We didn’t get moving until 8am. What food we didn’t eat for breakfast I made into sandwiches for lunch which all took time ( still managed to leave a phone charger behind . )
The trail out of town was like a conducted tour, going past many historic places. Here we ride between the inner and outer fortress wallsDi , my fellow museum buff ,had suggested one I shouldn’t miss but it was closed until Wednesday . We did chance on the maritime and train museum though, which really got my juices pumping. Bike parking only but I guess there’s a car park somewhere
The standard of restoration of all the boats and trains,even the old bridges and cranes ,is the highest standard I’ve ever seen
School holidays start in a couple of weeks and there’s been lots of students out cruising with a teacher front and back. All such a happy bunch!The Wasserstrabenkreuz. It’s a massive canal bridge taking the Hamburg/Berlin shipping canal over the ElbeThe trail passes under it then runs beside it for 5 km towards Niegripp ( no not this way, )What an incredible feat of engineering. A few years ago we passed under the same canal the eastern side of Berlin at the gigantic ship lock that lowered the vessels to the level of the Baltic Sea This old barge has had the middle cut out to make a rest areaThat’s Niegripp ahead as we zoom along the top of a big stopbank , the river basin is rich farmland and covered in various crops. The tail wind was so strong we had to take our caps off or risk losing themI visited 3 library’s today but not a book in English to be seen. It’s very rare for a hotel or BnB to have an English speaking channel either which is surprising as most visitors from other European countries have English as a second language.
We had to cross back to the left bank at Rogatz. The current is really strong now and the skipper showed great skill in getting us square on to the ramp. He took the last of my cash too.! There’s a dire shortage of ATM machines in Germany and not all places accept plastic.
We’re here. Kehnert .I’m greeted by one of the elderly owners Neil
The Gutshof Elbschloss is an old manor house with some of the old buildings going back to the Middle Ages .
Our kitchen looks across to the ruins of the original manor. It’s used often as a wedding venueAnd some baron built the big house there . 26 bedrooms , ballroom,lounges the works but apparently it was all for show and they only lived in one corner of it to keep warm. There are 8 appartments in the building to the left where we’re staying. Tomorrow breakfast is being served in the grand dining room of the big house so that will be interesting .
But the bad news is, the kitchen is closed tonight and the nearest restaurant is 4km back the way we came. Remember the rule ? WE DONT GO BACK. So, dinner tonight is 6 muesli bars and a cup of tea
Paris to Paris 