How did this happen?
Yesterday: Rüdesheim -> Sankt Goar
On Limited Bandwidth
If Rüdesheim is a town made for tourists then Sankt Goar is one made for locals, even though it offers many vacation rentals.
My ride yesterday didn’t offer many offshoots, instead hugging the Rhine for most of the journey. It was a brilliantly sunny, and hot day on his leg of the journey. Unlike the day before I didn’t roll through too many towns. I stopped a few times for photo opportunities, and then once for yet another yellow beer (finally getting more RAGBRAI training) only to find out that my beer stop was fewer than 2km from Sankt Goar, my destination. D’oh! With fear that I was too early to check into my hotel room I stopped at an Imbiss (snack stand) for another beer.
After checking in to my hotel I took my second shower of the day before heading out on foot to see the town. Funny to me was seeing two Asian (Korean, I’d guess) women who I saw at the restaurant at which I ate in Rüdesheim last night — “It’s a Small Rhine After All”.
I’ve found out that I only get one hour of free internet access in this hotel, which is why you have not heard from me until now. I am writing this on Thursday night in hopes of being able to publish it Friday using my limited time. If you are reading this on Friday morning then I have been successful.
SHI-TTY T-R-A-I-L
In the papers provided to me I was encouraged to take the ferry across the Rhine and climb the four hundred stairs to Loreley; the view is worth the effort. What the papers didn’t exactly mention was the mile of road that had to be walked from the ferry to the beginning of the stairs.
It was 14:30.
And me still in my Chucks…
I started up the stairs, hot, thirsty, and suspect. Thankfully after one hundred or so stairs I encountered a visitors center where I bought a water and a carbonated apple juice to save me from certain death by dehydration. At this point I gave up on the rest of the stair climb and chose to do the 3.5km hike, which went past the old castle and back down to the town with the ferry.
No more than a quarter-mile into this hike I lost all trail markings, and had no one to ask. My low-res tourist information center map was also of little use. It was like being on a really shitty hash trail. Still hot and not wanting to get lost in the woods of Germany I turned around fully understanding that I was going to have to walk back down all the stairs that I had traversed earlier, and walk the mile of hot roadway back to town.
By the time I returned to my hotel I was slightly sunburned and ready for my third shower of the day.
If you see me soon after my return please compliment me on my awesome tourist tan. 🙂
No ITP Flickr Pic
While I took many photos yesterday my limited bandwidth combined with my inability to present photos well has me holding off today. Monday? Hopefully.
I’ll Just Blow It All On Drink
I consumed only two meals yesterday — a German breakfast (cold cuts, hard boiled egg, and rolls) and a traditional German dinner (soup, salad, Wiener schnitzel with potatoes, and ice cream). I obviously am not going to die from hunger any time soon.
More than food I have been buying liquids as if they are going out of style — water, beer, Coke, chocolate milk, apple juice — you name it, I am buying it to drink, sometimes multiple times a day!
Btw- European Coke is AWESOME! (European > Mexican > American)
With the exception of the Riesling and some beer the drinks have been a bit pricey. If I could have found a cheap Riesling stand in Sankt Goar I may have had ten glasses in an effort to cool down.
No Gators?
Of the Americana I saw yesterday two things stuck out, a woman wearing a University of Tennessee t-shirt, and a boy wearing a Clemson University t-shirt.
I wanted to yell “Go Gators” at the woman as I passed her, just to see if I could elicit a rise, but decided not to do so; this may have been the highest road I’ve taken on this bike trip.
To Koblenz
This morning I have awoken with a bit of a sore throat. This is unusual for me, I hope that it’s nothing.
Today’s leg is another short one, a mere 36km. Earlier weather forecasts predicted the rain to return today. I will have posted this blog before I know for certain, so if you are curious to see if I got wet checkout the weather for Koblenz, Germany.
I am considering lightening my cycling load by letting the luggage hauler take my pedal bag today. I’ve not swapped pedals, so there is no reason to carry all of that crap I brought for that. I am also considering cycling this leg using my cycling shoes instead of my Chucks if the weather forecast calls for rain.
And Beyond!
Ahead of me on Saturday are 58km from Koblenz to Bad Godesberg, and 46km on Sunday from Bad Godesberg to Köln. Saturday could be “interesting” because not only am I going to try see “The Clits” again, I have been asked to wait until after 18:30 to check into my hotel.
By the time we “speak” again I will have returned to Köln and the cycling portion of this trip will be history.
Have a kick-ass Friday and weekend, friends!
Cheers,
Paulie [sankt goar/dl]
I am about 30 minutes (by bike) from my destination town. The rain has started, but I am okay because I am sitting under a big umbrella at at beer garden, eating a delicious piece of cheesecake, while drinking a cold pils beer. YAY VACATION!
The only other people here, American motorcyclists, have laughed at my choices for lunch. I don’t care. 😉
Also, given that I am six hours ahead I have decided to post a special Saturday Edition of the blog tomorrow, which you can of course wait until Monday to read if you are so inclined. 🙂
Took the high road by NOT shouting Go Gators- I laughed out loud.
Riding in the rain sucks but when you have no choice… and cheesecake and beer sounds like a perfectly reasonable lunch when you’re on vacation. I have nothing on the radar showing rain, but it does say 86F, which is likely pretty comfortable to ride in.
I managed almost 25 on the CX bike last night and it was certainly warm. One of the dirt roads had been “resurfaced”, making for harder riding due to loose rocks and more sand. I still have to repair my front tire on the road bike. I’m annoyed and don’t want to start having to drive to the end of our road to get to pavement!! Ugh.
I’m concerned about the Brexit vote. I can’t imagine that the UK will come out better by leaving. This isolationist perspective can’t be good in the long term. Soapbox off.
Have a great weekend. I’ll check in on the Saturday edition.
-FP
My luggage and I I have made it to Koblenz. I laughed when a woman in the lobby fretted in English about the rain, to which I responded “At least you are not cycling in it”.
This is easily the “nicest” hotel booked for me thus far. I am on the eighth floor in an air-conditioned room. I have showered off the grime and will inquire about getting to a part of town where things are happening. Unlike for all previous cities I am too far to do this by foot, and I certainly don’t want to get back on that bike in this weather.
Shoot, I forgot to inquire about my dinner voucher.
I overheard some Brits talking at breakfast this morning. I don’t think it’s a good move for England.
Yaaaaay! Finally some German food! 🙂 And I was fixin’ to ask if it was one of your voucher dinners too until I read your comment below.
I, too, laughed out loud at the “taking the high road” bit.
REALLY looking forward to seeing your pictures after you get home and get them all uploaded (and labeled!). In a way, it’s kind of fun not seeing them right now because I have all these great mental images along the Rhine, or up those 400 steps, or whatever. It’ll be fun to see which match reality and in which I’m way off.
Last night I had a dream that I went hashing with ITP-Reader Barb. We were standing at the start, looking down a big muddy trail we knew would be the first leg of our journey. She was in full biking kit, including a helmet for some reason. It was not a bike hash.
Have a fun little weekend coming up. Going to head off to see some improv comedy downtown tonight and tomorrow I’m actually being a Door-Tender! 🙂 A friend of mine helps service two of the TinyDoorsATL on weekends but she’s unexpectedly going out of town now and asked if I could help. Mainly just to check in on them, clean them up, water the flowers around the one that has fresh flowers. As they’re both on the Beltline near me (doors #2 and #9), I happily agreed to help. Love them doors! Plus it ensures I’ll have some exercise in my future.
Happy Fridays, y’all!
Sounds like a great trip so far.
My sister will arrive Saturday morning, way, way, way too early – she is taking a red eye from Phoenix.
I’m very busy here at work with end of month shipping, and then she will be here, so I’m going to work Monday morning (while she sleeps in), hopefully take all day Tuesday off, then Wed morning- she goes back to the airport lunchtime Wed.
Stacy, we’re going to a comedy show in midtown tonight! Great minds. It’s at the Laughing Skull (inside the Vortex).