Tuesday 23rd July 2019
After spending the last two days watching The Open and various domestic duties we blew up the bike tyres, oiled the chains, and rode off to visit Augsburg.
Travelling on pleasant and almost flat cycle paths we made straight for the Botanical Gardens which is a distance of 16km from the campsite. Most of the route followed the River Lech which is a tributary of The Danube and there was the occasional cool breeze off the river to give relief from the hot weather.
On arrival we chained up the bikes and paid our entry fee of €3.50 each, cash only, and spent a pleasant hour or so wandering through the excellent gardens and around the lake.
The highlights for me were the large and very pleasant Japanese Garden and the Plant Life Under Glass area.
Leaving the gardens we made our way into the centre of Augsburg. Here we saw the impressive Town Hall, built between 1615 and 1624 by Elias Holl.
Next door to this is the Perlach Tower, a 70 metre high structure built as a watchtower in the 10th century and, across the road, The Augustus Fountain.
After a coffee break we mounted the bicyles to ride and visit The Fuggerei. This is a walled enclave within the city and is the oldest social housing complex still in use in the world.
The accommodations consist of apartments of between 45 & 65 square metres. The rent remains the equivalent of one Rheinischer Gulden, (Rhineland Guilder), per year, plus three prayers a day. You have to be Catholic and resident of Augsburg for 2 years to qualify for a place.
By the way, as of July 2019 1 Rheinischer Gulden = €0.88. Yep, 88 cents a year!
Feeling the need of refreshment we sat in the Fuggerei and enjoyed a cool beer before riding back to camp 🙂
A good 32km workout and enjoyable day 🙂
Wednesday 24th July 2019
Not wanting any more accomodation scares on the way home we booked ahead our next site, Camping Tauberromantik near Rothenburg ob der Tauber.
We will stay three nights and visit some of the sites near the Romantic Road.
Towing Kilometres – Today: 155 Cumulative: 35,842