We started at Dessau – home of Junkers aeroplane company and famous for Bauhaus. And ended at Wittenberg, famous for Martin Luther.
There’s a Junkers museum not far from the hostel here in Dessau – just a short walk down through the forest.
We left the hostel at 10.20 am. Cold – mornings are cold here, it tends to get warmer after lunch – unfortunately checkout time is 10, so we bike in the cold air. Never mind, we were wrapped up pretty warm.
The way was flat. This is the Elbe river cycleway. Through forests, on top of stop banks, sometimes through towns.
Stopped for lunch – buns, apples and nuts – around 12.30. Nice, but sunshine would have been good. Hopefully tomorrow.
Only 40 km today but it felt like more, being first day. Nearing Wittenberg we crossed over the big bridge and into the old town.
We’re staying on the fourth floor of a 500 year old house on the town square. Here’s the view out the front window – including a statue of Martin Luther there in the middle:
And out the back:
The forecast was for – maybe – some light drizzle. We set off at 9.30 hoping for the best. 70 km to bike today. So just a quick look at the Martin Luther church, then we’re off leaving Wittenberg behind us.
We’re kind of following the Elbe river, but it’s not a simple river here – more of a river system. We often have little lakes and creeks on either side of the path.
It’s raining a bit. Not enough to get wet, just damp. I’m wearing jeans and they never get wet through. But it’s a damp old day.
The first ferry we need is this morning at Elster. 13 euro for five people, five bikes, and one trailer.
It’s spring here. Some trees have blossoms and leaves, others are still bare.
The day continues cold and rainy. We stop in a bus shelter for lunch. Buns, salami, cheese, apples.
When you’re biking you have time for word games:
There once were five on a bike Four individuals and Mike They biked through the rain The tears and the pain All for an instagram like
Finally, cold and damp, we get to Torgau.
A blue sky and sunshine this morning!
Typical breakfast at the YHA this morning. Coffee, rolls, hard boiled eggs, yoghurt.
We walked around the Torgau castle after breakfast. A big fancy castle, with gargoyles and actual bears living in the moat. (They were right behind our rooms).
After the gloom of yesterday it was great to get going today in the sun and blue sky.
Today we went through lots of small town and farming areas. These small towns always have enormous buildings, sometimes falling apart. is this an East German thing?
We stopped for lunch on a stopbank with a lake on one side and the Elba in the distance on the other.
Aside from making limericks we’ve also invented tongue twisters:
Startled stressed shrimps startle stressed shrimpse
On we biked, a really nice spring day. Lots of wheat and rapeseed crops. Sheep, goats, pigs. Apple trees in blossom on the cycle path. Small towns – nice to look at but also pretty annoying because the surface would switch to cobblestones.
We actually encountered some hills today – it’s been flat up till now.
Staying in Oschatz tonight.
Today was going to be the longest day and it got longer right away. There was an Umleitung (detour due to roadworks) just out of town. A big one too – these were country roads – so that added another 5km or so.
We’ve also had detours due to strikes. There’s a lot going on in Germany. Lufthansa was on strike the day after I flew in. The Elbe ferries were on strike yesterday. The Dresden trams were affected by protests today,
But it didn’t matter. Sunny and warm, and the best scenery so far. We were beside the Elbe most of the day. The river was bounded by hills now.
Lunch was at Meissen. Where European porcelain was invented. This was very important for the balance of trade in 1710, because too much money was flowing to China for manufacturing. Sounds familiar.
Carried on biking. Really nice day to finish the bike tour. Warm, scenic, plus we were bike-fit by now.
Prices are similar to NZ for most things. Maybe a bit more for accommodation. Definitely less for alcohol. A 500ml bottle from a supermarket is about 1 euro. and from a restaurant can be under 3 euro.
We approached Dresden, the villages appeared more frequently, then we were in the outskirts of the city. The bike path took us to within 1 km of the hotel – but the last part was the hardest. Super busy – bikes, pedestrians, trams and cars all merging and moving, while trying not to get wheels stuck in tramlines, and figuring out where to go. You need to be on high alert.
Reached the hotel, Super 8 Dresden, without incident. Checked in, then rode the bikes for the last time, 800 m up the road to return to the hire place.
