To Cuxhaven and Waddenzee

Friday 25th July

Day 44, 1680 miles done.

We reached Cuxhaven on Tuesday, completing our journey along the Elbe after a brief stay in Hamburg. We spent the night at the Youth Hostel overlooking the harbour...what a fabulous view it had!

Cuxhaven's historic navigation tower, Kugelbake, is 100 feet high and seemed a suitable marker for the end of this stage of our trip.

We are generally following the North Sea Cycle Route back to Rotterdam but we occasionally take a 'Pocket Earth' detour to get away from the hot shadeless dyke paths along the coast. Somehow we have managed to dodge the odd thunderstorm over the past few days. We haven't had our raincoats on for more than a few hours over the whole trip...hope I don't regret saying that!

In need of a rest, we decided to spend two nights in Leer, a small town close to the north Netherlands border, with some lovely old buildings and a very pleasant harbour. It is also famous for its tea served in tiny fine china cups with rock candy and drops of thick cream...no wonder I like it here!

Meissen to Bleckede

Saturday 19th July

Day 38, 1445 miles done.

We have had a good week cycling from Meissen to Bleckede and have enjoyed the variety of scenery along the way...'silent' towns (a young local's description), busy tourist towns, beautiful old buildings, forests, vast fields of crops and masses of wild flowers,  birds and butterflies.

Wittenburg, the place where Martin Luther pinned his 95 'Theses against the abuse of Indulgences' to the church door, will be a fantastic place to visit in 2017 when many repairs and refurbishments should be finished in time for the 500th anniversary of Luther's famous actions. All you can see at the moment is lots of white sheeting!

Tangermunde is a pretty market town with ornate city gates, a fabulous Gothic Rathaus and gable and lots of half-timbered buildings...All very photogenic.

I couldn't resist getting the camera out in Ruhstadt either. This a village of red brick houses, most having a storks' nest perched on the roof!

For the last few days we have passed many old border towers, a reminder of the East/West days...

From Prague to Meissen

Saturday 12th July
Day 31, 1127 miles done.

It's a small world...as we were leaving Prague, we met a cycle tourist coming the other way. He seemed familiar and as soon as we got into conversation we realised that we had met him at the airport in Sri Lanka, 18 months ago. How amazing is that?!

The path going North out of Prague was very pleasant to start with, but we had read that it would become quite difficult and indeed it did!  The track became very narrow and rocky, only inches from a long drop into the river in places, winding through thick, prickly vegetation for about 5 km. I had to walk.

On Tuesday,  we crossed the Czech border back into Germany and enjoyed the ride past grand palaces and pretty villages before we were caught in torrential rain. We donned our waterproofs once again and made a dash for Dresden. We spent a couple of days here, visiting the old city and marvelling at the mix of grand buildings, old and new. Repair work seems to be ongoing...In Zwinger, a hall in the open air, dozens of statuettes are carefully being replaced. Everywhere, lots of buildings are covered with scaffolding and blue and green drapes whilst work is carried out. 

For the past few days, the cycle path has been very good. Smooth tarmac interspersed with short stretches of cobbles has become the norm, so the going is a little less tiring and progress is made more easily. We have enjoyed stopping off at Radebeul and Meissen for coffee and cake and are still looking forward to our first icecream in one of the many 'eis cafés'...

Prague...we made it!

Saturday 5th July

Day 21, 900 miles done.

We've had a great few days in Prague, taking in the main tourist sights and sampling the home brew. Hotel Kinsky Garden has been our base, very good value and tea-making facilities in our room...bliss! 

Yesterday, we had some fresh mint tea in Wenceslas Square and then had a stroll around the Old Town including the Powder Tower and amazing astronomical clock clock.

Today, we walked up to Prague castle and enjoyed such a leisurely stroll that St Vitus Cathedral had closed by the time we got there. Andy consoled himself with a large glass of unpasteurised 'tank beer'...See photo!

It isn't surprising that Prague has become a city break destination with its beautiful buildings, cheap accommodation and excellent beer for a pound a pint!

Over the border into the Czech Republic

Wednesday 2nd July

Day 21, 898 miles done.

On Sunday we had to dig out all our waterproofs for the first time, as the heavens opened on a seven mile pull up to a Bavarian ski resort followed by tough tracks in the clouds for several miles.

On Monday we cycled into the Czech Republic, sadly leaving behind the friendly Bavarians and their delicious coffee and cakes...we did have one final fuel stop at a bakery before we moved on!

We are now finding our route more challenging as forested rolling hills abound and we have been spoilt by the well signed dedicated cycle paths through the Netherlands and Germany. Having said that, the route along the Ohre river through the gorge was lovely. Camping still seems impossible and even hotels have been few and far between at times, so we have been glad to find places to stay like Pension Atmosfera in Loket, to rest our tired legs.

We are now in Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad), a beautiful spa town, overrun with tourists sipping the hot spring waters from their special must-buy cups! We attempted to move on yesterday but after cycling out on a steep hill for a mile or so, we hit a busy main road with thundering lorries. As time was getting on, we decided to cut our losses and head back to Karlovy Vary to think again. 

After some deliberation we decided that we would like to return home alive, so the last 60 miles or so to Prague will be done by train...

Main Road to Bamberg

Friday 27th June

Day 16, 675 miles done.

As we continue on our way along the 'Main Radweg', we have passed through the Franconian wine country and it's attractive weinguts and villages. It's a pity we couldn't sample any...neither of us would be up to riding after a glass of wine; coffee and cake is enough to give us searing 'café legs' as we get going again!

Campsites continue to elude us, so we have resorted to B&B hotels and Italian restaurants...Andy is beginning to look like a pizza!

At present, we are in Bamberg,  a world heritage site with some really beautiful old buildings like the old town hall built in the 14th century...and the traditional beer keller where we are heading to now...!

From Rhine to Main!

Monday 23rd June '14

Day 12, 520 miles done.

We are now enjoying our first proper rest day on a really good campsite in Bettingen, on the banks of River Main. It was great to have a lie in until 8 o'clock this morning, instead of letting the air out of our Thermarest mats at 7!

After admiring the scenic banks of the Rhine, with so many majestic castles perched high up on rocky outcrops, we arrived in Koblenz, the end of this stage of our tour, last Thursday. A photo was called for, to mark the occasion,  under the watchful eye of Kaiser Wilhelm! 

Since then, we have found that the further we go along River Main, the better it gets, perhaps as we leave the cities and suburbs behind. Until now, accommodation has not been easy as campsites have not seemed to cater for the humble tent and hotels have been few and far between. We did end up in a small room above an Italian restaurant for 50€ including breakfast, one night!. However, there are now plenty of cycle tourists enjoying the pretty villages and countryside on this section of the river, so things are looking up!