It seems we scored the last Hotel room in Aschaffenburg when we arrived late yesterday afternoon in the near frigid conditions. However, it was a superb room and far cheaper than many that we have had along the way. The exclusive Hotel Wilder Mann, which we passed as we came across the massive bridge over the River Main and into the city centre because it looked too expensive was actually the very Hotel to which the Information Centre sent us back, after she tried many others. However, the 'Wilder Mann' had its own separate building up the street for the likes of 'us' - for backpackers and cyclists. Should we have felt offended that they didn't offer us a room opportunity at the exclusive Hotel section? Anyway, our bikes were safe there, but we had to walk up the very freezing street to our 'Fahrad Hotel'. It looked a bit 'rough' on the outside, but when we finally made it the three stories and many narrow stairs to our room, we could not have been more delighted! It was magnificent, with solid wi-fi reception, an attic window and fabulous room. Lugging our gear constantly up and down stairs is one thing we probably will not miss. It was one of the joys of camping! After a great breakfast (at the exclusive Hotel....dressed in our cycle gear and standing out in the very tastefully decorated rooms and definite upper class guests), we took the obligatory photo in the extremely cold conditions (the photo is the building where we stayed) and headed for the river. It was barely two degrees, but at least it was a very still day and no chance of rain.
We had to pass under the magnificent Schloss Johannisburg, but not without taking the photos. It was a most beautiful and imposing building, perched high above the River Main. The path looked good as it wound its way along the edge of the river and under the the great Schloss. The ducks, however also looked just as beautiful to us!
The river is always beautiful in these calm, cold conditions. It was frigidly cold, although it did not seem as cold as when we finished yesterday. As long as we were covered and on the move it was not all that unpleasant and not unlike a typical winter's day in Canberra.
We hadn't gone very far before the track went unbelievably close to the edge of the river, a very narrow path literally cut out of the rock of the river bend. It was a slight heart stopper even to walk around, let alone cycle it. One small mistake and we would think it would be a very cold immersion in the River Main, not something we would cherish in these conditions!
Being our final day of the cycle tour we were feeling slightly nostalgic! Not long after we had mastered the narrow pass of the cliff face, we were idling through open farms and countryside when Julie yelled 'corn'! We hadn't seen so much corn for weeks. We have passed so much corn but never seen it on any dinner plate, until one farmer answered it for us in one word - 'schwein' - they grow it for pig food. However, the waitress at the beautiful hotel at breakfast this morning, for some unknown reason, felt obliged to tell me when I was about to pick up a crusty bread roll, that I should try the one next to it because it was made from corn! Corn is one of our lasting memories of our tour.
And then there were apples, suitably all fallen on the ground......one of Julie's lasting memories. In the distance, more corn!
After some 15k we crossed the river to the left side for the rest of the day. Today we had passed a few small groups of obviously retired gentlemen out for a day on their bikes. This was a very large group who were stopped in the centre of the bridge (it was a large footbridge and cycle bridge). We couldn't pass without chatting. They were all enjoying 'schnappes' to fight the cold, and insisted we join them. Of course we graciously and respectully decilined, although it may have been good for our general health at that moment (it was freezing!). However, they were a lovely warm bunch and only added to our general impression of the graciousness of the German people. We said our goodbyes and were quickly on our way after answering the usual questions such as 'why did you choose winter to come to Germany!
We were making good time despite the cold. According to Julie's computer, the temperature did not rise above 4 degrees all day. It was a beautiful day otherwise, and we were grateful to the good Lord that it was not a wet day otherwise it would have been misery. It was frigid but delightful. The heavy gloves were necessary today.
We entered Seligenstadt at about the 20k mark, a very ancient medieval village which sadly we had no time to explore, but there were enough sights along the river and bike path to make our day very interesting. The ancient tower was a common sight in these few days in many historic villages.
At the same time we delighted in the historic church which was looking majestic with the slight cover of the beautiful yellowing oaks and elms along the bike path.
From the angle of the church, we could see down the river to the faithful old ferry that spent its day going from one side of the river to the other. These sights were very typical of our day today. The ride through this part of Germany has unlimited beauty to behold, and history in every direction.
This was at the actual ferry port (the ferry is behind me just coming in to dock). The view was very enticing to go further into the village centre. However, if we were to make our Hotel by nightfall (before 4:30pm these days) we had to keep on the move.
Today, just for our sake, the river was very busy with barges and passenger boats. The river was a mirror due to the very still conditions, making the sight of these lovely boats worth capturing. This was actually a brief 'loo' break for us, and the boat came along the river just to improve the sight for us!
Julie and I have a camera each. Usually Julie is in front and I follow from behind, unless we feel it is safe to ride side by side. That is why many of Julie's photos of me are from the front, and you will notice that I have many photos of Julie from behind (which are always taken from the moving bike). Most other cycle tourists were amazed at our relatively thin tyres and solid load, but we were carrying a tent and also our own cooking gear.
Today felt a bit like the 'champagne day' of the Tour de France, without the champagne. We were trying to take some memorable photos knowing that by end of day the great 'Romantic Rivers Ride 2012' would be all over. We could not resist photos of the autumn which has made our tour very memorable indeed.
Ahh, I love these leaves...............
At the 30k mark we came to Steinheim/Hanau which is one of those very historic places to which we must return some day to fully explore. Sadly we just had to ride by, but not without some of the photos of the great historic buildings along the edge of the river. This was the Palace, with the great Cathedral turning on its chimes just for us as we cycled by. Actually, it was midday. The long bell recital was much appreciated though, even if it wasn't in our honour after all!
The river just kept serving up scenes of great beauty for us. We were really enjoying our ride today, but always keeping an eye on the time. The river was a mirror today, reflecting the colour, the buildings and especially the spires of the great churches so perfectly in the surface of the river. Just as I was about to take the photo, I had disturbed a duck at the water's edge which scurried away across the water, disturbing the otherwise perfectly tranquil surface.
The ride had everything in it today. Despite being so close to the great city of Frankfurt, we were still passing through farms and especially beautiful deep forest sections, always with the river never far from our sight.
As we passed Hanau on the opposite bank, we were mesmerized by the magnificent Schloss Philippsruhe, a a beautiful palace built in 1701 for Graf Philipp von Hanau. We added this to the list of 'must see' whenever we return to ride the River Main some time in the future. Being on the left bank, we were back on our bikes but could not resist the many different views of the Palace as we cycled further away down the river.
Actually, directly opposite the Palace was this magnificent permanent admirer of the Philippsruhe Palace. We thought it looked very much like our Prime Minister!
At 1pm we decided that it would not be getting any warmer, so we decided to find a 'memorable' place to stop for lunch. We virtually had Frankfurt in view down the river, so at the river frontage to the city of Offenbach we decided it was time to put on the 'Trangia cooker' for the very last time, and make our hot chocolate on the remaining milk in our panniers. Actually, it was the sight of the swans and ducks that convinced us that this would be our memorable lunch stop!
Despite the extremely cold conditions, we were determined to enjoy a final memorable 'Alley' lunch. We usually ate bagettes with apple and banana, but today we wanted to use what we had on board - left over muesli, granola and of course hot chocolate made to order on milk on our trusty 'trangia'. The swans, ducks and unwelcome pidgeons all came swarming over to us. They were either super friendly or super hungry. We discouraged the pidgeons, but just delighted in the swans and the ducks. We have seen swans and ducks every day of the bike ride for as long as we can remember. They will be a lasting memory to us of our life changing adventure through Europe. As we sat cuddling our hot chocolate and really enjoying the muesli and granola despite the severely tightening grasp of the cold, we wondered how the swans could so easily and in such relaxed manner just paddle about in the freezing water!
Do I look cold? Am I enjoying myself........I am just sitting on the very front of the cold park bench because I want to be closer to my hot chocolate! How do you like my new 'beany' (woolen cap for our American readers!)
I tried to get the swan to tell me how she can sit for so long on the water with legs dangling in the cold below the surface. Apparently it is a secret kept only amongst other swans. She kept 'mum'. However, it was a privilege to be granted a personal audience with one of the Queens of the River Main. And with that, we sadly left this beautiful scene behind for the final 5k into the centre of Frankfurt. From there, it was a further 18k or so further along the river to the Hotel which is in the riverside suburb adjacent to Frankfurt Airport.
Julie's camera........she just loved the boats. Frankfurt cityscape in the background.
The city of Frankfurt, with the historic Alte Brucke (bridge) leading to the magnificent Frankfurt Dom, with the old city in the background also with the crane - one of the common sights we have seen throughout Germany with so much restoration and rehabilitation of the cities and towns underway.
Our lunch stop caused severe freezing of hands and feet. We were both very, very uncomfortable for the next 10-15k because of our severely cold hands and feet. We thought we would never warm up again. Taking photos from the moving bike, I couldn't feel the camera in my ungloved hand, making it difficult to know if I had the finger on the button. Strangely, the hands felt warmer after having them outof the glove. Work that out!
Sadly, we couldn't stop to explore the old city of Frankfurt. This will be on the list for a return visit one day. I didn't take the photo for the magnificent Cathedral dominating the skyline, but for the beautiful line of ducks dominating the immediate river scene!
We were closing on Kelsterbach, the suburb in which our Hotel is located. Fortunately it was a river suburb, so the Main cycleway would eventually lead us to it, some 15k beyond the inner city of Frankfurt. The beauty of the forest though was never far away despite the encroaching motorways of the big city. The track was to lead us to the very bridge over which we cycled on our way out to the Rhine over two months ago.
A studio photo, last one with the beautiful leaves of a German autumn with a final view of the magnificent River Main.
Well, so we thought. The cycleway actually took us over to the right bank by the wrong bridge. The cycleway was heading for Mainz at the confluence of the Rivers Rhine and Main. It was meant to take us up to the original bridge for our departure, but for some strange reason the cycleway took us over the rail bridge just 1k short of 'our' bridge which did not have an exit for us until we were over on the right bank, which for us was the wrong bank. We cycled to the right bank exit of the correct bridge but there was no way back up to the bridge that we could see. We couldn't even find the track from where we had exited the bridge at the start of our journey. We knew we had the right bridge and knew we had to cross back over it. We just had to find our way up on to it. We lost about 40 furious minutes in the cold and encroaching dark trying to find where our path came out, but it must have been several kilometres further down river. We had no option - we had to carry the bikes up about 40 steep concrete steps straight onto the right bank exit of the bridge. My bike weighed a solid 45-48kg, so the sight of two aging cyclists of the hard core variety admittedly, must have brought many a smile to passing motorists! Suffice to say, we managed it by good team work, and we were then merrily on our way back over to the left bank, down the swift steep ramp that we remembered well struggling up on our way out, and then leisurely back along the remains of the cycleway alongside the river before climbing up to the road and our final 2-3k of suburban roads to the Hotel, which was resplendantly still there and looking the same as we left it 2 months previous.
This is definitely the final view of the Romantic Rivers for 2012. A final posed photo, a scene we will long remember!
Julie ended up being very fit and slick on the bike, but she never enjoyed hills. She loved the long flats with the views of swans and ducks, and the apple trees, the farms and the fields of corn. But she never delighted in hills, so it was very fitting that as we pulled away from the River Main for the final time, it was a long, steep haul up away from the river through a beautiful park to the suburban road running along the top. This was nevertheless a defining moment for Julie, and a fitting way to leave the beautiful (Romantic) river experience.
Finished! Outside the IBIS Hotel from where it all started. It was a lovely feeling, sad though though to know that something that has been so wonderful and life changing has had to finally come to an end. It was a culmination, a time of great blessing but not without its struggles, challenges and difficult moments.
The 'Romantic Rivers Ride 2012' has come to an end. One of the amazing things is that for over 2500k of often very rough track, dirt, mud, slush and all kinds of other surfaces, we only had to pump Julie's tyres a few times. She made the entire journey requiring only new brake pads after about 2000k, and nothing else required for the bike except the occasional wash and some oil for the chain.
My lovely bike withstood the immemnse weight of a body plus about 45-48kg of load all that distance over sometimes very difficult surfaces, especially the many kilometres of accumulated cobblestoned streets through countless historic old villages. I had one flat tyre twice, if that makes sense. It was't even a flat, it was just spongy, but when I decided to change it, I squeezed the new tube between tyre and rim and it exploded under pressure. Is that two flats? Someone will no doubt tell me. A replacement set of brake pads at about 2100k got me home safely, plus some oil on the chain.
We feel incredibly blessed. This was only possible due to a very supportive family of kids who have allowed us this excursion and away from reasonable contact in our family way for so long. It wasn't possible without the wonderful support of our work team who kept our offices running in our absence, with particular note to our two champion secretaries Karyn (for me) and Jo (for Julie). Karyn and Jo managed our inboxes making us feel almost redundant, although they tell us they will be glad to see us back!
As we reflect, we see the work of the invisible hand of the good Lord upon us. When we were in otherwise desperate need of accommodation, a helping hand, a timely direction...it was always there but sometimes in ways that we would not have expected. We are grateful to have come through this in complete safety, but having experienced life in a way that we would never have thought possible.
We have a great world. The cultures of the world require exploration, discovery and most of all respect. We have been enriched by this experience as we have struggled with language, but richly blessed by the grace and hospitality of strangers in particular. We have learned much. We have particularly learned that our own worlds can be very small and narrow, and we trust that as we return to those worlds that we will not be easily condstrained and blinded by the smaller things of life that can seem so overwhelming at times.
We wish to write an epilogue to conclude our blog, but this will be done from Australian soil, when we have given more time and thought to the deeper experiences and reflections of our journey. We are however, very grateful to God who has given us breath and life and a vigour within to not be constrained by age or reason, which otherwise might keep us from chancing our arm on such experiences. We departed Australia thinking this might be our final fling, but having been so deeply blessed by this experience, we reaslise how much more of this world's beauty is yet to be discoverd.
For now we reflect on what has been, and we feel that St Paul's words to the christians at Colossae sum it up for us. In his letter, St Paul expressed his prayer for the christians at Colossae. This is also our prayer for our own lives, and for your lives as well "We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will
through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,
10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. (Colossians 1:9-12)
As we rest tonight in the Hotel IBIS in Frankfurt, we rest knowing that the God who is at work in our lives by his invisible grace is also at work in yours as well.
From the edge of the River Main, Frankfurt in the great country of Germany, we send our love.
Kelvin and Julie
