Day 12 on the Elbe Cycle Route

Wörlitz to Magdeburg, 66 long miles

We started with a hearty German breakfast and hit the road early.

Just a short ride from our hotel was the Wörlitz Garden Realm, an expansive landscaped park dating back to the 18th century. It’s now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s full of beautiful buildings, bridges and statues.

We pedaled in on the gravel paths—only to quickly realize (thanks to a sign we misread) that bikes weren’t actually allowed. Oops!

We walked our bikes the rest of the way and still enjoyed an abbreviated tour.

Some might say I’m accident prone, and today I proved them right. While backing up on foot (with my bike) to get a better look at a statue in the garden, I managed to trip over said bike. Down we both went! I was fine, but I bent my derailleur hanger in the process. This is the second time I’ve managed to damage my bike while basically standing still (the first was on the NY Erie Canal trip in 2023). After a little disassembly and brute force, we got it shifting again—then found a bike shop to confirm all was well. The whole episode cost us about an hour (and I got some grief from Bob), but it could have been much worse.

In Dessau we stopped for lunch and finally tried Döner Kebabs (per Elise’s suggestion). Oh my goodness—so good! Thinly shaved meat, tangy veggies, spicy sauce, all tucked into a bread pocket. Think gyro, but with a whole different flavor profile. The bread was almost like focaccia, only thinner. We learned this street food was brought to Germany by Turkish immigrants in the 1960s, and now we know why it’s so popular.

Two more ferry crossings today

The first two-thirds of our day took us through wooded forests and roller-coaster-like trails. We were all smiles - it was pure fun. But the afternoon was another story: strong headwinds, exposed farm fields, and eventually a downpour about half an hour before our destination. We rolled into Magdeburg, soggy but triumphant, after 66 miles.

Magdeburg is the capital of Saxony-Anhalt and a big, bustling city with plenty to explore. But after today’s ride, sightseeing wasn’t in the cards. Our hotel is in a really cool building called the Green Citadel. I’ll try to get a good pic of the outside tomorrow. For now, you’ll have to settle for pics of the fun tile work in the bathroom!

After cleaning up, we treated ourselves to pizza.

Sadly, the gelato shop we had been eyeing closed before we finished dinner. Tomorrow, we’ll try again—because after today, we definitely earned our gelato!

Until then!