We were umming and ahhing about whether to have a rest day, catch a train to Bad Tolz or just ride and see where we got. I’m still not feeling great and a rest day would make sense. However, after breakfast, I thought, stuff it, let’s just ride.
In the end, we cranked out more than 85 kms of beautiful scenic riding, interspersed with some solid rain and some time sheltering under a friendly local’s awning, with two cyclists from Berlin.
Leaving Füssen was easy. It felt like we had only gone a couple of blocks and we were in the countryside. Pretty soon, the recommended route díd a circuitous route that was easy to shortcut – so we did. After a few hundred metres, we saw why it did that.
The stunning Neuschwanstein Castle was staring at us from a distance. So we changed course to get closer to it, and met a lovely German couple on a vacation with their baby daughter. They were really talkative, lovely people and their daughter had amazing eyes, as she surveyed everyone from the warmth of her pram.
Off again along wonderful segregated cycle paths. There are so many of them here, that you can go most places and not touch many roads.
The paths today wound through flat fields and undulated through grazing lands covered in yellow flowers. With the snow covered mountains in the background, it was a picture from start to finish. (Ed. Except for the industrial area at the end of the day, and the busy town before that, and the slushy dirt road in the middle, but yes, it was very nice).
We met other cyclists along the way and went past the Weisskirche which is an old and spectacularly ornate church on the BV Path. The best part about it being a tourist drawcard, is that there are food opportunities. Not only that – you get to meet Koreans with selfie sticks.
We had Apple Strüdel with Vanilla sauce and an expresso Macchiato, after which we were charged up and ready to go again. We also got some wurst sandwiches to go which we ordered from the menu.
They arrived in individual bags which we packed in our gear without looking inside, knowing that if the sandwich was half as good as the apple strüdel, then we’d be happy indeed.
About 10kms later, it started to rain and we saw two other. Cyclists sheltering under an awning. Nice people from Berlin who took up cycletouring during Covid.
I was starving and decided to have my gourmet wurst sandwich. There have already been a million jokes about wurst and worst but the sandwich consisted of two very average sausages in glad wrap, with two slices of bread. Not inspiring at all. Oh well, we’d have to wait until we went through a more sizable town, to get some more food. It took a while, but we eventually did. In between, we went through some solid rain, and I have to say to all of you poncho-unbelievers out there, that my poncho shone today. It was brilliant. You need one.
We took off again for another 10kms and looked for accommodation but decided to keep going further. This pattern continued until we got to Kochel am See and found a nice hotel that had a simple restaurant. I had hit the wall a few kilometres earlier so my sense of relief was overwhelming.
When I asked the price, my schoolboy German skills deserted me and I got the number wrong and thought the hotel was way more expensive than it was. However, the nice lady’s schoolgirl English was better than my equivalent, and she sorted it out. Did her parents pay more for her education or was she simply a better student ?
After a nice dinner, it was blog time for us both. I’m very very tired and looking forward to a rest day. Dennis on the other hand, is powering along.
