Day Ten

22/05/25 - Day 10

A great day in the saddle today, covering 50 miles with no signs of any niggles! I woke late at 9am, clearly needing it, and had a relaxed breakfast of sauer kraut and hagel slag. Hell of a mixture I know. I stopped after 11 miles for my morning coffee and an oatcake. 

My next stop was Cologne, where I checked out the awesome cathedral. I picked up some more camera film, bowing to take more pictures with my camera and got some baby wipes too. Some more Ahmed advice: to clean my ass every night to avoid saddle sores! The afternoon riding was tougher due to battling some winds but other than that, the legs felt goooood. I crunched out the remaining miles to Bonn, and here I was offered a place to stay by a lady on a bike whilst stopped at the lights! I had to politely decline, as I was Staying with Annelie in Rottgen (welcometomygarden), but I thanked her kindly. The last miles into Rottgen were uphill as we had left the course of the Rhine now. 

Upon arrival at Annelies I was offered a Kolsch beer, as her daughter had told her Englishmen like German beer! She was not wrong about that, and such kindness shown! Unsurprisingly after a days riding the ice cold beer tasted divine. I met her daughter Nele too, but her husband Micel was away visiting family. I set up my tent in their garden, and after a short time, food was ready. We all sat down to eat together. It turned out that Annelie had never made this dish before, much to the amusement of Nele. It was delicious nonetheless - a stew of potatoes, carrots and beans with sausage and bacon. My kind of dish. 

We had some really enjoyable conversations and I really felt part of the family. It also turns out I was their first guest on welcometomygarden! Then Annelie told us a story of when she was 20 years old and she travelled to Athens. She went with four other women and hitched a ride in the car of a marathon running alcoholic!! Every so often the man would just stop, get out and run, with no explanation. The girls were left wondering what the hell had just happened. Eventually he came back and they set off once more. In between runs the man would drink, so much so, that they had to take the wheel from him out of fear of him crashing! The journey took 5 days and they managed to arrive in one piece. Nele had never heard this story so it was a nice moment to share it with her! Annelie explaining she had only just remembered it herself. 

Nele had a great story too, about her time in Australia - where she had learnt to speak English so well. Her and a friend had broken down in the middle of nowhere, and had their vehicle towed. They put out an SOS on Facebook and a man drove 4 hours to answer their call for help! He took them back to his house where they stayed the night. On being showed to their room they were greeted by a big picture of Adolf Hitler and a Nazi flag! No wonder he hadn’t minded driving four hours to rescue a German in need, it all made sense now. Nele had to be up at 5am to leave for work so she went to bed and I was tired, so showered and went to bed too. I go to bed tonight smiling to myself as I think back on the evening with my heart warmed by my hosts. How readily and generously they welcomed me in, I will not forget their kindness! 

 

 
Shepard herding his flock across the bridge blocking traffic! 

 
Morning Cafe
 
  
 
Industrial Rhineland 

 
Entering Koln 

Gothic as f*ck!

Zigarettenautomat

 
 

Annelie’s lovely garden and home for the night 


 

Nectar of the Gods



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