Day 42 4th August
Augsburg to Donauworth 55ks
Today we arose to a very busy camp ground. Normally we are
the first up and away but there is some white water rafting competition being
held nearby. There were a lot of cars with canoes atop so I guess all the
competitors were getting ready for a day on the rapids.
Most of the day we dodged rain showers so we were quite
lucky. Rode through some undulating country with plenty of corn and other crops
growing. We stopped at a couple of small town churches and they were very
ornate, in fact we thought they were pretty much over the top. Lots of plaster
work on the ceilings and gold on the alters. That seems to be the way with a
lot of the churches in this part of Germany.
When we arrived at Donauworth we found that the camp ground
was about 6km SE of the town, which was the way we had just come from! As rain
was threatening we decided to stay at a hotel. We had ridden past one that took
our fancy so we went back and booked in. that was early afternoon, by about 6pm
the whole place was full with cyclists. Donauworth is a pretty town with a
couple of cathedrals with bells that seemed to ring every five minutes. Through
the night as well, not too good for sleeping.
Overnight there was quite a lot of rain so we were glad we
had been in the hotel.
Day 43 5th August
Donauworth to Dinkelsbuhl 76ks
After a hearty breakfast at the hotel we set out in dry
conditions which were pleasant for riding and not too hilly.
More rural scenery along the way. We stopped for morning tea
at Nordlingen which was quite a large town medieval town which is located in
the middle of a meteorite crater. Only town in Germany that you can walk right
around the walls and battlements. There was a lot of reconstruction on the
gothic Cathedral with quite a lot of information about what was being done,
must have been a very progressive council there. Internally the cathedral was
quite plain compared to the ones we had seen on previous days, but still very
striking.
We rode onto Dinkelsbuhl which was to be our camp for the night;
it again was a walled city. The buildings date back over 400 years and have
generally been well maintained. German historians say the proud patrician
houses and semi-timbered houses make it one of the best preserved medieval towns
in Germany. There were a lot of people enjoying the cafes and restaurants of
the town on Sunday afternoon.
Our camp was only 2ks from town. Phill had a chat to an
Italian couple on a BMW motor bike who were on holidays in Germany too. Then we
had a visit from a Dutch guy and his wife who are walking the same route that
we are riding. They are doing about 20ks a day. They drive their car ahead,
park it for a few days then walk back to where they last were then catch the
train back to the car. Pretty complicated but I guess it works for them. It is
always interesting to hear other people’s stories and their adventures along
the way.
Day 44 6th August
Dinkelsbuhl to Rothenburg ob der Tauber 57ks
We were woken through the night by the sound of rain on the
tents. It was sprinkling a bit while we packed up but we decided to go ahead
with it and most things were packed up dry. We had a wet ride most of the
morning, not cold but just wet and not all that flash, anyway we have been
pretty lucky so far. We stopped for morning tea and went shopping at a bike
shop to buy Linda a new mirror and speedo. Her bike had fallen over and broke
the mirror and for some reason her speedo stopped too. Our trusty mechanics got
it all sorted and we were back on the road in the rain. Rothenburg ODT is another
town with lovely old semi timbered houses and lots of interesting architecture.
There were a lot of tourists around even though the weather was pretty
ordinary. We had lunch in the town and a wandered around to see some of the
sights as we headed out to our camp. Not much to see along the way today as we
were concentrating on riding in the rain.
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