Distance: 18.6km
Duration: 4h and 1.5h break
Weather: in the morning 21 with wind, in the afternoon up to 27C, partially cloudy
Having spent a very nice evening with good food and a good glass of wine, I felt very rested and ready for the next part of the trip. After reviewing my trip with one of the business owners, she advised me to cross the river again and walk on the right side of the Elbe and it was the absolutely right choice! I walked right in the meadow again which is one of my favourite landscapes. It took me along the waterfront with little sandy bays. After a while, there was a wire marking the field for cows, however I stayed close to the waterfront. At some point, I came across two men that had their tents set up for a fishing trip. As they looked local, I asked them if they’d know if I can continue the path or if the wired field would cut me off and force me to go back all the way. They reassured me that I could continue. Worst case, I could just cross the field as there are only cows. When I asked them for the bull, they weren’t sure about it but I happily declined that option. I kept going for a while and of course, the wired fence cut of my path by building an access for the cows to the water. Therefore, I had three options: a. Take off shoes and socks and walk through the water which would be at least knee deep. b. Find out a contact number of the farmer whose house was right there with cars in front of it or c. Crawl underneath the fence and hope that there’s no electricity on it and no cows in sight. I hung around for a bit hoping that the farmer would come out of the house. Since that didn’t happen I chose the last option, took off my backpack and first rolled it under the wire and then myself. My heart was beating fast as I really was worried that the herd of cows would just appear in front of me. Also, I don’t really like crossing someone’s property without permission. But all went well and I later saw the herd on the other side of the field. It would have helped to know that all along.
After this exciting start, I stayed on the dyke and had a great walk through beautiful fields and forests. There, I met the first fellow hikers who are walking the pilgrim path to Naumburg. It was nice to see others with a similar intention amongst all the cyclists. As we went opposite directions, we continued independently after a brief exchange.
Normally, walking into bigger cities comes often with a lot of traffic and not much fun. However, similar to Dessau, I could walk into Magdeburg city centre entirely through parks which was very enjoyable.
The evening was a pleasant summer evening, so I used it to visit the first sights as they were all in close proximity to the hotel. I’ll combine the pictures with tomorrow’s blog as I’ll spend a full day in Magdeburg.
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