9 From Limburg to Koblenz - REALLY along the Lahn

In the morning, it was luckily dry, so I could pack everything relaxed - only my outer tent had to be packed away wet from the night. I even had time for a little round of yoga to warm up on this somewhat chilly morning, during which I had a brief visit from a swan.

As soon as I got on the bike, the rain unfortunately started again, but this time thankfully with breaks.

And as the Lahn Valley gradually became narrower and the hills on the right and left became higher, the cycle path had no choice but to stay beautiful directly along the riverbank almost continuously. Thanks to a fantastic tip from my Warmshowers host, I was even able to stay on the bank when the official signs led several hundred meters up one of these hills ;) The 'secret route' was also beautiful, on a small trail through the forest and always along the Lahn.

There were still some uphill meters to do, as I had to go uphill quite a bit to reach a monastery, but the roller coaster-like route afterwards was well worth it :D

And the Lahn Valley seemed to be getting even more beautiful, with the rain and the green slopes on the left and right, it almost had a jungle-like feel.

Eventually, I had to say goodbye to the Lahn, because it flows into the Rhine in Lahnstein, which will accompany me for the next few days.

Shortly before Koblenz, the rain showed once again what it's capable of, and the not exactly small Rhine almost completely disappeared behind the wall of rain. Since I was already wet anyway, I took a little ride through the city, stopped by the castle and the so-called 'Deutsches Eck'.

Fortunately, I found another host on Warmshowers for the night and was able to warm up again after a warm welcome with a cup of tea and under the hot shower. I was even able to hang my tent on the balcony to dry.

In addition, we both liked each other instantly and when it turned out that my host will take a sabbatical from August and also wants to go on bike trips, we immediately started to consider whether we could cycle together through Sweden to the North Cape. Let's see if that works out ;)

After a delicious dinner, I even got a small city tour of Koblenz and then fell more than satisfied onto the sofa bed for the night :)