Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [410]
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FUN, CHEAP, HEALTHY, SUSTAINABLE
Cycling is huge in Rhineland-Palatinate and the Saarland, and for good reason. Delightful long-distance bike trails (www.radwanderland.de, in German) – many along decommissioned rail lines, with their mellow gradients – can be found along the Rhine, the German Wine Road and the Ahr Valley, all over Saarland, and in the vicinity of towns such as Bernkastel-Kues, Bingen, Speyer and Trier. Almost all the cities and towns mentioned in this chapter have bike rental shops.
You can bring your bicycle along for no charge on virtually all local trains, and for free (or a small charge) on boats sailing the Rhine, Moselle and Saar Rivers. Eight RegioRadler bus lines (www.regio-radler.de, in German; Apr-Oct) let you cycle one way and take the bus in the other. Mandatory reservations (€1.50 for up to five people) can be made via the website – tourist offices can help. Tourist offices can also supply you with cycling maps with useful details such as elevation charts and your public transport options.
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The RP-Ticket also lets you take the train along the right bank of the Rhine between Wiesbaden and St Goarshausen (this bit of track is officially in Hesse) and as far afield as Bonn, Mannheim, Karlsruhe and, in the French region of Alsace, Wissembourg and Lauterbourg. It is available from train station ticket machines, at local public transport offices and on buses.
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RHINE-HESSE & PALATINATE
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MAINZ
06131 / pop 198,000
The lively city of Mainz, capital of Rhineland-Palatinate, has a sizable university, fine pedestrian precincts and a certain savoir vivre, whose origins go back to Napoleon’s occupation (1798–1814). Strolling along the Rhine and sampling local wines in a half-timbered Altstadt tavern are as much a part of any Mainz visit as viewing the fabulous Dom, Chagall’s ethereal windows in St-Stephan-Kirche or the first printed Bible in the Gutenberg Museum, a bibliophile’s paradise.
The Romans were the first to take advantage of Mainz’ strategic location at the confluence of the Main and Rhine Rivers. In 12 BC, under Emperor Augustus, they founded a military camp called Moguntiacum as a base for the invasion of Germania. After the Romans, Mainz took a 250-year nap before being awoken by English missionary St Boniface, who established an archbishopric here in AD 746. In the 15th century, native son Johannes Gutenberg ushered in the information age by perfecting moveable type (see the boxed text, Click here).
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Orientation
The mostly pedestrianised Altstadt is centred on the Dom (cathedral) and the adjacent Marktplatz (Domplatz), which are 1km east of the Hauptbahnhof. Pedestrians-only thoroughfares include east–west Ludwigsstrasse and north–south Augustinerstrasse.
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Information
ATMs Several are situated along Grosse Bleiche.
ConAction (Grosse Bleiche 25; per hr €2; 9am-1am or later Mon-Sat, 10am-1am Sun & holidays) Internet cafe.
Eco-Express (Parcusstrasse 12; 6am-10pm Mon-Sat, closed Sun & holidays) Laundry.
Gutenberg Buchhandlung ( 270 330; Grosse Bleiche 27-31) Bookshop with English novels and Lonely Planet titles.
Internet Center (Bahnhofstrasse 11; per hr €1; 9am-11pm) One of several internet cafes near the Hauptbahnhof.
Mainz Card (individual/group-of-5 €9.95/25) Available from the tourist office and valid for two days, it gets you admission to museums (some are free anyway), a walking tour, unlimited public transport plus various discounts.
Post office (Bahnhofstrasse 2; 8am-6pm Mon-Fri, 7.30am-noon & 12.30-3pm Sat) Has an ATM.
ReiseBank Currency exchange in the Hauptbahnhof.
Teleinternet Cafe