Leaving Berlin
After what feels like a long week-end in Berlin, we have a bit of a wake up call when it is time to get back to work. Getting out of the city takes a little while and once out, the first thing we have to get through is a long hilly section in a beautiful park full of hard core training cyclists. It is time for our legs to wake up. We make it to Postsdam for our beloved morning coffee, a tradition we had tried to revoke during rest times (A silly idea which doesn´t last long). It then takes us close to 2 frustrating hours to find our way out which means that we have lunch almost as soon as we leave the city, on the banks of a river. After following the water for a while, we turn back into forest and the terrain becomes rather hilly which I have trouble copping with. At the top of one hill, 75km from Berlin, we call it a day (my sudden burst of sobbing accelerates the process somewhat) and we set up our camp in a little clearing right on the edge of the forest. It turns out to be lovely and I fall asleep hoping for a better day tomorrow.
Having a snack out of the rain
After a nice breakfast, we set off feeling good. We manage to ride 45km to Belzig for morning coffee but as we sit down to enjoy our daily pastries, the weather starts changing and it begins to rain. It has turned into a heavy downpour by the time we are ready to leave and shows no sign of calming down so we have no choice. We put on our rain jackets and are back on our way. We end up riding, completely soaked, for the next 40km to Wittenberg, which we reach covered in mud. Once in the town centre, we find a cafe and have a hot lunch before finding a campground on the other side of the Elbe. On the way, when I think the day can´t get much worse, I get my wheels stuck in the line between cobblestones which makes me fall off and gives me one more nasty bruise to add to my growing collection. We decide to leave it to the next morning to explore the town, on our way out. Crossing the bridge over the Elbe, we notice that it is looking rather huge but think nothing of it until the morning.
The Silhouette of Lutherstadt Wittenberg on the Elbe
After a quick loop around the very picturesque centre of Wittenberg, we are quite excited to begin the section which follows the Elbe down to Prague. Our enthusiasm is short lived. As soon as we find the begining of the marked route, we realise that the cycle-path is submerged half a meter under water which begins a long succession of detours and unsuccessfull attempts to get back onto the right path. Everytime we get closer to the river, we can not go any further and end up back onto the main roads. We ride 115km to Strehla where we find a lovely camping ground to rest our tired legs and hope that the water levels will drop by the morning.
First (but not last) flooded section
We have a slightly nervous sleep, punctuated by the sound of rain throughout the night. It is still raining in the morning and we know that it means we will spend a lot of time on roads rather than the cycle-path. We have a later start than usual, waiting for the rain to ease off and have a short ride to Riesa for morning coffee where we huddle inside a cafe, out of the damp cold. It is only drizzling a little bit when we set off again and we are able to ride along the Elbe route for about 30km to Meißen. It is a relief being off the road for a while and the area is beautiful with grand mansions and wineries following the steep banks of the river. Unfortunately, we end up back on the road for the last 30km to Dresden, breaking our first 1000km. We have to ride through the centre to get to our camping ground and we get excited about having a rest day here before the last big push to Prague.
Approaching Dresden, Germany
On our rest day, we have a leisurely morning giving our bikes a good scrub, doing some laundry and generally taking it easy. We then catch a bus into the centre to avoid riding up and down the hills which separate us from the city. While we have a small lunch at a bakery, there is a massive downpour which eases quite quickly. Dresden is full of impressive old buildings but we are not in a very touristy mood so we stroll around a bit and head back. On the way, we are forced to seek refuge inside a bakery where we have a pretzel while the elements go wild outside. Only a few meters from the bus stop, it is raining too hard to even contemplate attempting to make it there. After a while, it calms down and we retreat to the camping ground but the reprieve is short and through the night, the thunder is so loud that it makes the earth tremble under our mats, the lightning is so bright and frequent that it is like someone is turning the light on and off and it is so wet that we can barely sleep, fearing our tent will get wet. Not the most restful night...
A view of Dresden
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