Today has been a magical day of riding. We rode out the driveway of our Pension in Domitz, turned right to the Elbe River and the spectacular scenery of the Biosphere was with us all day. We often are frustrated that river routes don’t always follow the river, but today made up for that. A “bird eye view of the river”, storks, hawks, egrets, herons, geese, swans were our constant companions. This 70 km stretch which stayed close to the Elbe was a joy, free of traffic and stunning.
Our pension, Bulleneck, across from Domitz harbour, is strategically positioned next to supermarkets and on the route.
All accommodation in Domitz was ”belegt” (full). A proprietor of a small inn told us about pressure these small towns feel as, during the cycle tourism season, 250,000 cyclists will come through and the town of Domitz has a total of 80 beds. She phoned around for us and recommended a place that was just starting up on the outskirts of town, and if that didn’t appeal to us, there is also an expensive place on the harbour that usually has room. We had a challenge finding the pension called Bulleneck. We knew it was “behind” Aldi and we rode in circles around the area for some time...some of these streets were pretty rough looking. We stopped on a corner and were just about to head across the road to the expensive high rise hotel (€100+) when a woman came out of the building we had stopped in front of, and offered us a room. What a surprise! This large nondescript brick building is indeed a pension, but there is no sign...only the bench off to the side with the name Bulleneck on it. There is no English spoken here, and the German dialect is incomprehensible to us, so our phone with Google translate paved the way. This old building has been under renovaion for the past 2 years and we were pleased to find a room that was clean, modernized and spacious.
Pension Bulleneck for €50 a night (60 with breakfast). If you are looking for it, go to the Aldi and this building is on the corner of the next block.
Translation: herd is protected by sheep guard dogs. Don’t bother the dogs, keep your dogs on a leash and don’t get too close. Now that we have translated this sign, we understand that stopping for a photo represents a threat to these dogs.
Feriowohungen means apartment. We used to think that this meant we couldn’t rent these on a nightly basis, but we are noticing more hotels and pensions offering self catering possibilities.
Our many photos seem to suggest that we have an obsession with reed roofed half timbered brick buildings, and that is probably correct. We do enjoy seeing them.
What a striking sight this figure is. The grim reaper perhaps? We translated the information board and indeed this kindly figure whose visage should not be feared, is waiting in death to take you across.
Through the Biosphere, the trail is made of fine gravel which is ok for our loaded rig. However, the intense heat of the day, combined with a headwind and gravel is sapping us of energy.
We stopped in the shade by a bike ferry on a bench to make lunch and we were there for some time. We seemed to attract a succession of nice and interesting people who sat and visited with us. These types of delays in our day are what we truly enjoy
Sabine and Andreas shared the spot for their picnic lunch as well. We so enjoyed talking with them and learning about their experiences and perspective of growing up behind the Iron Curtain. They pointed out that the River Elbe was the boundary of EastandWest Germany. Her mom’s sister lived across the river in the West and could visit once a year, but her mom was not allowed to cross. Nonetheless, they have positive feelings of the life they had during the GDR times when the Soviets governed East Germany. They had jobs, security and what they needed. Change can be very stressful.
Just as we were about to head out, Klaus came and sat down. We are so glad we stayed as our visit with him was memorable. He shared that he lives in Berlin and occasionally makes the trek to this spot so that he can sit by the Elbe and enjoy it beauty and serenity. Klaus takes the train from Berlin and then a bus to this spot. He will stay for a few hours and then head back to Berlin.
Klaus from Berlin. A sweet, articulate man who has led a well travelled life. It was a treat to visit with him.
These whimsical bronze sculptures in front of Lenzen Castle each tell a story with humour to deal with man’s foibles, weakness and strength, honouring the human condition and its ability to survive. They were created by the artist, Bernd Steiger from nearby Havelberg in 2009 and his inspiration was from a series of letters from the Magistrate Gisjels van Liers in 1653 reflecting the turbulence in Lentzen after the 30 years war.
The humour of these small sculptures jump out at you and make you want to stop and take a closer look.
Humour is a tried and tested way of embracing all the situations that bring our imperfections to light. These sculptures speak to the writing of Gisjels von Liers, the magistrate from the mid 17th century, who after the horrors and consequences of the 30 Years War, spoke of human weakness, lack of success and hardship. These are met with humour and a touch of the absurd. The artist invites us to examine these pieces and find connections within our own context. No matter, they are just fun to look at.
“In the mirror of truth without fraud.....laughing to the outer mirror reveals who you are” are the sentiments expressed by the magistrate Giseles van Liers after the tragedy of the 30 years War. The sculptures gathered together here speak to this sentiment
Lenzen is off the route by just a km and worth the detour. Its medieval charm feels unspoilt and offers a glimpse into the past. This sculpture is of Anna Greben, 1599-1617 and was created by the same sculptor of the ones at the castle.
So much humour in this piece. At one end you see the tail end of a pig entering the ship on the gangplank, and at this end, a VW Bug car is coming out.
We will be staying in Ruhstadt overnight in Pension Storchenhof. We are excited to be here as this village of 200 people is the site of the largest Stork colony in Central Europe. There are at least 30 nests, sometimes there are 4 nests along the roof of a house. The local stork club works hard to keep the village stork friendly by maintaining their nests and keeping a record of each nest’s annual activity.
Wow, when we sit outside in front of our room, this stork’s nest is right there. I have a feeling that we won’t get much done here as we have a significant amount of bird watching to do
We loved watching the activity at the nests. Parents patiently standing guard, yoga worthy stretches of their long legs when needed, the noisy chirping of the chicks and the loud rapid clicking of their beaks, which seemed to initiate a loud series of clicking sounds from other nests in the village. Fascinating.
We have loved staying here in this sleepy village. There are no amenities here and no shops. We arrived on Sunday afternoon assuming that we would eat in our Pension’s restaurant, but they close at 5. We were directed to the other possibility a short walk away and the server was clearly overwhelmed by the presence of about 5 other couples. He told us that the kitchen couldn’t cope and sent us away. Thank goodness we had some muesli and a bit of peanut butter left.
