To Magdeburg

June 24, 2019 to June 25, 2019

Tangermunde is a pretty sight from the south looking at the skyline along the River Elbe.. When we were last in Tangermunde 5 years ago, we camped at the Canoe Club and looked out of our tent at this view. These pictures remind us of some good memories

Looking up the estuary to Tangermunde from the harbour.

We have enjoyed an idyllic time in Tangermunde, changing our usual routine of packing up and moving on after one night. The comfort and coolness of our room at Hotel Schwarzer Adler was seductive in encouraging us to relax and just enjoy the day.

We are both looking like we have a skin disease or the measles. Where did these bites come from? All we know is that they are driving us crazy...we are not a pretty sight! Our room looks a bit like an Apotheke with all the remedies we have purchased

We took another look at St Stephen’s Church and its most impressive painted panels, fresco painted features and of course the renowned pipe organ.

These painted panels on the front of a second level seating area, run the length of St Stephens on one side.

This feature is impressive in a grand church full of notable artistic elements.

The Baroque organ (1624) at St Stephen’s by Hans Scherer

In 1994, the organ was restored painstakingly. Below are some photos of the work that was done in reinstalling the repaired pipes, etc. By 1983 it was barely playable and after the Wall came down, research was done comparing it to organs in the west and work commenced.

50% of the original pipework has survived from 1624. In no other organ of this vintage, have so many pipes survived. This makes it an exceptional instrument.

Impressive and unusual side view of the housing for the pipes.

Barry climbed this new lookout along the trail.

The Elbe Route south of a Tangermunde as it looks from the lookout.

We are happy to be here before the crowds of cyclists come in the summer months.

We have started keeping ice cubes in a container in our cooler and in our water bottles to help us cope with the heat. It is hotter today and it really feels like we are riding through a furnace. We are taking lots of quick breaks and drinking a lot of water. Unfortunately, our route today is not as close to the river as much as we’d like.

We didn’t stop for lunch until we found shelter to get out of the sun. This gazebo made for a good place to make our sandwiches, tea and convince ourselves that it was cooler here.

The village park where we ate is also a campground and this windmill is the centrepiece of the grounds.

We took refuge at a hotel which had an outdoor terrace serving ice cream, and as you can imagine, it was full of very hot looking cyclists.

We were thrilled to take a ferry across the Elbe. It was the coolest part of the day.

There is a bit of a breeze, but even the ferry captain was suffering.

Seavo and 2 cars on the ferry. The continuous back and forth on demand is a remarkable service. Our cost was €3.

We really like these covered picnic shelters along the route.

This is what it looks like to share the trail with sheep. They clearly have priority as they have been here long before us.

Most just kept on eating, oblivious to us.

But we caught the eye of this wee lamb and it stayed put as we slowly passed by, really checking out these strange looking characters on a strange bike.

A highlight of this area is the impressive canal system called Kanalbruecke Magdeburg, “Magdeburg Water Bridge”, which spans the River Elbe and connects the Mittelland Kanal to the west and the Elbe-Havel Kanal to the east of the river. It allows large commercial ships to pass between the Rhineland and Berlin without having to descend into and then climb out of the Elbe. What a sight it is to see a two storey canal and to ride alongside it. We resisted the urge to jump in and cool off. It is a large navigable aquedecut and the largest canal underbridge in Europe. Sadly, we were just too hot to take photos. We knew we still had some km to go before we reached Magdeburg, so we pressed on.

North of Magdeburg, the signage was confusing and there was much construction on the route. We got lost and kept finding ourselves stopped by construction barriers. Our solution out of this quagmire came when we saw a local cyclist ride towards a narrow path. We followed him on this narrow fenced path which was on the edge looking down to the Elbe and it got us through the chaos. What a relief as we were too hot and tired to keep riding in circles.

Once we got on track, the ride alongside the river in to Magdeburg was lovely. We rode for about 10 km in a forested nature reserve across the river from the city and entered Magdeburg via a fabulous bicycle bridge and across a small island. What a nice way to enter the city.

We found accommodation at the B&B Hotel in the heart of the city, a bargain at €64 for a large, air conditioned room. Cold showers were our first priority followed by a visit to a nearby store for provisions for dinner, then we are done for the day. As tomorrow is supposed to be even hotter, we have booked to stay here for 2 nights.

37 degrees Celsius when we checked in to the hotel.

We have come to the conclusion that our smartphone does not work for us as a camera. The quality of the photos and the lack of a decent zoom frustrate us. Plus, it is difficult to keep it charged as we use the phone for some navigation, translation help and research when needed.We spent our second day in Magdeburg researching and shopping for a new camera. We have realized that a compact with a terrific zoom like we have had is not tough enough for the kind of travel we do. So after much research we decided that we need a really tough camera for cycling, kayaking (at home), and generally doing what we like to do. So, we ended up getting the Olympus ‘Tough’ TG-5. It is indeed tough enough as it is waterproof, drop proof, “Bartlett” proof etc. As it has been on sale (€100 reduced), it was hard to find one in stock, so we rode to a shop about 10 km north of Magdeburg and were able to get one. Yeah! So, on future trips when we want a super zoom as well, we’ll have the Tough with us on the bike and a 2nd camera tucked safely away and bring it out as needed.

Today's ride: 76 km (47 miles)
Total: 2,971 km (1,845 miles)

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Steve Miller/GrampiesWe have bèen wondering how you were dealing with the heat wave. The records are falling all over Europe. Good idea to take an extra day off and chill (haha) in Magdeberg.
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5 years ago