Of course, every bike morning begins with cobblestones which really hurt. Today we were promised to be a short trip of 55 km, but we had to be at the town of Hitzacker by 1 pm. We had some rolling hills but toward the end of the morning, we had some serious climbs. There was a nice overlook of the Elbe River toward the end of the morning. After climbing on our bikes, we then climbed to the top of the overlook.
At the town of Hitzacker, we stopped for lunch (ice cream) and then we were in a small bus to the town of Tangermünde. On our bus ride, we traveled into the former East Germany or German Democratic Republic (GDR). What you notice is the change of scenery. Small family farms are now large agricultural farms. When the Soviet Union occupied the land, they took over private and state owned agricultural lands with a policy of food security. You can also notice the starkness of the buildings especially ones that were once Soviet properties.
Tangermünde, on the Elbe, was once one of the favorite places of the Luxembourg Emperor Charles IV. He rebuilt Tangermünde as a Kaiserpfalz, imperial palace. We stayed in the Hotel Schloss Tangermünde which is part of the castle. All of the rooms have been updated and no one is sleeping in the dungeon. Pictures of the town of Tangermünde. One of the churches had a nest of storks on its roof.
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