Friday, 10 June 2011

Day 8 Boppard to Mainz

Day 8 Thursday9th June
The B&B in which we stayed was a model of cottage industry. On display (as part of the furnishings) was a variety of jams, preserves, wines, paintings, plants – they did it all. It was a quiet space but compared to most places was tired and worn. We departed with a friendly wave (and no purchases) into an overcast morning. The day promised a delight through the narrow valley (for the Rhine) with small ancient villages and castles. The track along the river was mostly good but you are cramped next the the road and railway, each begging for attention. At about 10.30 we arrived at the town of St Goars where Lia had some work done on her bike – just to get the gears properly aligned. There was a house there with a date of 1350 which made the 1600's house look young. The highlight of the day were the many castles and St Goars had the largest although like most along the river at least in part ruins. It seems the French came along in the late 1700's and destroyed many of them.

Having a leisurely morning by mid-afternoon we had only travelled 45km and set our sights on at least 65km before finding a bed. Unfortunately when we arrived at our intended destination there was nothing suitable so we road into the evening to the city of Mainz (a total of 90km for the day) where we fell dead-tired into the first hotel we found.

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