Leaving Vielank the next morning our route took us through Ruterberg, a village that had a unique situation during the Iron Curtain years. Situated on the east bank of the Elbe, the village was occupied by the British at the end of the War. The bridge that had been there was obliterated in battle, the East Germans fenced off the village and it was thus completely isolated from both East and West. There is a local museum but it was closed on the day we rode through-- there is nothing I can find on the internet. It is hard to imagine how the inhabitants got through the years of division. I am thinking the reason I can't find anything is that I don't know how to make the umlaut?
Our next stop was Domitz, site of a very well preserved lowland fortress. We spent some time exploring the ramparts and the museum there. Aside from the fortress Domitz is an example of an East German town that feels a long way from vibrant. Looking for lunch we found a place that appeared open. An elegant old man appeared and told us that we could get only drinks-- "his womenfolk were away." He told us that there were two cafes in either direction but everything we found was closed. Finally in an old department store that has become a galleria of sorts we were able to get wurst and while I had been avoiding meat for most of the trip, I had little option but to eat it or go hungry.
Part of our ride on this day took us past some beautiful sand dunes. The idea of sand dunes in Germany is disconcerting but this was not the only time we had encountered them. These were the most photogenic, however.
This is another picture in the same area and it shows the sandy track along which we were riding. Our bikes handled this stuff pretty well but it was slow going and one did become mired in sand every so often.
This picture, taken 39 minutes later, shows the great variety of riding we did, throughout the trip and in a single day.
This is one of the kookier things we saw that day. A man and his wife pulling their camper with their tractor. She had a comfy seat up behind her husband and although it cannot be seen in the photo, there was a small stuffed bear sitting beside her. They stopped us to ask for directions to a campground!
A note regarding my handlebars. All of our bikes had these "butterfly" handlebars and I had high hopes for the configuration, very common in Europe but almost unseen in the U.S. My "Achilles Heel" is (are?) my hands which get numb and sore, and I am always looking for a solution. Sadly, pretty as this purple and black tape was, my hands hurt at all points on the handlebars. I was much happier with the upright bars on Ingrid's "comfort" bicycle and on the bicycles we rented later in Berlin.
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Also a note regarding the type of beds we found in every hotel but the Ibis in Berlin. The pillows were large, square and very squishy. The comforters and mattresses were individual and in almost every instance pure white. Sadly it was uncharacteristically hot while we were there and the comforter not what we needed. I tended to roll it up like a body pillow and sleep next to it rather than under it. The little brown bits on the pillows are chocolate but sometimes we got small packages of gummy bears.
Our hotel for the night was in Ludwigslust (Ludwig's Pleasure) and it was definitely the swankiest of the tour. Called the Erbprinz Hotel, it was all gleaming glass and chrome and we were able to pay for internet after several days without.
Continue to Part 9
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