Today was tough and really hot. After a relaxed breakfast and some catching up with Torge and Nina, I left around 10 am heading East. It became hot pretty quickly and for a long time the landscape was flat or rolling hills without a chance of shadow.
Eastern Saxonia is pretty rural for the most part. There is not much industry or big business to make much of a living. There are some coal mines and a lot of lakes as a result of that. Some villages really were not looking that inspiring to me. Even in summer.
After 60km I finally reached the Elbe valley in Riesa. There is some metal industry here which means work for people.
After being at the Elbe, things got a little easier. Around 18:30, I reached my camping site next to Meissen.
This time, it is a very peaceful place. Time to cook some dinner 😉
About 30 years ago, two zis scholarships helped me to broaden my horizon, expand my understanding of what is possible, and develop more self-confidence. zis is a non-profit organization that has been awarding scholarships for study trips to young people between the ages of 16 and 20 for more than 60 years. Today, the word we use for tenacity and grit is resilience - and I've made it my profession, to help managers around the world to develop more of this inner power.
In retrospect, the experiences I've had on these trips to Scotland and Iceland have been priceless for my development. After having had a childhood with some challenges, I learned that I could cycle 1,700km on my own and get wet every day without despairing. I have learned that I was able to get along with only 300 € for 4 weeks and still had a good time. I have learned what it's like to be threatened with deportation and how to get an interview with the President from such a crisis. I have understood that limitations are primarily constructs in our heads, and I want to make these insights available to as many adolescents as possible.
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2 thoughts on “Day 5: Leipzig to Meissen”
Hi Karsten, it was great to have you here for one night and to feed you for your east-german adventure. unfortunately today something very sad happened to me: you remember my orange gravel-bike i was riding next to you yesterday? it was stolen while i talked to a friend of mine in his little shop. my old city-bike is broken at the moment so i had to use my good one, which i normally not use for shopping etc. … sometimes life as a cyclist in a city really sucks! anyway, we are glad to see you happy in Meissen. have a wonderful tour! All the best, take care, Torge
Ahhh, oh my god. That sucks so much! I am really sorry for your loss. Bad karma for the other guy!
Thank you so much for your hospitality. It was great to be with you all!
Hi Karsten, it was great to have you here for one night and to feed you for your east-german adventure. unfortunately today something very sad happened to me: you remember my orange gravel-bike i was riding next to you yesterday? it was stolen while i talked to a friend of mine in his little shop. my old city-bike is broken at the moment so i had to use my good one, which i normally not use for shopping etc. … sometimes life as a cyclist in a city really sucks! anyway, we are glad to see you happy in Meissen. have a wonderful tour! All the best, take care, Torge
Ahhh, oh my god. That sucks so much! I am really sorry for your loss. Bad karma for the other guy!
Thank you so much for your hospitality. It was great to be with you all!