Our stay at the Hotel Lehmeier in Neumarkt was great. Friendly staff, a nine jammer breakfast and a very comfortable bed. The hallways were decorated with great paintings. I wish we could have strapped one of those on our panniers! The breakfast room was really very beautiful with an arched brick ceiling.
The cycling today was outstanding, with pleasant surprises around every corner. This is a very beautiful part of the world. We were cycling through farmland at the start. It was quiet and peaceful. We had a good laugh when we stopped at a bench in a tiny bucolic hamlet to apply sunscreen, heard a familiar roar, and out of a quaint farmyard came a chopped Harley. Yup. It did strike us as terrific motorcycle country, and we were proven right about that later in the day.
Each town is a very discreet entity, and there is no sprawl. We like it.
We came around a corner, and in a very small community there was a beautiful church. When we went inside we couldn't believe it. The interior was exquisite, pale pink and full of plaster detailing.
Here is the exterior. It is called Wallfahrtkirche Maria Hilf.
We carried on into the town of Freystadt. In the ancient gate, only this time before we went out the ancient gate at the other end we had the first ice cream cone of the day. Keith went all out and had vanilla.
Shortly after we arrived at the Main Danube canal. We love riding along the water...for one thing, it pretty much eliminates navigational issues, although we can still make mistakes. Today was very straightforward though. We had lunch at a bench overlooking the water. There are benches all along the bike paths. When we saw another irresistible Biergarten waterside we had to stop. It was just outside the medieval wall surrounding the town of Berching. It is here we met Christian and Monica, who were out for the day cruising the Main Donau canal on a small passenger boat that took them to Beilingries and back. They are a well travelled couple and we had a great conversation reminiscing about shared favourite destinations.
There is always something to look at on the canals. Another double barge. If one is good, two are better in my opinion.
After they hopped onto their boat we rode into Berching. I am running out of superlatives to describe these little towns. This one had all the ingredients. Ancient wall around the town, towers, churches, fachwerk buildings and cobblestone streets. Cobblestones are a pain in the butt on a bike, literally. There is a reason so many people here have front suspension.
Our next surprise was up a hill, Kloster Plankstetton. It was a huge complex, and we stopped to take a good look. It also offers accommodation and is a registered Bett and Bike.
We entered the town of Beilingries and what a happening spot. Motorcycles, bicycles, cars, people and a rush on the eis shop, where Keith and I both had two cones each. One just wasn't enough. This is where we merged with the Altmuthal Radweg. We knew we had been there before, but nothing looked familiar until we rounded a corner and I recognized a spot. Everything looked so different because when we last went through it was late October and very, very quiet.
We caught up to Monica and Christian in Beilingries.
We went around the corner and I recognized where we were, but in late October the tourists were gone, the tables were gone and it was very quiet. I liked the town both ways.
On our way to Dietfurt, where we are tucked in for the night at Zum Brau Toni. We had a great evening with a couple from South Africa, also bike touring.
