Summer Cycle Tour: Days 30 – 36, Usedom to Dresden

From the Oder to the Elbe

It’s a cold and wet day here in Děčín in the Czech Republic and for the first time after more than 2,000 km on the road the weather has made riding look more like punishment than an enjoyable pastime. We decided it would be wise to spend the day in our room. Fortunately, our hotel has Internet so I’ll catch up on my blog, starting where I left off.

A ferry crossing from the island Usedom and we were back on the mainland at Ueckermünde, a river port, and from there we proceeded south along the Polish border. Before we reached the banks of the Oder, for a start the Oder-Neisse bike path took us through lovely, sparsely populated and hilly landscape of cultivated fields and far-reaching vistas . Once we reached the river, we had a paved path along the crest of the dike. It was straight, flat and monotonous. At least we thought so.

When we got to Frankfurt/Oder we thought it was time to make our way to Dresden without the luxury of a sign-posted long-distance bicycle route. The following four days through the countryside were beautiful, the small cycle paths through pine forests between the towns were shady and quiet and we had gorgeous summer weather. Actually, it got too hot. Up until the day we rode into Dresden.

We cycled into Dresden in a cold drizzle but it was still exhilarating to swoop down to the Elbe River and see Dresden’s wonderful skyline appear. We spent a day in Dresden seeing the sights and pondering how the journey was to continue. After spending an afternoon planning our route through eastern Germany, we spontaneously – and over a bottle of wine – decided to chuck the plan and follow the Elbe River to Prague. The stimulation of a foreign country and a language challenge was missing in our itinerary.

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p.s. A day to day journal of the tour is here.