Back to Summer Weather, After Some Fog: Eichstatt to Windsfeld
We had a seven jammer breakfast this morning and contemplated the fog. The Chief Navigator assured me it would burn off in no time, and boy, was he ever correct. But I am getting ahead of myself.
Eichstatt is a beautiful city, despite the fact that they used to go witch hunting here in the 16th century. We headed for the marketplace after breakfast, and guess what? It was market day. Was Keith ever pleased! The baroque architecture was amazing. We enjoyed the city and visited the Dom before heading out on the radweg.
Very shortly we came upon a detour sign. Keith and I have learned to ignore these, as they create navigational issues and are usually unnecessary. Especially in France where everything is a suggestion it seems. However, today they really meant it, but the backtracking was brief and the signage was excellent. We were back on the path in no time. It was about this point that the sun started to burn through the fog.
Now being a good west coast girl I had layered up for the fog...full finger gloves, my little toque under my helmet, bike jersey, smart wool jersey, vest, windbreaker, jacket. Off came the layers, one by one. First the gloves, then the toque, then the vest, then the jacket...this involved many stops. By our coffee stop in the sunshine I was wearing half of what I started the day with. I am not complaining!
It was an easy ride today along the Altmuhl. Very few hills, great scenery and charming villages with castles and ancient buildings. The limestone formations were very interesting. There were many bikes sharing the radweg today as it is Saturday and such a beautiful day in terms of weather.
Our destination was Gunzenhausen, but biking through Windsteid the Chief Navigator spotted a guest house with the owner out front and made an excellent decision to stop. The owners are great and we are communicating with sign language and a sense of humour. It is a fantastic spot. How can you not love a place where the proprietor serves you a beer and then leaves on a tractor to feed the cows. We borrowed the hose to clean the bikes after lots of puddles yesterday.
Which reminds me...today's only incident on the bikes was when I tucked myself in behind Keith and shortly thereafter he went through a puddle of fertilizer...you get my drift here I hope...and despite his rear fender I ended up wearing it. We both had a good laugh, although I am not sure why I was laughing!
We went out for dinner in the only place in Windsteid. It was beyond hilarious. We were the only customers until a 'regular' came in. I knew he was a regular because the young woman serving had his beer opened before he had time to sit down. The most expensive thing on the menu was 5 Euro, 3 Bratwurste mit Kraut. It is not an extensive menu!! I had Leberkase mit Brot. Trust me, this was a mistake. Keith did a little better with his Kassler Rippchen mit Kraut. Always remember, you get what you pay for! Despite the very high protein dinner, we had a blast. We wound up at a table with the owner, his daughter and the 'regular' with the daughter doing a great job of translating, and much laughter all round. An evening to remember.
Crossing a bridge we watched this man, in hip waders, smoking a pipe, repetitively striking something below the surface of the water with a curved tool. Anyone have any idea what he was doing?
