The cycle route follows the river closely now as it meanders through a wide floodplain of meadows, with the occasional, old windmill. Not surprisingly, the Elbe is very full. Every small village and hamlet has flood defences, either ancient stone ones or modern reinforced concrete.
The path is mainly traffic free and a good tarmac surface, however in some places, it is cobbled, rattling our vertebrae and teeth. One large house has, about 15ft up the side wall, a mark showing where the flood water reached in 2002.
Meissen, famous for its porcelain, is surrounded by quarries of muddy red stone so we're not sure if this is used for the china. The town has an impressive castle on a cliff outcrop above the river.
There are no stock hedges and few fences so the long horned cattle, goats and even sheep are often tethered. Three large bulls are prevented from trampling us only by chains pegged into extremely soggy ground - it looks like one sneeze and they would be free!
We take a room in an ancient courtyarded farm in the beautiful old village of BELGERN. The elderly owners make us very welcome. We get up early the next morning to explore all
the cobbled streets, then tuck into a breakfast as only touring cyclists can - eggs, ham, cheese rolls, yoghurt, muesli, plus homemade chocolate cake! Then it's down to the small vehicle ferry, which comes over for us, the only passengers, straightaway.
The Elbe cycle route carries on through Hamburg to the North Sea, but we are leaving it now heading NE. It is 81 miles to WERDER, just west of Potsdam, and our next Warmshower hosts. There is the usual headwind, but no rain and mostly flat so an enjoyable pedal. Dirk and Stella live, with their 3 young children, in a modern apartment overlooking a lake. There is a charming view of willows, water lilies and village centre beyond.
The family have not long returned from several years in Edinburgh so their English is perfect, even the baby can understand us! They help us plan a very good route for the next day, into the historic palace gardens of POTSDAM and then along the Mauerweg cycle route, following the line of the wall and barbed wire that used to isolate the city of WEST BERLIN from East Germany. There are simple, but moving, memorials along the way to those who were killed trying to escape through this route to the West. For instance 33 year-old Eduard, a railway worker who tried to escape where the railway ran close to the border. He was shot in the back by border guards as he reached the 3rd row of barbed wire.
We wend our way into the suburbs of the east side of Berlin, using cycle ways through small parks to avoid the traffic, and then push the bikes through the very crowded Asian area along Karl Marx Strasse. There are Chinese and Vietnamese restaurants, Turkish coffee houses, Indian fabric shops , enormous fruit and veg stalls, goods spilling out onto the pavements, with sudden wafts of spices.
We are staying near here at the apartment of Sarah and Hans, cyclists we met on the trip to Oz. Hot summer weather has returned so we dine at a pavement table, in a vibrant restaurant area, 2 stops down the Underground.
Miles to date 3,100
Location:DRESDEN to BERLIN
