Headiingfor Apolda and camping in a beech forest

September 14

Heading for the next stop – Apolda

I have a bit of trouble getting out of the campsite and onto the route to my next destination, but after some maneuvering, I’m on the right track.

I pass a few small villages with nothing particularly noteworthy about them; the road is mostly flat, with only the occasional small hill.

At around nine o’clock, a yellow road sign comes into view, displaying a name well-known to us Swedes: Lützen. This is the site of a significant military battle that occurred 394 years ago—the Battle of Lützen.

I find a grocery store—NORMA—and buy bread, muesli, and yogurt. In the same building, there’s a combination café and butcher shop.

I order coffee and take out my cooler bag. I make a few sandwiches and eat some eggs along with the rest of yesterday’s yogurt.

My next destination is Weißenfels, just under 20 km away. During the ride, my mobile phone holder breaks first, followed shortly by the zipper on my small camera bag.

Weißenfels is an older town, similar in size to Örnsköldsvik, with a population of 35,000–39,000. Like many others in this region, it has an enormous town square.

Even though it’s a weekday, there are few people about; I cycle around a bit but decide to sit at an outdoor café and have a beer.

The ride out of Weißenfels is anything but flat—there’s a tough 1.5 km climb followed by several smaller hills, giving my legs a real workout.

As if the hills weren’t enough, the strap on my waist pack breaks, too. I’ll have to either try to fix it or buy a new one.

After nearly 20 grueling kilometers, I reach Naumburg, and at the town entrance, I spot a familiar name: Kaufland.

It’s a large shopping center that usually stocks just about everything, so I decide to pay it a visit. On the lower level, I find exactly what I’m looking for: a mobile phone holder made of Teflon-based rubber that fits my Xiaomi 12T Pro.

I still have just over 31 kilometers to go to reach Apolda—my planned destination for the day—and it promises to be a tough ride. To make matters worse, a strong headwind has taken a firm grip on me and my cycling.

I find joy in discovering charming cycling paths that meander through beech forests and trace the edges of gentle streams, offering breathtaking scenery at every turn.

I arrive in Apolda feeling quite worn out; as usual, I’ve picked out a campsite just outside town.
Upon reaching the main street, I stop at a café called “Himmlisch” and go inside. The main reason is that my phone battery is nearly dead—while I do have a powerful 27,000 mAh charger, I’m also craving a cold beer.

I sit there for half an hour and map out the route to my campsite—about 3.5 kilometers out of town—but there’s a brutal uphill climb to get there.

Just before the turn-off that leads out and up past a farm field, I spot a sign on my left: “Röde Camp, 500 m, Rechts” (Right).
I hesitate for a few seconds but decide to keep cycling uphill now. That way, I won’t have to tackle the climb tomorrow morning. I pass the 500-meter and 1-kilometer markers—still no sign of a campsite—but at least I’ve conquered that long hill.

Just outside Kleinromnstedt, I come across a large beech forest with a path leading in to the right. I decide without hesitation to just go for it; the tent is going up, and I’m tired.

Four hundred and fifty meters in, I find a decent spot to pitch the tent. First, I gather a number of small branches with large green leaves to use as a ground layer. It takes quite a few branches, let me tell you, but the resulting bed is soft—and GREEN.

The advantage of this kind of campsite is that you have some privacy; no one bothers you.

I drift off listening to a downloaded *Studio Ett* podcast, hearing animals moving about nearby outside. I’m simply too tired to check what kind they are.