A spectacular day of riding along the Rhine: Rhens Brey to Rheingauer
Today was a perfect day of riding - a wonderful paved cycle path undulating along the Rhine. We saw so many picturesque castles, fortresses and ruins along the way. The towns were well preserved and historic and they cried out to us to stop and take our time. We stopped often and enjoyed the day....spectacular scenery and ideal weather. We were surprised that we seemed to be downhill most of the day - and that is always a joy. It was a bit of a rude shock to get off the ferry in Rudeheim to experience impatient car drivers. We have not experienced this before in Germany, so we had to be on our toes. Soon, however, the bike path resumed and we were able to carry on in peaceful seclusion by the Rhine. We were happy to find Rheingau Camping, just beyond Rudeheim, with tent sites along the river. This campground is well run with great facilities and FAST internet. It has been a number of days since we have been able to access internet, so we have lots to do.
The Rhine is an important waterway - shipping traffic, river cruise ships, vineyards, historic villages, castles and fortresses. No wonder this section is designated a Unesco Heritage site.
The Warring Brothers: castles of Liebenstein and Sterrenburg perched above Kamp-Bornhoffen. They have been nicknamed "Warring" because of how their front battlements face each other - dating from the 12th century.
Crossing the Rhine on the ferry - we have been riding along the Rhine for weeks and this is the first time that we have been "on" the Rhine: Bingen to Rudesheim. We feel a bit disoriented as we have been on the West side of the river up until now.
