Distance: 21.9km
Duration: 5h and 2h breaks
Weather: extremely hot with up to 34C, no clouds, rain in the evening
This morning, I tried to leave early as the weather forecast projected 34C by 3pm. Hence, I set myself the goal to be done by that time. Also, I chose a route with mainly forest instead of the cycling path. What a poor choice though! Google maps took me through the forest with metre high grass, nettles and thistles. Not only did it take me significantly longer to cross it but I also had to put my long leggings on to avoid scratches, ticks and being stung. After 3 kilometres, I changed the approach and crossed through a field to get onto the cycling path again. This was a positive surprise as it was much more pleasant and shady than it looked on the map.
My highlight of the trip though was when I saw the sign of a cafe selling ice cream. It felt like seeing the oasis when crossing the desert. I must have looked quite worn out as the lady had full mercy with me and brought me the biggest glass of water she could find.
Today’s route took me through a few pretty little villages with beautiful houses of brick stone and with a lot of character. It hurts to see how many of them are boarded up or are falling apart. In my opinion, there’s so much potential, especially with the Elbe cycling path going through those villages but there’s no bakery, shop, cafe or beer garden. There might be reasons for that though which I don’t see from an external perspective. But like this, I see a lot of opportunity without any competition.
My accommodation was in a farm which the owners had built from scratch. They used to have horses but sold them in spring and only have 3 cows and a bull left as they do the farm and the B&B next to their regular full time jobs. They’ve done a great job to create something special that perfectly fits the character of the rest of the village. My hosts were incredibly nice and invited me to their BBQ with friends. I think she felt bad as there was no way for me to get food any other way on a Saturday evening in such a remote area. For me, it was a welcome opportunity to listen and learn from the locals about farming, politics and the region as such. So all in all, it was a great day full of surprises.
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