(The Romantic Road)
The storybook town of Dinkelsbuhl
(Click on the thumbnail photos below to see larger images.)
Mon. May 14: We had an inauspicious start to the trip. We
had just wheeled our cart with all our panniers et al and our bikes into the
terminal at Toronto's airport when Carol cried "Where's my handlebar
bag?!" She raced out of the building, across a couple of lanes of taxi
traffic and climbed over a barrier in order to catch our ride before they left
the scene. As she was scaling this low barrier she spotted the bag lying on the
pavement where it had fallen off the cart. What a relief since much of our
European cash (euros) was in the bag. The check-in was smooth although for the
first time in 41 transatlantic flights we were charged for transporting the
bikes - $50 for each bike! Another reason not to fly Air Canada! We arrived at
Frankfurt's airport just before 7 AM, prepped the bikes (pedals off, handlebars
re-aligned), loaded them up and then headed for the inter-city railway station. 
Up 2 elevators (one bike at a time) to the causeway from the airport terminal to
the station. We had booked our tickets through the excellent German Rail website
for the direct train from the airport to Wurzburg. However the website did not
allow us to book space for our bikes so we headed for the ticket counter where
we were told that there was no room on the train for our 8 bikes! So we rushed
back to the air terminal, this time taking our loaded bikes down a couple of
escalators - a bad idea but possible if you're strong and if you turn the front
wheel at 90 degrees to the direction of the escalator. We got to the S-bahn
station in time to take this metro train to Frankfurt's Hauptbahnhof (main rail
station). (S-bahn stands for "Stadtschnellbahn",
literally "fast city train", and refers to suburban metro
railways in Germany and Austria.) We raced through the station, down another escalator, in time to catch a
regional train to Wurzburg. You must find a rail car with a bicycle symbol on
the side in order to load your bikes - a much better system than in France where
you must find the conductor on the train to ask him where the bike car is. It
was an exciting, stressful beginning! At Wurzburg we were surprised to be
greeted by Christina, Barb and Moe's friend who we were expecting to meet in Munich in a
few days. She was in Wurzburg for a friend's birthday party. She told us that
the route I had chosen for us to cycle to Bad Mergentheim was not a good one
because although it was the shortest (40 km) there would likely be a lot of traffic.
She suggested that we take a more scenic route on a bike path along the Main
river and then across country to our destination. The ride along the river was
pleasant. At Ochrenfurt we crossed the river and were examining our maps to
determine where our next turn would be when a cyclist stopped to offer his
assistance. He identified a rail line on the map and told us that it was now a
bike path - not paved but with a good cyclable surface - which would take us to
the Tauber river where we would join the Romantic Road to Bad Mergentheim. He
said it was about 20 km to Rottingen on the Tauber and then another 18 km to Bad
Mergentheim. He led us to the start of the trail and sent us off, climbing
gently for about 20 km. It was very pretty countryside but there wasn't much to
see except where the rail line passed through small villages. The path began to
descend gently and we finally reached the Tauber at Rottingen - his 20 km was in
fact 26 km. There's a well marked cycle path all along this stretch of the
river. At Weikersheim Heather had a puncture in her rear tire. Peter and Brian
set about replacing the inner tube while the rest of us waited in the pretty
central square of this town. Brian came up to get my air pump, the only large
pump in the group. I went back to the repair site with the pump and Brian and
the others headed out of town because it was getting late and it was threatening
rain. New tube installed, pumped up, wheel reattached and away we go. Two turns
of the pedals and BANG!! Another blowout! A closer inspection of the tire
revealed the culprit - a thorn. By the time the second repair was done and the
wheel reinstalled it had started to rain. We sped out of town as lightning
flashed and thunder roared. After about one km Heather called out "My tire
is getting soft!" A third flat, same tire. They decided to walk her bike
back into town, find a hotel and address the problem the next day. I rushed on
alone, frightened by the storm and the gathering darkness, and finally found our
hotel at about 9:15 PM, having seen nothing of Bad Mergentheim as I plowed
through puddles, head down and desperate. My planned 40 km distance had doubled - far too
much for a first day off the plane. Everyone was exhausted. Moe had ordered a
pizza and some beer and wine. Peter phoned from Weikersheim to tell me that
there was a bike shop there and the problems would be resolved in the morning.
What a day! 78 km.
Tue. May 15: Great breakfast at the hotel. We would learn
that this is the norm in Germany/Austria/Czech Republic. At Weikersheim we
rejoined Peter and Heather (with her new tire and inner tube). We all went with them
to check out the great bike shop where they had bought the tire because some of
our group had become interested in rain covers for their panniers during their
ride through last night's storm. As we cycled away from the store Heather called
out "My tire is flat!" At first we thought she was joking but it was
indeed flat again! Back into the bike shop where the shard of glass that had
pierced the tire was located and another new tire and inner tube were
purchased and installed. Back on the bike paths, we stopped in Rottingen at a
bakery where we bought sandwiches and huddled under parasols while a sudden
strong shower swept through. The bike path continued to follow the Tauber river
but with frequent climbs and descents culminating with a steep climb to our gasthaus
(B&B - Karin Weiss: excellent!)
above the medieval town of Rothenburg. We had dinner in the town and
wandered in the dark by the church and the rathaus (town hall) before
turning in. 52 km.
Wed. May 16: When I was getting the bikes out to oil the
chains (again) I dropped my computer and it stopped functioning. In the
Rothenburg tourist office we got internet access and I was able to learn that
there was a train from Nordlingen to Donauworth the next day. (The weather
forecast was predicting rain and the two long days on the bikes had caused
Carol's long troubled knees to complain so the plan was to shorten the Dinkelsbuhl -
Donauworth day by taking the train at the halfway point - Nordlingen.) More
important than this train info from the net was the news that Carol had taken a
commanding lead in our National Hockey League playoff pool! I bought a new cycle
computer at a bike shop while the others toured the centre of this attractive
town. We followed a hilly route south, lunching in bright sunshine at a
restaurant in the hamlet of Oestheim. We were generally headed towards
Dinkelsbuhl on small country roads but we had to stop periodically to ask
directions. Our lack of German and their lack of English made communication
difficult but we managed. As we neared Dinkelsbuhl we could see dark clouds
forming so we hurried through this very pretty town to our hotel. I loved the steeply pitched
roofs, the bright colours and the many windows in the houses in these little
towns. It gives them a look I remember from childhood storybooks. We checked
into the hotel just before a thunderstorm started. Because of the rain we
decided to eat at the hotel - the Goldenes Lamm - a good choice because we had a
memorable meal. The good meal and just missing the storm topped off a good
cycling day. 50 km.
Thu. May 17: As we pulled away from our hotel
in the rain
a loose bungee cord hooked on to my spokes and by the time I stopped it was
wound around my axle and twisted in my spokes. We were able to extricate it but
it had been destroyed by the experience. Luckily, no spokes were damaged. We
headed out through the town gate and on to the main highway. No scenic route
today. Because of the rain we were making a "bee line" to Nordlingen
where we could catch a train to Donauworth. This was, in part, because Carol's
knees were really hurting but mostly because it was so miserably wet and cold.
We sped into Nordlingen, as pretty a town as Dinkelsbuhl, and raced through the
town to the train station. Because today was Ascension Day, a national holiday,
the ticket office at the station was closed, like most of the other businesses
we had seen that day. The instructions on the automated ticket machine were all
in German but we were aided by two helpful Germans and managed to get our
tickets. (All that I remember from my one university course in German
some 45 years ago is "Es tut mir leid, ich sprechen keine Deutsch.",
i.e., "I'm sorry, I don't speak German.") I removed my soaked
jacket and jersey on the train ride and put on something dry. It was great to
feel warm again. When we arrived in Donauworth the rain had subsided somewhat.
When we checked into our hotel we oiled our chains (again!) and Moe removed his
front tire that had been destroyed by a broken bottle a couple of blocks from
the hotel. And we had a large beer while we did these chores. We had time
because we were waiting for the water in the hotel to heat up for our showers
(circuit breaker problem, we were told.) We had a nice meal at the hotel,
enhanced by the company of a couple of British cyclists and a charming waiter
named Matthew. It was
a cold, wet day. 36 km.