Havelberg to Steckelsdorf - Exploring Germany, Czech Republic and beyond... on our Recumbent Tandem - CycleBlaze

July 20, 2014

Havelberg to Steckelsdorf

Peter and Holger had an early start and headed north in their canoe. The will continue on the Elbe and we head southeast on the Havel River.
We started our day with our new friends at the Rowing Club. We appreciate the special care that Europeans take for their breakfast meal - it is a social time with fresh baking, cheese/meat, fruit and coffee. Karin, Sylvia and Norbert arrived with fresh buns, made a big pot of coffee and we joined them to share our meal.

We had a great time with them and appreciated their hospitality.
We are excited to be starting a new Cycle Path today - The Havel Radweg. It will be interesting to explore a new river and it will take us to Berlin and a visit with Karin, a sister of a friend at home.

The Havel Radweg is lovely. We find that the signage is excellent, nicely constructed covered rest stops at frequent intervals and relatively few cyclists. The ones we meet are coming towards us and are from Berlin.

We have lost count of the rivers we have ridden along in Germany and Europe - we seem to prefer the smaller ones which are quiet and dotted with villages along the way. For lunch we found a place by the river to sit in our chairs, dip our feet in the river and watch the current of the water go by. An idyllic spot for us to have a rest.

Rather than going in to a city, we decided to stop at Stecklesdorf and camp by the lake. It is a popular place to swim at the lake here. We wlll camp by the lake.

Ruder Club, Havelberg.
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A hot morning in Havelberg - the water is a good place to be living on these days.
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Live music in the square at Havelberg. There is a festival this weekend with a triathlon and a family fest.
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We stayed in one of the bungalows here at the Ruder Club.
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What a great time we had at the Ruder Club in Havelberg. We stayed in a bungalow as it was too hot to tent. Karin (left) took good care of us, her friend Sylvia was a lot of fun and her husband Norbert ("Norby") was the official interpreter.
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Barry with our friends at the Ruder Club, Norby, Karin and Sylvia. Good memories.
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Karin and Sylvia speak German - Mary Ellen speaks English and a bit of German - Norbert is helping to interpret.
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The rest stops were lovely along the Havel Radweg. This covered picnic area featured a carved owl by this artist.
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Storks love being in freshly cut fields and finding food.
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What a magnificent bird - being so close, we can appreciate the size of the bird and its amazing wingspan.
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Storks are always busy - grooming, finding food and rebuilding their nests.
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What a great idea. Construction on a new bike path is ongoing - and they protect the trees from damage by wrapping rubber and wooden planks around the trunk.
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The ride through the forest is beautiful here.
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Farm communities have a fun way of advertising a harvest festival.
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Our campsite at Stecklesdorf. We paid a little extra for being close to the lake, but the breeze at night was worth it.
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Barry, the chief cook on our travels, is as usual hard at work. We love our new Helinox Ground chairs - they are lighter and we sit lower to the ground, which is good for sitting inside the tent when the weather is bad.
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Today's ride: 50 km (31 miles)
Total: 1,832 km (1,138 miles)

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