Day 6: Meissen to Zittau

Fundraising Tour 2020 1 Minute

Distance: 132 km

Elevation: 1040 m

I woke up with a bit of a soar throat. That explained why I felt a little weak and breathless yesterday. I took my time for breakfast in front of my little tent on a very nice camping site.

Cycling alongside the Elbe is special. It is mostly flat and you can get to a good speed. Within an hour, I reached Dresden.

For the next 60 kilometers I cycled through “Saxonian Switzerland”, the marketing title of the “Elbsandstein” mountain region. There are a lot of very particular sandstone cliffs and rocks which create a unique look. The entire area is touristic and there is a good infrastructure. Villages and houses look well-maintained. Quite different from yesterday.

After about 90 kilometers, I took a ferry, crossed the Elbe and ventured into the Czech Republic on my way to Zittau.

I cycled up a canyon. For the next 30 kilometers there was some heavy climbing through a sandstone national park with absolutely stunning rock formations and a lot of pretty dead pine trees. You may look out for this in the video.

After an hour into the park, I was totally alone. It was a bit creepy because there were hardly any birds singing. It was totally silent.

Then it started to rain which was refreshing at first but soon became unpleasant. After an hour, I was soak and wet.

Then I reached Zittau, which marks the first turning point of my trip. From here on, I will go North towards the Baltic Sea. Zittau border crossings into Poland and the Czech Republic.

With a bit of a bad feeling, I decided to go for a cheap hotel this time. Setting up your tent in the poring rain is no fun, especially since I can’t store all my gear inside.

It felt good to be inside, wash and dry your clothes and have a yummy dinner.

Published by Karsten Drath

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.

Published

One thought on “Day 6: Meissen to Zittau”

  1. Hallo Karsten,
    Gerade habe ich voller Erstaunen bemerkt, dass du ja schon mitten in deiner Fahrradtour steckst.
    Es scheint, dass du trotz deiner auf nationale Gefilde beschränkte Reise eine spannende, abwechslungsreiche und entschleunigte Zeit hast.
    Viel Spaß, Kraft, Glück und gutes Wetter wünsche ich dir (weiterhin)!

    Bis bald,
    Katha

    Reply

Leave a Reply