Philly Tandem

I have three weeks to spend on vacation in Europe this summer with my wife, son (9) and our triplet bike. (I'm here now on business and they are joining me on Tuesday.) We're looking to do a 2-3 week tour, and our options are still open. Our current idea is to ride in the south of Germany and Austria (Tauern bike path), but we've done that before. The Elbe bike path has caught my eye, and I've read that it's the most popular tour in Germany.

Anyway, I'm looking for feedback from people who have actually ridden all or part of the Elberadweg. We're experienced with bike touring in Europe, will be self-contained (not camping), and speak enough German to get by.

Here are a few questions that I have:

1. Writeups mostly say to ride the route upstream from Cuxhaven toward Dresden because of the winds from the west. Should we really be concerned about that? Is it only a problem near the coast, or along the entire river? I prefer the idea of riding to the ocean just to have the cool "carrot at the end of the stick." But not if I'm going to be battling headwinds the whole time!

2. In early July, will we have lots of competition against us when we're trying to find a room each night? We generally don't pre-book, preferring to let the day and the tour unfold on its own.

3. Is it crazy-busy with bikers, like the classic Danube route to Vienna?

Any other advice is most welcome!

Thanks...