Day 11 - Torgau, Germany - Schröder's Have Ice Cream and Beer

Joan's View

Nice warm day for a 62 mile ride even if the wind was gusting right at us the last 25 miles. 

While it's flooding around home, the fields here seem to be needing a serious dousing of rain. We saw a field of corn that was maybe knee high with almost no ears on it. This field of sunflowers looked so sad and droopy.

I was commenting to Tony while we were riding that for going through so many woods, you'd think we'd see more wildlife. Soon after that a jack rabbit crossed our path. 😌😏

Our first stop to refuel the engine in the back.

Our next stop, in Wittenberg, was only a few miles farther, but there was a bakery in the heart of the town near the square, so we had to stop. We found out that Martin Luther Halle-Wittenberg University is there and Wittenberg is Martin Luther's birthplace and home. It had lots of beautiful old buildings so we got some pictures. Tony parked the bike by this tiny canal which was probably part of their first
water system.

On the square in Wittenberg

After all that great refueling, we rode for what seemed like miles and miles. At one point, we ran into a major roadblock near an overpass. We stopped to think while Tony started studying the roads in that area to decide how we could get around this major roadblock. Then our hero for the day stopped to help us! He only spoke German and was trying to explain it to me, but it was a lot for me to understand. Finally, he said, " Komm mit," and he waved us to follow him. We were off roading it while I was trying to get pictures of our hero. Like Tony said later, "We would have never figured that out." It's another example of the millions of kind people in this world.

Still following our hero.

Following our hero.

 

Riding along the bike path entering a small town was this house which seemed fascinating that they would fly the German, US, Scotland (I think), and Denmark. flags There's gotta be a interesting story there.

This picture shows the old and the new, but centuries later still using the same source of power. We have passed hundreds of wind turbines on this trip. The one thing that we've learned, all from our plentiful wind encounters, is that the turbines face the direction that the wind is coming from. That means if the turbines are turning fast and facing the direction that we are peddling, look out!

Tony suggested that we stop to get a picture of the Elbe River since we saw it in many places. You can see where he is on the bike path in the shade. I climbed the levee and came back with this picture. "Bye bye American Pie. We took our Bilenky to the levee but the levee was dry."

There are several unidentified noises coming from the bike. The chain guide being sent to Dresden (thank you Matt) hopefully will fix one. The engine, aka Tony, needed a break so we stopped in the shade of a hazelnut tree while Tony tightened bolts thinking that would fix another squeaky noise. It didn't fix it, but it got him closer to the source of one.

 

Back into another pine forest, we rode for maybe a mile among stacked timbers. Tony called it a timber tunnel. Once again, the smell was amazing. 

The engine needed some substantial refueling by now, so we found a Netto in the small town of Annaburg. Tony ate his pretzel hotdog and pretzel near this cool parking spot for dogs. We could use these in the US especially when we are traveling with Luna. Thanks also, Wade & Linda, for doggie sitting Luna!

Tackling the wind some more, and riding into the town of Großtreben, Tony hit the brakes because we found this amazing place! 

Better yet, besides being a bakery, they sell two of Tony's favorites. Can you guess what they are?

Back on the road, we got an actual picture of the Elbe.

Cruising into Torgau, it took a little while to find our Airbnb. Sometimes, it's like a break out room following the clues only we are trying to get in. 

Tony's Extras

AJ (aka Tony Jr. 😁) checked in and informed us that the construction equipment we saw yesterday was a Dingo. Thanks, AJ—you’re the best! Apparently, we now have our own official Heavy Equipment Consultant. Maybe someday part of Choice One.

I really enjoyed the ride today, even though I was completely exhausted from battling the wind. It was so windy that it nearly blew Joan’s helmet off while we were riding. At one point, I’m pretty sure we were pedaling forward and moving sideways at the same time.

I really liked Wittenberg. If I ever do this trip again, it will definitely be a planned stop overnight rather than just a happy surprise.

We’re looking forward to getting the parts Matt ordered and paid for on our behalf. Amazingly, he actually believed me when I said I’d pay him back! Hopefully they work, even though they’re not exactly the right size. I’ll let you know the results tomorrow, assuming the parts fit better