Mannheim...Weinheim

To Mannheim, Germany -- 44.9 miles, 11.9 mph, 525 ft

It was interesting to be at a real "backpacker" hostel this morning as there was a much larger variety of languages being spoken -- Japanese, Swedish, French....

As has become our routine, we found a supermarket about halfway through the day and stopped to stock up on supplies and refuel. Apparently Dex had shifty eyes as he exited the restroom, because a store attendant insisted on searching his camelback. Good thing we didn't have any unopened KinderEggs -- they don't usually last long.

Lidl market

Later in the day, we found ourselves on an overgrown gravel path. As usual, it’s often a surprise what the next turn holds in store. It took me a while to realize that, in addition to the river on the right, there was now also water on the left. Hmm....

I wish I could say this was the only backtracking of the trip. Nevertheless, the upside was, when we did find the right path, we got to take the first of the two ferries for the day. And, for the first time, crossing the Rhine did NOT put us in another country. We were now firmly in Deutschland.

Unfortunately, we got a little mixed up on the final destination today -- Mannheim is apparently not the same as Weinheim. Upon exiting the second ferry into the industrial section of Mannheim at almost 5:00, we made the executive decision to call it quits for the day. The nearest hotel for less than a hundred bucks was 1.8 miles away (thank you Google). Never mind we’d be heading down along the river, across a bridge, and back the way we'd just come.

This part of town, right across from the railroad tracks, was nothing to look at. However the accommodations and kindness of the wonderful proprietor, Sylvia, more than made up for it (I may have seen another tear of joy in Meg’s eye).

Sylvia graciously offered us the top floor apartment for a mere 75 euro (breakfast included). There were four single beds, a bathroom, and a full kitchen complete with pots, pans, and dishes.

For dinner, we opted to walk across the parking lot and pick up a few things at the nearby supermarket. Sylvia too, was there. She shared with us the story of her teenage step son who lives in the US and had just come to visit (with two friends) for three weeks. True to form, Sylvia went above and beyond organizing a whirlwind trip through Germany, Switzerland and France to instill a little culture. As we were leaving the market, she insisted on buying us a bag of German "Pombar" (puffed bear-shaped potato crisps). Delicious.

Once back in our room, Dex did the heavy lifting making a pan of eggs, ham and cheese. You've never seen a 10-pack of eggs disappear so fast. Probably should have gone in for two 6-packs instead. Luckily, Sylvia also insisted on sharing her boiled potatoes with us, so we were able to include hashbrowns, which helped add to the measly 2.5 eggs per person serving.