Aug 23rd - 25th

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August 23rd
So our 4-star, €130 / night hotel didn't call the airline (boycott US Airways!!!) at their opening time of 7am like we asked. Mr. Murphy has definitely stowed away in our luggage somewhere this trip! The soonest thez could deliver the luggage was "this afternoon", so we said to hell with that, checked out, and headed back to the airport once again. While on the phone talking to the rep, we got SPECIFIC directions on how to find the customs warehouse, and as luck would have it it was on the OUTSIDE of terminal C. Gee, that would've been a GREAT piece of information to have from the airline rep yesterday. We wouldäve had enough time to pick up the bags then. Grr..... So we get to the airport again thanks to our trusty Garmin Nuvi 270 GPS, and find the correct terminal and managed to score great parking very close to the customs office. You wouldn't be able to park like we did in the US. They only let you drive through the arrivals lane and never stop. Here, we were parked in the arrivals lane for 20 minutes or more without any problems, and there were plenty of other people stopped as well and it never caused a problem. Finally got the luggage and took it out to the car and YAY! it fit without any issues. Outstanding. Off to Giebelstadt and Margaret's Intervac house-swapping friends. We arrived without any further drama at our host's home, and had a great time chatting and getting to know one another in person. Got the bikes assembled and took them out for a quick check-ride and no problems a little tightening up with a wrench wouldn't fix, other than a pretty noisy rear brake pad on Margaret's bike. We'll have to keep an eye on it. Our gracious hosts Agnes & Ede then took us on a foot tour of Wurzburg after we returned our rental car. We had a lovely time walking through the old section of Wurzburg, over the bridge, and up (and up) the steps to the castle overlooking the town. AMAZING view of the town from up there! Then it was back down into the town, for dinner at a neat hobrau that had an old section that dropped down into the cellars of the building. No seating was available down there, so we had to go to the "newer" section that still looked like it came out of the 30's or 40's. Jesse had some great weinerschnitzel, while Margaret got a little too adventurous with the sausage combination plate that had, among other things, bludwurst (blood sausage). While a trooper for taking a bite, that was all that was had from that particular sausage. Otherwise, it was a great supper and we were stuffed. Headed back to our host's home for another beer and some quiet talk around the kitchen table before turning in for the night. Tomorrow is the big day! Our first ride day, and all seems right with the world finally.

August 24th
Had a light breakfast with our hosts, and then they joined us for the opening leg of the ride from Giebelstadt to Ochenfurt, where we were to join up with the Main River, which is our planned companion for much of the ride this trip. We bid "auf weidersehen" to our hosts for the time being, as we'll be back with them September 3rd, and headed out on our first daz. It was a WONDERFUL ride as we followed the river towards Markbreit and then continued through Kitzengen, Dettelbach, Sommerach, Volkach, and finally stopped after approximately 36.5 miles at a wonderful little weingut called the Weingut called the Weingut Heiny Braun in the village of Fahr. Very cute & clean little place that, like many such places in the region, makes it's own wine (award winning in this case). We're not quite the wine types, but the beer was outstanding as well. It's called Leikeim Premium, and came with an old-fashioned wire and ceramic stopper. Good stuff! I (Jesse) definitely want to look this stuff up when we get back tot he states, and a)see what the beer snobs rate it, and b)whether or not it's available at BevMo. Please Lord, it's only a *little* request...We had a pair of them while we checked in then headed to the room for a shower and siesta. Had a great dinner and talked to the owner and his sister for awhile. The sister is married to an American GI, and speaks perfect English, so she was able to give us a good run-down on the menu. Margaret had a great schnitzel and Jesse a wonderful steak. Our thoughts will be with the Braun family as the brother-in-law heads back to Iraq in November. Finally, back to the room for a little next-day planning and journal updating (though there's no internet connection so it'll have to be uploaded later), and a well-deserved rest.

August 25th
Another great ride today. Starting off in Fahr after a typical German breakfast, we did 31.3 miles as we headed towards Stammheim. When we got to the far edge of town we found out they had a neat little military museum there that unfortunately, was closed on Mondays....gee, if we weren't a day behind in our travels thanks to US Airways (BOYCOTT US AIRWAYS!) we would have been able to visit it. No, I'm not bitter at all. After taking what pictures I could over the fence, we headed to Wipfeld where we took a small ferry to the other side of the river, then headed towards Garstadt, Bergrheinfeld, Schweinfurt (a big military town with a US base nearby), Gadheim, Theres, and finally ending up in Haßfurt at the Hotel Walfisch. Cute old town with street sections passing through old walled fortifications. Looking forward to another great dinner with good German beer. Margaret found out that a bookstore with the next bicycle map section we need is practically next door, and that an internet cafe is only couple of blocks away so we can get caught up on posting to the blog (and thus you are currently reading this 😉 ).

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