Naumburg and the Bad towns
In the morning, our tent was drenched in dew, which was the price we paid for not putting on the second tent layer, so we had to dry it out a bit before packing.
Our fourth, and longest day continued along a wider river, called the Saag, which flows northward into the Elbe. We intended to reach Naumburg in time for a late brealkfast, but accidentally followed the wrong river and ended up in Camburg, several kilometers from our route. Fortunately Camburg also had a bakery that was open on Sunday, so weren't too disappointed. We reached Naumburg around noon and did our usual brief street tour by bike, stopping at the thousand-year-old cathedral, an ice cream shop, and the tourist information office.
From Naumburg we had 66 km of biking ahead of us to Halle, adding up to a nearly 90 km day. However, the terrain remained completely flat, and we covered the distance without too much difficulty.
Towns along our path often had names such as Bad Kosen, or other Bad names. Apparently the prefix stands for "bath", which in this case means a spa resort. In one of these towns we came across a massive half-mile wall, which consisted of several meters of packed branches of local reeds. Salt water pumped from underground to the top of the wall percolated downward and made the surrounding air resemble the cool moist air of ocean. Hundreds of older people walked back and forth along the paths near and even on top of the wall, creating a bizzare impression they were keeping watch for enemies beyond the city wall. As almost the only repeesentatives of the under-50 age group, we were probably as close to aliens as could be expected in those parts, and, after a short snack, we continued on our way.
As we approached Halle, the scenery became more industrial, and the ugly concrete apartment houses were a reminder that we were in Eastern Europe after all. The bike path at this point began contorting in almost unimaginable ways, as though it were trying to escape the surrounding ugliness but turning around in desperation every time. It was at this point that we decided to hop on the train and continue our biking trip in the lakes district north of Berlin. Since it was already getting dark and we had to go through Berlin on our way, we spent the night in the comfort of Tonie's apartment.
Our fourth, and longest day continued along a wider river, called the Saag, which flows northward into the Elbe. We intended to reach Naumburg in time for a late brealkfast, but accidentally followed the wrong river and ended up in Camburg, several kilometers from our route. Fortunately Camburg also had a bakery that was open on Sunday, so weren't too disappointed. We reached Naumburg around noon and did our usual brief street tour by bike, stopping at the thousand-year-old cathedral, an ice cream shop, and the tourist information office.
From Naumburg we had 66 km of biking ahead of us to Halle, adding up to a nearly 90 km day. However, the terrain remained completely flat, and we covered the distance without too much difficulty.
Towns along our path often had names such as Bad Kosen, or other Bad names. Apparently the prefix stands for "bath", which in this case means a spa resort. In one of these towns we came across a massive half-mile wall, which consisted of several meters of packed branches of local reeds. Salt water pumped from underground to the top of the wall percolated downward and made the surrounding air resemble the cool moist air of ocean. Hundreds of older people walked back and forth along the paths near and even on top of the wall, creating a bizzare impression they were keeping watch for enemies beyond the city wall. As almost the only repeesentatives of the under-50 age group, we were probably as close to aliens as could be expected in those parts, and, after a short snack, we continued on our way.
As we approached Halle, the scenery became more industrial, and the ugly concrete apartment houses were a reminder that we were in Eastern Europe after all. The bike path at this point began contorting in almost unimaginable ways, as though it were trying to escape the surrounding ugliness but turning around in desperation every time. It was at this point that we decided to hop on the train and continue our biking trip in the lakes district north of Berlin. Since it was already getting dark and we had to go through Berlin on our way, we spent the night in the comfort of Tonie's apartment.
posted by Dmitri Evseev at 8:58 PM
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