Day 8: Dresden, Germany

After breakfast with Carola and Ingolf (Warmshowers), we rode in the cool (56°) morning air to explore the amazing architecture of Bautzen. We always enjoy the slow morning spins, often bouncing along the cobbles, and avoid collisions with tour groups, bicycle commuters, and walkers. We picked up lunch about 1/2 way on our nearly 60 mile day, and looked for a sunny area to enjoy a nice picnic. We found a countryside picnic table overlooking the historic13th century medieval castle🏰 if Stopen. Another amazing moment of our first week of riding. Lunch was followed with more sunny riding, exploring around the castle, swimming in a lake. and some adventurous trail riding.. Jim’s route also took us on a hidden little trail with waterfalls and a huge statue with classical music playing in along the trail. We arrived to the Elbe River at the 40 mile mark and rode along it to Dresden. The Elbe is nearly 650 miles long and flows from the north of the Czech Republic🇨🇿 to the North Sea in Hamburg, DE🇩🇪 We made it to Dresden to Nico, Sabine, and Lukas’ flat about 6pm, after a brief spin through the city center. Nico stayed with us in 2017 when cycling around the world. We visited his parents in 2018 in Paris, and him in 2019 in Munich. We give Nico the credit for motivating us to explore bicycle touring in Europe. ❤️ The evening was spent sampling wine they brought bank from their three week tour in Burgundy, FR 🇫🇷 We also enjoyed homemade soup and quiche. Nico is originally from France and teach French, and Sabine grew up in East Germany and works in HR for designer watch company. Beautiful sites and riding today!Lue lisää