Going down the Rhine

Saturday 13 July 2013

The banks of the Mosel are peppered with small long towns hugging its shore line. They extend back as far up the hillside will allow. Some are only one street deep others surprise you with steep narrow cobbled streets disappearing up and around a corner. The medieval overhanging houses and shops make for a very picturesque stop and one could easily be convinced to stop at them all. Today we chose to take a look at Cocham.

So it was out with the Brompton twins again and off we set on the 4 km cycle path back to the town. The ride was so easy, perfectly flat and we and the bikes managed the ride with ease. Yet another beautiful sunny day, cool and refreshing just like a British summer although without the 30c they are experiencing at the moment. As we turned the long sweeping bend the town came into view along with the impressive castle.

The Castle was originaly built in the 11th century, was completely destroyed by French soldiers in 1689. The present castle was rebuilt in the 19th century.  It sits resplendent on the top of the hill with its small towers and is probably the most impressive we have seen to date. Bellow the castle the single row of buildings set the picture off a treat with their coloured frontages. 

We cycled along the front of the town to the end and came across a small cylindrical building with river hight gauges up the side of it. It would appear the Mosel isn’t always as serene as it is now and the area is liable to severe floods. We then cycled back along the front and into the town. It is very beautiful and just as we expected. As a little treat we bought ourselves two rather delicious cakes. 

After we had finished looking around we started on our way back stopping at a riverside bench to gorge ourselves on the cakes, a nutty twist with icing and praline sprinkled with almonds and a custard pastry. It was lovely to sit there for a while eating, enjoying the weather and watching the boats go by.

Before we knew it, we were back at Bertie and we were ready to move on. We had intended to stop at another castle along the way but for one reason or another it didn’t happen, no matter as we saw so many in the afternoon. We made our way to the point where the Mosel meets the Rhine at Koblenz. They call it the elbow due to its shape. So, it was goodbye to the Mosel and hello to the Rhine.

There is immediate but subtle changes to the two types of rivers, the Rhine is wider and the valley walls not quite so steep. we battled our way out of Koblenz’s road system and headed south East. The road is sandwiched between the river to your left and the railway line to the right. 

Our target destination for the night was a campsite at Bingen not far from Mainz. On the way we were treated to some amazing scenery and castles including Stolzenfels, Marksburg, Bacharach we stopped to look at the Loreley Rock. Famous for a 19th century legend of a beautiful blonde combing her hair and luring unlucky sailors to their deaths with her song. It doesn’t say why she did it but maybe it was just an excuse for bad pilotage and a shocking riptide as it whips around the bend.

Another place we stopped at was to see the Pfalzgrafenstein which sits in the middle of the Rhine and stands proud and mighty. It is said to be one of the most beautiful castles in Rhineland. Its origins date back to 1326 but its present shape is the result of a Baroque refurbishment in the 17th and 18th centuries.

So we arrived at our destination in Bingen at about 15.00. Its a very pleasant quiet leafy place, just the type we like. And, as a bonus, they have internet so the late afternoon and some of the evening was spent catching up with the blog. 

Sunday 14 July 2013

Sunday being the day of rest we were in no hurry to do much today, we awoke to another glorious day. Its funny how things progress as, what started off as sorting out a few things to go back into storage turned into a full everything out to air, cleaning and sorting sort of day. Still by lunch time we were done and we decided to visit our nearest town Bingen.

We left the campsite and rode down the dusty road past a hurdy-gurdy man winding his instrument whilst his wife sat patiently on a stool knitting. In fact I can hear him playing it right now as I type, and,  if he doesn’t shut up soon he will be getting a visit and most probably a knitting needle in the eye.......Anyway I digress, as we rode along the river along the cycle path we passed the Crane which was powered by muscle power and a cantilever arm that could be turned with a large handle.

As we carried on into the town we became aware of some very exotic classic cars. An american hardtop Stingray coupe, a De-lorian, Mercs. Now either the people of Bingen have excellent taste in cars or there was a classic car show on. Turning a corner confirmed the latter and we were treated to view some lovely old cars, probably 50 in all.

Elvis on the stereo, classic.

Little beauty 

The one for me.....xxxx

What the ............?

Prize for most shiny car..

Prize for worst colour car..

Aaaaah Frog eye x

Once through the crowd and back on the cycle path we carried on down the river to Drusus Bridge a Roman Bridge. In 1689 it was destroyed by the French but was rebuilt in 1772 only to be blown up during WW2 in March 1945 before the allied troops could get to it.

Binder Mauseturm (Mouse Tower) is situated on a small island in the middle of the Rhine. A small and picturesque tower that has had a checkered history.  According to legend, Hatto II restored the tower and stayed there sometimes when he visited the town, because he felt relatively safe there. A sudden illness forced him to stay on the island, where he was said to have been attacked by thousands of mice and died soon afterwards. Hence the name.

On the way back to the camp we went through the town centre, a modern affair with little offer other than an impressive water feature. a town square and lots of shops.