Blogging and Wine Fests: Not Necessarily a Good Idea: Worms to Bad Durkheim

August 30, 2016

The day started well, with a great breakfast at the Hotel Boos. Not only was fruhstuck excellent (can you say toast and eggs?) but we were treated to a history lesson and the story of Siegfried and the dragon. The proprietor of the hotel had a diorama complete with dwarves and gold that made the legend come alive. It was tremendous fun. We left with a certificate authenticating our knowledge of the location of the gold in the Rhine.

Worms redeemed itself upon leaving the city. We came in on the industrial route and left on the bucolic route. We stopped first to get Keith's bike attended to and had such superb service it was astonishing. Then we had a seamless exit towards the weinstrasse.

Our bike mechanic in Worms. Keith's wheel was out of true...a shipping problem we suspect, and this man fixed it. We also needed chain oil and not only did he sell it to us, he checked that the bottle was properly sealed, and washed it. What fantastic service.

Here is the shop, should you find yourself in Worms.

We had a lovely exit from Worms, and it was a completely different city from the one we saw coming in. We saw the residential and beautiful side of the city.

It was a fantastic ride. At one point I looked around and realized I could see nothing but vineyards. I don't know what it is that we love so much about riding through vineyards, but it is very special. The views are spectacular and the idea of the future wine is appealing I suppose. There were rolling hills which we both enjoy.

Pedestrian street in Grundstadt where we stopped for lunch.

Keith went with the sweet option for lunch. I am sure it gave him a burst of energy!

Wouldn't you love to live here? I wouldn't even mind the cycle for a litre of milk.

Riding into Bad Durkheim we ended up on a secondary road. It was fine, but just seemed odd. This is Germany after all, and one shouldn't have to be on a road. Sure enough, we had missed a turn, and we were right next to the bike path. We rejoined it at the first opportunity. As the GTW device I am responsible for spotting signs, but am so busy drinking in the views I can miss them!

Coming into Bad Durkheim we saw the Graduation Tower, which completely mystified us. It is a huge structure which desalinates water by running it over branches. This evidently produces air which is like sea air and so has health benefits.

It is quite something to see. Since we live where we breathe sea air all the time we are obviously very lucky!

After the puzzle that was the Graduation Tower we went to Tourist Information to look for accommodation. They were very helpful, but as it turned out, Keith had already looked at the Hotel An den Salinen online, and so that is where we headed. What a wonderful spot! It is just what you imagine a charming European inn to be. Our bikes were tucked into the basement, guarded by Winnie, the resident Australian Shepard and we were tucked into our immaculately clean room.

There was a wine festival taking place and it was the last night of a five night affair that happens just once a year. It seemed a logical place to have dinner and wine, so away we went. We sat at a table with a couple who spoke no English but had a great time anyway thanks to Google translate. It was a terrific evening. The young people at the next table proved good company and willing photographers so they were fun too. Like most young people in Germany they spoke excellent English. The school system here really does language well. We headed back to the hotel reflecting on the fact that Bad Durkheim is a charming wine village and a terrific stop on the weinstrasse. Blogging after a wine festival isn't always a good idea though, the added Internet frustrations mean it has taken two days to finish this page.

We had so much fun with this couple, despite the language barrier. Google translate and the ability to share photos of children with our phones makes for a great evening.

I have many more pictures to share, but am having very bad luck with the Internet. It is an enduring frustration in Europe. Hopefully tomorrow night will be better.

Here are the young people at the next table. I am working on convincing young German men to quit smoking, one at a time. Simon and Etienne, are you reading this??

Our friends from last night on their carbon fibre road bikes ready to rock up the bike path. They will go as far in one day as we do in three! They are each carrying one tiny pannier. They had a sag wagon to this point, and the weather forecast is sun and more sun, so they don't need much, but I was still impressed. They plan to be home in the Netherlands in a week.

Today's ride: 42 km (26 miles)
Total: 150 km (93 miles)

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