What a Difference the Sun Makes
After an uninspiring couple of nights in Duisburg I then had a glorious couple of days in the sunshine heading down 60 miles to Koln for one night and then another 65 onto Koblenz, passing through Dusseldorf and Bonn on the way. Both Koln and Koblenz are lovely. The route is now leaving the agricultural lands and already I can see hills (though thankfully so far the route avoids them as much as possible by hugging the river). Passing through Dusseldorf and Bonn was easy with the cycle path continuing right along the river passing through riverside parklands and cafe fronted pavements. Just time in Koln for a night of sightseeing, a juicy steak and a few beers.
The Duetzer Bridge has a chain link fence running across it's whole length, virtually covered by Love Locks - padlocks deposited by (mostly tourist) couples declaring one thing or another for each other. These vary from mass produced, professionally engraved and hand decorated padlocks, and as tacky as it is, its also quite an impressive sight.
Koblenz is beautiful, nestled in between the Mosel and Rhine rivers, and I could quite easily spend a few days here. Which is good because it was pushing 40 degrees C yesterday, and my body is complaining after 120 miles with a painful and slightly swollen knee. All good reasons to have a day or two here. Or three.Apparently the next stretch of river to Mainz along the Rhine gorge is the most beautiful stretch, but in the meantime, here are some photos from the last few days.
