Dinkelsbuhl, Donauworth, Augsburg, Munich

I left Rothenburg on the 22nd and headed for Dinkelsbuhl, another walled city (are all cities in Bavaria walled?!)

I have been following the "Romantische Straße" cycle path, which conveniently took me in the general direction I needed to go. I have seldom ever had to use the road in Germany. The annoying thing about cycle paths over roads is that if you lose your way, not only are you lost, but you could be in the middle of farmland. You have to retrace your steps looking for the little indicator signs.

I cycled with another chap for half of that day, but he wasn't terribly friendly, and I was pleased to part company at the end of the day. The only times he stopped were to pick up empty plastic bottles from litter bins to claim the 25c deposit back. I have seen quite respectable people in Germany going through rubbish bins picking out plastic bottles for that reason.

In Dinklesbuhl, the hostel was closed so I stayed in a b&b which was only a couple of Euro more than the hostel would have been anyway. I fell asleep at 9pm for the first time since the age of 13 (that is 8 pm in the UK!) The b&b was run by a very sweet old lady who laid on the most fantastic breakfast just for me. Different types of bread, sausage, and cheese, a boiled egg, yoghurt, EARL GREY, orange juice... It felt as though Father Christmas had been as I entered the Breakfast room to see it all spread out.

I then headed for Donauworth, where I was yet again the sole hostel resident, and the sole recipient of a lavish breakfast. The lady on reception spoke very good English, despite only having studied it for a short period, and I made myself a very Germanic supper of smoked frankfurters and sauerkraut!

On the morning of the 24th my heart sagged when I was greeted with a view from the window that was more South Pole than South Germany, however thankfully the air temperature was too warm and it melted pretty fast. It snowed nearly all day but never settled. I stayed that night in Augsburg, which is a pleasant city west of Munich.

The following day it snowed hard all day, but never settled thankfully. I left the Romantische Straße and passed through Dacau on the way to Munich which was the site of the first concentration camp. It is a truly vile place and I was surprised to see hoardes of adolescent school children giggling round the place and taking tons of photos. The calm of the buildings, and the huge "parade square" is quite unsettling. There was a very informative museum exhibit in one of the complexes. When cycling up to the memorial site, is very strange to note the normality of life that goes on around it, with suburban houses and children's playgrounds encircling it.

I eventually got to Munich that evening, and easily found the hostel for once, which was a boon considering the weather conditions. It is a large independent hostel that was recommended by Wolfi, and is very jolly with a lively bar and all sorts of people everywhere. The staff are also very friendly and interested in my trip. One of them, Cat, is really into cycling and helped me a lot in getting my bike safely stored underground. The only annoying thing is that smoking has not been banned in Germany, so clothes stink of fags having spent a few hours in the bar.

I took a city tour organised by the hostel, by a chap called Osbourn Kemp- who is proud to be the only black guide in the city. He told me he has lived in the Bahamas.

Met Nick Francis for a multitude of beers in the Augustiner Brewery beer hall, and we had an excellent supper of roast pork shank with perhaps the best crackling I have tasted. He has kindly let me stay in his flat, so I am going to take advantage and stay an extra day in the city. It is a good idea to have a proper break before taking on the hills that lie south and the weather seems to be improving all the time.

I now need to move my stuff to Nick's flat at the other end of the city!