20 years ago today - Day 128

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Tuesday, July 9th - a rest in Rothenberg


I woke in the middle of the night with serious camps and nausea, my intestines in a knot and my whole body in sweat over the crisis in my digestive system. My discomfort lasted an hour or so before I could go back to sleep. I am happy this happened before a rest day instead of a day that requires a long ride, as I am feeling sluggish this morning. I decide to take it easy and avoid anything that is hard to digest today.

I am still nauseous at breakfast so I only have a cup of coffee. When I return to my room I vomit up most of last night's pizza. My sweet proprietor noticed my condition at breakfast and comes upstairs to see me. She brings some pills to settle my stomach and some apples for later. I lie down to rest after I take the pills. I often have minor stomach ailments but rarely vomiting so I suspect that it might be a touch of heat stroke. I should be careful to do shorter days and work out a system where I can ride with my helmet on hot days.

Later, when I am feeling somewhat improved, I clean my bike. The landlady gives me a couple J-cloths, which she wants me to keep, and a pail of hot soapy water. She is very kind and nurturing. I wish I could communicate with her better. I stroll into town and collect my youth hostel card from Cochem which has arrived at the local youth hostel that I am too old to stay in. I wander around the town again, check out the walls of the city and then spend the rest of the afternoon writing letters and updating my journal.

I rest again but by dinner time my digestion and my energy level feel back to normal. Finding no other interesting, inexpensive options, I return to the Italian for another meal. I hope to hell last night wasn't food poisoning. I suppose I will find out later tonight if it was. Again, I sit on an outdoor terrace and listen to a cacophony of foreign voices interacting. I am the only one sitting alone.

There is nothing much to do when I return to my room. I am bored to tears. I have long since finished "Anna Karenina" and should find another novel, but there are no English bookstores here. I might need to wait until Berlin before I can buy another.


PHOTO 1: view of Rothenberg ob der Tauber from church tower
PHOTO 2: tower at the west gate to the city
PHOTO 3: tower of the west gate from outside the walls
PHOTO 4: outside the walls
PHOTO 5: the quaintest town in Germany
PHOTO 6: Holy Blood reredos in St James Church
PHOTO 7: ducking stool at Medieval Criminal Museum