Koblenz to Wurzburg Along The Rivers Rhein and Main

We left Koblenz, and it was as easy getting out as it was getting in, along the Rhein, nice signposting, all very easy.

We bought the correct Bikeline guide for this, but it wasn't really necessary, we were a bit surprised that there was only about 100k to do for this section of the trip. However, we thought that there was a good chance we'd be back. or someone could borrow the guide later.

We found the Rhein very different from the Moselle, it is a lot wider, has beaches, not just river and a bank, the Danube is like the Moselle in that respect.

There are very few vines up the mountain sides by comparison, sometimes they are on the flats which are probably the Rhein's flood plain. The Rhein flows much more swiftly than the Moselle, and the barges sometimes can barely make way against the current.

Although the Moselle had some castles, the Rhein seems to have one on every bend.

The first day we passed through Boppard, St Goar and the Loreley, and ended up at a beautiful little town called Oberwesel, and got the last tent site in the camping area there. The lack of accommodation was due to the long weekend, Pfingston, (possibly birth of the Catholic Church?), the Rhein area and probably every tourist area in Germany was chock full of people.

Next morning, we went up to Oberwesel's castle, (Schonburg) a ride and a climb by foot, before breakfast, and felt very good about ourselves.

The German trains always seem to us like model train sets, and this one pictured across the Rhein from our camp at Oberwesel, is a very good example.

We had already toured this area in 1995 with our children (except Vic), and Bacharach, where we stayed in a youth hostel with them then, was our next stop, just 6k away, so we climbed up to that castle as well, (Burgh Stahlek), for old times sake. Two castles in one day, not bad.

looking North from Burg Stahlech along the Rhein

looking South

Further along, the Radweg (bike path) became stony dirt, and extremely crowded, so we travelled much slower, and finally pulled up at a camp called Hattenheim, 15k short of Mainz. We'd planned to be a bit closer, but we were pretty tired, even though we'd only done  45k. We had one of those unfortunate nights that you get sometimes when camping, especially on long weekends, a party until 3am, next door, yakking, laughing, clapping, drunk talk. Nothing you can do but put up with it. I woke them up next morning though, on the way out!

We didn't get to Mainz until 3pm next day, because we had to stop in and see a couple of very nice places along the way, Eltville and Biebrich, which both have burgs, and needed a look. We found Mainz a very nice town too, but a trip in during the afternoon was enough for us to get the idea, and we thought we wouldn't stay another day, as we'd originally planned.

Hannelore in Mainz town square

We met another couple of Perth bicycle tourists in the Mainz camping area, Dave and Louise, who are doing three months there, Holland and north Germany, having a whale of a time, and a very nice couple.

So, the end of our Rhein experience, on to the River Main, as far as Wurzburg, about half way along the Main Radweg.

The Main River

The Main, of course, is much smaller than the Rhein, and a little smaller than Moselle, too, I think. It has some vines along the valley sides, but is mostly natural forest where there is not farmlands or towns.

Our first view of the Main where it meets the Rhein

 From a bike riding point of view, the path changed from one that was sometimes pitted and unsealed, to mostly smooth, and mostly dedicated to bike travel alone. The wind was in the right quarter quite often too, so we were able to cycle at low to mid 20kph quite often.
The ease of riding didn't seem to change the distances we've been doing, which still seems to be about 50k per day, which feels about right for us.

Market Square, Frankfurt

Frankfurt, our first stop along the Main, was a surprise. We thought it would be just a big city, with cars tearing around everywhere, but they have a lot of public open space, and you can just ride your bike everywhere without fear of being knocked over. The fast cars seem to be limited to certain areas, people can walk through malls and squares, which are all over the place, and if a car is going through them, it seems to be a rarity. Perhaps they have some rule that makes it that way after hours, I don't know, but it is very civilised.

All along the river are typical German towns, with beautiful old half-timbered buildings. This picture is from a town called Seligenstadt, pretty close to Frankfurt.

 By far the biggest buildings though, are those that belonged to the Bishops of the old times, who were actually Ruler/Barons (my understanding), who levied heavy taxes to pay for the monstrosities. Here's an example, the Schloss Johannisburg at Aschaffenburg.

Schloss Johannisburg

It's rained a lot on this section of the ride, but it hasn't bothered us too much, we've been often finished for the day by the time it starts, or inside touring some wonderful building. Sometimes it's an excuse to stop and have a cup of coffee (or a beer).
We had a day off at Wertheim, dodging rain most of the time, and also took a ride down the Tauber bike path. The Tauber is a smaller river, with another very nice path, with beautiful scenery. It's hillier than the others, and we will encounter it again when we get to the Romantische Strasse.

the River Main at Wertheim

The River Tauber at Wertheim

We finally reached Wurzburg, on 21st of June. This is a very big town, chock full of tourism opportunities, so we're having a day off here too.

The Marienberg Fortress, Wurzburg

This is where we begin the next part of the trip, down the Romantische Strasse, to Fussen, thence to Munich and home.