Be informed

Worms is one of Germany’s most historic towns. It claims to be the country’s oldest city. But it is mostly associated with Martin Luther’s hereticism through the Edict of Worms. BBC Radio 4 had Worms as the topic of In Our Time in 2006. The podcast is still available http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0038x8z

The Cathedral dates from the 12th Century. It has four round towers (see left) and is dark inside due to the red sandstone. It has to compete, however, with both Koeln and nearby Speyer (right) over grandeur.

The ride by this time was becoming a little harder. We had had no rest days; though Worms provided us with our first hotel of the tour – and a bed. We decided that we would have a day off and visit Strasbourg. A campsite 20 km north of the city was our target. Gambsheim in France had a large municipal campsite with a railway station convenient for getting into Strasbourg. So we thought. In total the day was 100 km. The ride is not the prettiest at this point as the river is significantly banked and the cycle track is behind the bank. Hence there is no view.

We stopped at a small restaurant nestling in a wood 100m or so from the cycle track. The owners had no german or english, but we did negotiate some food and beer suitable for supplying the energy for the final 20 or so kilometers to Gambsheim. A bit spooky, and goodness knows what the business model is, but welcome nonetheless.

Arriving at Gambsheim in the twilight was not the best. The campsite reception was well and truly closed and all facilities locked, but there was an event going on involving some French-German goodwill with games and music. And beer. Albeit sweet. The night presented a most spectacular lightening storm that was to introduce much wetter and cooler weather for the final push to Basel. The tent held out.

Trains to Strasbourg were roughly hourly, but sometimes buses. The French – even when they are located so close to the border – do not concede to other languages, particularly English. The ticket machine needed some knowledge of French in order to negotiate its system; and one needs to be able to anticipate the bus rather than the train. Suffice to say, we missed the bus necessistating another 70-minute wait.

Strasbourg’s cathedral is most impressive – the door (above, left) is representative. Inside there are many treasures and some anomolies. For example, an atomic clock that would be more suited to a museum. The hourly performance does keep people hanging around in anticipation.

Strasbourg is more than its cathedral, however. It is a fine city in which just to wander and explore. The architecture is stunning. The small streets are a treat. We treated ourselves to one museum – the Tomi Ungerer museum. Ungerer is a famous – infamous even – illustrator of children’s books and advertising materials as well as a satirist.

Remagen in the direction of Koblenz travelling south is one of those notorious places – the bridge across the Rhine was destroyed in the war and never replaced. The pillars remain with the flags of theUSA, Germany and the European Union. It is a chilling place.

It is also an excellent part of the route – the surface is concrete and flat. It is shared with pedestrians and can be a shade busy at the weekend. But good progress can be made. And so it was that we made it to Koblenz for an overnight stay. The junction of the Mosel and the Rhine is busy with shipping and a shade restricting (no accessible bridges). The statue at the Deutsches Eck is that of Emperor Wilhelm I dating from 1897. It is imposing and celebrates the (re)unification of Germany after three wars. The picture (right, sourced from the US Library of Congress through Wikipedia) dates back to 1900. Though it was destroyed in 1945, it has always represented a desire and a will for unification. After the fall of the Berlin Wall the names of the Laender making up the federal republic were again inscribed.

Onward south we headed to Loreley (Sankt Goar), a picturesque section of the river. And uniquely dangerous for shipping due to its limited width and currents. There is an inscrutable traffic light system allowing only one way movement. According to myth, Loreley used to sing hauntingly from the rock bewitching sailors to their deaths.

The weather had changed since Koeln, the day before. No longer did we have to contend with heat and sun. Summer rain forces the compromise between waterproofs (getting too hot and by definition wet from the inside) and just getting wet and letting the cycling clothes do their ‘wicking’ duties. It is as it is – imperfect. It is partly why we do the outdoors.

We took another ferry across the river from Bingen to Rhuedesheim am Rhein largely to be on the correct side of the river for the campsite in Wiesbaden. But these are two places that seem to face off to one another. From a tourist’s perspective, they both do the same thing – provide food, drink, hotels and promenades. There is a lot of facing off on this river. Castles do the same along this stretch. Where there is one castle, you can be sure that there is another. Each with their dynastic and family histories.

The river is very tempting for a swim. There are many secluded spots with beaches – particularly in the section Mainz to Worms. Care is needed, however. This river claims many lives each year. The currents are serious. There is one further hazard. Whilst one may feel in a secluded spot viewed from the bank, that may not be the case from the river. Barges are one thing, but very large cruisers are quite another especially when one has travelled without a swimming costume.