June 4, 2011
Bucken - Mahndorf: We're almost in Bremen
Well, it was hot, flat and windy again today, but not as windy as yesterday. Meandering through the countryside wasn't quite as charming as it was a few days ago so we decided to leave the Weser Bike Path and follow the main road for part of the way to save kilometers. You can count on almost all roads in this part of Germany to have a bike lane.
Before we left we looked at Bücken's church.
Around noon we reached Verden/Aller. They were celebrating a festival of some sort and the streets, blocked to traffic, were full of stands and people out to enjoy themselves. Not good for a bicycle. We found our way to the cathedral which turned out to be quite a surprise. How can there be so many exceptional works of architecture in the country where you live that you have never once heard of? The cathedral in Verden was one such example. Never heard of it. The Dom, or Cathedral, at Verden is an interesting building and is one of the earliest Gothic hall-style churches around. The construction period lasted from 1290 to 1490, thus incorporating both Romanesque and Gothic elements.
We were now quite close to Bremen, but not close enough to ride into the city. We prefer not entering an unfamiliar city in the late afternoon, especially if we haven't booked a room in advance. There weren't many hotels in Bremen's periphery, some were already booked out, but we then chanced on a Best Western. It took a little persuading for the concierge to allow us to take the bicycles indoors since we weren't willing to leave the bicycles outside in the parking lot, guarded or not. There was room in the conference room. This was a contrast to the small or privately run accomodations we had found so far. Our room was 70 € including breakfast.
Today's ride: 53 km (33 miles)
Total: 958 km (595 miles)
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