Day 346 – GERMANY: From Mannheim to Mainz


Today’s distance / 今日の走行距離: 77.6km
Average speed / 平均速度: 14.1km/h
Time on skateboard / 走行時間: 5h 31m
Total skateboarding distance to date / 今までスケボで走った距離: 243.16km (plus 400km)
Total cycling distance to date / 今まで自転車で走った距離: 11,800km
Ascent / 上り: +420m
Descent / 下り: -355m

Remembering the heat of midday two days ago, I decided to head out early today. I left Mili’s place at 6am, skating through a quiet city. The early start made it tough to find a rythym, and by 8:30am when I arrived in Worms, I was ready for a break.

Crow interested in my longboard in Mannheim, Germany

In Worms, the Sunday flea market was already in full swing, so I had a wander about taking a look at things on offer. There were a bunch of Turks trying to sell fruit, clothes, sofas…their chattering in Turkish took me back to the interesting times I had in Turkey during winter.

Hot day and big views near Mainz, Germany

It was just as well that I made an early start. By noon, when I was having lunch in a small village called Guntersblum, it was 34 degrees Celcius in the shade. Quite possibly one of the hottest days I have experienced since South Korea last year.

From Guntersblum I decided to take a short cut over the low hills to Mainz. That was 1.5 hours of skating in a furnace. The hills were treeless – a dry hot wind blew over the golden wheat growing in the fields. It was my kind of scenery however – open and barren.

34 degrees Celcius in the shade - hot weather near Mainz, Germany

I arrived in Mainz and thankfully Sina had checked her email and accepted to host me for tonight in the city. Sina and her husband Dennis picked me up from the center of town and their cool apartment was a welcome escape from the heat. We enjoyed a BBQ and chatting about travelling the world – Sina and Dennis are planning their own long term working holiday around the world, scheduled to leave next year.


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