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.

Back to Oslo: Days 6 & 7

August 18: Today we flew from the Tromsø airport, with its very Scandinavian feature, a Tom Brady poster, back to Oslo.

The Thon hotel chain in Norway offers the most amazing breakfast buffets, and the one in Tromsø did not disappoint! What a great way to start the day.

The hotel we had stayed in for our first night in Oslo didn't have a room for the next two nights, so we had to stay at a hotel near the airport. However, we were able to keep our bikes and bigger luggage at the downtown location during our Tromsø excursion. So, when we got back to Oslo, we took the train downtown, picked up the bikes, and spent some time exploring. We visited Akershus Fortress, a huge complex that includes a fort and a castle.

Again, I didn't take enough photos. 

I had read about Oslo's old city, so we rode along the waterfront to where it was supposed to be. There wasn't much there, but across the tracks was a most interesting neighbourhood with this wonderful Turkish restaurant. As we feasted, we could witness the diversity of the population. It does strike me as a bit funny to come to Scandinavia and eat at Turkish restaurants, but somehow the appeal is irresistible.

I was impressed with these planters. located throughout the city.

August 19: We still had one more day in Oslo. 

After doing justice to the amazing Thon Hotel breakfast, we had to figure out how to get from the hotel to the city. One option was to take a shuttle bus (~$10 pp) to the airport and then take the train into the city, but I noticed that not far from the hotel there is a town called Jessheim, which has a train station with trains into the city.

Why not ride our bikes to Jessheim and take the train from there, saving the $20 for the shuttle bus? I talked with the desk clerk at the hotel, and he confirmed that this was a good plan, so we set out. There is a bike path for the entire 4 km distance, so it was an easy and pleasant ride. 

However, when we got to the train station, there was a notice that all trains to Oslo were cancelled because of a technology problem. Oh well, we had noticed that there was a nice park with a lake nearby, so we thought we'd take a bike ride and then come back to the train station after an hour or so.

The ride around the lake was as pleasant as it looks on the map. Again, I could have taken more photos, but we were too busy enjoying the ride.

Sadly, however, when we got back to the train station, the situation was as before: no trains to Oslo. 

Reluctantly, we decided to go back to the hotel, as there seemed to be one train running from the airport to the city. We decided it would be better to spend the $20 on the shuttle instead of just spending the entire day in Jessheim, which although it is a nice enough town, doesn't have quite the variety of attractions as Oslo!

We arrived in Oslo sometime in the early afternoon and went to City Hall, something Rick Steves talks about in his travel video. This was every bit as interesting as he proclaims, so we spent quite a bit of time there.

On our way there, we passed the National Theatre and the Karl Johans Gate.

Oslo National Theatre

Karl Johans Gate

Outside City Hall, there was a pro-Ukraine demonstration:

We had to wait in line for a while before getting into City Hall, and we observed several wedding parties taking photos.

Inside, there are some incredible murals showing the history of Oslo and Norway. Again, no photos.

We had a funny surprise when it was time to go back to the hotel. There were no trains running directly to the airport, but you could get to the airport by taking a train to Jessheim! Not a problem for us, as we knew how to get back to the hotel from Jessheim!

Two castles - Kleve, Germany

The Hotel Rheinpromenade 8 in Emmerich is really very nice. And the breakfast was amazing. I sat outside on the terrace with a view of the Rhein River.

At my table, I was served coffee, this selection of meat, cheese and vegetables and a basket of bread. The buffet was laden with fruit salad, yogurt, boiled eggs, and different types of jam. There was also a fuzzy fruit that looked like a peach but was dark inside. There were only four on the fruit tray, and I’m a little embarrassed to say I ate 2, and thoroughly enjoyed them! The fruit tray also contained green plums like we had in Turkey, but smaller. I ate a good number of those and took a handful to eat later. 

After I ate enough, I set out for Kleve, Germany, across the river from Emmerich. 

Along the way, I stopped for a peek inside one of the churches

 

Along the Rhein -- there were cows grazing here, but you can't really see them in this photo.

The bridge is quite large, and they were doing construction on one side, so the bike lane was closed. No problem; there was plenty of room to ride on the other side.

Immediately after crossing the bridge, I saw a church tower off to the side and a sign saying, "Warbeyen 1 km", so I took a little detour. The town name sign consists of chicken wire letter forms filled with gravel. 

 

The city of Kleve, home to Anne of Cleves, is about 11 km from Emmerich, and Schloss Schwanenberg (the Swan Castle) is a pretty visible landmark, with a swan on the top. However, once again Google Maps led me astray. I could see the castle itself, but the route was not easy to see, so I followed the map on my phone. I think Google maps defaults to the fastest route, and it told me to go to the back entrance, which consisted of several sets of stairs. The first flight of stairs had a ramp for the bike, so I struggled to push the bike up. The next set had wider steps so I was able to lift the bike up, one step at a time. The last set of stairs were not navigable by bicycle, so I just locked up the bike and walked up. When I arrived at the top, I realized that I had come up the back way, but of course by then I was already there! 

The first door I tried to enter the castle museum turned out to be the courthouse, so after going through a metal detector to a desk, I was politely turned away and told to go to the proper entrance.

The view from the castle tower.

One of the sets of stairs I lugged the bike up!

When I left Schwanenberg, I decided I wanted to ride over to the church I had glimpsed from the tower. I knew the general direction, but once again, Google maps was not working very well. In  the crowded city, it seems to have trouble keeping up with a cyclist, so it lags behind, which makes it hard to use effectively. I rode over this little bridge and turned the wrong way, ending up on a path beside this canal or creek where swans were plentiful. It was beautifl, so I rode alongside for awhile before turning back to find the correct route.

Next, it was time to leave Kleve and ride to Schloss (castle) Moyland. The bike path was on a nice shady road which passed fields and some charming country residences. 

Even so, I was starting to feel the heat and the inefficiency of the bike. I had a liter of water with me and I drank a good portion of it en route to the castle; I also ate my green plums from breakfast. I was not at all sorry when I saw the castle peeking out from the trees!

The castle building itself is closed on Mondays, so I couldn't go inside, but I walked around the gardens and had a mineral water on the terrace of the cafe. 

The building and grounds are quite beautiful

My original plan for this ride was to make a loop, returning on a path that runs right along the river, but it was 33 degrees by this time, and I was pretty fed up with the bike, so I decided to return the same way I had come. I knew the path was shady and I knew where I was going, so I didn't have to worry about possibly taking a wrong turn (something I seem prone to doing!) 

Even so, I still managed to take a wrong turn. I saw a sign that said "Emmerich 12", and there seemed to be a bike path running along the motorway, so I thought, "Why not?"  Well, I soon found out why not, as the path took a sharp turn away from Emmerich, and I had to turn around and go back to the other path. I did get this rather marvelous view of Kleve, however, so maybe it was not all bad.

When I got back to the hotel, I enjoyed a refreshing mineral water on the hotel terrace before dropping off the bike and walking to the train station where I got on the train to Arnhem.

When I stay in a new place, I always like to have a landmark near my hotel. In Arnhem, the Holiday Inn is right across from this freaky statue, apparently of an aardvark! I saw this when I visited Arnhem in 2016, and it is still just as baffling to me now! It is definitely an unmistakable landmark, though. An Albert Heijn is right next door as well, which is very handy for someone who likes picnic-style suppers!