
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- Location
- The TerrorVortex
Sounds like a good trip so far.
I must do a write-up of my trip round Lake Constance. I really enjoyed it
I must do a write-up of my trip round Lake Constance. I really enjoyed it
Andy in Sig
Vice President in Exile
- Location
- Sigmaringen, Germany
TheDoctor said:Sounds like a good trip so far.
I must do a write-up of my trip round Lake Constance. I really enjoyed it
Some of my one day routes have towns on the Lake Konstanz as their destinations. One day I will definitely get round to doing the circular route of the whole thing.
- Location
- The TerrorVortex
You should. It's really rather good.
arallsopp
Post of The Year 2009 winner
- Location
- Bromley, Kent
Wonderful write-up AH. Keep 'em coming for all us stuck at home / work. My life is entirely too pedestrian at the mo.
- Location
- The TerrorVortex
+1 on the cake!!!!
Oh, and bring some decent weather back too, if you could. It's horrid outside...
Oh, and bring some decent weather back too, if you could. It's horrid outside...
OP
OP
Auntie Helen
Ich bin Powerfrau!
- Location
- 47906 Kempen, Germany
Day 5 - Wednesday 2nd September - Würzburg to Wertheim
Distance: 63.66 miles; time: 5 hours 31 minutes; calories: 4162
After a rather fab 9.5 hour sleep (the advantage of a big cycle ride the day before) we had the best breakfast yet. Yum!
Pippa and I planned to meet at the reception desk as we checked out. I happened to get there first and after I'd handed in my key I just passed the time of the day with the receptionist, asking her the weather forecast (very favourable for cycling) and then commenting that it was now low season for hotels. No it wasn't, she said, September is their busiest month. I said that I didn't have accommodation booked for Wertheim that evening and she suggested strongly that I sorted something out ASAP. She then proceeded to google accommodation for me and to phone up to enquire if there were spaces. The first couple of places were fully booked, then she found a place with two single rooms but they pointed out, as we were about to book, that they were 3km from Wertheim up a mountainside (well, 200 metres elevation). We decided that would be pretty hard work after a 60 mile cycle ride so kept looking. In the end the receptionist found us what sounded like a nice hotel in Wertheim for 55 Euro per night and booked it for us.
The receptionist obviously enjoyed chatting with us and came down to the garage to help us with our bike extraction. She was telling me about some bad experiences in Manchester when people had said "Heil Hitler" to her, but that in America they didn't realise she was German so were nice to her. Hopefully I made up for the nasty mancunians.
So off we set along the road, passing a unicyclist and lots of people with kiddie trailers on their bikes. The weather was about perfect for cycling, warm and sunny but with some cloud cover to prevent us getting too hot. It was probably about 22 degrees out there so just right.
We drafted a peloton of Swiss pensioners at one point to have a bit of a break, then went round them and set off along the long, straight paths.
We stopped at Karlstadt for some Waldbeertorte and Tea and I also decided to top up the credit on my German phone as we decided we need to prebook our accommodation in future. There was great consternation by the supermarket checkout girl when I asked for the top-up as they clearly don't do them very often. In the end it worked, but took the manager to come down and help her.
The next section, to Lohr, we did at a much faster average speed. We had lunch outside the bakery in Lohr which was a bit waspy (Pippa isn't keen on 'em) so she was taking a walk down a side road when the Hase Pino tandem went past.
We continued on at a good pace, probably an average of 15mph, as the weather was just perfect for cycling and the wind not too strong.
We stopped at Marktheidfeld for drink and ice cream. I had a banana split and Pippa asked for a lemon sorbet; they didn't have sorbet but persuaded her to try a Prosecco-becher which is fizzy prosecco with fresh fruit and a ball of lemon ice. Quite boozy, I think.
After this stop I decided it was time to paddle in the Main so did so in my cycling sandals. Pippa kept well away from the water but got a photo of me and trike almost falling in.
The final push to Wertheim found the day cooling off and becoming cloudier. We found our hotel, a very nice one, which included a gated underground garage for the bikes. After our showers we went in search of an internet cafe along the quaint and narrow streets of this old glass-blowing town. The one internet cafe had unfortunately closed down so we instead had a very slow meal and an early night.
We have now crossed into Badem-Württemburg so hopefully I will understand the accent a little better!
Distance: 63.66 miles; time: 5 hours 31 minutes; calories: 4162
After a rather fab 9.5 hour sleep (the advantage of a big cycle ride the day before) we had the best breakfast yet. Yum!
Pippa and I planned to meet at the reception desk as we checked out. I happened to get there first and after I'd handed in my key I just passed the time of the day with the receptionist, asking her the weather forecast (very favourable for cycling) and then commenting that it was now low season for hotels. No it wasn't, she said, September is their busiest month. I said that I didn't have accommodation booked for Wertheim that evening and she suggested strongly that I sorted something out ASAP. She then proceeded to google accommodation for me and to phone up to enquire if there were spaces. The first couple of places were fully booked, then she found a place with two single rooms but they pointed out, as we were about to book, that they were 3km from Wertheim up a mountainside (well, 200 metres elevation). We decided that would be pretty hard work after a 60 mile cycle ride so kept looking. In the end the receptionist found us what sounded like a nice hotel in Wertheim for 55 Euro per night and booked it for us.
The receptionist obviously enjoyed chatting with us and came down to the garage to help us with our bike extraction. She was telling me about some bad experiences in Manchester when people had said "Heil Hitler" to her, but that in America they didn't realise she was German so were nice to her. Hopefully I made up for the nasty mancunians.
So off we set along the road, passing a unicyclist and lots of people with kiddie trailers on their bikes. The weather was about perfect for cycling, warm and sunny but with some cloud cover to prevent us getting too hot. It was probably about 22 degrees out there so just right.
We drafted a peloton of Swiss pensioners at one point to have a bit of a break, then went round them and set off along the long, straight paths.
We stopped at Karlstadt for some Waldbeertorte and Tea and I also decided to top up the credit on my German phone as we decided we need to prebook our accommodation in future. There was great consternation by the supermarket checkout girl when I asked for the top-up as they clearly don't do them very often. In the end it worked, but took the manager to come down and help her.
The next section, to Lohr, we did at a much faster average speed. We had lunch outside the bakery in Lohr which was a bit waspy (Pippa isn't keen on 'em) so she was taking a walk down a side road when the Hase Pino tandem went past.
We continued on at a good pace, probably an average of 15mph, as the weather was just perfect for cycling and the wind not too strong.
We stopped at Marktheidfeld for drink and ice cream. I had a banana split and Pippa asked for a lemon sorbet; they didn't have sorbet but persuaded her to try a Prosecco-becher which is fizzy prosecco with fresh fruit and a ball of lemon ice. Quite boozy, I think.
After this stop I decided it was time to paddle in the Main so did so in my cycling sandals. Pippa kept well away from the water but got a photo of me and trike almost falling in.
The final push to Wertheim found the day cooling off and becoming cloudier. We found our hotel, a very nice one, which included a gated underground garage for the bikes. After our showers we went in search of an internet cafe along the quaint and narrow streets of this old glass-blowing town. The one internet cafe had unfortunately closed down so we instead had a very slow meal and an early night.
We have now crossed into Badem-Württemburg so hopefully I will understand the accent a little better!
Andy in Sig
Vice President in Exile
- Location
- Sigmaringen, Germany
Drafting pensioners????
Have you no shame, woman?
Have you no shame, woman?
OP
OP
Auntie Helen
Ich bin Powerfrau!
- Location
- 47906 Kempen, Germany
Day 6 - Thursday 3rd September - Wertheim to Aschaffenburg
Distance: 49.18 miles; time: 4 hours 41 minutes; calories: 3000ish
This morning before breakfast I spent time on the phone ringing around for accommodation in Aschaffenburg tonight, eventually finding space in the Hotel Mainperle at 55 Euro per night. I also booked tomorrow night's accommodation in Mainz - better safe than sorry! That does commit us to a sixty mile day tomorrow, after fifty today, but we're feeling strong and when we're cake-fuelled these distances are easy.
After another excellent breakfast we checked out, rescued our bikes from the underground garage and had a chat with two cyclists who said that women with muscly arms (like us, as we keep pushing our bikes around) are called Powerfrauen. Nice.
As we set off on our way it started to rain. It rained some more. We crossed the Main river and it rained more. And more. And more.
After five miles we were both soaked and decided that we needed to put our waterproofs on. The rain trickling down my neck was yuck! So we found a secluded area and stripped off our tops to put fresh ones on, then our waterproofs. Pippa took her outer shorts off (cycling in just the shorts liner). Not that there was anyone around to see - we only saw about 25 cyclists in the first 22 miles. They clearly don't like the rain.
Despite the rain and the fact that the path was occasionally loose cinder rather than the normal asphalt, we made progress, albeit more slowly than normal. I had my hood up to try to keep the driving rain off my face, Pippa had to stop to adjust her mudguard again. But after 15 miles the sun started to come out and our clothing started to dry, although the strong wind was cold so we didn't take off our waterproof jackets. We spent all morning trying to avoid running over slugs. I think I managed it, but Pippa squished one!
Lunch stop was to be Miltenburg and after mistaking a suburb for the place, we found the proper Miltenburg, although the cycle path was buried under a huge market. I bought some Gebrannte Mandeln and Crepe, yum! We then had lunch of Spätzle and Gulasch, warming and hearty. Pippa had a beer, me a tea, all to help warm us up.
As we set off along the Main again Pippa spotted an Internet Cafe so I made use of it to write some of this up, then we trotted forth. The day got warmer so eventually we removed the waterproofs and enjoyed a bit of sunshine, although it was never particularly hot.
Our plan was to have tea and cake at 35 miles but at that point found ourselves on a surprisingly un-cake-and-cafe section of the path; it took another four miles until we found a bakery in the village of Großwallstadt. Pippa had a cherry strudel torte thingie and I a Nußecke, with a cup of tea each, for 2,55€. Bargain! After we'd refuelled I had to fiddle with my mudguard which kept coming adrift, using Pippa's leatherman and multitool so making some decent use of tools.
The final push to Aschaffenburg was in rather strong winds. We found our pre-booked hotel which was outside the main pedestrian area in a rather typical German city, not the quaint places we are used to (although perhaps we haven't found the proper bit of the town). The Receptionist was super-helpful and chatty and we put our bikes in a locked garage belonging to their sister hotel, Hotel Fischer. Then after showering etc we ventured out for Internet and food. We have now booked our return ferry tickets for Monday 7th September. We'll go to Mainz tomorrow, where the Main flows into the Rhine, and then on Saturday we will cycle to Boppard (50 miles) and on Sunday to Bonn (51 miles). On Monday morning we'll cycle to Köln and from there get the train back to Hoek van Holland and our overnight ferry crossing.
The tour is going really well, we're finding the cycling great fun, and even the drenching we got this morning hasn't dampened our enthusiasm. We're both looking forward to riding our bikes without a heavy load of panniers, however!
Distance: 49.18 miles; time: 4 hours 41 minutes; calories: 3000ish
This morning before breakfast I spent time on the phone ringing around for accommodation in Aschaffenburg tonight, eventually finding space in the Hotel Mainperle at 55 Euro per night. I also booked tomorrow night's accommodation in Mainz - better safe than sorry! That does commit us to a sixty mile day tomorrow, after fifty today, but we're feeling strong and when we're cake-fuelled these distances are easy.
After another excellent breakfast we checked out, rescued our bikes from the underground garage and had a chat with two cyclists who said that women with muscly arms (like us, as we keep pushing our bikes around) are called Powerfrauen. Nice.
As we set off on our way it started to rain. It rained some more. We crossed the Main river and it rained more. And more. And more.
After five miles we were both soaked and decided that we needed to put our waterproofs on. The rain trickling down my neck was yuck! So we found a secluded area and stripped off our tops to put fresh ones on, then our waterproofs. Pippa took her outer shorts off (cycling in just the shorts liner). Not that there was anyone around to see - we only saw about 25 cyclists in the first 22 miles. They clearly don't like the rain.
Despite the rain and the fact that the path was occasionally loose cinder rather than the normal asphalt, we made progress, albeit more slowly than normal. I had my hood up to try to keep the driving rain off my face, Pippa had to stop to adjust her mudguard again. But after 15 miles the sun started to come out and our clothing started to dry, although the strong wind was cold so we didn't take off our waterproof jackets. We spent all morning trying to avoid running over slugs. I think I managed it, but Pippa squished one!
Lunch stop was to be Miltenburg and after mistaking a suburb for the place, we found the proper Miltenburg, although the cycle path was buried under a huge market. I bought some Gebrannte Mandeln and Crepe, yum! We then had lunch of Spätzle and Gulasch, warming and hearty. Pippa had a beer, me a tea, all to help warm us up.
As we set off along the Main again Pippa spotted an Internet Cafe so I made use of it to write some of this up, then we trotted forth. The day got warmer so eventually we removed the waterproofs and enjoyed a bit of sunshine, although it was never particularly hot.
Our plan was to have tea and cake at 35 miles but at that point found ourselves on a surprisingly un-cake-and-cafe section of the path; it took another four miles until we found a bakery in the village of Großwallstadt. Pippa had a cherry strudel torte thingie and I a Nußecke, with a cup of tea each, for 2,55€. Bargain! After we'd refuelled I had to fiddle with my mudguard which kept coming adrift, using Pippa's leatherman and multitool so making some decent use of tools.
The final push to Aschaffenburg was in rather strong winds. We found our pre-booked hotel which was outside the main pedestrian area in a rather typical German city, not the quaint places we are used to (although perhaps we haven't found the proper bit of the town). The Receptionist was super-helpful and chatty and we put our bikes in a locked garage belonging to their sister hotel, Hotel Fischer. Then after showering etc we ventured out for Internet and food. We have now booked our return ferry tickets for Monday 7th September. We'll go to Mainz tomorrow, where the Main flows into the Rhine, and then on Saturday we will cycle to Boppard (50 miles) and on Sunday to Bonn (51 miles). On Monday morning we'll cycle to Köln and from there get the train back to Hoek van Holland and our overnight ferry crossing.
The tour is going really well, we're finding the cycling great fun, and even the drenching we got this morning hasn't dampened our enthusiasm. We're both looking forward to riding our bikes without a heavy load of panniers, however!
OP
OP
Auntie Helen
Ich bin Powerfrau!
- Location
- 47906 Kempen, Germany
Good cake.
Am going to bed now but have a Wunderbar chocolate bar to eat when I get there. Yum!
Just booked the rest of the hotels for our stay (one in Spay, one in Bonn) so we're all set for the rest of the hols... and have pressure to get to our destinations now as we've prepaid...
Am going to bed now but have a Wunderbar chocolate bar to eat when I get there. Yum!
Just booked the rest of the hotels for our stay (one in Spay, one in Bonn) so we're all set for the rest of the hols... and have pressure to get to our destinations now as we've prepaid...
I'm guessing you aren't able to load pics onto your write up's? We'll all have to wait for your return! I think you should have made the effort to stay at the mountainside hotel, it would have no doubt had fantastic views and think of the kick start you'd have got in the morning!!
