Heidelberg (rain (motor (bike))) trip.

“This year we didn’t have a summer; Next year we may have one” – forecasted my colleague this morning.

So very true – the summer didn’t have any sun. There was a day in July when I had to turn the radiator (room heater) on.

After the frustrating rainy months, we decided to make a trip to random places. Incidentally, I came to know at that time that an acquaintance lives in Heidelberg (just 110km away from home).

Saturday – about noon – we started. The forecast did say about overcast and showers. Well, as  long as it is typical German showers (drizzling) we don’t care. The plan was to go straight to Wiesbaden and then ride by the side of Neckar river  through Mainz – Oppenheim – Worms – Mannheim and reach Heidelberg.

Time (and we) flew till Nackenheim – where we decided to take a little detour to a mountain-top church.

But before reaching the church, we stopped by the side of the vineyards. From the roadside, the vineyard(s) stretched till the horizon.

The grapes were tender. But that didn’t stop us from having some though (sour grapes). Making photos weren’t a part of our plan – just ride and ride and ride. So, all we had was the iPhone and she did take some pictures anyway.

Note: A curious thing – in that region, almost every village has the name ending in “heim”.

So, here I stand by the side of Rudra – that’s how the bike is called.

(I am not supposed to publish any ‘long haired’ pics. But I am going for a haircut in 2 days, so I hope to use that as an excuse for putting this online.)

It was then it started to pour – almost like never before in Germany. We simply got drenched. We cancelled our ‘food plans’ @ “Worms” – cool name for a city, eh? Went straight to Heidelberg.

The rain came again – with all its might – during our way back home. It was foggy all around (and great sound effects from lightning/thunders). It took almost double the time to reach home. After the rain, I was starting to worry that she might fall off the bike of some hypothermia or so.

Needless to say, I was extremely cautious, we reached home all safe and decided: “Never are we getting back so late. If we are on bike, be home before it is dark”. The experience really did scare us (and prolly taught a good lesson too). :)

I’ll be flying to India by the end of this month. So, for another bike trip, we’ll have to wait till the end of September – when I am back gain. Hopefully, we’ll have some good weather then.

Signing off,
Sands.