September 11, 2018
Zittau - the end of stage 3 for us
Another very short and lovely day
I think I am getting an expert at judging cobbles now - but certainly not riding on them. They range from being made of stones that have been neatly cut into cubes - these are OK to ride- to roads that are made of big round natural stones - these look very pretty but are extremely hazardous and unpleasant to ride. Gorlitz has its fair share of cobbles but once we had negotiated them we were on a smooth path among the trees and beside the river which took us clear of the town
Ken has been wanting a rear vision mirror to keep an eye on me and just out of town we came upon a bike shop. In he went, they had no common language but with the help of another interested customer ( who also only spoke German) he found what he wanted and by the time it was fitted we were all firm friends
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One of the good things about travelling the way we generally do is the unexpected things you come across. Today it was Kloster St Marienthal. This is the oldest Cistercian Nunnery and the Abbey is the oldest of this order in Germany. Founded in 1234 it has been occupied continuously. During World War 2 the buildings were used as a military hospital and in 1945 when the retreating German Armies wanted to blow up the abbey to hinder the advance of the Russians the Nuns refused to leave and the abbey was spared. It survived the Communist East Germany and in 1989 large sums of money were spent restoring it and developing its facilities. The facility we were pleased to see was the Information Centre which had a coffee machine.
From here the track leads beside the river with the forest coming down to the river in both countries. As we came out of it just on midday there was a restaurant with many cyclists being refuelled - we were too. The way from here to Zittau is straight and beside a busy road but as we were in Germany we were perfectly safe on a separate cycle track parallel to it. Getting to Zittau we did not stop there as our aim was to get to the tri point where` Germany, Poland and the Czech Republick meet.
Our hotel in one of the main squares of Zittau is good - we have spent time planning and tomorrow morning will catch the train to Dresden and start the next stage which is to ride from there to Prague
Today's ride: 47 km (29 miles)
Total: 1,222 km (759 miles)
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6 years ago
We will be interested to see how it goes with the bike on the train.
A very nice trip so far, good luck the rest of the way.
6 years ago
6 years ago
6 years ago