August 15, 2022 - Verden (Aller)

It has been a fabulous day riding. I rode 62+ km, about 35 miles. The weather was cool and cloudy most of the day. I have some good pictures but will not be able to post them as the internet is slow right now. If it improves during the evening I will add pictures with narrative. I am about 50 km from Bremen, my final stop before taking the train back to Frankfurt.

A hunting stand on the edge go the bithpath. I took this picture for my good friend Jack who served in the Air Force in Germany on different occasions.

Just to let you know the bike path can take many different forms. Here it is concrete with two lanes. This is an old farm access road built in the decades after the war as a part of investment in infrastructure and putting people to work.

The bike in this section follows the road in and out this village on one side. Sometimes it is on both sides. I show these pictures you would how safe and how easy it is to get from place to place. Many Gemans used these pass for daily commute or shopping.

This statue/fountain is in the town of Hoya and has to do with a tale about dwarfs building a moat around a castle. I think there was a dispute about being paid, similar to the Pied Piper.

My bicycle as I left Hoya. I went to the top of the levee to see the river but it was to there. The levees in the farm land are often built away from the river is it can hold more flood water.

Today's issue was two flights of stairs or the bike path. To cross the river at this point the path went over a dam and old lock. It had 32 steps up on one side and 32 steps down on the other side. I had to take my bags up and then take by bike up.

The same was true for coming down. Some other travelers offered to help me. But I very kindly   explained that I needed to do that myself.

A picture of a store in Verden (Aller), my town for the evening. These cones are call "Schultüte". The "School Cones" are given to children on their first day of first grade. It is filled with sweets and other stuff useful for a first grader. It is a symbol of the transition from small child to student for the boy or girl. They are very personal and are usually made by the family often with the child's help. The tradition started in the central areas of Germany and dates back two to three centuries. Today's modern world has some premade and available in stores.

The end of the day beer. It is a very delicate and good amber beer. So good I had two.

Then end of the day meal. My best meal of this trip. Two venison medallions in a mushroom cream sauce with mashed potato croquets. I ate all except the garnishments.

Tomorrow is my last ride day. I go from Verden to Bremen. It is only about 50 km. It should be nice weather but not hot.

Until Tomorrow.