Mr. Garmin Takes a Nap

Ater I left Remagen, I decided I was going to try to get to a town called Bacharach.  It is a quaint older town on the Rhine recommended by Rick Steves.  I had reprogrammed Mr. Garmin to avoid highways, and so we did.  I knew that the most efficient way was to follow the Rhine's west bank on highway 9.  Mr. Garmin does not like highways now, even a two lane river hugging stretch.  So we, Mr. Garmin and I, went high above the river, and way, way inland.  This was very nice, as all the roads were essentially farm to market roads, and took me through little hamlets on narrow cobbled streets.  I mean right through the middle of these hamlets and villages.  Often I had to stop to let oncoming traffic come through before it was my turn.  (As a side note, in Alaska, I don't think this would work.  Everyone there is of the view that they paid for all of the road in front of them through those taxes, and they are going to drive on it regardless of others.  After all, it is theirs!  In Germany, you yield the right of way to allow everyone to have access.  Sometimes it is your turn, sometimes it's not, but then it's your turn again in a matter of moments.  This would be a novel and much reviled concept in Alaska).  It is significant to note that none of these roads or towns were on the maps I have.

So I was touring through these farmlands and woodlands, windows open, taking my time, and Mr. Garmin  took a nap.  This is where he decided to sleep:

I had noticed in Bonn that all of a sudden the battery was getting low.  What?  I had it plugged in to the cigar lighter, so it should have stayed charged. That is when I discovered, after much investigation, that Mr. Hertz had disconnected the cigar lighter in the passenger area (to discourage smoking in the non-smoking car) -- but not the one in the rear cargo area.  What the??  Aha! I said to myself, you have AA batteries in the back, slap them in and you are good to go.  Not.  The batteries I had were AAA batteries.  So I plugged Mr. Garmin in to the power outlet in the back, and went in search of (a) the right batteries, and (b) the town where I hoped to spend the night.

Well, the first store I stopped at had no AA batteries.  Neither did the second.  Note to self: bring the batteries you need next time.  I drove on with the goal in mind of getting back to the Rhine, and then going upstream to Bacharach.  The various signposts I saw were no help, as they were all to other villages not on my map.  Remembering the Boy Scouts' lessons on what to do when lost, I went downhill to follow the water.  Well, the road was going downhill, so I followed the road. And I found water: the Mosel river.  The Mosel, you recall, flows into the Rhine.  I'm golden now . . .

This drive is beautiful as well, as along the Mosel, the Germans tend vineyards that are magnificent on these sere hills.  Spring is here, but the grape vines have not greened up yet.  And the vineyards are vertical, with the "terraces" supported by ancient rock walls.  Even the "terraces" seem to go almost straight up and down.  They have also cut caves into the walls at various places, for what purpose I do not know.  It was just very beautiful.

Ultimately, I came to a big city, Koblenz, at which I knew I had to turn south to get to Bacharach.  With Mr. Garmin napping in the back, I wandered along, nosing down streets trying to find highway 9 headed south out of the city.  Seeing a river to my right, which is where I thought the Mosel was, I took the bridge, upon which I saw a sign that I was crossing the Rhine.  What the??  Then I remembered: I had crossed the Mosel a few kilometers back.  Not to be denied, I headed south along the eastern bank of the Rhine, and what a wonderful trip it turned out to be.

Not wanting to lose the river again, and with Mr. Garmin still sleeping in the back, I stayed close to the river, and drove through every little city, town, village and hamlet center along the east bank of the Rhine, at speeds for the most part not exceeding 30 km/hr.  That is not very fast.  However, the towns became less frequent, and the river was right there, and I drove along.  I was pretty tired though, as I have not yet adjusted to the 10 hour time change.  I started looking for a hotel, and I found another beauty, the Hotel Lindenhof.  As I walked in, all I could smell was schnitzel cooking, and I knew I was going to love the place.  For 40 euros, including breakfast, it was great.  And yes, I had schnitzel for dinner: Jagerschnitzel with deep-fried potato patties.  12 euros for the dinner, and another 4 euros for two bottles of Bittburger non-alcohol beer.  I was full when I went to sleep!

Salad too!