Thursday 2 Feb 12 Visit to Zons

Another brisk morning of minus 10C to wake up to.  There is not much frost because there is so little moisture but the weather conditions in Russia suggest that a cold and snowy snap is on the way.  An easy day pottering about.  After lunch we drove out to a little 14th century village of Zons which is the only village in Germany retaing it's entire city wall and all towers.  Zons was founded by the arch bishop of Cologne and served as a customs clearance station on the Rhine. Zons is only half an hour from Leverkusen and provided a relaxed drive through light traffic and farmlands.

Arriving at Zons we were surprised to find that this town is on the historic German Pilgrams route which leads to Santiago in Spain.

Typical Pilgrims Route Marker

The weather was quite cold again so we did not linger but took a fast walk around the town until we found an open cafe serving coffee.  Most of the facilities are closed as there are few tourists to justify keeping the shops and historical sights open.  The great pity was that in the church there is a sign to say that it was closed to the public due to vandalism.

City Gate

Church Doors

Trying to keep Andreas head warm in front of one of a city wall tower

The Countryside in this area is rural and very pleasant however the blue sky could be misleading as the water in the picture is solid ice.

On leaving Zons Andreas and Brigitte proposed a rural route that took us across the Rhine on a ferry and wound it's way back through small villages and rural and light forrest lands.

Ferry and barge traffic on the Rhine is busy with many starting in Holland and working their way along through Germany and into Austria, Switzerland and beyond

On our way home Andreas took me into the city centre of Leverkusen which sports a large football oval and is the site of many major games played in this locality.  The British soccer teams are banned from bringing supporters along when they play here due to the bad behaviour. During the evening we entertained neighbours Dominik and Sylvia who are a like minded outgoing and adventurous couple.





Tomorrow I travel to Stuttgart for 2  days to catch up with Martin from the Camino.