White Knuckles in Saarburg

Since today was our free day in Saarburg, we both slept in to the quite ungodly hour of 8 am. Instead of feeling refreshed by such a long sleep, I actually felt rather tired. I had spent most of the night fighting a losing battle with the tiny doona.

These cursed things seem have become a thing in Europe since our last trip 4 years ago. While I enjoy sleeping under a normal sized doona, those that we have been finding in our hotel rooms are tiny little things, not much bigger than a hand towel. I find it absolutely impossible to find a comfortable sleeping position and find that my body temperature alternates between hot and cold. I have even tried throwing the whole lot on the floor, and just sleeping on top of the mattress, While that works for a while, it is not compatible with a satisfying night's sleep. And so, the nightly doona battle continues unabated.

One of the attractions of Saarburg is a chairlift that goes from the township up to the top of a nearby hill. All of the others in our group had already decided to take the ride. In contrast, I had a problem.

Maggie has always had a paranoid fear of heights. Even standing on top of a chair is a death defying challenge for her. The thought of sitting suspended high in the air on a chair lift was enough to transform her into a quivering mess. In spite of that, we set out on the walk to the base of the lift, to watch the others setting off up the hill.

In spite of her fear, Maggie somehow agreed to buy a ticket and join me on the ride up. Well join me is probably an understatement. She closed her eyes and then dug her fingernails deep into the back of my hand. When the chair started to wobble a little, the fingernails went in even deeper. It turned out to be a painful experience for both of us.

We did safely make it to the top of the mountain, without suffering a cable break or a heart attack, however I was a little disappointed at the views that we were rewarded with. In my opinion, the view from the tower at the palace was infinitely superior.

After a coffee, it was time to face the return chair ride back down the hill. The entire drama was enacted for a second time, with Maggie holding her breath for most of the way down. She did not resume smiling till we were both safely back down on the ground.

Tomorrow morning, we will split into two groups. Ken Lister will be taking 16 riders to Passau to begin their ride along the Danube from Passau to Vienna. Another 8 of us will be coming with me to Donaueschingen (the place where the Danube River begins) to begin our ride along the upper reaches of the Danube.

There are also 4 others who will now be heading back to Australia. Those are Steve and Gill Wilson, Pascale Turvey and Sarah Barlin.

In case you have been wondering about the weather - it has been close to perfect. So far we have not had even a single wet day, and most days have blessed us with lovely conditions for riding. That is why we always choose this time of the year for our European rides.Read more