Trainsition to the Rhine

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On a nice morning we leave Leipzig, going to ... the central station !
Getting the bikes in the train is an eventless moment, as well as the trip and getting them out !

The landscape doesn't change that much through the window, with some very similar gentle hills, fields and just a bit more industrial areas and bigger cities in the west than in the east.

Here we are in Francfurt, another sausage-city ! But we are more impressed by the skyscrappers than by local food.

Lost in the center, we struggle to find the bike road along the Main river but following other cycling tourists is always helpful and they show us where to go.

We have an easy job following this well signposted bike path, which is greatly appreciated as we don't have any maps of the region. Nice places along the river.

And it's hot, it's sunny, it's a real summer time !

Just before Mainz we stop in a camping, with an unpleasant desk girl, but cheap, with a nice view and the biergarten nearby !

The next day we cross... the Rhine ! Here is the long European river that we'll follow upstream for a while ;-).

While grapes enjoy the sun for some wine making purpose, we rest in the shade.



Getting close to Worms, we cross one of the numerous industrial areas, really different from the fjords !

Worms, supermarkets, churches, old bridge.


We stop in the middle of a field for a night camouflage practice.

The Rhine, again and again, sets the decor of the road, even if we do not always ride along the river.

Through Mannheim, we have several occasions to be impressed by how many germans speak english and are willing to help. When we look a bit lost in front of signposts, we feel they could fight for the privilege to guide us ! We don't look like foreigners enough for them to start in english, but it's very nice !
We'll remember specially this old man on his electric bike, guiding us to a ferryboat at his (very fast) pace.

We arrive in Speyer, a much more interesting village than expected according to our map.
Our stop in a café for an ice-cream and a wifi hotspot is a complete failure : it's expensive, the ice-cream is awful and the wifi doesn't work...

We have to keep going as all the town's camping are dedicated to camping-cars. They usually look more like a holiday village than to a grass field for campers.
We however end up finding a nice one, with a small open bar and a lake for swimming.

Next big stop in Strasbourg !

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