3 - 6 July
The bike ride back into Bamberg from the camp ground was gloriously pretty, through a forest path and alongside waterways right into the city. There used to be what they called ‘fish basins’ in this inner area, where, from 1450, they dug out seven special holding tanks through which water could flow freely. Fish were kept fresh this way during the winter. These belonged to the town until the 19th century after which they were held privately. Apparently since 2001 they have started using three of them again for the same purpose.
The cycle track doesn’t follow the waterway very closely on this part of the trip. The barges and cruise boats now follow the Rhine-Main-Danube canal and the Main has no more traffic. There are huge shingle pits which have supplied fill for the vast motorway systems and are now full of water, like little lakes. A number of these have been turned into swimming areas, some quite well developed, with camping grounds and other facilities.
We met a lovely couple in the camping ground, biking with their two year old in a trailer/chariot. Piet, the little one, so enjoyed his time there, and we chatted a lot with the parents. The temperature was about 38º and predicted to be the same the following day, so both parties opted for that day off. A lovely place to be. Plenty of shade, both inside and outside. Piet sleeps in a little tent inside the bigger tent and has always done so when they travel. It works well.
The swim was amazingly good and there are changing areas and showers there. The water was warmer than anywhere we swim in NZ and we really enjoyed it. Heaps of people there. We know the population of Germany is large but we don’t quite get used to the number of people everywhere, nor the closeness of each village to the next.
Next morning, after sharing a copious German breakfast, our man insisted on accompanying us to the very edge of his area, being guide and team-leader. Without him we would never had made the little detours revealing yet another special place in this already delightful area. Sad goodbyes. Perhaps we will catch up with them at Cuxhaven, the end of the Elbe at the North Sea, where they will be at the end of the month. The ups and downs of this last part of the journey to Bayreuth made us exceptionally glad that we had accepted the previous evening’s offer. Between the heat and the hills we would have exhausted ourselves.
The bike ride back into Bamberg from the camp ground was gloriously pretty, through a forest path and alongside waterways right into the city. There used to be what they called ‘fish basins’ in this inner area, where, from 1450, they dug out seven special holding tanks through which water could flow freely. Fish were kept fresh this way during the winter. These belonged to the town until the 19th century after which they were held privately. Apparently since 2001 they have started using three of them again for the same purpose.
Moving out from the city was harder than getting in, as it usually is, with a false start, missing a left arrow that wasn’t actually there. We are getting much better at detecting false starts and don’t usually waste much time now on the wrong track. Several years ago we went 20 km off track, also due to a left arrow that wasn’t there… A fellow cyclist spent two hours trying to get out of Basel. As an American girl once said to us in Nantes, ‘getting lost is all part of the adventure’.
The cycle track doesn’t follow the waterway very closely on this part of the trip. The barges and cruise boats now follow the Rhine-Main-Danube canal and the Main has no more traffic. There are huge shingle pits which have supplied fill for the vast motorway systems and are now full of water, like little lakes. A number of these have been turned into swimming areas, some quite well developed, with camping grounds and other facilities.
Wheat, maize, barley, sugar beet and other crops grow in the land between us and the river/train track/road - no wasteland here. It was about 60 km to our camping place at Lichtenfels - not too bad a day, except for the heat, which was somewhere over 34º. We were very glad to reach somewhere with shade!
We met a lovely couple in the camping ground, biking with their two year old in a trailer/chariot. Piet, the little one, so enjoyed his time there, and we chatted a lot with the parents. The temperature was about 38º and predicted to be the same the following day, so both parties opted for that day off. A lovely place to be. Plenty of shade, both inside and outside. Piet sleeps in a little tent inside the bigger tent and has always done so when they travel. It works well.
After our rest day we set out early for Bayreuth, intending to take the shorter route that follows the river, more or less. However, a fellow biker persuaded us to take a longer loop, which he said was prettier than nearly everywhere, and we feel he was right. Going via Turnau was really very nice, with forests, castles and plenty of ups and downs!
It was on a forest track that an 80 year old gent on an electric-assisted bike rode with us for a bit, then invited us home for the evening to go to the local festival. We knew that there was also a festival in Bayreuth too but by that time we were quite hot and tired and his idea of a swim in one of the converted shingle pits was attractive, so we followed him back to where his wife (75) was helping with the festival.
The swim was amazingly good and there are changing areas and showers there. The water was warmer than anywhere we swim in NZ and we really enjoyed it. Heaps of people there. We know the population of Germany is large but we don’t quite get used to the number of people everywhere, nor the closeness of each village to the next.
The festival was for locals and people in the region, with music, food and beer, probably wine as well. (No dancing, which we had expected.) The music was just one man with an accordion and quite a bit of technology. Somehow he sounded more like a band than a one-man show. Gradually the light faded and we all biked home. A bit of local colour like that gives us a different glimpse of the culture.
The day before we had come to the place where the two Main rivers come together - the White Main and the Red Main, and from there followed the Red one, (except on the alternative path). The river was in our sight but the path is not beside it in the countryside. Suddenly, we were out of the countryside, beside the river and in Bayreuth. The Red Main flows under small bridges and its source is only 15km further on.
Minutes away, in the centre of town, was our accommodation, with Warmshowers host, Doris. She was home and welcomed us with a cool drink. And we rested. We had done 1100km, through Alsace, across Germany, west to east, moving also north and south to follow the river’s course. We take a bus for the next bit.
Minutes away, in the centre of town, was our accommodation, with Warmshowers host, Doris. She was home and welcomed us with a cool drink. And we rested. We had done 1100km, through Alsace, across Germany, west to east, moving also north and south to follow the river’s course. We take a bus for the next bit.
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| Maypole marks city centre - our host lives nearby |
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