Account 1)
The cycling day to Bad Belzig was meant to be a straight forward ride along the R1 cycle path, follwing the potsdam lakes and forrest.
For some of us it was, including a swim, but for the food crew, they had a broken axel only 10 kms into ther route, so they had to redistribute the food and replace the axel. People ahead then rearranged lunch, and we cycled an extra 8km to a new lunch spot.
The afternoon was less stressful, and even more beautiful then the first, as we obviously were leaving the tourist track of Berlin and Potsdam. At our final destination, right on the cycle path we saw signs for ZEGG, and after the last steep track, we were shown around the campus, and sat down for a meal by our hosts of home grown green beans and rice on the terrace. Some people stayed for a while in the community bar, and played tunes around the piano, and met some of the community and visitors.
Account 2)
It isn’t long before we have left the busy roads, and are living the high life once more. After a cold night in Potsdam, we have a calm day on the road. Although some had some unexpected mechanical hiccups or brief encounters with motorized vehicles who mistakenly believed that the road is theirs. We bathe in the lake en route – chilly waters with a touch of colour to them.
The food, an ever important theme on these kinds of journeys, is quite adequate – we are eating well every day, at least three times a day: always room for improvement, but with all things in perspective, we are lucky.
We have been invited to stay at a small ecovillage in Bad Belzig for two nights. In the so-called ‘Zegg’, live a community of 130 people in relatively comfortable conditions. It is an experimental community with a focus on ecology and education, where compost, solar energy and yoga are all promoted. Curiously, the wider area has a great deal of support for the far-right since the fall of the Berlin wall, although apparently the situation has improved lately.
The truth be told, our stay in the Zegg is a luxurious one, with showers, swimming pool and folks cooking our meals for us. There is even a small bar, where our arrival is cause for celebration. The group continues to grow – now we are over forty!