Summer in Review

Now that the summer bike tour is finished, I thought I should recap. After all, this is supposed to be a travel blog…not just a place for my periodic musings/complaints (or is it?) Despite the less-than-ideal weather this year, I really enjoyed the trip and would do another bike tour in Europe in a heartbeat.

Just read through the blog entry I wrote just before our trip (Gearing Up) and realize that we actually followed our planned route this summer (and then some.) And the equipment carried by Matthias in the bike trailer really did make a difference – it was great to have the chairs for nights and mornings at the campsites, and the sleeping mats were, well, greatly appreciated. We camped almost every night, except for a few nights spent on ferries; the night we arrived in Bergen, Norway; Matthias’ birthday in Hamburg; and one really rainy night in Germany. The extra equipment helped us to endure the rain and cold weather, but the bad weather caused us to complete the route much earlier than expected – our dreams of finding an ideal spot by a loch or Fjord and camping for a few days were pretty much dashed. I mean, we saw lots of ideal spots, but it’s no fun when it’s raining or cold.

Here is sort of a summary of our trip – I’ve probably written about a lot of it already, but I wanted to get the story all in one place.

We spent 85 days on the trail and rode over 4,800 kilometers (about 3,000 miles.) We left Gommern on 18 May and rode on the Elbe River bike trail to Hamburg, through a section of Germany (the “Altmark”) known for growing Asparagus. Then we caught the North Sea Cycle Route, or NSCR, which took us further up the Elbe to Cuxhaven on the North Sea coast of Germany. We rode along the North Sea, through East Friesland (pronounced East “Freezeland”) where we came across some of the most friendly Germans we have ever encountered. The North Sea is interesting here because the tide goes way, way out and you can walk for miles in the mud to little islands off the coast. We continued on to Holland, where the route traveled along the dikes through Friesland (or I guess this would be “West Friesland”) I already mentioned the sheep – seemingly millions of them – grazing along the dikes. Apparently, they keep the grass growing and the dikes secure. But it did get a little tiresome pedaling through their poop and going through an endless number of gates (some areas had gates with openings for bikes (with grates along the bottom so the sheep couldn’t pass through) but others had swinging gates…quite annoying with bikes and even more so with the trailer.

About halfway through Holland we crossed the Afsluitdijk – a 32-km long dike to North Holland, where the landscape changed considerably. We were no longer riding along dikes, but through the dunes. The dunes and beach resorts surprised me – didn’t know they existed in Holland – and were full of Germans (funny, because campsites in Germany are full of Dutch.) As we neared the Belgian border, we stopped in towns that seemed more “typically Dutch” to me, such as Middelburg, with canals, cobbled streets and old buildings.

People following the entire the North Sea Cycle Route would typically take a ferry from the Hook of Holland to Harwich and then ride along the east coast of England to Scotland. But since Scotland was our original goal, we decided to ride on to Zeebrugge, Belgium and take the ferry directly there, skipping England altogether (turned out to be a good choice, given that while Scotland was cold and rainy, England was actually flooding!) From the border of Holland, it was a short ride to Brugge, where we spent two nights (arriving a day early for the ferry.) Brugge (or Bruges) is a really beautiful medieval town – chock full of tourists from all over - including many Americans (although I don’t know many Americans outside of those who have been there who have actually heard of it!) Our ferry left at 6pm, and the ride from Brugge was pretty fast and easy, so we made it with plenty of time to spare for grocery shopping (smart travelers brought their own food on the ferry as the food on board was expensive and probably not all that good.) We had booked “airline seats” for the overnight journey, but as usually occurs on these types of ferries, most passengers slept wherever they found space, such as in a sleeping bag on the floor or on one of the couches in the lounges. So, being able to lie down, I was able to sleep pretty well.

When we arrived in Rosyth, Scotland, it was already threatening to rain, and we decided to head north on the trail instead of going out of our way to Edinburgh (big cities- unless they are particularly bike-friendly – are kind of a pain anyway with the packed bikes and the bike trailer.) I had some trouble following the map at first, and the trail signs weren’t all that good, so we got kind of lost on the way to Kinross, our first destination. Good thing we only planned to ride about 15 miles that day! With some guidance from two local fellows who stepped out of a pub for a smoke (non-smoking law in effect in Scotland), we found our way. It started pouring during the ride, and having survived that and our first major hills of the trip, after arriving at the campsite we decided to visit a Scottish pub for comfort. This was to become somewhat of a trend.

We were blown away by the beauty of the countryside in Scotland (not just the wind) from the moment we arrived there. Following the trail became easier as the signage got better, I got better at deciphering the map, and we got used to riding on the left. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate, as I’ve gone on and on about. After Kinross, we crossed through the Kingdom of Fife, with its beautiful rolling hills, to Dundee and then along the coast to Aberdeen, where we spent two days, not because we were particularly interested in Aberdeen, but because it rained like crazy. From Aberdeen, we crossed through the countryside, stopping at a cute little campsite run by a farmer in the middle of nowhere (Ythanbank – even Scots haven’t heard of it.) The campsite was recommended to us by a cyclist who was doing the NSCR trail in the other direction (she was from Holland and had already been through Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway.) She said we should call first so that we were expected and so that we could get directions. I called from a pay phone, but was only able to leave a message (without a callback number, of course.) Then, as we got closer, I stopped a local to ask for directions, but he had not heard of the town or campsite, so we were about to look for another pay phone when a car pulled over and someone hopped out and said “Would you be the two who are looking for the campsite?” It was the owner of the campsite who happened to be passing by. He gave us directions and told us he’d be back in a few hours. What a relief, as it was quite a haul to the next campsite, and the weather wasn’t really conducive to wild camping. So, we camped in his field, next to the ponies, cows and chickens, and got to use his daughter’s playhouse for shelter while we ate dinner. Anyway, if you ever find yourself near Ythanbank, Scotland, I recommend the campsite.

The route took us back to the sea at Banff and continued along the coast, where we spent a few very windy evenings huddled inside our tent, to Inverness. Although we had technically been in the Highlands for quite a while, for us, Inverness seemed to be the gateway to the “real” Highlands. After Inverness, it was a short, but hilly ride to Dingwall, which I thought would be a nice typical Scottish town where we could go out. It was, which was a good thing, since the rain picked up and we ended up staying three nights at the campsite there. Besides visiting all the pubs, catching a concert of traditional Scottish music at the Royal British Lodge, and spending more than our share of time at the local 24-hour Tesco supermarket, I think we met just about everyone in town.

The next few days were probably the most scenic of our time in Scotland. We traveled through the highlands past Tain and Lairg and up through the hills through Altnaharra and back down to the northern coast at Bettyhill. This stretch is where we would have liked to have spent more time camping, fishing, hiking, etc., but the weather didn’t allow for it, so we pretty much rushed through so that we could get the ferry to the islands and beyond.

I kind of screwed up on the ferry thing. The plan was to take a ferry to the Orkney Islands, then another to the Shetland Islands and then a third across to Bergen, Norway. While this did eventually work out, it turned out that the ferry from Lerwick (Shetland) to Bergen went by way of the Faroe Islands (halfway to Iceland!) and then back to mainland Scotland before getting to Bergen. So, a week after leaving Scrabster on the mainland for the Orkney Islands, we were back it its port on our way to Norway. Still, though it was more costly, I don’t think I regret going to Orkney and Shetland because they were both beautiful, although we only spent a day in each (again, due to the weather.) I’m sure the Faroe Islands were beautiful, too, if only we could have gotten off the ship, or seen more of them through the rain and fog! So, the ferry from Lerwick to Bergen ended up taking three days (two nights). We had berths in a six-berth cabin in the bowels of the ship and, fortunately, on the second night, we had the cabin to ourselves. I slept quite well both nights.

When we got to Bergen, it was raining (of course) so we spent the night at our first inside accommodation of the trip – a cozy and cute B and B in a nice part of town. Unfortunately, we couldn’t go out on the town as the prices were outrageous. The next day we headed out of Bergen in the rain into the fjords. As I’ve written before, the scenery was gorgeous, but the bad weather didn’t allow us to stop, or take any good photos. Fortunately, when we finally arrived at the campsite, it turned out to be beautiful. The next morning was quite nice, but the route was so hilly that when we arrived at one campsite around noon, the thought of riding another 50 km was daunting and we decided to stay there, although there was nothing around to do and it started raining in the afternoon. The next day, we rode in the pouring rain to Haugersund, where we learned that the weather was not expected to get any better. So, we decided to ride on to Egersund (another 100 km) and take the ferry from there to Denmark, instead of riding all the way down the coast to Kristiansand. But the next day, my bike started to feel really weird, and about 25 km from town we notice that my back wheel was basically broken. I could ride on it, but it was incredibly wobbly. So, we decided to head back to Haugesund and get it fixed, instead of risk getting stuck in the middle of nowhere. We then also decided, based on our experiences so far in Norway, just to take the ferry from there to Denmark, where we could get south more quickly, and – hopefully – away from the rain and cold.

The overnight ferry to Denmark involved (once again) sleeping on the floor in the “reclining seat room” and waking up in Denmark, where the rain was light, but the wind was fierce. The NSCR trail was well marked, but I was dismayed that after riding about 30 km, we were only 12 km from where the ferry left us, because the trail winds through scenic areas to give a nicer cycling experience (when the weather is good!) Actually, we passed some really lovely areas, with nice facilities (shelters, toilets, water) for wild camping, but it was too early for us to stop. So we continued on to a campsite, where we had to buy a camping card, in addition to paying quite a bit for the privilege of staying there. We weren’t all that interested in seeing much in Denmark, but in making it back to Germany, where we could afford more comforts (food, drink, beds) so we rode pretty quickly through the country. Fortunately, the bike trails were nice and well-marked, and the weather didn’t’ treat us too badly, save for a couple days of horrendous wind and some light rain.

We arrived in Germany on July 14 and decided that once we found a campsite we would go out on the town, something we hadn’t done since Scotland. Unfortunately, the campsite in Dagebull was nice, but the town boasted exactly one bar (a hotel bar) and zero ATMs – we had forgotten that we had very few Euros on us. So, we ate a couple of Matjes brots (herring filets on baguette) at little snack bars and then had dinner at the only restaurant that accepted credit cards – a mediocre meal. Oh well.

For our next outing (Matthias’ birthday) we wanted to be sure we would be in a place where we could have fun, so we rode more or less directly to Hamburg, which took about three days (more details in the July 20 entry below.) Since at this rate we would get back to Gommern about a month earlier than expected, we thought of extending the trip by taking the train across Germany to the Austrian border and riding into Italy along the Via Claudia Augusta, where we thought there would be less rain and much warmer temperatures. But, when we got to the train station at Lauenburg (south of Hamburg) we both decided that it would be too much hassle – with the bikes and the trailer – to head so far south on the trains. Also, we weren’t sure our bikes/equipment would hold up, and didn’t want to get stuck so far away. Plus, the weather was had already improved in Germany. So, we decided to ride back down the Elbe river to Matthias’ parents’ house, recuperate, repack, and continue down the Elbe toward Prague. I was excited to have some different clothes to wear! Also, we figured that if it rained in the Czech Republic, we could more easily afford to get a hotel and go out for the evening. We spent two nights in Gommern and then headed out again.

We had a nice first day of riding…approximately 100km to Lutherstadt Wittenberg, where Martin Luther made his famous proclamations that started the reformation. After that, we had two days of horrible rain – pouring down virtually all day. At the end of the second day of rain, I had sort of a mental breakdown, and we eventually found a room for the night (35 Euros including breakfast…not bad!) When it cleared up the next day, we were able to enjoy the scenery of the Saxon wine valley on our way to Dresden and the Czech border. The ride was quite beautiful in Czech Republic, where we experienced our first taste of summer. The trails were pretty well marked, and consisted of a few rough, unpaved paths, some dedicated paved bikeways, and stretches along minor roads. We slowed down a bit, enjoying food and drink in the Czech towns where we camped. For the most part, the campsites in Czech were quite nice…we even found a good site in Prague, where we spent two nights.

After Prague, we decided to ride further along the Elbe (Labe, in Czech) river (the Elbe bike trail veers off along the Vltava river to Prague.) Unfortunately, the trail here got pretty rough – unpaved and very rocky trails along the river (thankfully it didn’t rain!) We made it to one campsite near Stara Boleslav/Brandys, which was “rustic” (like the campsites I remember in America) with pretty disgusting bathrooms, no showers, etc. So, we decided to head back to Germany, again taking our time to enjoy the ride on the way back. Of course, after one day back in Germany, the rain started again, so we rode a day in it, and then threw in the towel, so to speak, and took the train back on August 12.

So, that was our trip this summer. Now we are working toward the next (probably last) phase of the trip – to Asia. We are going to take the trans-Siberian train across Russia to Bejing, travel by rail around China, and head down to Southeast Asia (probably Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.) Then our plans kind of fall apart – hopefully we’ll meet some fellow travelers that will give us some ideas. It would be great if we could go to Australia and come back to the US over the Pacific, stopping off here and there along the way. But that will depend on a lot of things, including how much money we have left, how much it costs, how tired we are, etc.