Day 11 on the Elbe Cycle Route

42 miles from Dommitzsch to Coswig, 460ish miles down, 380ish miles to go!

Our day began bright, sunny, and just a bit chilly.

Breakfast was the classic German spread we’ve come to love: warm fresh bread, homemade jams, meats and cheeses, cereal, yogurt, fruit, and plenty of coffee to fuel the ride.

After breakfast, it’s time to fetch the bikes out of hock. Sometimes they’re stashed in creepy, spider-filled basements, but today’s hiding spot was a secured barn. Thankfully, we haven’t had to leave them locked up outside—yet!

The morning trail wound through gorgeous countryside—villages marked by church towers and fields already past their last harvest. Hard to believe that before German reunification in 1990 and the fall of communism in Czechoslovakia, this very route would have been off-limits to travelers like us. So grateful for changing times!

Along the way we passed a beautifully preserved post windmill from the late 1800s.

Remarkably, the whole structure could be maneuvered to face the wind, though doing so was no easy task.

We stopped for lunch in Wittenberg, the city where Martin Luther lived and worked, and where the Protestant Reformation began. We didn’t take the time to tour the historic sites in detail.

Lunch was currywurst, which sent us down a rabbit hole on the history of this beloved German street food. While there’s some debate about who made the first one, its roots are traced back to eastern Germany in the late 1940s. Legend has it a snack bar owner bartered curry powder and Worcestershire sauce from British soldiers, mixed them with ketchup and sausage, threw in French fries—and a national favorite was born.

We took a short wander through Wittenberg, but as the clouds rolled in and the air grew colder, we pushed back onto the trail.

This afternoon’s ride was a blend of urban paths and forested stretches.

Today included not one but two ferry crossings!

The second delivered us right to our hotel, sitting directly on the Elbe Cycle Route.

Hotel check-in: lots of gestures, broken German, and finally Google Translate to the rescue. No photos of that comedy, so here’s the sign we rely on instead—it tells us the hotel is cyclist-friendly.

Dinner was lovely—Solyanka soup for me (I’m determined to enjoy it as often as possible), and then schnitzel and Caesar salad for our mains. Both of us were happy with our choices.

That’s all for now—süße Träume aus Elberadweg! 🌙🚴‍♂️