Aken

R1 takes a tortuous course on this next stage so we asked ‘bike trails’ to set us a course for Aken. This would only be 78 kms as opposed to 126 if we had stuck to the R1.We were hoping to have breakfast at Radisleben, just 5 kms away . Nope !It was an unsealed lane to Reinsted, this fallen cherry tree provided a bit of a snack but they weren’t ripe enough eat many.No shops at Reinsted so push on to Aschersleben 10.00am and we’re here . We had a feast and moved on.It’s getting warm. At Giersleben we came across a mower truck. Lots of councils use them, the 2 arms work in unison and he hardly slows down to mow around a marker pole. A blower under the truck blows any grass off the roadBernburg. That’s the old flour mill. Now days this area is famous for production of Potash and rock saltthere were 100s of acres of tailing dams, I couldn’t discover what was in them though?The further east we go the more cobbled roads we come across. You can only ride on the metal bit on the side or it’ll shake your teeth outNot a breath of wind today so the turbines were all still. It’s so quiet ! just before we stopped here I startled a deer grazing on the roadside. This is the 3rd cycle tourist we’ve seen today, so it’s not a popular route.They’ve started harvesting the wheatAken. We’re having an early dinner even for us ( 4.30 ) because our hotel is 3kms out of town and probably no restaurants. The best value meals in Germany are the Turkish Doner places. $8 for a big salad . I left my IPhone charging cord here and the owner chased us down in her car to give it back. Nice people !It may only be 3 kms but it’s on the other side of this big river. This ferry was attached to an anchor upstream. A cable from each end of the ferry was attached to the main cable underneath that bouy. Whichever cable was shortened (by its winch,)the barge would move in that direction. Ingenious !