A caretaker, two very old churches, and a basket of apples? Yes. Read on!
The day dawned warm and sunny - perfect for another long bike ride. We were out the door by 10:00, and after a few blocks dodging traffic in our neighborhood, we literally dropped off the city streets and found ourselves in a scenic Erfurt underworld. Many rivers flow through Erfurt and great care is taken to make them as accessible as possible. Today we found the Gera Radweg, a well-maintained bike path which follows the Gera River from its origin high in the mountains south of us, through Erfurt, and north until it joins the Unstrut River in the tiny town of Gebesee (pronounced "Geh-beh-zee"). It is about 25 km (15.5 miles) from Erfurt to Gebesee. The nearest train station to the trail's end is in Ringleben, the town just before Gebesee, so the plan was to bike all the way to the end, then circle back to Ringleben and ride the train back home to Erfurt.
On this sunny morning in early September, we found ourselves in the deep shade of trees along the river's bank flowing well below the level of the city sidewalks above. All along the path were children on their way to school, babies being pushed in prams, elderly folk in wheelchairs, and commuters in business clothes on bicycles effortlessly weaving through it all. Everywhere we heard the sound of children - shouting, laughing, playing. Loudly! There were schools and kindergartens above us in the city. Then the path in front of us climbed and opened onto an enormous park, and everywhere there were more people. The path forked, and forked again. The Gera Radweg markers disappeared and we were on our own. It occurred to me that if we got lost and never left this park, the day would still be perfect! At the far edge of the park, the bike path markers appeared again, and we were once more following the river, in the shade of tall, old trees.
After several more city parks, we left the city of Erfurt, and traffic on the bike path thinned out. The path occasionally left the river's edge and sent us through cornfields.
The wetter-than-usual August, followed by a warmer-than-usual September meant that the corn stalks were huge this year - twice as tall according to the locals. The unusual size of the corn is apparently one thing that everyone can agree on (elections are next week, and there is a lot of tension) so it is the topic of many conversations we have had and have overheard!
Following the Gera River meant that the ride was
slightly downhill, and therefore rather effortless. We passed through little villages, spotting church steeples above the corn long before the village appeared. Then in the blink of an eye we were back on the paved path through the corn, or along the river's edge.
The bike path ended at the door of a very old church in Gebesee. We stopped to rest, and church bells welcomed us - 12:00 noon. Wow, we had made amazing time! Having already eaten our picnic lunch, but hoped to find an ice cream shop, or perhaps a bakery. But there were no shops around. In fact there were no people, or bicycles, or even cars. Just this very old beautiful church, its bells tolling for whom? Today, it seemed they tolled only for us....
We noticed another church steeple in the distance, and peddled down the cobblestone street that seemed to connect the two churches, in the hope of finding something, anything. But we found only another very old and very deserted church. It was almost eerie, the lack of people. I wandered around the church square, taking photos, then circled the church taking more. Suddenly there was a man. He just appeared out of nowhere, right in front of the doors to the church. He was fiddling with something on his bike. His bike was more like a work truck, loaded with everything a caretaker might need to care for an old church, which is what he was doing. He was SOOOO happy to see us! He started chatting away, really talking up a storm. The fact that we spoke no German and he no English mattered not a bit. Finally, I made out that he was asking about our journey, and who we were, and how we came to be there. In my broken, kindergarten German, I told him who we were, about visiting our daughter and (almost) son-in-law in Jena, and living in Erfurt. I shared about our two prior bike trips and where we had been earlier that day. At least, I think I did. We introduced ourselves, and learned the caretaker's name: Dietmar. Dietmar seemed very impressed with our bikes, particularly that they were NOT electric. He showed us his bike. Then he asked if we wanted to see the inside of the church - he had a key! Ja!!! Yes!!! He disappeared for a few minutes, and came back with a medieval looking key, and we were in.
What a treat. St. Laurentiuskirche is over 1000 years old, built in the 10th century. It was magnificent! We kept thanking him, and he kept beaming and pointing and jabbering on (in German of course) about the church.
Finally back outside in the sunshine, Dietmar seemed reluctant for us to leave. He started talking about the other church. Yes, we knew that church - and I pointed to the other steeple. He had a key to that one too, would we like to see it? Ja! Yes!
He disappeared again, and was gone even longer than before. We were not overly concerned, as we were pretty sure by this point in the relationship that our new friend was not an ax murderer. When Dietmar reappeared, his arms were full of apples that he had apparently just picked for us. We loaded the apples into my bike basket, and followed Dietmar on a tour through the little town of Gebesee until we were back at the church where the Gera Radweg bike path ended. Or for us, where it would soon begin.
We went into St. Katharinenkirche and after our eyes adjusted to the dim light, we were awestruck once again. Built in the 12th century, which was technically two hundred years after St. Laurentiuskirche, this church seemed much older. I could not tell if it had ever been renovated, but to my untrained eye the church looked as it might have when it was first built. The stone walls were thick and rough, and the air musty. A shallow balcony encircled three walls. On the face of the balcony, just above eye level, murals told the story of Jesus, from the Angel appearing to Mary, to Mary's visit with Elizabeth, to the birth in a stable, the baptism in the river Jordan, all the way around the church to the Resurrection. The alter itself was surprisingly simple. A basket of fruit and vegetables sat on one corner, perhaps an offering....
Not wanting to overstay our welcome, we thanked the sweet caretaker again, and started back on the path home. We decided to forgo the train back to Erfurt. It was too beautiful a day to be anywhere but cycling the Gera Radweg, even if the entire ride home was ever so slightly uphill!!
Bike Talk
Regweg #3 Erfurt to Gebesee
53 km
32.7 miles
Average speed 8.4 mph
Biking time 3 hours 44 minutes
Total trip: 6.5 hours
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