Basf chemical works in background of Ludwigshaven

We survived the night in the dodgy hotel somehow .Hubby took it upon himself to annoy the manager not a good idea and some of the customers looked as if they were partaking in more than just beer.Traffic noise went on through out the night so not a good nights sleep. After a quick breakfast we set off but within 5 mins we realised we hadnt decided on which route; the signposted one or the book one. We set off on the signposted one but had second thoughts and came back to do the book route through 2 industrial zones, hubby very happy loving snapping photos of belching chimneys. Me not so happy I prefer country routes.

It wasnot long before the rain began, full gear was donned. Our first mission was to find a bank yes we found where it had been  it but it had been closed for 2 months.I thought these city apps were up to date! We crossed the huge spaghetti like set of bridges leaving Ludwigshaven and over into Mannheim. We stopped to take our supposedly last photos of germanys industrial heartland, hubby was yelled at by port workers. In these days of terrorism he could be taken as being part of a plot taking crucial photos no doubt.

After the incredible spaghetti bridges somehow we found ourselves in the middle of Mannheim. Quite a nice city and on a grid system so easy to navigate if you know where you are  and very easy to cycle around.We found a great coffee shop and settled in to watch the rain and students. The university have the castle as their buildings, lucky. Warm and snug inside the cafe  we realised we had to move at some point and  find our way out of Mannheim, luckily when id downloaded Ludwigshaven city map Mannheim had joined in so we could figure out how to get back down to the Rhine.

Following the Rhine took us through the most beautiful woods which I sort of could half appreciate through my waterlogged glasses, I was aware of a mustard smell and thought how lovely fresh mustard or watercress must be growing. As we emerged from the woods there we were facing more of those big chimneys and that was the smell even in the woods, it was sulphur again.

Ferry signs disappeared at a critical moment but eventually we made it to the ferry and were laughed at by the toll collecter, we were now saturated. At least there had been no wind just relentless rain pouring straight down, no wonder everything looks so green and fresh all the time.

We peddled on past Altau and then suddenly saw one of those lovely restaurants on the banks of the Rhine, we made a bee line for it.Luckily they had 2 cloakroom areas for us to hang our waterproofs up. Even our superduper sealskinz gloves could be wrung out at least theyd still kept our hands warm. We stripped off ,well not fully and relaxed over a very long lunch watching the rain.Any inclination to put those wet waterproofs  on was met with shall we have another cuppa.Even the waiter felt sorry for us before suggesting some ouzo before we left,it semed like a really good idea but thought id better be sensible in view of rain, loaded bike etc, etc .

Finally we could not delay any longer, reluctantly we had to get going , unpleasant ……although our coats and rain trousers had dried out a bit. Clearly we were not going too much further today. We turned into Speyer which had been planned for a lunch spot, one of Germanys oldest cities, used to be french, founded by romans with a massive cathedral and tombs of loads of roman emperors and german kings.First 2 places we checked out to stay were full panic so we went to tourist bureau who found us a spot in one of the 3 hotels with vacancies. Maybe we’ll have to book up if we are staying near a weekend at any historic town.There is also an  art festival on here with a reknowned german sculptor/artist Daniel Koenig which may have also explained the lack of accommodation.

We arrived with enough time to see the sights and dry out.Looking forwards to a dry day tomorrow or at this pace we’ll be lucky if we get to the Bodensee in 3 months.

Ps we got to bank ok in Speyer in case you were getting worried for us…Of note Germany doesnt seem to have heard of paypass, very much a cash society , rarely accept cards, hence the panic to find a geld automat, quite suprising .