Wasserbillig to the Rhine
From Wasserbillig it was a long into wind pedal to Trier. We stayed a couple of nights at Trier and got Tim's freewheel fixed at one of the bike shops. We left Trier and enjoyed a sunny Sunday's pedalling through the hills to somewhere near Morbach. Unfortunaley all the petrol stations were closed and we were out of fuel, so we had nothing to cook with when we camped (the campsote was also closed too). From Morbach to Asbacherhutte it was another cold bright day in the hills and forests. The next day's pedal to Wolfstein was very wet, very cold and very miserable.
Rare evening sunshine at Asbacherhutte
"The Shinning" Hostel
The Youth Hostel at Wolfstein was away out of the towm at the top of a long steep hill. We were the only guests and after they had cooked us a meal, the couple who ran it left us to it left us to it. We were completely alone in the empty building full of long echoing corridors and with the mist swirling outside. It was just like something out of the "The Shinning" and we fully expected Jack Nicholson to appear at any minute brandishing a cleaver.
After Wolfstein, our route took us through Kaiserslautern, down through Neudstadt and out onto the plain of the Rhine and a campsite by the river up the road from Speyer.
Another wet day. Rowena on the way to Wolfstein
A monster of a place
One of the few times we would have quite liked to have been in a car
Worst Day of the Trip
"A very wet, miserable day" is what I wrote in my diary for 24th March, Speyer to Hillsbach. Most of the day was spent pedalling through interminable pine forests and god awful German, "Stepford Wives" dormitory towns in the peeing rain. After finally escaping from IKEA land, we headed up what would have been a pretty valley, if it hadn't been for the icy rain, hideous headwind and low cloud. We spent hours trying find a room, but all the guesthouses were closed. So then we tried to find somewhere to wild camp, but there was no running water (apart from the rain), the place was full of golf courses and of course wild camping is "verbotten" anyway. We searched for a campsite until it got dark when we finally had to admit defeat and squelch into a posh hotel. At 70 Euro, the most expensive night of the trip and too expensive for us to afford any dinner.
Rowena was quite pleased to arrive at the Danube
Heilbronn to Donauworth
It was stiff climb from Heilbronn up to Lowenstein, at which point it started raining. We then enjoyed a long, but very wet descent to Murrhardt, where we had a rest day in the youth hostel there. After Murrhardt followed the Kocher cycle path to Aalen. The day was enlivened by Tim skidding on some mud and taking spectacular fall off his bike. We arrived at Aalen in torrential rain, which was the cue for Tim's tyre to puncture. For Germany, the hostel was refreshingly chaotic. Another two wet days through wide open country got us to the Danube.
The Danube in flood at Regensburg
The Danube Cycle Path
The Danube Cycle Path or Donau-Radweg starts somewhere up near Ulm and contines along the river to Vienna and on to Bratislava. We joined it at Donauworth. It is a classic cycle route that is pretty well documented on the internet. It's probably better suited to lightweight, "credit-card" touring than our heavy-duty camping. Thoughts based on our experience are:
Don't go too early - we started on the 30th March (apparently we were the first cyclists of the year) and alot of places weren't open, especially the campsites.
Most of the towns have very efficient, very helpful tourist offices who will fix up accomodation for you.
Although it is well sign posted, it is advisable to buy one of the good map/guides.
It's all very civilised, but there some quite long stretches which are pretty dull.
Rowena in a bad way on the DonauRadweg near Inglostadt
Dysentary on the Danube
We both got quite sick (vomiting, diarrhoea) on the Danube. We think it may have been some dodgy river water we filtered just before Donauworth. Tim was lucky and recovered after a day in a warm dry bed at the youth hostel in Straubing. Rowena's illness dragged on for several days, most of them in the tent, only clearing up when we resorted to using some of the anti-biotics we'd brought from home.
Cyclability
B+
A+ for the cycle paths: there's lots of them and wherever possible they are proper separate paths, not just lines painted on the road. C- for the vehicle speeds and the way you are treated when you venture off the cycle paths.
Cake rating
B+
Plentiful cake shops.
Accommodation
B
Most of the campsites and cheaper guesthouses were closed when we were there. The best value places are the "Privat Zimmer" along the Danube cycle path, 40 Euro or so per night. The hostels varied from very noisy (Trier & Heilbronn) to completely empty (Wolfstein). Adults without kids are pretty out of place in the hostels. At 18 Euro per night, Regensburg boasted the most expensive campsite of the trip - but the facilities were very good.