All about the Bike, 'bout the Bike...
-- UNDER CONSTRUCTION --
Aachen cathedral is one of the most astonishing interiors I've ever seen. Constructed between 793 and 813
Further reading:
https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/3
The efficient Deutsche Bahn train system took us from Mainz to Aachen. See this page for more info on how to travel by train with your bike.
We stayed in Kornelimunster which is a lovely 10km bike ride through the country side to the village, just southeast of Aachen - very refreshing after spending hours on the train.
Fantastic atmosphere and you have to love the ceilings at Hopfen & Malz, Aachen. Knowledgeable staff that obviously loves their beers. Very funky interior, amazing selection on tap as well as for sale.
The Hertog Jan brewery was opened in 1915 and the location was strategically chosen to be close to a natural springs, which provides the main ingredient for the beer. The brewery took a lot of damage during WW II but was rebuilt. However, in the 1980s the brewery was struggling and was looking to close. A team of employees decided to take over the building and started to brew specialty beer instead of the historical pilsner. These specialy beers are a success and start winning prizes and they haven't looked back since.
Yes, you can take your bike on the train, but we did find this the hardest and most stressful part of traveling with a bike in Europe. And the least predictable. Don't make your trip or time table contingent on catching a particular train!
After three weeks of biking through Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, here are some suggestions of what to bring, and what to plan for.
In addition to the specialty bike gear mentioned in a previous post, here are some other things we found really handy:
Mainz (Germany) is located where the river Mainz intersects with the river Rhine and from Frankfurt it is a beautiful bike ride along the river Mainz on a segregated bike path. To cross the Rhine, you get to use a small track along the train bridge, which is pretty cool.
Arrival in Frankfurt airport and reassembling the bikes was much easier than we thought. A few small tears in the bike bag - I guess the end bits of the fork are rather pokey! But the bikes themselves are absolutely fine.
