Category Archives: Cycle Tour 2022

Day 54 – Where Has all the Camping Gone?

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We’ve now cycled 2160 kms and are a couple of days away from Holland.

The day started out slowly. I woke up with a headache and a bit of a rash on my face, so we tried to find a pharmacy before leaving but failed. Instead we found a bakery so at least we had lunch.

Mike has downloaded a guide from Cicerone which follows a route (not necessarily the Eurovelo 15) and it has been really good so far. The ride into Cologne that I was worried about was so much easier than I thought it would be. The Eurovelo 15 route went on main roads, but the route Mike downloaded took us along the river all the way into Cologne.

There was an industrial stretch with massive factories pumping out crap into the atmosphere and it was an ugly sight to see.

Cologne was heaving with people and we had to push our bikes through them. It was really awful so we decided not to look around. We saw the big cathedral from a distance and took some photos which was good enough for us, seen one cathedral you’ve seen them all in my opinion.

Getting out of Cologne was a breeze too following Mikes new Cicerone guide. We had to do a big detour around the massive Ford factory which sprawled across both sides of the road. It was Friday afternoon and there was nobody around, no traffic, nothing, so we figured they probably take a half day.

We rode through farmland and beside the river most of the way and then we had to catch a ferry to the other side of the river. We were at 65 kms for the day with no camping in sight, so at the 70 kms mark we found a hotel right on the cycle route and we checked in there. This trip is now costing us a fortune and we need to stop staying in hotels. Or get a job.

The hotel we are in is very nice with a view of the river. We went downstairs for dinner and it’s the best meal I’ve had in Germany yet. I took Lynda’s advice and ordered the vegetarian option and got an amazing Spanish Tortilla with fried mushrooms and salad. Mike ordered luncheon sausage (he thought he was getting proper sausage).

We’re not sure where we’re going tomorrow. We’ll cycle through Dusseldorf and Duisburg and I don’t think there is much after that for accommodation. Guess we’ll worry about that tomorrow.

Day 55 – We’re in Holland!

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We woke up in Germany and went to bed in Holland.

We woke up really groggy in our hotel room in Germany this morning. The fire alarm kept blipping in our room from 2am until 3.30am when I made Mike take it down. So we had a slow start to the morning.

We knew there was a big industrial section coming up on the Rhine route between Düsseldorf and Duisburg with very little camping or accommodation. We had decided the previous evening to only cycle 25 kms and spend the day looking around Düsseldorf. But when we woke up the day was stunning and the thought of spending it in a big city with crowds of people didn’t appeal.

So we decided to ditch the Rhine route altogether and head for Holland. But first, a feast of MacDonalds was required. It was almost lunchtime after all.

We felt so much better after our feed and Mike expertly navigated our way, avoiding Düsseldorf completely.

Some of the day was on nice cycle paths, some of it on a bike path next to main roads, but we never had to ride on the roads, which was great. For some reason I felt so much more relaxed getting away from the Rhine. It was always so busy there, lots of bikes, boats, industry etc.

I noticed today that Mikes rear wheel was wobbling. We stopped and checked it out and tried spinning the rear wheel but it was catching on the brake. Mike didn’t seem too worried and we continued riding.

It was slow going today, probably because of the late start. I was struggling to get any speed out of my bike and wondered if my wheel was catching on the brakes too. Then I realised we were actually cycling up a very slight hill. The fact it didn’t even look like a hill made for frustrating riding.

It was 6pm by the time we got to the town of Venlo, but no time to look around as our camp was still another 7 kms away.

The campground is lovely though, quiet and surrounded by trees. They even have a common room for cyclists with a fridge, tables and power. Just as well as we’ll probably be here for a few days.

Turns out Mike has a broken spoke. It’s a Saturday and the bike shops don’t open unti Tuesday. But the camp owner is going to ring around for us and see if he can get a mobile bike mechanic to come out. But we could do with a rest and this seems like a nice place to do that. And it’s only 15 euros a night.

Day 53 – Not so Hot

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We left our hotel in Koblenz just before 11am and did a quick stop to pick up lunch and were on our way. It was easy to navigate out of the city and we were cruising alongside the river in no time.

It had rained overnight and was much cooler today. We both felt full of energy today, either because of our rest day or because it wasn’t so hot, and we zoomed along at about 20 kms/hr.

It was overcast all day, but the scenery was still stunning with more castles in the hills. The route followed the river for most of the day and it was quite pleasant.

We stopped at the first camping place after 45 kms, but decided to keep riding. We stopped at the next camping place at 55 kms, but it had just started to rain. The thought of sitting around all afternoon and trying to cook under our small shelter didn’t appeal.

The campgrounds here are not like NZ campgrounds. At home, all campgrounds have a common area you can sit out of the weather, and a fully functional kitchen with cooking facilities. Here, most places have nothing like that, not even a shelter. They are more set up for camper vans than tents, despite a lot of cycle tourers. I would have thought all the Germans that travel to NZ and stay at our campgrounds might have brought some of that information back and implemented it here. But alas, no.

We ended up cycling 70kms to the town of Bonn, and also the birthplace of Beethoven. We stopped at the first hotel that was easily accessible by bike and were done for the day. Except we needed food.

There was a Vietnamese restaurant across the road so we headed there, not wanting to venture too far as we were tired. I’ve always said never eat asian food in Europe, as it’s always awful. I should have listened to my advice, as it was disgusting. Not sure what they do to it, but they must adapt it to European taste buds. Everything just seemed to taste like sweet chilli sauce.

We were so hungry, we ate it anyway, but never again. Then when we went to pay, they said cash only. Mike handed some notes and then they got grumpy because it wasn’t the correct amount. The fumbled around looking for change between two of them, then dumped it on the counter like it was our fault. What a horrible place, they insist on cash then get grumpy because we don’t have change. Never again!

I should have stuck to my previous vow of only eating schnitzel in Germany, but at the end of the day we’re just so tired our judgement is always impaired.

I’m also getting a bit anxious about the next few days. People have been saying how industrial it is, and the route is awful with the signs hard to follow, and ending up on main roads with trucks. Apparently it’s pretty bad from here, through the major cities of Cologne, Dusseldorf and Duisburg. But if we can keep up our 70km days we should be in Holland in a couple of days, cycling along wonderful flat cycle paths, completely off the road.

Day 52 – Rest Day in Koblenz, Germany

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We had planned to get out early and explore the town, but it was 8.30am by the time we got away and already hot.

Koblenz is where the Rhine river meets the Moselle, so we visited there first, snapped some photos of the Deutches Eck statue, and continued on around the town. There’s a gondala that you can take across the river to the other side, but we didn’t do this. I anyone does find themselves in this town wanting to do this, make sure you catch the number 17 gondola as it has a glass bottom.

We wandered, found a decent coffee at an Italian place (well, decent for Germany) snapped a few more photos around the town, then headed back to our hotel for a mid morning nap. We woke up at 1.30pm and headed back out for food. It’s so HOT still, we are very pleased for our hotel room. We grabbed a salad from the supermarket then scurried back to the relief of the hotel room where I got some video editing done, and Mike slept some more.

For dinner, we ate out at an Italian restaurant but it was very average. Think I’ll stick with schnitzel while in Germany.

Back on the bikes tomorrow. We’ve cycled over 2000 kms so far.

Day 51 – Castles in the Sky

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Aaah, the relief of an airconditioned hotel!

We left camp at 7.30am this morning, a new record for us. We skipped breakfast and coffee, packed up and left. It was actually cold this morning, but it soon warmed up.

It was such a beautiful ride today with many castles up in the hills, and picturesque chocolate and strawberry ripple houses. We’re so glad we left this section for the morning as I don’t think we would have enjoyed it as much in the heat.

The only problem with skipping coffee was, there was nowhere to get a coffee that early! In France, there is always a Tabac or hotel serving coffee in every town you pass. In Germany, nein!

We stopped at the first hotel we saw. He was open but not serving coffee. The next place was an Italian place where I saw people outside drinking coffee. So I sent Mike in while I found a table overlooking the river. I waited for ages when he finally came out and said, they’re not doing coffee.

‘But there’s people drinking coffee here,’ I said in my I need coffee voice.

‘That’s only for the guests, it’s a hotel.’

‘Oh FFS,’ I said and rumbled off over the cobblestones on my bike.

Then we found a ‘cafe’. I went inside and almost walked back out again when I saw the decor and the 90 year old woman at the counter. It was so old fashioned I thought they probably don’t do espresso. But then I saw a massive espresso machine and thought, it should be okay. So I grabbed a table and sent Mike in to order.

Mike came back with a little book about the cafe, and a business card.

After quite some time, the old lady brought out two cups and asked if we wanted milk and sugar. ‘Yes,’ I said, and she left to go back inside, struggling to walk. Mike had offered to help but she insisted she was fine.

I went to take a drink of my coffee and almost screamed. Mike, who was busy thumbing through the book must have seen the look of horror on my face, asked, ‘What’s the matter?’

I picked up my cup, peered inside to double check, then showed it to Mike.

He peered inside, and then looked in his own cup. They were both empty.

After a longer wait, another, younger lady in her 80s who I think might have been a guest, brought out a little tray, and on it were two jugs of coffee, a mini jug of milk each and a jar of sugar. This really is like the olden days. In fact, the cafe has been in the same family since 1951, and the decor hasn’t changed since.

Anyway, the jug provided two cups of coffee, but it wan’t the best, but at this stage, coffee was functional, not to be enjoyed.

After that quirky little experience, we continued on, following the river, marvelling at castles in the hills. It really was an amazing day.

We arrived in Koblenz at 1pm and it was already very hot. Thankfully we were able to check into our hotel and the ice cold air-conditioning. After showers we fell asleep. At 6pm we ventured out for food, and the blast of hot air almost had us scurrying back to the hotel and ordering room service. But we braved the heat, ate a kebab, then scurried back to the hotel. It’s going to be hot again tomorrow and we are both exhausted from the heat so we’ve booked a second night here.

We’ll explore the town of Koblenz tomorrow, early to avoid the heat.

Day 49 and 50 – So frikken HOT!

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We had a slow start to the morning as we both woke up exhausted. I probably would have stayed in bed but I needed the loo, which I managed to get to in my sleep. We thought about staying a second night in the busy campground but decided to find somewhere nicer.

At breakfast we met a nice couple from Australia who have been cycle touring up the Elbe river to Czech Republic, so I mentioned to Mike that I’d like to do that. Next thing, they’ve offered us their guide book. They fly home tomorrow and have no need for it. So that was really nice of them.

We stopped at the city of Mainz and had a quick look around. We’d hoped to get supplies but it was Sunday and everything was shut. Thankfully there was a bakery kiosk so we got some chocolate croissants and pretzels.

It was hot today and the day dragged. We stopped for lunch at a beer garden by the river. I had planned to be healthy and was about to choose a salad from the menu when I saw a lady with schnitzel and thought ‘I want that!’ So we ordered one each and some drinks. I handed over my card but they said cash only. We didn’t have enough cash so we ended up getting just one to share. I thought about cancelling my drinks but he’d already poured them.

Nobody takes cards in Germany, it is cash everywhere, even campgrounds. Something to do with high bank charges. So we need to get some cash out.

After lunch I struggled to stay awake as we cycled along, I was just so tired. We found a tree and lay the picnic blanket down and I promptly fell asleep for about 30 minutes.

I felt much better after my nap and we continued on in the heat. Apparently it’s only 30 degrees but it feels way hotter. We decided to stop at the first camp that looked ok.

The first few had no shade and didn’t have any space for tents. Then we arrived at one that looked perfect. Nice shady spot right next to the river with a restaurant and bar onsite.

We were going to cook but didn’t have much so opted for dinner at the bar. We bothered decided on schnitzel again as that was all that was on the menu that we understood. It wasn’t as good as lunchtime one though.

We had a great nights sleep and woke up and decided to stay another day. Turns out the town we are in is a picturesque fairy tale village so we took a look around this morning. It’s a neat little town with differing shades of chocolate ripple and wonkiness of all shapes and sizes. We marvelled, snapped photos, got some cash out then went back to camp, sat by the river and watched the boats go up and down the Rhine.

It was another crazy hot day of 35 degrees and we were happy to be sitting in the shade on the banks of the river, a gentle breeze doing its best but failing to keep us cool. It was the perfect rest day as we didn’t do anything. And the spot is so picturesque with the river, big hills either side and castles in the hills.

We bought a postcard to send to the kids and I bought one for Dad too, so hopefully he gets it.

I’m writing this at 8.30pm and it’s still really really hot and it’s going to be hotter tomorrow, apparently 38 degrees. So we’re gonna set the alarm for 6am and hope to be away by 7am to beat the heat. We’ve booked an air conditioned hotel in Koblenz as we both need a break from the heat.

Day 48 – Not such a long day

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After yesterdays marathon effort we decided on a short day today. Mike chose a campground about 30kms away and we headed there.

Our first stop was Aldi as we’re we’re really low on supplies and water. Then we crossed the Rhine on a ferry.

We had a vicious head wind today and it was slow going. We didn’t get to Mikes chosen spot until about 1.30pm. It was a funny place where we had to ring a bell and wait to be let in. A girl hiker was already there and they let us all in at the same time.

Once we got inside I was constantly averting my eyes as everyone was naked. They showed us to a place where we could put up our tent but there was no shade. And it was hot!

Mike assured me he’d checked with them that I could be there. But I thought I’d better double check. I didn’t want to get in trouble for wearing my clothes to the bathroom.

The lady said no, I must take my clothes off to stay there. Seriously! The hiker translated for me, also taken by surprise. She said she had heard the place was cheap, but didn’t realise she had to take her clothes off. Anyway, I had no interest is sitting around all afternoon in full sun with no clothes on. Or in full shade for that matter. So we left. The girl decided to stay.

We sat down by the river and ate a banana baguette, our new favourite lunch. We found a campsite 16 kms away and navigated there. It is Saturday night and the campsite is very busy. It’s like our first night in Germany all over again. And it’s cost us $24 to stay!

We’re getting a bit grumpy with the busy expensive campgrounds in Germany. In fact, everything is more expensive than France. And the heat is hard work, and another heat wave is coming next week. We’ll keep an eye on it and get early starts when required.

We thought about eating in the camp restaurant but have decided we have spent too much money on camping already so Mike is making tuna pasta for dinner.

After showering and eating we felt much better and we’re actually camped in a really nice spot next to the Rhine overlooking the old town of Mainz on the other side. We’ll go explore Mainz tomorrow.

Day 47 – A Very Long Day

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We had the best nights sleep in the amazing campsite that overlooked the lake. We were up and off early, just before 9am this morning.

There was not any camping on the route today, so we booked a hotel for today, which we figured was about 70kms away. That was a mistake.

The day started out well, nice cycle paths, but a bad headwind and we struggled to get over 17 kms/hr. But it was shaded and cool, and quite nice. We stopped for longer than we should have in the town of Speyers. I was drawn in by an aeroplane museum, which if I knew we didn’t have to cycle 70 kms, we would have stopped and spent the day exploring it. We snapped a few photos from the outside and moved on.

Then we stopped at the first place that did coffee. We’ve decided to take the coffee as it comes in whatever country we are in. In France it was small espresso cups, which we loved. In Germany it’s more of a long black. If you want milk, the only choice is those little sachets of UHT milk. I’m assuming it’s the same all over Germany. I also orderd a pretzel and Mike had a apple filled croissant. He chose the better one.

After our quick stop, we saw a Lidl next door. Dammit, we could have bought cakes for a fraction of the cost. I did a quick shop for supplies: coffee, bananas and a baguette. Then off again.

Despite all the stops we still managed to ride 35km by lunch time. After a short while, we lost the sign posts navigating our route. Thankfully with Mike’s expert nagivation skills, we were back on the route at no time. It was great riding alongside a railway line, we were hurtling along at 25 kms per hour, a nice tail wind pushing us along. It felt so good, I was thinking at this rate how we’d do our 70 kms by 3pm and we can be settled in a nice hotel, catching up on editing and offloading footage, and having an afternoon nap. And then it happened. We looked at our phones, the garmin, and both swore our loud. We were heading in the wrong direction. The fact we had a tail wind really should have been a giveaway. But we were loving it so much!

Anyway, Mike’s expert navigation skills told us we could pick up the path without backtracking, so I blindly followed him. After 30 minutes or so, we stopped and looked again at our phones. We were now even further away that we should have been!

So backtrack we did, back alongside the railway, struggling into the headwind from hell. Thankfully we didn’t have too far to backtrack (about 3 kms, so a 6 km detour in total) and we found the turnoff we’d missed because we were going so fast.

The rest of the day was pretty much like that. Signs disappearing on us, but now at every turnoff we’d stop and double check, and this would make for slow riding, but at least we were getting regular breaks.

Then, after 72kms, we got to the town of Worms. This would have been the ideal place to stop, except we had accommodation booked. This is why it’s a bad idea to book in advance. Although it is a Friday night and we didn’t want to get stuck finding somewhere.

As we were bypassing Worms and girl said we must stop there and look around the town as it’s absolutely amazing. For some reason we thought it was an industrial town so it wasn’t on our radar. But we didn’t have time to stop, so we kept on going.

Then there was a bridge. A magnificent looking thing, kinda like the Tower bridge, but better, that we had to cross. Locals in this town seem to want to direct us places and a man said we can get to the bridge by heading up there. But the cycle route went down there. Anyway, we listened to the man, he’s a local he knows best and followed his instructions for crossing the bridge. But it led us to the walking part of the bridge (no bikes). So we had to go back down and follow the route signs.

Then there was a choice. We could stay on this side of the river and get to our hotel in 21 kms, but we’d have to catch a ferry across the river. Mike suggested it would be quicker on the other side, but I think he just wanted to ride across the bridge. So we crossed the bridge and on the other side the sign said 23 kms to the town. So we just added an extra 3 kms onto our trip there.

We continued on and it was a nice cycle ride through the country, completely off the main roads. We didn’t see any other cycle tourists, so I figured they must have gone the other way.

After about 17 kms we came to a sign which gave us two choices. To the left the town was 4.1 kms, to the right it was 6.3 kms. So of course we would follow the shorter route, I mean, who wouldn’t! And it was downhll!

We went flying down the hill, excited we were almost there. So far we’d clocked up about 92 kms for that day and were hot, tired and hungry. And then the path turned to gravel, then dirt, then suddenly we were cycling in a paddock! ‘WTF’, I said to Mike. ‘This isn’t a path.’

Not knowing what was to come of this track, I insisted we turn back to the sign and go the other way. So backtrack we did for the umpteenth time that day and followed the road into the town and the dreaded hotel we’d made the mistake of booking the night before.

We ended up doing 101 kms today and are shattered!

Day 46 – Back in Germany

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We got away from camp at 9am and it was already pretty warm but the path was mostly shaded for most of the morning, so made for pleasant riding.

We crossed into Germany today but we’re not quite sure when it happened. Not long after we found a massive supermarket with absolutely anything and everything in it. I could have stayed in there for hours browsing all the different foods, but Mike was waiting outside in the hot sun so I just got the essentials and got out of there.

I’d picked up a couple of bananas and a baguette for lunch. As we were cycling out of town we passed a MacDonalds. Suddenly banana baguette didn’t sound so appealing. So our first meal this time in Germany was fillet of fish meal! And it was delicious!

After our feast of MacDonalds, we headed on, alongside main roads and busy traffic. We were so spoilt on the Loire river route not having to deal with any of that.

In the afternoon the sun was relentless. There was no shade for miles as we pushed on, dreaming of a cold orangina in an airconditioned bar.

Not long after we came across a bar so we stopped. They didn’t have Orangina but they mixed some orange juice with some soda water and it was as good as.

It was hard to get started again after a rest but after about 15 kms we saw a campground right beside the route.

It was 3.30pm , it was stinking hot and they had a massive big swimming pool. Aka lake!

So we stopped, put up the tent and cooled off in the lake, the first swim of our trip. And the camping is only 11 euros for the night!

Big black clouds are looming and we’re expecting thunder storms later.

For dinner we had banana baguette.

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Day 45 – We’re in France!

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What a day. We woke up in Germany and we’re going to bed in France.

It’s so confusing being in Germany after all this time in France. I’m bonjouring when I should be morganing, I’m merci-ing then realising my mistake I say bitte when I should be saying danke. I’m all over the place!

It was a crappy old day today. The ride started out quite nice following a gravel path alongside the Rhine river. Mike put up his drone and got a photo of us riding alongside the river. When we stopped and looked back, a passenger jet was heading straight for our drone! Okay it’s not as bad as it sounds. It was way below where the jet was and we brought it down straight away. But we were well over 8 kms from an airport so technically we were okay to fly it.

It was a hot day with very little shade for most of it. 34 degrees and humid and it was hard work.

We are now following Eurovelo 15 which follows the Rhine to Rotterdam. So far it is nowhere near as good as the Loire route we were following. There were times the route had us cycling on main roads with trucks barrelling past.

After a long day of cycling in the heat, we stopped after 60kms at a cheap campground in France, half the price of last nights and not as crowded. This will be our last day in France as we head into Germany tomorrow. Just as well too as it’s Bastille day tomorrow and everything will be shut. Hopefully things will be open in Germany.

We’re just at camp setting up our tent and we’re sweating like little piggies. The guy next to us is huffing and puffing and blowing his air bed up. Now I just need a house made out of gingerbread and I’ll officially be in a fairy tale.

That’s it, and happy wordle-ing.