We are in Cologne. Another easy day of riding. We started out by the Rhine, we then went inland and crossed the Mosel and then back to the Rhine and we followed it all the way to Cologne. 106 K but mostly downhill and on paved bike routes almost the whole distance. We also had a tail wind for much of the ride. The tail wind, plus blue skies and cool temperatures make for a great day of riding.
There weren’t nearly as many castles along the Rhine today. Evidently our previous ride was the area with all the castles. Only a few today. There were some interesting sights. There was a town that appeared to be built within an old fortress. Entrances were in the old wall doors. Also we saw the remains of the bridge at Remagen. Evidently during WWII the Germans wanted to destroy the bridge to keep the allies from using it but the allies took the bridge and were able to move troops and supplies across it. Three days later it collapsed and was never rebuilt. We also passed through the outskirts of Bonn. Michael tells me that Konrad Adenauer selected Bonn as the capital of West Germany because he knew that it was too small to be the capital of united Germany and he was hoping that Frankfurt would be chosen for the final capital. Berlin was selected instead since it had ties to both East and West Germany. Cologne is a big city and I will do some exploring tomorrow.
Tomorrow is a rest day prior to our last three days of riding. We get to Amsterdam on Friday.
