Cycling on to Murnau, with a stop at the lake

OUR ROUTE FOR DAY 4

After an evening with some fizz to celebrate our eighth wedding anniversary, which actually took place earlier in the week but both of us were too tired from travelling to celebrate properly we left the Parkhotel in Bad Bayersoien heading for our next base in Murnau.

It was the hotel I was looking forward to, yes it was the one in a brewery. But before I could think too much about that I knew that we had some kilometres to cover.  Today our route was one of the shorter days at just 27km and that was probably just as well as it was warm again and shorts were most definitely called for.

Our notes said today's route would be through quiet country lanes and tracks past isolated farms, through wooded areas and open meadows. There was good news too as the hills of the Pfaffenwinkel were behind us, although as we were within sight of the Alps it was never going to be truly flat now was it?

So after taking some snaps of the view and of each other we set off. It wasn't long before we arrived in Schöffau which is a typical Bavarian village. It certainly was picturesque with a pretty church and old fire station bearing its original wooden tower, which is now a museum.

After a look around the village we were back on our bikes and on the road heading towards Uffing eagerly looking out for the road signposted Guggenberg. Having confirmed we were in the right place and on track - as we were determined not to get lost today - I turned and took in the view.

Our route instructions said after 50 metres to take a left uphill on a steep gravel track. And we did, going up was tough but I made it and nothing could have prepared me for the view that awaited us:

I could have looked at this view for much longer than we did but hoping that the views would be equally spectacular along our route we headed off through the woods on the popular cycle trail. We cycled on to and through Uffing, we knew there was an option here to visit the Staffelsee and I was keen not to miss this. It was uphill and as usual MOH bombed off and that's fine as I'm much slower up hills. I was convinced that we'd missed the turning to the lake so was pretty grumpy about having cycled up a hill unnecessarily.

However I was in luck as we hadn't missed the turning at all, as MOH had stopped right by it. And the good news was that it was downhill to the lake  - it was a downhill that was much needed in the heat, I can tell you.  With our bikes in the bike park, we found a table by the lake and sat down to suss out what was going on. Shortly after MOH was despatched for some beers and a pretzel while I enjoyed this view:

It seems I wasn't the only one enjoying the lake. This Jack Russell couldn't quite contain his joy either and it looks as if he'd gone for a dip!

MOH returned with the beers and we sat and enjoyed our surroundings.  Soon though we spotted a boat heading right for us. 

And it was getting closer.

As the boat docked, my now drier Jack Russell friend was keen to board!

The Staffelsee is the largest of the three lakes in the area and it's renowned for the warmth of its clear marshy waters. We didn't try it but there were plenty of people swimming a little further along from where we were sitting.  Later on we cycled past the Riegsee which is a favourite with windsurfers; the third lake is Froschhausersee which we also saw and is popular in winter with ice-skaters and curlers.

The downside of the lake being at the bottom of the hill was that it was uphill on the way back, and we needed to go up to follow our route. While I enjoyed the beer at the side of the lake on that ascent from the cafe I was seriously wondering if it was such a good idea!

We cycled through many pretty villages and it wasn't until the afternoon that I managed to snap a log pile. I thought I'd better include that photo as a day in Bavaria without one is pretty uncommon.

LUNCH WITH A VIEW

Despite trying not to get lost, somehow we did. We'd cycled past Froschhausersee the third lake and through open farmland but somewhere and somehow we must have taken a wrong turn as the notes didn't match what we saw in front of us. We knew we weren't far from Murnau and in fact were closer than we thought as we soon we were out of the countryside and in the town. Our challenge was to find the brewery. It seems we weren't the only people lost as we bumped into a German couple who were also looking around and scratching their heads in a similar fashion to us.  Between us we pooled our information and choose our best option and thankfully all four of us made it into Murnau.

Somehow we arrived on the road our notes expected us to and the brewery was in front of us.  As they say - Happy Days!  We were soon checked into our room, showered and changed and sat down in the courtyard with a Griesbräu in front of us.

So, before I finish here's the stats for day 4:

Scheduled cycle distance: 27km
Actual distance recorded: 30.7km
Cumulative distance recorded: 165.0km
Number of crowd-sourced directions: 1 
Number of lakes encountered: numerous
Number of beers consumed: more than one!

Sun on Saturday: Bristol Harbour

One day last month I drove to Bristol for a blogging conference at M Shed in Bristol Harbour. I picked up lots of tips, like you do at these things and met some of the bloggers I talk to online for the first time. So it was quite a day.

The setting was great. M Shed is a museum and is home to displays of 3000 Bristol artefacts and stories showing Bristol's role in the slave trade and items on transport, people and the arts. It takes its name from how the port identified each of its sheds.

I didn't get to look around the museum, but when the sun came out I did pop out and take some pictures of the docks.

Outside the museum are four electric cranes which are the last of eight that worked on the quayside unloading ships quickly onto road transport, railway trucks or barges or into transit sheds for short-term storage. They were pretty impressive and at times can be seen working.

They are as big as they look and I was captivated by them. Here's just a few of the photos I took of them.

In front of the museum are a number of historic vessels which also bring the area's history to life.

Opposite the city of Bristol climbed into the distance with the historic buildings blending effortlessly with the modern structures.

And to end I'll leave you with one last shot of those cranes, which totally had me hooked!

[Sorry!]

Bristol, I think I'll be back to explore the rest of your sights soon.

The Old Post Office at Tintagel

Yes, I'm taking you back to Tintagel as promised at the end of my second post from our visit to Tintagel Castle, this time though we're in the village and visiting the Old Post Office which is one of the National Trust's properties. It's tiny - or as the Trust more diplomatically says "unusual and atmospheric" and it's appeal - and wavy roof - is immediately visible as you approach it.

It dates back to the 14th century and is a yeoman's farmhouse which the National Trust acquired in 1903 and the first room you visit is the Parlour. As well as this beautiful vista with the light streaming in on the day we visited there's plenty of samplers to admire, some of them worked on by girls as young as nine.

Each of the samplers on display are intricate and neatly sewn - and more importantly finished.  The cross stitch I rediscovered last year, still isn't finished... ahem!

We headed upstairs - thankfully just a spiral staircase and not like those above, which I'm sure would be problematic for many visitors - and into the South Bedroom. There were more samplers here but it was the bedspread that really was the star of the show, well alongside the wooden beams and oak bed.

Then we headed back down the stairs, yeap these ones and into the cottage garden. And despite just being off the busy high street, it felt a world away. There was a large noughts and crosses set and a dressing up box and plenty of "garden rooms" to explore.

We stood back to admire the wavy roof and the typically cottage garden type plants and after a while we felt as if we were being watched. We turned and discovered we were!

So we popped over and said hello!

I said before that the Old Post Office is tiny, the same's true for its garden, but both pack a lot in and for such small spaces there's lots to see. Even a model in the garden...

And if you're wondering about the Post Office part - the name comes from the Victorian period when it briefly held a licence. Today though, there's still a post box.

And all in all another fantastic National Trust property to explore.