Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Right across from the hostel is the "International" Mannhiem-Heidelberg Film Festival. Of course they have an internet connection for all those fancy, Mac-loving artists...
Monday (Mainz->Mannheim), 65mi
I couldn’t find any free internet in Mannheim so I’m writing this Tuesday morning and will hopefully post it later today.
Monday was much longer than it should have been. I got lost in the morning when I went to chase down a ruined castle I saw from a distance. I probably added a good 20km to the journey. It should have only been a 75km day, but it turned into another 100km+ day. The weather was great again though, despite it being a bit chilly in the morning.
As soon as I got out of Mainz I found myself in the German wine country with the vineyards crawling up along the hills away from the Rhein. At one point I think I was setting off those automatic shotguns that scare off the birds (no bullets of course). It took some time to figure out why there were loud bangs wherever I rode my bike through the vineyard.
The rest of the day was not as exciting and I ran into some more industry and the terrain flattened out again. I did cross through the town of Worms (where the Treaty of Worms was signed) and was hoping it would be a cool, medieval place. But, unfortunately, there was lots of construction and most of it had been destroyed during WWII, so there wasn’t a whole lot to see. I didn’t take too many pictures through the rest of the day. The town of Ludwigshafen, which is right across the Rhein from Mannheim, is the home base of the chemical company BASF. You can imagine what arriving in Ludwigshafen would look like. (In fact, you can because I took a picture of it). I then crossed the bridge into Mannheim and eventually located the youth hostel, ate a pile of pad thai and a donner yufka, and then hit the sack.
One strange thing that I have noticed so far traveling through Germany is that there are very few young people. There seem to be lots of children of age 16 and younger and then people over, say, 45. I have no idea where everyone in between is. The only places I have seen people my age appear to be in the university towns (like Bonn and Mannheim) and the very large towns (like Dusseldorf and Cologne). Also, there are hordes and hordes of geriatrics wandering around aimlessly, especially on the weekends. They come on their tour buses and then slowly wander directly into my path staring up at the sky. Again and again and again. I need a cow catcher that self deploys when it senses adults wearing diapers. Anyway, Germany is full of old people.
The day’s pictures:
The route. Interactive.
Another great day along the Rhien.
Riding through the vineyards.
The castle tower that got me lost. At least there wasn't anyone else there and entrance was free.
A view out one of the windows into the wine country (near the town of Nierstein).
Every cyclist's worst nightmare - a glass recycling facility. There was broken glass everywhere. It's hard to tell, but there were piles all along the road and bits all over the place. Although...I can't imagine a more satisfying job than smashing things made out of glass all day.
The statue of Martin Luther, etc. in Worms. Here is where he was questioned and stuck to his guns. This is also where he apparently spoke the famous lines during the Diet of Worms, "Here I stand. There is nothing that can be done. May god help me. Amen."
The beautiful view of Ludwigshafen's BASF horizon. I'm sure they've done wonderful things for the Rhein.
Monday (Mainz->Mannheim), 65mi
I couldn’t find any free internet in Mannheim so I’m writing this Tuesday morning and will hopefully post it later today.
Monday was much longer than it should have been. I got lost in the morning when I went to chase down a ruined castle I saw from a distance. I probably added a good 20km to the journey. It should have only been a 75km day, but it turned into another 100km+ day. The weather was great again though, despite it being a bit chilly in the morning.
As soon as I got out of Mainz I found myself in the German wine country with the vineyards crawling up along the hills away from the Rhein. At one point I think I was setting off those automatic shotguns that scare off the birds (no bullets of course). It took some time to figure out why there were loud bangs wherever I rode my bike through the vineyard.
The rest of the day was not as exciting and I ran into some more industry and the terrain flattened out again. I did cross through the town of Worms (where the Treaty of Worms was signed) and was hoping it would be a cool, medieval place. But, unfortunately, there was lots of construction and most of it had been destroyed during WWII, so there wasn’t a whole lot to see. I didn’t take too many pictures through the rest of the day. The town of Ludwigshafen, which is right across the Rhein from Mannheim, is the home base of the chemical company BASF. You can imagine what arriving in Ludwigshafen would look like. (In fact, you can because I took a picture of it). I then crossed the bridge into Mannheim and eventually located the youth hostel, ate a pile of pad thai and a donner yufka, and then hit the sack.
One strange thing that I have noticed so far traveling through Germany is that there are very few young people. There seem to be lots of children of age 16 and younger and then people over, say, 45. I have no idea where everyone in between is. The only places I have seen people my age appear to be in the university towns (like Bonn and Mannheim) and the very large towns (like Dusseldorf and Cologne). Also, there are hordes and hordes of geriatrics wandering around aimlessly, especially on the weekends. They come on their tour buses and then slowly wander directly into my path staring up at the sky. Again and again and again. I need a cow catcher that self deploys when it senses adults wearing diapers. Anyway, Germany is full of old people.
The day’s pictures:
The route. Interactive.
Another great day along the Rhien.
Riding through the vineyards.
The castle tower that got me lost. At least there wasn't anyone else there and entrance was free.
A view out one of the windows into the wine country (near the town of Nierstein).
Every cyclist's worst nightmare - a glass recycling facility. There was broken glass everywhere. It's hard to tell, but there were piles all along the road and bits all over the place. Although...I can't imagine a more satisfying job than smashing things made out of glass all day.
The statue of Martin Luther, etc. in Worms. Here is where he was questioned and stuck to his guns. This is also where he apparently spoke the famous lines during the Diet of Worms, "Here I stand. There is nothing that can be done. May god help me. Amen."
The beautiful view of Ludwigshafen's BASF horizon. I'm sure they've done wonderful things for the Rhein.
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