DAY TWELVE: APFLES AND APFELSINES

Rothenburg (ob der Tauber) to Neuburg (an der Donau)

Daily Distance: 134.20 kms

Total Distance: 1111.27 kms

Day Eleven (the day off) was lovely. Slept in, had a late breakfast and then wandered the town of Rothenburg. To be politically correct, I should call it ‘Rothenburg ob der Tauber’, as in Rothenburg (Red Fortress) above the Tauber (River), as distinct from the other Rothenberg which is south west of there. Everywhere you look there are amazing medieval buildings that are very well preserved. Even better is that vehicles are nowhere to be seen, restaurants are plentiful and authentic, and the views are marvellous (see below). Unfortunately, it’s not the best kept secret in Germany as evidenced by the hundreds of other tourists that we had to fight with for street space.

Highlight of the day was probably Schneebäll, pastry balls made famous here in Rothenburg that are often covered in nuts or sugar or chocolate, or filled with cream or nutella etc. I had a nutella cream one from this store:

By my count, we have passed thousands of crops so far on this trip, mainly corn, sugar beet, apples, cabbage, wheat, grapes, lettuce, apples, tomatoes, apples, plums, pumpkins, apples, maize, rapeseed, potatoes, fennel, and of course apples...

Am I obsessed with apples? No. Let me explain.

The route we are currently riding is known as the ‘Romantische Straße’ (‘Romantic Road’), which is comprised of the 350 km between Würzburg and Füssen mainly in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, which used to be a trade route but in the 1950’s was coined the Romantische Strasse by travel agents who recognised that it would easily appeal to international tourists looking for quintessentially German scenery and culture, and the many castles in this part of Germany (we’re not riding past the famous Neuschwanstein Castle but you should go there if you ever get a chance).

I did not take this picture ... this is Neuschwanstein Castle!

I dispute the name of this famous road, however, and think that it should be called ‘Apfelsche Straße’ given the extraordinary amount of apple trees that we have passed in the last few days. There must be hundreds of thousands of wasted apples here each year as many of the trees appear not to be on farms but rather marking boundaries or on school grounds or just next to the cycle paths. Perhaps Bulmers has a future here? For days, Dan has been calling me a ‘Scrumper’, which apparently means someone that steals apples. I don’t deny that at all, having had a free morning and afternoon tea each day for the last four or so. After all, they say that an apple a day keeps the doctor away, so I think he’s staying away for many years to come after my efforts in the last few days.

Death by apples...

And let’s be honest, apples have influenced the world like no other fruit. Think William Tell and crossbows; Isaac Newton and gravity; Steve Jobs and technology; Johnny Appleseed and trees; Stevie Wonder and The Sunshine of My Life; Adam and Eve and sins; Hesperides and nymphs; Beatles and the apple label... Don't see nectarines having an influence like that, do ya!?

Actually my rename is, I suppose, a little unfair. Comparing the Romantische Straße to the Apfelsche Straße is like comparing Route 66 or the Great Ocean Road to a country road linking Mudgee and Gulgong or, more appropriate, like comparing apples to oranges. Mind you, if you’re going to compare apples and oranges, this is probably not the country to be doing it in, given that they call apples, ‘apfels’, and oranges, ‘apfelsines’ (pffft, Germans...), so really, comparing apples to oranges in this country is somewhat like comparing apfels to apfels... And I digress.

Today, Day Twelve, we went cross country through dozens of small towns but no large ones, as this is not a particularly well populated part of the country. There were more ups and downs than we had ever had previously, which was actually quite nice given the regular free-wheeling we experienced. Navigation was eased today since we followed roads rather than cycling paths, and the drivers didn’t seem to mind sharing with us (possibly because we provided novelty value).

As a side note, we have reached the continental divide, where the waters go downhill in the direction that we are heading (the Black Sea) rather than towards the Atlantic. Hopefully this means more downs than ups in the next week or two..?! Coinciding with these ‘downs’, we had our first ‘man down’ of the trip, with one of us running into another and falling onto the road to scrape his arm. I wanted to name names, but I’ve been banned from doing so because Bee (Dan’s wife) might get worried... He’s made the most of it, though, milking the attention all afternoon. I think he forgot to have his apple this morning...

Anyway, we’ve now reached Neuburg, 15 kms ahead of schedule (gasp!). To be politically correct, I should call it ‘Neuburg an der Donau’ or Neuburg on the Danube (river), and tomorrow we will be largely on the Danube cycle path which I’m sure will be lovely. So for now, it’s time for the apples and pears...