Well, what do you know? A blue sky to start with. A call to the missus in Zurich where all is good. After a leisurely breakfast served by my mate Jurg (he qualifies to be an Aussie), I was on the road at 8.45am. After crossing the bridge into Koblenz made my way through the woods on the right of the Rhine then on to the beautiful bitumen path as it is in heaven I am sure. Had to dodge a few kids who were on a school outing, exchanged a few words in my limited German, all in good fun. It was one of those days where you could ride forever except for the frequent disruption of breathtaking castles and views along the way; meaning more stops than usual to take photos.
I even managed to get a chai in Boppard from a 2nd generation Turkish waiter who asked me if I wanted to drink or sniff it (he reckons all cyclists are on drugs). The banter continued as I slowly sipped one of the best chai’s I have had.
You meet some characters on the way. For a while the conversation got a tad serious, it would appear 2nd and 3rd generation Turks have an identity crisis; not accepted by the Germans and they cannot relate to Turkey. Told him that I had 3 nationalities, Aussie, Pom and will shortly be applying for a Swiss and that I had no issue with an identity crisis given that neither I nor my parents were born there. I felt for him. Fully recharged and having become more approachable after my chai, I came across another character (who took this photo)
that had a flat tyre but no spare tube or tools. Luckily for him he was a local so he didn’t have far to go, anyway I kept him company for about a km or so; after bidding farewell, got going as my destination Bingen was coming in sight. What is it with me that I seem to pick my accommodation on a hill? This time not only was it a steep climb, it also included climbing 15 or so steps with fully loaded panniers. It proved to be worth it when I got into my white marble palace (that’s how it is advertised in AirBnb) and a palace it is. What a view from the balcony overlooking Bingen? Happy days.
Tonight’s dinner was delicious; Chinese pork with vegetables and rice hosted appropriately by a wonderful old guy from Vietnam. With his limited English and my limited German we had a bit of yarn as you do. Next was a quick visit to the supermarket to get some rations for tomorrow’s breakfast and the 95km ride in front of me. Weakened a bit by getting a small chocolate for tonight’s dessert, which was yummy.
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