Companions again, hurrah!
Katy and Ed were due in to Koblenz at lunchtime, leaving me a rather wet morning free. I passed it looking around the enormous warren that is the Ehrenbreitstein fortress. Apart from the structure itself, highlights included the rehearsal of a French orchestra, a Ukrainian photo exhibition, and a museum of local industrial power, including a display on our good friends Boehringer Ingelheim. My favourite exhibit, for sheer weirdness value, was a video of a group of handicapped kids dressed up as Indians and re-enacting Indian burial rites. As the commentary was only in German I have no possible explanation for this oddity.
I met Katy and Ed at the station and Ed impressively transformed two bags into two bikes in, well, less than two hours anyway. We set off... As far as the promenade where we settled in for an excellent late lunch. Then we left the Rhine, crossed the Moselle, and then really set off.
I have bust my bike computer so distance estimates are going to get a lot sketchier. My estimate for today is 20k: 15 along the Moselle and 5 buggering around in Koblenz including the frankly rather scary road down from the fortress. Sad about the computer but no real clue what has gone wrong.
At Winningen, the biggest town for a while, we stopped to try and locate some food for supper. The Spar - the only shop - was unfortunately shut so we gave up cycling and camped instead. The campground is large and busy, but beautiful, on a peninsula sticking out into the river. The Moselle valley is much steeper than the the Rhine, with impressively walled terraces of vines on both sides.
Having failed to locate a shop we dined deliciously but somewhat incongruously in a Greek restaurant. I still know more Greek than German.
I am glad to hear that 16 years of friendship with a Greek have not gone amiss! Many kisses from Athens!
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