Day 33: Ruhr
Ebifulumiziddwa: 14.08.2023
I wake up to a bright blue sky. The view from the window is towards the church, but the bells don't start ringing until 7 o'clock. Time to get up...
I leave Unna with a pleasant feeling, there are beautiful corners and a charming hotel here too. It's a leisurely ride through small streets, field paths, but also along a larger road with accordingly heavy traffic to Schwerte. As a volleyball fan, I know Schwerte as a top team in women's volleyball, currently replaced by 'our' girls from Stuttgart, sponsored by Allianz. The first break in a park, it has become hilly, every descent has to be earned with an ascent.
We reach Hagen. I have a difficult relationship with it, even though the poor city is not to blame at all. But as soon as 'Hagen' is mentioned, I think of Hagen von Tronje, who murdered Siegfried back then. Siegfried's wife Kriemhild took terrible revenge on her family. Can be read in the Nibelungenlied or by Wagner (with singing and music there). But apart from a really great traffic management for cyclists, it actually has nothing to offer, and honestly: I'm glad when we're out again. My wife felt the same way. Somehow it's clear: the Ruhr area has been reached. Although the Ruhr can also be really idyllic, I've seen it myself.
After more up and down stretches, we come to the Schwelmer Tunnel, through which a railway path leads. It has gotten really cold, and after the 742 m, a break in the sun is needed. A few kilometers later, we reach the Nordbahntrasse, also a path only for cyclists and pedestrians, it's so nice to ride there. And we reach the 'Deutsche Fußball Route NRW' bike path. It connects 15 cities on a length of 825 km, whose traditional clubs have gained national and international fame, and leads from Aachen via the Rhineland, the Lower Rhine, the Ruhr area and the Münsterland to Bielefeld. Who still knows Preußen Münster or Rot-Weiss Oberhausen or the Wuppertaler SV?
We have already covered nearly 60 km by now, the weather has held up again, but it's 4 pm and I feel the fatigue from the constant ups and downs. We find a small, alternative hotel on the slope with pleasantly cool rooms.
The question of the evening program is quickly answered: taking a ride on the suspension railway. In the Luisenviertel (I mean 4 stations) there is something to eat, but before that we ride to the last stop in order to take the return trip immediately. A great experience!
I leave Unna with a pleasant feeling, there are beautiful corners and a charming hotel here too. It's a leisurely ride through small streets, field paths, but also along a larger road with accordingly heavy traffic to Schwerte. As a volleyball fan, I know Schwerte as a top team in women's volleyball, currently replaced by 'our' girls from Stuttgart, sponsored by Allianz. The first break in a park, it has become hilly, every descent has to be earned with an ascent.
We reach Hagen. I have a difficult relationship with it, even though the poor city is not to blame at all. But as soon as 'Hagen' is mentioned, I think of Hagen von Tronje, who murdered Siegfried back then. Siegfried's wife Kriemhild took terrible revenge on her family. Can be read in the Nibelungenlied or by Wagner (with singing and music there). But apart from a really great traffic management for cyclists, it actually has nothing to offer, and honestly: I'm glad when we're out again. My wife felt the same way. Somehow it's clear: the Ruhr area has been reached. Although the Ruhr can also be really idyllic, I've seen it myself.
After more up and down stretches, we come to the Schwelmer Tunnel, through which a railway path leads. It has gotten really cold, and after the 742 m, a break in the sun is needed. A few kilometers later, we reach the Nordbahntrasse, also a path only for cyclists and pedestrians, it's so nice to ride there. And we reach the 'Deutsche Fußball Route NRW' bike path. It connects 15 cities on a length of 825 km, whose traditional clubs have gained national and international fame, and leads from Aachen via the Rhineland, the Lower Rhine, the Ruhr area and the Münsterland to Bielefeld. Who still knows Preußen Münster or Rot-Weiss Oberhausen or the Wuppertaler SV?
We have already covered nearly 60 km by now, the weather has held up again, but it's 4 pm and I feel the fatigue from the constant ups and downs. We find a small, alternative hotel on the slope with pleasantly cool rooms.
The question of the evening program is quickly answered: taking a ride on the suspension railway. In the Luisenviertel (I mean 4 stations) there is something to eat, but before that we ride to the last stop in order to take the return trip immediately. A great experience!
Okuddamu