|
October 10 Tuesday Bicycle touring Germany The morning dawned foggy and totally overcast. In Donauworth, Germany, I phoned the Spatz family. Hubert and Gabriela with son, baby Kangaroo, and daughter Rita cheerfully answered the phone and said they would be delighted to have Canadian cyclists for the evening.
I also phoned Karen and Martin near Dachau, Germany, and we received a pleasant affirmative for accommodations from them as well, so we are set up for two evenings in a row. Sharon and Sherry are happy. We won't be squished in the tent and they get showers. Bicycle touring doesn't get much better! Went to a church and saw some bones on display. There is definitely a downside to being a saint. One guy, Stephen I think it was, didn't look at all pleased about the whole arrangement. The military had a 40 year anniversary booth
set up and were giving away buttons and pens. One fellow, discovering
we were from Canada, told us he had been to Goose Bay, Newfoundland.
As the fog swirled about us, he gave the weather a thumbs-up forecast only 15 kilometers from here in Augsberg, Germany. "The fog just lies along the river this time of year," he explained. "The relative humidity is 97 percent." We got on our bikes and cycled out of Donauworth, following along the river and winding through farmers' fields. We pulled our bikes to a stop at a church that is a nunnery. Leaning our fully loaded bicycles against the wall, we snuck inside to take a peek. An immense wooden door creaked loudly as I opened it. Two nuns, sitting in pews, turned around to look at who was interrupting their sanctuary. When I caught a glimpse of all the gold on the altar, I snuck back out to my bike and got my camera. A loud click once again broke the holy silence. Along the canal the bike path became a solid patch of gravel. As we bounced our way along the ruts we commented on how romantic the route was. We were down off to one side and couldn't even see the water in the canal. At Gersh, Germany, we reemerged from the bike path. An old fellow on a bike stopped and kindly gave us directions for the rest of our day's route. We still had quite a ways to cycle. To make better time, we ventured on to more heavily trafficked routes. We only had to stop a couple more times for directions. Once again we arrived at our host family's house in the dark after 6 PM. Herbert is a Grade 5/6 teacher. He plays the viola and was just heading off to a concert as we arrived. His wife, Gabriela, is an office worker. Their daughter, Rita, just finished a degree in school statistics. And the son they call Crazy Kangaroo is an engineer and gymnastics teacher. Before Herbert left for the concert, he trotted over to a farmer's house who lives 300 metres from them. He returned jubilantly with fresh milk. I wondered if this farmer's cows lived the same miserable existence as Hermann the German's. |
