These were the modified Greenday lyrics I was singing out loud while riding to Colditz. Not in the kinda sad way they sing it, more a celebratory version. I’m totally loving this!!

The ride to Colditz turned out to be a piece of piss! Less than an hour! That 15% climb was ‘it’ – after that it was rolling hills and seemed to be more down than up. Beautiful weather again. Very much one of those “I’m the king of the world” moments, much as I hate to bring Leo into my blog..

I asked a local where I would find the Colditz Escape Museum and he told me to follow him. He drove in front of me right up to the castle! Much easier than maps and signs, thanks dude!

I explored the castle grounds and a tour guide even let me sneak into the escape museum without paying because the next tour wasn’t for over an hour – thanks love!

Leipzig is 46k away (I’m going here now and not Weimar) and riding is much nicer now. I’ve cracked the code for cycling Germany: don’t use cycle paths, use a map (I bought the South Germany boxed set in Dresden) and a compass rather than signs. Wunderbar! 🙂

I have also worked out the “Pfand” system. I thought it was a tax added at the till, but it is actually a bottle refund scheme. Buy a bottle of water, beer, coke, etc. and if it has “pfand” added, take the empty bottle back to the “getrankmarkte” or supermarket and they’ll give you the pfand amount back! Nice!

Leipzig is a construction site! They are installing a new tram line or something. Detours everywhere! I made it to Hostel Sleepy Lion and the somewhat rude chick said “everything is full”. I went to the tourist info office opposite the MASSIVE Hauptbahnhof and, after some laughter when she mentioned 89euro rooms, she called a hostel. Sleepy Lion’s sister hostel “Central Globetrotter” had a bed free. I should hurry over there. I hauled ass over there! Lucky too, because a minute after I’d got the bed, other people were turned away! The guy working here was MUCH nicer, even giving me a free city map and free towel when I asked!

Turns out there is a massive computer game conference on this weekend, hence the severe bed shortage.

I bought some things from Aldi for lunch. I have overcome my bakery obsession.

While making a tuna sandwich I thought about what I should use to stop the tuna falling out given that I don’t butter my bread. I spread it with Nutella. Nutella and Tuna sandwich – is this a sign that I have been travelling too long, or perhaps not long enough? Wonder what sort of things I’d concoct if I spent a whole year touring..

Met one of the game-dudes Nikolaus. We (Nikolaus, Martin, Karim, Constantine and I) had a few Staropramen (Czech) beers in the hostel and then caught a taxi-van to “Schnitzel Fabrik”, in town, for dinner (6.90 for a “Dijoner Art” schnitzel).. and more beers (of course).

Then we hit the Kakadu Karaoke bar where a bunch of EA Games people were meeting the guys. Beer, beer, beer, beer, beer, beer, bber, berb, brrr, Jagermiester, beeeeerrrrr.. and so the night went on. Spent most of it chatting to Karim, one of the other good english speakers and a fellow technohead (well, d&b, but that passes! :))

Staggered back to the hostel around 4am, with a last-minute Bockwurst to soak up some of the beer.. and after all that, we didn’t even get to sing MJ’s “Beat It”! Damn! 😛

Leisnig to Leipzig Stats:

71.5k, 3h 40m, 19.6kph