Day 3 - Fleckl - Waldeck

This is the route we rode today:

Day 3 of our Fichtelgebirge adventure started with a 3-kilometre bike ride just to get breakfast. Yes, you read that right — we had to earn our first meal of the day. A bit chilly but spirits were high as the Gressens crew rolled out.

Breakfast was solid, but the dining room was basically a sauna. We were sweating into our muesli. Not ideal. Around 09:15 we got going and rode to a bakery to pick up lunch supplies. I managed to snap a nice action shot of my brother doing his signature leg-swing mount onto his eBike. Real smooth, brother!

We stocked up on chocolate sandwiches and bread — pairs beautifully with the ajvar from Slovenia and the salami sausage we bought yesterday. Michelin-star bikepacking cuisine right there. We cycled on until we reached the Girgelhöhle, left our bikes at the entrance, and walked around some seriously impressive boulders.

We even found a set of stairs leading down into the rocks and decided to explore. My dad needed some convincing — something about “I didn’t sign up for spelunking” — but down we went.

All went well though! Had to duck a couple of times to avoid a face full of rock, but we made it back out in one piece.

We walked back to our bikes, which were thankfully still where we left them (you never know), and continued on the trail.

The trail that followed was a rooty affair. My dad was loudly proclaiming his love for roots — and by “love” I mean the exact opposite. But honestly, the trails were flowing and we all enjoyed this section a lot.

When hunger struck, we first considered stopping under a bridge (classy, I know), but this time we actually checked the map and found a proper little picnic site just a couple hundred meters further along. And guess what — we found the cabin before eating lunch this time! We broke the curse!

The cabin was nice but we got cold sitting still after a while. Luckily, a proper climb was waiting just around the corner to warm us right back up. And it came with a view.

Since we were running ahead of schedule, we decided to take a detour to the biggest village near our route, hoping to find a bakery or at least something to drink. No luck whatsoever. Ghost town energy.

So we continued on the route, cycling along some lovely small lakes. After that, one more hill to climb. And in classic Gressens fashion, we somehow found the most ridiculous route up. The kind of route where you’re pushing your bike and questioning your life choices.

A lady chopping wood at the top stared at us in complete bewilderment and loudly proclaimed we were coming from the wrong direction. She wasn’t wrong. But hey, we got a nice view out of it and a fun shouting match while pushing up the hill. Quality entertainment.

On the last kilometres it started raining. We debated putting on rain trousers but decided to just push through. Luckily we arrived before we got too wet.

We arrived at the hotel around 15:30, and for once I wasn’t completely running on fumes. So naturally, Rummikub time! My brother and I won. Dad lost again. Hopefully he’ll get his revenge next time — we can’t keep crushing him like this.

Tomorrow’s route is supposed to be tougher, but I’m already scheming some interventions to make it more fun for myself. The eBike riders have had it too easy.

See you tomorrow!