cycling to Diessen | Aussie in France

We set out early at 10.15 am on Sunday and see several locals in their Bavarian traditional clothing. We go to the front of the church hoping to see more of them but we’re too late! Today we are cycling to Diessen and coming back by train. It’s not exactly on the Romantic Road but it’s in the general area. Along the way, we notice several level crossings with no barriers whatsoever! It reminds me of a very scary experience a few years ago.

Andrea at the tourist office in Peiting suggested today’s route and said it was downhill all the way which is not quite true for the first 10 kilometers. We seem to do nothing but go up and down. We stop in Peissenburg at an Italian Eis Café for a cappuccino after riding for about 1 ½ hours.

After that, the descent begins and for the rest of the day, it really is mostly downhill. We start following the Ammer River and often see small groups of sunbathers in the most unlikely spots.

The baroque church in Raising — The baroque church in Wilheim

At Weilhelm, we visit another baroque church with a beautiful white stucco ceiling, much more sober than the recent churches we’ve been to.

The blue umbrellas on the left belong to the pizzeria

We have decided not to be too fussy about where to have lunch today and end up eating in a pizzeria at the bottom of a modern apartment building. At least I can read what is on the menu! These German words all stuck together are a bit of a problem. It is excessively hot , about 30°C, and the cold Lambrusco is very welcome. We order entrecôte which turns out to be fillet steak.

We are back on our bikes by 2.30 pm. Unfortunately we keep getting lost, not because of the lack of signposting, or the wine for that matter, but because there are so many different choices! We follow the train tracks for a while which is reassuring.

The telecommunications station in Raisting

We pass Raisting which has one of the largest telecommunication stations in the area.

The painted ceiling and organ in Wilheim — The painted ceiling and organ in the pilgrimage church of Saint Johann in Wilheim

The village of Raisting also has a rococo church with sumptuous ceiling paintings.

At Diessen am Ammersee, we find ourselves an Eis Café on the edge of the lake and have a welcome ice-cream. Note to self: I need to find out how to say “plain ice-cream with nothing on it”. Unless it’s in a cone, they seem to add nuts and syrup and all sorts of other things I don’t like.

Jean Michel examining the ticket machine in Diessen

We go past the train station and think it might be wise to buy our tickets ahead of time. We are told there is an automatic ticket machine in the train but we’re not taking any chances. There is only one train every hour.

One of the painted houses in Diessen – I wish I could read what is written!

We start cycling up a hill past a number of beautifully painted houses so I spare my knees and walk up so I can admire them better. Jean Michel rides up and misses the paintings.

The outside of the Marienmünster cathedral in Diessen — The Marienmünster cathedral in Diessen

At the top is the beautiful Marienmünster cathedral with a large expanse of grass in front and no cars which makes it easy to photograph without too much distortion.

The beautiful painted ceiling of Marienmünster in Diessen

The inside is particularly beautiful and not as overdone as some of the rococo and baroque churches we have seen.

The scenery from the train on the way home

We wait for the train for 15 minutes in the hot sun and are glad when it arrives – it’s air-conditioned. We attach our bikes with the straps provided and enjoy the 45 minute journey back to Peiting. For once, the windows are clean enough to take photos!

An interesting group of statues in Peiting

We’ve clocked up 52 kilometers and 4 hours by the time we get back to our Alpenhotel in Peiting at 7 pm. Another excellent day of cycling. Tomorrow we’re moving further north along the Romantic Road to Dinkelbühl.