Day 6: We Got Your Goat, Meissen Porcelain and the Germans' Love of White Asparagus 

(And Why the Adventure's First Raindrops Don't Dampen Spirits)

Day 6, From Moritz to a Two-Night Stay in Dresden

Sue Walker and Nancy Embree weren't about to let anyone get their goat on the Elbe Bike Path.  

   
   A little-known fact: Germans are absolutely crazy about white asparagus, known in the country as "Spargel." In my hometown of Grinnell, Iowa, we eat green asparagus. Same with France, Italy and, probably, Timbuktu. But in Germany, it's white asparagus or nothing. More white asparagus is eaten in Germany than anywhere else in the world, except Switzerland.

    Dirk Broeren, our Group Leader, stopped us along an asparagus field and pulled a stalk out of the 

Bettina Caffrey and Nan Ottenritter pedal past an asparagus field.

ground. Yes, the top part of the stalk was green, but the bottom of it was white. Some varieties of asparagus are grown underground under mounds of dirt called "hillings." This way, the production of chlorophyll is inhibited and the spears don't turn green. The asparagus season in Germany is short, running from mid-April to June 24.

Group Leader Dirk Broeren explains that unlike green asparagus, white asparagus is peeled before it is cooked. 

A Meissen artisan paints delicate designs.

With the newly absorbed knowledge of Germans'  love for asparagus tucked under our bicycle helmets, we continued on to a city more than 1,000 years old, Meissen, and its 15th-century Albrechtsburg, Germany's oldest castle.  And we were about to be introduced to what the town has became famous for the world over: Meissen porcelain. The exquisite porcelain's signature is the mark of the blue-crossed swords. Before we explored the Meissen building and watched its craftspersons mold, assemble and hand-paint delicate pieces, six men in  our group assembled for a photo (below) showing off their own delicate, umm ... pates. Visible above them are the spires of the Meissen Albrechtsburg, Germany's first castle complex that gave up its fortifying character and became a place of residence.

Hair! Hair! Elliot,  Dirk, Logan, Carl, John and Jay mug for the camera.

   We had an hour to explore Meissen on our own. Treasures? I know Kate Kaufman found a delicious bratwurst (I had yet to try one). I think we all agreed: This was a lovely town of 30,000 to which some of us would one day return.

(L to R): Charlotte Sutton, Kay Lazar, Nan Ottenritter and Sylvia Mabe were picture perfect.

Leah Hayes and Sylvia Mabe wait out the rain.

    Mother Nature has been extremely kind to us in our first days in Germany. We pedaled that morning under bright sunshine along the Saxon Wine road, looking off to our left at the beautiful cliffsides with verdant vineyards lining the slopes. During the late morning and during lunchtime in Meiseen, the sun kept shining, too. But by early afternoon the skies clouded up and we all pulled on rain gear as we felt the first drops of our adventure (except for our arrival at Berlin Tegel Airport). As usual, our Group Leader, Dirk, managed to help us turn our frowns upside down. As the rain began to fall heavier, he found us shelter at an outdoor cafe 20 feet off the Elbe River Bike Path. And so we sat and talked. As we waited out the rain while sitting at picnic tables, a German man walked into our midst and began to do what we believed was his version of an anti-rain dance. Whatever it was, it worked, and soon we were on our way again. For a while, the rain was only an off-and-on mist. But by the end of the ride, the group was soaked and eager for a hot shower and two nights in Dresden.

Whoever this German man was, and whatever he hoped to do with those brooms, it worked ... at least for a while.

So what if the skies were a little gray, this troupe of adventurers rode merrily along through the lush countryside.

We weren't lacking for water, but Kate Kaufman's and Jay Schneider's "friend" delivered more.

Paul and Sue Walker found the gray afternoon on the Elbe River Bike Path suited them just fine.

The skyline of Dresden was a welcome sight to the adventurers, because the rain never let up.

Pausing for a quick panorama before crossing the Elbe River into downtown Dresden, it was only 20 more minutes on the bikes as the group pedaled to the Hotel Elbflorenz. (Left to right), Sylvia Mabe, Kay Lazar, Nan Ottenritter, Sue Walker, Elliot Kaufman, Kate Kaufman, Bettina Caffrey and Nancy Embree were still all smiles.

Elliot's Day's Biking Total: 34 miles.

Day 5: What a Day! WWII History, More on Martin Luther, a Bear and a Bicycle Church 

(And this question: Was That an Emu or an Ostrich?)

Day 5, From Torgau south to the village of Moritz

Anita Berge talks at the site of the U.S.-Soviet alliance.

A plaque commemorates the "link up."

Soviet troops marched out of these trees. 

    At dinner the previous night, a Torgau native, Anita Berge, painted a fascinating picture of life in the former GDR. We then met her this morning for a walk to explore Torgau, which was the political center of the Renaissance and the Reformation, as well as the site at the Elbe River on April 25, 1945, when Soviet and American troops met, or "linked up," marking an important step toward the end of WWII. This contact between the Soviets, advancing from the East, and the Americans, advancing from the West, meant that the two powers had effectively cut Germany in two. Anita told us the "link up" nearly went awry. As Soviet troops waited in the woods for a signal to cross the pasture, the U.S. waved an American flag from Hartenfels Castle. In turn, the Soviets fired red flares. Then the U.S. was supposed to respond with green flares. But they had none and the Soviets opened fire. Eventually, the communication was corrected, and the "link up" was accomplished. 

Standing above the bear pit at Hartenfels Castle are (left to right) Paul Walker, Sue Walker, Elliot Kaufman, Larry Embree, Kay Lazar and Jay Schneider. This is the best-preserved early Renaissance castle in Germany.

Indeed, Hartenfels Castle has a bear pit (left) and a bear (right) that tries to dig its way to freedom (below).

      The exploration of Torgau was delightful and fascinating. As the city of the Renaissance and the

Carol Morasch plants her feet at a Torgau flower shop.

Reformation, Martin Luther's reformatory ideas were spread from here. In 1526, Protestant rulers founded the alliance of Torgau in order to defend the freedom of faith. In 1530, Luther and three other men wrote the "Articles of Torgau" as foundations of the Augsburg Confession. Popular lore calls Torgau the "nursemaid of the Reformation," while Wittenberg is named "mother of the Reformation."
     As for Torgau's beauty, 500 buildings in late Gothic and Renaissance style form an urban ensemble of international relevance. Of our many beautiful stops, this is a treasure I will visit again.

For Kay Lazar, a sign of the times.

'Spokes'-person of the Bicycle Church?

Our adventure was only beginning as we headed out of Torgau, bound for an afternoon pedaling through more bucolic countryside and fairy tale villages. We stopped at what our Group Leader, Dirk Broeren, explained was a "Bicycle Church" in the municipality Webnig Pluckuff 7.5 miles from Torgau. The church is located on the Elbe River Bike Path and it's motto is "better slow, slow better." From the group's perspective, this seemed about right because our collective religion was based on the seat of a bicycle for a fortnight. A short while later, we got a look at authentic German life when Dirk asked a farm wife if we could fill our water bottles out of a farmhouse hose. As we lined up for water, a German farmhand across the road was pitching hay in a wagon.

A kindly farm wife lets Dirk Broeren & Co. fill their water bottles in the noontime heat. Meanwhile, across the road, a German farmhand (below) is using the old-fashioned method, a pitchfork, to load hay in his wagon.

  

Looks like the group has happened upon some mighty big chickens.

  Our route continued south toward that night's stay in Moritz. Sights along the way included what Charlotte Sutton dubbed two baby emus, Charlotte refusing to cave in to group pressure that insisted they were baby ostriches. (Charlotte, it's 50/50 you were correct.)

Nope. Logan Mabe tells Carol Morasch, "They're baby ostriches."

Kay Lazar wonders, for a moment, who's more saddle sore, her or them?

John and Bettina Caffrey, Kay Lazar and Dick Morasch ferry across the Elbe.

  We told lots of stories on those stretches of open country, and it was among my favorite times of our two weeks. Road Scholar prides itself on the camaraderie that is created on a lifelong learning adventure, and I enjoyed hearing about our fellow participants' lives.

  I learned that Larry and Nancy Embree retired in their early 50s; that Logan Mabe teaches English and was a crackerjack newspaperman; that his Mom, Sylvia, rides a motorcyle; that Paul Walker has created a charity to help a village in Kenya.

   I also learned that Elliot Kaufman, and Dick and Carol Morasch, have run marathons; that Sue Walker has counseled women's groups; that Bettina Caffrey just retired, as did Nan Ottenritter in the past year.

   More personal nuggets were gleaned as the days went on, sometimes over breakfast or dinner, sometimes on the bike, or maybe while walking a historic town square in, say, Dresden. I had begun to enjoy each of these wonderful people and began to think of them as more than acquaintances. They were becoming friends.

Elliot's Day's Biking Total: 34 miles.

Day 4: A Fork in the Road, a Stork in the Sky and the Group's Expertise: Food

(Plus, a Good Cold Beer at the End of the Ride)

Day 4, Winding Paths, Pastures and Tiny Villages En Route to Torgau


    Our Group Leader, Dirk Broeren, was already on the way to becoming something of a legend among the adoring group for his dry wit and easygoing manner. He took it to another level shortly after I approached him before we began riding that morning. I had "borrowed" a fork from the dining room that morning (I returned it) and told him to hang onto it. With the group huddled around him, he previewed the day's ride. On cue, I said, "Dirk, I've heard there's a place on the ride today where it can get confusing about which way to go." Dirk looked at me. He said, "Yes, this is a place where you can go one of two ways." Holding up the silver cutlery for all to see, he then walked a few feet and laid the fork down. "You need to follow the fork in the road," he said.

Elliot Kaufman's GoPro video camera (atop Elliot's helmet) caught Dirk Broeren engaging in cutlery humor.

   Opportunities to observe wildlife were plentiful, although much of it wasn't really wild, like lions and tigers and bears (actually, there was a bear ... more on that tomorrow). But there was nothing prettier than a lush pasture with a herd of cows grazing, coming around a corner to see horses' coats glistening in the sun, and one time, spotting two goats peeking out from under an automobile's camper top. And I thought I was hearing things while riding along a river thicket, certain my ears picked up the words, "Cuckoo, cuckoo." Riding another 20 feet, again I heard, "Cuckoo, cuckoo." Sure enough, it was a cuckoo bird.

    And another time someone shouted, "Look up!" I did, but I wasn't sure what I was supposed to be seeing. "It's a stork in a nest!"

Charlotte Sutton (left), Kay Lazar and a stork ... oh baby.

someone yelled. Honest to goodness, in that small village, and several more villages on our route, we saw storks laying or standing in their nests. Later, Dirk explained that the German Storke Route, or "Deutsche Storchenstrasse," is centered around the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Elbe River landscape. Storks begin their return from wintering in Africa in March and stay till September, when the first chill hits the German air. There are more than 100 villages, town and hamlets that build nests for storks. German artist Carl Spitzweg painted his 19th-century "Der Klappenstorch" showing a white stork dropping a baby into the waiting skirts of three village women.

   I loved all the learning we did on our Road Scholar program. It's education that sets Road

Mein mistake, mein sheepish face.

 Scholar apart from companies that can put you on a bike for 252 miles (that would be our total from Dessau to Melnik in the Czech Republic) but don't do much more. As we like to say at 11 Avenue de Lafayette in Boston (our headquarters), we exercise the body AND the brain. A healthy and active brain is directly linked to longevity.

   Having said that, all that exercise our bodies were getting as we devoured the miles along the Elbe meant that we were in need of fuel. And Dirk and his wingman, Carl Heinz Schneider, knew exactly where all the best fuel could be had along our route, so we had excellent coffee breaks mid-morning and mid-afternoon. Germans love their pastries and my wife, Kay, and I have never tasted so many kinds of wonderful bread. The chocolate is exceptional, the German meats are extraordinary and a breakfast buffet laid out in a German hotel is something to behold ... and savor: a half-dozen different cheeses, same with cold meats (yes, for breakfast), eggs, sausages and bacon, pancakes and french toast, plentiful fresh fruit, juices, potatoes. Oddly, I should have gained weight but didn't because of all the pedaling.

(Left to right): Nancy, Sue, Paul, Nan and Jay sit down to a coffee break.

Elliot and Kate Kaufman have good reason for sunny dispositions: gelato.

Sylvia Mabe and son Logan share food for thought with Carl and Dirk.

    Of our nine days on bikes, this would be the longest, surpassing 40 miles. The psychology worked in our favor because such a long ride near the end of our adventure might have been more

Jay Schneider channels his inner farmer before shouting, "Time to make hay!"

demanding than we'd have liked. But the day's ride was so exhilarating because of the breathtaking scenery and because we were getting to know each other (and enjoy each other more and more). We also knew that our first good look at life in the former German Democratic Republic was going to unfold when we arrived at day's end in Torgau. What we didn't know was what else awaited us when we finally pedaled up to the Central Hotel in Torgau. As we climbed off the bikes, the wonderful innkeeper welcomed us with some really cold, well, I won't tell you. You can see for yourself below ...

(Clockwise from left), Paul, Leah, Elliot, Kate, Logan, Charlotte (partially hidden) and Nan toast the day's ride.

Elliot's Day's Biking Total: 41 miles.

Day 3: To the River: We Head West to the Elbe 

(A Magical Palace, a River Ferry and Martin Luther's '95 Theses')

Day 3, Riding from Dessau to Wittenberg

The lovely grounds of the Dessau-Worlitz Garden Realm.

  There's a stir in the air this morning as we hop on our bicycles and put the two-night stay at our countryside Dessau hotel in the rear-view mirror. We'll get our first glimpse of the Elbe River today; even cross it via a ferry. And the sight of the Elbe will cement our exhilarating knowledge that this adventure is on!
   First up, we'll explore a real-life palace. We'll get our first extended look at the pastoral beauty of the German countryside. We'll learn that parents of a "Jeopardy" champion are in our midst. And by day's end in Wittenberg, we'll walk in the footsteps of Martin Luther, whose writings changed the course of religious and cultural history in the West.

Intrepid Road Scholar adventurers on steps of Worlitz Palace: Row 1, left to right, Bettina Caffrey, Sue Walker, Carol Morasch, Kay Lazar, Nan Ottenritter, Nancy Hembree, Larry Hembree. Row 2, left to right, John Caffrey, Elliot Kaufman, Paul Walker, Sylvia Mabe, Kate Kaufman, Dave Hanson, Dick Morasch, Charlotte Sutton, Logan Mabe, Leah Hayes, Jay Schneider.

A ceiling frescoe and an ornate parlor and painting in Worlitz Palace.

 When in Germany, experience a palace. And we did: Wörlitz Palace (yes, this is a palace, not a castle), which is a centerpiece to the Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm. The grounds were created over 200 years ago by Prince Leopold III Friedrich Franz and the palace was his summer residence. Our Road Scholar bicycling group got itself into a fit trying to decipher a Latin inscription above the porticus on the palace's front. We finally determined that the inscription was the prince's dedication of the palace to his young wife, Ludovika.

  The Elbe River finally was near enough to dip in our toe (or bicycle tire) not long after leaving the picturesque Wörlitz grounds, but riding alongside the river isn't what our Group Leader, Dirk Broeren, had in mind. We were headed across it. Good thing it was by ferry, not bike. What struck me was how slow-moving the river appeared to be from 100 feet away, but not when I looked down at the ferry cutting through the current. This is a powerful river, flowing northwest 724 miles from the Czech Republic through Germany to the North Sea.

 

On a ferry across the Elbe, Leah Hayes ponders whose puns are worse, mine or Elliot Kaufman's. It's a tossup.

For Bettina and John Caffrey, the answer is: "Yummm!"

This wasn't to be a particularly long ride to Wittenberg, but there was plenty of time to begin to get to know each

other as we rode a paved path along the Elbe River. Personalities began to emerge, as did fascinating facts. To wit: New Mexicans John and Bettina Caffrey were riding near enough to me that the conversation somehow morphed into the subject of what turned out to be a mutually favorite TV show, "Jeopardy." It seems that, in her 20s, their daughter was not only a contestant, but a two-time "Jeopardy" champion. So the question had to be asked: Is Alex Trebek a nice fellow? Answer: "Very nice," they agreed.


 

The group biked to Wittenberg's Market Square to view a statue of Martin Luther (partially obscured, left).

Castle Church: Site of the "95 Theses?"

   The group rode into the heart of Wittenberg at mid-afternoon, allowing for time to freshen up before riding to the Luther House and Castle Church to learn from an entertaining local expert about one of Western history's most significant figures. Born in Eisleben, Germany, in 1483, Martin Luther spent his early years in relative anonymity as a monk and scholar. But in 1517 Luther penned a document attacking the Catholic Church’s corrupt practice of selling “indulgences” to absolve sin. His “95 Theses,” which propounded two central beliefs — that the Bible is the central religious authority and that humans may reach salvation only by their faith and not by their deeds — was to spark the Protestant Reformation. Although these ideas had been advanced before, Martin Luther codified them at a moment in history ripe for religious reformation. The Catholic Church was ever after divided, and the Protestantism that soon emerged was shaped by Luther’s ideas.

    Martin Luther is said to have posted his "95 Theses" to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenburg, thereby kicking off the Protestant Reformation. There are several paintings of Luther heroically standing at the church door, hammer in-hand. But is it true? In his writings Martin Luther never said anything about nailing the "95 Theses" to the church door. We get this story from one of Luther’s colleagues, Philipp Melanchthon. The only problem is, Melanchthon didn’t move to Wittenburg until 1518, a year after the alleged ‘nailing’ and didn’t mention the event in writing until after Luther’s death. Regardless, Martin Luther remains one of history's most prominent men and the Road Scholar field trip to Castle Church was a highlight of the two-week adventure.

Elliot's Day's Biking Total: 20 miles.

Day 2: Off We Ride to the Hugo Junkers Technikmuseum and the Bauhaus School 

(But Not Before Learning the All-Important Rules of the Road)  

Day 2, the Countryside Outside of Dessau, Germany ... and Then Into Dessau

Pals Leah Hayes (back) and Sylvia Mabe.

  A critical part of a group bicycle ride is fitting in; not so much off the bikes as on. That's why Group Leader Dirk Broeren spent nearly two hours diagramming our group riding pattern: single file, with one rider stopping at each corner to see others didn't miss it, spaced 30 feet apart on roads (less on bike paths) and with one rider designated as the day's sweep (riding at the end of the group all day long to ensure nobody got left behind). In Germany, and throughout much of Europe, bicycle riders are treated like automobiles and must follow the same rules as autos. It is 180 degrees the opposite of the way bicycle messengers might ride in, say, New York City; which is to say at a breakneck speed, making up the rules as they go.

   After Dirk's lesson plan on safety, he fitted us to our seven-speed "cruising" bikes and sent us off on a test loop in the parking lot of our hotel. Suffice to say, not a single one of us fell off and flunked. And so we were off ...


Group Leader Dirk Broeren is all business as he prepares 18 Road Scholar adventurers for a safety check.

Dirk Broeren has an open-door policy at the renowned Bauhaus School.

  We rode about six miles into city traffic in Dessau, stopping first at the Bauhaus Foundation to explore a German  art school that combined crafts and the fine arts. The German term "Bauhaus" meant "house of construction" and was famous for its influence on Modernist art, architecture, graphic design, interior design, industrial design and typography. Founded by Walter Gropius in 1919, its director was Ludwig Mies van der Rohe from 1930-33, when it was closed by the Nazis, who claimed it was a center of communist intellectualism. It was reopened in 1986.
   If you ask several of the cyclists, the lunch at the Bauhaus school that followed the exploration was appetitlich (delicious). Several of them chose the potato-and-sausage soup.



Elliot Kaufman is a lean machine in the Bauhaus theater. 



A look at the Bauhaus Masters Houses.



Dick Morasch (left) has a keen interest in a Junkers airplane.

  After lunch, we were off to the Hugo Junkers Technikmuseum to learn about this pioneering German engineer and aircraft designer who built everything from hot water systems to washing machines, a metal fabricated house and a variety of aeroplanes. Hugo Junkers is credited with pioneering the design of all-metal airplanes and flying wings. A mainstay of the German aircraft industry between WWI and WW2, he was forced out of his own company by the Nazi government in 1934 and died in 1935.

Nancy Embree explores the interior of an all-metal airplane designed by aviation pioneer Hugo Junkers.

  
  A ride to Dessau's Market Square and its lovely fountain capped our first day on the bikes. Before

Carl's van (see orange stripe) parked in Dessau's Market square.

riding six miles back to our hotel, we had an hour to walk the streets of this city that was almost completely destroyed by Allied air raids in WWII on March 7, 1945, six weeks before American troops occupied the town. Afterward it was rebuilt with typical GDR concrete slab architecture and became a major industrial center of East Germany. Since German reunification in 1990, many historic buildings have been restored.



Day's Biking Total (as measured by Elliot Kaufman): 12 miles.