Having woken at 5am, the first thing on my mind was a bath. So I leapt out of bed and almost fell over. Somehow in the night my legs had decided that they had had enough. Staggering to the bathroom I managed to run a bath and soaked for a good hour. It was bliss after a few nights camping.
I had already decided that today was to be a rest day and just the 30 miles down to Koblenz. All in all it was a very pleasant ride, pootling along the side of the Rhine;
Koblenz is known as the gateway to the Rhine castles. It certainly lives up to that name. I only took a few snaps of castles as I passed – had I stopped for them all I would still be cycling now!
Koblenz is sited at the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle rivers, which continue on as the Rhine. This section is known as the “Middle Rhine” as it passes through the Rhine Gorge. It is a favourite with river cruises and I can understand why. The scenery is stunning.
My campsite for the night was right on the river bank, almost opposite this fellow;
Kaiser Wilhelm I, the 14 meter high statue to him at least. In 1945 the monument was blown up by the advancing allied armies. The Germans, however, kept all of the pieces of it hidden and in 1993 it was reassembled and restored as symbol of German reunification.
Koblenz is definitely another place I’d like to come back as a tourist. For this trip, by the time I’d pitched, done my laundry, sorted my gear out and stowed the bike it was time to eat. A tasty schnitzel was washed down with several large local beers and a chat with a German couple and a Swiss guy. Interesting to hear their points of view – inevitably I was quizzed on Brexit. I like to think I was the sole of diplomacy – those who know me will know that it’s entirely within my nature!
So at this stage I have roughly 250 miles left to Rotterdam and roughly 4 days to do it if I want to meet my target and get back to the UK on 24th. My six year old son is missing me and I him. 2 weeks is a long time from his perspective, so best get pedalling ….63 miles a day. Should be ok….