We awoke to no rain (yippie), so got up, started packing and went to breakfast.  By the time we were finished it started sprinkling, by the time we were back in our room it was raining.  Sat around and stared at each other for a while, even contemplated changing hotels, just to give us something to do (and for a better Wi-Fi signal).  As our lips began to really pout, the ceiling lifted and the rain stopped.  We quickly ran around town taking pictures of this little village,then loaded up the bikes and headed out. As the wheels began to turn, the rain started again…….it didn’t matter, we were riding.It may be difficult to understand, but we really enjoy the riding.  Sure the scenery is spectacular,the towns enchanting and the different foods…….well, what can we say about that, but the biking is why we are here.

Found this little diddy on a tree the other day and knew we would be able to use it. roughly translated by Dr Noë:

Cyclist’s Joy
Lord God, how great is nature!
Already seventeen kilometers clocked.
I ride, I ride, I ride.

How wonderfully long was the path.
Now comes a real  field of clover.
I ride, I ride, Iride.

Whoever has never felt the pedals,
For him the world is a veil of tears.
I ride, I ride, I ride.

Once (upon a time) one searched (for meaning) in pilgrim’s clothes.
I ride, I ride, I ride.

Needless to say, we enjoyed the ride today even if it was only 30 miles with occasional rain and always wind.  But we managed to get checked in and showered, before the thunderstorm came through and knocked out electricity.  NO electricity?!  We became really concerned when the electricity had not come on close to our next/last feeding for the day, but luckily after a little touring the electricity and dinner arrived just in time.

A note on Havelberg, that we neglected in yesterday’s post; it is the confluence of the Havel and Elbe Rivers.  In fact, the over 1000 year old city, where we stayed is actually an island.

For a couple of weeks, we have seen storks with huge nests perched on roof tops, but the pictures are always too far away.  This may be cheating, but it will give you a better idea of perspective of nest vs. rooftop.

Today truly tested our joy of riding. When we left at 9:30 it was drizzling and had not quite reached 60 degrees.  Two miles in, as we waited for the ferry, we could see the conditions were not going to improve.  In fact, they worsened with rain and (still) wind. About noon, when we had both gotten soaked through and started to consider an alternate/shorter end to the day, there was a lift in the rain and an opportunity to warm up and dry out a bit; just enough to keep us going.  We had another downpour before town, but easily dropped from the dike and pedaled into town and our bed and breakfast. A most delicious bowl of hot soup (one tomatoecreme, one celerycreme) and all was right in the world!
Schnackenburg is yet another small and darling town, filled with a lot of history and a small museumchocked full of history and memorabilia from WWII and the Soviet Union demarcation line on the other side of the Elbe River.  A picture for Jim.Can’t say we really enjoyed the ride today, but it was a great means to an end, another town to see and a good reason to eat delicious German food.  Plus hit 2000 miles today!!

It was 55 and overcast, but there was no rain in sight and none forecasted, guess everything is relative as to a good day. Though the temperatures did not warm all morning, it did not worsen…..and that is an improvement. Plus we actually had paved roads all morning, (quite a treat) as well as 1000 year old towns, gardens in every yardand fields filled with every color green.Enjoyed lunch in Hitzacher, a cute small town with dozens of bikers walking around taking pictures (like a bunch of tourists).

Within a mile of town we had a climb straight up.  After at least a week of not climbing, this hill took us by surprise and gave us a long time to digest, as it went on forever.  But if there is anything that is consistent with our bike trips is that everything will change.  A quick left turn into the woods and a very bumpy muddy trail that lasted for miles. Once back on a paved bike trail, we still had climbing, actually our last 20 miles was all hills, but it had warmed almost to 70 degrees…..downright balmy and we enjoyed the different topography!
With almost 62 miles clocked, we stopped in Bleckede for the evening, another charming small town along the Elbe.  We found a wonderful bed and breakfast with hosts that could not be nicer.  By the time we walked out for dinner, the sky had started to clear and the sun started to peak through;

tomorrow will be a beautiful day!

Our private breakfast was served in the garden,…..…did we mention how charming our hosts were?

Sunshine and blue skies this morning, had almost forgotten what it looked like and certainly what it felt like…..it felt Good!Our ride today was along the dike.  In fact the first several miles was up and down the dike almost every quarter mile with scenery changing between beautiful fields freshly kissed by sun and charming homes lining the path.  We had the occasional sheep field,several horsesand even a windmill along the way.

The other side of the Elbe offered one picturesque town, but other than that we were definitely on the best side.

With no lunch packed, we stopped at a restaurant along a peaceful lake.Our ten mile approach into Hamburg took us through flat lands and around inlets on a nice dedicated bike path.Reached the outskirts of the Hamburg at 1:30 and by 2:00 Jerry had us at the hotel, weaving through the traffic like he knew were he was going (obviously he did).  Sixty miles done and it was time for a shower.   We did just a little touring of Hamburg before dinner.

Hamburg is a Huge city that seems to have as many streets of water as those that are paved.  We rode for 6 to 7 miles along the Hamburg harbor, one of the main receiving ports for the country; and with Germany importing more goods from China, that (in itself) is a Lot.  Saw the sailing ship in port that visits the Norfolk harbor during HarborFest.

Just outside the city, we realized how wide the Elbe Rive had become. We had a short ride through the woods where you could see the steam rising from the street as the sun hit the newly moistened road (yes, it rained again last night).

The route from Hamburg to Glückstadt is a straight shot, except for a couple glitches.  We skipped the sandy beach that was part of the course, but could not avoid the stairs. Seriously, we had to push our bikes with 50 pounds of gear UP the stairs. Once out of the city the water-scape reminded us of southern California, beautiful homes staggered within the hillside overlooking the water……different water of course.

And then it began………twenty five miles of “dodge the do”.  We crossed a gate into sheep country.  Although we had been biking by sheep at all turns in the last two months, we had yet to bike through sheep; they wouldn’t move and some even insisted on their picture being taken (you had to be there).  Cute for the first couple of miles, but after dozens of gate crossings and more piles than you can (breathe through) imagine, we were over it.  Luckily, the cows and horses were fenced off the course.

At 1:00 and 45 miles we’d reached our destination and seriously contemplated going on.  With the flat, straight course, we didn’t feel we’d biked enough.  Over coffee and beer we looked at all options and decided to stay.  Found a fabulous little bed and breakfast, Pension Am Museum, might sound stuffy, but it would make most master bedroom suites in a nice home pale in comparison.  We settled in, then out the with our obligatory tour.  This town seemed different than most in that the town square was the least interesting thing to see.  The side streets and small waterways offered a much more interesting site.

Glückstadt and the surrounding area are known for Matjes (young female herring), so we had to try it….….very tasty.

And two last pictures for Robyn, beansand flowers, is your garden ready?

Once we’d finished a wonderful breakfast (that they opened early for us) we walked out to sprinkles…..  even though the weatherman said it was to come and go overnight.  By the time we had the bikes loaded it was pouring, but we had a ferry to catch so we plowed through it.  Since the ferry left every half hour, we had to catch the next one or stand out in the rain and wind.  Oh yes, must have forgotten to mention the wind, though only blowing at 10 mph as opposed to the 20 predicted, it was in our face; not pleasant and certainly slowed progress.
Once on the ferry in the pouring rain standing under as much of the one foot overhang as we could, we were rescued my a nice woman who indicated there was a warm and dry cafe downstairs.  So we left the duckies and the bikes in the rain and ran for cover.  As our 20 minute ferry ride came to an end, so did the rain.

A couple miles of inlets and small towns and then the next 20+ miles was a flat, long, straight bike path through cattle fields: cows, sheep and horses.Luckily, there was a fence that separated them from us for ‘most’ of that mileage.  It was sort of like biking through Kansas, miles and miles of straight road, but somehow it looked different.Seamlessly, we left the cattle pastures to fields entwined with creeks, canals and the ever widening Elbe as it reached it’s end into the North Sea.Cuxhaven sits at the mouth of the Elbe to the North Sea, much like Virginia Beach and the Chesapeake Bay, although doubt any of us would confuse the two.

There is a huge tide swing here and at low tide (as it was when we biked  by) you could walk for miles into the sea.  They even had horseback riding and horse drawn carriages miles out on the sand (in the horizon in the pictures).
Early afternoon the strong winds (in our face) that had been predicted had arrived and then some, making our journey even more difficult.  Cuxhaven was supposed to be our halfway point for the day, but it was also supposed to be only 38 miles and it was 50.  We pushed another ten into a 25+ in your face wind and looked for a place to stay.  Luckily, we found a nice little port in the storm that offered scrumptious German fare for dinner.  Though in the middle of nowhere, it was the perfect spot to stay.  We worked hard for every mile we went today and at 4:00, we were ready to stop.

Another beautiful sunny day, but the wind from yesterday had not lessened a bit.  We had a long ride ahead of us and the forecast for rain in the afternoon; this was going to be a day we had to work hard for mileage.

There is an advantage and disadvantage to a long straight road, Great when the wind is at your back, but Very tough when in your face, either way you know it will be with you the entire time…….and it was.  Strong gusts would almost stop us in our tracks, but we pushed hard against the consistent 25 mph winds.

But the day was not without beautiful spots along the North See, it’s funand very laughable moments.

In Bremerhavenwe met the Weser River (river number four) where my great grandfather owned and operated a freight boat.  Here there are miles of loading docks,luckily quite on this Saturday morning, and a much larger city that we saw from the outskirts.With the clouds getting darker and building earlier than expected, we pushed harder into the wind; wind generators and windmills were happy, anyway.

Our three plus hours of riding after lunch was a blur pushing against the wind, trying to make it before the downpour that threatened, fighting the hills and negotiating our way through traffic and towns. Fortunately, when all was said and done, sprinkles and very tired legs were all we suffered.   But all was well, we were in Ritterhude to visit family.  Being with them melted away the long six hours and hard 68 miles we had just completed.