Warm Bed

We are now back at Matthias' parents' house for a much appreciated rest. We made it as far as Düsseldorf on the Rhein and then decided to end the trip and take the train back for a variety of reasons. First, the damn rain just wouldn't stop. Not to say that we didn't have many sunny and nice afternoons, it was just that every morning and most evenings it rained, which didn't make campsite living very comfortable. Also, our stuff started to break down - our coffee cups, the camp stove, little things on our bikes - and it didn't make sense to buy new just before finishing. Plus, with our weekend ticket, it cost the same to go all the way across the country to Magdeburg (40 Euros for us and our bikes) as it did to go a short distance. So, here we are. Now I have time to write, load pictures, and catch up with things.

Really, despite the lousy weather at the end, the bike trip was fantastic, surpassing my expectations (which were high in the first place.) I just got my first glimpse of the photos, and realize that we have seen a lot. Since I wrote last, we rode along the Main river to the Rhein, where we spent time in Rudesheim, a lovely and touristy town in the wine country. Then we rode along the Rhein past all the famous castles and hills to Matthias' aunt's house near Bonn, where we spent two nights. We rode two more days past Cologne to Düsseldorf, a surprisingly nice city (I had heard it was all industrial.) We spent our last night on the town and then took the train to Magdeburg, where it was a short (25km) ride to Matthias' parents'. (Photo at Tanta Inga's house)

Photos are loading as I write this, and I'll try to upload some to the entries that I have written as well as the Yahoo Photos website (link to the left.) And as we spend the two weeks between now and Matthias' fathers' 60th birthday party, we'll be researching our next steps. Will it be winter in Spain? A bike ride to Greece? Asia? Stay tuned!