Day 2 - watchtowers

Today we headed over to the former border between East and West Germany to visit one of the watchtowers which used to monitor the surroundings for potential escapees. Last time we came, 4 years ago, the watchtower was open and it was possible to climb to the top up some very rickety wooden ladders which were missing a distressing number of rungs. The building still bore many reminders of its former life. This year though the entrance was locked and so the newbies had to make do with our recollections of the interior instead. As we approached the watchtower Son 2 had an impressive off after trying to chase down a 9 year old who'd decided to go for a lone breakaway.  The worn teeth on Son 2's chainring couldn't cope with the acceleration (W had meant to replace the offending item before we left) and the chain made a bid for freedom forcing Son 2 to undertake some impressive bike handling  to stay on but he still managed to remove a large chunk of skin from his knee when it inadvertently came into contact with his front tyre. Fortunately we had enough first aid kits between us to patch him up adequately before climbing back on for a slightly more sedate pedal to catch up with the others. 

Lunch was at another look out tower and then we all went swimming at the awesome outdoor pool in Bergen an der Dumme. Then back to the Mill for yet more vast quantities of delicious scoff.