Out east - Dresden

11-13 July

Doris, our lovely Warmshowers host in Bayreuth, costed out travel options for us to get to Dresden and came up with Meinfernbus, a long-distance coach company. This was an excellent choice for us, as they provided a bike rack on the back of the bus, were cheaper by 30 euros than the train, and an hour-and-a-half shorter as well, since there was no need to change trains. In fact, the bus had only one stop in the 3.05 hours it took to get there. Booking and paying was all done on line and you turned up at the bus stop, which was not far from the station - same when we arrived in Dresden, over the road from the station.

We ended up spending 3 nights in Dresden and still didn’t see it all. The 1945 bombings (RAF and USAAF) which destroyed the city centre, not to mention about 25,000 people, seems such a waste of everything. The main attraction is probably the baroque and rococo architecture, some of which survived the destruction, and some of which has been reconstructed. 

13 February 1945

Now restored

Dresden is considered a political and economic centre, in addition to an educational and cultural hub. There is much to see and do there and we only skimmed the top. We stayed near the station for the first night, from where we had great views of the city, visited Dresden Zoo, which I had read about since early childhood, then stayed out at the camping ground (tram into the city), walked with purpose around the architectural gems, and visited a mall or two, one of which had a very special outdoor shop - four floors, including books, all sorts of outdoor equipment, a climbing wall that follows the steps up to the top floor, a chill room - down to minus something so that people can check that the clothes they are buying are warm enough - and a large pool to check out if this is the kayak you want and also, no doubt, for kayak lessons for newbies. And more. Photos at the end.

On our first night (in a hostel/hotel where they let us take our bikes into our room for security) I was feeling unwell, with a mixture of vertigo and nausea - don’t know why. The hostel/hotel had a bar on top -  hence the views - but this also meant we could meet people, which is part of the journey for us. Well, my troubles were dwarfed by the Dutch couple, possibly our age, who have a boat and were pottering about the waterways, for which read canals. They came to Dresden for a touristy day, the wife stepped backwards while taking a photo, fell down 10 steps, did not break her neck but did injure her arm to the extent that she needed to be repatriated so that she could have surgery. That was the beginning. Negotiations continued apace as we sat in the bar with a view drinking the local beer (it’s cheaper than wine and not as intoxicating and there is a great range of alcohol-free beer). Where to fly out of? How to get to this place. What to do with the boat. How to get it back to Holland with the wife’s arm out of action (she does the ropes for the locks). Need for speed, with an operation pending, for which appointments etc had to be made in advance. Thank goodness for insurance. In the end they took a train to Berlin and flew back to Amsterdam - and on the way had to return to the car, parked at a station some distance from the boat, return to the boat, get their things, arrange to do something with the car and get to the Berlin airport by public transport. The car and the boat will have to be dealt with in their turn.

Bikes in room...

One of the long trains - from our hotel 

A train of cars

City centre from hotel

At the zoo: imaginative play areas, carts for 'stuff' and a cart to push tired children around the zoo.
I've left out the animal photos.

The outdoor store: Globetrotters. As described above.

Chill room is the polar white cube on left

Respekt!

This was written after the section from Alsace to Bayreuth (something over 1000km): 

We have been quite bemused by the number of people who almost involuntarily say ‘Respekt!’ when we tell them where we have been. We don’t even need to to add where we are going. For us, it is a rhythm of continuing, one day after the other, whether we are riding, sightseeing, talking to new people, writing or resting. The biking is all part of a bigger whole. But is is nice to have achievement recognised and helps us appreciate what we are doing in a different light.

All part of a whole. In Bayreuth the buskers could have been from an orchestra and the audience appreciative, even the small ones.

We have noticed things that I haven’t mentioned, such as the prevalence of solar power - an entire roof covered with solar panels, an enormous great factory roof same, entire fields of solar panels. Over and over again. There are also wind turbines, not in huge numbers as in NZ ‘wind farms’ but groups of 9-12, in neighbouring villages, which are often pretty close.

Plastic bottles have a 25c surcharge (Pfand) on them, which means that many people return them. The supermarkets all have recycling machines where you put your bottle in, the machine checks it out, crushes it and spits out a coupon for 25c per bottle. This doesn’t mean that you don’t see plastic bottles lying around but it does mean that someone is likely to collect them to get the money for them. Glass bottles are recycled via green, brown or clear glass, as the return money is nowhere near as much.

Sunday cyclists can often almost overflow the popular cycle paths but the number of touring cyclists can be counted on one hand. A number of touring cyclists go from hotel to hotel (we would too, if it were only for 6 days, like most of the tours) and they don’t have tents, so in theory have less bulk. But actually they can often have as much as we have. The downside of the 6-day tours is that they are all prebooked and paid for, so that if it is raining for three days in a row, they still have to do the required number of kilometres each day. We get to choose. I may have already mentioned that a lot of people cycling base themselves in a motor caravan and explore the local area from there, maybe 40km rides every day or so.

Our luggage includes the tent on the back carrier of Rodney's bike

We never fail to be impressed by the gardens that are alongside the cycle paths. These are individual gardens but lots of them side-by-side. We have seen these before, in France and Germany, for example, and been impressed but somehow, riding beside them, village after village, hardly a weed in sight and all growing fantastically, we are almost overwhelmed by the results of people's efforts. Sometimes there is a shed or a chalet included and sometimes it is just the garden. Taking photos isn’t very viable because you can’t really see past the next fence. But cycling along we just become more and more in awe of both the individuality of each garden and the overall effect of lots and lots all together.

We have found people everywhere in Germany to be unfailingly helpful and kind. In the camping grounds we meet mainly Germans and travellers from the Netherlands, next, Swiss and French. We meet a few from England and from Scandinavia. Germans from whom we ask directions often say: follow me, because they know the route is complex, which is why we are asking directions. Even for our camping ground in Dresden, which was relatively straight-forward but not clearly marked, it was very useful to be following someone for the last crucial kilometre or two. 

Ferries crossing the Elbe give us time to socialise a little