Where to go?

[felstedrider]

I’m teetotal and live here - I have swapped beer for cakes.

Funnily enough I now live for desserts and coffee.  Both of these I have found plenty of.

I have ridden from Koblenz to Düsseldorf today.  Riding by the Rhein is still pretty good but more industrial.  Bit more in the same direction tomorrow then into the Netherlands.

[Auntie Helen]

You pass by me tomorrow then. It’s a nicer sector than today’s route, I find Düsseldorf to Koblenz not very nice.

Worth stopping in Xanten for lunch, if you’re following the Rhein. If you’re going cross country I can recommend some great cafes.

[felstedrider]

You pass by me tomorrow then. It’s a nicer sector than today’s route, I find Düsseldorf to Koblenz not very nice.

Worth stopping in Xanten for lunch, if you’re following the Rhein. If you’re going cross country I can recommend some great cafes.

Thanks for the tip.  Xanten is on my route and about the right distance.  I note that rwgps has routed me around the town rather than through it.  I’ll just pop off route.

[Auntie Helen]

It’s a very old town (Roman) with a lovely cathedral. There are two decent ice cream cafes. The main cake emporium, Stadtcafe, unfortunately closed during Corona but there are a couple of bakeries and cafes which are fine.

[chrisbainbridge]

Riding by the Rhein is still pretty good but more industrial.  Bit more in the same direction tomorrow then into the Netherlands.

I really enjoyed the variety along the Rhine.  How a river of that length can be so flat and wide in places, narrower in others, industrial with smoke stacks, refineries and chemical plants, then an hour later the fields come down to the rivers edge and there are people camping and swimming.

[felstedrider]

I delayed setting off due to thunderstorms in Düsseldorf.  Still got wet for about an hour.  This put me at the right time to arrive in Xanten for lunch at Cafe Gluxpilz which put me in a better mood.  The sun came out but peak temps were a lot lower today.  A fairy visit just after lunch didn’t spoil the afternoon.

Now in Arnhem.

[FifeingEejit]

We cycled from Trier to Koblenz many years ago but at a leisurely speed. Coffee and apfeltart (?) at 10:00, then beer and sausage at lunch then local sparkling wine and more cake at 3-4 before arriving at the hotel for wine and dinner.  5 days I think. One of the best holidays we ever had.

Absolutely loads of couples and small groups on hybrids and e-bikes.  It did give me an idea.

Being a non meat eater and tee total I don’t make the ideal tourist in Germany.

You'll find a decent alcohol-frei beer or two pretty much everywhere.
Meat free though... yeah...

[felstedrider]

We cycled from Trier to Koblenz many years ago but at a leisurely speed. Coffee and apfeltart (?) at 10:00, then beer and sausage at lunch then local sparkling wine and more cake at 3-4 before arriving at the hotel for wine and dinner.  5 days I think. One of the best holidays we ever had.

Absolutely loads of couples and small groups on hybrids and e-bikes.  It did give me an idea.

Being a non meat eater and tee total I don’t make the ideal tourist in Germany.

You'll find a decent alcohol-frei beer or two pretty much everywhere.
Meat free though... yeah...

You need to be a little cautious with the definition of alcohol free.  I will usually stick to the 0.0% beers.  On the Continent the alcohol free tag applies to anything under 0.5%.  In France and the Netherlands I’ve been able to specify 0% but have been a bit stuck in Germany where they tend to be 0.5%.  Not that I’m untrusting but I also like to see the bottle at the table.