Today was a day of nice riding - not always along the river - but across pretty country and through villages. The signage along the Elbe Trail is always excellent. Earlier, before Dresden, we were a bit frustrated, but this is no longer the case. Leaving the village of Muhlberg, the trail was under construction and some of the roads were also not open. We think that there has been some massive work done (and still being done) to repair damage from the flood of 2013. Once again, we were impressed by the care taken to guide us through some strange twists and turns with clear signage. At one point,we ventured onto private land on a gravel path and up some hills through an industrial area and the signage kept us on track. The historic town of Torgau welcomed us with incredible sights of the Hortenfels Palace and the historic monument commemorating the April 1945 official shaking of hands by the Russian and American soldiers. Carried on to the campground and were happy to get set up before the storms started. At the low key campground here, we were made to feel very welcome by Petra - a woman who stays here during the summer. She volunteers her time to welcome cyclists (gave us maps and information) plus she offers a beverage, fresh baking, sandwiches, etc. service. We were able to get cold beer, fresh buns for the morning and really enjoyed her welcoming, friendly personality.
This church has been dedicated to cyclist's on their travels. It provided a cool oasis for us. We appreciated that they also provided an outhouse (WC).
The Cyclist's Church is the first one dedicated to cyclists in Germany in 2003. The origins of the church date back to 1243 with records documenting its importance in the Meissen diocese.
We leafed through the visitor's book and were surprised to see someone we know. A Canadian couple from Thunder Bay whom we had met a few weeks ago at Sand am Main campground, had just passed through.
This sign greeted us at the beginning of a detour through private land. It looks quite serious and forbidding to us, but we carried on and trusted the Elbe Cycle signs telling us that it was ok to proceed.
An important monument for Torgau: it signifies the place where Russian and American soldiers shook hands on the demolished bridge at this spot in April 1945.
