Biking along the river

The bike trip started in Duisburg, in the industrial region of Germany.  The old factories have been turned into a public park, where artists sat, drawing the bizarre ramps and cylinders and chimneys, surrounded by endless.

It began, as all bike trips should, with a marathon. The next day, we packed up, hobbled outside, and started cycling.












The first night we stopped at Koln, home of one of the most beautiful cathedrals we've ever seen.  Then one day of riding to Koblenz, and finally to the Moselle!

There were dozens of picturesque towns along the way, which had little town squares and dense forests above rows of beautiful, old houses.

Lunch most days included German bread and strawberries.  German strawberries are either the best in the world, or it's been a really long time since we've had good fresh strawberries (or both).

Further along the Moselle, the hills were covered in vineyards.  A little like Napa, but with a winding river (for impromptu swimming) and far fewer people. And, crucially, separate bike paths!

Our last stop was Trier, near the Luxembourg border and home of Porta Nigra, the largest Roman city gate north of the Alps.

In all we bicycled about 400km in four days, but because the rivers are so winding, we wound up less than 200km from Duisburg as the crow flies!