On the way to the south, we were meeting with our Co-author Detlef in Halle, who surprised again with an interesting city hike in the sense of our common activities regarding tourist destinations which can be interesting for our readers.
The next day was to be followed by another tour of downtown Halle, so Detlef did not just have the Old Market with its donkey well in mind, but also the only existing Museum of music history of the Beatles.
We almost felt transported back to the early seventies and eighties, when it was possible to stroll through the paddock and have a chat with drivers, racing teams or other participants, and you may ask, where was that?
Once again we were in Trier for talks, not at least to extend our project work to expand camper and outdoor tourism as the first destination of the camper route further to the north.
Once again we passed into Cochem on the Mosel river, after a short stopover at the Nordschleife of Nürburgring, where we first rested a little while enjoying a delicious ice cream in one of the many waterfront cafes.
The legendary Nordschleife of the Nürburgring was classified as too unsafe for the Formula 1 in the 80s - probably the most negative example was the accident of Niki Lauda in the year 1976 - which is why the Formula 1 from 1977 onward just took place at the Hockenheimring.
After an eventful day with many great conversations and hundreds of historic motorcycles due to the racing event organized and named the Cologne Course on the Grand Prix circuit of the Nürburgring, combined with lot of memories of our own motorcycle experiences, it was time for the return trip to Essen.
Our host, the campground "Unter den Jenzig" had mentioned some places of interest in the area, which we also wanted to visit together with our friend Detlef, who arrived to visit us from Halle.
Rudolstadt is situated in the valley of the river Saale, which runs from the south to the east passing the "Saaleknie". The city was first documented in 776 and since 1326 has got the city law.
Large parts of the historical city center were destroyed by American air raids at the end of the Second World War, especially from February to April 1945, later the city fell victim to the socialist reconstruction plans, so that - especially around the new Eichplatz - very few historic buildings are to be found in the city center.
After crossing the wooden covered bridge in Kunitz, we had taken the path into the village center, then walked up the path to the Gleißberg, which first leads us along some wine fields.
In our article about the porcelain centre of Kahla, we had already mentioned the many hiking trails and cycle paths that connect different destinations in beautiful surroundings, so we had chosen the way up to the Leuchtenburg with a visit to the local museum as our destination of that day.
After the first talks about places of interest in the area, the owner of the campsite "Unter den Jenzig" had also referred to the small town of Kahla, which, in addition to the porcelain manufactory, also had a still completely preserved, medieval city wall as well as some buildings from the time.
An important point of reference in Jena is the so-called Jentower, which can be seen from almost every corner of the city and therefore also represents a really good road sign for the city tour on foot.
In 1558 the Almermater Jenensis, which was soon to become one of the most famous study places in Germany, was founded. During their stay in the city, graduates from the university, who came from half of Europe, kept a secret from the public in the course of seven curiosities, which were regarded as evidence of their actual presence in Jena.
From the campsite "Unter dem Jenzig", our route into the city center of Jena took us along the asphalted cycle path along the river Saale. Passing the university we will explore the remains of the ancient fortifications of the medieval Jena today.
Once again being guests in Bremen we went out for a long walk along the Weser due to late autumn sunny weather, this time we first took the tram to the Weser Weir and the great Weser lock on Hastedter Osterdeich.
At Ottersberg, about 20 kilometers from Bremen, the Wümme branches into an inland delta, which is also called Wümme Greens after its main vegetation as a grassland.
Once again, we were visiting Laura and Jan, so we had the opportunity to explore the unknown and interesting terrain in the area around Bremen again, which was to lead us to the nature reserve Ochtumniederung.
Despite sometimes dark, but quickly passing clouds, we used the next day for a lengthy walk along the Weser River before it was to cross the bridge on the way to the market square and the dome of Bremen.