Cycling along the Mosel and the Rhine from Perl to Cologne / Ton van Zutphen / Gerard van der Meeren, October 2019

Ton van Zutphen / Gerard van der Meeren cycling along the Mosel and the Rhine in Germany: this ride should be on all cyclists ‘to do‘ list  / 21-27  October 2019

Friends and Readers, nothing very exciting happened during this trip but a couple of things made it memorable.  Here they are:

Our first dinner and breakfast in Perl at Central Hotel 

--- The weather was unusually mild, often sunny in the afternoons and the mornings crisp and dotted with clouds. Some afternoons I rode with just my short cycling pants and I could actually have tried riding short-sleeved. Under the sun temperatures went up to approx. 25 degrees C. during the last 3 days. This beautiful weather impacted on how we perceived the colors of the autumn environment: trees, meadows, vineyards, and both rivers looking like sparkling water; and of course the people we met: all of these happy about this ‘Indian summer’  

--- The route, and particularly along the Mosel, has been a walking attraction for about 150 years as one the prime traveler’s destinations in early German tourism. Obviously this is linked to the natural beauty of the area with its 250 kms of wine growing areas on both hilly sides of the meandering river, combined with easy and relaxed walking. When cycling became the norm for everyone after World War II, the paths along the Mosel were upgraded and now provide the ultimate sensation in cycling fun combined with sterling scenery and limitless opportunities to stay in small villages with plenty of famous local Riesling wines (including Piesporter, and Zeller Schwarze Katz), and the world class regional Bitburg beer.

--- Gerard is 65 and I have 68 on the teller; we both had mountain bikes and limited luggage (as usual Gerard thought he was driving all the way to Southern Spain and with approx. 20 kgs. carried at least 2 times more weight than I). We had all the usual necessities like repair kit, warm clothes, band-aid. I thought I would/could have serious problems (with my left knee..I had bursitis as a student) because I did not train at all…whereas Gerard already has clocked up more than 5000 kms. this year. Anyway….EVERYBODY, and this with a normal day-to-day bike (E-bike also!), can do this trip. We had agreed not to ride more than 70 kms a day and this turned out to be the right quantum. Nevertheless we both ended up with a sore bud….I guess to have an iron bud, one has to cycle on a daily basis for about 3 weeks…. Health wise this was a perfect week: dry and clean air, far and  green views that please and strengthen the eyes, bodies in motion for about 4 to 5 hours daily pedaling

----  On both sides of the Mosel and Rhine there are wide cycling paths and 90% of these are tarred and very smooth; we only took 10kms. of biking on a forest track that was still of reasonable quality (just a bit hard on the bud), following the South-bank between Cochem and Treis-Karden. Part of the beauty was also the serenity around us cycling …hardly any other walkers or riders around; no cars allowed; our nearly permanent eye contact with the Mosel and such, often very close to it, remained a virtual and skin-felt sensation throughout the day. Definitely in the summer from late June to end of August there is more traffic but with its roughly 270 kms. from Perl/Schengen to Koblenz (Deutsches Eck, where Mosel and Rhine join up)  this Mosel route offers an active, rejuvenating and wholesome experience for body and mind.

Along the Rhine from Koblenz to Cologne the scenery loses some of its ‘bite’ because the Rhine is twice as wide (more than 125 meters ) as the Mosel, less forests, hardly any vineyards and along the Rhine, industries, harbors and logistic companies have changed the scenery. On the other hand seeing the river traffic is interesting and the huge bridges crossing the Rhine remain an impressive sight.

---- Crucial was also that Gerhard and I started and finished this 430 kms cycling event in good spirits. We have been friends since roughly 1975 and he visited me in far-away places like Bangladesh and Kenya. During this 7 days road cycling trip we talked like friends, ate like family and drank like brothers.

Some logistics and advise:

Day 1 From Luxembourg town to Perl. Actually we started our trip from Daloensdelle 34, Overijse (Belgium) Gerard’s wonderful cuckoo’s nest with Annie, at 9am on the dot.

A 5kms ride to La Hulpe railway station / then Ottignies, change to Arlon to Luxemburg town station by train…and hopping on our bikes straight on the left coming out of the ‘gare’ crossing the bridge toward France / direction Thionville. Small villages pass like Contern, Dalheim, Bous and Remich toward Schengen in Luxemburg. Crossing the bridge there into Perl, Germany…staying at Central Hotel 2 kms up the hill, and having wild boar and deer for dinner. 50kms…..we were tired and slept at 8pm.

Day 2  From Perl to Mehring. Easy ride in the morning towards Nittel (People arrive as a Guest and leave as a Friend is written on a house along the railway station), then on to Konz, and Trier, the oldest town in Germany, always beautiful to pass through and take a snapshot at the Porta Nigra. 

After a brown bag lunch at ‘Backwerk’, switching to the North-side of the Mosel toward  Schweich and stay in Mehring. We stopped in Longuich and visited the impressive site of a Roman villa / these Romans must have had a good time here with Bacchus taking them through the late afternoons and evenings….Wein, Weib und Gesang.

We checked into ‘Zum Kellerstuebchen’ a typical traditional small village hotel with bar and restaurant…full of workmen at 4pm when we arrived.  Recommended. Gerard was offered a job by the local builder making upto 20 euros an hour…he refused outright / haha! We did 85 kms. that day.

Roughly translated this means....In wine is the wine farmer's efforts ; in wine is sun, care and sweat; in wine is creation, hope and fear; wine captures us through the year; we people have become part of wine and vine; our life is mirrored in the wine

Day 3 From Mehring via Neumagen and Bernkastel Kues to Traben Trarbach; weather getting better all the time. Next time I want to overnight in Neumagen…one of the prettiest towns we passed through. 

Above the images of a typical though famous Mosel village : Piesport...wine from this village is known as '' a drop of Gold '.

Approaching Traben Trarbach the Mosel becomes strikingly beautiful with its famous bends. We checked into ‘Zum Anker’ and had our only fattening ‘Ankerburger’ meal of the whole trip.  In winter time Traben Trarbach must be empty…already at 9pm the Germans had pulled up the sidewalks. Distance accomplished 72 kms.

Day 4 From Traben Trarbach to Hatzenport (80 kms). Again a great ride passing through Zell (where we had Kaffee and Kuchen at the same spot as I did with Biya only 3 months ago), then Bullay following the South-bank; crossing the bridge and onto Bremm, Nehren (passing the campside there!! -Anton and Biya were there also!) and finally Cochem a town that at least 15 million Dutchmen must have visited over the past 100 years.

Aahhh…do eat at the ‘Metzgerei’- Butcher’s Walter Schmitt in Poltersdorf at the entry of the village…We had amongst others smoked wild boar sandwich and ‘Leberkaese’; the owner himself hunts the game and prepares it! 

Bill for 1 coffee, one smoked wild boar sandwich and one Bitburg beer came to 3.97 euros / roughly 4.5 US dollars 

From Cochem we continued on the South-side (bumpy and bud-hurting forest road, so next time take the North-side) to Treis Karden, crossed the Mosel again and arrived in Hatzenport…tiny village with a perfect stay at ‘Weinhaus Ibald’, where we had our one and only dry and smooth red Dornfelder bottle of wine (still 14 euros in the restaurant although the owner is a ‘Winzer’ and makes his own wine). An average 1 liter bottle of good dry white Riesling wine will cost you around 5 euros max. on the street in any of the villages.

Day 5 From Hatzenport to Remagen. We passed through Winningen, another must-visit and must-stay excellent wine producing village next time, where the streets are covered with hanging grapevines.

Above and below: Winningen village and vineyards

Arriving in Koblenz at 11am crossing the Schumacher bridge, we were blown away by the sight of the ‘Deutches Eck’. Mosel and Rhine join up here, overviewed by a huge statue of Emperor Wilhelm on horseback, with the castle on the East-bank of the Rhine. Hundreds of battles must have been fought over this strategic site…from the early Gothic tribes to the Bavarians, the Romans, Charles the Great, Napoleon, and the Allies against Hitler to name a few.

Now the scenery changed along the Rhine riding North…vineyards had disappeared and some harbors popped up, where the cyclists had to give way…we finished in Remagen and saw the still standing pillars of the famous bridge. In early 1945 this was a crucial bridge for the Allies to cross and advance into Hitler’s heartland and onto Hannover and finally Berlin where the Russians arrived first. Historians argue that if the Americans had arrived first most likely we would never have had the post-war East block….In Remagen we stayed in Hotel Pinger, and had a great buffet dinner and plenty of Koblenzer beer. Recommended place to stay! 74 kms. that day.

Day 6  From Remagen to Cologne via Bad Godesberg and  Bonn.  Under the still warm sun this was a piece of cake….we rode West of the river into wealthy Bad Godesberg (residential area/town of the elite that governed West-Germany from post World War II to 1990, when Germany became one country again). In fact until today some departments of Ministries still have remained in Bad Godesberg and Bonn. I know the area well having worked for German INGO Welthungerhilfe (2013-2015), that has its office next to the railway station in Bad Godesberg.  From here to Bonn one cycles around 10 kms. through a park-landscape to Bonn and leaving Bonn behind we crossed East taking the ferry into Mondorf where we devoured the large Kuchen at ‘Konditorei Huenten’ (recommended!). Then the final 20 kms toward Cologne…end of the trip along the Rhine. Cologne is surrounded by green pastures as we approached it from the South side and East bank. We checked into the Ibis hotel at the Deutz-Messe area and walked into town toward the famous Basilique/Cathedral/Dom. Prayer time to thank the Lord that we had had such a great time during this trip. 

Classic post-card pic. of the Cathedral and the Rhine-bridge in Cologne taken by Gerard

Always very impressive this walk crossing the bridge on the Rhine, entering the Dom and being in Cologne world city downtown. As icing on the cake we went to eat and drink at the world famous Brothers Paeffgen Koelsch Brewery and Restaurant in the Friesenstrasse 64-66, where Gerard and I stayed 4 hours eating and drinking the very best of the Rhineland-Westphalian cuisine. Unfortunately we forgot the details of this ‘schranspartij’…and walked back to our hotel in 30 minutes via the Dom again. Anyway the Paeffgen Koelsch beer is brewed in-house and we saw the barrels being rolled from the brewery straight into the bar. 5 Stars for food and drink. A highly recommended local culture-shot  and spot.   

We did 46 kms. (and walked 5) / haha.

Day 7 from Cologne back to Overijse; starting by train from Cologne central railway station to Aachen, change to Welkenraedt (Belgium), change  to Leuven where we took our bikes, did a tour of the town and passed through the 16^th century area where the nuns had their monasteries (Begijnhoven groot en klein). Then the very final 20 plus kms. from Leuven through Neerijse to Overijse. And back to the nest we came from. Annie welcomed us with big smiles and went into action to spoil us with food. Final day we cycled 27 kms.

Friends and Readers…..this trip you can do, provided you have normal legs, you know how to steer a bicycle and that you have time on your hands.

From Perl to Koblenz do consider to buy the ‘Leporello’ Radtourenkarte scale 1:50.000 / excellent map for cyclists / you cannot go wrong!

-         No hills to climb

-         No expensive hotels (average 80 euros including heavy breakfast for 2 persons/double room 2 separate beds / free Wi-fi everywhere)

-         No hassles, you can park your bike safely in the garages of the hotels

-         No bad food or drink / all local products

-         No German language skills needed…even the butcher speaks English

-         No cars on the roads, no noise, basically no danger

-         No fear that you cannot get your bike repaired / many villages have repair shops

I hope to do this trip through ‘Old Germany’ in a couple of years with my wife Biya…this was a test.

Possibly the best cycling route in the world…our point of view: meaning Gerard and Ton. Rated on a scale of 0 to 10…..this week reached 8.5!!! Close to 9!

Ton van Zutphen

Leende, the Netherlands 30^th October 2019

Ton van Zutphen and Biya Han take a trip to Kyushu Island, Japan and walk Olle trails

Ton van Zutphen and Biya Han taking a short trip to Kyushu Island in Japan / Olle Trail walking end of December 2018

A cold Christmas night hung over Seoul, and where we live in the Bulgwang area, temperatures dropped to below 14 degrees C.  But the morning was sunny as we took the subway to  Incheon / Seoul airport. From there it was an 80 minutes flight to Fukuoka, the largest city on the island of Kyushu. We flew JinAir, a low-cost subsidiary of the national carrier Korean Air  (and to be pronounced as gin-air / haha / no booze on board though!).

During this 5 day trip two things became clear to me: systems in Japan function and the Japanese continue to work their buds off. We mostly used  public transport: train, bus, taxi: all running on time through an excellent network with dense frequencies. We bought a 5 day rail pass with JR (Japan Railways) that makes long distance travel cheap and we used their famous, fast and comfortable  ‘bullet-trains’. Then the Japanese we spoke with  were always  doing something / busybodies = working.  In Europe one sees a lot of people simply sitting on benches or hanging around, window-shopping, or in the Netherlands my country…cycling about. I did not get the impression from the Japanese they even have time for that. We arrived on Xmas day in the afternoon and travelled for over 3 hours to the tiny Tabira Hirado Gucci station, and in fact saw hardly any people around. They must have been working….as it was not a public holiday. We still cannot figure out why we saw so few Japanese during our trip, although there are 13 million of them on the island of Kyushu alone; roughly 10% of the total country population. We arrived in the pitch darkness at this small railway station and just missed the last bus. So when walking to the town of Hirado I saw some kind of an office still lit at 8pm. It turned out to be Mr. Ju-i-Chiro’s private school:  he considered it normal to work whenever needed. Very surprised to see a Dutchman (Biya waited outside) he bowed politely and in broken English said…’wait I will see how you can get to the hotel’. Finally he managed to talk to the hotel desk and 20 minutes later a small bus arrived to take us to the resort. When Biya entered the school and spoke Japanese and mentioned she is also a principal of a school in Seoul he was positively surprised and impressed. As we left, Mr. Ju-i-Chiro then continued tutoring young adolescents in his private school. Not easy to be a teacher, nor a pupil/student in this country…about the same situation in S. Korea where work and education come first…and promotions are few and slow and working members of the family can spend up to 14 hours a day away from home…so… family life suffers big time.

There is the 2018 World Happiness Report as some kind of (dubious I find)  indicator for the well-being of people in over 150 countries. The ranking is based on: income, healthy life expectancy, social support, freedom, perception of corruption and generosity. Data were collected from real people. Therefore no Fake News!!  The Netherlands ranks #6 whereas Japan ranks #54 and S. Korea #57. Somewhat surprising as both countries are affluent and member of the G20 group. But their hard working people and  competitive students with their forever paying parents do not judge themselves  happy. Working hours may have something to do with it? I guesstimate that in the NL 70% of the working population (male-female combined) clocks up less than 30 hours a week. In Japan and S. Korea I assume that 80% of their working population clocks up 55 hours or more on a weekly basis…and then have few holidays on top of that!

Room for Yellow Vests / Gillets Jaunes / Gele Hesjes? I expect, that because of the high internal discipline of its populations, this sudden populist demonstration of enough = enough  against the politicians and business tycoons-managers (many of these overpaid in my opinion) is not going to happen in Japan or in S. Korea.  Interestingly, the Netherlands  now sees on a weekly basis tiny demonstrations of the Yellow Vests movement. Some interesting scores of this Happiness Index are Israel #11, Costa Rica #13 and Mexico #24…Winners of the year are Finland, Norway and Sweden…all in my opinion countries where people smile relatively little, the climate is not conducive to drink beer and these places have come across to me through many visits, as generally no fun countries to live in. Certainly these countries are low on my personal happiness scale.

My top ranking includes: Austria, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Philippines to name a few where I as a Dutchman (pensionado) could see myself very happy to live in. And my personal happiness indicators are based on: - can I give love and receive love? – I have all I need in life to live and no big new wants! -  I have my government, family and friends to support me – I trust in God – I have freedom of participation and decision making – I am still in good health….to name a few crucial indicators.

I was quite surprised to find out that Japan is not that expensive anymore…25 years of limited economic growth  allowed only for the maintenance of infrastructure with people getting the same paycheck year after year. Prices of food, transport and leisure activities  are now similar to those in Korea. Therefore comparable to the Netherlands (except for house prices which are more than double to those in my country). Interestingly on Kyushu Island I saw few signs of big investments; hardly any new buildings, or better, no large construction sites. No signs of opulence, no Porsches, few Benzes; the usual Japanese brands with a flavor for small electric vehicles by Daihatsu, Suzuki, Mazda and Honda…I call them box-cars or cube-cars…already seen in Eindhoven, and coming to Europe soon in big numbers I guess!!

The above left to right are Suzuki and Honda 2018 model 'box-cars'..quite spacious actually. Please note the small sized tyres

So this trip was scheduled again as a walking trip. Kyushu Island has a Mediterranean climate and with temperatures in Seoul reaching minus 15 at night, the sun and breeze with a walking temperature of around 12 degrees was a welcome change in the weather.

Two sites are relevant with precise information:

1.     www.jejuolletrailguide.net  / 422 kms long = guaranteed fun for 3 weeks

2.     www.welcomekyushu.jp/kyushuolle/    22 trails by the middle of 2019

The Olle trails concept was initiated by a lady Myung-Sook, a news reporter originally from Jeju Island off Korea’s south coast. This concept has now been exported to Bhutan and to Japan. Biya and I walked some 7 Jeju Olle trails in the past and we planned to walk 3 modules on Kyushu Island.

Kyushu carries some Dutch flavor from the past. The first traders from the European West were the Portuguese but on 19^th April 1600 a Dutch ship called ‘De Liefde’ and chartered by Dutch businessmen made a successful but terrible trip from the Netherlands to South America, rounded treacherous and dangerous Cape Horn and finally reached Japan’s Kuroshima island…with only a few sailors left. As of 1605 a trading post was established in the port of Hirado and the Dutch presence can still be seen and felt because canals were dug, bridges built and the foundations of the Dutch  chief representative’s residence can be viewed on the hill overlooking the port area. An interesting museum shows the visitors some of the Dutch wealth and influence in what we call our Golden Age (1600-1700)…on sale in the museum are: Haagse hopjes (typical Dutch sweets)  and Indonesian Arak…and of course colourful plastic tulips! Hirado was in fact a port already known by the Chinese and Indian seafarers from the 12^th century onward. It traded goods all over South East and South Asia.  The Portuguese, Dutch and later the English simply increased trade volumes (especially teas and silk) and founded trading posts. 

The Hirado Olle trail starts right at the port / bus station and took us for about 15 kms. through a pleasant walking environment of hills and mostly pine forests. Eye contact with the sea is frequent and presents beautiful vistas. The last 2 kms. passes the majestic and with  emerald green plastered Jesuit Church founded by St. Francis Xavier who brought Christianity to Japan. The Hirado area remains until now the core of the Catholic community in Japan and attracts pilgrims from all over the country. Only 1% of the Japanese are Roman Catholic. 

Many statues of Dutch merchants line the streets in the center of this small and pleasant town; further dotted with boutiques,  to buy clothes, bric a brac and the usual  souvenirs, and small restaurants including a Mexican one called ‘Pancho‘.  

We overnighted in the Yukai ‘Dutch’ resort some 10 kms. from Hirado which offers a modern and traditional blend of  upmarket facilities: 1. A large room with a tea corner, tatami-flooring and bedding, and very comfortable 2. A more than complete buffet with Kyushu specialities like ever new portions of freshly cut raw fish (the sea bream was excellent!), various miso soups and noodles, vegetables fried, boiled, steamed, raw, the choice was endless, and meats to grill on the table…WOW!! 3. The traditional ONSEN experience which boils down to a hot water basin supplied with water of around 40 degrees C from a natural source with bathing and grooming facilities / relax and enjoy you tired traveller! This, including a copious breakfast for the two of us at a price of 140 euros (excluding 2 excellent Suntory draft beers). Definitely value for money.

Traveling back to Fukuoka we checked in at the Wing International hotel close to Hakata station rather late, and found ourselves in a small room with a bed the size of a one person’s bed in the NL.  Haha, that is the real Japan: hotel rooms and their bathrooms can be very small in the large cities. Nevertheless the service is always tops: staff is courteous and punctual. The Japanese are extremely polite and respect the elderly young like Biya and myself. The next day we met several staff from the Olle trails-project and we walked part of trail #22 around Fukuoka and Shingu.

Anton, Mr. Yokoyama, Erika, Biya and Buyun
 It was a walk to agree on the final trail parcours, and many people were involved from relevant government ministries and the Olle Jeju organization, including : Eun-ju from Seogwipo on Jeju Island,  Miss Erika, Miss Buyun, Miss Aya, Miss Naomi, and others with Mr. Ikeda and Mr. Yokoyama the senior reps. of government, and of the Olle organization on Kyushu Island. 

Eun-ju, Biya, Anton and Ms. Suzuki / with thanks for the pics.

We walked through fruit orchards, villages with houses/small farms that had the typical Japanese gardens dotted with Bonzai tree species,  we ploughed through thick bamboo groves and talked a lot. Had traditional noodles soup and plenty of oysters / I reckon that the ten of us altogether ate more than 50 freshly grilled oysters.

Then we took the train back to Fukuoka and sped off to Hizen Kashima on a JR bullet train, with finally the bus to Ureshino town where we lodged again in a Yukai hotel …same style, facilities, welcome, gorgeous food and this time we selected the option to enjoy unlimited adult beverages  for 90 minutes at a price of 25 euros for the two of us during the meal. Suntory beer is definitely the best beer in Japan (better to my taste than Asahi, Kirin and Sapporo), and we had a couple of ‘pichets’ of excellent mild sake (rice wine)..cold and warm. And obviously a hot bath = onsen; again in our comortable yukatas (dressing gowns)) before the meal. Japan can be a relaxing experience for foreign travellers like us.

Final leg was the Ureshino Olle trail the most beautiful one through the forests and rolling tea plantations; during the day we felt that the cold from Korea had arrived also here and it started to snow lightly. Simply pleasant, and this  added a romantic flavor to our walking when we performed our daily lunch ritual with making hot milk coffee or tea with sweetbread and cookies  / always on a nice spot looking at God’s creation.   Biya always prepares the lunch and I carry it in my backpack: best labor division possible!

We stayed one night in the traditional Japanese ‘Kutabuki inn’ in Ureshino with the onsen / room with tatami flooring/bedding, and separated bathing and grooming areas. In Europe we have one area to do all: bath/shower/grooming/toilet. In this inn there was a special place to take a hot bath in a shared basin (onsen); then a separate grooming desk in the corridors, then a special area where the urinoirs and toilets were, and no shower at all.  Hmmm…something to get used to when you are walking around in a yukata with slippers all the time on and off, carrying your towel on your shoulders and your keys in your hand.

A perfect trip / all trails are easy and well marked / Anton-Biya couple had fun and long loving talks;  and admired the nature in Japan…sea, forests, bamboo groves, tea plantations, villages, orchards; and we appreciated the food and above all the politeness of the Japanese and their willingness to always help. Obviously Biya speaking fluently Japanese was a major asset and we felt at home abroad.

Tea plantation in the Ureshino area / famous for its mild,  flavour-rich green teas.







Things to remember:

1    In Japan one pays the bus or train when one exits and not when one enters. There is a special system to calculate the price which I felt would go beyond my intelligence to apprehend

2   I devoured the best ever tasted kaki-fruit (persimmon in English or kam in Korean) , picked by myself straight from a tree in the Shingu area

3   I saw my first ever automatic beer draughting machine in operation: it produced  glasses of beer perfectly filled with   ‘Suntory Lager’, sporting the correct foam level.

Arigado Japan! Hai hai!

Ton van Zutphen, 1^st January 2019

Biya and Anton in the EHWA University grounds in Seoul / November 2018 with the colourful maple trees