Day 3: Bleckede to Gartow (47 miles)
Woke up well rested after our fun night last night. The good german beer didn't give us much of a headache at all! We cycled out of the little Bett&Bike (guesthouse that specializes in cyclists) and headed over to the other side of town to get some groceries at the Lidl for lunch and have a nibble for breakfast. Andrea wasn't feeling too great today just after breakfast so the pace was a wee bit slower today, although the heat was even worse today which may have greatly contributed to our lethargy as well! We cycled to Neu Darchau and took a ferry back across the river into the former East Germany. There was still a watchtower in situ next to the ferry landing. We cycled just behind the levee for much of the day as the path on top of the levee was washed away in historic floods several years ago. We leapfrogged other cyclists and got to chatting with Otto, who was very knowledgable about the history of the border area. We passed through the village of Ruterberg, which is right on the river. In the GDR days it used to completely sealed off from the rest of the GDR and you needed a special permit to enter and exit the village. We crossed over back into the former west on a new bridge near Domitz and then we cycled down through tiny villages which sounded like places from a Tolkien novel. We passed by an old railway bridge that was destroyed in WWII and never repaired as it straddled the new border. Andrea's rear tire was noticeably softer than it should have been by this point in the day and since we had done over 42 miles and a campsite appeared we decided to call it a day. Once we had checked in we celebrated a 95F day with an ice cream and sitting in the shade! Dinner tonight is a quail egg omelette with pepper corn salami, cheese, and red peppers. Topped off with piña colada yogurt, apples, and cherries. So classy!
The World is Ours!
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