My Upper Palatinate home, the Upper Palatinate 1: along the Naab

Thursday, 11/5/2020

Route: Naab Cycle Path (Parsberg - Kallmünz -Luhe)

Kilometers traveled: 94

Highlight of the day: The autumnal landscape, the speaking barrier, and the fun evening with Krissi

It is currently autumn break in Bavaria and I was able to free up two days to go on a short trip. So this morning, I drove with my mom to Parsberg (Neumarkt district) where she works. There, I got on my bike shortly after 8 o'clock.

It was still quite cold, so I wore a headband under my helmet and instead of cycling gloves, I put on my winter gloves. My route first led me to Kallmünz (Regensburg district). I reached there within 25km thanks to the navigation of Google Maps. The ride took me over hills and through valleys, past meadows and colorful forests. The sun was shining down and despite the cold, it was very beautiful.

In Kallmünz, I finally reached the Naab. I quickly looked at the beautiful town and then took a short snack break. But I couldn't pause for long, otherwise I would freeze.

Then I continued along the Naab. I crossed the Naab on a large bridge near Burglengenfeld, but only because of the wonderful view. Then there was a uphill section. Now I was always heading towards the district capital Schwandorf, but unfortunately I couldn't get into the city. Somehow, I couldn't find a way into the city center. That's why I took a break just outside, right by the Naab with a view of Schwandorf.

The next beautiful place was Nabburg, which I took a look at. Then I rode along the highway for quite a while. I found it a bit of a shame because it was quite noisy. I could admire the Oberpfälzer Wald motorway junction directly next to the A93 through a fence. Right after that, my little path crossed a railway track. The barrier was already lowered. But after several minutes, no train came and the barrier didn't lift either, so I noticed a box: I pressed a lever and the speaking barrier told me that it would now lift and on the other side, I should please press the lever again. Said and done. Funny thing!

Now the sun was already quite low - it was already 4:00 pm. That's indeed a dilemma with autumn cycling: you can hardly take breaks in order to reach your destination before sunset and even if you had time - it's too cold to take long breaks. In any case, I reached Luhe after another beautiful section along the Naab.

There, I saw a platform with the inscription "Luhe". I asked a passing boy if this was the Luhe-Wildenau platform, where I wanted to go. He said, yes, yes, that's the platform. It wasn't, Luhe-Wildenau is a few more kilometers away. But it didn't matter then. I hid my bike deep in the bushes, chained it up, and took all my luggage with me. So I took the train for an hour to Regensburg, where I was allowed to stay in my friends' shared apartment.

It was a very nice evening, we chatted a lot, drank mulled wine, ordered Indian food, and ended the evening with 2 episodes of Game of Thrones, which I had never seen before. I went to bed very tired soon after.