AMSTERDAM TO FREIBURG (GERMANY) - THE RHINE RIVER VALLEY

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LOCATION: This report comes from Worms, Germany, on the Rhine River. After a week of travel throughout Holland and visiting Jos' familz and friends, we have headed south on the Rhine. We are about mid-way between the Rhine delta and Switzerland.

Holland Park Hostel, London. This was the first of several hostels, all of which had good points that outnumbered the bad points. At this hostel, the outside was better than the cramped 12-bed dorm. However, other aspects of the hostel were great, expecially the meals.

A picnic lunch in Vondel ("needle") Park in Amsterdam.


WEATHER: The weather has been quite nice except for one horendous daz when it rained hard from 11 am until we stopped cycling at 5. Fortunately we had good rain gear and our stuff was packed in lots of plastic. Still, the weather sucked!

Jos leading his friends Frits and Iene through a 90 minute rehearsal of Verdi's Requiem.

FLAT TIRES: Over 1,500 kilometres and still no flat tires!


DISTANCES: We travel at between 15 and 20 kph and ride for about 4-5 hours each day, not including breaks for lunch, sightseeing, photos, etc. Overall, a day on the road lasts fromn about 9 in the morning until 3-5 in the afternoon.

Travel is always a cultural experience. Here, three fellows waiting for their buddy who has gone inside in the Red Light disctrict of Amsterdam.

Another picnic lunch on the road to Venlo, The Netherlands, south of the Rhine. En route to visit Jos' sister Marianne.

Jos at the Hulshof family farm near Lievelde, The Netherlands.

Jos' sister Marianne laughing as Jos tells her about his interview with a national television program on his arrival in Amsterdam AND as he road his bicycle into the city.

Holland in the spring when it is dry, warm and sunny showed Holland at ist finest. We had a perfect day in Amsterdam, visiting museums, parks and wandering around the canals. It was beautiful. The next day, Jos' friend Frits took us on a bicycle tour through some of the less famous parts of the city and then to the Beemster, north of Amsterdam, famous for its cheeses. Then it was off to Frits' home and a surprise reunion for Jos with some university friends he had not seen for 40 years.

The skateboarder in front of Cologne´s ancient cathedral was an intersting junxtaposition.

When I saw this snail on the trail from Cologne to Koblenz, Germany, I thought of Javan and his interest in snails. When you are far away from home it is funny what reminds you of friends and family.

TERRAIN: With the exception of trips up the steep hills bordering the river, the Rhine route is flat as a pancake and frequented by cyclists of all ages on day-outings and longer tours.

One of the many castles that line the Rhine between Koblenz and Mainz.

It was a veryy tough slog up from the river level to this point at Lorelley, a famous cliff on the Rhine, but hopefully the photo shows that the effort was worth it.

It was another very difficult clime to this castle at Bad Bacharach where we stayed. This was a youth hostel and like many such hostels in Germany, they are located in old, beautiful buildings.

We have been very impressed with Germany. The people are very helpful, in fact gong out of their way to guide us in the right direction. Many times when we are obviously confused (most of the time?) people will take the initiative and ask if they can help. Also, this county's recovery from two devasting wars is miraculous. Regularly we come across photos comparing immediate post-war ruins with beautiful reconstructions.