Cuxhaven to Dresden (in a day)

But not by bike. This will be a day of trains.

I had developed a private plan to value-add the day tomorrow: perhaps returning to Stade and riding a section of the radweg before picking up the train somewhere like Dollern. But by bedtime I had dispensed with the idea as it seemed like too much pressure given our capacity to get lost plus it meant an earlier start.  I had in fact the CORRECT type of ticket for today allowing us to get on and off if we so wished! It is predicted to be wet in the morning.

It WAS wet - just light drizzle. We all had a sleep-in; a rarity this trip!

So we had a relatively relaxed getaway and cycled to the station via the radweg along the water back past the Kugelbake. Today though it was shrouded in a light mist.

We were aiming for the bahnhof (station) and had to ask directions; we had a bridge to cross that was up due to a boat going though. I thought: hmmm, this was meant to be a straightforward exercise; what could go wrong? 

Instead, the minutes now tick down (trains only once an hour!) as we wait for the bridge to open to road traffic and suddenly it was not leisurely anymore. Big breath. Don’t panic. Bridge opens. Cars, cyclists, pedestrians scuttle across. We had scoped out the station yesterday so know the general direction but have to ask again. There it is. A ride of 8 kms it turned out to be.

I had bought tickets online but needed to get bike tickets. Load bikes (roll on! We are getting spoilt!) and I scoot back to ticket machine. 15€ for 3 bikes! The bike carriage was carriage no. 2 ... (NOTE: NOT at the front of the train!).

So off we set on train (1) to Hamburg (about 1 & 3/4 hours). Past Hofferndorf where we got off yesterday and rode from there to Cuxhaven. Back through Buxtehude and Hamburg-Harburg where we changed trains the other day coming from Lauenburg.

In Hamburg the lift worked - yay! - but we noted that the lift to Platform 5 which we would need later for our next train was out-of-action. Argh!

It was very grey and slightly wet and we had about 2 hours before our next train to Dresden. Hmmm. We wanted to get clear of the station area - zillions of people. We headed off on a whim back the direction we’d come in by train as that had looked a bit interesting from the window of the train. 

About a kilometre along we came to the Diechtor Hallen Internationale Kunst und Photografie. It is in fact one of Europe's largest art centres for contemporary art and photography. The two historical buildings dating from 1911 to 1913 are iconic in style, with their open steel-and-glass structures. Their architecture creates a backdrop for spectacular major international exhibitions. Wow!

It was a nice area, there was a restaurant where we managed to snag the last table and where we had the most wonderful soup: Soljanka.

Perfect given it was raining outside now. I went off to see the Street.Life.Photography exhibition while the MFs had coffee. Fantastic! Included some Diane Airbus, Thomas Wild and William Klein.

By now it was time to return to the station. Down the escalators with bikes and waited in trepidation for the loading of the bikes onto train (2).

Not too bad but tiny bike carriage. We filled the carriage plus one other cyclist. This is an ICE train. Traveling 200 kms/hr! Via Berlin to Dresden - where we will get off - and onto Prague. About 4 hours.

Off the train at Neustadt Dresden and we zapped along the radweg by the river; my goodness, you are taking your life into your hands as a pedestrian along there - especially in the dark, which it was! Gorgeous views of the river with the city lights reflected off the water of the Elbe.

We returned to the biergarten at the Watzke brewery around the corner where we had dinner our first night in Dresden. Watzke Brauhaus is a late 19th century restaurant with an in-house brewery under monument protection. It served as a shelter for soldiers during the war.

We had a good meal. Heaps of people here. Great atmosphere. Families as well as groups playing cards and, in the main bar, tables facing the bar like desks at school - then I realised they were watching the soccer on the TV! Late night - for us!

 Cycling distance: about 10 kms.