Kloschwitz to Zerbst - 108 kms mostly following the Saale river.
(I am doing this entry on August 4 from Paris from my travel notes.)
Today has been a great day!
Great days always end well and today has ended beautifully.
This is the 4th day without rain and the 2nd of 2 days of balmy summer weather. The skies are still mostly overcast but the clouds remain too high in the sky to cause anxiety.
I woke up at 530h and I was on the road at 730h. There were a couple of German cyclists at the camp - they were just starting breakfast as I was leaving.
The campsite is north of the Saale and the Radweg is on the southern side. I headed towards Rothenburg and a ferry to rejoin the Radweg. I am now 2 long days from Berlin.
The wind is gently pushing me along and after taking the ferry I rejoined the Radweg. In Konnern I stopped and bought some supplies only to bump into the same 2 guys from the Kloschwitz campsite. They took the main road rather than the Radweg - a further reminder that the Radwegs are ,ade for pleasure, not for speed. This reminder put a bug in my ear: I started to think about leaving the Radweg and heading on a more direct route towards Berlin.
I passed through Bernburg - a beautiful walled medieval city.
I arrived in Barby and at the end of the Saale River. The Saale empties into the Elbe which also has a Radweg. This path could bring me to Berlin.
After about 15 kms along the Elbe I decided to head north to Steutz and on to Zerbst.
The land in these parts is relatively flat. Lots of agriculture and lots and lots of large fields producing grains. As I approached Zerbst the quality of the land seemed to deteriorate. By the time I got to Zerbst one could best describe the land as "scrub" with signs of erosion and some wild grasses and very small trees.
I said this was a great day.
It was partly great because the riding was so easy after those hard days of rough roads. It was mostly great because of how things turned out.
As I pulled into Zerbst it was about 18h. This city is on flat terrain, it is surrounded by a much deteriorated wall. There are some very old churches and it is the city where Catherine the Great lived before she married the czar of Russia.
I found the tourist information centre at exactly 18h. As I parked my bike and approached the door I heard the lock go "click" - somone was locking up from the other side. The door was huge, thick, and with no window. I knocked on the door anyway and a woman opened it a few inches. she gave me a map of the town and told me of a camping site on the outside of town.
I discovered that I had passed this camping site on the way into town. As I approached the road into the camping site I started to get a bad feeling about this idea. The campsite was beside an abandoned animal shelter which still had signs and other information posted. The campsite seemed to also be abandoned. I saw no other campers and the eroded, gravelly landscape was a big spooky. I headed back to town.
Now it was about 19h. I resolved to get a hotel room but as I crossed the town I found no hotels whatsoever. Eventually I was on the other side of town on the road to Dobritz when I saw a "Pension" sign. "We are full" said the lady with genuine regret in her voice. Her husband gave me directions to the "Sporthotel" in town. What is a Sport hotel? I thought to myself.
The directions I obtained were a bit sketchy and I ended up in a part of town which had few businesses. I followed a street that was lined with drab stucco houses that came right up to the sidewalk. The street was rough cobblestone and I had to push my bike rather than ride.
It was starting to get dark. Around a corner I found the Wallwitz Sport Hotel. Herr Wallwitz did have a room.
The Sport Hotel is a beautiful oasis in a very uninspiring part of Zerbst. Once through the gates one finds a restaurant and tennis courts. My room was perfect and the shower was hot.
It was a warm summer evening and I sat on the patio of the tennis club and had a dinner of onion soup, schnitzel, and beer. The sun was setting and it left a warm orange glow on all of us for a few dazzling minutes.
Herr Wallwitz started this tennis sport hotel around the time of reunification. It is on the land which was the family farm. This land is very very rich. He has greenhouses and produces much of the food served in the restaurant. He showed me how the area is honey-combed with channels which distribute water throughout the areq just below the surface of the ground. The water table here is very high. He also has 2 very cool lawn mowers. They are robots and they cut the rather large area of grass 24 hours a day 7 days a week. They are made by electrolux. I want one.
I so much enjoyed my dinner that I decided to stay 2 nights and explore Zerbst tomorrow before going to Berlin.
A greqt day.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
June 19 Bad Kosen to Kloschwitz : A Hard Day's Ride
Today was a real challenge. It was a sunny day so that gave me a good deal of energy which was much needed. I forgot to note my distance but it was well over 100 kms and the roads and trails today were particularly rough in parts.
My route (still following the Saale Radweg): Bad Kosen; Naumberg; Weissenfels;Merseburg, Halle; Salzmunde; Wettin; and Kloschwitz.
Today the Radweg sent me on many many cobblestone roads that went straight through fields for many kilometers. Other times the surface of the roads consisted of oblong slabs of concrete, each with two fairly deep holes in the surface. these holes were deep enough to cause a good stiff jolt to the bike. Between each concrete slab was a crack which also gave a good stiff jolt to bike and rider also. Some of the roads were so rough that I followed a very very narrow bike path made in the earth by riders before me. As it had not been raining, these earth tracks beside the roads served their purpose. On a rainy day the story would be a sad one for the rider.
This area has some very open spaces with not much going on. There are of course bigger cities like Halle which is huge but for me today this big city is just an obstacle to get around. I did not visit it or go to the Tourist Information Centre. Most of my time was spent in the countryside again today.
It seems also that the traansportation infrastructure in this part of Germany is not as developped as elsewhere. Some examples of what I mean: a) there are many railway crossings in the middle of towns with the result that the street is blocked several times a day as high speed trains go through. The railway is used a great deal here and some of these towns must deal with a blocked road several times each day. The high speed trains are so fast and so quiet that the barriers that come down to block the road are in place a few minutes before the train comes by. It seems like an eternity when everyone is waiting in front of the barrier and it is silent. There is no auditory indication of a train, no rumbling on the ground, nothing. Everyone is waiting there on faith. Sure enough, there is a strange "pinging"sound just before the train speeds past. Two seconds after it passes it is silent again. In other parts of Germany these crossings are eliminated by bridges or viaducts and the like. I think in many towns such construction may be too costly.
Example b) I crossed the Saale river 3 times today on small ferry boats that can take up to 5 or 6 cars. These boats are there instead of bridges. Ferry boats to cross a river are a rarity in most parts of western Europe that I have seen. Again, perhaps building all of the bridges necessary to replace these ferry boats is too costly and may take a long long time to do. In conjunction with the possibility that there are few employment opportunities in many of these smaller villages served by the ferries and the level railway crossings. It may be that this region may have to wait for new economic development before a modern infrastructure is in place.
Also about the ferries: I took 3 as I said, each crossed the same river and each crossed a comparable distance. One cost >30 cents, one cost ,50 cents and one cost 1 euro. these are the prices for a bicycle.
The campsite at Kloschwitz was a small and very friendly family run operation. I watched a Euro cup match there and had some excellent beer. This area has very salty and mineral laden natural ground water and a therapy called Knieppe therapy (I may have a spelling problem with this) was developped by a doctor of that name. It involves soaking in progressively more and more mineralized or salted water. At the campsite they were developping a series of pools where this water pours from one small pool into another and another as it progresses down a hillside. This process isolates the minerals in some way. As the campsite owner spoke no english and my german was not up to the task of understanding the information posted I am at a loss as to what exactly it is all about. Maybe we can all Google it. Knieppe therapy.
A young family was at the campsite with 2 very small children. They had 2 trailers and 2 bikes for the parents. They were exhausted as they too had to deal with the cobblestone roads only they could not ride on the side as I did. They had a teepee which was made with very modern waterproof materials and the whole family slept inside. It was, to my eyes, a faithful reproduction of the North American version only smaller.
German culture has a big soft spot for the North American wilderness and native american culture. This interest is not new but began well before WWII with a series of popular books. I forget the name of that series but I do remember being asked about it on my first visit to Germany 30 years ago. To my knowlege this series was not published in Canada.
Many many times I have heard people say how much they would like to visit Canada and it is always the wilderness that attracts them. Wide open spaces are not available here.
This part of Germany is very sparsely populated once you get out of the big towns and cities. there are many abandoned factories and big industrial chimneys still standing here and there. Whatever these enterprizes did before, they are not doing it now.
Once again, a good day but a very tough cycling day.
My route (still following the Saale Radweg): Bad Kosen; Naumberg; Weissenfels;Merseburg, Halle; Salzmunde; Wettin; and Kloschwitz.
Today the Radweg sent me on many many cobblestone roads that went straight through fields for many kilometers. Other times the surface of the roads consisted of oblong slabs of concrete, each with two fairly deep holes in the surface. these holes were deep enough to cause a good stiff jolt to the bike. Between each concrete slab was a crack which also gave a good stiff jolt to bike and rider also. Some of the roads were so rough that I followed a very very narrow bike path made in the earth by riders before me. As it had not been raining, these earth tracks beside the roads served their purpose. On a rainy day the story would be a sad one for the rider.
This area has some very open spaces with not much going on. There are of course bigger cities like Halle which is huge but for me today this big city is just an obstacle to get around. I did not visit it or go to the Tourist Information Centre. Most of my time was spent in the countryside again today.
It seems also that the traansportation infrastructure in this part of Germany is not as developped as elsewhere. Some examples of what I mean: a) there are many railway crossings in the middle of towns with the result that the street is blocked several times a day as high speed trains go through. The railway is used a great deal here and some of these towns must deal with a blocked road several times each day. The high speed trains are so fast and so quiet that the barriers that come down to block the road are in place a few minutes before the train comes by. It seems like an eternity when everyone is waiting in front of the barrier and it is silent. There is no auditory indication of a train, no rumbling on the ground, nothing. Everyone is waiting there on faith. Sure enough, there is a strange "pinging"sound just before the train speeds past. Two seconds after it passes it is silent again. In other parts of Germany these crossings are eliminated by bridges or viaducts and the like. I think in many towns such construction may be too costly.
Example b) I crossed the Saale river 3 times today on small ferry boats that can take up to 5 or 6 cars. These boats are there instead of bridges. Ferry boats to cross a river are a rarity in most parts of western Europe that I have seen. Again, perhaps building all of the bridges necessary to replace these ferry boats is too costly and may take a long long time to do. In conjunction with the possibility that there are few employment opportunities in many of these smaller villages served by the ferries and the level railway crossings. It may be that this region may have to wait for new economic development before a modern infrastructure is in place.
Also about the ferries: I took 3 as I said, each crossed the same river and each crossed a comparable distance. One cost >30 cents, one cost ,50 cents and one cost 1 euro. these are the prices for a bicycle.
The campsite at Kloschwitz was a small and very friendly family run operation. I watched a Euro cup match there and had some excellent beer. This area has very salty and mineral laden natural ground water and a therapy called Knieppe therapy (I may have a spelling problem with this) was developped by a doctor of that name. It involves soaking in progressively more and more mineralized or salted water. At the campsite they were developping a series of pools where this water pours from one small pool into another and another as it progresses down a hillside. This process isolates the minerals in some way. As the campsite owner spoke no english and my german was not up to the task of understanding the information posted I am at a loss as to what exactly it is all about. Maybe we can all Google it. Knieppe therapy.
A young family was at the campsite with 2 very small children. They had 2 trailers and 2 bikes for the parents. They were exhausted as they too had to deal with the cobblestone roads only they could not ride on the side as I did. They had a teepee which was made with very modern waterproof materials and the whole family slept inside. It was, to my eyes, a faithful reproduction of the North American version only smaller.
German culture has a big soft spot for the North American wilderness and native american culture. This interest is not new but began well before WWII with a series of popular books. I forget the name of that series but I do remember being asked about it on my first visit to Germany 30 years ago. To my knowlege this series was not published in Canada.
Many many times I have heard people say how much they would like to visit Canada and it is always the wilderness that attracts them. Wide open spaces are not available here.
This part of Germany is very sparsely populated once you get out of the big towns and cities. there are many abandoned factories and big industrial chimneys still standing here and there. Whatever these enterprizes did before, they are not doing it now.
Once again, a good day but a very tough cycling day.
June 18 - some more things to add to this remarkable day
I want to thank Frank for his comment regarding the bird I see soaring every day - yes I believe that description is exactly the bird I see - a Roter Milan. What about the other bird that hovers so effortlessly and is often patrolling the same territory as the Roter Milan? It is smaller, it appears to be mostly grey and white with a rather small wingspan. I have never seen it dive to the ground, only hover and hover and hover. The milan does not seem to mind the competition.
When I was coming north beside the Saale river near Kahla, I think, the trail went along the edge of a ridge. The path was no more than 3 meters from the edge and the ground dropped down about 20 or more meters to a flat expanse of field. It was like I was going along the edge of a roof and looking down to the ground. The Roter Milan was soaring alongside me, just a meter of so below the edge of the ridge. I could look down onto his back and, for a few minutes, I kept pace with the bird as he soared along. Soon enough he wheeled up and away from the ridege to look elsewhere. Such a beautiful sight.
This was a second sunny day for me. I could get used to this very easily.
I went through Jena. This city is home to an important tennis tournament and the bike trail goes right beside an enormous sports complex. I passed by a field of grass with a big screen at one end. It looked very much like a baseball diamond from home. It was, however, a field for the shot put. It stands for spectators and lots and lots of space, a practice area and everything. It looked to me like an olympic class venue. There were tracks and other fields and I think a large swimming complex also. I assume this was where many of the East German star atheletes in swimming and the strength events did their training. I have never seen such a sports complex in Canada.
My trip today: Rudolstadt, Khaala, Jena, Camburg, Bad Sulza (the infamous "Bad Something"in my earlier entry and Bad Kosen.
When I was coming north beside the Saale river near Kahla, I think, the trail went along the edge of a ridge. The path was no more than 3 meters from the edge and the ground dropped down about 20 or more meters to a flat expanse of field. It was like I was going along the edge of a roof and looking down to the ground. The Roter Milan was soaring alongside me, just a meter of so below the edge of the ridge. I could look down onto his back and, for a few minutes, I kept pace with the bird as he soared along. Soon enough he wheeled up and away from the ridege to look elsewhere. Such a beautiful sight.
This was a second sunny day for me. I could get used to this very easily.
I went through Jena. This city is home to an important tennis tournament and the bike trail goes right beside an enormous sports complex. I passed by a field of grass with a big screen at one end. It looked very much like a baseball diamond from home. It was, however, a field for the shot put. It stands for spectators and lots and lots of space, a practice area and everything. It looked to me like an olympic class venue. There were tracks and other fields and I think a large swimming complex also. I assume this was where many of the East German star atheletes in swimming and the strength events did their training. I have never seen such a sports complex in Canada.
My trip today: Rudolstadt, Khaala, Jena, Camburg, Bad Sulza (the infamous "Bad Something"in my earlier entry and Bad Kosen.
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