Germany day 5.
A bad nights sleep. Unfortunately my room was right next to the stairwell, so I could hear everyone’s comings and goings and doors being slammed.
It rained last night but luckily had stopped by the morning but still a wet bike to start isn’t fun.
I had another 400km to get through today, so I started off on the autobahn for about an hour, heading towards the Czech boarder. This part of Germany is comparatively flat with just low-lying hills, but the going was good. Quick pit stop at a snack hut in a lidl carpark and it was the best kebab I’ve had in years.
At the Czech border, I was surprised to see German customs officials checking trucks coming through although there were no checks for me heading in. I pulled in for a petrol pump to find the fuel was 35 something per litre. It was then that I realised that they don’t take euros here instead it’s crown’s or kroner. Luckily, MasterCard is accepted worldwide! The fuel works out so £1.20 a litre which is ridiculously cheap. The petrol pump coffee was good and the services amazingly clean given that all the truckers stopped here to fill up.
They have a Vignette system here for motorway use so I ensured that I missed out motorways while in the Czech Republic. I headed down into Sokolov which I heard had an amazingly pretty lake. I attempted to stop in Sokolov but got so confused in the one-way system that I gave up and headed towards the lake! The lake turned out to be nothing spectacular and totally inaccessible, so I chose a mountainous route to get back over the border North into Germany.
Czechia is full of casinos. Like everywhere you look there’s a casino. They must have a real gambling problem here, or they are fronts for something more sinister. But the architecture is pretty and the few locals I’ve met are pleasant.
Back into Germany and my satnav started playing up. I couldn’t get any internet connection so after turning off and on and connecting to another network I found that I have been travelling in the wrong direction for 15 minutes. A quick about turn and I was back on track heading towards Colditz.
So I’m now in the former East Germany. My stereotypes was telling me that there should be concrete soviet remains, but it’s no different from the rest of Germany.
I’m staying at the Schloss Colditz, which has partially been converted into a youth hostel. I assumed that I would be in a dorm but I seem to have my own room, which I affectionately refer to as my cell.
Oflag IV C (Colditz castle) was an officers prisoner of war camp during WW2, and held all the annoying buggers who kept on trying to escape from other places.
Specifically it was run by the German army and not the SS, and therefore there was an element of gentlemanly conduct on both sides. It wasn’t a concentration camp and there were no summary executions. Only one escapee was killed during an attempt and that was after repeated warnings.
It’s also holds a special place for me as I run an annual event for East Sussex Scouts based on escaping from Colditz.
I’m hoping to do the full guided tour tomorrow morning as I got here too late to have a look in the museum.
I’ve been allowed to park my bike right in the courtyard where they would do rollcall 4 times a day, which is pretty cool. There are a couple of other British bikes here as well, but I haven’t seen the riders yet. Outside there’s gritty gravel track which as you march across gives a satisfying boot crunch.
As a youth hostel goes, this place is pretty slick. There’s a bunch of students staying here but they seem to have occupied the entire first floor and I am up at the top. As it’s a youth hostel, they give you the bedding folded for you to make your own bed up. I found this incredibly amusing as they gave me the tools to create a rope to escape from my cell!
Colditz town is very pretty, but nearly everything is closed but I found Gasthaus Schloss Wachter (castle watcher) with a restaurant, which will suffice. Had my first shnitzel in Germany!
The sun is shining I’ve got a large bottle of beer and I’m sitting in the courtyard where British, French and Polish POWs plotted some of the most daring escapes.
Das ist cool, ja?
Find me on:
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/mototraveldude
BLOG: www.traveldude.co.uk
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/mototraveldude
YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@MotoTravelDude
My video gear:
GoPro Hero 11 – https://amzn.to/41CqbRZ
Insta360 v3 Motorcycle Kit – https://amzn.to/3twe4ZW
Cheap hotel bookings? After checking on TripAdvisor, I find TravelUp have better deals: https://www.jdoqocy.com/click-101065671-15602558
Some affiliate links may be used. You won’t be charged a penny for clicking on them, but I may get some commission from any purchases
Like – Comment – Subscribe – Ride
#ride5000miles #motorcycletouring #colditz