Holzminden to Fischbeck (68km)
Trip Start
Jun 24, 2012
1
17
45
Trip End
Sep 08, 2012
Fischbeck, Lower Saxony, Germany
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
After a quick ride through the town, we headed off along the Weser towards Hameln (Hamelin) under grey skies but helped by a nice breeze which was often a tail wind but, given the winding course of the river, was sometimes a brisk headwind as well.
The river valley continues to be very picturesque, a lot of farm crops ripening in the early summer warmth, and fairly empty otherwise.
We were getting to know a few of the other riders doing the whole Weser trail to Bremen or even to Cuxhaven on the North Sea, They are often older couples, but also a number of women doing the tour on their own. It was nice to have a chat with a few of these riders on our rest stops.
Today with the wind we managed to ride only 17km before the lure of an isolated little riverside cafe at Reileifen stopped us. We watched a group of canoeists paddling by as we waited for our coffee (and Munz's chips).
Suitably rejuvenated, we continued on into a valley that narrowed into steep eroded limestone hills and cliffs around Dolmeg.
By 12.30pm we made it to Borderwerder, a very nice small town which was home to the infamous Baron von Munchhauusen. In hindsight, we should have stayed longer and enjoyed lunch.
Instead, after a quick tour, we pressed on toward Emmerthal. This turned out to be a forgettable place where everyone got tired and grumpy and the scenic highlight was the local nuclear power station.
A ferry ride across the river to the pretty looking town of Grohnde for lunch was aborted because the town was empty and dead.
After finally finding a bakery at Emmerthal, we had a fairly ordinary lunch. Then we dragged ourselves back on the road and we battled our way through light rain to Hamelin.
The outskirts of Hamelin has some industrial areas, large canals and barges. Toward the town centre were many well tended "Schrebergarten"; mini farms for apartment dwellers which were the brainchlild of Doctor Daniel Schreber, and are found throughout most German cities.
One interesting feature we noticed on our ride was the number of German flags being displayed on houses and, most commonly, on the large garden sheds in the Schrebergarten. Apparently a little bit of healthy nationalism is now permitted after being shunned for many years.
We got to the town centre of Hameln at 4.30pm. It certainly looks like the storybook home of the famous Piped Piper of Hamelin.
We were just in time to see the Rattenfager (Rat catcher) musical in the town square (fortunately right in front of our chosen cafe so it didn't intefere with important recuperation processes which were underway).
Next a tour round the town, the famous Rattenfanger Haus which had a display about the mysterious disappearance of 130 children from the town on 26 June 1284. It was a time of a great plague brought by rats and reflected on the tragic consequence of failing to pay one's dues.
As per usual, we decided to put in a last few kilometres for the day and ended up a further 10km down the track and a Privatzimmer in the small village of Fischbeck, further along the river.
A nice dinner in the local pub was followed by another well earned sleep.
Today's ride was 68km (Total ride 178km)
