August 16, 17, &18, 2022 - Final days of the ride, Bremen, Train, & Frankfurt

This will be a three day blog as I had poor internet in Bremen and yesterday I spent traveling and late night bicycle disassembly. 

August 16, 2022 - Bremen

I left Verden (Aller) in good spirits and mild weather. The bike path was well marked and I took the shorter route.

The bike path was excellent as in the past. It did include more suburban riding and a lot of urban/industrial riding. The industrial is not my favorite but the truckers look out for you more than the cars most of the time. I rode about 55km and arrived on schedule.

A house under construction in the suburbs of Bremen. I thought some of the construction techniques were very interesting.

A very good easy to find bike path directional sign. One of my favorite things and it could be included in the song.

This is a vending machine found along the rural roads that are often a part of the bike paths. This one had lots of fresh farm products from the local farm. You can click on the picture to enlarge and better see the contents of the machine.

I took this picture as I do not ever remember seeing a fence made from double live edge boards. There is and equally long one on the left side of the entrance to this farm.

I made it to Bremen and went out for a walk. There have been a number of fountains and sculptures dedicated to these farm animals. The German eat a lot of pork, especially in the schnitzel. It surprises me that almost all of my travels through the rural areas the primary farm animals I see are, Cows, Sheep, Goats and some type of fowl. Very rarely do I see pigs or hogs. 

This is a very big tourist attraction in Bremen. The line to take a picture is long. It you notice that the nose and legs of the donkey are brighter that the rest, it is because everyone want their picture taken while touching the donkey.

The statue is in the town square, so to speak, but in the story "The Town Musicians of Bremen", they never made it into Bremen.

The central part of Bremen is an old town. One of the Hanseatic city states that made their living trading goods due to the availability of shipping. 

More street scenes.

Opps, another one of those ice cream pictures. I ended the day with a goal of potato soup near my hotel. I failed to get a picture. 

August 17, 2022 - Train ride to Frankfurt.

My train did not leave until 11:30 or so, therefore I ate breakfast with the late group not the early group.

My train was to leave on track 10. I arrived early so I would not miss my train. As the awaiting passengers grew in number, and in baby carriages and bicycles, the announcement came about 15 minutes before arrival that the train would leave from track 3. There was a rush to track 3. With only one elevator down at track 10 and one elevator up at track 3, i had some anxiety about making it in time. I did and then had the 5 hours train ride back to Frankfurt with only one train change very neat to Frankfurt. After checking in I went to the store to get paper towels to clean my bike as I disassembled it. Customs will not allow foreign soil into the USA.

August 18, 2022 - Frankfurt

I was again a member of the second breakfast group as I finish my packing in the morning hours and went sightseeing and shopping for the rest of the day.

A view of the Hauptwache in Frankfurt. This is the old town center. It is the primary location for tourist and is on every tour guide's agenda. The crowds are very thin. Not a lot of foreign tourists. It has been like that everywhere I have been. Restaurants are half empty or closed. Some hotels are temporally closed. You can see the impact Covid has had around the world.

Another view the Hauptwache and a part of one of the two guided groups I saw. Both were tours in German. In the past I have seen tour groups in English, Japanese, Chinese and other languages. at the Hauptwache.

A floating restaurant by te main pedestrian bridge across the Main River. 

The skyline of Frankfurt. The Main River is dominate in Frankfurt. They were preparing for of the many festivals (think small scale Octoberfest) along the banks of the river.

Notice the two river cruise ships docked, they are just past the local tour boat. Usually there are ten or more docked in Frankfurt as cruises go in both directions on the Main. It connects to The Netherlands via the Rhine River and to the Black Sea via the Donau (Danube).

A few more water fowl.

A nice scenic view of a walking path along side of the Main River. This weekend it be be full of party goers.

A last picture of more Stolpersteine, translated as stumbling blocks. This is where a family of three Jewish persons lived before WWII. The plaques tell you  their name, that they lived in the building in front of the "stumbling blocks", when they were born and what happened to them.

It is a mother, center, and two sons. One son escaped to USA the other to England. She died during the war. 

Thank you for visiting with me as I have made this, my tenth, bicycle ride in Europe. I have my preparations and tomorrow morning I go by taxi to the airport to fly home and see my family and friends.