Packing up our last minute things after breakfast, we can feel the heat of the day already. It will be a scorcher today. Hopefully we will be able to stay close to the river again today. We took one last tour through the village on Seavo to appreciate the spectacle of so many storks in such a tiny area.
You may be noticing that the clarity and details are lacking in our photos. A few days ago, Barry had a failed experiment with the camera and Ice he had bought for our cooler. The conclusion of the test is that melting ice and a camera do not get along and basically the camera drowned. We are certainly grieving its loss, especially in the past few days with the phenomenal photo opportunities for bird life along the Elbe and now for storks in Ruhstad. So, now our phone is doing double duty as a camera and it is ok, but just not cutting it. Oh dear. We are going to try to see if Canon Europe has a solution for us. Wish us luck.
Can’t resist sharing more photos of these magnificent and intriguing birds.
We shared this photo from an information board as we loved seeing the jumble of chicks dominating the space of the nest. We think that stork parents show remarkable patience and stoicism in the role they play.
As always in Germany, the signage is superb. We have been riding in Sweden and this portion of Germany without a GPS and the remarkable infrastructure makes this possible and easy.
Initially our hopes were realized of riding along the River. We rode along the Havel River until we got to Quitzobel and then our route was inland for most of the day after that. We really suffered with the heat and high winds without the benefit of breezes from the river.
Nonetheless, we made the initial 25 km to Havelberg in good time. Since it is Sunday, and we have not been near stores for a few days, we were pretty short of lunch fixings. So, like the rest of the cyclists whom we saw circling the streets of Havelberg, we too circled for some time trying to find a place to eat. The only choices were restaurants with pricy menus, so we finally stopped at a Greek restaurant and we asked the server to let us have the smaller appetite portions (usually for children) as we didn’t want a heavy meal and then have to follow it up with a 45 km ride in the heat.
The next 20 km pretty much followed a straight line to Klietz and was generally on a separate cycle lane near the road. We crossed the Elbe on the small river ferry to Arneburg and it was pretty much straight on to Tangermunde, our stop for the night.
It was us and these three vintage vehicles on the ferry. The middle vehicle was from GDR times when the Soviets governed East Germany..
We could have continued on the East side of the river to Schonhausen and then crossed over to Tangermunde, but we couldn’t resist the chance to get on the river on this small ferry
Seavo agrees that it is good to get on the water. After all, he knows ferries we’ll.
Truthfully, it was not the most inspiring of routes today, mostly due to the heat, but also because we missed being by the river and disliked being around cars so much. We are grateful that we booked a hotel as we were able to quickly check in, have cold showers and flop on the bed. We are both completely done in. In fact, we feel “hung over” from the heat and the multitude of bites we have accumulated.
Poor Barry...a few days ago, some small bites on his chest joined together and formed swollen angry red welts across his chest and neck. They are not itchy, but very sore. His neck looks like a small goiter is growing at the side. We have visited a few Apothekes and the pharmacists have done their best, but nothing seems to help. To add insult to injury, Barry got stung by a red flying insect on the side of his head as we were getting close to Tangermunde. It startled me as he slammed on the brakes, threw off his helmet and was pretty freaked out as he is allergic to wasps. I quickly administered first aid and he is ok. But all of this adds up to feeling pretty crappy by the end of the day.
This local beer is so good and properly poured. It arrived perfectly chilled with a frothy head.
The restaurant is located in a historic building that used to be a school. The teacher lived upstairs and the classrooms are downstairs. These rooms are functional as a restaurant, but it feels,like a museum.
After sleeping for a few hours, we took a walk to a nearby cafe and enjoyed local beer and a super dinner of local specialities. Our hotel is in the centre of the old town in a Tangermunde, it is cool and quiet. We’ll have an early night.
Today's ride: 66 km (41 miles) Total: 2,895 km (1,798 miles)
