Day 88: Markranstadt

July 9, 2022

Even though Markranstadt feels a bit like like home, it's no reason not to include an image of the church. Our hotel, the Rosencrantz, stands basically in the church square, and seems to be the only hotel in town. One of it's claims to fame, which we'll add to having a fridge in the room, is that Napoleon slept at the Rosencrantz on his way back to France. There is no chance that he slept in our room, though, because then the Rosencrantz was on the other side of the square.

We headed over to Birgit and Jurgen's house, which is two minutes around the corner, where preparations began for putting the bikes back to sleep for a bit. The first order of business was to clean them, something that took a hose, and then bucket and brush. While Jurgen and I fooled wth this, Dodie undertook to sort our gear into what would come home as carry on with us, what would remain with the bikes, and a final category of what we would mail back. We decided on mail back compared to checked luggage, because given the airport disruptions in the news we trust the post office more than the airline to eventually get our stuff home.

Entertainment in the garden is provided by the two very large Koy, who nevertheless seem to spend the day sleeping on the surface.

Birgit works in a company that modifies tee shirts, and she had made this pair.

On the back is this new Grampies logo! It is clearly only a general representation, because for example there are no DaBrims, our distinguishing feature to most Germans!

While we were cleaning away, Jurgen casually asked if I would like to take a break for some coffee. Baby that I am, I asked if he happened to also have some kuchen to go with that. I didn't quite notice Jurgen's disappearance from the worksite, but he soon reappeared with this. I hadn't meant to send him off to the bakery (honest!).

Notice the trademark Markranstadt lerchen in this mix. Lerchen that we had been sent off with in April kept us going for quite some days.

With the bikes clean and presentable, it was time to head off with them to the bike shop. The bikes now have done 15,000 km since new, and we were thinking their tires, bearings, wheel trueness, etc. could do with a check. Jurgen and I rode off on the bikes, leaving Dodie in blissful calm to finish sorting the gear.

At the bike shop, the mechanic did the now expected mechanic thing - he pulled out his calendar, rather than a wrench, to see in which year he had time to accept the job. Fortunately for once we were not pressed for time. But I was less than impressed when I offered to show what I thought the bike needed, and he said he would forget by the time the calendar date ever rolled around. Fortunately, I had already put in quite a long time blithering to Jurgen about all the various points of needed care, so Jurgen is also an authority on it. That's good too, because the mechanic spoke no English at all. In this he joins the breakfast room lady and the desk clerk at the Rosencrantz, and all of the folks we were about to meet next.

Next Jurgen took me to a local festival, another annual affair, that is big in the community. It's a childrens' festival, that offers them lots of activities in an old industrial site near downtown, and later a parade and fireworks.

The kids were very much enjoying various games and activities, but our attention was first drawn by cars, mostly made by MAF, the Markranstat Auto Fabrik, which existed right in these buildings in 1908 and for some years after. The cars were fabulously desirable, reminding me of ones we had drooled over when seen on Downton Abbey.

This model is the only car you'll see with air vents that are oriented for intake on one side and out flow on the other.

This was a precursor to the Trabant. Pretty slick!

These cars from the early 1900's had a feature that would be welcomed by many cyclists: loud bulb activated air horns! In one model there was a hose from the bulb to the horn mound up front, but another one was just about compact enough for a bike:

Even if as cyclists we don't care about, or maybe hate, cars, this was a fascinating bit of history. Audi was the union of four car makes, which accounts for its four linked ring logo. "Four interlocking rings symbolised the merger of four automobile manufacturers based in the German state of Saxony: Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer became Auto Union AG, then the second-largest motor vehicle manufacturing group in Germany." So here in front of us was a DKW!

I learned a lot about MAF from Jurgen, but also from a member of the MAF club who was standing by. Through Jurgen, I peppered him with questions, for like most here, he spoke no English.

Another display, probably of interest to young and old, was a very extensive model railway. There had been an attempt to represent true German alpine scenes

Of course, they remembered the cyclists!

We returned to the "Midway" and strolled by some of the food vendors. I happen to know that hot donut-like things are a favourite of Jurgen, and yes, he went for some Krappelchen. These are rolled from dough and fried fresh on site, usually doused with too much powdered sugar!

The festival also had a "band" in the form of a chorus of older men singing what seemed like old German folk songs. I'm not sure if these were really the best choice for a childrens' festival, but hey, I'm only an observer:

As we were leaving we came upon a rare sight in a German market, though common in France - a BBQ chicken truck. It was called Max & Moritz, and apparently eager to display my ignorance I asked the man serving us the chicken if he was Max. No, he replied, he was Moritz and the other guy was Max. Not satisfied at playing the stupid tourist, I sagely observed that the bag said in business for 30 years, and I accused Moritz of not being old enough for that.

When we got home, Birgit put me straight. Max and Moritz are as well known a pair of characters as Tom and Jerry are in the US. The company is a franchise, has been for 30 years. Max and Moritz stem from a late 19th century cartoon book by Wolfgang Teichmann:

Max and Moritz are swiping chicken being cooked by the "widow lady".

Pretty soon it was coffee time (again) and this time Birgit and Jurgen brought out a tour de force: two genuine Meissen mugs! They had a friend that worked at the factory and got the mugs at a discount. It gave us a chance to look closely at them, and to verify both that the appliqued roses differed from mug to mug, indicating hand work, and that the Meissen crossed sword logo was concealed in each design.

Leipzig had been a heavy coal mining and using town, and was surrounded by open pit mines. Today the mining and coal use is stopped, and the mines have been converted to excellent recreational deep lakes. The closest to us is the Kulkwitzer See. Our plan for tomorrow morning is to jump back on the bikes (Back on the bikes!!) and circumnavigate it.

What gave Meaning to Life today: Chance to whirl through town on bike with Jurgen (Steve), Being left alone (Dodie).

Today's ride: 5 km (3 miles)
Total: 4,821 km (2,994 miles)

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