The Rhine - Heidelberg - The Neckar

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Day 20, 20th June.

St Goar - Bingen - Mainz - Lörsch - Heidelberg

Woke early feeling much better with appetite back. We were all on the road at eight. Toby was dazed and confused as usual, he keeps losing things; camera, sunglasses, mug… We had breakfast in a bakery and carried on down the Rhein. The mists lifted to reveal a blue sky, it was to be a hot day. Once at Bingen the scenery flattened out and we followed a rather confusing path along the river to Mainz for lunch. At Oppenhein we went on the roads through villages to the Rhein ferry across to Gernsheim, and then roads to the Bergstraße which would lead us to Heidelberg. We stocked up on food at Edeka* and reached Heidelberg as the last rays of the sun were touching the castle. The camp ground was on the other side of the Neckar river, east of town. Nearly 100 miles! I pitched, had mushroom soup, then crashed out, it was dark!

*Edeka - is a supermarket chain in Germany, but not that cheap. We find the cheapest places to shop are Lidl, Plus, and Aldi. It’s best to buy the cloth bags they sell at supermarkets, you have to pay for the plastic ones and they rip. There’s also a pfand (deposit) of 25 cents on all plastic bottles and 8 cents on glass beer bottles!

Total Miles: 903.91 Todays Miles: 99.83 Average speed: 11.3 Time on bike: 8:48


Day 21, 21st June.

Heidelberg - Mosbach - Möchmühl - Jagsthausen

Everybody was a little achy this morning. We set off at nine along the Neckar and not 10 miles into the journey Toby’s knee started to pain him. Decisions were made and he decided to cycle back to Heidelberg to get the train to Prague, we shall meet him there in about 5 days? We carried on along the Neckar where I’d been twice before*, and had lunch in Eberbach. Now Scott was feeling tired too - his legs were paining him and there was trouble breaking in the Brookes saddle - ouch! After Mosbach the hill-climbing began. Up and down three times - lots of sweat and tears. At Möchmühl we joined another river - the Jagst. After topping up with water we followed the cyclepath till we found a great camping place near the river.

*The Neckar - I’d cycled this valley twice before in 1998, once on the way to the former East Germany, and later that year cycling back from Austria. It’s a wonderful wild river valley with cycleways on both sides, the west bank being the best.

Total Miles: 961.82 Todays Miles: 57.88 Average speed: 10.8 Time on bike: 5:20

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Photos

In the Forest
Free camping in the wild brings you all the natural noises of indigestion thru the night, courtesy of one of my 'Sauerkraut Curries'!

Misty Rhein.
Early morning near St Goar.

Mainz.
The restaurant stop favoured by Bikepackers.

The Neckar.
Beautiful towns and villages like this one fill the beautiful Neckar river valley.