Landsberg to Lechbruck, then a short day to Fussen

But, first, a few catch-up pics.

along the trail, heading south toward Landsberg

Landsberg am Lech (along the River Lech):







The Romantische Strasse route from south from Landsberg to Fussen shows in our cycling guide book as quite hilly, with some grades of 13% or more.  Ellen's foot has continued to bother her on and off, so we were a little concerned about this final stretch.  But our host in Landsberg showed us an alternative route (staying west of the River Lech rather than on the east side) that is much more mellow.  We jotted down the key towns to look for, and off we went.  Because we didn't want to ride all the way to Fussen in one day, he recommended a stop in Lechbruck.

The ride to Lechbruck was through mostly rolling farm and forest country, and very pleasant.  Ellen and I love to take traffic mirror selfies (we have dozens from our walking along the Caminos de Santiago), but they're trickier on a bike.  Found this one on a very quiet road.



As we move further south into Bavaria, and closer to the Alps, we are seeing more forest land, and the agriculture transitioning from row crops (like corn and wheat) toward grazing dairy cows. 



We've also had our first glimpses of high mountains. 



The clouds were building and darkening as we approached Lechbruck; we could tell rain was on its way.  Just as we entered town we felt the first drops.  Fortunately we were right by a delightful bakery: we parked the bike under an awning and waited out the brief thunderstorm with delicious cakes.  We found a guesthouse nearby and had some time to walk around the town before dinner.



Next day was the short ride from Lechbruck to Fussen: only about 20 km.  We had a long but gentle climb out of Lechbruck, then some rolling farm country before the descent toward Forggensee (the large lake on which Fussen sits).



Fussen is the southern end of the Romantische Strasse and a popular tourist destination.  It sits on a beautiful lake at the base of the mountains and is right next to the famous castles Neuschwanstein and Howenschwangau.  Alas the dam that creates the lake is under maintenance so the lake is currently dry.  The last part of our path followed the (dry) lake shore, mostly paved but some stretches very rocky and better suited to a mountain bike than a loaded tandem.  The Bike Friday handled all with aplomb.  We were in Fussen shortly after noon.  We walked into the old town for a snack, and the rain rolled in.  It continued all afternoon and into the evening.

We plan to take a couple of days here.  Tomorrow we'll explore the town, and Thursday tour the castles.