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Tuesday 7 July 2012
What a great sleep - 7:45 am! Today we plan to visit two cities as part of a sightseeing tour of the Rhine. The temperatures are likely to be 35+ and the possibility of a thunderstorm or two. Sounds like a great day out. Nothing will deter the Adventurous Duo.
Our first stop is Bingen am Rhein, about 70 kilometres up stream. We have a CD of music written by Hildegard of Bingen, an 11th century abbess. Before leaving home this was a must see visit. Bingen am Rhein is another town dominated by the Rhine. Our stop in the town was brief. An in-car lunch with the AC going, a quick visit to the tourist office for a map and off. The Abbey we came to see is over the river.
The nice lady at the Tourist Office directed us one kilometre up the road to a ferry. There are no bridges along this part of the river. Bold as brass we queue, drive on, cross the river, drive off. The abbey stands prominently high on the hill overlooking the valley with hills covered in vineyards and towns and the Rhine in the
valley floor. What a panorama. About 10 cars are in the carpark. All very quiet.
This Benedictine Abbey is continuing the work started many centuries before. We wondered, as we walked to the entrance, if the Hilton chain of hotels had made them an offer they couldn't refuse. Obviously not and just as well. What a peaceful place. Walking around the small garden, taking in the panorama, and visiting the church, made this trip well worth it. Missing were the tourist crowds. We did come away with a CD of Hildegard's music sung by the sisters of the Abbey and a wonderful impression. Back at the car the temperature was reading 42.
As we drove down the hill we were met by the local town's two tourist "trains" (popular throughout European cities) coming up the hill with a full complement of tourists. The bubble burst quite quickly. An hour later and we would have been rubbing shoulders with the passengers of a river cruise boat.
We continued our drive up river to the city of Heidelberg, a city famous for its university. The temperature was a steady 36 and no sign of dropping. We walked the shady
Abbey of Hildegard
All the flowers in the garden.sides of the many old narrow streets. The old castle looking down on hot tourists looking for shade and ice creams. The architecture is something that enticed us to the city and we were not disappointed. Perhaps our visit had been brief but we certainly went away with great memories. After a hot day it was time to return to our lodgings.
Leaving Heidelberg we thought we were in the Mid-West of America during tornado season. Huge black clouds were forming everywhere with dark columns reaching Earthward. Soon the lightning was streaking across the sky. Very strong gusts of wind started buffeting the car. Then the hail followed by rain lashed the car. We wondered about the windscreen and paintwork. The rain was so heavy the wipers couldn't cope. Cars all around us made for the side of the autobahn with lights flashing. We made a short video but unfortunately it is not available with this blog, you will have to enjoy the stills.
The skies cleared as quickly as it started. The temperature drop from 36 to 22 was staggering. The autobahn must have been so hot that soon the roads were dry. Within a short time
Heidelberg
Street scene we had a repeat performance. This time the hail was bigger, some will say the size of marbles. We won't exaggerate. The size of the famous NZ Jaffa lolly. We managed this downpour at slow speed but not the next one. Again it was to the side of the road. By now we were wondering about our insurance policy - car and personal. Headlines in New Zealand reading: "New Zealand couple lucky to survive 200 car pile up on German autobahn during a thunderstorm". Again the roads dried almost instantly. This time the temperature had dropped to 18.
As we closed in on Koblenz the worst of the weather was behind us. As we drove the last 25 kilometres at a leisurely pace bells and whistles started coming out of the dashboard. What a time to run out of diesel. Thank you Polly. She flashed a picture of a pump on the screen just as we approached a turn off. Made it with a litre or two to spare.
What a day. Great sights, tremendous thunderstorms, and being saved by the bell from running out of diesel. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves except for the brief occasion of being
Heidelberg
Looking across the river at the roofs. scared witless. Heidelberg is a must on anyone's itinerary of the Rhine and would highly recommend a visit to the Abbey at Bingen.
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