Distance Traveled: 87.4 km
Cumulative distance: 937.0 km
Maximum speed: 96 kph
Temperture range: 17 - 20
Not that that is ALL we saw but we did see a lane or farm road that was gravel. We weren't tempted but we now know they exist. Just few and far between, unlike the towns here. You can't go 5 km without passing through a village, hamlet or town.
We certainly haven't minded that because there is always something to see. I was just whining to Nono that I have tried to not let it bother me when we passed through an interesting spot and we didn't stop to try to learn something or photograph something. I did learn on my solo trip last year that stopping at every roadside attraction means you never get anywhere. And since we are not riding hard this trip, we still have gas in the tank, er, energy to go and do something when we hit our destination.
Today we went into Wolkenstein to visit the castle. The castle is quite an impressive view when looking at it from the valley floor. Up close, it has been covered in plaster and is currently undergoing an addition - all metal. It is a "bridge" with rooms underneath and in the artists' rendering of the finished product, looks like it was designed out of the Cold War. Plus, for the 9 Euro admission, some descriptions in English would have been nice but like the hotelier yesterday reminded me, "we are in Germany. Speak German!" I did find this after the fact:
After 1500 the mediaeval castle was turned into a residence for Duke Henry II of Saxony. In the 19th century further renovation took place as a royal county court resided in the buildings. For over 40 years there has been a museum of city history in the Late Gothic buildings with the permanent exhibit 'Land of the Amethyst'. In the former dungeon there is a private collection of the history of mediaeval jurisdiction.
Since July 2002 wedding ceremonies have been held in the former guard house.
So while it was interesting to walk around and see the displays, we could not read any of the descriptions. There we no other European lamguages represented. I had always thought that this was the forte of the French, particularly Parisians. It also makes me wonder about whether the displays were simply historical or if they were part of the history of the castle itself. The dungeon, for example, was filled with displays of mediaeval torture instruments. There was certainly what looked like a deep pit in the castle which was dressed up to look like a place to throw prisoners but it is unclear if that barbarism took place at this castle.
Afterwards, we decided to ride to lunch and picked a spot at random (Google rated 4.7) which was an estimted 37 minute ride. Had a nice American lunch - burger and fries with a choice of mayonnaise or ketchup, Nan had her familiar dark beer and I had a "bitter lemon" an unsweetened lemonaide with all the excess natural sugars removed.
We were riding home later than we had been riding on this trip; around 5:30 or 6:00 pm. It was actually a very nice time to be out, seeing the rolling hills with the setting sun on them. I noticed for the first time, seeing them from a distance, that the fields are all lined with rows of trees, distinguishing one from another. I am not sure if this intended to save on fencing materials so farmers will know which is their land or if it is to ensure the fields stay beautiful, which they were.
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| We passed by this place a couple of times today. This was the first pass, early in the afternoon when it was well stocked with motorcyclers. At the later pass, there were but a few hanger-oners. We rode by slowly and honked, while they gawked at the bike we are riding. |
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| Approaching Wilkonstein. |
