Today was not a day for sleeping in but we were not fast getting out the door either. There are many things to do on our first day of a cycle tour. We organized our gear into our bags and then needed to push hard in order to zip up our panniers. We were rolling and finding our way back down to the Main River by 10 am. It was another perfect sunny warm day and we could wear shorts and long sleeve shirts. If the weather continues to be this nice, some of the clothes that we are carrying may never need to come out!
Good bye to Hotel Maingau, we will see you again in June.
Our first ride of the tour was planned to be pretty simple. Just follow the bike path along the river contours for 35KM to the small town of Seligenstadt. The route was a very popular cycle path this Sunday morning! We kept a slow and cautious pace as we were frequently passed in both directions by many other riders out enjoying the day. At times the path was really quite narrow and congested so caution was important to us but some of the road bike riders were really speedy. In the end, it all went just fine for us as there were many sights to take in along the way and no need to rush.
In Frankfurt there are many ducks and geese with new chicks right by the path. They have no concern for bikes or humans.
We needed to detour off the path in several locations. The route changes were well marked and involved large sections of work where trenches for cables were being dug.
Our hotel was on the main road just a few minutes walk from town`s center. We got cleaned up and after a bit of a break went back to explore the old town more thoroughly. From the web, ¨Seligenstadt is known above all for the beautiful old town and the former Benedictine monastery. Small shops, cafés and restaurants and the direct location on the Main also give Seligenstadt a special flair that invites you to linger.¨ The ornate half-timbered are very beautiful with many built before the 1700`s.
Hard to see but this house is being renovated and shows the period type construction methods used. Intricate beams with straw, mud and sticks stuffed in the gaps likely for insulation purposes.
For dinner we were seated outside and shared a pinsa which is a flat bread type pizza. Very fresh and good. Heading back to our hotel, we stopped and had gelato for dessert. We were both very happy with how the day went and look forward to tomorrow`s adventure.
