18 April Stage 9 Worms - Lowenstein

Dep 8.50 Arr 19.00 Dist 134km. Total. 959km

After catching up with the blog in a smoke-filled internet cafe and watching Bayern v Real on the telly I managed to sleep well in a double bed in a guest house called Kalish which is a bit of a coincidence (to those in the know). It was good to leave stuff lying around - just like home - and reorganise my bags. I was aware that the next three days were important with hills and possibly bad weather ahead. I would soon be leaving the flatness of my old pal the Rhine behind and heading into the, sort of, unknown. I knew I must get as far as possible today to make the next few days easier. I would not be travelling through holiday type places so there would be less campsites and hardly any hostels.

Breakfast was tremendous. Corn Flakes and muesli, boiled egg, loads of coffee and warm cobs with ham or cheese, or both, in my case. That set me up nicely and all went well early on although there was a lot of cloud about. I got to Heidelberg with no problems. What an attractive place? I asked a nice couple to take my picture on one of the bridges and with usual German precision they took ages and then argued like mad for quite a while. I may need to go back to give evidence on the divorce proceedings. The clouds lifted and I had cool sunshine most of the rest of day with a Southerly wind which was against me now and then, and a ittle light rain late on. The usual happened just after Heidelberg when the road became a motorway for no apparent reason. I decided to abandon the original route and set off on minor roads heading generally south-east. The roads were very quiet and the countryside was rolling hills which meant I was up and down a lot. My kind of country. The kindle was a great help and I was feeling good and when I reached the most immaculate campsite found I had broken my world record. There was only one slight drama. My trusty steed went lame about 5km from Lowenstein and I had everything I needed apart from tyre levers. I managed with a spoon and a screwdriver and only checked in at the camp about 7.30. I took my time showering in the palacial washroom which was as good as any hotel reception. The doors opened automatically and the lights came on and music started. My evening meal consisted of spag bol from a packet followed by a packet of hobbits, hobnobs to us. I deserved a drink and strode purposefully to the restaurant thinking it will be expensive but what the hell? It was shut. The whole reception was desolate. Three days without beer. This thirst is growing. Someone is going to pay for this!

Today's Route