Cycling in Germany Autumn 2014

The First Journey in our Carado T337 Motorhome

Margaret Williamson

Click: Complete Travel Log of the 5,000 miles Overland Journey from the UK to Greece via the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria

Click: The map, table of distances and photographs of the route and an account comparing this journey through Eastern Europe with parallel bicycle journeys made in the days of the iron Curtain

Click: Images of the Journey

Introduction 

After a wasted month of July in England, wrestling with the phenomenon of Marquis Malpractice, August passed pleasantly in the purchase, equipping and testing of an excellent Carado T337 motorhome from the rejuvenated Brownhills Motorhomes of Newark. By September we were riding the long-distance river cycle paths of Germany, and October saw us motorhoming through the Eastern European countries of Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. Our aim - to reach the warm shelter of Greece before winter strikes!

(Continued from: Cycling in the Netherlands Autumn 2014) 

 
SEPTEMBER 2014 – INTO GERMANY

Otterlo to Womo Park Xanten, Xanten, Lower Rhine – 98 miles

Open all year. www.womopark-xanten.de.  €10 for 24 hrs parking inc water and dump. Optional €3 for 16-amp elec. Optional €1.50 per person per day for entry code to luxury toilet/shower room. (Realised too late that no need to pay this, as campers let each other in!) WiFi €3 per day (but out of order). N 51°39'15”  E 6°27'55”

Cycling round Xanten's lakes (25 km): After lunch we rode round the two linked lakes (Sudsee and Nordsee), passing the Strandbad (open-air bathing place with entry fee) and pausing for coffee at the marina. It was a level ride on gravel paths and side roads, though badly signed if at all. An information board showed a wooden Roman barge, sunk upside down in the Sudsee, found recently while dredging for gravel. The two lakes were once an arm of the Rhine and the barge was carrying building material. A prehistoric settlement has also been evidenced on the site of the Roman colony.

Xanten to Camping Wolfsmuehle, Lahnstein, Rhineland-Pfalz – 137 miles

Open 15 March-31 Dec. www.campingwolfsmuehle.de. ACSI Card rate €17 inc local tax, 8 amp elec and showers. May be extra for riverside pitch when busy. WiFi €2.50 for a day, €5 for 3 days, or €10  for an unlimited stay. N 50°18'54”  E 7°38'1”

Click: http://www.magbazpictures.com/cycling-the-rhine1.html

Cycling Lahnstein to Koblenz & back (25 km): Camp Reception supplied a free sketch map of a route to Koblenz on an intermittently signed Radweg (cycle path). It suggested crossing the Lahn to the north bank on a footbridge, which involves carrying bicycles up and down a very steep staircase. Then it's 3 km into Lahnstein, where the river meets the Rhine. Turn north and follow the cycle path up the east bank of the Rhine to Pfaffendorf and cross the road bridge to Koblenz (total 10 km). Then cycle along the traffic-free Rhine promenade (Rheinufer) north to the Deutsches Eck, the confluence of Rhine and Mosel, with its imposing equestrian statue of Kaiser Wilhelm (replaced after the Americans destroyed it in the last war). Riding this on a sunny Sunday afternoon, with everyone and their dogs out in force, we joined the crowds for an ice cream, then returned to Lahnstein. This time we crossed the Lahn on the town bridge and cycled back to camp on quiet roads, rather than the river path with its difficult bridge.

We cycled into Koblenz twice more - on a week day when we found the paths much quieter, and on a Saturday when the Koblenz promenade was thronged with the biggest flea market we've ever seen. The railway station cafι had good coffee, as well as sausages served with bread and potato salad. After some searching, we found a good cycle shop Fahrrad XXL near the Eck, with 2 floors of clothing and accessories. When we asked for maps they directed us to Thalia bookshop in the basement of a shopping mall opposite, where we bought maps of both the Lahn and the Mosel cycle routes.  

Cycling Lahnstein to Bingen (64 km): With a room booked at the Kempter Eck guesthouse in Bingen, we left the motorhome on the campsite (they didn't even charge for the hookup that night) and took a 2-day ride up and down the Rhine. We didn't have a map for this but you can hardly miss the river! There is a continuous cycle path along the west bank, while the path on the east side is unfinished, with gaps forcing cyclists onto a busy road. There are no bridges south of Koblenz until Bingen but six separate ferries(for pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles up to 8 tons) regularly link towns along the way. We assume the lack of bridges is because this stretch of the Mittelrheintal (the romantic Rhine valley and gorge, complete with castles and the Loreley rock) is a UNESCO heritage site, free of industry and modern buildings – and the Allies had helpfully cleared the old bridges over the Rhine, ending with Remagen.

We cycled into Lahnstein, then followed the cycle path south, on the east side of the Rhine, to Filsen (18 km), the first chance to cross to the west bank on the ferry to Boppard. The one-way fare for cycle + rider was €2.30 (same on all the ferries). A return ticket saved a little but was only valid for the same day. In Boppard we sat in the sun with coffees, watching the various day-trip boats depart: upstream as far as the Loreley, or downstream to Koblenz or even on to the Mosel. There were also long river cruisers on their way to Switzerland, as well as working barges laden low with coal, stone, scrap iron or fuel.

Just before St Goar we had lunch at a picnic table outside Das Boot, a small hotel that was closed up and for sale (30 km). A German family offered us a bag of sweets! On we rode, always on a dedicated cycle path, past the St Goar-St Goarshausen ferry and the Loreley Rock rising above the opposite bank. Leaving Oberwesel we bought chocolate and biscuits at Lidl. We passed two more ferries at Bacharach-Kaub and Niederheimbach-Lorch before reaching the larger town of Bingen-am-Rhein (62 km).

Continuing past the Bingen-Rudesheim ferry we reached the Hindenburgbruecke Camping and turned right through a short tunnel under the railway to Kempter Eck, and one of two hotels listed in Bett und Bike (the German 'Bed & Bike' website). It was a good choice, with an excellent room and biscuits, grapes and sweets left out for hungry cyclists - but no restaurant. Our kind hostess recommended the food at the Hindenburgbruecke campsite, to which we returned for plates of pig & chips, followed by cakes from the nearby bakery.

All that remains of the Hindenburg railway bridge is a pair of massive stone pillars in the river. Originally built by Russian prisoners of war in 1914, it was destroyed by German Pioneers in early 1945 to prevent Allied forces from crossing.

Cycling Bingen to Lahnstein (65 km): The day began with a generous breakfast buffet – a selection of home-made jams, fruit juice and fruit yogurt from the family orchards, as well as the usual cheeses, hams, omelette, rolls and coffee - served by Rosa and Toni, who have run the hotel for 30 years. It began life as a 16th C hostelry, much restored after part-destruction by an Allied bomb. The port at Kempter Eck was where the draft horses were changed in the days when wooden barges, usually carrying barrels of wine, were towed upstream by a team of 3 horses led by a lad.

To vary the return route to Lahnstein, we cycled 2 km back to the Bingen ferry, crossed to Rudesheim and set out northwards up the east bank of the Rhine. Quickly realising our mistake (there was no cycle path on this side, just signs of building one here and there), we struggled along the B42 into a head wind to the next ferry (Lorch to Niederheimbach) at 15 km. It was a relief to rejoin the path up the west side, to reverse yesterday's ride. After a coffee break in Bacharach at 19 km we pushed on, with more shelter from trees than on the eastern side. Lunch was again a picnic outside Das Boot hotel after St Goar.

In Boppard at 46 km the Rhine promenade was celebrating its Weinfest – yes, it's wine harvest time. We took our third ferry of the day, across to Filsen, then cycled back to Lahnstein for the final 3 km along roads to the campsite.

 Click: http://www.magbazpictures.com/cycling-the-lahn.html

Cycling Lahnstein to Laurenburg & back (70 km): Crossed the footbridge (with steep steps) to the north bank of the Lahn, then rode upstream on the Lahntalradweg (Lahn Valley Cycle Path), for which we'd bought a cycle-touring guide published by Bikeline. It was a good path on pleasant cool Sunday. In the spa town of Bad Ems (10 km) we crossed the bridge to the south bank and passed the railway station, where a couple of cyclists waited for the regular service that will carry bikes up the Lahn Valley. The bridge and remains of a tower here mark the point where the Limes (the frontier of the Roman Empire) crossed the Lahn and there is a museum in the town.  On to Nassau (at 20 km), where we ate our sandwiches by the river and bought coffee at a pizzeria across the bridge.

The next stretch through the woods of the Naturpark Nassau was much more strenuous, with a steep (1 in 6) climb up to the Arnstein Kloster (pilgrimage church and hostel) overlooking the valley, then an equally steep descent before Obernhof. Here we recrossed the Lahn to the north bank for an easy level ride to Laurenburg (35 km). A surprise rewarded our efforts as the village Backfest  (baking festival) was in full swing, with drinks, cakes and pastries on sale to support the community centre. Only too glad to oblige, we enjoyed coffee and Apfelkuchen, as well as apricot slices to carry back! Retracing the route to the campsite, we walked the long ascent to Arnstein Kloster. It commemorates a Belgian missionary who died of leprosy in the Hawaian Islands.

Note: The Lahntalradweg actually ends at Laurenburg, with a gap beyond until Geilnau. Cyclists must ride the very steep and busy road K25, involving a 2-km climb to Holzappel, or take the train from Laurenburg to the next station at Balduinstein. Our guidebook claims that bikes are carried free on this short section of railway, which follows the river, while the road does not! Perhaps this gap will be remedied in the future.

Lahnstein to Wohnmobil Station, Weilburg, Hessen – 51 miles

Open all year (may be closed for special events in July/August). www.weilburg.de.  €6 per day parking. Optional €2 a day for key to 16-amp elec, water and dump point. Free WC at Fire Station opposite. No showers or WiFi. N 50°29'0”  E 8°15'29”

The Stellplatz proved to be very peaceful, with the added attraction of a baker's van calling at about 9 am each morning with fresh rolls, excellent croissants and pastries! The specific reason for coming was to cycle more of the Lahntalradweg which ran past the gates in either direction, giving us two good rides.

Cycling Weilburg to Wetzlar & back (63 km): Rode upstream for 31 km to Wetzlar. The cycle path was well signed, as it needed to be. We lost count of how many times we crossed and re-crossed bridges over the Lahn, the railway and the highways. It's a ride along the valley, not always within sight of the river, and occasionally deviating onto a short stretch of busy road. The first opportunity for coffee along the way was at a simple grill kiosk in Solms (20 km), as this is not a tourist route.

Reaching Wetzlar we crossed the old Lahn bridge, ate our sardine sandwiches in the riverside park and looked round the historic Old Town and cathedral, unusually shared by Catholics and Protestants. Its architecture is a hotch-potch of asymmetry, as it was altered over the centuries and never completely finished. Over the main entrance, below a statue of the Madonna & Child, a devil can be seen clutching a Jew and a nearby notice has a homily about Jews being abused down the ages throughout Europe – not a little chilling!

Wetzlar is better known for its links with the poet and writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who came from Frankfurt to work as a young lawyer in its famous courts. Here he met Charlotte Buff and Karl Jerusalem, who appear as Lotte and Jerusalem in Goethe's autobiographical novel of 1774: Die Leiden des jungen Werthers (The sufferings of young Werther).

Finally Wetzlar is home to the Leica camera, still made there. Ernst Leitz's firm that made microscopes produced the world's first small camera in 1925. After absorbing all this we returned to Weilburg by the same route, with another coffee break in Solms, arriving back around 5 pm.

Cycling Weilburg to Steeden (near Limburg) & back (61 km): Rode downstream on the well-signed Lahntalradweg, mainly along the river which it crossed 3 times each way. The only problem was two stretches of gravel and dirt path between Fuerfurt and Villmar that were too narrow to pass another cyclist. Luckily it wasn't very busy, on a cooler showery day after rain in the night.

In Villmar (21 km) we climbed up into the village. The cafι at the Marble Museum was closed but we found coffee and food at the bakery (always a good option in Germany). Back on the river path, we crossed the lovely marble bridge over the Lahn and continued along the right bank into Runkel. Here we recrossed the river on an old stone bridge leading to the Burg, a twee castle, rode on through the Old Town, then back across the river on a modern road bridge.

Continued towards Limburg, turning back 5 km before the city, between Steeden and Dehrn, as we'd reached the industrial outskirts of  Limburg with a view of a cement factory and the threat of rain. We returned the same way, with an ice cream break in Runkel to avoid a short shower.

Weilburg to Camping Erden, Erden an der Mosel, Rhineland-Pfalz – 119 miles

Open 1 April-31 Oct. www.camping-erden.de. ACSI Card rate €16 inc 4 kWh of 16-amp elec (extra usage is metered) and showers. Beware: Riverside pitches cost €22! Also a cheaper motorhome park on an adjacent sloping field, with use of campsite facilities. Free WiFi in reception/restaurant only. N 49°58'48”  E 7°1'13”

Click: http://www.magbazpictures.com/cycling-the-moselle1.html

Cycling Erden to Niederemmel (nr Piesport) & back (60 km): Rode upstream (Trier direction) along the Moselradweg. It is well signed but we found the cycle-touring map published by Kompass (www.kompass.de) useful for detail. The weather was very warm with a light wind, mostly against us but variable, as the river snakes through a high-sided valley. The path was busy with a variety of cyclists, old and young, especially through Bernkastel with its boat tours and cycle hire depot.

In Muelheim (17 km), a village set back from the cycle path, we had a good lunch sitting in the bakery - coffees, large slices of warm Zwiebelkuchen (onion flan, a local speciality), plum tart and cheesecake! Then on through many a village Wine Festival (all serving Federweisser and Zwiebelkuchen), past countless guesthouses and wineries, until we reached Niederemmel at the bridge to Piesport. (The cycle route doesn't cross the Mosel here, continuing on the same side until Schweich, near Trier.)

We climbed up to the church in Emmel before turning back to retrace our route, stopping only for an ice cream in Bernkastel. It was very hot and sticky when we got back (30 deg C inside the motorhome), with thunder rumbling and rain overnight.

Cycling Erden to Zell & back (66 km): On a cooler morning (trousers, not shorts) we rode on good cycle paths downstream (Koblenz direction). The wine village of Wolf (9 km) was busy clearing the streets up after the weekend's Weinfest. Continuing round the bend in the river to Enkirch, we turned off into the village (17 km) for very welcome coffees and pastries at the bakery cafι. On through Burg-am-Mosel and Puenderlich, then a less pleasant section of gravel and mud on a narrow path into Zell (33 km). Here we crossed the pedestrian bridge to the other bank and ate our sandwiches in a riverside shelter.

Our map showed a cycle route on this side, back towards Trier, so we took it. It was gravel and mud through the vineyards for a stretch, then a better path to Puenderlich, where the small ferry we might have taken had just left. So we continued, riding below the railway viaduct and crossing the river by bridge to Enkirch. The slopes on both sides of the Mosel were densely clothed in vines, with workers still picking both green and black grapes. Two well-known wine labels appeared on the signs above the vineyards near Zell: Schwartzer Katze (Black Cat) and Nacktarsch (Naked Arse)!

From Enkirch we cycled back, passing the huge and incongruous Buddah Museum. Heavy rain followed a sudden squall as we rode through Wolf but by the time we reached camp the sun was out and we hung all our gear under the awning to dry! After a pot of tea and hot showers, we were 'right as rain'

Erden/Mosel to Camping Zum Faehrturm, Schweich, Rhineland-Pfalz – 25 miles

Open 5 April-20 Oct. www.kreusch.de. €11 plus metered elec (€0.60 per kWh) plus a one-off €1 connection fee. Free shower tokens. WiFi very expensive. Also adjacent 'Quickstop' motorhome parking area with no facilities for €5.50. N 49°48'52”  E 6°45'1”

In the afternoon we cycled to the 'Fritz Berger' camping and caravan accessory shop, one of a national chain, in Kenn, 2.5 miles away over the bridge. We bought spare light bulbs and two stronger outside door clips, which Barry fitted to the garage and habitation doors.

Cycling Schweich to Niederemmel (nr Piesport) & back (67 km): Rode over the bridge to the south bank and followed the Moselradweg downstream as far as Niederemmel (opposite Piesport), the point we'd reached riding from Erden 4 days previously. The route was mainly along the river with a couple of detours through villages. Shared the cycle path with a selection of other riders - laden cycle-tourists, day riders and local shoppers of all ages – as well as the occasional tractor harvesting grapes.

First stop at Detzem (13 km), for excellent coffee and cakes at the Cafι Moselufer. On through Thoernich and Koewerich (the home of Beethoven's mother), round a bend in the river opposite Trittenheim and into Dhron-Neumagen, Germany's oldest wine village, producing since Roman times. Outside the gothic church of St Peter here we saw a copy of the famous gravestone depicting a Neumagen wine-boat. The original - one of over 1,000 archaeological finds from this area - is in Trier Museum).

Reaching Niederemmel, we ate our sandwiches in the park by the Tourist Office, where a Roman milestone still stands on the old Roman road from Mainz to Trier. The inscription records a date in the 3rd century AD and its position, 18 Roman miles from the important city of Trier (1 Roman mile = 2.222 km). We returned to Schweich by the same route, recrossing the bridge to the busy impersonal international campsite.

 INTO LUXEMBOURG

Schweich to Municipal Camping La Route du Vin, Grevenmacher – 21 miles

Open 1 April-30 Sept. www.grevenmacher.lu. €15.30 inc 6-amp elec and showers. Free WiFi. N 49.68302  E 6.44891

Click: http://www.magbazpictures.com/cycling-the-moselle1.html

Cycling Grevenmacher to Schengen & back (65 km): A 3-country ride, in Germany, Luxembourg and France! Rode over the bridge to the German bank of the Mosel, being the best side for cycling parallel with the Mosel Weinstrasse, then upstream past the villages of Wellen and Nittel, each with a railway halt. Noted that passing trains carried bicycles, as so often on the Deutsche Bahn. At Wehr we climbed up into the village in search of coffee but found only wine on sale! Luckily it is still sunny and warm for the grape harvest (while friends email that it's cold and wet in Hamelin and Dresden). After Palzem we had coffee and cake in the cafι at Camping Dreilaendereck (= three countries corner), near Nennig (20 km). The friendly old lady gave us a gift of sweet grapes from the vine that was planted by a Russian prisoner of war. Over the bridge in Luxembourg lay the town of Remich but we continued on the German bank (a good sealed path the whole way) to the end of the Moselradweg - and the last page of our sturdy waterproof map published by Kompass - at Perl (30 km).

Perl is at the actual Dreilaendereck: straight on for the French border at Apach or across the Mosel to Schengen in Luxembourg. We crossed the bridge to Schengen, sat outside a French-style cafι/bar with coffees and croques (cheese & ham toasties), then returned to Perl and cycled a mile to enter France. The iron model of the Eifel tower reminded us of Filiatra in the Greek Peloponnese, which boasts a similar model alongside a globe. Returned by our outward route along the German cycle path until the bridge over to Grevenmacher.

Cycling Grevenmacher to Trier & back (48 km): Again we rode over the bridge to the German side, then downstream to Trier. An easy ride apart from one short steep climb to bridge the River Saar at its confluence with the Mosel. Approaching Trier, the river and city were busy with Sunday tourists.

We entered Trier through the massive Porta Nigra, still the entrance to the old city. There was a bicycle garage at the gate (€1.50 for up to 4 hours) but we wheeled them into and around the cobbled pedestrian centre. The Porta Nigra is the best preserved Roman city gate north of the Alps, and also the largest that remains (north or south of the Alps), at 30 m high. Built in 180 AD under Emperor Aurelius, it was the northern gate on the 6.5 km long city walls. Trier also has a massive 20,000-seat Roman amphitheatre (built c 100 AD), ancient baths and a Roman bridge that still crosses the Mosel, all of which we'd seen on a previous visit.

We walked round the medieval centre, the Hauptmarkt, with its fine gothic houses, ornate fountain (1595) and town hall, and exclusive restaurants. Luckily there was also McDonalds. We literally couldn't miss the massive cathedral or Dom, a World Heritage site just off the Hauptmarkt, which also dates back to Roman times. The story is that Helena (mother of Rome's first Christian Emperor, Constantine) donated her house in Trier to the Bishop in the 3rd C AD for conversion into a church that grew over the centuries into the cathedral. It still houses a relic, the Holy Robe, supposedly Christ's tunic that Helena brought back from the Holy Land. Kept in the Holy Robe Chapel in an air-conditioned glass shrine, it can no longer be seen. It was first open to view for pilgrims in 1512 but the last pilgrimage was in 1996.  

Before cycling back to camp we made our own pilgrimage, to Karl Marx's birth-house and museum on Brueckstrasse (not well signed!).

OCTOBER 2014 – BACK TO GERMANY

Grevenmacher, Luxembourg to Camping Lahnaue, Marburg an der Lahn, Hessen – 172 miles

Open all year. www.lahnaue.de.  €20 inc 10-amp elec and showers (Winter rate Nov-March, €12.) Free WiFi. N 50.80000  E 8.76861

Click: http://www.magbazpictures.com/cycling-the-lahn.html

Cycling Marburg to Biedenkopf & back (76 km): Rode the Lahntalradweg past Marburg, north through Coelbe, then turned west with the river. The route was very varied, sometimes a dedicated cycle path, sometimes a quiet back road with light traffic and occasionally a track made by tractors across fields. In Caldern (20 km) was the only bakery/cafι we passed: the Muehlenbaeckerei in an old water mill. Very welcome for coffee and pastries!  One short section after Caldern was a steep dirt track up and down through woods.

We were never far from the railway line, with regular trains carrying bikes. Cycling on through the small villages of Buchenau, Friedensdorf and Eckelhausen, we lost count of the level crossings and footbridges that criss-crossed the railway and the river. On a seat after Eckelhausen we ate our lunch before riding uphill (one arrow) and down again (two arrows) into Biedenkopf. Deciding against another climb to the castle overlooking the town, we turned back and retraced our route, with another coffee stop at Caldern.

It was a most enjoyable ride, with a variety of scenery and hardly any other cyclists, compared with the busy Mosel we had just left. Returning to the campsite we passed a Bierfest opening up at the stadium. Plenty of Beer and Bavarian fare but (sadly) no takeaways!

Cycling Marburg to Giessen & back (68 km): We rode the Lahn valley cycle route southwards via Staufenberg into Giessen. It's Friday 3rd October, with all shops closed for a public holiday, the Tag der deutschen Einheit, celebrating the official date of reunification of east and west Germany. Being a very warm holiday weekend, the path was busier today with cyclists young and old, fast and slow, some with a trailer or heavy-laden, others teaching their children to ride – not to mention in-line skaters, dog walkers, push chairs, wheel chairs and the odd scooter. Crossing flat agricultural land, with no hills and no cafes, we diverted into Odenhausen and found coffee at a petrol station machine. The only bakery/cafι there was also closed.

The last section followed the river (not always the case) and we crossed a bridge into the centre of Giessen on the east bank. Ate our lunch by the waterside and looked round the stalls in the Marktplatz. The church here was just a much-restored tower, the rest being bombed inWW2. Excavations were underway to uncover the foundations. Returned by the same route, with an ice cream break in Lollar, just south of Staufenberg.

Back at camp, our motorhome water pump stopped working, delivering no water to taps or toilet. Barry dismantled it and checked for blocked pipes, to no avail.

Marburg/Lahn to Camping Fulda-Freizeitzentrum, Knickhagen im Fuldatal, Hessen – 121 miles

Open all year. www.campingplatz-knickhagen.de. ACSI Card rate €16 inc 16 amp elec and showers. Free WiFi. N 51.400204  E 9.550531

Knickhagen im Fuldatal to Schaffer-Mobil Stellplatz, Schaffer-Mobil Motorhome Dealers, Dresden, Saxony – 211 miles

Open all year. www.schaffer-mobil.de.  €16 per day. Metered elec (€0.50 per 0.7 kWh). Water €1 for 40 litres. Dump point €1. Showers €0.50. WC free. Washing machine out of order. WiFi €4 for 1 day, €5 for 2 days, €8 for 1 week. Beware: Crowded parking lot of a greedy dealer. Even the morning rolls cost more – and were smaller - than usual! N 51°5'9”  E 13°40'59”

Click: http://www.magbazpictures.com/visit-to-dresden.html

Cycling through Dresden to Schillergarten & back (30 km): A muddy track from the back gate of our parking lot led 0.5 km to join the Elberadweg. We could then turn right to cycle to Meissen (13 km) or left for Dresden (5 km). As Meissen meant a head wind back, we chose Dresden direction, preferring a tail wind home.

About 2 km along the cycle path (which was on the pavement next to a busy road) we met a local cyclist waiting to cross a junction: retired protestant pastor, Peter Muetze, who kindly joined us for the ride into Dresden. Keen to practise his English, Peter led us along the Radweg as it followed the north bank of the River Elbe (which now has beavers) into the old city centre. He was rightly proud of this royal city's history, pointing out the amazing panorama of domes and spires, the dates of the bridges, and the old harbour where his grandparents had lived a century ago.

On reaching the Augustus Bridge, Peter told us more of his story. Just 12 years old when Dresden was bombed in February 1945, he lost his mother and 2 small sisters in the fires, narrowly escaping with his father and brothers. He remained in Dresden through the 'socialist' years, when food was scarce, working quietly as a Pastor to the detriment of his children who were not allowed to go to High School. He was one of the thousands who carried candles at the peaceful protest at Dresden railway station that began the 'bloodless revolution' on 8 Oct 1989 - 25 years ago yesterday! And now this gentle and forgiving man works as one of the voluntary guides at the fully rebuilt Frauenkirche, the Protestant Cathedral with the largest dome north of the Alps, standing next to the Catholic Cathedral at the heart of the old city on the opposite bank. It was a privilege to meet Peter and we were sorry that he could not spend longer with us, as he had an appointment.

We rode across the Augustus Bridge, admired the Frauenkirche and Altstadt and searched out a reasonable option for lunch, sitting in the sun at a steakhouse. Then we took Peter's advice and continued cycling along this south bank of the river as far as the iron bridge at Blaues Wunder. The head wind gathered strength and we turned up a cobbled road into Schillergarten, where there was a busy street market. Then we turned to enjoy a back wind home, crossing the Elbe on the Carola Bridge.

Dresden to Colditz, then to Natur & Abenteuer Camping, Bautzen, Saxony – 130 miles

Open 1 April-31 Oct. www.camping-bautzen.de. ACSI Card rate €18 inc 16 amp elec and excellent showers. NoWiFi (free use of one computer in Reception). N 51.20194  E 14.46083

Click: http://www.magbazpictures.com/cycling-the-spree.html

Cycling round the Talsperre Lake into Bautzen & back (22 km): A short ride on a still Sunday morning, the autumn leaves turning colour in the woods with hips and haws scarlet on the bushes. Rain threatened, after a wet night, but it remained dry. We rode anticlockwise round the dammed lake (an 18 km circuit from the campsite), extending it by exploring the medieval centre of Bautzen.

Up the east side of the lake, past the bathing beach area with boat hire, minigolf and cafι (all closed), we cycled a short section of the Spreeradweg (marked with signs of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate). It soon turned off north-east, while we continued riding to the north end of the lake, hardly visible behind the dam walls. Then we turned south on quiet lanes, gently rolling through tiny villages – Dahlowitz, Neumalsitz and Technitz – all of which had alternative Polish names. We're only about 30 miles from the Polish border, which has moved more than once. Under the motorway, then into the historical Old Town, passing a Stellplatz which was full (very few dedicated places).

The walled Altstadt has corner towers, a cathedral under restoration and a medieval town hall and corn market in the centre. The cobbled streets were quiet, with just one Polish tour group being led round to admire the Baroque facades - some renovated, some decaying. We liked the absence of tourists compared with Dresden and enjoyed coffee and cakes at non-inflated prices, sitting outside the bakery on Reichenstrase near the cathedral. Returned more directly to the campsite, back under the motorway and along through Burk on quiet roads.

Cycling from Bautzen to Uhyst & back (63 km): Followed the Spreeradweg north from the campsite on a fine breezy morning. The route through a Teichlandschaft (pond landscape) was a real mixture of paths, quiet lanes, gravel, cobbles and field tracks. We saw and heard hundreds of migrating geese forming V-shaped squadrons that appeared to by flying north, then east (strange?). Also empty stork nests and many swans on the myriad lakes and ponds.

Rode via Malschwitz (its only cafι closed, Mondays) and on to Guttau (16 km) where we did find coffee sitting outside the restaurant Zur Guten Laune (= Good Mood!). On along the cycle route, looking out for Brandenburg Gate symbols and occasionally crossing the Spree River. The tiny villages – Halbendorf, Neudorf, Lieske - in the former DDR and so near to Poland, were devoid of shops, cafes, businesses, petrol stations or even people. Uhyst, a larger village after 30 km, did have a railway station, butcher, florist, baker (closed) and finally an Eiscafe that supplied us with ice cream and cakes.

We rode on, pausing at a dilapidated Schloss (an abandoned stately home). The coats of arms on the neglected faηade were defaced, the park overgrown and the fountains crumbling. As we photographed it, a couple who were in the Eiscafe cycled along with their little granddaughter, proud to be riding without stabilisers for the first time. They told us the place was recently bought by a Dutchman, though we found it hard to believe. We all continued another km to the Baerwaelder See, a dammed lake with a power station exhaling clouds on the far side. Our companions said they often cycled round it (a 16 km circuit).

Returning by the same route, we paused for a chocolate break at a new wooden shelter in the hamlet of Salga, between Guttau and Malschwitz. An 86-year-old woman struggled across the road from her cottage to interrogate us, sent by her 93-year-old husband to see who we were! Margaret struggled with the local dialect but understood that they'd lived here all their lives, though their children had all left. What changes they had seen.