Zero kilometres ridden today. No hotel breakfast buffets either. We are staying in an apartment on the very top floor of an old frame house and there was a good grocery store at the end of our block. Pat went out early and picked up some great things for breakfast.
Yesterday as we were looking around Hann we noted a medieval looking tower at the top of a nearby hill. A man at the table beside us announced, ¨Tillyschanze¨. So we chose this tower as our destination for a morning walk. A guidebook suggests, ¨if you want to enjoy a nice view on the city centre of Hann. Münden, Germany – there is no place like the Tillyschanze¨. It was less than one km away and about 100 vertical metres up. We thought that sounded very doable - even on a rest day.
Hann. Münden is a small town and as we walked across it we stopped at the large church, St. Biasius in the middle of town. After a number of renovations over the years, starting around 1000, the interior of the church can now seat 900 people. Afterward our journey carried on across the bridge and the climb up to Tillyschanze began. Walking along the well worn path in the treed setting was not difficult. Reaching the top of the hill we could see a maintenance crew completing repairs to the tower building and a sign on the door noted that it was closed Mondays. Darn. As we looked around, a bit stunned I am sure, a man from the maintenance crew offered to unlock the door for a small fee of 2 euros each. Beer money we thought! The crew chief unlocked the door and we climbed the 25 metre spiral staircase to the top of the tower. The views were great and well worth it.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Blasius. The three-nave, Gothic hall church stands in the middle of the old town, surrounded by historic houses.
The walk down was quick. We spent the afternoon relaxing and after an afternoon stroll through the town, we enjoyed dinner at a Greek restaurant. All in all we felt rested and ready to take on part two of our tour - the Weser!
