On the road - Weimar
The way to my next destination N51.00.000 E012.00.000 leads me through Weimar and in the south in Ehringsdorf a reference to the "Haus Hohe Pappeln" catches my eye near the route. Not because I know it, it's just the name. It was the private home of the Belgian architect and designer Henry van de Velde and is now used as a museum. Interesting connection to my real bike tours: under the direction of Henry van de Velde, the building of the Kröller-Müller Museum was built in the Hoge Veluwe Nature Park in the Netherlands. On my last real painting and bike trip in 2020, I visited the museum and spent an exciting plein air painting day in the nature park.
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My next stage destination N51.00.000 E012.00.000 is on private property at the end of a cul-de-sac in Wetterzeube-Rossendorf. There is a building at this place, but there are no photos from which I could draw the target. So I look around in the village.
Wetterzeube was first mentioned in 1209 and is now a municipality made up of 16 districts. The Elster cycle path leads through the municipality and the place is the beginning of the approx. 20 km long wine route on the White Elster. Historically important is the raft ditch, on which raft wood was transported from Voigtland to Leipzig in the 16th and 17th centuries. With a length of 73 km, this was one of the longest canals in Europe and one of the great hydraulic engineering achievements of the 16th century. In addition to the listed complex, there are also numerous historical buildings, including the train station. With its windows lovingly decorated with curtains, the building looks more like it is used privately today.
On the road - Haynsburg
Shortly after my last stage destination, I notice a lost place, the Neumühle Sautzschen near Haynsburg. The buildings were constructed at the beginning of the 18th century and used as a paper mill, grinding, oil and cutting mill. At the beginning of the 20th century, operations were stopped. The technology was removed and, after an exhibition on the history of the printing trade in Leipzig, brought to the German Museum in Munich, where it was destroyed by a bombing raid during World War II. From 1950 to 1990 the buildings were used as a children's holiday camp, after which they became private property, but are noticeably deteriorating. The mill building with the mill wheels has already been demolished.
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My next stage destination N51.00.000 E013.00.000 is in a field near Mittweida. From a nearby vantage point, you can look down on the river Zschopau, which winds around the fields and a few small villages in a large curve. In the curve, the river is dammed at a hydroelectric power station that was built in 1908. It is still used today to generate electricity and in the renovated historical buildings of this technical monument you can visit the still functional old machines. The buildings are used today as an education center and event location.
On the road: Dresden
The route to my next stage destination N51.00.000 E014.00.000 leads through Dresden. Dresden has a special meaning for me, this was the starting point of my first real bike trip many years ago. There are certainly countless interesting places in the city that I could draw, but if I were here for real now, I would look for a quiet place outside of the city from which I could look over the Elbe and indulge in my memories of this unforgettable trip.
On my virtual route I find such a place in Hosterwitz at the Maria am Wasser church. From the churchyard with old gravestones and memorial stones you have a beautiful view of the Elbe and the memorial stone for the composer Carl Maria von Weber's pet gets a place in my virtual travel diary.