Out Of Central Europe Into Germany

We continued following a well developed network of bike paths along the Elbe out of the Czech Republic. The terrain was mountainous but since we followed the river, our trail stayed flat. We went through a series of towns and villages similar to the town we stayed in last night - once prosperous but now gritty. We passed many abandoned factory buildings and the people seem worn out. We met a man who turned out to be an environmental scientist. I asked him what keeps the area going. He said nothing today. The region had been a hub from the mid-19th century on for German industrial chemical manufacturing of dyes following the discover of analine, but that industry has died. The area got a double whammy because it was largely German and was depopulated after WWII due to resettlement. You may be bored by all this but I found it fascinating. FYI, Dan Fagin's book Tom's River covers the analine side of this story and the book is a great read.

We're in Germany and prices seem to have doubled. We opted for a site in a campground alongside the river. For the first time, after riding almost 2,500 miles, we broke out the tent and sleeping bags. But ... we packed up and moved on. There's more to this story but you will have to ask Susan. To keep it suspenseful I will tell you that a police report was filed. We found another place to camp and the day ended well.

Photos: 1) automated bike parking structure at train station; 4) Czech/German border; 5) rock climbing structure next to bike path.Read more