My homeland in the Upper Palatinate, the Upper Palatinate 2: along the Waldnaab

Friday, 6.11.2020

Route: Waldnaabtal Cycle Path (Luhe-Tirschenreuth)

Kilometers ridden: 67

Highlight of the day: many nice people, especially my savior from Windisch-Eschenbach, that I made it to Tirschenreuth, the wonderful weather, my nice brother

It was still dark when I got up and had breakfast with Krissi. Because we talked so much, I almost missed the train to Luhe. So, in the dark, I took the train through the foggy Upper Palatinate to Luhe. When I arrived there, the fog had suddenly disappeared and the sun was shining on the hoarfrost.

My bike was still unharmed right where I had parked it yesterday, and I loaded it up. Then off we went. The last or first kilometers along the Naab before I continued to follow one of its two tributaries, the Waldnaab. I rode through Wildenau, past fields white with hoarfrost.

My first destination after about 15 kilometers was the district-free city of Weiden. Because of construction work, it was not easy to get into the city here either. There is a mandatory mask policy throughout the entire city center, so I pushed through. I didn't see much, my glasses fogged up a lot. In general, there was not much to see: most of the shops were closed and there were very few people out and about. The main market square looked deserted.

That's why I continued on soon, but I didn't make much progress because I was freezing too much. I stopped on a sunny bridge and sang the "Laurentia" song with its knee bends, now I was warmer. That should also remain the case, because from now on I was in the Upper Palatinate Forest Nature Park, where hills are programmed. Nothing bad, just enough to keep me warm all the time.

My next rest point was the district town of Neustadt an der Waldnaab, which seemed a bit more run down but much warmer than Weiden. An older woman approached me and told me about her life, the kebab seller gave me extra meat so I wouldn't freeze, and a young woman shared her bench and chatted with me a bit. But even here, I couldn't pause for long, the cold was creeping back into my limbs.

I pushed past a construction site on adventurous paths, then it went uphill, and my probably overloaded knee hurt a lot. At the top, you had a wonderful view of the surrounding towns. The sun was shining and the hoarfrost had disappeared by now. However, so had the good signage. On the advice of an older man, I rode down a field path into the valley - which turned out to be a dead end. Google maps informed me that there was a hiking trail to get to the next town straight and also right along the Waldnaab. And so, I went for a hike through the undergrowth, because unfortunately google maps was wrong. With a one and a half hour delay, I ended up 4 kilometers away from each town, where I had asked the man.

Now it was already afternoon. I shouldn't dawdle any longer to reach Tirschenreuth before nightfall. I quickly reached Neuhaus, but there I couldn't find any signage again. I entered the next town in google maps again and was led to a really beautiful valley, the Johannestal. However, the suggested path was once again missing. Pretty disappointed and exhausted, I stood by the roadside when I saw a man with a dog riding by. I approached him, he recognized my distress, and showed me my way. That means he just rode with me to where I wanted to go. He was a nice man in his early 30s. We chatted while riding. Eventually, I was back on my way and he said goodbye to me. Thanks again!!!

Now I emerged from the forest and passed a chapel with a hiker's diary. I stopped, thanked for my "rescue," and immediately reached Falkenberg, a small pretty town with a castle. Now it was already dark in the valley, there were still 10 kilometers on the road to Tirschenreuth. I decided not to rely on the poorly signposted cycle path anymore, but to go straight to Tirschenreuth on the road. With the last rays of sunshine, I reached the beautiful central market square at quarter to five.

My brother would pick me up there, but when I wanted to call him to arrange the exact location, I noticed that my phone battery had died again due to the cold. I was allowed to charge my phone a little in a pharmacy and was able to make a phone call. I strolled around Tirschenreuth a bit before my brother picked me up and we arrived home after a funny 1.5-hour drive.