Today we start our bike ride (radweg) along the Elbe River, heading east towards the Czech Republic and the mountains; 1187 kms from there to where it empties into the North Sea.
Up early; went for a walk to see the sunrise but it was dull, overcast. Still, there were some lovely streetscapes to see in our neighbourhood and the sky eventually lightened up with some bits of pink and yellow. And I found some great flowers! Autumn is on the way with leaves turning or falling.
Called into the local backerei for food for lunch then back for our Aldi breakfast. Pack again - but hopefully with a bit more logical order (?!) than yesterday. MF1 returned to Aldi to get a SIM card for phone - will see how that goes.
With the general stuffing around, MF2 and I walked a few blocks away to put some of his clothes through the laundromat that I had seen on my earlier outing.
The newspaper on the table at the laundromat had front page news about the recent unrest between the alt-right and counter-protestors following the anti-immigration riots at Chemnitz (which is nearby here) earlier this month when a foreign man was fatally stabbed.
From here, we cycled along the river bike track to the bike shop Mietstation - they have a branch shop on our side of the river fortunately - and collected a bike pump!
Onwards we went, passing and having to backtrack (only 400 m or so) to the Pfund Molkerei. Such a cute shop! It is the shopfront for a dairy business Gebrüder Pfund, started in 1880 by Paul Pfund. Pfunds supplied Dresden and the world with everything that can be possibly made from milk: Cream, butter, cheese, yogurt, kefir, buttermilk, milk powder, condensed milk and milk soap. The shop is entirely decorated with handpainted Villeroy & Boch tiles.
We had a glass of fresh buttermilk mixed with mango juice. Different!
This lovely young woman enjoyed practising her English and gave us a great run-down on the history of the place.
Back to the river again, we passed several large bridges, including the famous Loschwitz Bridge - aka Blaues Wunder ("Blue Wonder"). Constructed 1891-1893, it is a cantilever truss bridge and at the time, was one of the first steel suspension bridges in the world. Near the end of WWII, the bridge was saved from being destroyed by an SS unit when two people cut the detonator wires to explosives.
We had a coffee here (and the cake I’d bought from the backerei early this morning). It was now midday and the day was sunny and alternatively warm and cool; it was hard to get the clothing right but I definitely discarded some items I had put on earlier (but all day I spent putting tops on and off). Grateful to see the sun though! Really, a lovely day especially given the forecasts when we left home.
We encountered series of cobblestones beyond here on the track which were hard work. Between the river and the steep hills, we proceed past wealthy-looking homes and steep vineyards. There are cyclists zooming by constantly, overtaking us and sometimes riding like lunatics. We also overtake families out cycling and walking, and elderly people toddling along on their bikes too!
We bypass Pillnitz (not deliberately!) - a major navigational error which meant cycling back 4 kms. Argh! But Pillnitz Castle was definitely worth the stop. The delays today meant missing the DDR museum at Pirna but hopefully we’ll backtrack to it tomorrow.
Pillnitz is a restored Baroque Palace and was the summer residence of many kings of Saxony (Saxony is the district we are cycling through right now and of which Dresden is the capital). It started as a fortress in the 14th Century but the buildings one sees today weren’t begun until the 1700s.
There is a Catholic chapel, beautiful gardens (where we munched our bread rolls, salami and cheese) and the Riverside Palace is an arts and crafts museum.
We viewed an interesting exhibition here focussing on GDR fashion culture, with designs, contemporary documents, drawings and costume jewellery produced in the GDR from the inventories of Stadtmuseum Berlin. Also on show were fashion photographs from Sibylle, a GDR fashion magazine started in 1956 that was a rare product (only 6 issues per year and a small production) and always sold out. The dedicated photographers were not only masters of their craft, they also had explicit artistic ambitions for their work, giving the ‘Vogue of the East’ a cosmopolitan charm.
From here it was a ‘straightforward’ (it is NEVER that!) 16 kms to where we are staying at Stadt Wehlen.
What a pretty little village this is, the central cobble-stoned central square drenched in late afternoon sun when we arrived and the church bells ringing. Walkers and cyclists were converging onto the square as we unpacked and checked in.
We are here for two nights and hope to be walkers ourselves tomorrow as we tackle the Bastei.
Meanwhile, after a welcome shower we relaxed on the riverside balcony to watch the sun glowing off the rocky hills we’ll be walking tomorrow and admiring the views along the river as the busy ferry (fähre) goes back and forth from bank to bank moving walkers, cyclists, and locals returning home from work or shopping.
We had dinner overlooking the river (a nice local red wine which seemed to be pinot in style) - and to bed early, again!
Cycling distance: 45 kms
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Buxom wench!
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