Cycle Tour Iron Curtain Tour, part 3 Gdynia-Aš

Today's stage looked pretty tough, and I must say, it was. I was now in the Frankenwald, as it is called on the Bavarian/Frankish side, while on the other side they call it the Thuringian Forest. Here it is clearly higher, but luckily I didn't have to go all the way up there. That circumstance plus another section of planned patrol road meant that I changed today's route to Kronach quite a bit. At least it became shorter, but not necessarily easier.

In Weißenbrunn a kind woman gave me a lot of water, and I drank and drank. Unfortunately I had not found any well., and had grown immensly thirsty. Soon after, I cycled under the new Munich-Berlin ICE railway line and past a dammed lake. After Fischbach came a steep climb up to Hoehn. I was a little proud of mastering it in one piece without taking a breather in the lowest gear. In Neustadt I took a short rest. The town seemed busy and big. On the way to Ebersdorf, I cycled into a proper downpour, which I waited for to stop under a porch roof. I did that for the first time on the whole trip. And after Mupperg, where I had been given water by a friendly couple, I made coffee at a clubhouse of some sort.

The trip to Kronach turned out a bit long for me. At least that's how it felt, also because there were several climbs, including one without a cycle path in fairly heavy traffic. Uncomfortable, but it certainly didn't happen often. In Kronach I had booked a hotel, and Klosterkeller's owner had written that she was there until 18.30. I would have easily made it, if I hadn't entered the town completely wrong after I had changed the route again. This time it was unwise, because it turned out that the hotel was in the upper town, which was only accessible through two gates. I should have just chosen the southern one, but it took a while before it dawned on me. But it didn't matter, because I had been given a code for a key box. And while I was relaxing in the room, the son of the hotel manager popped in and showed me a place for the bike. I could leave her in the basement while I had a rest day the next day.

I had dinner at the local brewery S'Antla, which means "the little duck". Accordingly, I ordered their beer and roast duck. It was a bit pricey, but on the other hand I sat on top of the town wall right at the edge, and what a beautiful view it was into the lower town and up to the fortress. Kronach is a gem, I tell you. It was the evening before a holiday in Bavaria, the Corpus Christi Feast, which is the second Thursday after Pentecost. Consequently, the town was buzzing, especially around the Blueberryhill Pub, where there was live rock music. Most of the people in there were younger than me, and out in front by the well, everyone was young. But I enjoyed myself anyway until it was time to hit the hay.