Rothenburg to Wurzburg

Day 45 – Rothenburg ODT – Bad Mergentheim, 57kms

After yesterday’s rainy conditions we were happy to hear the birds chirping as we awoke.  We packed up with a few spots of rain and got off to an early start.

We rode mainly through rural landscapes again.  Vineyards have reappeared on the tops of the ridges.

 Stopped for a break at Weikersheim and visited the castle which had magnificent gardens.  It was originally built in the 1400’s and has had a chequered history since.  It is now a government owned and maintained historic property.  We did a guided tour of the castle (which is often the only way to gain entry) but this was in German.  We were provided with an English version of the commentary to read, but a lot of the enjoyment is lost with this method.  The gardens were definitely the highlight of the visit.

There seems to be more tourists around – we think German school holidays have now started!

We had to call for our yellow jackets when we got caught in a rain squall.  The rain was so heavy at times that our bikes were pushed sideways.  But we soldiered on!

The town of Bad Mergentheim was further down the track and where we stayed for the night.  Bad Mergentheim is renowned as a spa town where you just drink the water, rather than bathe in it to cleanse your body and soul.

The campground was 3kms out of town, nice and quiet.

About four days ago we met a young Spanish couple (Miguel and Julie?) who we nicknamed “Spain”.  Over the last few nights we have arrived at the same campgrounds, despite not travelling together.  Tonight they didn’t arrive at our camp, but we met a young Dutch couple who were on their bikes with their (about) 12mth old son.  He travelled in the bike trailer and they set up camp each night.  They managed to do about 50kms each day as the little man got a bit crotchety after that!  What a feat of organization. 

Day 46 – Bad Mergentheim – Wurzburg – 60kms

Once again we set out early to make a return visit to Wurzburg.  We all have great memories of being there last year and we booked into the same hotel. 

The first 25kms of our ride today was through rural areas again.  We stopped at Tauberbischofsheim for morning tea.  Once we left there the landscape remained the same, but we had a gradual climb.  Towards the end of our journey we had to ride some very steep hills.  On one of our very steep downhills Phill had a puncture, but managed to avert disaster, realizing his tyre was very certainly going to go down, which it did very quickly.

Our mechanics had him back on the road in no time and within an hour we were in Wurzburg.

Steve and Linda have decided to break ranks for a few days (Linda’s stamina isn’t as good as everyone else’s!), they will probably take the trains for a couple of days and we will meet again in Strasbourg on Monday.

The guys spent the afternoon planning our respective next few days while Chris shopped and Linda nanny napped! 

We were all able to vividly remember the town from last year – we will head off for dinner and get an early night – after the guys have downed a few bottle of red at their favourite wine bar at the hotel!