Day 15 Oberwesel, Germany - Lots of Beautiful Rhineland

Joan's View

This morning involved lots of turns getting out of Mainz. We then rode along the outskirts of the city which seems to be an area where people liked to live naturally - small plots of land/gardens and small huts to live in. Our first stop was along the trail, Euro Velo 15 (international route following the Rhine River), which we happened to be on again. The routes that Tony programmed into Garmin & his phone take us on and off route Euro Velo 15, but we never know where or when it will show up. 

Yes, Tony is refueling.

Once back riding in the country, there were tons of plum trees on either side of the trail. We could see grapevines though still lining the sides of the mountains especially on the other side of the Rhine. We stopped for a picture and to see if we could sneak a plum. Seems like they were mostly picked because the few remaining on the tress were very tart. You can see the fallen ones on the ground.

Fields of grapes

We were on the lookout for a bakery in the small villages that we rode through, but struck out, so we stopped instead at a riverside park in Bacharach to eat from the food that we carry in our paniers. There was a festival last weekend on the other side of the gardens near the park. We could have gone to Vegas had we gotten here earlier. 

Tony also worked on the squeak some more. He has yet to figure out what is causing that noise, but he keeps coming up with new ideas while we ride.

We had to walk the bike through the park, and as were leaving an American couple came turning the corner talking in our English. I said, "Hey Americans" and they stopped to chat. They are from Scottsdale, Arizona and come to this area 4 months every year to escape the heat of Scottsdale. They store their bikes in a storage facility in Mainz so that they can skip having to fly the bikes and camping gear over each time. The big difference is that they camp (Joan is not camping on these long treks 😁). They came from riding along the Moselle River in France and said that it was one of their favorite rides.

Traveling on, we saw this really cool old castle near the Rhine with the kind of turrets that you think of when you think of King Arthur. 

A little farther was this small castle-like building in the middle of the Rhine. Boats could travel on either side of the small castle. Could be quite an interesting place to be when the water is high and raging.

Coming into Oberwesel, we had a choice of Aldi or Lidl, so we chose Lidl because it was our first time to experience the competitor. They even have little carts for kids with flags attached. Kids get to put a coin in it to get the cart out just like the adults. 

Check out the little flags on the carts.

We found our Airbnb for the night. The clues to get the key for this place took only about 3 steps. The key was in a bag behind a brown door one street over. This place is super cute! 

One to eat and one for breakfast.

Oberwesel is such a quaint small town. Upon reading what is nearby, I realized there is a bakery down the street, and we quickly headed for some apple strudel for me, raisin bread and cappuccino for Tony. 

We also checked out the Church of our Lady which is just down the street as well. 

The area behind the altar.

Love, love, love Oberwesel!

Tony's Extras

Joan was on cloud 9 when she got her Apple Strudel. She did let me taste it, and it was very good. The weather was just awesome today, low 60's with very little wind which means Joan has two coats plus long pants on, and I have shorts with a short sleeve shirt. Same clothes as what I wear when it is 98 degrees. So nice to ride without sweating too much. We are getting to see nice little towns and small cities. One cool thing is we found some wild hops. They smell so good.

We are starting to see a lot of activity on the Rhine. Many barges and river cruise ships, around 9 cruise ships today. I did get a picture of one that I think Holly was on, just guessing.

Looking forward to a nice ride tomorrow. This Airbnb was nice enough to give us a bottle of champagne and chocolates.