Out East

 Mrs N was working at Senftenberg and I took the opportunity of a flying visit.  Dresden is nearby and I had always wanted to go there.

Starting in Wiesbaden I had first considered taking the train but with a scheduled 11 hour journey an expensive weekend would have been consumed on DB.

I instead elected to take Spock for a 700  mile round journey spin - due to time constraints this was undertaken mostly on motorways except on the way back the stau was so bad north of Frankfurt I cut across the Taunus on the B275 through Idstein

Spock gets the proverbial tiger in the tank and an iced coffee on top.

I set off around 2pm in the fearsome heat of a humid continental summer - the traffic was heavy but I managed to filter my way along the A66, up the A5.  "Filtering" is not well practised by the locals - it's probably against the rules but most German car drivers tolerated it - only vehicles carrying "PL" plates seemed to take issue. The A5 became the A4 and exciting road signs to Berlin appeared, the traffic thinned and former DDR towns called Chemnitz and Jena were passed with ease but with considerable neck wrenching wind blast on unfaired and naked Spock. Soon I was in the federal state of Brandenburg riding immaculate roads with little traffic arriving at Senftenberg at 8pm.

Parking at Senftenberg in the hotel owner's Harley spot.

The main square in Senftenberg, a former DDR mining town its main attraction is tourism and the nearby See (a former open cast mine)

First job is to rent a bicycle for healthy exploration of Stadt und See.  This is Bahnhofstrasse complete with dedicated cycle lane.

An amazing triangle!  Not what I rented but full of features such as single arm fron fork and belt drive!

The path around the lake is  attractive.

I'm informed that this is a nude beach

A neccessary stop for watering

we are being watched

A look out tower thoughtfully has been  provided.

There are numerous lakes where before ugly open cast mining took place

Meanwhile back at the ranch there is a dubbed version of Carry on Cowboy - why must the German media assassinate our culture so?  I cannot imagine that the innuendo translates well, although the Germans fahrt and speak about Winkels quite a lot, rah rah rah... Here is Johnny Finger addressing Marshal P Knut whilst a horse backfires down the main street of Stodge City.

Here is Judge Burke.....

The town is well renovated and in my mind would make an ideal replicatable model for a new town anywhere - wide streets, green spaces,  pedestrian areas, dedicated cycle paths and varied architecthure.

Here is Bahnhofstr. 11.

Built in 1938, and complete with garden people

Next to the hospital a funny hat

shades of Jugenstihl.

A former DDR stasi house just as it was complete with spy standing at top right window.

Healthy lunch just for once

Not a desert

Exzellent?  I don't think so...