Day 5: Boppard to Mainz
I checked out of the hotel in Boppard after breakfast, loaded my luggage in to the car and drove off to start the next leg of my German road trip.
My journey today would take me in to the third Federal State this week: I would enter Hessen. My first stop was in Rüdesheim-am-Rhein. To get there I took one of the ferry crossings across the Rhine, which was quite easy. Once in Rüdesheim I found somewhere to park near the river, and for a couple of hours I wanted the narrow streets, looking at the interesting buildings.
I took the Seilbahn (cable car) up to the viewpoint and monument at the top, got some great views looking down in to the town and over the Rhine.
After, I returned to the town and sat in an Eiscafe with an Eisschockolade (effectively it’s a chocolate milkshake with ice cream in it: perfect for this weather). I had lunch there too, before I returned to the car.
I sort of did things in the wrong order, as my journey to the Loreley took me back where I’d just come from – but I didn’t mind. I got a good view and a good walk up there.
Next I would be going somewhere completely new: To Mainz-Wiesbaden.
Mainz is the capital city of Rheinland-Pfalz, while Wiesbaden is the capital city of Hessen. The two are almost right next to each other – with my accommodation for the next 2 nights being in Mainz-Kastell: A district of Wiesbaden just over the river from Mainz City Centre.
Once I’d come off the Autobahn and on to the road towards the hotel, traffic became quite heavy: The evenin g rush hour was under way and it was getting towards 5pm. Thankfully the hotel was easy to find – although I did miss the turning and then had to find my way back through the traffic (no chance of turning round on that road in that traffic – but I saw a cut-through on the Sat Nav screen which would get me facing the right direction again).
After settling in to the hotel I walked in to the centre Mainz: About 1,5km from the hotel, 30 minutes by foot. It ocurred to me that I’ve driven further in to Mainz than I have done to London! Quite a scary thought, actually!
I had dinner in the centre of Mainz, on one of the squares – then I returned to the hotel, getting back at 10.
Today I’ve got quite a bit of driving to do. I’m going down to Baden-Württemberg to visit the Hockenheimring (F1 race track), and then if there’s time, I might wander in to North West Bavaria on the way back (even if this does add quite a bit of milage).
Bis bald,
FH.
Today’s Mileage: 91 Miles
Accumulative Mileage: 697 Miles