"You Are In Saxony"

Yesterday, lathering up it the women's shower, Susan looked down and saw a hand holding a cell phone poked under the stall door taking pictures of her. A commotion ensued and the police were called. Two other campers came to me and apologetically explained per the statement in the caption. We pulled stakes and moved on to something much nicer.

This morning we were happy to discover that we left the blight up river behind and we went through a charming resort area. We found a nice place for breakfast that overlook a quaint village where movie scenes are being filmed. Back on the trail we were passed by a couple of dozen buck-naked old men on bicycles coming from the opposite direction. Corpulent guys about to give birth to twins, skinny guys with saggy skin and pot bellies, it was revolting.

We rode on to Dresden, the capitol of Saxony. Dresden was a jewel of a city before WWII that was leveled by Allied bombers. It has since been rebuilt and really is beautiful. But ... more people pulling luggage on wheels, tour groups, high priced bad food and shops selling the same luxury and not-so-luxury goods that you can find anywhere in the world. After Desden we've decided to skip Leipzig altogether, which would require a detour and cost us at least a day.

We were happy to get back on the trail, leaving the tourist traffic behind. The terrain has become pancake-flat and we moved along quickly through farmland and past villages following the river trail. Tonight's lodging was quite reasonable and we had a decent sitdown dinner in a comfortable restaurant.

As far a Saxony is concerned, I'm trying to keep an open mind. I don't want to form opinions on the country of my birth based on our encounters in one German state. But patience is not one of my virtues.Read more