9 and 10 May 2009 A couple of days slowly wending our way southwards through the wooded valleys of the Northern Black Forest. The weather was very changeable with mist, sunshine and sharp thunderstorms. After a walk up to the church and market place in Bairersbronn we drove through Freudenstadt with its huge town square and then down the Kinzig Valley to Schiltag, a beautiful village of half timbered houses. They are all built to a similar design and many were used by tanners, a big trade here in past times. Logging was also important and there was a very interesting small museum showing how the loggers built rafts from the tree trunks to transport the timber down the river. We camped on a pleasant site next to the river and in the evening went for ... read more

7 May 2009 Up earlier than usual so that Roger could catch up with blog writing. The short walk into the centre of Speyer dominated all the way by the Cathedral. We walked the length of the main street lined with outdoor cafes to the only surviving medieval gate tower. From its top we had a view over the town and surrounding countryside and a glimpse of the Rhine. The Romanesque 11th century cathedral was stunning. It certainly lived up to its classification as a world heritage site. Its unadorned interior of red and yellow sandstone let the building speak for itself. The crypt is said to be the largest in Europe. Eventually we set off for Baden-Baden in the northern part of the Black Forrest where we stayed the night on a convenient camper stop. ... read more

5 May 2009 We continued our delightful way down the Mosel to another twin town surrounded by vineyards, Bernkastel-Kues, which had plenty of fine buildings and another ruined castle to walk up to. On the way down from the castle we met a British couple, the first tourists from home we had seen since the start of the trip and amazingly they lived less than a mile away from us in England and had remembered seeing our van parked in the drive when they walked past our house. For lunch we had grilled perch with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes, a mixture we thought would not mix, but it was delicious. We bought some Mosel wine to take home and then moved on to Trier, the last town on the Mosel before it goes over the border ... read more

3 May 2009 Another 20 mile day of cycling along the Rhine this time southwards. We first went to Remagen where we enjoyed the Sunday market. Then over the ferry to Linz a town of many fine half timbered houses. The cycle track for the way home was mainly on minor roads and took us through several attractive villages. We also passed the remains of a bridge which was destroyed in March 1945 (we couldn’t work out by which side) and never rebuilt. When I was updating the blog at the local internet café I established that Blues had been promoted to the premier league once again. ... read more

1 May 2009 Today was a public holiday in Germany. Under cloudless skies and with what seemed like half the population of the city we did a 19 mile cycle ride along the Rhine to Bonn and back. Bonn was formerly the capital of West Germany prior to reunification when the parliament was moved to Berlin. There are two squares in the Aldstat district, the old town. One had a political rally and the other a craft fair today, both of which were really enjoyable. The camp site here has an open air bar with many tables around it. We couldn’t understand why it needed such large facilities until we got back and realised it is the ideal place for Bonn cyclists to quench their thirsts before heading for home. ... read more