Days 17&18 Easy does it

Published on 20 June 2024 at 14:06

Cologne to Dusseldorf 29 Miles & some rest.

We felt so lucky and appreciative to have Nina and Simon host us in their sweet little apartment. They did forewarn us of jackhammers next door that would start promptly at 7 and they were right! It seriously seems the whole of Germany is under construction! We wanted an early start anyway so we made hast and said goodbye to our new friends and enjoyed a crisp cool pedal out of Cologne. It was great to see people already out. Mom's groups were doing yoga in the park, kids were riding bikes to school, neighbors were out talking and old men were out fishing the Rhine. The cooler weather helps us both ride well for sure and so we were making good time. Then seemingly out in the middle of nowhere, similar to Neuf Brisach, the small walled fortress city of Zons appeared. I had thought we were finished seeing cute medieval villages. This one was even boasted it's own windmill. Centuries prior the Rhine had shifted course and no longer came by the city. This proved to be it's saving grace during WW2 as it's size and location evidently wasn't seen as a threat. The same could not be said for our stopping point for the day. Dusseldorf, and it's concentration camps also served as a military base and for that suffered a damage rate of over 96% of the city's buildings. It's a very modern city now and has recovered remarkably. Pulling into Dusseldorf, our route took us along the Rhine promenade. We thought we had escaped the Euro Cup madness in Cologne but evidently Dusseldorf was participating in huge events and watch parties as well, so again we found ourselves wading through throngs of fans, German this time. After checking in to our Airbnb we both craved Mexican so back into the mele we went. Luckily Germany won the match so it was fun to be amongst so many jovial drunks! Today we rested indeed. Our only adventures today were making our way to the city's big open market where all things yummy were brightly on display. It was difficult to make decisions since it all looked amazing. After filling our bellies and jumping into souvenier shops to avoid the rain, we rested some more before another big push tomorrow. Less than 200 miles to go!