Koblenz to Unkel

July 15, 2022

interacting with Germans!

Leaving Koblenz, and heading back down (north) along the Rhine made for a pleasant ride with cool temperatures and intermittent sunshine. Couldn't ask for a better cycle day (i.e. no rain!). We left the hotel and in minutes were crossing the Mosel. We had to do this first to get to the Rhine.

Just as we were exiting the bridge, this amazing mural appeared on the side of a building. I don't know who she is, anyone know? A good internet connection in Cologne allowed me to do a reverse image search, and I found: "Street art by Hendrik Beikirch in Koblenz, called The Girl", on the Balduin Bridge.

cannot find web info on this amazing mural

Quite quickly, Komoot found a way out of town which involved trees and paved paths. It was rather cool, and we were loving it.

soon, Komoot magic took us out of Koblenz

Once we got to the Rhine, a large part of our day was spent between the river and some riverside towns. They mostly looked well-kept and somewhat touristic. I had stopped at this point because a young German couple had asked us (in German at first, then in excellent English) if I had a pump as his tire was low. They lived here, and had forgotten to pump the tire. I was glad to help and in a minute they were on their way. Fun to interact, and happy to be perceived as a Canadian in a positive way.

a good part of the day was on scenery like this

We actually took a chair just up ahead and watched the boats ply the river, in sight of this awesome bridge structure. This part of the Rhine is now the "lower middle" and is clearly more industrialized. The towns may still be cute, but the river is well used. We had to navigate around some large industrial parks with heavy trucks, and huge cranes unloading containers from barges.

bridge architecture: beautiful & functional

On one such detour away from the city, we come onto the fabulous walled city of Andernach. This photo is a bit of a setup, because we actually needed to turn right here and head back towards the river, but we couldn't resist the double arches.

We agreed that this just might be a great lunch spot, rode thru those arches and into the walled city. Restaurants on the street right, left, and center. Two goat cheese salads later, we were happy bikers.

It turns out that Andernach was wealthy back in the day due to this tower. They were more or less half way between Trier and Cologne, two principal powers at the time and charged for boats using the Rhine (they probably had a chain across). This is called "rent" in economic terms, when you charge something even though you are giving zero in return. I remember one time living in Beijing, travelling to Shengli oilfield, some farmers had erected an earthen wall on the road with a narrow passage thru. They had pitchforks and shovels, and charged for passage - 200 yuan (about $25 at the time). That is rent, and most of the castles were built with this in mind it seems.

We got back to the Rhine, and had to take another detour - this time due to a large stream entering the Rhine which had no bridge for us. Komoot took us to the place pictured below, which after turning left from the point you see me at, you could imagine cutting a path next to this stream. However, it was washed out, and the bridge seemed broken. We turned around and met a bunch of German bikers trying to do the same thing. Stymied, the two of us left the men trying to reach consensus on the way to go. We studied the map and decided to brave the road for a bit, which had a bridge with no cycle path, but did go over the railway tracks, the stream, and a highway. Got that?

We went for it.

By the way, a Balrog is what Gandalf spoke to when he said "You shall not pass" in ringing tones. Just so you know.

But this route got us back on track, although at one point we are on a (good) pathway under the highway.

Then through this field, which might be oats?

Finally, under a bridge - the path is still paved mind you - and to the Rhine! There is a second bridge underpass after this as this is a divided highway. I cannot imagine this type of cycle infrastructure in Canada.

So here we are, happy again to be along the Rhine. Sun is shining, our detour worked, but no sign of all those German men bikers we met at the detour.

The towns we now passed through seemed in very good shape. Not cutesy, but handsome in a non touristic way.

We came to the Remagen bridge. This was the only bridge left intact by the fleeing Germans during WW2 after the Allied advance. A good portion of the Allied army got across the bridge, and then it collapsed while 28 US engineers were working on it and they lost their lives. They set up a pontoon bridge to get the remaining forces across. The bridge is now a peace museum.

We took a ferry across before our hotel stop at a town called Erpel, and met an elderly German couple waiting on the ferry. They were so gracious, had been to Alberta and BC, and helped us through the town of Erpel as the way was a bit confusing. They were on eBikes, and would scoot ahead of us, but wait at a cross road to make sure we found our way.

A beautiful castle (?) across the river - just before Erpel built from that yellow sandstone that we loved in Mainz. Isn't it a great colour?

As we got closer to our hotel in Unkel, we noticed a lot of ....well, mansions on the river. These are not castles from days of yore, they are too close to the water and not on a strategic cliff. These are wealthy Germans who are adding to the romance of the Rhine. Or maybe hotels. But I'm going with wealthy German industrialists!

We arrived in Unkel with low expectations. We had trouble getting a room in this part of the Rhine, between Koblenz and Cologne even though we didn't care which town we were in because it was just an overnight stop. But Unkel surprised us - a cute town with a fantastic hotel - Rhine Hotel Schultz if you ever come here - and this is the view from our balcony.

A great dinner at the hotel outside (you can see the umbrellas below and I did try that beer - a Heferweisen), then its to bed for tomorrow's ride to Cologne via Bonn.

Today's ride: 56 km (35 miles)
Total: 1,418 km (881 miles)

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