Wanderung 30

A Boat and Bike Trip

April - May 2015


 

3 Bike Day 2: Goemnitz
Bike Day 4: Fehmarn Bridge 4
Index


 

Bike Trip Day 3 (Sunday May 17th, 2015): East to Dahme, Germany, on the Baltic Sea

We rode 33 km through some very pretty landscapes and small towns today. First part was downhill from the farmhouse where our room was on the top floor and back East toward Neustadt. We got an early start because the farm was a working farm complete with a chicken coop, and the chicken coop was complete with a rooster who awakened us at the crack of dawn with a hearty "Kiekiri-ki" (English: "Cock-a-doodle doo")!

At the bottom of the next valley we crossed the river into Neustadt and followed a bike path along the lake on the North side of town, which avoided the congested downtown area. Continuing East around the outskirts of town, we followed the map on my phone on out into the countryside. What was amazing was how the Komoot app had planned our route using little-known and almost invisible bike paths that kept us mostly off the streets with traffic, which was very nice.

I concluded that the Komoot folks had to have a database that integrated all these non-street bike paths with the known streets, and tours were then optimized using that combined database to make the bike ride more enjoyable, which is quite a trick. But there was one particular moment, when Komoot led us into a clearly marked blind-alley type of cul-de-sac, where I thought, "There can't possibly be a bike trail back there!" as some kind of factory with a high metal fence blocked the end of the street. But sure enough, right where Komoot said to turn, I saw a tiny, 6-inch wide rut of a bicycle path that followed the perimeter fence around the factory and led us safely to the street on the other side. That's some database of bike trails! Even when not on a bike-only trail, Komoot routed us along country lanes that meandered through the bucolic countryside. We saw astonishingly yellow fields of rapeseed plants, planted to make vegetable oil I assume, and also row upon row of the giant windmills that now dot the German countryside and provide 20 percent or more of Germany's electric power.

Once past the outskirts of Neustadt, we zigged southwards to join a bike trail along the Baltic coast. There we rode on a nice hiker-biker trail located on the crest of the dike that holds back storm surges. The dike was just in back of the beach for several kilometers, and since we were up 10-20 feet, we had great views out over the Baltic Sea. With tailwinds and no rain, the riding experience was wonderfully easy and the pretty scenery of the Baltic coast rolled effortlessly by as if we were floating on a magic carpet!

At the next cape, complete with a beautiful old brick lighthouse, we turned North to find our "bike-friendly" B&B for the night in Dahme.

While waiting for our room to be made up, we walked over to the seashore boardwalk and had a very nice restaurant meal of chicken breast, boiled potatoes, and vegetables for lunch at a window table overlooking the beach. Monika had lost so much weight since the end of the cruise that she had to buy a belt to keep her pants up, but we found one on a Summer Sale for 5 Euro! Relaxing back in our room for the evening, we plotted the next day's bike ride, which would be over the big, high bridge to the German island of Fehmarn, and then used the Wifi at our B&B to reserve our next night's lodging just across the bridge on the South side of the island.

Such fun!

We and bicycles are holding up.

So far, so good!



Copyright 2015 by R. W. Holt and E. M. Holt


 

3 Bike Day 2: Goemnitz
Bike Day 4: Fehmarn Bridge 4
Index

Map of Transatlantic Cruise Map of Bike Trip

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