If yesterday's rain and wind was a level 5 on a volume knob, today someone cranked the volume to an 8.
We had a delightful breakfast in the restaurant downstairs this morning after packing. The owners doted on us as we ate rolls, sliced meat, cheese, juice and tea. We also had an egg served in the little stand that holds it vertically. Last time we were in Europe, we had eggs served this way. We had no idea how to eat them. By the time we were done there was yoke dripping off everything, reminiscent of a B level slasher movie. But, when we stayed with Roger and Marlis in Lucerne in July, they gave us a lesson on how to gracefully eat these elegant eggs. We applied our new skills and polished off the eggs without a drop of spilled yolk. Thank you Roger and Marlis.
The hourly forecast made it look like we might get a few miles down the road without rain, but when we pushed our bikes out the back door of the hotel we were greeted with very heavy drizzle. We rode the four blocks down to the river and waited for our ferry across the Rhine. Once on the other side, we found the head wind lighter than yesterday, but the rain heavier. We did not have too many stops planned for the day, in fact, just two, (1) Rheinhotel Dreesen, a favorite of Hitler (he stayed there 70 times) and the site where Chamberlain signed the peace agreement with him and (2) Beethoven's birthplace in Bonn, now a museum.
Our rain gear was doing its job well. We were warm and dry as we cycled along. However, it is hard to pay too much attention to your surrounding when the view is through rain drop covered glasses. We did find the Rheinhotel Dreesen and briefly visited the lobby just to get a feel for the location.
Not too many miles further we entered Bonn, and GPSed our way to Beethoven's birthplace. We contemplated locking our bikes to a light pole on the street while we toured the home/museum, but thought better of it, what with all our bags dangling off the back. Sally checked out the entry to the house and saw it had a foyer that looked to have room for two bikes. We opened the front door and wheeled our bikes in, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. We must have been successful, because no one told us to remove them. We locked them together, paid our entrance fee and toured the house for better than an hour. It exceeded our expectations. The information was good and we enjoyed our visit.
From Bonn to Cologne is a long slog in the rain. We kept up a steady pace, although I noticed it was a bit slower than yesterday, even though we did not have the head wind today. We were running out of gas. This is the first day that I had zero food in my bags. All I had was a leek to use in the soups we cook. Because we were on the river with a steep river bank, we were not seeing towns. No restaurants. No grocery stores. As the wet began to wear on us, I turned up and inland at a likely town, Urfeld. It took quite a bit of meandering through the streets before we found a grocery store/bakery. Once the bikes were locked up in the rain, we hit the bakery counter and got mini pizzas for lunch and rolls for dinner. I got some chips in the grocery store and found a coke across the street. There were tables in the front of the store, so we sat down and tanked up on food and fluids.
About 45 minutes later we were back on the trail, re energized. So was the rain. That morning drizzle was now just plain rain. My iPhone has been guiding us faithfully, but just as we were about to enter Cologne where I would really need the GPS to guide us to our Budget Ibis hotel for the night (€46), it gave me the 10% battery warning. I had my external battery available to charge it back up, but to do so in the rain ran the chance of wetting and ruining all the components. Luckily, we had one more bridge to pass under. Once under its protection, I pulled out my bath towel, dried my hands, battery and bag for protecting it and started the electron IV into my iPhone. As always, it responded to the treatment quickly and was soon at 25% battery life, enough to guide us to the hotel, where it would get wall socket therapy.
We found the bike lanes in Cologne wide and well established. We easily followed them for a mile off the river to the east, to our hotel. Dripping wet, Sally registered at the front desk. We wheeled our bikes around to the back of the hotel, the designated locking place. They had sturdy racks . . . out in the rain. I locked the bikes to a pipe attached to the building, under an awning.
Once in the room, I strung a clothes line diagonally across the room and we hung all our wet clothing up to dry. The rain and cool temperatures made the Ikea-like room even more desirable. We had a roll and cheese for dinner. I went out to check on the bikes once, surprised at how cool and wet it really was. We were both happy to laze in the room, cruise the web, blog and watch the BBC. Tomorrow the forecast is excellent, high about 68° with no rain. We plan to spend tomorrow here, visiting the Cologne Cathedral and the Chocolate museum.
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