Day12 Rothenburg to Koblenz

A beautiful morning, sun splitting the sky, we head north on a small road and wind through fields and quiet villages. The farmers are making the most of the good weather getting the harvest in and spraying other fields with fertiliser.

The gently rolling hills change to flatter landscape  though power lines now catch the eye now and again. Hints of wildlife here are buzzards soaring above and a couple of foxes lying in the road.
We are heading for a campsite south of Koblenz on the Rhine with our route taking us to the south of Frankfurt on E42. The autoroute goes past Frankfurt airport and we are treated to a huge aircraft taking off over the motorway. The airport Hilton is right next door on the other side and is a massive building, looking rather like a huge ship made of titanium. 

The news today is of more strikes by Lufthansa staff and just round the corner we see on the other carriageway a big accident which has closed the road. Emergency vehicles are at the scene but behind is a huge tailback of even more frustrated passengers heading for the airport.

We are soon down to a road hugging the river which takes us to Boppard 12km south of Koblenz. We visit a bakers shop for coffee and cake which hits the spot. There are some lovely old buildings dating to mid 18th century but the main season is past as several cafes and restaurants are closed. Large boats are taking coach loads of visitors on cruises along the Rhine but they have to share the waterway with amazingly long barges and container vessels which seem positively overloaded, the water seemingly overflowing the sides and bows barely above water.

The Rhine cuts a deep track here and we get a nice view from the road as it snakes down and we make our way to the campsite 3 km to the north. The site is huge and barely half full with camper vans and caravans. There are good facilities with swimming pool, new shower block and nice looking restaurant and bar which decide to check out later. Tents pitched we get a walk and then perfect timing get to the bar as it opens. The beer garden is next to the water and we enjoy watching the numerous boats with the sun beating down making the water sparkle. Heaven.