Rest Day Magdeburg

May 25

After enjoying a great breakfast in the hotel. The apple pie for breakfast was great I am going to have to do that again.  Bob and I saw down to confer of the best route for tomorrows ride.  And it does look like a great ride with lots of path ways and very favourable weather forecast.  A high of 16C with a 15-25 km tail wind.  

Ken and the rest of the crew headed off to find a laundry (which turned out to be dry cleaner).  I headed off  for a walking tour of the city.  Magdeburg is a city of 200,000 but has a very small area.  From our hotel in the city center a person can easily walk to all of the downtown sites.  I noted that the tourist map had three cathedrals and lots of walking paths.  It is really a city of diversity from ultra modern buildings to art deco Gaudi style buildings to 13th century cathedrals.  In addition every corner has a piece of sculpture on it.  It was a beautiful day for a walk and I really enjoyed ambling along taking in the sites of a very beautiful city.

Upon arriving back at the hotel I found Ken and we headed down to the bike locker room to clean our bikes.  My bike was just covered in sand and grit from all of the unpaved trails we have been down.  I had stopped in a local Woolworth store and bought some cleaning cloths which made the job a lot easier.  

Yesterday I wanted to have a few drinks in the hotel room so I found a grocery store which is just across the street.  I picked up a bag of nuts, a large coke, a package of crackers and a bottle of what I thought was apple juice.  Back in the hotel, I poured myself a generous glass full of apple juice.  I nearly gagged as it turned out to be apple cider vinegar.   

After bike cleaning Ken and I picked up a few items in the grocery store and had a picnic lunch back in our room. 

Ken headed off for a walking tour and I enjoyed a very nice snooze.  

What a great lay over day.

Terry 

Tangermude to Magdeburg

May 24 2023

After a huge breakfast in our hotel in Tangermude we were off to an early start right at 8:00 am.  The weather was heavily over cast and trying hard to rain but all it could manage was a few drops, however it was quite cool at only 8C.  I really didn't want to put my rain coat on as then you just sweat inside of it but the undershirt, jersey and arm warmers were just a little cold.  I toughed it out and kept the rain jacket in my panier.  

After a few false starts Bob found the path and we were off.  There was quite a section of tree lined path way before we got to the river dike.  While we were on the tree lined path we were protected from the wind but as soon as we hit the dike path way we were exposed to the west wind which was coming at us in a right hand cross wind.  It seemed to cut right through me.

By 10:00 am we found a pathway resort which had a very nice coffee service so we pulled in for coffee.  We had made quite good time and were already close to 30 kms into the ride.

As we rolled into a small hamlet I saw a statue commemorating the fallen soldiers from 1939 to 1945.  You don't see too may war memorials here in Germany, unlike England or France where there is one in every town square.  Then a couple of hamlets later I saw a WWI statue to the fallen German soldiers.   These are the only two memorials I have seen.

At the 40-45 km point we came to a ferry across the Elbe river.  After some discussion we took the ferry.  It was only about a 5 minute ferry ride and I commented to Bob that is was so short that I didn't even get my sea legs. 

On the opposite side of the river there were a lot of little towns however finding a place to have lunch proved to be a task in its self.  When we did find a place, we were the only ones in it and it appeared that there was only one person working so we settled on the cream of asparagus soup and headed out as quickly as we could. 

The path continued down the opposite side of the river until we reached Magdeburg.  Across the river a couple of lefts and rights and we were at the hotel.  Bob's navigation was totally spot on.  In fact I really have to give Bob credit for his navigation.  He has the route book on his handle bar bag and keeps us right on track.  Following the map while riding is no easy trick.  Great work Bob!

Hard to believe that we are already at our first lay over day.  Five ride days down.  

Terry     

 

Wittenberge to Tangermude

May 23 2023

As we set off this morning it was drizzling.  So rain jackets and I had put my rain booties on as I didn't know how wet the roads and path way would be. The terrible south head wind was gone only to be replaced with a west wind and this heavy mist and 10 C colder temperatures.  No the best trade.  

The first part of the route was back on the river dike, but this section was paved with bricks and these cement blocks. The bricks weren'y bad to ride on and my 40 mm tires absorbed the joints between the bricks.  Of course we saw lots of sheep but we also saw a number of deer off in the meadows which surround the river.  There was also a tiny deer fold in the grass right near the path.  

At coffe we stopped in a tiny little town but they had this most amazing cathedral.  It was really beautiful and it was a great stop.  It also gave me a chance totake off my rain booties as the path was not very wet.  It alos gave me a chance to adjust my rear fender which had been dragging.  

Bob navigated us through this industrial zone and past a couple of paper mills.  This detour shaved at least 10 kms off the route.  I was certainly glad to knock these miles off as my back was getting tired.

After lunch we had only 15 kms to go and they went pretty fast.  The bike path was the most amazing bike path being this very smooth concrete surface with a few little rollers in it.  It was a good thing Bob had knocked off those extra kms as it started to rain pretty seriously as we rolled into Tangermude.  

Tangermude is a 14th century walled town with several huge gate houses and a beautiful cathedral which is white inside.  The gate houses are all several stories high and completely made of brick.  The rest of the town is picture book Germany with cobbled streets and half timbered buildings.  

So today wound up being a 76 kms day and being a lot of fun rain not with standing.  We saw a lot of really cool history and some beautiful country lanes. 

Terry 

 

Hitzacker to Wittenberge

May 22 2023

This morning the seemingly abandon hostel was a live with activity and there were real live people preparing the breakfast.  And I might add it was quite good.  The rolls were still warm from the oven and the coffee was hot and black.  We were then on the road quite earl, around 8:25 am I believe which was good as we had the longest day so far at 76 kms.    

Out on the road we were riding on top of the river dike and it was very pretty.  The sun was well up and setting some very pretty scenes on the river side of the dike.  The  trail on the top of the dike was paved and was a great surface however all of the entrances to the dike path had barricades down but we rode around them.  It seemed like there was a lot of poo on the trail. Way more than from a flock of Canadian geese. The we came to a truck with some workmen on the dike and they shouted at us to get on the road.  So we took the next exit and went down to the road which paralleled the dike path.  As we came around the next corner we saw what was dropping all the poo.  It was a flock of sheep and the men in the truck were the farmers and they didn't want us riding through their sheep.  Some times it is hard to get a message through to people.  

At about the 20 kms mark we crossed the Elbe  on a large bridge.  It was very pretty with the sun shining on it.  It wasn't far to the next little town and as we had covered 25 of the 75 kms we went in for coffee.  It was a very pretty little town and was just full of cobble stones.  

After coffee and back on the dike path the wind had now come up and was straight into our face. It was blowing at 15-25 kms/hr according to Weather Channel.  In addition the path had given way to a packed dirt and pea gravel surface.  This meant that you had to pedal constantly.  No coasting! About 20 kms/hr was about all you could do on a sustained basis.  

By lunch time we had covered 44 kms and all of us were pretty hungry.  However it didn't look like any thing was going to be available as the towns along the way were tiny little villages.  However fortune was favouring us and there appeared a wonderful patio cafe.  It had the quiche and salad and it was a perfect lunch.   

Back on the path with 31kms to go. By now the sun had gotten quite was around 25 C and the wind had picked up quite significantly.  The dust from the path was just choking and covered everything.  I noticed that there was a paved service road which paralleled the dike and was quite a bit lower than the top of the dike.  The dike gave you some relief from the wind and was a lot easier to pedal on as it was paved.  There wasn't any view from there but it was a much easier ride. Not all of the riders rode on the service road but I did.  

By time we got to the hotel in Wittenberge I was quite tired and my back was sore.  The hotel owner spoke no English so out came the translator app.  He was very helpful and took our bikes around to his garage where he let us use a hose to wash the dust off.  As there are three men on this trip we are taking turns on who gets the single.  Tonight is my turn....Yahoo.

Terry 

 

Lauenburg to Hitzacker

May 2, 2023

Today was a shorter day so there was no real hurray to get rolling so we enjoyed a leisure breakfast in the Schifferhaus Hotel.  It was a really nice breakfast with lots of very nice rolls and excellent North American style coffee.

There was a question as to whether or not the Hitzacker ferry was running or not.  The Hitzacker ferry web page gave hours of operation however there was a large in red letters caption at the top of the page saying that it was not currently operating.  Bob wanted to take the east side of the river but if the ferry was not running then it was a very long detour to the next bridge and then a very long ride back to Hitzacker.  When I had done the Garmin route I had translated the ferry page and decided that it was not running so I did the route on the west side of the river.  As getting to Hitzacker and have no ferry was unacceptable, so we rode the Garmin route I had prepared.  

The Garmin route took us across the Lauenberg bridge and put us on the west side of the Elbe river.  The view across the river to Lauenburg was terrific.  After the bridge the route took us along the river dike and it was a very nice ride down a nice wide bike path.  

At about the 25 kms mark we found a very nice little town and pulled in for a coffee. By not the sun is total wide awake and it is getting down right warm. The morning wind had died down and we could really feel the strength of the sun. 

The ride after coffee took us down so quiet roads and through a lot of river marsh land.  As we got down to the river the pavement turned to a gravel road and we had about 3 kms of gravel before turning back onto the pavement.  
 

As it was getting close to lunch time we were looking for a lunch stop and found one in a roadside place call ELBDorado.  Not fancy cuisine but a nice patio to sit and enjoy our meal.  

After lunch there was only about 20 kms in to the hostel where we were staying, so it was an easy ride although the route did take us down a narrow path for about 1.5 kms which was a lot easier than yesterdays forest trail.  We arrived at just after 2:00 pm and found that we were the only ones in the hostel.  No other guests and no staff.  After a bunch of head scratching Bob figured out that his email had a code which we entered into a small lock box and retrieved the keys.  

In the hostel there was no bed linens or towels.  We decided to head into town and have a beer and look around.  As we sat on a patio enjoying the beer and looking across the river there was the Hitzacker ferry making a crossing.  Go Figure!   As it was Sunday everything was closed so Marlene went into a bake shop and organized a plater of cheese and meat and some rolls for our supper.   Back at the hostel Ken rummaged around and found bed linen but no towels. We then had our showers and had a great picnic lunch in the lobby of the hostel.  About three or four other parties have shown up at the hostel and checked in.  

Tomorrow is about 75 kms down to Wittenberge.  The temperatures look great at 17-25 C however it does look like a nasty head wind of 16-25 kms/hr.  So we will try and get an early start.

Terry 

 

 

Hamburg to Lauenburg

May 20

Everyone was totally pumped as we hauled our bikes down the steps of the hotel Terminus and into the busy and crowded street which Bob had aptly named "the War Zone".  Everyone was wearing the tour jersey and we were a real sight.  

First there was the wrestling to get the paniers attached to the bike then there was the swinging your leg over this huge pile of luggage which wants to rear up and wheel away from you. Now you got to push off and get rolling on this incredibly heavy thing.  I think that bike and paniers weigh in at around 60 pounds and I have one of the lighter bikes.  Braking with heavy load and old style center pull rim brakes on Surly is not real precise and with in a few blocks I realized I need to give things a lot more room. However in a few kilometers I have become quite comfortable on the bike and things are working well.  

Getting out of Hamburg was a bit of a maze but Bob had things figured our and in no time we were on the Elbe River bike path and headed south.  

The river trail is very flat and we had nice sunny weather so it was great fun just coasting along.  At about the 28 kms mark we pulled in to a little country cafe which was in an old wind powered wheat grinding mill.  It was a great stop however as we were stopped a nasty wind came up and blew in a bunch of dark gray clouds.  This nasty head wind and gray cold sky would be with us for the rest of the day.  

At about the 42 kms mark we came to a fish and chips shop right on the river.  As it was close to lunch time we stopped for lunch. We had a bunch of fun talking about Fush un Chops.  We didnlinger as the wind was cold. 

A few kms later we came to a forest trail which was about 6 kms long.  It was in the guide book Bob has been following so down the trail we went.  I was certainly glad I had change my tires to 40mm wide tires as this was one of the roughest trails I have ever ridden.  Sharp Rocks poking out of the trail which threw the bike around and a lot of twisted tree roots which gave the bike a real jolt, and then there was  the soft deep sand spots which tried to throw you over.  My shoulders were aching at the end of that trail.

When we came to Lauenburg the town is all cobble stones and a lot of the buildings are posted with signs claiming heritage of 1628.  The hotel we are staying in has one of these signs.  

A great first day and I think I can safely say everyone had a great time but is glad to be in.  

Terry 

  

 

Hamburg Germany

May 19

Today Ken and I got to test ride our bikes to make sure that everything was in working order.  With this in mind the group set off from the hotel right after breakfast. We were headed to a bike shop as some people wanted a few things.  Bob had scoped out a few shops and had a tourist map in hand and off we went.  It was a bright sunny day and though a little cool it was going to be a great day.  We rode past city hall, a bunch of canals and got to a bike shop but not the right one so another and then we saw the Kaiser sitting on his horse and looking very noble.  At the bike shop Bob got some leg warmers and a few other things were picked up.  Then we started touring the city we stopped at the Hamburg cathedral which was destroyed in WW2 and is now a museum.  More riding around and the we stopped for lunch in the Red Light district which is a reputed to be second only to Amsterdam.  We sat in a patio and watched the parade of characters strolling the street.  

After lunch we hit the Uboat museum which has U434 tied up. It is a post war Russian sub which served in east Germany.  Really tight quarters in it. I don't think it was too glamorous to be on that boat.  However it was very interesting.  From there we rode down the river and took the under the Elbe river tunnel which was opened in 1906 and is now a bike/pedestrian tunnel.  You enter the tunnel on a large lift which originally was for cars.  The center lane is for bikes and the walker are on two side walks.  It was a little un-nerving as people would step off the side walk and there were other riders coming towards you some playing with their cell phones.  Gosh I wonder why my call got dropped. 

After we got back to the hotel Ken and I headed off to find sim cards.   We will need cards to stay in touch with the rest of the riders when we are on the road. 

It was a wonderful warm day and the ride through the city was a lot of fun.  The fact that the bikes seem like they are in perfect working order made everything just that much better.  Big thanks to Bob for leading us through the city on a great ride.

Tomorrow we start off on the tour.  I think we have only 53 Kms down to Lauenburg.  Weather looks good.   I am really looking forward to getting started.

Terry