173. Europe Bicycle Trip---Cycling Along the Rhine River Through Mainz

It is inevitable that along a big river like the Rhine there are also big cities that have been established. I cannot camp in big cities and I also get lost easily in them so I try to pass through quickly. Each if these cities is full of history and the old buildings are very attractive. One could spend many days touring each city completely.

The city of Mainz is located on the west bank of the Rhine River opposite the confluence of the Main River into the Rhine. The river here is over half a kilometer wide. Mainz is the capital of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. In ancient times it was a Roman fort city in the northernmost part of the Roman Empire. Today it is a busy port city with about 200,000 inhabitants. During World War 11, 30 air raids destroyed about 80 per cent of the city including most of the historic buildings.  Across the river is the city of Wiesbaden..

Chris and Sarah have been involved with rowing so I am always on the lookout for photos for them. The Mainz Rowing Club

The rowing shells are loaded and ready to go.

An inner harbour just inland from the main channel of the Rhine.

I took photos of some old looking buildings that I cycled past but I did not see what they were used for.

Rental yellow bicycles

A tour boat at dock

The bicycle path goes nicely under the deck arch bridge. They have done a good job in many of these cities to keep walking and cycling paths as much as possible along the river banks.

The Theodor Heuss Bridge- a deck arch bridge over the Rhine connecting the Rhineland-Palatinate capital of Mainz to the Mainz-Kastel district of Wiesbaden, capital of state Hesse. The main span of the bridge is 102.94 meters long and it was opened in 1950.

Twin towers of a church

Statue of Jesus preaching from the fishing boat