Lahn Cycle Path: From Marburg to Wetzlar

Wednesday, June 3, 2020

For inexplicable reasons, we slept in today, until 8 o'clock. That may not sound very late, but usually I am already on the way at this time. Anyway, we quickly found a bakery to have breakfast and after searching for 10 minutes, we found one right across from our hotel, which is located in the middle of the old town. Actually, we should have seen it immediately. But we are a bit blind. We bought something and sat down at a small table outside by the road to eat when it suddenly started to drizzle. We quickly started cycling, but then the rain stopped again. Nevertheless, it would remain heavily cloudy until noon.

We tried to leave the city. Emphasis on 'tried'. So, we went back to the student house from yesterday. The arrow pointed exactly in the direction we came from the hotel. It was very confusing. Then we decided to take a lane we had never been on before (even though there was no arrow pointing to it) and behold: it was not only the right one, but also full of beautiful half-timbered houses! We passed the bath and continued out of town on small paved paths, further away from Marburg.

At first, we still encountered many, many students jogging or cycling, but over time their numbers decreased. Suddenly, we came across a very beautiful bathing lake, the Weimar See, and then through a village. Afterwards, we mostly cycled through meadows and fields, interrupted by small villages. The area was noticeably flatter than yesterday, there were hills, but they were further away. Many fields were simple grasslands and not cultivated with grain, etc.

Once, after a village, there was a very pretty, old-looking (but built in 2012) bridge over the Lahn River, it was in the middle of the meadows. Shortly after, we passed a hunter's trail - again in the midst of meadows and meadowlands - that was built into a single tree, although the tree had been dead for a long time. It looked fascinating!

Then we continued, always through a similar landscape or small villages, where there were many animals and gardens, past a Stone Age settlement; children played on the street, bulldogs drove around. Just like at home. Again and again, we caught a glimpse of the Lahn River and crossed it several times.

Before Lollar, we met an older couple on e-bikes. They asked us where we were heading and helped us a little. They themselves are from the area, but they used to go on bike tours, including in the Altmühltal (where we come from) and they even know our hometown! Then they gave us some tips and said that there is absolutely nothing worth seeing in Gießen, so we don't need to go there. We parted ways in a short wooded area, where Mama and I then cycled through Lollar.

Always along the railway tracks, on narrow paths through very tall fields, along the edge of Wißmar, and finally across the highway. Directly afterwards, we saw the Silbersee. Then there were more joggers and cyclists again, we were getting closer to Gießen. There, we actually didn't see anything of the city, because we passed by allotment gardens along the Lahn River.

Then we rode a short distance on the highway (or something like that). Of course, there was a separate cycle path, but it still felt strange. From there, we had a good view of the two castles and the television tower that the other cyclists had talked about.

In the village of Heuchelheim, a real village, we took a break on a bench near the church by a stream. The sun came out! It became really warm. We ate our packed snacks and dipped our feet in the water.

One hour later, we continued a bit along the slope with a great view of the surroundings. There was a swimming pool coming up near Dorlar with a kiosk. There, we enjoyed an ice cream in the heat before finally reaching Wetzlar.

There, we soon found the cathedral, which was built on a hill and had various architectural styles. It looks really funny! We also took a short stroll through the old town with typical buildings from all eras: half-timbered houses, shingles, large mansions, and a 60s building, as well as many green spaces, fountains, statues, stairs, a huge open-air stage, a gallery with funny portraits of emperors, ...

At the tourist information, we asked for accommodation and had to go there immediately because the lady at the tourist information desk said so. Fortunately, we listened to her because just as we arrived at the accommodation, it started pouring heavily. When it stopped raining around quarter past 5, we continued exploring Wetzlar and finally had a good pizza in a nice restaurant.

Stage: From Marburg to Wetzlar

Distance traveled: 57 kilometers

Weather: cloudy, partly sunny, thunderstorm with rain in the late afternoon