169. Europe Bicycle Trip- BASF and An Angel

I had a wonderful visit with Dorle Smith in Edingen and got to see a lot of Heidelberg but it was now Monday, June 16th and Day 61 so it was time for Silver and I to be on the move again cycling north along the Rhine River following the Rhine Radweg map books. I left Edingen the way Dorle had shown me and followed the bicycle path along the Neckar River toward Mannheim where the Neckar River flowed into the Rhine River.

A courier bicycle

The church steeple of Seckenheim

The Fernmeldeturm of Mannheim is a 212.8 meter high concrete telecommunication tower with an observation deck in Mannheim. It was completed in 1975. A glassed observation deck and a revolving restaurant at a height of 120 meters allow a nice view of Mannheim and area.

I made my way through the outer part of Mannheim where the Neckar joins the Rhine and found the bridge that I must cross over the Rhine River to leave Mannheim and go to Ludwigshafen. My tram ride here on Saturday helped me to identify some landmarks.

Leaving Mannheim

Entering Ludwigshafen

Going through cities can be stressful and this was no exception.

The bicycle path went under the road here.

Ludwigshafen has the world's largest  chemical plant called BASF. BASF originally stood for Badische-Anilin-und Soda-Fabrik (English-Baden Analine and Soda Factory) Today the 4 letters are the registered trademark.The BASF group also has 390 other production sites throughout the world. It employs over 50,000 people in Germany, alone and has customers in over 200 countries. Well, I had a problem with BASF because the bicycle path led me to it's gates and I wasn't allowed through them. I had to make a big detour and at one point I had to go under a down some gradual stairs and under a highway tunnel. BUT in the other side the stairs going back up to the road were very steep and high and I could not lift Silver up. What a dilemma but the Lord solved my problem immediately by sending an angel . As I was attempting to lift Silver to the second stair, a man in a suit grabbed the back of the bicycle and helped me lift it to the top. I barely had time to say thank you and he went back down the stairs and disappeared.

The BASF bicycle parking lot. The bicycles are all red. They are probably given to the employees to use by the company.

After being lost for a while due to the detour around BASF, I finally made it out of the city and started on the bicycle path again. I passed this nice fast train sign.

Protected Land

I had to bicycle under this old bridge.

I came to the city of Worms. They are doing renovation work on the Cathedral of St. Peter. It is a basilica with four round towers, two large domes and a choir at each end. The original building was finished in 1181, but parts were added later and some parts have been rebuilt.

Statue outside the church

This dinosaur reminded me of one that Emily made in university art class.

The sign in front of the winery--Weinbau Herrnsheim in Worms am Rhein