And on towards Würzburg

June 21-24

We’d tried to wait out the rain and cold at Paul’s, staying a night- and half a day -more than we had intended but in the end we donned three layers - Icebreaker cycle shirt, French cycle-top with long sleeves and Scottish rain jacket (Endura) and rode on into the weather. About  11º-12º. Drizzly sort of rain. The ride was nevertheless pleasant, as we kept remarking to ourselves. We were quite surprised to find ourselves enjoying the ride so much in spite of the temperature and wetness.

Still following the Main closely, though the valley is wide. Beautiful river scenery. 

Still in awe of the enormous barges, pushing another enormous barge, with such a load that they are both quite low in the water. 

Lovely little towns and villages. Stopped overnight at a camping ground in Wörth, in the shadow of the vines.which was just lovely and as a bonus did a very good meal at a modest price. We love it when this happens.

From Wörth to Wertheim the next day, the light rain continued but the cycling continued to be wonderful. Just down the road from the camping ground was a bakery with an excellent breakfast. A group of crèche children came by when we were there.

Some of the scenery:

Note the two cars on the back

Many campgrounds like this appear on the opposite bank. Usually private

Wertheim castle above, river cruise boat below

In Wertheim we went straight to the Tourist information to check out hotels, being a bit wet to deal with a camping ground. Our luck was in. Just around the corner, an hotel used by cycling groups, so an excellent storage room and modest (for Germany) prices. Close to an Italian restaurant, providing needed fuel! It rained hard that night and we felt very snug in our hotel beds!

It’s good to sleep in a hotel from time to time when you are mostly tenting. We almost never watch the TV but we enjoy the space! In addition, breakfast is often included in Germany, so we can really enjoy the wide variety of food on offer, which sets us up for riding. In addition to fruit juice, there will be yoghurt, fruit, muesli, bread rolls, toast bread, butter, fresh cheese - quark (possibly flavoured) - cheese of several varieties, German sausage of several varieties, cucumber, tomatoes and coffee/tea.

Wertheim has the largest stone castle in southern Germany, and we intended to visit it the following morning. However, the 10am, 11am and 12 o’clock buses had all been cancelled and we were not inclined to go on foot. We explored the town, which is at river level, on foot. Lots of very picturesque medieval buildings. A now Protestant church that is much less decorated than most of those we see but has a special beauty, with red stone set against white.

This part of the country has noticeably more hills. We are going up river and heading towards the source, so the river gets smaller, too. It is in this region that the vineyards on slopes reappear. Very steep slopes, often. Impressive that they can look after them at that angle. 

And trains! So many trains! Long trains, not-so-long trains, trains with an entire load of new cars wrapped in plastic, closely followed by more of the same, trains with containers, with tanks for unknown liquids and gases - and frequent… in both directions. More of that later...though we didn't manage a picture as the train line is viewable only in short bursts between the trees. LOUD as but invisible.