Mainz & Wiesbaden

 

The next morning, after a delicious buffet breakfast at our hotel, we cycled back to the train station, where we got on a train to Mainz/Wiesbaden, on the Rhein River. The first thing we saw when we walked into the train station was this cute model railway. You could deposit a coin and activate the trains, but we resisted the temptation.

We stayed at the Best Western Hotel in Wiesbaden, just a 2-minute ride from the train station. Our floor had a California theme, and above the bed in our room, there was a mural of the Santa Monica Pier! In the shower, there was a huge picture of a manatee. This was a little weird, but overall the hotel was nice and comfy. 

We were able to check in early, and once we got sorted, we decided to ride over to Mainz, to see the cathedral and the old city.

On the bridge over the Rhein

The Gutenberg Museum

We had a bit of an adventure in the old city. We wanted to go into the cathedral, but when we went to lock up our bikes, we realized we had left the lock back at the hotel. Since it was more than 10 km away, the idea of going back for it did not appeal. Instead we decided to try to find a place to buy one. We tried a few likely-looking shops with no luck, but in the last shop, the clerk recommended a nearby bike shop, so we rode over to it. It turned out to be an e-bike shop, and the only lock was, as the sales person said, "designed for 12,000 euro bikes". We aren't sure whether he had the amount right, as that seems expensive even for e0bikes, but for sure the lock was a bit of overkill for our $900 folding bikes. We bought it, however, and then were able to enjoy the rest of the day. 

We visited the cathedral, explored the old city, and then had lunch at the Dom Café, sampling homemade potato soup with Mainz sausage. It was as delicious as it sounds. This café is supposed to be the oldest in the city, established in 1792. They also had an amazing selection of cakes and pastries, but after the soup, we decided to wait for a while before dessert.

The Alt Stadt - the old city

The Mainz Cathedral 

View of the Rhein on our way back 

When we were riding back to our hotel, Google Maps directed us to turn onto this street, which featured this tower in among the regular apartment buildings. A little investigation informed us that it is the Wiesbaden water tower. Previously people were allowed to climb the tower, but also, no more.

We also rode through a wooded area, where we heard a lot of unfamiliar bird song, so we used Merlin to help us identify what we were hearing: great tit, Eurasian blackcap, chiffchaff, and European goldfinch.