2007-07-20

Day 10 - Grevenmacher

"He's going the distance! He's going for speed!" (CAKE - The Distance). Today has been an amazing day. We did, however, get some rain as soon as we started riding. After about 7 km it got so bad that we stopped at a bus shelter for almost two hours. Our judgement that it was only a quick summer rain turned out to be correct, though, and soon we had sunshine through scattering clouds.

We had to climb some hills today as well, but they were only a few and far from anywhere near as steep as the ones in Belgium. And after that it was easy sailing along the Our and the Sauer. We spent most of today's saddle time cruising at or above 30 kmh, following the rivers downstream.

Someone in Luxembourg has at some point in history been very clever. At least from what I have seen yesterday and today, they seem to have captured some of the most beautiful and arable land in the region and managed to keep it for themselves.

Having had lunch in a stonewalled bus shelter in Bittel, just south of Vianden, we climbed the second hill of the day on the road up to Fouhren. From there it was more downhill cruising to the next major town on our border hugging route, Echternach, which was really nice. I withdrew some cash since I was almost out and then we took the time to have cappuchino at a café on the market square. A few postcards also found their way to a mailbox. The buildings around the square were mostly old and very beautiful. Tourist pics snapped with a compact can not even begin to convey the atmosphere of this place.

Upon reaching Wasserbillig where the Sauer flows into the Mosel, we bought some food and started looking at the map to figure out where we needed to go to find a place to spend the night. The only markings for campsites were on the German side, so we searched for a bridge nearby but couldn't find one. Luckily there was a ferry (if you've been in Turku, think Föri with a capacity for 4-6 cars) and then we were in Germany again. Unfortunately we took a wrong turn and headed away from the campsites we were trying to reach. Instead we found a bridge across the Mosel, back into Luxembourg, about 6 km south of were we crossed with the ferry. So yes, we hopped over the border, again, and are now spending a night within Luxembourg, yet only across a river from Germany. We even took photos of a German vineyard, while standing in another country, waiting for our dinner too cook.

We have a few options to choose from tomorrow, but either way it will be my last day of riding on this tour. On saturday morning I have to be in Trier if I'm to make it to Rostock in time fore the ferry back to Finland and the end of this adventure.

...

Today: 91,67 km, 3h46m22s, 24,30 kmh avg, 59,9 kmh max.
Tour total: 925,64 km.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Vad harmt att måsta sluta när man har kommit igång ordentligt. :( Men men, all good things..