Hello from Dresden

Six days since I last posted and hardly know what day of week it is – is this what it feels like to be retired?? Not posted for a wee while, partly due to blog was too full of pictures – big thank you to Karen for getting me all sorted with new blog.

The day I had in Erfurt it was my turn to get scrubbed up – so had a much needed visit to the laundrette to wash my smelly cycling clothes – the washing machine seemed to survive! Then it was more sightseeing but this time in the sunshine – proper sit outside sunshine!

Things I like about Germany – There is next to no litter or dog poo. They like to decorate the electric boxes and make them look pretty and / or interesting. The cycle network is just amazing. There is lots of pretty craft and art work I’d like to buy – downside of that (or good for my budget) is that I can’t carry a lot. And they have “goat dogs” – well at least 2! I’ve been surprised that I’ve not seen a lot of farm animals – although what I’ve seen is much nicer – lots of small holdings – maybe just 1/2 doz sheep or cows or chickens or goats – and not seen so many cows – there are lots of horses and ponies too. Yesterday I approached a wee fenced area of grass – with approx 1/2 doz goats and 2 something else’s – as I got closer they turned out to be 2 dozing (or appeared to br dosing) golden retrievers (I think) – but not dosing for long – soon as they heard me they were up on their feet and one was woofing away – they were definitely guarding their goats – I had hoped to take a picture but with all the woofing I decided I’d move on before someone came to see who was disturbing the goats and dogs.

Cycled no more than about 6k late afternoon to a lovely wee campsite on edge of Erfurt. And it continued to be warm overnight and I didn’t require 3 layers of clothing before I got into my sleeping bag!

A lot of the towns and villages have cobbles – sometimes the whole way through – some times to mark the start and end of a town – sometimes the smaller back roads ate cobbled too. Some are easier to cycle on than others – depending on age and style etc. On one section I was passed by this family – about 1/2 doz kids in matching cycle tops on road bikes and parents on electric bikes – they all zipped up this long cobbled section much quicker than me.

I’m on my way towards Leipzig, stopping first at a campsite in Bad Kosen. When I get to Leipzig I am staying with Jeannine and her family – my friend Kai has kindly put me in touch with them and Jeannine has advised me to visit the town of Weimar on route. Amongst other notables Weimar is famous for Bach having spent sometime there and Goethe, “Germany’s greatest and most influential writer”. Another beautiful town and I loved the huge green park (where grapes were once grown).

Another wee stop later in the day – love it when you come across these random sculptors and got chatting to a nice German couple who had also stopped to take photos.

Bad Kosen has an incredible working wheel and pumping system – I believe it works in a similar way to The Laxey Wheel on the Isle of Man – the pumping system was used to extract salt minerals – I was just in awe of the size and mechanics of – apparently the salty spray is good for your health as well.

Now it was on to Leipzig – a wee bit behind time with my wanderings but nice easy cycling, largely following a river which makes it nice and easy for navigation.

I was behind 2 younger cyclists – one was on his phone and going a wee bit slower than I would like – they did go single file so I could pass but it was a busy wee stretch with other cyclists and walkers coming from the opposite direction and I also reckoned that when he came off the phone the 2 of them would speed up so I just followed on and as I thought they did get quicker. However I caught up with them later on – now I don’t race – even without panniers I’m not designed for speed – I’m better at stamina and distance – but I do like to do the best I can and in my head I had decided that I was going to show them what I could do with my well laden bike – I waited for a nice straight bit, I sped up, I was about to go for it ……… and then I felt something move inside my cycle top and slowed a wee – decided it was my imagination and was about to speed up again but no a biggish insect has somehow got into my cycling top – I panicked (I’m alergic to wasps) – hammered on the breaks – luckily no-one was directly behind me – whatever it was now inside the v of my bra – at which point I clutched my chest to stop it moving further and it stung me (it was probably not happy either) – I’m now in the middle of a busyish cycle path, pulling down the zip of my cycle top and trying to remove what turned out to be some kind of bee from inside my bra – I’m not sure if it was stunned or dead (I suspect the latter) when I removed but I’m afraid I didn’t check. Sting not too uncomfortable and no adverse reactions I carried to meet Jeannine and her family in Leipzig.

I stayed with Jeannine, Sebastian and their 2 children Levi and Anna, and had an amazing time. They looked after me, made some fantastic food and gave me pointers on what to visit in Leipzig (when they were at work and school) and helped with my onward journey. I’ve loved everywhere I’ve visited so far in Germany and Leipzig was no exception – another beautiful old town with lots of green areas. I’ve taken so many photos of church towers and their clocks I think I can tell where I was at anytime in a town or city. Leipzig is also famous for Bach as he spent a large part of his life here and he is buried at the Thomas Thomaskirche (St Thomas Church). My favourite monument in Leipzig was the Völkerschlachtdenkmal – monument to the battle of the nations – it commemorates Napoleon’s defeat – compared with all the lovely churches and buildings I have seen this is not a pretty monument – it is gigantic and imposing and when you walk inside and realise the thickness of the walls it is just amazing – it also has incredible views over the city.