Well, it was a bike ride in what used to be East Germany. We started, on our 'sit up and beg' hired, solid and very heavy bikes, with a 7 km bike ride to a railway station where we caught a train to Oranienburg. Coffee and cake were then required as it had reached 11am.
En route I'd noticed from the train that all private residencies were securely fenced, so a road like ours at home, where anyone can walk up to any front door without even having to open a gate, would have fences and gates at the boundary of each house. "For privacy" explained Ulrich. I expect there's a historical element that has generated a need for privacy. Whilst '1984' may not have occurred in the UK, perhaps it did here.
A short ride then led to Sachsenhausen. There's a large site of free to enter museums here. The place was a large Concentration Camp and apparently the site of 'Head Office' of the Concentration Camp regime that dates back to 1933. There were lots of visiting groups. We had a quick look round, but you could spend a whole day here. Horrific treatment of human beings occurred here.
We used cycle paths to get to Bernau via Liebenwalde. There was a 'shoe tree' and an ornate totem pole, as well as a short section of scary main road, otherwise it was a pleasant ride through flat farmland interspersed with pine forest and small villages. Today's picture was taken here.
We passed several buzzards, one of which was standing on a mole hill in a field full of mole hills, presumably waiting for its dinner to appear.
Luckily we finished the 57 km loop on cycle paths. Just as well, as darkness fell.
From Bernau, after grabbing coffees and chips from a café, we took a couple of trains to get us close to the Transit Loft. Total distance cycled for the day was 66 km, compared with about 35 km yesterday.
Ulrich and Anne then cycled off again to rendezvous with another of Ulrich's old mates. Sue and I chose to stay away from our saddles and stroll down to San Marco's for beers and pizzas.
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