Episode 4 – Cycling from Belgium to Croatia

Today the Rhine becomes our full-time travel buddy — and honestly, we’re not mad about it. Cycling along this giant ribbon of water means smooth gradients, solid bike paths, and a steady parade of fellow bikepackers… most of them quietly floating past on e-bikes. So yes: we’re the sweaty minority. No complaints — we just hope our bodies keep voting “manual mode” for a long time.

Somewhere along the winding banks we meet a round, grey, silent tower: the Scharfe Turm, built in 1396. Beautiful… until you remember it later served as a prison and witnessed witch trials. It’s a strange feeling, admiring thick stone walls that once held so much pain — now wrapped in calm, as if time sanded the edges off.

After that? Castles. So many castles that taking photos becomes a full-time job we did not apply for. And then the wind shows up: the valley traps it and fires it straight into our faces like free resistance training. So we daydream about Burg Pfalzgrafenstein, the little fairytale fortress sitting in the Rhine — built not for living, but for collecting tolls. Luckily, cyclists pay in calories, not coins.

Bonus plot twist: we find a tiny “private beach,” and I jump into the Rhine fully clothed because the heatwave has reached Germany and dignity is negotiable. My bike watches from the shore, jealous… and it’s about to get worse: tonight we’ve booked a cabin with a small pool, charcoal is waiting, and our panniers are about to turn into a mobile barbecue aisle. Headwind calories in, barbecue calories back. It’s all about balance.

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